Plainfield Ponderings - Scripture Meditations

Send Allen a text -

Ponder with me about some of the ICE protesting and how it might relate to the singular path of salvation - Jesus. I know it sounds weird! It's less about ICE and more about how Christians ought to see the government, interact and pray for the government. Strangely, Paul connects these two ideas in I Timothy 2. Let's dive in! To God be the glory!

Please email me any comments or questions at [email protected]

Send Allen a text -

Ponder with me about the providence of God from the book of Esther again. God works through the horrors of life just as much as the things we think are positive. We need that perspective to help reframe our hardships. Also, we'll think about the back-story of Haman and Mordecai and why this extermination threat should have never happened in the first place. Be careful! You might find yourself in this episode. To God be the glory!

Please email me any comments or questions at [email protected]

Send Allen a text -

Ponder with me how God has exalted humankind and bestowed on us glory. This glory was made to image His glory but unfortunately has been squandered. How can we get back to the glory God wants us to image? Lastly - is seeing God's glory about seeing the cool, visual spectacles or is there something deeper we are made to see? To God be the glory!

Please email me any comments or questions at [email protected]

Send Allen a text -

Ponder with me a little deeper about handing someone over to Satan and its connection to church discipline. We ended last episode with a question - WHY? Why is handing someone over to Satan a good way to speak about discipline? What does that say about the domain of God's church vs. the domain of the world? And perhaps more importantly...does this mean that those in Christ's kingdom have special protection? To God be the glory!

Please email me any comments or questions at [email protected]

Send Allen a text -

Ponder with me what it means to hand someone over to Satan. That is not a phrase you'll hear used very often in churches (if ever), but Paul uses that phrase twice in the New Testament. However, before we think through that phrase, we really need to wrap our heads around the possibility of Christians falling away. Is this possible? Many say it is impossible to lose your salvation but is that true? Join me and we'll think through it - to God be the glory!

Please email me any comments or questions at [email protected]

Send Allen a text -

Ponder with me the possibility that God has pre-determined some things in your life. Most that listen to the podcast, me included, believe in human free will and that God has not pre-determined everything. However, it would be a grave mistake to ignore the fact that God is at work in all of us. What happens when we open up to the possibility that we are in this exact moment because God wants us to be here? To God be the glory!

Please email me any comments or questions at [email protected]

Send Allen a text -

Ponder with me one of the most famous quotes from Paul - that he was the foremost or chief of sinners. Is Paul saying that he was the worst sinner of all time? Is that even a biblically accurate thing to say? That's how most people have interpreted it, but we will think about the original word and the original context a little deeper in this episode to unpack what Paul is saying. It has more of an application for us than you might think. To God be the glory!

Please email me any comments or questions at [email protected]

Send Allen a text -

Ponder with me the art of double checking everything we hear, even in the church. We are diving deeper and more specifically into the problems of Ephesus, where Paul left Timothy to help the church through problems. The issues arose with people mishandling Scripture...and we can be sure that the greatest problems in the church today will arise in the same way. What can we do about it? To God be the glory!

Please email me any comments or questions at [email protected]

Send Allen a text -

Ponder with me the beginning of 1 Timothy and start by being amazed at the fact that Paul had Timothy stay in a troubled church. Timothy stayed in Ephesus because of the mess that existed there. After all the years of N.T. study, I'm still stunned by how open and honest the church leaders were about the problems that existed. We can learn from this. However, especially in dealing with problems, our attitude and our goal is central to being successful. To God be the glory!

Please email me any comments or questions at [email protected]

Send Allen a text -

Let's ponder about what the word "glory" means. We are going to embark on a series about the glory of God which we will tackle on the first Sunday of each month...this episode being the first. We'll begin by thinking about the original meaning of "glory" in Hebrew and then think through how God first demonstrated His glory - in creation. Are we listening to creation enough? To God be the glory!

Please email me any comments or questions at [email protected]