Blog

05
Oct 2009

The Cause of the Human Condition and its Remedy Dr. John P. Davis The Bible does not offer a definitive explanation of how evil entered the universe. We know from the Bible that Satan, a created being, is evil and that he existed prior to the fall of man. Scriptures do not explain how Satan became evil. They simply present him as evil and as God’s opponent as he enters the stage in the drama of human life. Satan’s method of deceit in the Garden of Eden brings about the fall of......

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05
Oct 2009

Brokenness or Criticism Dr. John P. Davis Imagine George and Jeannette who have been married for 15 years. They profess to be Christians. Their lives are pressured with raising three children and all the demands of daily life. George works hard to provide income for the family. Jeannette’s life is consumed with children and household. Both of them struggle with a growing dissatisfaction over the monotonous routine of their lives. They have learned how to play the ‘blame game.’ Both are sure that the other spouse is at fault for their unhappiness.......

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23
Sep 2009

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous …. Among others things the gospel assures us that Jesus lived the life that we failed to life and died the death that we deserve to die. Believing this, assures us that we need not live with the burden of trying to achieve our own righteousness to earn God’s favor, nor do we need to live with fear of God’s judgment for our sin. In his active obedience Jesus, as the second Adam, performed and fulfilled all......

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20
Sep 2009

On Saturday morning I spoke at a funeral service attended mostly by very religious people. I shared with them the relationship between Ephesians 2:8-9 (“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast”) and the well known hymn Amazing Grace (“Amazing grace, How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I was once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see”)....

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14
Sep 2009

An Introduction to Christianity Dr. John P. Davis Presented to my Moslem friends at TAMEF (A Turkish Moslem Organization) Let me say at the outset, how much I appreciate the sincere desire of Turkish Moslems to be friends with Christians. A true friendship is one in which you can discuss your differences and even retain your differences while being friends. Friends cannot always reconcile their differences. Friends can disagree over politics, aesthetics, personal choices, worldviews, and religion and still be friends. As we discuss Christianity and Islam, it becomes clear that these......

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11
Sep 2009

These are some scattered reflections on doing ministry in a post-everything world: a. Do evangelism and discipleship in the context of community. b. Make your conversation with pre-Christians and young Christians more like a slow dance than a war. c. Recognize a post-everything’s need to belong before he believes. d. See evangelism as a wholistic process, not just the “saving of souls.” e. Realize that though Jesus is the only way to God there are many roads to Jesus. f. Rediscover that appreciation of beauty often precedes acceptance of truth. g. Our......

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11
Sep 2009

Welcome to Grace Church of Philly – Today we gather in the name of Jesus Christ to worship him who loved us and gave his life for us. Please join us as we sing about the greatness of our God. Adoration (recognition of God’s greatness and grace) Sing – How Great is our God (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl1k_Q1n-QU&feature=PlayList&p=FBFA602E6C01B00D&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=5) Sing – Glory to the risen king Confession (acknowledgment of our sin and need for grace) Please remain standing as we read a portion of God’s word that reminds us of our need of his grace. Isaiah......

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10
Sep 2009

Years ago I read Kennon Callahan’s Twelve Marks of an Effective Leader (1997) and was struck by what he called the ‘four foundational searches’ of all humanity. He argued that effective leadership understands these searches and seeks to minister to them. The four searches he defined are the search for identity, the search for community, the search for meaning, and the search for hope. In their search for identity, people need to know why they have value, and that they are valued as in individuals with their unique personality, gifts, and calling.......

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31
Aug 2009

Yesterday, Sunday, August 30, 2009 I preached my final message as Pastor of Grace Fellowship Church in Sunnyside (Queens), NY. For months I had been preaching through the book of Hebrews, so it was fitting and timely that I was now at chapter 13. As I studied the chapter, my attentiion kept coming back to verse 8 – “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.” This verse follows the call to imitate the faith of those who believed in Jesus Christ so faithfully that they not only lived for Him,......

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18
Aug 2009

The only acceptable posture toward Scripture is to read and study it, to stand beneath it, to submit to it, to accept it as it is indeed the Word of the Living God – our one and only authority for theology and life....

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