Posts
“Son of Man” Meaning – Why Jesus Used This Name
What does the Son of Man mean? This article is part of the Names of God Series featuring the most used names and titles of God found in the Bible.
We read that Jesus was called many names throughout the Bible, but Son of Man stands apart for several reasons. The number of times we see this name alone separates it from some of the others. Just as with a name like Lamb of God, this name has a distinct meaning that is easily defined and tied back to Scripture.
What is the significance and the implications of Christ being the Son of Man? Just like other names of God, this name has rich meaning. Let’s explore this powerful name.
Read the article here: “Son of Man” Meaning – Why Jesus Used This Name
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About the Christian Training Center
There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
The Christian Training Center International was founded in the early 1970’s as The Inn of the Last Resort. It is now known throughout the world for its outreach to families, Christian leaders, and young people. Our focus is to enable individuals – especially young men and women – to face and overcome the mounting issues and pressures in their daily lives. Learn more here.
The most effective way to learn a foreign language is through immersion. In complete immersion, students spend all their time hearing and speaking a new language in a sequential and cumulative format. The goal is to become not only a proficient speaker, but to acquire an appreciation and understanding of a new culture. This approach describes the training process at CTCI.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.
Learn more here.
What does it mean to be pure in heart?
Is my heart pure? That is an essential issue to address. Jesus lays it out in His manifesto (Matthew 5 — 7).
Am we clean, blameless, unstained from guilt? Not on our own but we have been declared innocent because of the work of Jesus and we are being sanctified by His refining fire and His pruning.
Now that is some good news! Jesus gives us clean hands. Jesus gives us a pure heart. Jesus promises we will see God.
Can you Promenade Home?
Our Train to Reign family fun after dinner and an intercessory prayer meeting.
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There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.
Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. Learn more about our programs here.
Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. Learn more here.
If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.
What is the the Holiness of God? Why is it important?
The holiness of God is the most difficult of all God’s attributes to explain, partly because it is one of His essential attributes that is not shared, inherently, by any of us.
We know we are created in God’s image, and can share many of His attributes, to a much lesser extent, of course — love, mercy, faithfulness, etc. These are the gifts of God to us and grow in us as fruit of His Holy Spirit.
Bible Prophecy – 13 Popular Fulfilled Prophecies Signs
What are some fulfilled prophetic signs about Jesus?
There are many ways to verify the reliability of Scripture from both internal evidences of transmission and agreement, to external confirmation through archeology and science. But perhaps the most persuasive argument can be found in the area of prophecy. If a book accurately and repeatedly predicts the future, it can safely be said that something special is going on, perhaps even something supernatural. And there are so many prophecies in the Scriptures that it should be easy to take a look and decide if the Bible is supernatural.
There are so many fulfilled prophecies! In fact, there are so many fulfilled prophecies in the Bible that it is hard to know where to begin! A simple search on the internet will provide you with literally hundreds of sites listing a multitude of fulfilled prophecies in both the Old and New Testaments. It’s difficult to know where to begin here in our limited discussion of the issue, so we’ll focus narrowly on some of the biggest and best known of prophecies!
Read the article here: Bible Prophecy – 13 Popular Fulfilled Prophecies Signs
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Monthly Giving
There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
Monthly giving is an important way to support our mission. The most effective way to learn a foreign language is through immersion. In complete immersion, students spend all their time hearing and speaking a new language in a sequential and cumulative format. The goal is to become not only a proficient speaker, but to acquire an appreciation and understanding of a new culture. This approach describes the training process at the Christian Training Center. Make your gift here.
How will your monthly gift make an impact?
- Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Your gift will help bring healing and restoration to families all around the world.
- Your gift will help impact college students during Heroes Semester is a 10-week semester program. This program is focused on personal and spiritual development for young adults. While immersed in a way of life that emphasizes the Word of God, prayer, relationships, family, servanthood and personal discipline, you will be renewed, trained, and challenged to walk with God in a deeper way.
- Your gift will help impact teens through Heroes of Today Week long summer program Teens learn new life skills and they will discover more about their identity in Christ and what it means to live as one of God’s Heroes of today.
- Your gift will give a college age student (summer) a residential position. It is open to Christian candidates who want to deepen and develop their faith while experiencing the demands of day-to-day ministry. These individuals help serve and mentor during our summer programs.
Make your gift here.
What is humility? What role does grace play in it?
Grace is a gift. God gives us grace when we are humble. There is no peace if we are proud and haughty. Humility is the name of the game. Jesus challenges us to be humble. We have some good news.
Jesus wants us to inherit the earth. That was the original plan. King Jesus has restored it for all of us who follow Him.
Where is God in Suffering?
Where is God in suffering? Oxford Professor of Mathematics, John Lennox, speaking at The Veritas Forum at Harvard Med School, 2014.
Full library available AD FREE at http://www.veritas.org/talks.
