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Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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On Grace and Mercy Combined

Posted on April 15, 2016 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

Grace and Mercy

If we are honest, the fact that we are not moral train wrecks has more to do with God’s grace than our ability to live out the Christian life. So why not extend that same grace to others?

Grace combined with even a modicum of mercy will have a powerful effect.

Filed Under: Quotation Tagged With: Grace, Jerram Barrs, mercy, sinners

What if we followed Jesus’ example?

Posted on March 29, 2016 Written by Mark McIntyre 1 Comment

Question

In reading through the Gospels, I am reminded that it is possible to take a strong stand against sin while honoring and loving those who participate in it. A paragraph that I read in Learning Evangelism from Jesus captures this thought well: “But Jesus was a different kind of holy man and teacher. We have […]

Filed Under: Quotation Tagged With: comfort, Grace, sinner, world

Ashley Madison and Matthew 5

Posted on September 13, 2015 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

Some have expressed surprise and dismay that Christian leaders have been found to have their names on the list. But I don’t think that we should be surprised. The church is not filled with people who have it all together. We know this because they let us in and we do not have it all together. Whether our failures are obvious to others or not, we all fail.

Filed Under: Bible Reflection Tagged With: adultery, Ashley Madison, Gospel, Grace, stone

Intentional about Grace

Posted on February 28, 2015 Written by Mark McIntyre 2 Comments

Intentional

The Church of Jesus Christ should be the most gracious place on the planet but often it is not. If we are not consistently preaching the Gospel, if we are not reinforcing our need for a savior, if we are not intentional about living under grace, then we will become what the world thinks we are.

Filed Under: Church Leadership Tagged With: Gospel, Grace, intentional

Tim Keller on Freedom

Posted on April 12, 2014 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

“Luther preached that there was nothing more important for a person than to see that he or she could contribute nothing whatsoever to one’s own salvation. We can be fully accepted and counted legally righteous in God’s sight through faith in Christ, solely by free grace. To understand and grasp this is to finally know […]

Filed Under: Quotation Tagged With: freedom, Grace, pain, suffering, Tim Keller

Selective grace in the church

Posted on May 22, 2013 Written by Mark McIntyre 24 Comments

We all want grace, but sometimes struggle to give it when it is most needed. We are in constant danger of offering selective grace by offering it to some and withholding it from others.

Filed Under: Bible Reflection Tagged With: Church, freedom, Grace, selective

5 Marks of a grace based church

Posted on March 15, 2013 Written by Mark McIntyre 7 Comments

Grace

In responding to the question, “how can you identify a grace based church?” I came up with 5 identifying marks of such a church. See if you agree with these and add your own in the comments section.

Filed Under: Church Leadership Tagged With: chruch, community, Grace

Branded by Grace: a reaction to Les Miserables

Posted on January 4, 2013 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

Jean Valjean

In the recently released movie, Les Misérables, two characters were touched by Grace and were not the same as a result. It was almost as though God put a brand upon them. They were branded by Grace.

Filed Under: Christianity and Culture Tagged With: branding, Grace, Javert, Jean Valjean, Les Misérables, movie

Grace and sovereignty

Posted on September 1, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 1 Comment

God's sovereignty over the world

To avoid stress and burnout in pursuit of our calling, we must rely on the sovereignty of God. We cannot do it all, but we must do what God calls us to do.

Filed Under: Bible Reflection, Church Leadership Tagged With: globe, Gospel, Grace, sovereignty

Attempts at Honesty at FaithVillage

Posted on June 4, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 1 Comment

Attempts at Honesty has had two posts published at FaithVilage.com. Check out these posts and the other resources at this up-and-coming site.

Filed Under: Bible Reflection, Blog Referral, Blogging Tagged With: Bible, Christian, Christianity, God, Grace, honesty, Religion and Spirituality, theology

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Easter

An Easter Meditation for 2016

If ever I felt the need to appreciate and appropriate the meaning and the power of The Resurrection, it is today. I thought that perhaps you would also benefit from this meditation as we consider the empty tomb.

God knows what He’s about . . .

Events of recent days reminded me of this anonymous poem. I originally heard Ravi Zacharias read it in a sermon and called RZIM to get the text. When God wants to drill a man, and thrill a man, and skill a man; When God wants to mold a man to play the noblest part; When […]

London Fog

An Easter Meditation inspired by Counting Crows

Our culture has thrown off the bonds of religion in an effort to find freedom. We have broken through the walls of tradition and cultural restraint to find new sources to satisfy our soul hunger. Yet, it seems that many are not finding that satisfaction. Consider this snippet of lyrics from the song “Mr. Jones” by Counting Crows . . .

right

Being right or being loving . . .

It seems to me that if we are forced to make a choice between being right (winning the argument) and being loving, we should always chose the latter. Unfortunately, this has not always been the case with the Christian Church.

Question 13

Did our first parents remain as they were created?

Every good story has some tension or a struggle in the plot followed by a happy ending. The story of the people of God is no exception. I will repeat the summary of the Bible that I quoted in my post about Question 12, “God made it, we broke it and Jesus came to fix it.

On those who have walked away

Honesty demands that we admit our struggles to work out our faith. Real faith is at times a gritty mess and we all face difficult times. My experience is that God remains faithful even when we are faithless, as Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 2:13. Feeling doubt and even expressing doubt does not automatically disqualify someone from being relationship with God.

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