Should a Christian attend a same-sex wedding? | Guy Hammond

Addiction: Understanding the Brain and Neuroplasticity | Marcus De Carvalho, M.D

Click here to read the full article at RENEW.org: https://renew.org/addiction-understanding-the-brain-and-neuroplasticity/ [https://renew.org/addiction-understanding-the-brain-and-neuroplasticity/]  This is an audio version of a written Article from RENEW.org * Check out other great articles on RENEW.org here: https://renew.org/articles/ [https://renew.org/articles/] What is our answer as Christians to the problem of addiction? Before I even attempt to provide an answer, I find it very helpful to start with providing a solid understanding of what happens in the brain of an addicted person. As human beings, we experience pleasure from what keeps us alive: we eat a meal and feel good; we sleep and feel good; we work out and feel a rush of goodness. We are rewarded in our bodies, so we continue certain behaviors, which is how God designed our bodies to work. He understood that we needed rewards to complete behaviors and achieve goals. Listen for more... Join RENEW.org's Newsletter: https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/ [https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/] Join RENEW.org at one of our upcoming events: https://renew.org/resources/events/ [https://renew.org/resources/events/] Get the RENEW.org App -- https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/ [https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/]  Be sure to like, subscribe and follow on social media!  You can find us on: Instagram: @the.renew.network  Facebook: Renew.org  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork [https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork] Twitter: @therenewnetwork TikTok: the.renew.network  Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/RENEW [https://rumble.com/c/RENEW]

Summary of Romans: Understanding the Basics of Romans in the Bible | John Whittaker

Click here to read the full article at RENEW.org: https://renew.org/summary-of-romans/ [https://renew.org/summary-of-romans/]  This is an audio version of a written Article from RENEW.org * Check out other great articles on RENEW.org here: https://renew.org/articles/ [https://renew.org/articles/] Here is a short summary of Romans: Paul wrote Romans at the end of his third missionary journey to establish the church in Rome in apostolic teaching so they could be a launchpad for his ministry further west. He had also been made aware of the disunity among the churches in Rome, so he wrote to ground the Roman Christians in the gospel’s teaching that all people are justified by faith in Christ and thus there is one people of God composed of believing Jews and Gentiles who walk by the Spirit. Therefore they must welcome one another and glorify God together. Listen for more... Join RENEW.org's Newsletter: https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/ [https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/] Join RENEW.org at one of our upcoming events: https://renew.org/resources/events/ [https://renew.org/resources/events/] Get the RENEW.org App -- https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/ [https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/]  Be sure to like, subscribe and follow on social media!  You can find us on: Instagram: @the.renew.network  Facebook: Renew.org  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork [https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork] Twitter: @therenewnetwork TikTok: the.renew.network  Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/RENEW [https://rumble.com/c/RENEW]

Church Elders & Spiritual Warfare | Jared Johnson

Click here to read the full article at RENEW.org: https://renew.org/church-elders-spiritual-warfare/ [https://renew.org/church-elders-spiritual-warfare/]  This is an audio version of a written Article from RENEW.org * Check out other great articles on RENEW.org here: https://renew.org/articles/ [https://renew.org/articles/] Spiritual warfare is real. As Resources Director for e2 effective elders, I get to help field questions from church elders. Besides “where do we find new elders” and “what’s elder governance,” an increasingly common question posed to us goes something like the following: Someone in the church has asked us to come pray over her new house and her kids as they start this new chapter in their lives. She’s fairly new to our church, but she also told us when she asked for prayer that she and her daughters are mediums—and not at all positively! She sounded defeated when she said it, like they don’t want to be mediums and see spirits, but they do. Scratches sometimes appeared on the walls of their previous home, they would find things out-of-place from where they’d been left, and lights would inexplicably flicker. How do we pray for her? Spiritual warfare is real and elders are front-line shock troops. Elder governance, one of e2’s primary coaching topics with churches literally around the world, is structured around “5 P’s.” Those 5 P’s are: Prayer, Preaching, Policies, Pastoral Care, and Protection. This article is all about protection (and in a broader sense, prayer and pastoral care). Listen for more... Join RENEW.org's Newsletter: https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/ [https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/] Join RENEW.org at one of our upcoming events: https://renew.org/resources/events/ [https://renew.org/resources/events/] Get the RENEW.org App -- https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/ [https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/]  Be sure to like, subscribe and follow on social media!  You can find us on: Instagram: @the.renew.network  Facebook: Renew.org  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork [https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork] Twitter: @therenewnetwork TikTok: the.renew.network  Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/RENEW [https://rumble.com/c/RENEW]

