faith – Page 17 – John Markum

4 Things I want to say to The Awakening…

Posted on March 25, 2011 by johnmarkum

I missed you last Saturday! I heard great things about the service, and I know Pastor Dan Cullett, and the band did a great job in my absence. As nice as it was to be away and spent some much needed time with my awesome wife, there’s no place like Edgewood on Saturday nights! We missed getting to worship with you, but can’t wait for this week.
New series this week! Last week, Pastor Dan finished our series, 3 Ways to Lose your Soul. This week we begin a new series called, Where’s my Bailout? dealing with finances from a Biblical perspective. People always act funny when you talk about money in church! But we’re not doing this series because we want something from you, but because we want something for you. Come. Be obedient to what God wants you to do. Be blessed!
Baptisms this week! We have people going public with their faith in Christ this week by baptism. If you are interested in getting baptized (even this Saturday) call or text me at 309-752-3499
Quad Cities’ Easter Experience! This Easter, we are offering 4 different worship services including Saturday, April 23rd at 5pm. If you are looking for a church to attend for Easter we welcome you to join us on Saturday night. If you normally attend our Saturday night service at Edgewood, we encourage you sign up this week to serve on that Saturday for all of the guests we are expecting to join us. We need ushers, greeters, childcare, tech, stage, and more.

Can’t wait to worship with you this Saturday! See our website for more info: www.qcawakening.com

Blessings,

John

“Love Wins” Controversy

Posted on March 10, 2011 by johnmarkum

“I can’t believe in a God that would send someone to a place like Hell.”

“What kind of loving God would send people to Hell?”

“Who gets to decide who gets into Heaven and who has to go to Hell?”

Rob Bell addresses these common questions in his upcoming book, Love Wins, which has already stirred massive controversy by his implications that no one will go to Hell. Below is the video trailer that he himself has released, which is largely responsible for the widespread controversy. I’ll attempt to address the questions he raises as concisely as possible…

“Gandhi’s in Hell? He is?!? And someone knows this for sure?” My Answer: I don’t know. And no human could possibly know for sure.
“Will only a few select people make it to Heaven?” My Answer: As far as the Bible is concerned, yes. Matthew 7:13,14
“And will billions, and billions of people burn forever in Hell?” My Answer: I have no idea how many it will be, but yes, many, many people will go to a real place called Hell. Romans 6:23, Revelation 20:15
“And if that is the case, how do you become one of the few?” My Answer: Turn away from your man-made attempts at pleasing God and pleasing yourself, and give your life to God by placing your faith in Jesus, who lived a sinless life, died as a substitution for humanity, and rose again on the third day proving to be God. John 3:16-19, Romans 3:23-28, Romans 10:9-13
“And then there is the question behind the question. Like: What is God like?” My Answer: This a great question. A loaded question, but a great one. I’ll answer this in a separate blog post this week.
“So what gets subtly caught and taught is that Jesus rescues you from God.” My Answer: Jesus is God. Jesus dying for humanity is God taking upon Himself His own righteous judgment for man’s rebellion. His holiness demands that wickedness be eliminated. His love demands that mankind be pardoned. The cross is the greatest evidence of God’s holiness and love.
“How can that God ever be good?” My Answer: Bell is defining “good” based on getting what we want (Heaven) without the consequences (Hell). The real question would be, “How could a pure, perfect and holy God allow wicked humanity into His heaven?” But to answer the question, God is good in every sense by virtue of His willingness to die for sinful man, allowing us the opportunity to experience both His love and holiness. Romans 5:6-11, 1 John 4:7-12

I sense that we are no where near done talking about this, and that I a likely to hear from many of you in emails and through the comments. I welcome your interaction, but let’s keep it civil, please. More posts WILL follow about these issues…

Blessings,

John