Have you heard of oneness theology? Also called "Jesus only," this is the idea that Jesus is all there is. Jesus is the Father; Jesus is the Holy Spirit. Jesus has manifested himself in many ways over the years, but there is only one individual or self who is God. Although not exclusive to the Pentecostal movement, most oneness believers belong to charismatic (or apostolic) groups today. This is a classic message given by Pastor J. Dan Gill in the early 2000s. I remember sitting there in the audience listening to him share about his community's journey of faith and thinking to myself, "Wow, he's my people!" Whether you currently hold oneness theology or not, take a listen to Brother Gill's testimony and see you what you think.

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Why is Christianity awesome? Answering this question is a good exercise for us. So often we hear about why Christianity is terrible, especially in the eyes of the world. Many of these critiques are important and we should be humble enough to listen to problems, both real and perceived. However, my goal today is to focus on the positive. I'd like to spend some time just thinking about the goodness of our faith. I hope you will find it encouraging.

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Christianity makes sense of reality1. explains why anything exists2. explains why there is a beginning3. explains why creation is so good and beautiful4. explains why our world is so bad and ugly5. explains why laws of nature exist6. explains our desire for inclusiveness and fairness

Christianity makes you a better person1. salvation from sin2. durable value3. ethical boundaries, duties, motives4. living hope

Christianity makes society better1. salvation from sin2. durable value3. ethical boundaries, duties, motives4. living hope5. robust identity

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A couple of weeks ago I got to speak at the Church of God's annual youth camp at Manchester University in rural Indiana. The week focused on all the different passions that we too easily allow to take God's spot in our hearts. Timypaul Lupe gave the message before mine in which he urged the listeners to smash their idols, demonstrating this by taking out a sledge hammer and breaking a jar on stage. My goal for this sermon was to encourage the audience to put God on the throne in their hearts. This is not something done once, but each and every day. Although my message was brief, especially by Restitutio standards, I figured I'd share it here.

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Last Sunday, I shared this message about God's amazing grace. Instead of focusing on how gracious, merciful, and forgiving God is, I labored to explain why we don't deserve God's grace. I've observed this not only in my own journey, but also with many others who grow up in the church. We hear a thousand times how much God loves us and forgives us, but we easily overlook his wrath and holiness. God's grace is not amazing at all but an entitlement if you don't know in your bones that you deserve his wrath. In what follows I draw upon the first chapter of Isaiah to see God's heart towards his people, especially when we are enmeshed in sinful behaviors. Although difficult to preach, I believe this message is an important wake up call.

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Last week Dale Tuggy discussed William Lane Craig's theory about the Trinity for an hour. In one sense this was a momentous occasion when two heavy-hitting philosophers got into the ring to duke it out. In another sense, the limited constraint of one hour barely gave either much time to warm up or process the other's position, much less land any serious blows. Still, it was a worthwhile exchange and it has already received over 5,000 views in its first week on YouTube. In this followup interview, I ask Dr. Tuggy about his impression of the exchange, his further thoughts on Craig's somewhat controversial Trinity theory, and how he would reply if given more time to engage with the "deity of Christ" texts. If you haven't yet listened to the debate, you can get it on YouTube or if you prefer audio, listen to Tuggy's Trinities podcast, episode 349.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj_WLXoL90I

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What is the gospel? No, I’m not talking about the biographies of Jesus or catchy music. I mean, what is the message of salvation that Jesus commissioned us to preach? Pastor Victor Gluckin of Living Faith Christian Church in Rhode Island masterfully explains what the gospel is and does. The gospel is not good advice but good news that something has changed, is changing, and will change. The gospel is that Christ died, Christ rose, and Christ is coming again. Although most gospel presentations today only focus on the first component, Gluckin is careful to present a full gospel with all three critical elements: the cross, resurrection, and kingdom.

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As Christians we need to spend the rest of our lives mastering this message. -Victor Gluckin

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Whereas last time we examined 6 interpretations people hold for Hebrews 1.10-12, today we look at just one--the 7th. Jerry Wierwille is my guest again and in this episode he explains his take on Hebrews 1.10-12. He delves into wisdom christology to show how these verses speak of Jesus protologically as wisdom that created the heavens and the earth.

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In our last episode, Dr. Jerry Wierwille led us through a contextual overview of Hebrews 1 and 2 in order to situate Hebrews 1.10-12. Today, we’ll consider seven interpretations of Hebrews 1.10-12, including:

This survey should help shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of these views. We won’t get into the seventh position much in this episode, but we will cover it in detail in the next one.

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Hebrews 1.10-12 is a confusing passage for many of us. It seems to say that Jesus created the heavens and the earth in the beginning. Today we are beginning a three part series in which Dr. Jerry Wierwille will address this important passage in context. Our first part is Wierwille's presentation from last year's UCA conference. In this overview, he reviews the context, extending from chapter 1 all the way to 2.8. Next he presents lexical connections between Hebrews 1 and wisdom literature. He concludes that Hebrews 1.10-12 is a wisdom christology text, attributing to Jesus what wisdom had accomplished prior to his birth.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_F_T2o3WWo

Here is the paper that accompanies this talk.

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Today we are addressing Progressive Christianity. To be clear, we are not talking about politics, though they often go hand in hand. Progressive Christianity is an outgrowth of liberal Christianity, which accepted the modernist ethos of the Enlightenment and merged it with Christianity. Likewise Progressive Christianity brings the assumptions and moral commitments of postmodernism to Christianity. Thus, individual experiences and stories, especially from minorities, victims, and the disenfranchised have higher authority than scripture, history, or logic. As a result, Progressive Christians feel free to disagree with scripture if it seems to cause distress or difficulty for people. Our inner sense of goodness and personal purpose are the spiritual authorities that should guide us, not what Jesus said, not what the church says, not what the bible says.

Today I'm playing out a teaching by Mike Winger of Bible Thinker. He had served as a youth pastor and worship leader at a Calvary Chapel church in California before YouTube ministry became his full time focus. His YouTube channel currently has nearly half a million subscribers and his focus is on thinking biblically about life. I thought he made some great points in this presentation that will sensitize you to the cultural creep that is slowly adjusting all of our moral compasses.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYuWlxnqa4o

"Progressive Christianity is not a sustainable community, but it's a door out of Christianity" -Mike Winger"Can God tell you that your heart is mistaken? Even about your deepest longings and morality?" -Mike Winger

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