Blog - Page 224 of 318 - John H Armstrong

How John Stott Begins Each Day

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:44-05:00July 18th, 2008|Categories: Spirituality|

A few weeks ago I wrote about beginning each new day in prayer to each person in the Holy Trinity. A member of our ACT 3 board, Marc Payne, was once a member of John Stott’s congregation at All Souls Church, Langham Place, in London. After he read that blog he sent to me the prayer that his pastor prayed each morning. I found so very helpful and thus I thought you would as well.

Good morning heavenly Father. Good morning Lord Jesus. Good morning Holy Spirit. Father I pray that I may live this day in Your presence and please You more and more. Lord Jesus I pray that this day I may take up my cross and follow You. Holy Spirit I pray that this day You will fill me with Yourself and cause Your fruit to ripen in my life, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Holy, blessed and glorious Trinity, three Persons in one God, […]

More on the Pluralism Debate

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:44-05:00July 17th, 2008|Categories: Uncategorized|

A few days ago I raised the question of how to respond to modern pluralism. I was sure that some would not read my words carefully but I also felt raising this issue was worth whatever risk might be involved. This discussion is so important because it seems that so many of us are locked into one of the three views I stated that we cannot see any other way to think about this question of Jesus being "the way, the truth and the life." As a result of this great harm is being done in the name of the Christian religion in the modern and post-modern world. Let me enumerate some of the mistakes made by people who tenaciously insist on the old paradigm, language and answer.

1. They sound like they know exactly what God is going to do with a person who is not presently a Christian. This sense of personal insight into the divine purpose drives people away from […]

Grandpa's Day at the Pool

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:44-05:00July 16th, 2008|Categories: Personal|

One of the great joys of being a grandfather is to have the opportunity to enjoy your young children all over again, but without the problems of having to be a parent. Believe me grand-parenting is serious but it is a load of fun too. I sometimes think about my two granddaughters and wonder, "What will they think about me when I am gone?" Will I make enough good memories for them to think well of me. I hope they will recall that I was godly but I also hope they remember lots of fun times as well. Such was an experience last week when the girls and I went swimming. They dared me to take the "fast" water slide down to the pool. Never dare grandpa, he loves a dare.

It was a blast. The last time I did this my […]

California Same-Sex Law and the Methodists

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:44-05:00July 15th, 2008|Categories: Homosexuality|

In
the wake of the California Supreme Court’s legalization of same-sex
marriage, more than 80 retired Southern California clergy from the
United Methodist Church are offering to perform same-sex marriages, the
Sacramento Bee reports. The ministers made their
agreement during the annual meeting last weekend for
the California-Nevada Conference of United Methodist Church. Meanwhile, a small United Methodist congregation in Santa Monica,
called the Church at Ocean Park, is hosting a “love celebration” this
Sunday, July 6, for couples of any sexual preference who want to marry.

The United Methodist Book of Discipline—i.e., official church
law—forbids churches and clergy, both active and retired, from
performing same-sex unions. If disciplined, the clergy could be
defrocked. However, retired clergy are much less likely to face church
discipline.

The California-Pacific Conference of United
Methodism is one of the denomination’s most liberal. It is no surprise, at least to this writer, that it is also one of the fastest
declining regions, having lost about half its members over the last 40
years, while California’s population has boomed. Less than 3 percent
of […]

Living Faithfully in a Pluralistic World

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:44-05:00July 14th, 2008|Categories: Biblical Theology|

One of the more vexing questions faithful Christians face more and more is the one raised by the claims of Jesus that he is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). Is salvation found in no other way than through conscious faith in Christ alone? It has become customary to agree that there are three alternative answers to this question.

1. Exclusivism

This is the traditional answer and the one held by almost all Christians who are conservative. There is "no other name" and thus no other way to the Father but through Jesus Christ alone. This requires the Church to say, "All other religions and views are false and that is that." We have the truth and you do not. We serve the true God while you grope in darkness. If you come to trust in Jesus Christ personally then you will know the real truth about God and yourself and find true salvation as we have.

