Chameleon’s are one of the few creatures capable of changing color. Whenever they want to communicate with other chameleons or affect their body temperature, they change color. But, contrary to what scientists previously claimed, chameleons do not actually change color. Instead, their skin reflects light in different colors whenever necessary. Perhaps the reflections we see in water are a better way to imagine the chameleon’s unique ability. But we are not here to study chameleons; instead, we are here to expose the obvious problems of chameleon congregations. These are groups of Christians who reflect the world around them rather than the Son of God. In the worst scenarios, we see congregations that reflect themselves rather than Christ. Neither situation is scriptural. Yet, several places continue to …show more content…
It happens when the members of a congregation act no differently than the world around them. In Corinth, paganism flourished. Several of the Christians there thought they could walk the line between Christ and the world; they were wrong (2 Cor. 6:14-18). Today, Christians lie, gossip, and speak hatefully about others. They engage in worldly pursuits and avoid spiritual ones. They think that because society accepts it, they can too. Worse yet, they rarely study the Bible, and when they do, they merely read it without understanding it. With this state of affairs, how could a congregation of God’s people fulfill His expectations?
Other problems contribute to the existence of chameleon congregations. To lure in the lost, entertainment and social events replace the gospel. There is nothing wrong with fun, nor is there anything sinful about being social; but when the gospel is overshadowed by them, so is God’s power to save (Rom. 1:16). Another typical issue is a failure to spread the gospel. Most congregations are concealed from sight because they never tell others about Jesus. This is certainly a violation of the Lord’s will (Matt.
with this, the chameleon’s color camouflages well with the surrounding habitat, such as a tree or a leaf and the
1) but was mislead to believe he would be. He enticed the audience's attention to provoke an inquiry into the nature of his preservation. It is vital to comprehend that at the certain age of twelve and thirteen the adolescents are finding their place in their congregation; it becomes difficult for some to surrender to the pressure of the congregation. The “lambs” ( Hughes para. 3 ) were to be strengthen into the inclusion of the elder’s society, thus they would be accepting of their church and faith. Despite the fact Hughes needed physical credibility to believe in Jesus, he wanted to believe his aunt regarding his newcome salvation. He realized that in reality he was not saved, rather he was corrupted by the pressure from the congregation leading to the loss of
Early in second and third century Christian history, violence against Christians by the Roman Empire, struggles against pagan ideology, practices that were corrupting the Church, and certain lax spiritual discipline had crept into many areas of the Christian faith. As some leaders attempted to control the faith by growing their personal power and influence on the political front, others sought escape from the spiritual darkness they perceived among the world to retain their own spiritual purity.
Imagine wanting not a puppy, but a tiger for your birthday, imagine the expenses of that tiger and the dangers and hazards of owning that tiger. Do you really think it’s a good idea to get that tiger? No, it’s not. It’s a lot of work, and it’s also very dangerous. Exotic animals are not good to buy and have. If you buy that cute tiger, it will eventually grow up and not be so cute, it will be dangerous and strong, it’s also a wild animal and it’s very unpredictable, also there are many diseases you can catch from that tiger, and there are many dangers of having that tiger as well. (Long sentence)
I will be discussing the life, biology, evolution, and domestication of a sugar glider. Sugar gliders are an invasive species of marsupials native to Australia. Some of the most interesting about sugar gliders are their reproductive system and ability to glide. I will also discuss their diet and natural environment and how it differentiates with the environment in the United States, where they are becoming rapidly domesticated, and unlike several exotic animals, they are highly bred in captivity.
Over and over I heard people say, “If you’re not meeting in a church you’re ‘forsaking the assembling of yourselves together’ (Hebrews 10:25), and therefore are living in sin.” It killed me (even while I was in my church) when a person became angry at someone for not attending an established church building but a home church or a Bible study. I never understood why they did that. But since I was on the outside looking into the situation, I could see the attitudes of both people during those conversations and tried to determine their heart condi...
