A. The arguments over abortion really stem from a disagreement over when life begins.  The pro-abortion side insists that life begins at birth, making abortion a medical procedure similar to removing an unwanted growth of tissue.

Those opposed to abortion are convinced that from God’s point of view life begins at conception and therefore the commandment against murder (Exodus 20:13) applies to  the pre-born.

Some scriptures that support life beginning at conception are Psalm 51:5-6, Psalm 139:13-16, and Jeremiah 1:5.  Taking God at His word leads us to the inescapable conclusion that abortion is the unlawful taking of an innocent life.

A.  I can’t comment on the books you’ve read, but I can say that the Church started out meeting in homes, and I don’t think the Lord ever intended for it to become anything different.  The idea that a church is a big building with a paid pastor and a congregation is man made.

In my opinion the mega-church phenomenon is more a function of economics than theology.  In other words they generate huge amounts of revenue and nourish our “success in numbers” mentality.  But I don’t care how many professionals there are on staff and how many programs are offered, you can’t have spiritually meaningful Christian fellowship with 10 or 20 thousand people.

So what do the mega-churches do to meet the spiritual needs of their people?  They start a bunch of small groups with volunteer leaders that get together in people’s homes.  That’s where the real work of the Church is done, just like it was at the beginning.

A. It’s both.  Intercession is not specifically listed among the Spiritual Gifts, but is recommended as part of our worship.

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim. 2:1-4)

I believe the Lord calls certain ones from among the Body of Christ to make sure this happens.

When the Holy Spirit gives you specific information on how to pray for a person it’s a manifestation of the gift of knowledge, which is listed among the Spiritual gifts.  You’ll find reference to it in 1 Cor. 12:8.

A. Jesus explained living by faith in Matt. 6:19-34. I’ll summarize it for you.  Having told us not to store up treasure on Earth but in Heaven, (Matt. 6:19-20) He said,

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear … For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matt. 6:25,32-33)

To me this doesn’t mean we just sit and wait like baby birds with our mouths open, but that we live in a way that reflects our priorities.  Our main goal is to honor Him in everything we say and do, and trust Him to fulfill His part of the bargain.  We can tell how successful we are by measuring the amount of worry we feel.  The more we live by faith the less worry we’ll experience.

A. In 1 Cor. 5:1-5 Paul advised the Corinthians to expel an immoral man from the fellowship. This wasn’t a decision undertaken lightly, since we’re all sinners.  But Paul said this particular sin was shocking even among pagans. Delivering him to Satan was telling him his behavior might be acceptable among those who are perishing, but in the Church a higher standard is expected.

Doing this would allow the man to be convicted of his sin, discontinue his immoral behavior, and gain victory over his sin nature (destruction of the flesh).  I believe this is what happened and that he’s the man Paul told them to forgive and welcome back in 2 Cor. 2:5-11.

In 1 Cor. 5:9-11 Paul repeated what appears to be a previous teaching, admonishing us not to associate with those who are called “brother” (or who call themselves a brother) who are known to be sexually immoral, or who are greedy, idolaters, slanderers, drunkards or swindlers.   Even Paul admitted that he couldn’t completely stop sinning, but he said there’s no place for flagrantly sinful behavior in a fellowship of believers.

A.  I’m no expert in these matters and I don’t know what kind of medication you’re on, but others have told me that heavy doses of pain medication have dulled their senses in the way you describe, causing then to feel distant from God. You would have to find a Christian expert in these matters to verify this. Perhaps someone reading this will offer an expert opinion.

In the mean time, you can be sure God is hearing your prayers.  In Romans 8:38-39 Paul said,

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Your senses may be dulled, but your spirit is one with God’s (2 Cor. 1:21-22).

A. Someone once said, “Religion gives birth to prosperity and the daughter consumes the mother.”  It means the more prosperous people get the more self reliant they become. They stop living by faith and begin thinking that they are the architects of their own successes.  Because of that they no longer give thanks to God for what they have and no longer ask Him for what they want. After a while the concept of living by faith is so foreign to them they can’t imagine how to do it, and don’t want to learn.

History has shown that God will often take away the prosperity of people like this in an effort to get their attention and turn them back to Him. The world’s current economic situation may be an indication that this has begun.  If so it’s another sign that the End of the Age is near.

A.  Paul’s request for a special offering to help the Church in Jerusalem was an extraordinary circumstance that doesn’t really support your pastor’s opinion.  There’s no Biblical requirement for tithing exclusively to one’s own church, but members of a local congregation should be supportive of their leader’s program and be happy to contribute a major portion of their tithes and offerings to it. If they’re not, maybe they’re in the wrong place.

But if they are happy where they are and the Lord leads them to also give to a particular ministry, that’s between them and Him. We should also remember that we’re not limited on how much we can give.  10% of our income is not the maximum allowable contribution.  In Luke 6:38 the Lord said He would use our generosity  toward others to determine His generosity toward us. And Paul said whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, but whoever sows generously will also reap generously (2 Cor. 9:6).

A. After we’re saved, we have the opportunity to win rewards, or crowns, which will be presented to us immediately after the Rapture. (1 Cor. 4:5) Jesus Himself will make the presentation in what will be the biggest awards ceremony ever in the history of mankind.

This awards ceremony is sometimes called the Bema Seat, after the Greek word for judgment.  But it’s not the kind of judgment that normally comes to mind.  In the ancient Olympics, judges awarded ivy crowns (called stephanos) to the winners of the various events at the “Bema Seat”, or judgment seat, just like they award medals to event winners in our time.

The New Testament lists five categories in which crowns will be awarded to qualified believers.

These crowns are identified as the Everlasting Crown (Victory) in 1 Cor 9:25, the Crown of the Soul Winner in Phil 4:1 and 1 Thes 2:19, the Crown of Righteousness in 2 Tim 4:8, the Crown of Life in James 1:12 and Rev 2:10, and the Crown of Glory in 1 Peter 5:4. You can read more on how we get them and why by reading “How To Win Your Crowns”.

According to Rev. 4:10-11 we will lay our crowns before the throne.  Since the Rapture takes place in Rev. 4 and the Bema Seat judgment follows immediately, we apparently do this right after receiving them. 1 Cor 3:10-15 implies that not everyone will receive crowns since it’s not just what we do but our motives for doing it that will be judged.  The only acceptable motive is pure gratitude for what we’ve been given, and according to John 15:5 our effort will have to be prompted by the Lord and done in His strength.  I imagine this is what will cause us to lay our newly received crowns at the Lord’s feet.

A.  The Christian world view holds that although the Church is in the world we are not of the world.  Our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20) That means we know we don’t belong here, so we don’t try to fit in.  Paul told us not to conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind, as we seek to discover God’s will for our life (Romans 12:1-2).

If we hold a Christian World view, our thoughts and actions will be focused on Heaven, where we do belong, and on making sure we’re always ready to go there.  We will long for the return of the Lord because we know that He’s coming to take us there (John 14:2-3).  In the meantime. we will love the things that God loves, hate the things He hates, and try to show by the way we live what an incredible blessing it is to be in a relationship with the Lord.