Tag: Christianity

Not all faith is Christian faith

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Have you ever heard someone claim there is no God?

While some who are against our faith will stipulate that they are simply not convinced there is a God, I have talked to people who claim emphatically that there is no God. You can even go on Amazon and buy T-shirts and coffee mugs that say, “There is no God.”

Oddly enough, many who make that claim also say they reject anything based on faith.  Now, that’s an odd combination.  Science hasn’t proven there is no God, I know of no peer reviewed study that has demonstrated God’s absence, yet there are some who believe God is a myth.

Saying “there is no God,” is a statement of faith because it is a belief that cannot be proven. Christians have Biblical faith; that is, the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. To believe in God or to believe there is no God takes faith. One big difference between the two is the Bible tells us Christian faith is a Gift from God.

From where does your faith come?

George Younce’s Wife Passes Away

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George Younce was one of southern gospel music fans’ favorite bass singers of all time.  His wife, Clara Younce passed away last week.  The couple was married in 1954.

Mrs. Younce was preceeded in death by daughters Dana Younce Willis and Tara Younce.

According to her obituary, due to the current constrictions, a private family service was held at Redmon Funeral Home on Saturday, May 16, 2020 with burial at Silver Springs Cemetery.

Please keep this family in your prayers.

Sharing the scripture: Do you add to God’s word?

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Do you choose your words carefully when you share your faith?  What I mean is, are you careful when you talk to others about God’s Word that what you attribute to God is actually what is written in scripture?

Proverbs tells us not to add to His word or face rebuke and be found to be a liar. Revelation says, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.”  Because of this, I believe we should be careful when talking to others about God especially when you preface a sentence by saying, “The Bible says.”

Most people paraphrase scripture when talking about the Bible.  For example, rather than say, “In the Beginning God created the heaven’s and the earth…” they might say something like,  “God made heaven, then He made earth.” There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with that, as long  as you make it clear that you are describing scripture in your own words. And I don’t think this is a small point.  It’s very easy to accidentally add to the meaning of any written document any time you stray from the words written on the page.  Not only that, you can quote a scripture verbatim out of context making it appear to say something very different than God’s word. Antitheists are quite skilled at intentionally doing this.

Are you careful as you should be when using the phrase, “God said…”?

What are your thoughts?

StowTown Records Announces Debut Release From The Kramers

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SPECIAL FROM STOWTOWN RECORDS

Nashville, TN (May 8, 2020) – StowTown Records has announced the release of a brand new recording from one of gospel music’s most gifted musical families, The Kramers. The Hope of All Tomorrows marks the group’s debut recording under the StowTown umbrella. The recording features live orchestrations and was produced by multi-award winning producer/arranger, Wayne Haun.

Since 1995, Scott and Rachel Kramer have enjoyed a full-time ministry that has allowed them the opportunity to share the Gospel throughout North America and internationally. In 2014, they were joined by their daughter Maria. Three years later, son-in-law, Ben Wolfe, became a member of the musical family. Like the Kramers, Ben comes from a rich musical heritage as his father is Gerald Wolfe of Greater Vision.

The Hope of All Tomorrows offers listeners a rich variety and effectively exhibits the group’s ability to present a diverse range of musical stylings that are certain to be embraced by music lovers of all ages. The recording includes moving ballads, as well as upbeat melodies and powerful songs of worship, each complemented by creative and inspiring orchestrations masterfully created by talented producer Wayne Haun. “For many years now, we’ve admired the music production work of Wayne Haun,” states Scott Kramer, “and it’s been a tremendous blessing to have him produce our latest project. Wayne brings a wealth of creative talent to the table, including great musicianship, songwriting, orchestral arranging, vocal production and the incredible ability to write studio charts for many of the world’s greatest musicians. From the beginning, Wayne encouraged our family through every step of the production process. The Hope of All Tomorrows is by far our best family project to date, and it’s largely due to God working in a mighty way through our dear friend, Wayne Haun!”

“When you are in the studio with great songs and talented singers, the creative juices easily flow,” Haun shares, “and it’s all evident from the downbeat of the first song to the final note. I love the musical versatility we created for this project. All four singers are unique musicians individually, but somehow the collaboration just clicks. I think that comes from the years of good training and honing their craft and God-given talent…family harmony in its best form.”