Over the past two decades, The Veritas Forum has been hosting vibrant discussions on life’s hardest questions and engaging the world’s leading colleges and universities with Christian perspectives and the relevance of Jesus.
Learn more at http://www.veritas.org, with upcoming events and over 600 pieces of media on topics including science, philosophy, music, business, medicine, and more!
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Our Mission & Vision
There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships
Our Vision is to see generations of leaders victoriously modeling Jesus in their families and communities.
Our Mission is training believers to live a victorious life through biblical Truth, experiential discipleship, and family relationships.
Values
Life is:
1) Relationships
2) Personal Holiness
3) Biblical
4) Authentic
5) Relevant
Learn more here.
What is faith? Where does it come from?
Where does faith come from? Faith is not something we conjure up on our own, nor is it something we are born with. Faith is not a result of diligence in study or pursuit of the spiritual. Faith doesn’t come from “good theology”. The religious elites can’t give it to us.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. | Ephesians 2:8-9
Quick Shot Responses to “There is No Evidence for God’s Existence”
Check this out from J. Warner Wallace. Great apologetic overview.
In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity Broadcast, J. Warner offers a number of brief, rhetorically powerful responses to the objection: “There is No Evidence for God’s Existence.” How can we possibly make an affirmative case for the existence of God? Can we use an evidential approach, and if so, how would we approach this task?
These Quick Shot responses are designed to help you remove intellectual obstacles when talking about God with your friends and family members. They are also available on the Cold-Case Christianity Phone App so you can access them as you are interacting with others.
Read the article here: Quick Shot Responses to “There is No Evidence for God’s Existence” (Cold-Case Christianity S5E23) | | Cold Case Christianity
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There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.
Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. Learn more about our programs here.
Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. Learn more here.
If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.
What are good works? Why does Jesus call us to do them?
Jesus clearly calls us to do good works! The purpose of our good works is to glorify the amazing and beautiful God. If it doesn’t do that, we’ve got the wrong motives and then we have the wrong outcomes.
Now that is a good word. Please receive it.
Goodness and good works are acts designed specifically to help others, which are characteristic of God. We can be good because God is good. And He is in a good mood.
Good works are not a “bad thing”. They won’t save me but that isn’t the point.
What is the Moses mandate?
The Moses Mandate: This is from Appeal to Heaven 2018 Session 3.
Dave Kubal is the President of Intercessors for America. He has been in ministry for over 25 years. He served Christ through Fellowship of Christian Athletes where he last held the position of Vice President of Training and Leadership Development. As the President, his vision is to mobilize a multi-generational army of intercessors. He has a degree in Psychology and a minor in Business from Wright State University in Ohio. David earned his Masters of Divinity at Asbury Theological Seminary and is ordained in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. He is married to his high school sweet heart, Kris. They have three children and reside in Purcellville, Virginia.
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There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.
Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. Learn more about our programs here.
Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. Learn more here.
If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.
What is authority? Why is Jesus’ authority questioned?
The authority of Jesus is questioned by others: Are we questioning that Jesus has the authority from God? We need to consider that issue in our hearts.
Is Jesus our Master? Are we His slaves? Does Jesus own us?
Now in thinking about the authority of the Messiah, perhaps it’s helpful to consider two words. The first is the word dunamis which the Bible translates “power.” The second is the word exousia which the Bible translates “power” or “authority” and is best understood as “authority,” and there is a difference. Dunamis or power is the ability to do something. Exousia or authority is the right to do it.
The Antichrist – Who He Is & What He Will Do
Here is a great article on the anti-christ.
To better understand the person of the antichrist, you can begin by reading Revelation 13:1-4. As you read, ask God to help you understand His Word (Psalms 119:73).
In this Scripture passage, we witness the rise of the antichrist, who will come into great power during the tribulation period. With your Bible still accessible, consider the following insights on the biblical text, verse by verse. The below points about the antichrist will help us understand what he is, what he will do, signs and events around his rise to power, and ultimately his goal.
Read the article here: The Antichrist – Who He Is & What He Will Do
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What We Believe
There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships. Learn more here.
We are an inter-denominational ministry, and our desire is for transformation: a genuine change of heart and lifestyle that flows out of an intimate relationship with Jesus.
We believe:
- Jesus is Lord. We exalt the One True God who made us and gave us the Lord Jesus Christ as our salvation. Our goal is to be a people with a heart for obedience to Christ in all things. His work made it possible for us to live – eternally and now – as children of God. Jesus made it possible for us to be rightly related to the Father and to one another. His desire is for us to succeed. We believe a right relationship with Him is the first and most important step.
- The Bible is True. God’s Word is alive and active (Hebrews 4:12-13), which we take into our minds and spirits and live out through the flesh. When Jesus asked what the greatest commandment was, He said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31). The basis for everything we teach is “Life is Relationships.”
- Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit. We desire to walk in and by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit (available to all believers) empowers Christians for living witness and dedicated service.
