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Posts by Sam Martin

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Pastor

pastor-shepherd

Christians have become “experts” in their theological preferences and before long, many have fallen into the temptation of elevating their ideas to that of their leadership....

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Free Agent

free-agent

If every Christian made it their personal goal to have a meaningful effect in one church, we would have many strong churches instead of many…...

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House of Mirrors

house-mirrors

I remember going into a house of mirrors at a carnival when I was in high school and what caught my eye most was how I could see......

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Gold-digger Christianity

gold-digger

The term “gold-digger” summons a certain caricature of a human that most find revolting. Typically, it conjures up an image of a trophy wife who cares for a man three times her age for reasons…...

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Make Spanking Great Again

spanking-child

There is a topic that I have been meaning to address lately and it is one that will no doubt be in conflict with the ways of the world. When it comes to spanking your children…...

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Cross

It's Good Friday. It's a day that is dedicated to remember the death of Jesus upon the cross. But why do Christians choose to remember a moment that seems so dark?...

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Children’s Ministry and a Rotting Cow

parent-teaching-child

Parents, teaching the Word to our children is our responsibility. Let’s take that on for the glory of God!...

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Interpreting the Bible with Confidence

interpreting

It does not take a theology degree or a special anointing to understand the Bible. It only takes a person who is willing to commit to the work of understanding a passage based on context. Context of the verses that precede, context of the book itself, and context of the historical relevance. These can all be observed from the Bible itself. With these tools, any preacher ca...

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Why Are You Just Standing There!?

know a guy here in St. George with an LDS upbringing (not uncommon) who asked “so what exactly does someone have to do to be saved and Christian and stuff?” Knowing his background, I understood why he was asking. After all, when the whole “plan” is laid out in front......

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If You Give a Muslim a Cookie

offer_a_cookie

I asked, "What made an impression?" He said, "I was the kindest Christian he had ever met and that in Islam, making friends with Allah’s enemies was forbidden."...

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Tried and True

tried_true

If you’ve placed your faith in the Gospel for the remission of your sin, not only should you sink that faith deep into the hardship you will encounter, you should utterly enjoy the activity!...

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Fragments

fragments

When it comes to the topic of the reliability of the Bible, there is a popular objection to the notion that the Bible we have today is the same Bible it has always been....

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Understanding and Untwisting the Mormon Interpretation of Baptism

mormon_baptism

When conversing with Mormon missionaries, the subject of proxy baptism (baptism for the dead) may arise. In summary,…...

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The Church is a Garden…Dig It!

church_garden_dig_it

When Paul wrote is second letter to Timothy, in summary, he instructed him in chapter 2 to be energized by grace and to transfer the things…...

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What Now?

love_god_2

We’re here to show people who God is and the means to that end is in sharing the Gospel and living the life God intends us to live....

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A Match Made in Heaven to Rescue People from Hell

sgcc_building

God gave two churches more than they could have ever asked or imagined. “But as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1Cor. 2:9). Now this Church would be a beacon for the Gospel encouraged by the glory of God....

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An Election of Truth

election-truth

We are unwilling to let darkness infiltrate the laws of a Nation that God has so graciously allowed us to be a part of...

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Offended

offended

We live in a world where being “offended” is a common emotional experience. For believers, being “offended” is not an emotion....

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Brothers, We’re Not Doctors Either

authority-not-docs

The last seven months have been insightful when it comes to the philosophy of our responsibility as Pastors....

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What’s wrong with America?

america

Our nation doesn’t have to get worse. God may still shed his grace upon our land and heal us in response to our repentance....

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Is Sin From Nature or Nurture?

nature_vs_nurture

Why do people do bad things? This is an important question because knowing the crux of any problem will help us to resolve it....

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Laodicea

laodicea

Our pride is the pretty wrapping paper that conceals what we really are when what we really need is to repent!...

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Seminary, Check…Now What?

seminary_toolbelt

When you come out of seminary, you are not a Paul; you are not a Timothy. You need to leave seminary in pursuit of a Timothy!...

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The Arithmetic of Grace

math

As believers our mission is to make the gospel clear so I wanted to share an easy way to distinguish how we believe works work....

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Pandering

pandering

In a time when our nation is finding excuses to pull itself apart, there has never been a better time for God’s Word to be preached, but instead of preaching, Pastors are pandering to the masses....

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Risk Factors of Going Back to Church

risk_blog

I think I speak for most when I say that the subject of COVID19 is getting a little tired. The guys in the Barbershop are all saying the same thing....

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Trump Endorses Terrorist in the Rose Garden

pillow_terrorist

God bless you Mike Lindell! Thank you for exemplifying what Faith-driven work looks like and calling our Nation to simply read God’s Word!...

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Coronagospel

corona_gospel

My Wife was just at the store where they once sold hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and hand soap. The coronavirus has everyone in my town frantically staking their claim on all the things someone would need for a long stay underground....

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…as long as it’s translated correctly.

interpretation

The Bible isn’t interpreted in the direction of my world-view. It must be interpreted from the direction of a Biblical world-view. The more Bible we know, the more defined our understanding becomes....

