Jesus Was A Listener, He'll Listen To You!

Christ Community Church - Brookside Campus

I have been a Baptist most of my life. I pastored four different Southern Baptist churches and for the most part my theological perspective is Baptist.
However, life is full of change and my wife and I have been blessed to find the Evangelical Free denomination and we recently joined the church in the picture. This church, Christ Community, is located at 67th and Wornall in Kansas City, Missouri. If you are looking for a church with spectacular preaching and amazing music then I encourage you to check them out. We gather this Sunday at 10:00 a.m.
The preaching is usually based on series which take you through a Bible book and we have been studying through the Gospel of John. The recurring theme of John's account of Jesus life is "Jesus the listener". I think this is an aspect of Jesus personality that I had missed for years. Jesus listened to nearly everyone he met. He wasn't pushy with His opinions and was always attentive to "honest inquiry".
Jesus listened to the deeply rreligious but spiritually lost when He had a conversation with Nicodemus in chapter three. He listened to the cast away woman at the well, in chapter four. He listened to the indifferent in chapter five when He dealt with the lame man by the pool of Siloam. He listened with a tender heart to the grieving Martha at a cemetary in chapter 11. He listened to he relativist, Pontius Pilate, in chapter 18. When Jesus listened to people He gained a deeper glimpse into the condition of their heart and He always offered them a solution which was Himself!
I think this sermon series has really spoken to my need to become a better listener. It's hard to minister to folks when all you do is talk. I hope to become a listener like Jesus.
I also came to a conclusion about this blog. I would really like to engage some of you who read these posts by attempting to answer any questions you might have concerning the Bible, Jesus, Heaven, Salvation or any topic at all. My email address is freegracegospel@gmail.com.
Do you have a question?  I would love to chat and potentially give you an answer that might satisfy your curiosity.
I have noticed that a few of my readers are frequent visitors and I am so glad that you return to check out new posts. Thanks for listening to me and I hope to get a chance to listen to you!

President's Executive Order To Chip All Credit Cards Inches Us Closer To The Mark Of The Beast

Pokemon Is Evil But God Is Good!

I often use Yahoo to search various subjects on the internet. One of the features of the Yahoo homepage is a list of "trending now" topics. Today I was amused and disturbed by the fact that Pokemon is back in the news as it was trending at #6. I found this troubling because I do believe and have believed for several years that Pokemon is evil.

I found an interview by Time Magazine with the creator of Pokemon, Satoshi Tajiri, and here is an excerpt of that interview...

Time: What inspired you to start making the Pokémon games?

Tajiri: Well, my parents were Christians. I grew up being taught the ways of that religion. When I got older, I started to realize that the things they said were foolish and I guess I rebelled a little.

Time: How did you rebel?

Tajiri: I started to argue against their teachings. They tried to punish me in various ways to try to get me under control, but it didn’t work. This is when I was inspired by nature and started the basis for the Pokémon games.

Time: Could you explain how your parent’s religion is connected with the games?

Tajiri: Well, when I got old enough, I wanted to do something that would show the world that my parents were wrong. Something I saw in nature was the concept of evolution which my parents vehemently denied existed. This sparked the idea for a game that would go against everything my parents believed in.

Time: This game being Pokémon, correct?

Tajiri: Yes. Pokémon is essentially the correct answer towards life, not Christianity. Everything presented in the game is the opposite of what Christians may believe. Some have said that the game promotes voodoo or magic, and I agree in the sense that there are many things that occur in nature that are unexplainable. Furthermore, the violence in the games is unparalleled. It may not show up in the actual graphics, but the brutality is made especially explicit in the Pokédex entries. Nature, again, played a big role.

Time: So those who say that the game is anti-Christian are correct?

Tajiri: I suppose so. I mean, some could say that the game supports Satanism. I don’t officially celebrate it, but I can understand why people would be attracted to it.

There it is from the horses mouth. Pokemon is "anti-Christian" and from a heart that rebelled against Godly parents. (Source)

Pokemon originates from the concept of POCKEt MONsters or pocket demons. It is a spin off of Asian demon worship and any parent with a thimble full of common sense should be able to look at these characters and see that they are evil and malevolent. 

Sadly, the Bible predicted that in the last days that people would reject virtue and good and would embrace evil. Pokemon is the subject of video games, cartoons, movies, fast food meal toys and a myriad of other exposures. The evil influence on a whole generation of kids is undeniable. 

Jesus said that men love darkness rather than light (Source) Men are drawn to evil like a moth is drawn to a flame and the out come of the moth and the man are the same. 

In these last days men run after the Devil and run away from the Lord Jesus. As the world continues to come unraveled there is a dire need for some good news and that good news is that there is a Savior who paid the price for our sins and offers us eternal life as a gift. 

This past week I rediscovered one of the greatest gospel tracts ever written, God's Simple Plan Of Salvation. This marvelous little message can be read in about 7 minutes and has been read by nearly 700 million people worldwide. 

Are you SAVED? Would you like to be SAVED? If you are tired of running after the evil inventions of man and are thirsty for the goodness of God then I urge you to read GOD'S SIMPLE PLAN OF SALVATION!