Making Disciples in My Circles of Concern | Ralph Moore

Click here to read the full article at RENEW.org: https://renew.org/making-disciples-in-my-circles-of-concern/ [https://renew.org/making-disciples-in-my-circles-of-concern/]  This is an audio version of a written Article from RENEW.org * Check out other great articles on RENEW.org here: https://renew.org/articles/ [https://renew.org/articles/] If we plan on discipling people into a relationship with Christ, it is probably best that we look first at people nearby. I like to identify people in terms of circles of concern. These may be concentric circles in that you are closer to certain people than others. But they may be more sporadic than concentric in that you are probably quite close to a few people in widely varying areas of your life. These are multiple circles of concern. Here’s an idea for us to consider. Have you heard how lifesaving stations worked prior to the development of lighthouses? It’s an interesting history. Certain treacherous stretches of coastline took many lives until someone came up with the concept of a lifesaving station. A lifesaving station consisted of a few volunteers and a boat. These volunteers made it their business to rescue sailors whenever a storm would drive a ship onto the rocks near their homes. They operated somewhat like a volunteer fire department. They didn’t concern themselves with the whole ocean, only those struggling nearby. You might have called their territory a circle of concern. Though fire towers and, eventually, lighthouses replaced life-saving stations, I believe the concept still retains merit for the Church. Listen for more... Join RENEW.org's Newsletter: https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/ [https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/] Join RENEW.org at one of our upcoming events: https://renew.org/resources/events/ [https://renew.org/resources/events/] Get the RENEW.org App -- https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/ [https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/]  Be sure to like, subscribe and follow on social media!  You can find us on: Instagram: @the.renew.network  Facebook: Renew.org  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork [https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork] Twitter: @therenewnetwork TikTok: the.renew.network  Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/RENEW [https://rumble.com/c/RENEW]

Review of Andrew Rillera’s ‘Lamb of the Free’ | John Whittaker

Click here to read the full article at RENEW.org: https://renew.org/review-of-andrew-rilleras-lamb-of-the-free/ [https://renew.org/review-of-andrew-rilleras-lamb-of-the-free/]  This is an audio version of a written Article from RENEW.org * Check out other great articles on RENEW.org here: https://renew.org/articles/ [https://renew.org/articles/] The aim of Lamb of the Free (Cascade Books, 2024) is to argue against penal substitutionary atonement (PSA). This shouldn’t surprise anyone. It has become in vogue to question or to dismiss PSA, even to the point of labeling it divine child abuse. It’s true, there have been poor formulations of PSA, but the basic idea is that in his death, Jesus bore the penalty for our sins. That’s a pretty basic and fundamental understanding of one of the atoning purposes of Jesus’ death. In fact, nothing is more central to the Christian faith than the atonement which is why evaluating this book is so important. What’s more, this book has attracted all sorts of attention, especially online among YouTubers and podcasters. In fact, just last year John Mark Comer created quite a stir when, to be provocative on his Instagram, he raised the question if this book was the final blow against penal substitutionary atonement. The reaction Comer received was so great that he had to issue a restatement and clarification on his Instagram. You can find a number of mostly positive reviews of Lamb of the Free on YouTube. Spoiler alert: I have been spending a lot of time in the books of Exodus and Leviticus for recording the latest episodes for The Listeners Commentary. As a result, I found the reading of this book combined with the number of glowing popular reviews of it online to be a frustrating and head-scratching experience. The book makes a number of errors that seem so obvious that I find it hard to understand how those errors can be missed or ignored. Listen for more... Join RENEW.org's Newsletter: https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/ [https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/] Join RENEW.org at one of our upcoming events: https://renew.org/resources/events/ [https://renew.org/resources/events/] Get the RENEW.org App -- https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/ [https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/]  Be sure to like, subscribe and follow on social media!  You can find us on: Instagram: @the.renew.network  Facebook: Renew.org  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork [https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork] Twitter: @therenewnetwork TikTok: the.renew.network  Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/RENEW [https://rumble.com/c/RENEW]