John Young

This is a typical tyrade from him. On other forums he attacks, degrades, deflect, and has temper tantrums. I would have thought he'd grown up over th past 10-15 years. I guess I was mistaken. 

Matthew 18:6-7 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!

It is with sad heart that I announce that Pastor Mike Reed, aka Ukulele Mike, has gone to be with the Lord in October of 2021. I have no details concerning his passing. I was alerted to it by another forum member, who saw an announcement online.
Mike was my friend, a moderator on this forum and a faithful pastor for many years in the small California town of Herlong. Bro Mike was faithful to his calling and his Lord, persevering through hardship in the forms of a very small congregation of 6-10 people, with no financial support for many years. He also performed the duties of a forum moderator admirably and with a Christ like spirit.
Mike will be missed , but I also rejoice in the knowledge that we will meet again in Glory.

Try Local Church Bible Publishers. As they are a church ministry, their bibles are at cost. Many are leather and very good quality materials. All are under $80 and well priced.
http://localchurchbiblepublishers.com/bibles/?filter_items=bibles

I've been wrong before and I'll most likely be wrong again. The Lord will straighten me out when we are together eternally, ...if not before.

Try Local Church Bible Publishers. As they are a church ministry, their bibles are at cost. Many are leather and very good quality materials. All are under $80 and well priced.
http://localchurchbiblepublishers.com/bibles/?filter_items=bibles

I purchased the '390E3B Mid Size Wide Margin Black 3 Piece (Executive)' and it is exactly like my old Cambridge Wide Margin. Excellent purchase and wearing very well.

Try Local Church Bible Publishers. As they are a church ministry, their bibles are at cost. Many are leather and very good quality materials. All are under $80 and well priced.
http://localchurchbiblepublishers.com/bibles/?filter_items=bibles

We do need to conform and challenge our ideas and teachings to that of the scriptures but too often the call for "challenge what you have been taught" comes from peddlers of long disproven, faulty, and bad teaching that tradition, scriptures, and plain family values has weeded out long ago, yet wishes to root itself back in again. When we take the lead of learning from such people without first being grounded in fundamental truth proven over lifetime of family learning, then the end result is one of shifting sands and unsure foundations.

We do need to conform and challenge our ideas and teachings to that of the scriptures but too often the call for "challenge what you have been taught" comes from peddlers of long disproven, faulty, and bad teaching that tradition, scriptures, and plain family values has weeded out long ago, yet wishes to root itself back in again. When we take the lead of learning from such people without first being grounded in fundamental truth proven over lifetime of family learning, then the end result is one of shifting sands and unsure foundations.

We do need to conform and challenge our ideas and teachings to that of the scriptures but too often the call for "challenge what you have been taught" comes from peddlers of long disproven, faulty, and bad teaching that tradition, scriptures, and plain family values has weeded out long ago, yet wishes to root itself back in again. When we take the lead of learning from such people without first being grounded in fundamental truth proven over lifetime of family learning, then the end result is one of shifting sands and unsure foundations.

We do need to conform and challenge our ideas and teachings to that of the scriptures but too often the call for "challenge what you have been taught" comes from peddlers of long disproven, faulty, and bad teaching that tradition, scriptures, and plain family values has weeded out long ago, yet wishes to root itself back in again. When we take the lead of learning from such people without first being grounded in fundamental truth proven over lifetime of family learning, then the end result is one of shifting sands and unsure foundations.