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Mommy, Where Do Pastors Come From?

where_pastors_come_from

If you think Pastors should come from Seminaries, then I think babies should come from the stork. The Church that must hire a Pastor from outside of her ministry is not a healthy Church....

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Happy

happy

When I was in the Navy, I had a particular day that had me pretty upset. We had just been underway on a small deployment; I was working long hours and every 4th day...

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Money, Money, Money

money-money-money

The cause of ruin is not the ability to make money; rather it is the worship of money that derails someone who should be worshipping God....

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Confidence

confidence

Sometimes when you are introduced to a small child you can spot whether they are an introvert or an extrovert....

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The Atheist

atheist

Atheism is an aggressive worldview. Unlike its passive cousin Agnosticism, which is a commitment to believe that God cannot be known, Atheism goes further than rejecting the Christian God by claiming there is absolutely no God whatsoever. People who adhere to the Atheistic worldview call themselves atheists....

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The Gospel Is Not Appealing

appeal_compel

People sometimes go on the hunt for a religion. I have met many people who have and are on that search. A few of them have never been a part of any religions, most of them have....

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What’s in a name?

name_img

The core of the Gospel, its foundation, and its power is the person of Jesus Christ....

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Hell

hell

The difference between the saved sinner and the condemned one is not the amount of their sin, but whether they believe in who Christ is (John 3:18)....

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Children Obey

children_obey

We have all seen “that kid”. You know the one. He’s in the middle of Walmart screaming at his Mom and hitting her with all his rage because she’s not bending to his will to buy him something or throwing a fit for whatever reason....

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Dung Salad

dung_salad

False doctrine doesn’t state anything wrong; it states right things the wrong way....

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Mind Blowing God

mind_blown

One of the exciting things about serving God is how he often takes us into situations where it seems there is no way out of a problem. When all our senses seem to tell us that God has clearly left us alone, that he has forgotten us, or that we must have strayed off his plan somewhere, just when it seems absolutely hopeless, God blows our minds!...

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Freedom from Sin

love_god

Overcoming the action of sin by experiencing the joy of God....

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The Love of God

God’s love is great because of the distance it goes to redeem the unredeemable. Romans 5:7-8 puts it down for what it is. God’s love is great because it is unconditional. God took on flesh, lived among us, healed the sick and the cripple and the blind, performed wonders that authenticate his deity then took the penalty for our sins on the cross. He took the blame. He t...

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The Recipe For Joy

die_is_gain_joy

Living your life for the glory of Christ will come with the anticipation of finally seeing Him face to face! To live for Christ means death is only something you can anticipate. To live for the world means death is only something you can dread. Joy from the world is a fantasy. Joy from the joy giver is reality....

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LOVE

In the world, love is often described as a very good thing that people feel and use as motivation for commitment. But their love is limited. God's love is boundless. ...

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Two Ships

I live in a culture where most people already have a set of beliefs that they are eager to defend. They are entrenched. They have dug in and they aren't giving an inch. I believe the Lord has given me a format to share the Gospel that has been the most effective way to help them to consider the Christian world-view. I hope this helps you to be a better communicator of the ...

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Holy War

Have you ever heard "religion is the cause for so much violence, isn't religion the problem?". If you've shared the Gospel at least 3 times in your life, you probably have. So is religion the problem? ...

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Pharisee

The Pharisee seems like an easy target. But don't be fooled. The Pharisee is still alive and well and if you're not careful, you may be more influenced by one than you realize....

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Ministry Burn-out

Another announcement for the need for Sunday School teacher!? Someone needs to step up! Not me though, I do stuff, plus I'm busy and Sundays are the days I rest... As Wade would say: "wrrroong hoss!" ...

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Open Minded

Being open minded is the most appreciated state of mind in our culture. It has the veneer of humility and acceptance. What happens when an "open mind" comes in contact with the Gospel?...

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No God Like Experience

Have you ever tried to share the hope of Jesus Christ with someone and you can't get past their "real life experiences" that have led them to believe what they do? The more you try to share the Biblical truth, the more tightly they cling to their experience. ...

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How do ya like them apples?

Should we be training our disciples up in theology before we can trust them to understand the Bible? No. In fact, giving them a theology before they are trusted to understand the Bible does more damage than you might think. It's unnatural, unwise and comes up short compared to the effectiveness of a disciple who knows his theology because he knows his Bible, not the other ...

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I've got good news and bad news.

Being indifferent to the Gospel of Jesus Christ is troubling. It can really only be because there is a lack of belief in the condition that demands the necessity for the Gospel. In other words, the cross is only attractive to people who know they need the cross. So why don't people think they need Jesus?...

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"Just give him his iPad!"

FullSizeRender

In today's culture, technology is an ever-present reality. Kids have lots of choices when it comes to what the world has to offer, but does that mean they should have all that the world has to offer? 1 Corinthians 6:12 helps shed some light on this question. ...

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Why Jesus?

"Like, I've looked into all the religions, and none of them really appeal to me, like, all religions are basically the same and Jesus basically just taught us to love each other." It's statements like these that just cause me to stare blankly at the person saying them, but we can do better....

