SOUNDLIVING

If God Elects, Why Pray for the Unconverted? The answer to that question is not as direct as I could wish.Several statements bring us to a conclusion: We are commanded, encouraged, and privileged to pray – to make petitions of our God (I Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray continually!” and other verses) We are told that prayer is one of the means God has ordained by which he acts (James 5:16 “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” Somehow God incorporates our prayers into his sovereign working. This is a mystery to me but I know God commands us…

Public Prayer in our Public Worship Dr. Jerry Nelson www.soundliving.org It was over 30 years ago that Gordon MacDonald changed my understanding and practice on the subject of public prayer in worship (“The Cleansing Power of Public Prayer” in Leadership, Winter Quarter, 1987).   Since then I have read a number of books and articles on the subject (see suggested books below) and am more convinced than ever that prayer should have a significant role in our public worship services.  In a previous article, I wrote about the lack of the public reading of Scripture in many evangelical churches, likewise I…

  The Public Reading of the Scriptures in WorshipDr. Jerry Nelsonwww.Soundliving.org What happened to the public reading of God’s Word in Worship? A visit to many “evangelical” churches will confirm how few give serious attention to this biblically mandated part of corporate worship. Maybe some would suggest that in a highly literate culture where most have access to printed Bibles, public reading of the Scriptures is not as necessary. But the real issue is not whether people can read but do they read the Bible. But whether people do read the Bible on their own or not, the Bible illustrates…

Hell: Eternal? Temporary?  Figurative? Dr. Jerry Nelson Does the Bible teach that unbelievers will spend eternity in hell in conscious punishment?  First, let’s get our terminology straight; what do we mean by “hell?” If we mean where unbelievers go after they die, we are correct but not as correct as we might think. Immediately after death, unbelievers (as well as believers) are separated from their bodies (which are dead) and await the resurrection of the body when Christ comes again.  Until the resurrection, the spirits of believers are “with the Lord” which we often refer to as “heaven.” The spirits…