Yesterday I posted this verse without any further comment.  Now I wish to provide some further commentary.  
The idea that we should "disregard," "disrespect," or "depart from" the teaching of our youth simply because such a practice is a necessary part of "growing up" unto "real maturity" is NOT a Biblical idea.  In fact, under inspiration of God the Holy Spirit the apostle Paul honored the instruction of Timothy's youth and directly instructed Timothy, not to "cast it away," but to CONTINUE in it.  However, that instruction from the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul to Timothy WAS founded upon some qualifications.  Those qualifications were as follows:
1.  The teaching of Timothy's youth was by the right teachers - "knowing of whom thou hast learned them."  (By godly teachers who possessed unfeigned faith in and love for the Lord God and His Holy Word (see 2 Timothy 1:5 & Deuteronomy 6:4-6).)
2.  The teaching of Timothy's youth was from the right source - "and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures."  (From the truth and wisdom of God's Holy Scriptures themselves, not man's doctrine, but God's Word.)
3.  The teaching of Timothy's youth was of the right quality - "and hast been assured of . . . which are able to make thee wise."  (Diligently grounded in the holy scriptures so as to develop Biblical conviction and godly wisdom in the heart (see Deuteronomy 6:7-9).)
4.  The teaching of Timothy's youth was for the right purpose - "which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."  (For the purpose of developing a faith-filled relationship in and with the Lord Jesus Christ, not just as an eternal escape from hell, but as a daily walk of fellowship.)
In truth, this is just the type of teaching that the Lord our God has assigned for every parent to fulfill in the upbringing of their children. (See Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:4; etc.)  Indeed, this will be the objective of every godly parent throughout the upbringing of their children.  Even so, to the extent that godly parents do fulfill this type of upbringing in the lives of their children, the Book of the Proverbs instructs young adults time and again NOT to forget or depart from that very teaching.
Now, am I ignoring the reality that many parents and/or past authorities (even so-called "good" Christian parents or authorities) are not fulfilling this God-given responsibility according to the Biblical definition and qualification thereof?  God forbid!  I am quite well aware of this failure on the part of many.  And it will be necessary at some point for adults to depart from the ungodly, unbiblical teaching of parents and past authorities (see Proverbs 19:27; 1 Timothy 6:3-5; etc.) and to develop convictions and behavior that conforms unto the actual truth and wisdom of God's Holy Word.  However, this is NOT a "departure" simply to establish one's own "adult-independence."  Rather, this is a departure specifically to move away from falsehood unto actual Biblical truth.  Indeed, casting aside the teachings of our youth simply to demonstrate some form of "adult-independence" is NOT a sign of spiritual maturity, but actually a sign of spiritual immaturity.  According to the Book of the Proverbs, it is NOT a sign of godly wisdom, but of ungodly foolishness.
Furthermore, I am not ignoring the necessity for adults to study the truth and wisdom of God's Holy Word with diligence for themselves, so as to develop personally rooted convictions in God's Word, rather than simply to possess "authorities" rooted convictions from what others have taught.  However, the Biblical teachings of parents and past authorities should not be "cast aside" in relation to this pursuit, but should serve as the foundation upon which to build this pursuit.  Indeed, this pursuit of diligent study in the truth and wisdom of God's Holy Word should be a characteristic of our daily lives as the children of God continually unto the end the of our lives. (See Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:1-2; 2 Timothy 2:15; etc.)

Also 2 Timothy 3:14-15 -- "But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

There is nothing wrong with believing what you have been taught, as long as it conforms to Scripture and is faithful doctrine.
2 Timothy 2:2 (KJV) And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

Sorry, but I'd need more sufficient evidence. I have family in not only the military, but also in the medical and research fields, and though this is possible, it doesn't seem plausible. I'm not saying they're lying, but, I am saying there needs to be more credible sources and reports. I don't trust the MSM but I also don't trust people who have gone too far over to "the other side." Both are just as guilty of inciting panic in people. 

Let's clear the air a bit. This message forum belongs to Pastor Matt. Anyone visiting and posting on this forum does so at the pleasure of Pastor Matt. He has set rules and guidelines in place to be followed and put moderators in place to ensure that the rules are followed. Moderators are not to be argued with when they do their job. Remember that you visit here at the pleasure of Pastor Matt; it's like his house and he gets to say what is acceptable in his house.
Said another way; don't argue with moderators, it will not be allowed. Whether they are right or wrong is not for you to say, you are a visitor here and should act like the Christian you claim to be.
This post is not to be seen as pointing to any one person; it is meant for everyone visiting our forums.

For some, clapping is the same as saying "amen". Clapping is not always about praising a performance or a person, but basically being in agreement with what was sung or said. When done in moderation, I don't see a problem with it.
I have to admit, there have been some sermons I was going to watch online and the amount of amen's, clapping, shouting, hooping, and hollering from the audience during the sermon was just too much and I turned it off. When that happens, it does feel like a performance and not a sermon. I'm also not a fan of pew jumpers/aisle runners/pulpit mounting, but that's a different topic. 

I felt like something was missing (to me, in my thoughts on this) when I read this yesterday, but I just now realized what. No, we are not commanded to observe the Lord Jesus' resurrection as a specific day of the year - though certainly there is nothing wrong with observing Passover or some aspects of it as a memorial to what Christ has done; however, the fact that the NT church meets on Sunday is an observance every week of the resurrection of Christ.

My family and I just started a study of revelation that Pastor James Knox (Deland, FL) has up on YouTube (we are on video 7 of 130+). He notes an interesting "four-fold division" based upon the four times John is situated for viewing:
I. From Patmos he viewed the church age. 1:9 - 3:22
II. From Heaven he views the Tribulation - 4:1 - 17:2
III. From the wilderness he views God's destruction of the world powers and the end of all that offends - 17:3 - 21:9
IV. From as mountain he views eternity - 21:10 - 22:21.
This is a most interesting and relevant topic and perhaps worthy its own thread.

