Terry Pruitt's Blog

I would like to thank Dr. Todd Beall for giving corrections to this paper. Errors are mine alone. Introduction The Queen of Sheba is never named in the Bible. Though her country is named as Sheba, we do not know its geographic location definitively. Three major views of where Sheba is located are: in the northern Arabian Peninsula called Wadi Es-Seba; southern Arabian Peninsula in what is now Yemen; and in Ethiopia.[1] While there are many, some fanciful, proposals for Sheba's location, this paper will confine its discussion to southern Arabian Peninsula and Ethiopia. Justification for this approach is that in the NT Jesus calls this queen the "Queen of the South." (Matt 12:42, Luke 11:31) This gives a cardinal direction from the land of Israel: south. The idiom used by Jesus suggests a lengthy distance from which the Queen came. The idiom use support an argument to preclude the northern Arabian Peninsula view.[2] This paper will examine the two primary te...

I was privileged to preach the Sunday before last on Matthew 11:1-19 . The text talhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifks about how John the Baptist sent messengers to Jesus to ascertain whether he was the "coming one." It seems John was doubting whether Jesus was the Christ. Here is a link to get to the sermon on Sermon Cloud .

In The Hours Words by Helen L. Parmelee Music by Kevin Twit http://www.igracemusic.com/hymnbook/lead/inthehours.pdf This song by Indelible Grace is one that really moves me. I think it moves me because it reminds me of my own story. The words remind me of God's work in my life through the blessing of suffering. A lot of my best days walking with my Lord has actually been days of suffering. Verse one reminds me of growing up when I felt rejected by others but God was my song. 1. In the hours of pain and sorrow, When the world brings no relief When the eye is dim and heavy, And the heart oppressed with grief While blessings flee, Savior Lord we trust in Thee! While blessings flee, Savior Lord we trust in Thee! Verse two talks about my drifting from the Lord when I was caught up in pride and the sin of self-sufficiency. 2. When the snares of death surround us, Pride, ambition, love of ease Mammon with her false allurements, Words that flatter, smiles that please Then ere we yield, S...

Theology Matters: D. A. Carson on the Intent of the Atonement

Recently Christianity Today had some articles on music for the worship service. Notice that if one simply says worship music, it might refer to a contemporary style of music which may or may not be used during a worship service. The article that has given me the most to think about is Pop Goes the Worship . Author T. David Gordon mentions in the interview that music for the worship service should be folk music in the sense the it should be singable by the people, rather than music designed for performance. I grew up singing in a choir, not that I excelled at music, but I learned to love the hymns, though I also like much in the contemporary Christian music. A point that Gordon makes though is that we of sing contemporary Christian music with just words, though it is often more sophisticated and difficult to sing. We sing hymns with notes written out. Another article about hymns is in on the webzine By Faith Online which discusses Indelible Grace's recent documentary .

The Heart Of The Matter: Another Look At The New Perspective On Paul By Terry L. Pruitt Table Of Contents * Introduction * Method of Study * Syllogism: The Method Of Systematic Theology * Description: The Method Of Biblical Theology * Questions Asked and Answered * Issues of the New Perspective * Who Are The Judaizers? * What Does Paul Mean By Justification? * Conclusion Introduction An anachronism is something or an idea that is placed outside its time. In recent years, re-enactors of medieval history have developed an organization called the Society for Creative Anachronisms. This society purposely creates hand made items and events (i.e. jousts) from another time. At other times people stumble in writing a story and place an anachronism in it unintentionally. Some classical scholars believe that some of the cultural items written in Homer's Odyssey are anachronisms. One history scholar claims to find it difficult to enjoy the mystery books and...

3 Minutes from Ross Ching on Vimeo .

I had a dream last night regarding my calling. It has been an ongoing tension most of my adult life. Here are single sentences that summarize times of my walk. 1982 - I am called by God and I am invincible. 1985 - I am called by God and I have a hope for future ministry. 1990 - I am called by God but I am not able to fulfill it now. 1992 - I have a call but how can I fulfill it? 1995 - I have a call and I will prepare for it. 2005 - I am cursed with a call that I am not able to fulfill. 2011 - I am called by God.

I did a Sunday School class this summer on worship using John Frame's book called "Worship in Spirit and in Truth". It was a good class but in the end, I felt like I was just starting. My musical training is that I learned to read music by playing the saxophone in a school band. I later learned to sing music in a church choir. My music is really tied to the notes on the page and I really miss it, but I am not really sure how to reconnect with my music. I do find myself singing more for meaning in church these days, but I am still on a quest for more of God in worship which includes music but also prayer, Scripture reading, preaching and the sacraments. I just want more of God. Tomorrow is a day of worship. Bifrost Arts from josh franer on Vimeo .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8cAU475dQo

I'm working on my paper on preaching sin in a postmodern age. I ran across this article by Tim Keller on the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). His main point seems to be that the PCA is pluralistic. Really. Not pluralistic in the sense of there being no truth but in the sense that the Reformed tradition brings the emphasis from a lot of different perspectives. A paragraph that caught my attention: The best systematic theologies (here I’m thinking particularly of Herman Bavinck’s) are conscious of how the doctrinalist, pietist, and culturalist impulses all grow out of the same basic Reformed theological soil. The richness of Reformed theology inevitably inspires vigorous evangelism and sound doctrine; subjective spiritual experience and the ‘great objectivities’ of the sacraments; building the church and serving in society; creative cultural engagement and rootedness in historic tradition. In actual practice, however, these emphases are very difficult to combine in a local ...

The following is a partial thread on a discussion on the question, "Can you legislate morality?" My original position stated that we can't help but legislate morality. That is explained further in my response to Steve W. Personally think that the law is, from a pragmatic stance, more effective at encouraging good behavior than prohibiting poor choices. The bad moral choices, I've found, tend to be dissuaded by community opinion, not by law--more people refrained from drunkenness because their neighbors disapprove than because of prohibition, for example. I do agree that the law always has a moral component to it, but on the whole, I'm an advocate of shame (public opinion) rather than punishment as a restraint on human evil. -- Steve W. Steve, As I look at your post, I appreciate your nuanced thoughts, and I do agree with the idea that shame can bring a restraint on individuals in a society. I'm posting my response in my blogspot account since it i...

O for a thousand tongues to sing My great Redeemer’s praise, The glories of my God and King, The triumphs of His grace! Terry's Comments: Our capacity to praise God does not equal his glory. I'm not sure if Wesley is saying he desires 1,000 different languages or 1,000 organs of speech to praise God. Either way, the human capacity to praise God is only giving partial glory to the wondrous God. My gracious Master and my God, Assist me to proclaim, To spread through all the earth abroad The honors of Thy Name. Terry's Comments: Since God's glory is so great, we actually need divine assistance to do that proclamation justice. It is not just enough to praise God in the USA or England, every nation of the earth just needs to praise God. Jesus! the Name that charms our fears, That bids our sorrows cease; ’Tis music in the sinner’s ears, ’Tis life, and health, and peace. Terry's Comments: The name of Jesus brings wholeness to our broken soul. He breaks the power o...