Learn more here.
Should we expect to always get our way?
We can learn to think like Jesus. He didn’t expect to get His own way.
Now that is radical. Who doesn’t want to get their own way? Seriously.
But that misses God’s goal for our lives. God has a goal for us. He wants us to love Him completely. That is all.
Are all people been made of one blood?
This video is from the Relevance in Genesis Conference. This is the Sunday presentation:
One Blood – Discusses the biblical teaching that all people have been made of one blood and emphasizes the importance of the Babel account to understanding what we see in the world today.
What is love? How is God’s love different?
Love isn’t about me. Love is about God and Jesus. I don’t know the first thing about love. Anything I do that even gets close to love is a result of the Holy Spirit in me. It is growing like a fruit but it is all about God and nothing about me.
Where does love come from? Love comes from the Holy Spirit. It is a gift. It is fruit that grows in us. Left to our own devices, we stink at it.
Jesus is our standard. We fall way short of the goal (aka sin).
Is It Biblical to Have an Evidential Faith?
Luke Nix provides some great insight about faith and evidence. Luke holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and works as a Desktop Support Manager for a local precious metal exchange company in Oklahoma.
Is biblical faith blind or reasonable? This is one of the most hotly debated questions between believers and unbelievers. While most who say that faith is blind are unbelievers, I have also heard many Christians claim this as well. The claim is that faith and reason are at odds with one another and that the more evidence or reason that you have to believe something, the less faith that you need.
Read the article here: Is It Biblical to Have an Evidential Faith?
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Heroes Internship
There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
Be a part of an internship that won’t just challenge you – it will change you! Learn more here.
Our Internship Program calls forth young adults ages 18-26 who have a passion to serve Christ and a desire to be trained practically for life, leadership, and future ministry through intense, life-on-life discipleship. During these fast-paced weeks, interns will discover more about who they are and what it means to be a fully committed follower of Jesus.
“The extra mile challenge was one of the craziest things I have ever done! Sleeping in a cave 2 miles into the earth was something I will never forget. The course was tough but really lead me closer to the Lord and built some maturity into my life.”
2016 Internship Participant
Interns live on the premises and help staff the summer’s programs, conferences, and events. Daily duties can include anything from helping the staff take care of the grounds, gardens, and facilities to preparing meals and helping put together activities for youth and teens. In between times of service, interns will also get to enjoy activities designed to build character through spiritual, mental, emotional and physical challenges. The relationships and rewards of the summer internship last for a lifetime.
Room, board, and the Extra Mile Challenge are all included free of cost – so all you have to do is get here and be ready to give your all!
Learn more here.
What is religious fraud all about? What does Jesus say?
Jesus spends special time with religious people. He is direct always. Are we frauds?
It is a question to ask ourselves. In this situation, it was a statement not a question.
The Pharisees, along with some religion scholars who had come from Jerusalem, gathered around him. They noticed that some of his disciples weren’t being careful with ritual washings before meals.
Seriously, this is all they had to think about. The Pharisees — Jews in general, during that time — would never eat a meal without going through the motions of a ritual hand-washing, with an especially vigorous scrubbing if they had just come from the market (to say nothing of the scouring they’d give jugs and pots and pans).
Of course, we have our religious ceremonies now. We pray before meals, even when we eat out. We go to church. We tell people we will pray for them when they are sick or someone in their family dies.
So, on this occasion, the religion scholars asked, “Why do your disciples flout the rules, showing up at meals without washing their hands?”
Jesus has questions for us. Are we more concerned with saying the right thing than doing what God wants right at that minute? Is our heart not in it? Do we just pretend to worship God? Do we use Jesus? Do we ditch God’s commands? Do we only care about the latest religious trend or fad?
Jesus looks us in the eye and asks us these questions. He isn’t cruel. He just confronts us. God has a goal in mind for us. He wants us to love Him and worship Him.
May our love for God and what He wants in our life rule every day. May we fulfill His goal for our life. May we do what He wants.
Jesus has an answer, “Isaiah was right about frauds like you, hit the bull’s-eye in fact: These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their heart isn’t in it. They act like they are worshiping me, but they don’t mean it. They just use me as a cover for teaching whatever suits their fancy, Ditching God’s command and taking up the latest fads.” | Mark 7 (The Message)
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About the Christian Training Center
There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
The Christian Training Center International was founded in the early 1970’s as The Inn of the Last Resort. It is now known throughout the world for its outreach to families, Christian leaders, and young people. Our focus is to enable individuals – especially young men and women – to face and overcome the mounting issues and pressures in their daily lives. Learn more here.
The most effective way to learn a foreign language is through immersion. In complete immersion, students spend all their time hearing and speaking a new language in a sequential and cumulative format. The goal is to become not only a proficient speaker, but to acquire an appreciation and understanding of a new culture. This approach describes the training process at CTCI.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.
