| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Christian community” Our Bible verse for today: “The people there were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, since they received the word with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” Acts 17:11 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Don’t check your brains at the door” Many years ago, when I lived in San Diego, my favorite Christian bookstore was called “Berean Christian Bookstore.” It was named after the Christians in Berea who Luke referred to in Acts 17:11. The Apostle Paul discovered them to be a community of Christians who were thoughtful and studious. They took the time to carefully consider what they were being taught, and then they did their own work to make sure the teaching was true and accurate. I’m not sure that bookstore even exists anymore. It was back in the days when Christians still bought and read books, and therefore Christian bookstores thrived. Sadly, in our day, more and more Christians have adopted the habits of our culture in that so many people don’t read books. They spend so much time playing video games, watching television, and engaging in social media, that their reading and study skills have withered away. This is sad but also dangerous. It’s difficult to be well-informed when your primary sources of information come in the form of tweets and Facebook posts. Worse still, when Christians don’t read their Bibles and good Christian books, their knowledge of the faith will be superficial and they will easily be led astray. That explains why there is so much superficial “easy believeism” in the Christian community today. It is “cotton-candy Christianity” – light and fluffy and sweet to the taste, but it has no substance and no nutritional value. It also explains why so many Christians today willingly embrace values and practices being promoted by the culture, even though those values and practices are brazenly unbiblical. In 1992 author Josh MacDowell published a very helpful book for teenagers with the title: “Don’t Check Your Brains at the Door: Know what you believe and why you believe it”. The book addresses forty popular myths, misunderstandings, and misconceptions about God, Jesus, the Bible, faith, morality, and similar issues.” The idea behind the book is that as Christians we must be thoughtful students of the faith. We must take the time to know what we believe and why we believe it, and we need to check to be sure that what we are being taught is true, accurate, and Biblical. Don’t simply surrender your intellect to those who will feed you a cotton-candy version of the faith. Do your homework. Check it out for yourself. Please, don’t check your brains at the door. God bless, Pastor Jim (Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at http://www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville) |
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