Chapter four addresses the divisions within the Corinthian church, such as jealousy, quarrelling and their defective view of the church. The apostle Paul links their view of the church to church leadership stating “If they had a true view of the church, they would have a true view of the leaders of the church” (p79). The situation was that their view was lower for the church and higher for the leaders thus they were boasting about the leaders. Paul’s view was that the Corinthian church was spoon feed Christians not maturing as they should. Paul’s reference to addressing the church as worldly did not mean they were unregenerate because they did possess the Spirit but they were not being spiritual, not being controlled by the Holy Spirit. He goes on to say “They have experienced new birth by the Spirit but have remained babies in Christ; they have not yet become mature in Christ” (p80) The Apostle most likely would express the same opinion about many Church congregations today. Many churches are elated with their church growth, but it is often superficial. If the church does not offer a real growth opportunity the journey is short lived. The church fills up with Christians not participating in the sanctification process. As with many churches today the Corinthians had a self-serving attitude about themselves and their church. The Corinthians would have never behaved the way they did if they had a higher view of the church and what it stood for and a lesser view of the leaders. Paul outlines three visions of the church “each of which has important implications” (p82). The first metaphor is agricultural: God’s field (v9) 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God...
Secondly, the Church can insist on its identity as an inter-generational community. It can do this structurally, by refusing to segment congregations by age, and temperamentally, by recovering a biblical respect for maturity and rejecting popular culture’s infantilism, thereby offering to children a goal of growing up. Popular culture exalts perpetual adolescence.
...agreed with, some that frustrated, and some that embarrassed me when my personal preferences defied logic or biblical mandate. I would recommend this reading to any who impact church worship (employee or volunteer). Not as a firm guide, but as thought-provoking advice on how corporate worship can impact an ever-changing culture. I think any worship leader would be impacted by Dawn’s questions:
This essay is about a young African-American male teen name Jason Simmons. Jason was born on July 24, 1998 to the parents of Tony and Sallie Simmons. They lived in a small town in South Carolina were there was not a high crime rate but crime still existed in their small town. Like all cities and town crime does not omit it because it’s small or large because there is always someone trying to get something for nothing. Furthermore, there was some known gang activity in the small town. Therefore, there were some concerns of the young kids in the town getting involved in this activity in order to fill like they were a part of the in crowd. Furthermore, a lot of the kids did get blamed for being a part of these local gangs but are not actually
Colb, Sherry. "A Response to the Claim That Eating Animals Is Natural." Free From Harm. N.p., 25 July 2013. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.
To quote Jeremy Bentham in his book An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, in regard to the consciousness of animals, "The question is not, 'Can they reason? ' nor, 'Can they talk? ' but rather, 'Can they suffer? '. It is far too common for us as humans – the top of the food chain - to forget that we are not the only beings on the planet capable of thought. It is very simple to lump together all the creatures deemed as unintelligent or insentient together and basically de-animalize them – stripping them of their own evolutionary accomplishments and cognitive or mental development. With no empathy or deeper understanding of these beasts, we are free of any moral weights on our consciousness that may come from forcing them to live in humiliating and revolting conditions and are fed a chemical concoction of hormones and chemicals. This unfair and unjust treatment of animals has touched the hearts of many individuals across the globe, influencing them to take up a new diet that with it brings about a new lifestyle. Vegetarianism (or veganism, for those who are serious about
If you were told to believe a side of an argument that did not have majority of evidence points on its side, would you? The theories of evolution, creation and intelligent design have been a debated controversy for years and years. These three theories have three different ideas. The theory that creationists have is to believe that concept and design require a Creator. Creationists usually tend to believe that each organism is created as a single and distinct organism. Evolutionists tend to believe that all life started from single celled organisms. They believe that these single celled organisms are part of a continuing evolution over a very long period of time and that this evolution results in the development of new varieties and different species. People who believe in intelligent design believe in the theory that the universe cannot have arisen by chance and was designed and created by some intelligent entity. Evolution is the theory that is most probable because of the fossil record, similarities in all organisms and genetic changes in a population over time.
However, I will do some events for the lost. Because those events can help young Christians become comfortable with evangelism. By leading events for non-Christians I can have proper doctrine taught before they come to Christ. I also expect the congregation to be trained in one-on-one evangelism. Focus on teaching the simple doctrine of salvation.
Quick results are the name of the game for many today. However, Scripture makes it clear followers of Jesus never fully arrive. It is Paul who writes in Philippians 1:6, “…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (New International Version, The Holy Bible).” There is a juxtaposition of progress with promised perfection Christians must wrestle with. Even though this seems quite foggy, Scripture makes it clear the process of spiritual formation is defined by “being conformed” (Mulholland, 1993). Paul spends a majority of an extensive letter laying before the Roman Christians a deep and convicting theology. As he draws to the end of this letter he enters into the practicality of the Christian life, and what it looks like to be formed into image of their Savior. Paul sets the stage for this entire discourse with this verse, “Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (The Holy Bible).” Spiritual formation is a transformation of an individual by being conformed to God’s image and his