It plainly says "after" his skin worms destroy this body. So, his body at this point is destroyed. Then he goes on to say "yet" in his flesh, he will see God.
If he is going to see God in his flesh, it must be in his resurrected body. Jesus had a resurrected body of flesh that he told Thomas to touch.

"Although eggs, in general, were a traditional symbol of fertility and rebirth,[2] in Christianity, for the celebration of Eastertide, Easter eggs symbolize the empty tomb of Jesus, from which Jesus was resurrected.[3][4][5] In addition, one ancient tradition was the staining of Easter eggs with the colour red "in memory of the blood of Christ, shed as at that time of his crucifixion."[3][6]
This custom of the Easter egg, according to many sources, can be traced to early Christians of Mesopotamia, and from there it spread into Eastern Europe and Siberia through the Orthodox Churches, and later into Europe through the Catholic and Protestant Churches.[6][7][8][9] Other sources maintain that the custom arose in western Europe during the Middle Ages as a result of the fact that Western Christians were prohibited from eating eggs during Lent, but were allowed to eat them when Easter arrived.[10][11]"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_egg
 

A cult/false religion is not expanding the kingdom of God. They are not "soul winning" as they believe in another gospel. Soul winning is giving the truth about our sins, and about Jesus and what He has done to provide our salvation.
Where does the line get drawn? In what sense? For salvation? Works play no part in salvation whatsoever. Whoever is trusting in their works to save them is not trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ's finished work upon the cross of Calvary.
Once someone places their faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ, then they are to serve Him, which is where works come in. Our lives are now to reflect that we have been redeemed by the Saviour and we no longer serve sin or live like the lost of this world.
Once someone is saved, sharing the Gospel with others would certainly count as a work (ie. in obedience to our Lord) - but is something that is judged and rewarded at the judgment seat of Christ, and is not anything that adds to or takes away from our eternal salvation.

First I would like to say I am not opposed to his or any IFB pastors' ministry or soulwinning efforts, and I have defended Brother Anderson, and will continue to defend any preacher, against false allegations.
However, I could not minister with him for two reasons:
1. His errant belief that the church is the New Testament Israel and errant belief that "Old Testament" and "Israeli National covenant" are the same thing. Acts 15 and 21 clearly shows they are separate. (his errant end times doctrine also stems from this error)
2. He rejects the Apostle's Doctrine whenever the Apostles contradict his NIFB teaching. Particularly when they clearly state Israel is NOT the church he and other NIFB preachers openly say the Apostles were wrong in Acts 15 and 21. Pull up any of their videos and you will see any NIFB taking point clearly trumps any teaching that that an OT Prophet, Apostle or early church pastor such as James teaches. They give various excuses as to why the Apostles are wrong anytime they contradict. It is the Apostles duty to set doctrine of the church and not ours. 

Acts 2:42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

I was not raised in a Christian home  and was from a broken family. I was saved in a Bible believing, small church in the wilds of Alaska. As a babe in Christ, as every new believer is, I had no other method of learning other than what was taught by my missionary pastor and Sunday School teacher.
Most new believers who have never been exposed to religion of any sort are at a loss as to how to even study. In the beginning they have to just trust that what they are being told is the truth. Growing in Christ is a process of learning, submitting to the leadership of the Holy Spirit and proper, diligent study. In my opinion, anyone that denies they have been influenced by the teaching of others is deluding themselves. This does not mean that we have to hold to our original teaching if there may be error in it somewhere. But we should follow good, proper and biblical teaching, as the Holy Spirit guides us. Paul spoke of this concept when he wrote: 2 Timothy 2:2 (KJV) And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
Learning within the halls if our local church is the method that God has chosen for our edification; after all, the local church is called "the pillar and ground of the truth". As such, it is a beginning point of learning, but our learning process should not stop there, for we are instructed otherwise. 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV) Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Granted, there are those that will always declare that we only believe what we have been taught; these are usually people that cannot defend their position on doctrine and usually have an argumentative spirit. Just because my interpretation of a subject or doctrine lines up with what someone else may hold to, does not mean that I have not arrived at the same conclusion on my own.
Of course there is always the case where my diligent study has backed up what someone else has previously taught. in that case I would be teaching what I have been taught, but only after proving it biblically.
So, I think that anyone that asserts that I only believe what I have been taught, cannot possibly know of my study habits. diligent study and submission to the guidance of the Holy Spirit in my life. In other words, they declare that I only believe what I have been taught, as a defense when they cannot defend their position on any given subject. They have usually run out of contextual, comparative Scripture at this point.