Learn more here.
From Joules to Jewels – Part 3
Here is part 3 of the Joules to Jewels series. The focus is on the power of God and it being a reality in our lives.
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There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.
Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. Learn more about our programs here.
Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. Learn more here.
If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.
What does Jesus think of being a “servant leader”? Hint: Can you say “Argle Bargle”?
There is a lot being said, by “leaders”, about being servant leaders. I have a friend that has written a book on it. He runs a truly great company. It seems to work for him. The premise is you can be a leader as long as you are a servant.
What does Jesus think? Can you say “Argle Bargle”? Argle Bargle is meaningless talk. It is hokum. Jesus isn’t enamored with my being a leader who serves. Jesus calls on me to be a servant or a slave. Jesus thinks it is Argle Bargle to be called a leader.
Please take a minute to read what Jesus says about this.
How to Pray for Your Daily Bread
Jesus teaches us how to pray. Here is a great article on praying for our daily bread.
“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread” (Matthew 6:9-11).
As we read this prayer our Lord gave, remember it is the model prayer. The Lord did not say “Pray this prayer,” but “Pray in this manner.” He taught us something wonderful about prayer: it’s not the length of our prayer, the logic of our prayer, or the language of our prayer, but the faith, the focus, and the force of our prayer that causes it to be heard in heaven.
“Bread” in this prayer is really symbolic of any need you have. Do you have a need today? God delights to meet your need.
Here are four important steps to follow when praying for “daily bread.”
Read the article here: How to Pray for Your Daily Bread – Topical Studies
Is the Bible is a dangerous book to read, and is the church a dangerous society to join?
Jesus is about to wrap His Manifesto (Matthew 5-7). There is one final parable to lay it all out. There is a contrast in the previous paragraph which was between ‘saying’ and ‘doing’. The contrast now is between ‘hearing’ and ‘doing’.
On the one hand, Jesus says, there is the person who hears these words of mine and does them (24), and on the other the person who hears these words of mine and does not do them (26).
May I be a person who hears and acts. May I be obedient. Jesus is commanding me to love. Will I?
Can you pray for us?
Christian Training Center teens share about their time at Heroes Week.
Best Week EVER!!! Heroes Week (Marcy Funez interview)
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There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.
Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. Learn more about our programs here.
Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. Learn more here.
If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.
What is discipleship? What does it cost us? Does it involve self-denial?
Jesus was quite explicit about the cost of following Him. Discipleship requires a totally committed life: “Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). We must give up everything to follow Jesus. EVERYTHING!
Jesus is negotiating. I think maybe I can give up a few things (I really don’t want anyway). NOPE! That won’t work.
Sacrifice is expected.
“Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).
Jesus is our Master. We are His slaves. That is the demand of discipleship. We don’t own ourselves. Jesus is our owner. What Jesus wants is all that matters.
What does “Yahweh” really mean?
What does YHWH mean? Here is some insight from Jenna Martin. She is a youth ministry worker and freelance writer who specializes in Bible, health, and tourism topics. In her free time you’ll probably find her writing, lifting, or doting on her handsome cat. For more info, you can check out her blog here.
God has no shortage of names–He is called by almost 1,000 different ones in the Bible.
But one of these names stands alone, and that name is Yahweh.
Before we get into what the name “Yahweh” actually means, let’s go back to its origin story in Exodus 3. In this story, God is speaking to Moses through the burning bush and giving him the mission to end all missions: freeing the Israelite people from Egyptian captivity.
Understandably, Moses has some concerns, the main one being how he will convince his fellow Israelites that this really is a mission from (and blessed by) God.
Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.” – Exodus 3:13-15
Read the article here: What “Yahweh” Really Means – God’s Name in the Bible
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Susan Pons Book – “And There Was Evening and There Was Morning…”
There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
Have you read Susan Corbett Pons book “And There was Evening and There was Morning”? It will make you laugh, and it will make you cry. Check out Susan’s book here.
Susan Pons grew up in Valdese, North Carolina. Prior to her marriage, she performed professionally on stage and dinner theaters. The mother of four and grandmother of six, she and her husband, Larry, direct Christian Training Center, International, a ministry dedicated to the restoration of families. She has loved her life.
Check out Susan’s book here.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.
Learn more here.
What is mercy? How can we show it?
Jesus challenges us. Are we “sinless”?
If so, we get to throw the first stone.
Jesus challenged the elite religious leaders. They were right about “the law”. They were wrong about mercy.
None of them qualified to throw the first stone. They all knew it. They all walked away. Only Jesus is left.
What is a child of God? Will God release us from fear and anxiety?
Sydney has been a part of the church fellowship at the Christian Training Center since she was young but stepping into the roll of an intern this summer was a completely new world for her. Throughout her time here she was able to find a release from fears and anxieties and experience life with a new confidence as a daughter of the One True King, Jesus.
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There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.
Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. Learn more about our programs here.
Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. Learn more here.
If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.
What is God’s glory? Is that our highest motivation?
Because the human heart is very deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9), we can easily fool ourselves about our own motives. We can pretend that we are choosing certain actions for God or the benefit of others, when in reality we have selfish reasons. God is not fooled by our selfishness and is “a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
The Bible has a lot to say about my motives. A motive is the underlying reason for any action. Proverbs 16:2 says,
“All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the MASTER.”
Kanye West Releases Album ‘Jesus Is King’ Packed With Bible Verses and Praises to God
On Friday, to the delight of his fans and followers, Kanye West finally released his much-anticipated gospel album ‘Jesus Is King,’ after weeks of back and forth with the release date.‘That’s the Devil’s Music’: Kanye West Almost Quit Rapping After Coming to Christ
“To my fans. Thank you for being loyal & patient. We are specifically fixing mixes on ‘Everything We Need’ ‘Follow God’ & ‘Water.’
We not going to sleep until this album is out,” he wrote on Twitter early Friday morning.
Read the article here: Kanye West Releases Album ‘Jesus Is King’ Packed With Bible Verses and Praises to God – Faithwire
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Heroes Semester
There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
CTCI’s Heroes Semester is a 10-week semester program focused on personal and spiritual development for young adults. While immersed in a way of life that emphasizes the Word of God, prayer, relationships, family, servanthood and personal discipline, you will be renewed, trained, and challenged to walk with God in a deeper way. Learn more here.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.
CTCI’s Heroes Semester is a residential, “family style” living experience like no other! Emphasizing the biblical truths of relationships, family, servanthood, and personal discipline, young men and women are challenged to live a faith that reaches beyond the four walls of the church and affects everyday life.
“The Heroes Semester is taking place, and all that I can say is that the Lord is showing me Himself! Christ is mesmerizing me; He’s opening my heart to fall more in love with Him!”
CB -Tennessee (Participant)
Participants ages 18-26 come from all walks of life with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord and seek Him for their lives and future. Each semester is filled with teaching, activities, and experiences designed to take you on the mountaintops with the Lord as well as train you to live a disciplined life in Christ in the plains and valleys.
Participants spend their days in study sessions, work duties, or on the unpredictable outdoor adventure. The evenings have a natural rhythm of group Bible studies, prayer & intercession, and recreational activities. Everyone pitches in with the usual chores that come with living life together. Electronics take a back seat in daily life, unplugging from usual habits helps to make space for new ones. Each day ends with a note of gratitude and lessons learned.
If you are ready to go deeper in relationships, devotion, and surrender to the Lord, then CTCI’s Heroes Semester could be the most purposeful 10 weeks of your life!
Learn more here.
Who was Jesus? Is that even the right question?
We are looking for Jesus in all the wrong places. We think “he was”. Our language and attitude is focused on Him as a historical figure.
Jesus is having none of that. Jesus IS. Jesus IS alive.
That’s it and that is enough for today. We must focus on that. This is a big deal. Do we know who Jesus is today?
Jesus IS!
Dinosaurs and the Biblical Worldview – How the bible makes sense of these amazing creatures
This video is about the Genesis Conference. This is the Saturday presentation on Dinosaurs.
Genesis, the first book of the Bible, is the foundation of all Christian doctrine. In it, we learn about the triune God, the origin of all matter, the nature of man, why suffering and death exists, and the reason Jesus came to sacrifice His life for us. Genesis also contains accounts of the creation, the Global Flood, and the Tower of Babel – accounts that many Christians don’t see the importance of taking literally.
But if Genesis is not true, how can we trust the rest of the Bible? Tim Chaffey of Answers in Genesis gave us compelling arguments for the first 11 chapters of the Bible and their importance to our modern world.
Tim Chaffey is the founder and director of Midwest Apologetics, a ministry dedicated to defending the word of God from the beginning to the end. Tim holds a M.Div. in Apologetics and Theology and a Th.M. in Church History and Theology from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of the books God and Cancer, Old-Earth Creationism on Trial, and In Defense of Easter. Tim is also content manager for Answers in Genesis’s Ark Encounter.
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There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.
Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. Learn more about our programs here.
Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. Learn more here.
If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.
What is a Christian? What does it mean?
Am I a Christian or a disciple of Jesus? I need to think this through. It is an important question. I think it is fine to use the term Christian. I am concerned that it is confusing to non-believers. That is why I personally favor other terms like disciple or follower.
I am a slave to Jesus. Jesus is my King and Master. Now that is some good news. I have been freed from being a slave to missing God’s goal for my life (aka sin).
Jesus used the term disciple but never Christian. The first instance of the word Christian is found in the book of Acts: “The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch” (Acts 11:26).
Most Bible scholars agree that it is unlikely that the believers themselves thought up the name “Christians.” The early church had other names for themselves, such as “disciples” (Acts 13:52; 20:1; 21:4) and “saints” (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 16:1; Ephesians 1:1) and “brothers” (1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 Peter 3:8).
