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Church VS the Mystery Cults
In 1 Corinthians 14:23-25 Paul tells us that speaking in tongues in our church services will confuse unbelievers, but that prophecy can minister to them. If a new person enters the church and everyone is speaking in unknown tongues (as the Corinthian church is pictured doing), that new person is going to leave as soon…
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Prophecy Builds, Encourages & Consoles
While comparing tongues and prophecy in 1 Corinthians 14, Paul shows us that while tongues need interpretation to be beneficial to the body of Christ, prophecy is naturally beneficial to the body because it builds up the church (1 Cor 14:3-4, 17), encourages (1 Cor 14:3, 31) and consoles (1 Cor 14:3). This is all important…
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Kaiju of Biblical Proportions Review
Many thanks to Derek Jordan for the generous review on Goodreads of my book Kaiju of Biblical Proportions! A serious look at the Leviathan and Behemoth mentioned in the Bible. It may sound like an odd choice for a book, I found this very insightful and incredibly well thought out. Jamin does a great job both…
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Should I Speak in Tongues at Church?
Right from the get-go of 1 Corinthians 14 we’ve got this understanding of a hierarchy within the gifts: Paul wants us to desire the gift of prophecy over the gift of tongues. However, it’s important to understand his reasoning for this as he is not actually downplaying the importance of tongues or trying to belittle…
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Early Church Services
Everyone today loves to fight about the right way to “do church.” Every last variant of a church service seems up for grabs to debate. We argue about, songs, instrumentation, liturgy, communion, traditions, on-stage symbolism, message presentation, lighting, Bible translation, appropriate practice of spiritual gifts, acceptable clothing and the list goes on. Everyone thinks they…
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The Bible’s Schools of Prophets
I truly believe that with the Spirit’s gifting and guidance, we can learn and grow in the prophetic (see 1 Corinthians 14). Therefore, I have no problem seeing this kind of learning to be a practice in the “schools of the prophets” at Bethel (2 Ki 2:3), Jericho (2 Ki 2:5), and Gilgal (2 Ki…
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Daniel Learns the Prophetic
What’s intriguing about Daniel is that he didn’t necessarily seem to choose to become a prophet, but rather, was forced into the position by humans and blessed by God along the way. After God had put Israel into exile, King Nebuchadnezzar told his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of…
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Where Did Samuel’s Prophets Come From?
The Bible presents us with a strange story in which Saul meets a group of prophetic musicians. As he comes in contact with them, the Spirit of the Lord rushes upon Saul and he is turned into another man (1 Sa 10:5-6). Now we have to ask some questions here because the beginning of the…
Jamin Bradley 