This week at The Tute...

(You see, I usually start my entry with that saying…. so instead, I titled my post as such.)

Kerby Anderson came and spoke on Apologetics. We learned about religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Mormonism, and Islam. Here are some key points that I learned about each of these…

Hinduism: 3rd largest religion in the world, has many gods and goddesses, incarnations, idol worship, nature worship, spirit worship, sacrifices and offerings


Buddhism: 4th largest religion in the world, suffering is universal. The cause of suffering is desire and attachment. Suffering will cease when desire ceases. The path to cessation of suffering is: The Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path consist of Right Views, Right Resolve, Right Speech, Right Conduct, Right Occupation, Right Effort, Right Contemplation, and Right Meditation.


Mormonism: There is no qualitative distinction between God and us. We are all the same (God the Father, Jesus, angels, human beings). Intelligences→ spirits→ incarnations→ gods. Mormonism teaches the eternal progression of gods. Jesus becomes a savior and a god. Humans can become gods and rule planets.

Islam: 2nd largest religion in the world, they deny the trinity, deny incarnation, and deny the crucifixion. Muslims teach the though Adam and Eve sinned, God forgave them. They don’t believe in our sin nature. Instead we have the ability to save ourselves through obedience and submission to Allah.

Through all of these religions, I think what hit home the most was the fact that Christianity is the only religion with a loving and person God. Wow! That's crazy.

Information obtained from:

Anderson, K. (19 November 2013 – 22 November 2013). Apologetics. Kanakuk Institute. Branson, Mo.

Evangelism

This week, we had the privilege of hearing Matt Chandler speak to us for 3 days! He spoke on sharing the gospel and the key points to getting this message across. He started his lecture off with this saying, "God-Man-Christ-Response." Through these 4 points, we learned many things. First off, God. He said that you have to start with God; we will never understand the complete sinfulness of man without understanding the greatness of God. Man-by our nature, we are drawn to the creation (stuff) and not the creator. God allows us to go ahead and chase that, in hopes that we will realize that we need Him when we crash. Christ - He was without sin, and he is unlike anyone we have ever known. His death wasn't to show us a model of sacrifice, but it showed the value in the sacrifice. Response - No one can not do nothing with the gospel, you either love it or you hate it.
There were three main points that I learned about salvation from Matt Chandler. 1.) God didn't send His son to die for me. God is for God. 2.) Through God, I can enjoy life. Nothing brings God more glory than me enjoying life. 3.) God made relationships between man and women to represent His longing to have a relationship with me. Right there, #3, blows my mind. God WANTS to be with me. God LOVES me.

Marriage and Relationships

     This week, at The Tute, we learned about marriage and relationships. Interesting. Considering I'm involved in neither at the time, I thought this week would be boring… on the contrary. Some of the things I learned are… 1.) If you pollute your brain, you pollute your heart. This applies to EVERYTHING. Anything you see or do or say - goes into your brain, and thus polluting your heart (voluntarily and involuntarily). 2.) I want my spouse to be proficient in the Bible, and amazing in ministry. Having learned an immense amount of knowledge already in my time here, I find my heart wanting someone of equal proficiency.  3.) And finally, ask permission to address conflict, or at least be invited into the situation. I shouldn't fear bringing things up, but I should also make sure that the other party is ready to discuss these things.
     With this being said, I have come up with three goals that I want to implement in my future marriage. 1.) When my spouse is speaking, I want them to have the spotlight. Whether I am in the middle of something and need to stop, or if they are speaking, I want to make sure that I am not interrupting.  2.) I learned that, for men, sex starts with the eyes. I want to make sure that my husband is always looking at me, implementing this by "whatever means necessary." 3.) And I want to use sex as a means of multiplying, pleasuring, and protection. Genesis 1:28, Proverbs 5: 18 & 19, and 1 Corinthians 7:2 - 5.

Homosexuality (Tim Keller)

This week, the topic is homosexuality… What we think, what God thinks, what the world thinks.
The best way to say it…. hit it, TK!