Is it time to think long and hard about the power of God?
There is a time to think long and hard. That of course would be about what God has created. Just think about it.
Think about it long and hard. It is amazing.
The raw power of it all.
Imagine, then think about, what it took to create all that we enjoy and take for granted everyday. Come on, think about it.
NOW, think about it some more.
And, how mysterious is it that God could do all of this. We can’t imagine it. It is beyond us.
And, that God, lives in side of us. He can do anything in His World. He is in control of it all.
God is God.
By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being.
Romans 1 (The Message Bible)
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There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.
Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. Learn more about our programs here.
Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. Learn more here.
If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.
What is worship? What is a life of worship?
Join us as guest speaker, Prathrap Darshi, shares his story and passion for Jesus.
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There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.
Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. Learn more about our programs here.
Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. Learn more here.
If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.
Is God self-sufficient? Does He have any needs?
For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
John 5:26
As limited humans, we have incredible needs, which left unfulfilled, result in death. God, however, has never once been in need of anything. As Tim Temple writes, “God is perfectly complete within his own being.”
In a blog post on Reformation21.org, Scott Swain writes that the self-sufficiency of God means he “possesses infinite riches of being, wisdom, goodness, and power in and of himself (Gen 17:1; John 5:26; Eph 3:16). Because he possesses these unfathomable riches in the perfect knowledge and love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt 11.25-27; John 17:24-26), God is the “blessed” or “happy” God (1 Tim 1.11; 6:15).”
Is the Existence of Satan Reasonable?
Here is some great insight from J. Warner Wallace is a Dateline featured Cold-Case Detective, Senior Fellow at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, Adj. Professor of Christian Apologetics at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, author of Cold-Case Christianity, God’s Crime Scene, and Forensic Faith, and creator of the Case Makers Academy for kids.
Am I sure? Do I know it for a fact?
Am I sure? Do I know it for a fact?
God’s enabling Spirit is in us and lets us know that God is good and He loves us. Every detail is being worked into something good. We know it. It is a fact.
That is just the way it is.
God is in a good mood.
No detail is too small for God. He is committed to working out every little thing for our good.
God doesn’t miss a thing. We may not understand it but we do need to believe He is in a good mood and isn’t out to punish us.
That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.
Romans 8:28
May I be sure of God’s love and the details He is working out for me.
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Train to Reign
There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack.
Throughout the year, we welcome individuals, couples, and families from around the world who are seeking to strengthen their relationships – with God, within their own families, and with their fellow believers. Every session, individuals, couples, and families from around the world are transformed, healed, and renewed. Barriers to forgiveness, personal growth, and hope are overcome in a supportive and intimate environment. Join us in this safe and holy place where painful and complex situations can be worked through – a place of hope and healing.
Learn more here.
Teaching topics include:
- The Plan of God for Family
- Duty vs Intimacy
- Fatherhood
- Communication
- Covering
- Resolving Conflict
- Defeating Parenting Fears
- Discipline
- …and more!
What is discipline? Why does it matter?
Larry Pons, our Chief Executive teaches on “Why Discipline Matters”. From Train to Reign Day 10 Week 2.
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There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.
Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. Learn more about our programs here.
Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. Learn more here.
If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.
Should we criticize who Jesus hung out with?
Jesus get’s constantly criticized by the religious elite of His day. They didn’t like who Jesus was hanging out with.
There is good news that Jesus came to save us, sinners (aka someone who misses God’s goal). Jesus seeks us out. Jesus wants to sit down and eat with us.
Jesus wants to sit down and eat with you.
Who is the Holy Spirit? Most misunderstood member of the Trinity
Here is a very insightful article on the Holy Spirit. Jim Denison, Ph.D., is a cultural apologist, building a bridge between faith and culture by engaging contemporary issues with biblical truth. He founded the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture in February 2009 and is the author of seven books, including “Radical Islam: What You Need to Know.” For more information on the Denison Forum, visit www.denisonforum.org.
The Holy Spirit is the most misunderstood member of the Trinity. Who is he? What does he do? Why does he matter so much in our lives today?
I spent years in Baptist churches with no real introduction to the Holy Spirit. I don’t remember ever hearing a sermon on the subject. We knew to trust in Jesus and worship his Father, but I had no idea how to relate to the Spirit. Or even if I should. I suspect that many of us have a similar story.
Read the article here: Who is the Holy Spirit? Most misunderstood member of the Trinity – The Christian Post
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Monthly Giving
There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
Monthly giving is an important way to support our mission. The most effective way to learn a foreign language is through immersion. In complete immersion, students spend all their time hearing and speaking a new language in a sequential and cumulative format. The goal is to become not only a proficient speaker, but to acquire an appreciation and understanding of a new culture. This approach describes the training process at the Christian Training Center. Make your gift here.