The Hope of All Tomorrows features nine selections, including the debut single “Water Walker,” which is currently climbing up radio airplay charts nationwide. “From the moment we first heard the demo for the song, we knew we wanted to sing it,” Maria Kramer Wolfe shares. “It features an upbeat and catchy melody with a greatly encouraging message! We always look forward to sharing the song live, and we’re excited to say it’s our latest release to radio. Written by Wendy Ferguson and Rachel McCutcheon, ‘Water Walker’ reminds us God is always at work in our lives and, with every test we face, He is strengthening our faith. Our God is always faithful to lead and guide in our journey to become more like Him!”

The Kramers have been presenting the Gospel in song for 25 years. With The Hope of All Tomorrows, the musical team of Scott, Rachel, Maria and Ben soars to new heights.

A misleading and unfair question

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It’s not uncommon for someone opposed to our faith to ask: How could you believe in God given some of the things science has proven? It’s a misleading and unfair question for several reasons.  It’s usually directed at someone who is not an astrophysicist or even someone who holds some advanced degree. It’s easy to imply that advanced science has proven there is no God when talking to someone who is not a scientist. It’s an unfair advantage that some exploit. One can claim that science has proven anything when talking to someone without such an education.  But doing so speaks more to the intentions of the one making the claim. Science has not proven there is no God.  It’s either a claim intended to deceive, one made from ignorance, or it’s an expression atheist faith.

It’s important to note that the Bible wasn’t written to teach us about the processes by which God created the universe. Its books were written to explain in words we can understand, the nature of God and our need for salvation. The processes by which God created the universe may or may not be something that men and women can understand. When one considers how little of the universe is even visible to us, we would have to make a lot of assumptions to claim we understand it.

Researchers have learned things about the physical world that that appear to be gibberish to common understanding.  I’m talking about things such as subatomic particles that exist in two places at the same time and the universe being made up of mostly dark matter that we can’t see or detect other than its gravitational pull. Something existing in two places at the same time? That doesn’t make sense.  It sounds like gibberish to say most of the universe is invisible, but they’ve demonstrated that as well. Reality is not what we think, and it’s certainly not what our senses tell us.

Researchers and our finest scientific minds have never come up with something that “proves” there is no God.  If anything, they’ve demonstrated we’re going in the wrong direction if our goal is to confirm that our understanding of reality in this universe reveals that the idea of God is hard to believable.  But there are some people who work very hard to try to convince us that science has eliminated God.  Let me restate this.  As top scientists find things that go against our common sense, they find that making sense of God’s creation isn’t as simple as we’d like it to be.  Fallacious arguments such as the “celestial teapot” lose their bite when used to say the idea of God is false because it seems absurd. In fact, Bertrand Russell who devised the argument was intentionally being absurd to demonstrate that the burden of proof lies with the person making a claim, not to “prove” there is no God.  How something seems or feels does not tell us anything about its reality.  As science advances, the  arguments of those calling the concept of God absurd recedes, and the idea that science has eliminated God is revealed as little more than anti-theist faith.

I believe God created the universe, and us, and loves us enough to offer His son’s blood to cover our shortcomings.

What do you believe?

 

 

The Abernathy family after adopting two young kids, Tyler and Zoey.Abernathy Family

Gospel musician with missing fingers adopts son who has same birth defect

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Special to Texas Gospel Canada from Daywind Records

Our God is an amazing God. He shows Himself in some of the most unlikely ways. Barry Abernathy of Appalachian Road Show was born with only a thumb and partial index finger on his left hand. He adapted and has a unique three finger style of playing the banjo.

He and his family recently adopted siblings, Tyler and Zoey. Barry’s daughter, Chassady, encountered the children through their daycare. They had been removed from an unsafe home and put in the foster care system. Chassady noted when she saw 4 year old, Tyler, that he had the exact same birth defect as her father.

Barry decided to stop by the daycare as he drove through Nashville, feeling that God was leading him to do so. Tyler looked at him and said, “You’re my dad!” The Abernathys didn’t wrestle with God very long. They quickly decided, Tyler was right. This amazing story was shared on NBC’s, Today. over the weekend! What a beautiful story and a beautiful family! Be sure to read the full story for yourself! Here’s Barry Abernathy and the rest of Appalachian Road Show with “Tribulations.”

CLICK HERE TO SEE FULL STORY FROM “TODAY”

Original Hinson member dies

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Southern Gospel fans are mourning the death of original Hinsons’ member, Larry Hinson. Mr. Hinson passed away Wednesday April 22.

The Hinsons are a Southern Gospel family group that captivated Southern Gospel fans for decades. They started out in Freedom, CA, in the late 1960’s. The sibling group consisted of Ronny, Yvonne, Kenny and Larry.

Between his two tenures with the group, collectively, he was with the group 17 years.