Next, we will begin to examine a few scriptures that directly address the Christian’s walk. In the example that Jesus shared about the shepherd and the sheep we noted that Jesus said the sheep follow the shepherd. How should we understand this “following” idea? In a physical sense we can follow someone without engaging our mind much at all. We just simply watch with our eyes and follow with our feet. Sometimes believers make statements like, “We just need…
In the Christian’s walk of faith sometimes realities are encountered that, on the surface, seem to be contradictory. The Apostle Paul says, “We are His workmanship”. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments”. What then is the effective reality that brings the Christian to faithfulness? Is it God working in me, or is it me, choosing to follow Jesus? We recognize that Jesus’ words and Paul’s statement are both true. Both truths need to be acknowledged, lest we…
I will introduce myself. My name is Dennis St. John. I am a father and grandfather. I am a minister in a Dunkard Brethren Church congregation. I have a keen interest in the church from the perspectives of the past, the present and the future. I believe that there is a rising generation in the Anabaptist/Pietistic/Brethren traditions that is struggling, at times, to come to grips with how a thriving New Testament church should function in the 21st century. Actually,…