How will your monthly gift make an impact?
- Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Your gift will help bring healing and restoration to families all around the world.
- Your gift will help impact college students during Heroes Semester is a 10-week semester program. This program is focused on personal and spiritual development for young adults. While immersed in a way of life that emphasizes the Word of God, prayer, relationships, family, servanthood and personal discipline, you will be renewed, trained, and challenged to walk with God in a deeper way.
- Your gift will help impact teens through Heroes of Today Week long summer program Teens learn new life skills and they will discover more about their identity in Christ and what it means to live as one of God’s Heroes of today.
- Your gift will give a college age student (summer) a residential position. It is open to Christian candidates who want to deepen and develop their faith while experiencing the demands of day-to-day ministry. These individuals help serve and mentor during our summer programs.
Make your gift here.
Should we renounce anger?
There is a natural set of consequences for angry people. There is a backlash. Something very real is going to happen. We must guard ourselves and our hearts not to be an “angry person”. It is way too easy to start down that road. Finding our way back when we are lost is not easy. We don’t always have a compass and it gets very dark.
Let angry people endure the backlash of their own anger; if you try to make it better, you’ll only make it worse. | Proverbs 19:19 (The Message Bible)
Encountering Noah and the Ark – What about the Flood account? Is it reliable?
This video is about the Genesis Conference with Tim Chaffey. Saturday presentation about Encountering Noah and the Ark – What about the Flood account? Is it reliable?
Genesis, the first book of the Bible, is the foundation of all Christian doctrine. In it, we learn about the triune God, the origin of all matter, the nature of man, why suffering and death exists, and the reason Jesus came to sacrifice His life for us. Genesis also contains accounts of the creation, the Global Flood, and the Tower of Babel – accounts that many Christians don’t see the importance of taking literally.
But if Genesis is not true, how can we trust the rest of the Bible? Tim Chaffey of Answers in Genesis gave us compelling arguments for the first 11 chapters of the Bible and their importance to our modern world.
Tim Chaffey is the founder and director of Midwest Apologetics, a ministry dedicated to defending the word of God from the beginning to the end. Tim holds a M.Div. in Apologetics and Theology and a Th.M. in Church History and Theology from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of the books God and Cancer, Old-Earth Creationism on Trial, and In Defense of Easter. Tim is also content manager for Answers in Genesis’s Ark Encounter.
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There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.
Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. Learn more about our programs here.
Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. Learn more here.
If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.
What is forgiveness? Is it foretold in Jesus ministry?
We need forgiveness. We have missed God’s goal for our lives (aka sin). We are guilty. God forgives us. Now that is amazing news.
Forgiveness in the Bible is a “release” or a “dismissal” of something. The forgiveness we have in the Messiah involves the release of sinners like us from God’s just penalty and the complete dismissal of all charges against us.
Screens Are Changing the Way We Read Scripture
Here is a great insight from Karen Swallow Prior. Karen teaches English at Liberty University and is the author of On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books (Brazos, 2018).
Christianity is a religion of the Word. Christians are a “People of the Book.” These distinctives have defined the Christian faith from the beginning, even before the age of print that brought us books. As we enter what many are calling a post-literate age, pastors can help remind people that the essence of the Christian faith centers on the Word (and words).
From the carving of the Ten Commandments to the writing of the Torah to the copying and distribution of letters in the early church, God’s plan was for his people to read. However, as the way we read in this digital age changes, so too the character of the church will change. How will those reading habits affect the way we interact with the Bible? How will the way people read the Bible alter the church body?
Read the article here: Screens Are Changing the Way We Read Scripture | CT Pastors | Christianity Today
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Heroes Semester
There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
CTCI’s Heroes Semester is a 10-week semester program focused on personal and spiritual development for young adults. While immersed in a way of life that emphasizes the Word of God, prayer, relationships, family, servanthood and personal discipline, you will be renewed, trained, and challenged to walk with God in a deeper way. Learn more here.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.
CTCI’s Heroes Semester is a residential, “family style” living experience like no other! Emphasizing the biblical truths of relationships, family, servanthood, and personal discipline, young men and women are challenged to live a faith that reaches beyond the four walls of the church and affects everyday life.
“The Heroes Semester is taking place, and all that I can say is that the Lord is showing me Himself! Christ is mesmerizing me; He’s opening my heart to fall more in love with Him!”
CB -Tennessee (Participant)
Participants ages 18-26 come from all walks of life with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord and seek Him for their lives and future. Each semester is filled with teaching, activities, and experiences designed to take you on the mountaintops with the Lord as well as train you to live a disciplined life in Christ in the plains and valleys.
Participants spend their days in study sessions, work duties, or on the unpredictable outdoor adventure. The evenings have a natural rhythm of group Bible studies, prayer & intercession, and recreational activities. Everyone pitches in with the usual chores that come with living life together. Electronics take a back seat in daily life, unplugging from usual habits helps to make space for new ones. Each day ends with a note of gratitude and lessons learned.
