Chances are, if you’re asking “Is God against premarital sex?” you’re either looking for an excuse to engage in premarital sex or you are hoping for a reason to NOT feel guilty because you already have.

The good news is: You CARE what God thinks. Even better news is: He cares what you do.

Is God against premarital sex? In the Bible, premarital sex is lumped in with other “fornication” or “sexual immorality.” The short answer is: God is very much against it.

It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

The Apostle Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians that we, as Christians, have invited Jesus Christ to live inside us. So any sexual sin we commit also stains our great Savior who, through the Holy Spirit, wants only to unite us with God.

The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body (1 Corinthians 6:13).

“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:18-20). (read more…)

by Pastor Steve

In England during the 1500s, especially during the reign of Queen Mary, the Christian church came under terrible persecution. Many Christians including clergy were excommunicated and/or executed for refusing to denounce their beliefs and adhere to the teachings of the state church.

One of those who suffered for his faith was Thomas Hawkes. Hawkes was born in Essex, England and later entered into the service of the Lord of Oxford. Upon the death of Edward VI, rather than change his religious beliefs to that of Queen Mary, Hawkes left his service and returned home.

After returning home Hawkes’ wife gave birth to a son. Hawkes refused to have the boy baptized according to the Catholic tradition and was reported to the Earl of Oxford. He was sent by the earl to Bishop Bonner of London where he answered to the charge of contempt of the sacraments. (read more…)

This is a question Muslims frequently ask. As worldviews vigorously compete for attention, it is a question Christians also need to ask themselves.

To the Muslim, Muhammad represents the last of the Messengers of God; he is called “the Seal of the Prophets.” Born about 570 A.D. in the city of Mecca, Muhammad had some sort of religious experience at the age of forty when he received his first “revelation”; this marks the beginning of his “mission”. When he died twenty-three years later, he left behind a number of “revelations” which became the book we know as the Qur’an, and a religious community which followed him as Prophet and his book as the very Word of God. Today, his followers number at least 800 million, a potent force in our world. (read more…)

CBN.com - The Qur’an is the “scripture ” of Islam. Much like the Bible is to the Christian, it represents for the Muslim the very “Word of God” which it is his duty to study and to obey. It was “revealed” to Muhammad over a 23 year period, between c. 610 AD and his death in 632, and the text is said to have been finalized about 651 AD. Written in the Arabic language, the Qur’an is slightly longer than the New Testament, and is divided into 114 “Suras” (or chapters) of very unequal length, and 6239 verses.

The Qur’an represents for the Muslim something quite different from what the Bible is to the Christian. The book claims to have existed on a “tablet” in heaven and “sent down” verse by verse to the Prophet. The Muslim understands this to mean that the Qur’an is a “heavenly book”, the very “Speech of God” which existed eternally in heaven before being transcribed in a material book. (read more…)

When advising where to draw the line concerning premarital sex vs. just “fooling around,” society needs to first grasp the definition and if any - the difference. First let’s look at definitions according to the dictionary.

Sex: the sexual urge or instinct as it manifests itself in behavior.

Fornication: sex between parties not married to each other.

Adultery: sex between a married person and one other than the lawful spouse.

Thus, as defined in the dictionary, an urge or shall we say, thoughts of manifesting them, is sex. (The Bible calls this lust) To have physical intercourse is sex. Whether it is two unmarried partners or one married and one not - it is sex. Participating “up to a point” of actual physical intercourse, such as having oral sex, is sex. Societal trends don’t change the definitions. (read more…)

by Pastor Steve
A few years ago our family was on vacation and decided to visit a church for the Sunday morning worship service. The church had a contemporary style service and the music carried us into a time of intimacy with the Father. As we were loving on the Father one of the ladies singing with the praise team began to rebuke Satan. She drove him out of the building, out of the city and out of the state. She bound his activity over the lives of the people in that church and all other churches. What was probably only a minute seemed a lot longer as she vehemently addressed every work of darkness that might be listening.

