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Fourth Year Ministries is a ministry of Howell Bible Church.

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Howell Bible Church

1875 N. Eager Rd.

Howell, MI 48855

Prayer vs. Petition

Q: What's the difference between prayer and petition? Phil 4:6 for example. A: An excellent word study question! When attempting to study words from the text it is necessary to analyze the word being studied in the original language (in this case Greek) as attempting to look up the words in English will often produce erroneous results. For example, in English the word petition has within its range of meanings things that are certainly not within the scope of meanings for the Greek word (i.e. “a sheet that is signed to demonstrate agreement with some principle or desire for some social action to be taken” is part of the range of “petition” but not of the Greek deesis from which “petition” is translated). The word most commonly translated as “prayer” in our English Bibles is proseuche , which appears 36 times in the New Testament (NT) in one form or another (for the purposes of this study, we are only examining the usage of these words as nouns – the verbal forms will not be...

Smoking Hookah

Q: This week a young Christian talked with me about the practice of smoking Hookah. They attend a church [which] is reaching out to the many Indian and Muslims in the surrounding areas. Their church also have several ministries that support missions in India and Arab countries. As they spoke with me they said that many of their Christian friends are smoking the Hookah. They said that they have been told that certain types of Hookah smoking involve no tobacco but are simply flavored water, other types of Hookah smoking do include tobacco but in a ‘more pure’ form than that of cigarettes that have additives. The Christians that they know of who partake in smoking Hookah do not feel that there is anything sinful in this practice and believe that it is just a part of certain cultures as a way to relax and socialize. Apparently during certain celebrations some of these culture groups get together as a family and include smoking the Hookah together as part of the festivities. These Chris...

The "Jesus Loves You" Problem

Q: I've encountered a lot of teaching and Christians who believe that saying, "Jesus loves you!" is a valid form of evangelism. Do you disagree with this? If so, why? It seems like a loving way to reach out and to encourage those who are not believers. A: What a great question! There are certainly a lot of materials and teachings that encourage Christians to use the phrase, "Jesus loves you" as an outreach and evangelistic tool. Much of this teaching that I've encountered emphasizes following the lead of the Holy Spirit. It claims that the Holy Spirit will often lead Christians to say this to non-believers to encourage them and try and lead them to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Fourth Year Ministries does not teach or endorse this as a valid evangelism strategy. That's not because we don't want it to be valid! Truth be told, we would love for this to be a good practice for Christians. It would certainly open some more doors for us. I...

Wondering about Signs and Wonders?

Question –“What do you think about: gold dust, diamond dust and gems appearing in church services? Do you think they are from God?” A: I have to admit, when I first read this question I had no idea what the Questioner was talking about. I had not heard of these things or even similar things happening. So I figured I had better find out if in fact they were happening and under what circumstances. With a little surfing of the Internet, I was able to find several stories relating to this claimed phenomenon. Case One: A small church in San Juan, Puerto Rico, had reported that precious gems had miraculously appeared during their church services. These included what appeared to be diamonds, gold, silver, topaz, emeralds, and rubies. They also claimed that mysterious oil with the fragrance of roses began pouring from their ceiling and walls. They assert that the numbers of precious stones that appear are based on their worship and adoration as they praised God. They even claim th...

Self-Centered Theology

I have a problem. Maybe you do, too. I bet you can at least relate. I'm self-centered. By nature, I think from my perspective. Often, more often than I'd usually like to admit, I pursue my agenda. I like to do, what I like to do, when I like to do it, where I like to do it, how I like to do it, and with whomever I like to do it. I think you do, too. Sometimes we are good at hiding this self-centeredness. I believe that it is possible to have genuinely altruistic moments. Moments where we put others self-interest above our own well-being. Sometimes powerful emotions like love, hate, and disgust, can cause us to act contrary to our self-centered notions. Sometimes. As Christians, we are given the gift of God's grace through His Son, Jesus Christ. We receive this gift when we repent of our self-centered ways and trust in Christ alone. In the noise that is "Christianity" - if you take the time to really listen - you will often hear a false ...

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