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A Prayer for Vegas

Esther Shemeth
In the aftermath of the terrible events at Las Vegas this past week, calls rang out across America to pray for Vegas. As Pentecostals we believe in the transformative power of prayer. However, in times like these it is often difficult to put into words the full extent of what we are feeling or want to say. This is made especially difficult when there are issues requiring prayer and attention that have been plaguing our society for months now. We here at ECCLĒSIAM want to help you find your voice. The following prayer is inspired by the Prayer of St. Francis and reflects the situations which we find ourselves in today. We ask that you pray this prayer with us, meditating on its words and finding ways in which we can all put it into action.... Read More...
1 min read

Faith in the Storm

Alan Ehler
Florida is facing the strongest storm ever recorded over the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricane Irma has already devastated the small island of Barbuda and wreaked havoc on several other islands. Now, this monster is headed right toward us. Hundreds of thousands are evacuating. Others are looking for shelter locally. Many of us in Florida are taking careful steps to ensure our homes survive. How can we, as people of faith, endure the terrible storm around us? What hope can we cling to when everything we own is threatened by circumstances beyond our control?... Read More...
4 min read

Stephen Fry, God, and the Church’s Response

Aaron Ross
Many people, especially those who are dealing with loss within their family due to sickness, natural disasters, accidents, and more, are trying to comprehend God in light of their experiences. This is the struggle we find in Fry’s comments. He is trying to take what he has heard from the Church and from Scripture and make sense of it in light of the evil and suffering we see around us all the time. How then can we as Christians respond to those who struggle with the reality of evil in our world today?... Read More...
4 min read

Signs in Our Journey

Alan Ehler
Signs are helpful. They tell us where we are. They tell us where to turn. Have you ever made a wrong turn because there was no sign? Have you ever turned onto a road because of a sign but then wondered later if you made a wrong turn or missed a road sign somewhere along the way? Sometimes in life we make major decisions in complete confidence only to question those decisions down the road.... Read More...
4 min read

A Baptist Among Pentecostals

Michael McCain
There can be a lot of disagreement between church denominations and groups about doctrine. Often, though, we never truly engage with people who hold differing views, we only look at how their views are different. Here is one Baptist student's story about studying at a Pentecostal university.... Read More...
4 min read

God and a Balanced Life

Lynzi Lapka
Everything else but work seems to capture my attention right now and I find myself going to a movie with a group of friends at the end of the week, guilt eating me alive as I review the amount of work that I’ve completed in the last several days. Now more than ever it feels as though my motivation is in the negative percentile. It is in these times that we learn more fully how God wants us to have a balanced life. How can we implement a godly balanced life?... Read More...
4 min read

Dreams and God’s Will

Aaron Ross
Dreams can motivate us, get us out of bed in the morning, push us towards the life we want to see for ourselves or help mold us into who we want to become. But, dreams can also be devastating, disappointing and even lead us away from the life God wants for us. How we understand and shape those dreams in our lives is instrumental to living a fulfilling life that brings us into perfect relationality with God and with others.... Read More...
4 min read

God, Money, and the Protest of Generosity

Rob Bolet-Cafaro
In light of Jesus' attitude toward money, we as Christians are forced to confront the question: “What role does money play in our lives?” I think if we were really honest with ourselves, we may find that we often brush off the statements Jesus makes concerning how we deal with money. How should we as the church understand money and wealth in light of Christ?... Read More...
3 min read

Engaging Culture Through Missions

Robert Houlihan
To understand missions, we need to understand how Jesus interacted with the cultures that surrounded Him. Did He embrace the culture, avoid contact with the culture, oppose the culture, or try to replace the culture of the people with the Kingdom of God culture? We need to be effective in our understanding of Jesus so that we can better steward the Kingdom of God here on earth. ... Read More...
6 min read

Learning to Love (Ourselves and Others)

Hanna Larracas
Often times, the most challenging person to accept is ourselves. We learn that our own self can be one of the hardest people out of everyone to love. Yet, when we come to realize that God already knows us, really relationally knows us as we are, and yet still loves us, maybe we can look at our messiness, and brokenness and even venture into these dark places without fear. We can in turn see the dark places in others and love beyond our humanly capacities.... Read More...
4 min read

Pentecostal Liturgical Worship

Jimmy Paton
Pentecostal worship is not often called or thought of as liturgical worship. However, when we view Pentecostal worship through the lens of liturgy, we can better grasp the ways in which the Pentecostal movement communicates with God. Here are some ideas on how Pentecostals are liturgical and how we can better create space for our worship and communication with God.... Read More...
6 min read

Loving the Oppressed…. and the Oppressor.

Aaron Ross
While God hates the injustice of human trafficking, He loves the person who is forcing men, women and children into sex trafficking. And that should give us hope. How we think, how we speak, and how we act must reflect that. God has called us to love the person who is perpetrating oppression just as much as we love and fight for those who are being oppressed.... Read More...
6 min read

Sadness and Joy – the Lament of “Inside Out”

Alan Ehler
Many well-meaning evangelicals have tried to sell the Gospel as if it will produce a problem-free life. The positivism of sanitized American Christianity struggles to grasp why the very spiritual King David wrote such negative words in his Psalms (granted there are many positive words, too). There is a place for lamenting and mourning in our lives, but it is not the end. In fact, lamenting is often an essential part of a journey that leads to emotional and spiritual health.... Read More...
5 min read