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Breaking Down Walls

"I'm just not gifted like that" is Christianese for one of two things. It either means "I'm not there yet, but I'm learning" or it means "I'm a selfish person who refuses to be obedient". No gifting ever got this excuse more than the gift of evangelism. ...

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Where have all the Prophets gone?

Prophets played a vital role in God's plan for his people. They were his spokesmen. When his people strayed, the prophets were commissioned to beckon them back. In the New Covenant of Christ's blood, the role of Prophet seems to disappear. But when we examine the life of a Spirit-filled believer named Stephen, we can see why their role is now obsolete....

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Hold my Walkman

There's a popular phrase that needs some fine tuning. A phrase that once resonated to a culture that needed it has lost its luster. I mean who hasn't heard the phrase "personal relationship with Jesus Christ"? ...

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Bold

When you ask what should be most important to Christians, an easy answer that will get the most gold stars is "glorifying Jesus". But what does it mean to glorify Jesus? A better way to say it might be "to make Jesus matter to people". The Church (you and me) is in the business of making Jesus matter. Let's consider how...

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Bla Bla Bla

The Bible is translated in English so that we can easily understand it. But, we cannot expect that the concepts or even some of the terms it uses will be understood by someone who wasn't raised with it. More and more, America's generations are becoming those people. We have to change how we communicate. ...

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Does your church have Apostles?

There are large organizations calling themselves the true church of Jesus Christ. The main reason they insist that they are the true church is because they lay claim to apostolic succession. In other words, they believe the first Apostles have passed their office and authority down to replacements and their church still retains these individuals today. But is there Biblica...

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Church Outreach?

Bouncy castles, cotton candy machines, fun music; is it a carnival? O lots of kids playing, must be a festival. Nope, it's a Church outreach. Rats! Those Christians got me again! I should've known something was up when I noticed the guy in his mid-twenties in skinny jeans playing with all the teenagers! He had Youth Pastor written all over him!...

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What is Truth? (2)

When you’re not sure if a chair is structurally sound, you don’t sit in it to see if it is. You press on it. You might shake it a little. Even when you sit down on the chair, you’re going to ease on to it with caution. How do we press on the Bible? How do shake it up? How do we ease in?...

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What is Truth? (1)

Truth is a statement that agrees with reality. This means that we can know something to be true by simply comparing it to reality. When people mature into independent thinkers, they sometimes have the boldness to take things they have assumed to be true and sought to find if they agree with reality. When some truth-claims turn out to be false, it can cause a real crisis. B...

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Meet Clark

The identity of Jesus demands a response. Your response reveals the person you believe him to be. ...

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What Should Church Be About?

Organizations bearing a specific title ought to have a function that matches it. So what should an organization called the Church of Jesus Christ be about? A brief look at Matthew 28:18-20 is our answer....

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How could a loving God send people to hell?

The objection to the doctrine that Jesus sends people to hell is one we can naturally relate to. If there is one doctrine that people cannot tolerate about Biblical Christianity, it is that it clearly teaches people that God sends individuals to a hot hell for all eternity. The question itself seems to settle the issue. It insinuates that it is illogical to believe both. E...

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Not the Same

As a Christian, I have a lot of LDS friends who want to insist that we worship the same God. It isn’t asserted right away, but it doesn’t take long in a theological discussion for this statement to come out. It’s like when you’re playing streetfighter with your friend......

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Ready Aim Fire

Webster's definition of trajectory is "the path followed by a projectile flying or an object moving under the action of given forces". I like to use this word to describe what Jesus meant by being "the way" in John 14. There are three things necessary to give something trajectory. Ready, aim, and fire. When it comes to the trajectory of the Christian life, Jesus also gav...

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The Hamster Wheel

At dinner the other night, my Friend Mike was showing us some good ole YouTube videos of hamsters wiping out on hamster wheels. The funny thing about hamsters is that no one really trains them on how to use these contraptions. If there's another hamster there to demon......

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Jesus Only Takes Black Sheep

One of the remarkable things about the ministry of Jesus; so remarkable that the “good” teachers in Israel couldn’t wrap their minds around its' seeming absurdity, was to whom he came to minister to. When we read passages like Isaiah 6, when Isaiah gets a vision of God......

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Why Mine Is Better

If you haven’t read my first post entitled “Not the Same”, reading it will give a little better context for this post. If you have read it, we have either agreed that we (Evangelicals and Mormons) do not worship the same God or you’re just curious to see how deep the r......

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Don't settle for less

Nothing compares to real Christianity. Despite that, sinful men will always try to offer substitutes to line their own pockets and egos. What we offer is truth and if you're currently in a religious system that keeps you giving with no end in sight, than this truth can set you free....

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The Good the Bad and the Ugly

There are three types of people in this world when it comes to what we believe about God. This post is here for you to consider which category you fall into: The Good, the Bad or the Ugly....

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The Big Picture

God gave us the Bible so that we would have perspective. With proper perspective we are made aware of things that have been, things that are, and things that will come to pass. So what has God done, what is he doing, and what is he going to do? ...

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