Oct 24 2021

Glorious Reconciliation: 'Monday Morning Musings - October 26, 2021'

Jesus became the judge who was judged. Rather than meeting injustice with violence and retribution, He released forgiveness to his persecutors and His Father gave the Spirit of the Son as a gift! He makes enemies friends! The Gospel begins and ends with: “Peace, don’t be afraid.”

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Copyright 2021. Dr. Stephen R. Crosby. www.stevecrosby.org. For video and audio resources, sign up as a student here. You will find a mix of both free resources and those with cost. This ministry is sustained by the freewill offerings of those believe in the message of a radical grace in a new covenant understanding. If this blog article has been a blessing to you, would you prayerfully consider making a contribution through our Paypal button to help? Stephanos Ministries is NOT a 501-c-3 corporation Click here to understand why. Thank you and God bless you.

Oct 11 2021

Witness – The Church, the Body of Christ: 'Monday morning Musings - October 12, 2021'

The Christian community, the church, the ekklesia, the Body of Christ is supposed to be the full-spectrum incarnation of the resurrected life of Christ, in the flesh, on earth. The Church IS the witness.

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Oct 4 2021

Behold How They Love One Another: 'Monday Morning Musings - October 4, 2021'

There is more to “witnessing” than haranguing unbelievers with propositional truth from the Bible. Doing so is one of the least effective, and often most offensive, means of “sharing the gospel.”

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Sep 20 2021

Escape and Assurance: 'Monday Morning Musings - September 20, 2021'

In many common presentations of the Gospel in modern evangelicalism, the themes of escape and assurance have had a dominant presence. If we are pursuing Christian community with those two values as primary motivators, we will assure ourselves of unnecessary relationship difficulties. A local community is not something we should hope to escape at the first whiff of an unpleasant experience. A local community is the laboratory of relational life where the ethics of what we say we believe gets tested. I am not saying there are never good reasons to leave a group. There are. But “I am not enjoying myself” or “it is too hard,” or “it hurts,” are not among the legitimate reasons.

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Photo by Rayson Tan on Unsplash

Sep 13 2021

The Dream versus The Reality – Dealing with “Unpleasantness”: 'Monday Morning Musings - September 13, 2021'

“The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community, but the person who loves those around them will create community.” – D. Bonhoeffer

Dietrich Bonhoeffer coined the phrase the “Dream Wish” in the context of the search for Christian community. He makes the point that the Dream Wish will destroy any Christian Community because it is idealistic and unattainable. It is intolerant of weakness and defect. We must be open to the possibility that “God’s wonderful plan for our lives” might include an assignment to unpleasant people and places. Life can be hard. When it so, it does not mean we have missed God in any way.

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Photo by Jan Canty on Unsplash

Aug 23 2021

Knit Together in Love: 'Monday Morning Musings - August 23, 2021'

Ask an average Evangelical or Charismatic about how to grow in grace and the knowledge of God and you will get answers like: study the Bible, listen to anointed preaching and teaching, get a “download” from the “Holy Ghost,” pray regularly. Few, if any would say “by being knit together in love.” Yet that is exactly what Paul itemizes as critical for unfolding the deep things of God.

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Photo by Hello I’m Nik on Unsplash

Aug 16 2021

Relationship and Community: 'Monday Morning Musings August 16, 2021'

Many folks are yearning and looking for authentic community together in Christ. It is a great goal, but if we hold some “isms” emotionally or intellectually in our heart, we are headed for disappointment. The “isms” that need to go if we would experience a vibrant (not perfect) Christian community are: Romanticism, perfectionism, idealism, and individualism.

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Photo by Gene Gallin on Unsplash

Aug 9 2021

The Just Shall Live by Relational Trust: 'Monday Morning Musings August 9, 2021'

Faith is more than a private intellectual posture of assent toward biblical propositions of truth. Faith, defined as a first-century Jew would define it, is relational trust. It is social. By definition it speaks of relationship with another be they God or human beings.

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Photo by Simon Moog on Unsplash

Jul 27 2021

The Wrath of God: 'Monday Morning Musing July 26, 2021'

How we define wrath is going to shape our theology and our God-image. The ancient church fathers rightly taught that God is not moved by the same kinds of passions that we are as humans. So, whatever concept of wrath we may hold, it cannot be just a bigger, badder, and more vindictive version of our own anger at sin and injustice.

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Photo by Kai Pilger on Unsplash

Jul 19 2021

Vengeance or Justice?: 'Monday Morning Musings - July 19, 2021'

Vengeance is based on a self-need for vindication, or satisfaction. It is rooted in desires of having experienced a personal wrong that requires some sort of “equilibrating” payment. There is no self-need in God, of any kind, period. Therefore, our human understanding of vengeance, including that which supposedly belongs to God, needs to be abandoned and a more scripturally sound concept, faithful to both the nature of God and Scripture needs to be embraced. Vindictive retribution is an insult to the nature of God in Christ.