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By: Gary Hutchens Does it matter how we worship God? This is probably a question that many people seldom, if ever, contemplate. Jesus instructed a woman of Samaria, who had been practicing worship that was not in keeping with God’s teachings, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (Jn. 4:23-24). One would think that such a straightforward statement from the Lord Himself ought to settle the matter forever.
By: Gary Hutchens The way we live our lives is often referred to by various terms that indicate a particular direction taken. We’ll speak of the course of a person’s life, or what path he’s taking in his life, or what road he’s traveling through life. Our Lord Himself used this very frame of reference: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matt. 7:13-14).
By: Gary Hutchens In his first letter to the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul sharply rebuked the congregation for tolerating, within the congregation, a degree of sexual immorality so depraved that even the Gentiles, unbelievers, would not so much as talk about such a thing. A man had become involved in an affair with his father’s wife, apparently his step-mother (1 Cor. 5:1). The Gentiles were idol worshipers. Immorality seemed to naturally go hand-in-hand with idolatry, yet this was a form of immorality that even they found repulsive.
By: Gary Hutchens The issue of abortion is one of many that are tearing our culture and country apart. As noted in the previous article, the 1973 Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade touched off a firestorm of protests, marches, demonstrations, debates and legal challenges to the ruling by those opposed to abortion. The recent ruling by the current Supreme Court, reversing the original ruling, has touched off a similar firestorm by the abortion rights advocates. Its culture is the basic mindset of a nation. Our culture, and therefore our nation, is severely fractured over abortion. It has resulted in not just disharmony, but blatant animosity between the opposing sides.
By: Gary Hutchens Among the issues raging in our culture right now is that of abortion. In 1973 the United States Supreme Court ruled that abortion is a legal right under the U.S. constitution. That ruling has stood for these past forty-nine years. Just a few weeks ago, the current United States Supreme Court struck down that earlier ruling.
By: Gary Hutchens The moral fabric of our nation is being ripped to shreds as movements within our country push full steam ahead to reshape our culture in an extremely radical direction. The descriptive phrase “extremely radical” is both accurate and appropriate. One of the latest points of emphasis within this general movement focuses on gender identity.
By: Gary Hutchens Toward the end of His ministry on this earth Jesus mourned over the spiritual condition of the city of Jerusalem, which was a representation of the nation of Israel as a whole (Matt. 23:37-39). He came to Israel as the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies of the coming Savior (Isa. 53; Matt. 1:21-23).
by: Gary L. Hutchens In a previous article I talked about how our culture has progressively pushed God out of its mindset. I emphasized the fact that when we push God out of our mind, the devil automatically moves in. Our mind is not a vacuum; remove God, and the devil will fill the emptiness. The mindset of any nation is its culture, and our cultural mindset has, in a planned and focused way, continually shrunk God’s place in it. That has naturally resulted in all kinds of immorality becoming more prevalent and accepted. Our country is suffering the dire consequences.
by: Gary L. Hutchens Our nation is in a state of crisis! Our economy is in shambles, with inflation at a forty year high and many products in short supply due to a constricted supply chain. Our present political structure is characterized by animosity, hatred, irrationality, flagrant deceit, obsession over power and a lack of pure wisdom. Our government seems largely out of touch with reality and therefore fundamentally incapable of doing what it was designed to do.
by: Gary L. Hutchens A great deal is said these days about values. Family values, life values, the value of life itself. What do people mean when they speak of such values? And where do these values come from?
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September 2022
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