Who Should Have My Ear?

What pastors/teachers are most in-line with what we believe @ Harvest? Who should we be studying/listening to?

James MacDonald! :) 

That's the short answer. Here's a longer one:

We live in a day where information is EVERYWHERE. Think about it - if you have a “smart phone”, you hold in your hands access to more information than you can cover in 10 lifetimes. And even with Bible teaching, you can get email devotionals, podcasts, and web access to just about every thing every Bible teacher speaks. Spurgeon, Piper, Luther, Calvin, Chan, Driscoll, the guy down the street that has church in the coffee shop… All of them have volumes of information available online (many of whom left the earth generations before ever the smart phone. I know: GASP!). And they aren’t all teaching the Bible. So how do you know who is worth listening to?

Listen to any pastor, even me, with discernment. You should have the Bible open, following along, asking one question: “Is that what the Bible says?” Does the preacher’s message line up with the straightforward message of God’s Word? That’s the question. That’s the issue. Is the preacher echoing the message of the passage in its context?

I like to remind people I am just a megaphone. I don’t make up the message, I am just an instrument to broadcast it. By God’s grace, may I only ever strive to broadcast what He has proclaimed in His Word!

p.s. - has a smart-mouthed phone

What does it mean that Jesus is "the son of God"?

Is Jesus the actual son of God? Or was he an avatar of God so God could see through the eyes of man?

What does the phrase “Son of God” mean? It’s not “son” as we usually think: Owen is my son, my offspring, a different personality than me. The phrase meant divinity. Many leaders throughout history have claimed to be “a son of the gods”. The phrase means “I am God in human form”. For more information, listen to this sermon on John 1:1-14. The Bible is clear that Jesus is literally God - taking on flesh and blood.

Justifying Gay Marriage Biblically?

How does a Christian church justify (Biblically) performing a marriage ceremony for homosexuals? What is their interpretation of Scripture?

The biblical justification offered by those who perform such marriages often falls under the category of “common grace”. What is that? Simply put: That is the belief that there are some things God gives to all people, believer or unbeliever. (e.g. Matthew 5:45 says “the rain falls on the just and the unjust.”)

So to justify it as “common grace“, they would say something like, “Even people who have no regard for God at all have the 'right' to get married (heterosexual, homosexual, doesn‘t matter), because that is a ‘common grace’ available to every human being.”

Whether you agree or disagree with the fundamental issue isn‘t the aim of this answer because it wasn‘t the aim of the question. This is a "Biblical justification" given from those who care to justify it biblically.

The other answer given is: “The Bible doesn’t say homosexuality is sinful.” I know this is a sensitive and very culturally relevant topic today, and this particular issue has been debated and discussed incessantly. So I would encourage you to read Romans 1:18-32 for yourself. What does the Bible straightforwardly say about it?

Fighting Over Moses' Dead Body?

What is the deal with Moses’ body (Jude 9)?

Jude 9:

But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you." 

What is the dispute about Moses' body? We have to go back to Deuteronomy to get the details surrounding Moses' death.

Deuteronomy 34:5-6 says:

 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD,  and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day. 

Notice from the text: God Himself buried Moses. And apparently in the heavenly/spiritual realm, there was a dispute between Michael the angel and Satan the fallen angel over Moses' body.

God buried Moses so no one knew where his body was. And we know if God wanted it secret, Satan would want to keep Moses' body around publicly. Why would Satan want that? Israel had a tendency to focus on the past, inappropriately. For example, look at Numbers 11:4-6. "Oh, we wish we were slaves again! The food in Egypt was sooooo good! Now we are in the middle of the wilderness, suffering!"

If Moses' body were kept around, I believe 100% Israel would have started worshiping it. Sound crazy? Well, remember the golden calf they worshiped while Moses was on conference with God? They had that tendency. Further, they would have been tempted to be stuck in the past, the "good ol days of Moses" instead of moving on under Joshua like God intended. 

So Satan thought keeping a stumbling block around Israel by keeping Moses' body around would surely get God's people off course. God sent Michael to take care of it, according to Jude 9. And Moses' supernatural burial remained a mystery, to Israel's benefit.