It could be that this lady saw something I didn’t see. All I know is that one minute I was snuggled in the Father’s arms and the next minute all my thoughts were turned to Satan. My guess is that I was not alone. In my humble opinion Satan, if he was listening, got exactly what he wanted; our eyes off the Father and on him. He likes attention, he thinks it is worship. There is however a way for the church to bring down or bind the works of darkness without a thought of the demonic. Our weapon is the high praises of God. (read more…)

by Pastor Steve
Through the years I have heard spiritual warfare taught from a number of angles. I have been involved in services that focused on spiritual warfare and participated in rebuking certain principalities, powers and spiritual wickedness in high places. During these “intercessory” prayer meetings we engaged territorial demons over nations and cities from the four corners of world. Although we called this warfare, which may have some validity, I have come to believe there is a higher place of warfare where God wants his people involved. It’s the place of high praise.

When Jehoshaphat was king over Judah the people of Moab, Ammon and others came to battle against him. Upon hearing the news Jehoshaphat was scared and called a fast throughout all Judah to seek the face of the Lord. In the midst of the fast the Spirit of the Lord moved on the heart of Jahaziel to prophesy God’s victory for Judah over their enemies. Jehoshaphat and the people responded with praise and worship. (read more…)

All Muslims everywhere acknowledge the same creed. Whether they be Sunni or Shiite, and whether they live in Morocco, Turkey, Bengladesh, or in the West, all hold to just six basic Articles of Faith. These define what Muslims must believe concerning God, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, and His Decrees (or Predestination). [Some authorities list the first five only, but most give six].

It all seems quite simple and straightforward. Muslim apologists, of course, would have us believe that such simplicity and unanimity is a plus compared to the doctrinal disputes and disunity that have plagued Christianity over the years. But that is only part of the picture. Another part is that Muslim theology has basically stagnated since the great theologians of the Middle Ages. Since then, there has been precious little original theological reflection comparable to what Christians call “theology.” This is not to say that there have not been original thinkers in Islam since that time, even original theologians. It is simply that the creative intellectual energy of Muslims has gone into other pursuits than theology! What exactly is going on? (read more…)

In checking a source on sex before marriage in the adolescent health care section, it was interesting to note the sex before marriage topic followed the teen suicide topic. It is unclear if the editors of THE ILLUSTRATED MANUAL OF NURSING PRACTICES were considering any related concerns between the two subjects. Along with the emotional bonding of sexual relationships, this article will bluntly discuss STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases).

AIDS is the foremost STD everyone is quite aware of, which is spread by the HIV (virus). It isn’t a pleasant sight to watch someone die of AIDS. Most of the world’s AIDS patients die alone. Those who willingly have unsafe sexual practices including sex before marriage, run a greater risk of contacting the disease. Besides the horrible physical symptoms of AIDS, it also causes much pain, degradation, anger, and depression. Take a few moments to count the cost of being sexually active before marriage. Is it worth the few moments of pleasure? (read more…)

by Pastor Steve

John writes in his gospel, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father…” What does it mean to worship the Father? How do we make the Father the object our worship. Let me suggest a couple of ways: 1. The Father must have our affection. 2. The Father must have our attention.

In Luke 7:36-50 is a story of a woman who unashamedly displayed her affection toward Jesus. Jesus was having dinner with Simon, a Pharisee, at Simon’s home. While they were eating a woman in the city, whom the Pharisees called a sinner, came in with an alabaster flask of fragrant oil. As Jesus reclined at the table the woman stood at his feet behind him weeping and began to wash his feet with her tears, wiping them with her hair. She also kissed his feet and anointed them with oil. (read more…)

In the Muslim world, Christmas is not celebrated publicly, except in the minority Christian communities in the Middle East. And in North Africa not at all. To a Western Christian living there, the absence of the usual sights, sounds, and practices of Christmas, which are such a part of our culture, is most striking — and can even be depressing. Go out into the streets and stores, but you will see no Christmas trees or decorations. Go into the homes on Christmas day, but you will not have a Christmas dinner or listen to the reading of the Christmas story, unless you are in the home of one of the few Christians. Turn on TV or radio, but you will find no Christmas programs and few if any signs that it is Christmas. There is no “Christmas Spirit” at all! (read more…)

Christians are often thrown off guard by Muslim objections; they are so different from what we are used to hearing. Muslims claim, e.g., to “believe in all the prophets and all the Scriptures,” but when you challenge them to read the Bible, or you appeal to its authority, they put you off, saying “Jews and Christians have changed the Bible.” As a new missionary, I would appeal to the manuscript evidence for the Bible’s authenticity. But that did not seem to faze them in the least.

(read more…)