2. […]

What is a Christian?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:44-05:00July 13th, 2008|Categories: Biblical Theology|

One of my favorite gospel preachers, from my earliest recollection, was the itinerant revivalist Vance Havner. I read a great deal of his material in my early years and heard him speak in person on a number of occasions. One day I even had lunch with him in Chicago. He was, to say the least, quite a unique character. He always had a humorous turn of phrase to put a point on something very serious and his quips thus became memorable.

You can discover a wealth of Havner’s written work, and an entire audio library of sermons, by a simple Google search under his name.

One quip I will never forget was this one. "Some Christians are like porcupines. They have so many fine points you can’t get near them." So true. And if you don’t laugh at that line you are very likely the kind of person Havner had in mind by saying it.

I posses […]

Wise Counsel from the Epistle of First Clement

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:45-05:00July 12th, 2008|Categories: Unity of the Church|

One of the earliest (non-canonical) letters that we have from the early Church is that of First Clement. This letter was written in A.D. 96 to deal with the strife that existed between the church in Rome and the church in Corinth. Clement was the leader of the church in Rome, and some Roman Catholic polemics suggest he was the fourth pope. (He could well have been Peter’s successor as the leader of this flock, which of course does not, in and of itself, prove the doctrine of the papacy. He appears to have been ordained by Peter as best we can tell.) Certain presbyters (ministers/elders) had been deposed in Corinth and Clement urges that they be restored. (It is interesting to note that Paul’s appeals to the Corinthian church had not brought about the peace and unity he so desired for that people.)

Clement’s letter is an appeal to restore due order in all things and to reinstate and obey […]

Learn to Highly Regard the Silence of the Holy Spirit

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:45-05:00July 11th, 2008|Categories: Spirituality|

I am presently writing a book on the unity of the Church. I am impressed, again and again, at how often we turn on other Christians about issues that are not a part of "core orthodoxy." In reading John Calvin
I came across this quote recently:

And in fact, while the Spirit ever teaches us to our profit, he either remains absolutely silent upon those things of little value for our edification, or only lightly and curiously touches upon them. It is also our duty willingly to renounce those things which are unprofitable (The Institutes: I, XIV, 3).

If the Spirit is "silent" it would be a wise course for us to not pursue these things, especially in ways that rend the body of Christ further. Or, as Calvin adds, "[if the Holy Spirit] only lightly or curiously touches upon them." There are some things we read in Scripture that we think are very clear but many others, as godly as […]

Economic Myths and Other Untruths: Why Does the Press Not Tell Us the Truth?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:45-05:00July 10th, 2008|Categories: Current Affairs|

The press (especially television news) informs our collective response and thought about our world, and the day-to-day events in our world, far more than most of us realize. Martin Bashir, on the ABC program Nightline, recently said, “It’s been described as the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression. And it brings with it grave dangers for all American families.” And almost daily we hear the television media, and sometimes the print press, remind us that we are on one of the worst recessions in decades. And just a few days ago (June 20), David Faber, on the NBC’s Today show, referenced “the recession . . . [and] these tough economic times.”

The same day Faber spoke on NBC, and millions watched and listened to his dark report, the first-quarter Gross Domestic Product was revised upward once again to 1 % growth. Let me put this very simply—there is no hard evidence that we are in a recession. None. I am […]

A Letter from our ACT 3 Chairman

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:45-05:00July 9th, 2008|Categories: ACT 3|

Dear Friend of ACT 3,

I am writing to you as the chairman of the board for ACT3, the teaching ministry of our mutual friend, John H. Armstrong.

I suspect that your interest in John’s ministry is similar to my own. You are concerned about the state of the church in our generation and in our nation. You too recognize that the American church has become spiritually apathetic, theologically ignorant, and culturally indifferent to the mission of God. You further recognize that the current state of the church is nothing short of a crisis thus you believe, as I do, that God still uses men to challenge and confront His church in such a time as this. I believe that John is just such a man who has been called for our time. It is for that reason that I have pledged my support to this man and his ministry.

As you may know, summer is the slowest season for […]