If you are ready to go deeper in relationships, devotion, and surrender to the Lord, then CTCI’s Heroes Semester could be the most purposeful 10 weeks of your life!
Learn more here.
What is maturity? Is that God’s goal for us?
As we seek to mature in the Lord, one of the big three things to focus on is trusting Him more and more. We need to be steady in our trust. Not trusting one day and then not the next. Consistency leads to maturity. That is God’s goal for us.
Maturity is what we need to strive for. It is so easy to slide into trusting anything but God. That is so immature.
What is effective communication? How does God help us improve?
Micah joined us as a 2018 Summer Intern and came all the way from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Micah shares about the biggest area of change in his life was his ability to communicate as he opened up throughout his time here. As the Lord worked in him and increased Micah’s communication skills He also increased Micah’s desire to share the Gospel and to evangelize.
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There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.
Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. Learn more about our programs here.
Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. Learn more here.
If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.
What does it mean to be trustworthy? Will it pay off?
We are called to be faithful and trustworthy. We are challenged by this some days. When we think about it and focus on it, we execute God’s goal. Some days, like a sheep, we wander off.
Faithfulness is the proper response to God by his covenant people. It is seen in a steadfast commitment which reflects God’s own faithfulness to the covenant. Encouraged in all believers, it is especially important in leaders.
Jesus challenges us to be faithful and endure. Our Master commands us to count the cost and hang in there. We are to be in it for the long haul, until death.
“Worship Me or Burn” – The Oversimplification of an Atheist Meme
Evan Minton is a Christian Apologist and blogger at Cerebral Faith (www.cerebralfaith.blogspot.com). He is the author of “Inference To The One True God” and “A Hellacious Doctrine.” He has engaged in several debates which can be viewed on Cerebral Faith’s “My Debates” section. Mr. Minton lives in South Carolina, USA.
Atheists frequently mock God through memes or tweets or social comments that basically go something like the following; “God says ‘Love me, or I’ll torture you forever!’ Such a good God”, “Worship me or burn!”, or “Believe and worship me, or be punished forever! Ahh… such love.” The implication in these sarcastic posts is that God is an evil self-serving monster.
He demands worship and adoration, and if you don’t give it to Him, watch out! He’ll throw you in the lake of fire to experience agonizing, unending torture! The problem with this tactic is that it grossly oversimplifies God’s judgment of unbelievers and fails to understand precisely what the problem of sin and Hell are. It fails to understand why idolatry is a sin worthy of punishment. It’s easy to make an idea look silly if you oversimplify it, and social media atheists are known for their oversimplification of Christian doctrines.
Read the article here: “Worship Me or Burn” – The Oversimplification of an Atheist Meme
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History of the Christian Training Center
There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
In the early 1970’s, Jay and Sally Fesperman had a vision to open a retreat center for businessmen. It was from this desire that they founded the Inn of Last Resort. In the simplest of words – “Life is Relationships” – Jay Fesperman defined the heart of the ministry. Since its inception, “The Inn” has been involved in training and giving counsel to numerous families, pastors and lay people. The “Inn of the Last Resort” aptly alludes to the condition of many people who have found their way to this sanctuary in the rural Smoky Mountains. As word of the ministry spread, our name was revised to Christian Training Center International. Learn more here.
Global Influence
In 1980, Larry and Susan Pons joined the Fespermans in the ministry. Before Jay’s passing in 1992, CTCI had grown to be more global in its influence. Expansion of the ministry’s impact began to reach overseas and has subsequently brought scores of fellow Christians here for training and renewal. During its existence, over 70,000 people from more than 60 nations have come through the doors seeking a deeper reality of God in their lives.
Our Prayer
Our prayer and focus has remained the same for years. First, that Jesus be Lord over all, through all and in all. Secondly that healthy, Godly relationships will always be the driving force of this ministry. This is the heartbeat of the ministry that the Lord has given us, and it is one we trust the Lord will continue to lead us in until He returns.
Learn more here.
What is tenderness? Is it a mark of a disciple’s behavior?
God has a goal in mind for us. God’s goal is for us to love, be kind and tender.
Jesus shows us how to love and be kind. Jesus commands us to love. Jesus shows us the way. Our model for love is Jesus. When we follow Him, He gives us the strategy and the capability to love. We are not left to our own devices, desperately trying to figure it out.
Jesus is constantly moved by compassion to help the weak and brokenhearted. Jesus shows us the way.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can be tender, kind and loving.
Is our Father listening? How do we know?
Daniel Ricks came to join the 2018 Summer Internship in order to serve and strengthen his relationship with the Lord prior to leaving for Army Basic Training in September. During his time here his relationship with the Lord was made even more personal with the revelation that he always “has his Father’s ear.”
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There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.
Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. Learn more about our programs here.
Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. Learn more here.
If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.
