Standing on the threshold of the Promised Land, the Israelites backed away from all God had for them, not because the people were too big but because of how they saw themselves in light of the people there.
Pleasing God is the only ambition that will last beyond this lifetime; faith is the first step toward pleasing God, which is the first of eight "spiritual essentials" (core aspects of the Christian faith) Ken Boa is discussing with his Friday morning men's study at First Redeemer Church (Cumming, GA).
Published in 1952, C.S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity" came out of a series of BBC radio talks during the Second World War. The book makes the case for Christianity, seeks to delineate those beliefs common to all Christians, and discusses matters related to Christian behavior/morality.
Over the years, Ken Boa has taught and helpfully summarized a number of works from classic literature. This series introduces several of 16 important works.
In addition to tracing the lineage from Noah's son Shem to Abram, this chapter tells the story of the Tower of Babel, an act of rebellion against God. Ken Boa discusses modern technology, today's "universal language," in the context of this passage and Scriptures about the end times.
Tozer said, "The days of the years of our lives are few, and swifter than a weaver’s shuttle." Ken Boa closes this series on time with some practical tips for seeing and spending our time on earth with an eternal perspective.
God put a longing for eternity in our hearts; when we die, time will continue forever, in a way only God can see fully, with qualitative differences from our current experience of time. The process of aging will cease, and time will no longer constrain us or drag us down.
Unlike the circular/cyclical view of time taken by the ancient Greeks and today by Hindus, biblical time is linear, centered around the resurrection of Jesus Christ and building to the final climax in history when He returns again.
Imitating Christ's own example, our lives should have an inside-out order, with devotion to Christ (solitude) flowing into devotion to community and devotion to the gospel (ministry).
Ken Boa kicks off his new Friday morning men's study at First Redeemer Church in Cumming (north of Atlanta), called "Momentum." The first teaching series is on "8 Spiritual Essentials" and includes table discussion and interaction between Ken and the audience.