Resources by Topic: Doctrine and Theology

I believe in divine election as taught in Scripture. The "elect” are referred to in ten or so passages and the “chosen” in many others. Col 3:12 calls us “God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved.”

Freewill offerings were commonplace in the Old Testament era. The three tithes were never the ceiling of giving, merely the floor. 

Service is a reward, not a punishment. This idea is foreign to people who dislike their work and only put up with it until retirement. We think that faithful work should be rewarded by a vacation for the rest of our lives. But God offers us something very different: more work, more responsibilities, increased opportunities, along with greater abilities, resources, wisdom, and empowerment. 

And among those that translate word for word, the ESV is more literary and readable; the NASB is not quite as good English, but still accurate as a word for word translation. A person reading a passage looking for key terms that repeat, then a NASB would be better. If you are trying to understand the passage as a whole, then the ESV is better.

I think you should do what you can to get accurate apologetic information to your pastor that shows the Bible's reliability. 

How do you sense the leading of the Holy Spirit? Is it through reading Scripture, a Scripture that comes to mind, or an idea that won’t go away?

Your lack of feeling in relationship to the Lord could be related to some damaged emotions somewhere in your past. It is helpful to evaluate this area (not to cast blame, but to gain an understanding and add insight into why you may be experiencing what you are. 

(Inspired by Deadline by Randy Alcorn, page 338+) Doc Aloud:    Hello?! Heelllooo... Doc Voice:    Where is everybody? Where am I?                    (checks out hands and arms as though they are completely new)

Some recommended by Randy Alcorn theology books.

The biblical evidence is substantial for both the Arminian and Calvinist positions. John Wesley and Charles Finney were great men of God who took the Arminian position. John Calvin and Charles Spurgeon were great men of God who took the Calvinist position. It is not stupid or immoral or faithless to take either position.

When we die we go to be with Christ (II Cor. 5:8) which is wonderful. But we are still incomplete, in a pre-resurrected state, anticipating Christ’s return to earth, and our resurrections. The place we’ll live forever will be where God comes down to dwell with us, on the New Earth (Revelation 21:1-3).

Knowing God's voice, I think, comes mostly from abiding in Christ, as in John 15. Part of that, but not all of it, is His Word abiding in us.

There is little we can do about the sins others do to us, other than forgive them. There is much we can do about our sins against God and others—confess and repent and embrace the forgiveness of God and call on his power to live differently.

Conservatism is popular among American evangelicals. In the moral realm that encourages me. In the political realm, I have mixed feelings.