This is a collection of the many questions I have struggled with and the answers I have found regarding the relationship between authentic faith in Christ and much of what is portrayed today as Biblical Christianity. Especially with the Coming Darkness looming over all of us... including the church.
Come with me. It should be a wild ride!
Friday, January 20, 2012 at 09:03AM CCM, Church, Pride, Repentance, Seeker-Sensitive, Video, Worship Monday, January 16, 2012 at 09:00PM 
What happens when a clear doctrine in Scripture assaults and comes into direct conflict with our personal conviction of right and wrong, or what is fair and just or what is unfair and needs to be corrected
What happens?
Do we simply accept the clear teaching of Scripture as truth? Or do we somehow try to place the blame for this moral inconsistency on the head of God Himself?
Unfortunately, my experience says the latter. Especially when dealing with issues like election, free-will and personal accountability.
Want to know more? Keep listening.
The following is a study on Romans 8:29-30.
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For more podcasts: www.stevemccranie.com/sermons
Sunday, December 25, 2011 at 11:54AM I guess this is what Christmas has digressed to in the land of Laodicea. Pretty sad. A far cry from honoring the One who gave His life for us, isn't it.
For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. - Isaiah 9:6
Merry Laodicean Christmas... to the shame of us all.
Saturday, December 24, 2011 at 05:31PM Doesn't surprise me. I have long been a believer in (1) the supernatural origin of the Shroud of Turin and (2) the bias of carbon dating. Personally, I find this fascinating and intriguing.
What do you think?
Current Events, Heresy, Truth, Video Friday, December 23, 2011 at 07:04PM This is how really bad stuff can happen really fast. Uh, Merry Christmas.
Iran will launch 10 days of naval drills from Saturday around the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil-shipping route, reports said, after a rumour earlier this month hinted the country planned to close the waterway.
"Our naval drill will begin from 24 December lasting 10 days covering east of Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman to the Gulf of Aden", navy Adm. Habibollah Sayari said. "This is the first time that we are covering such large area."
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on December 14th that closing the strait was "not on the agenda," after the rumour that appeared to stem from a comment by an Iranian lawmaker circulated. But Mehmanparast had hinted that the strait, a narrow stretch along Iran's gulf shoreline, could be threatened if current rising tensions in the region ever spilled over into war.
When asked Thursday if the strait will be closed as part of the impending naval drill, Sayari said: "The ability to do so exists . . . whether to go ahead lays with the regime's top officials."
Oil prices spiked dramatically after the rumour, but quickly returned to normal once the rumour was discounted.
To read the rest of the article, click - HERE
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 10:45PM 
Romans 8:28 is either one of the greatest statements of divine encouragement found in the New Testament or it is, hands down, the greatest excuse for our "stay at arms length, don't get too close" lack of ministry to others who are hurting. It has become for many a Biblical placebo freely prescribed by uninformed, apathetic Christians to those who are in deep distress spiritually, physically, or emotionally.
It's as if by saying the words or quoting the verse we have somehow uttered the magic incantation that will set everything right and soothe away all the pain and hurt. "There's no place like home. There's no place like home."
It has become the church's default ministry position when we simply don't know what to say or don't want to get too involved or we are just too busy to hear about their problems or bear their burdens.
Is that all this verse mean?
But for those who how understand and live in the realm of the sovereignty of God, it is something more. Much more. After all, according to Psalm 115:3, "Our God is in His heavens and does what He pleases."
So, which is it? Encouragement or placebo? Listen and find out more.
The following is a study on Romans 8:28.
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Thursday, December 15, 2011 at 08:58PM 
Question: What does worship really mean?
Answer (and more questions): Is worship simply a style or type or genre of Christian music? Or, is worship just the singing part of our Sunday morning church routine?
Does worship always have to be connected with music or can worship intersect other parts of our lives? And, if so, what other parts? And how? In what way?
What does true worship look like? How does it feel? What does it accomplish? What does it do for God (as strange as that sounds) and what does it do for me? What is the purpose of worship?
Need more? Then keep listening.
The following is a study on true Worship.
To Download the podcast, click - HERE
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To Download the Notes for the study, click - HERE
For more podcasts: www.stevemccranie.com/sermons
Faith, Holy Spirit, Podcast, Worship Thursday, December 15, 2011 at 09:25AM The following is from RC Sproul, Jr. It is a wonderful reminder that sometimes God, in His sovereignty, has plans for us that we didn't ask for nor desire. But they are His plans, nonetheless. Also, as a bit of background, RC's wife has been suffering with a debilitating illness for quite some time.
Doing Great Things
We first learned that my little girl Shannon would always be a little girl, when we discovered about her first birthday that she was profoundly disabled. My father, a deeply compassionate man, asked how I was handling the news. I told him that I had been preparing for this moment all my life. If anyone should be able to rest in the sovereignty of God it is me. The sovereignty of God is the cornerstone of Reformed theology, which theology I have been schooled in from my youth by one of its greatest living proponents.
The sovereignty of God, rightly understood, was the very core of my father’s best known work, The Holiness of God. The doctrine came front and center in his next book, Chosen by God. I was a young man when those books were first published. Like many others I ate them up, drank them in, and like too many young men, spat out their wisdom with precious little grace and care. I reveled in God’s sovereignty, and delighted in nothing more than to argue for, to defend, to proclaim that sovereignty.
That all changed, however, when I read still another book by my father, this one born of a family hardship. Surprised by Suffering begins with the still-born birth of my niece, Alissa. From there the book explores not just the truth that God ordains our suffering but why. The point that has stuck with me over the years was this - suffering isn’t something that happens, nor it is just something God permits. It is instead a vocation, a calling. God does not merely say, "I’m going to make you go through this." Instead He says, "It is My desire for you that you should go through this. Follow Me."
All of us, when we are brought into the kingdom, in joyful gratitude for the grace of God, want to do great things for the kingdom. Having been rescued by His glorious grace, we want in turn to rescue others, to serve the body, to proclaim the Good News. God has called us to do just that. He calls out heroes who take the message to strange and foreign lands. He calls out pastors who feed the sheep. He calls out teachers, like my father, who explain to the broader body the fullness of the gospel. Some, however, He calls to suffer.
My wife, for this part of His story, is called to suffer. Her role right now is to do this great thing for the kingdom - to be Jesus to us, so that we might be Jesus to her. She is Jesus to us because as we serve her, we remember His promise, that serving the least of these is serving Him (Matthew 25). We, in turn, are Jesus to her, precisely because the church is His body. When we pray for her, she rests in Jesus’ arms. When we bring a meal, she tastes Jesus feeding her. When we dry her eyes, she feels Jesus wiping away her tears.
Hers is not an easy calling. It is, however, a great one. Being Jesus means walking the via dolorosa.
How blessed I am to walk that road with her, and with Him.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 10:26PM 
When we tire of the constant struggle between the inner man and our flesh sometime we can begin to believe that maybe we aren't really saved, that maybe we're not one of the chosen ones... maybe we've just been fooling ourselves or maybe we just flat missed the boat.
During those dark times it is helpful and encouraging to see the three confirmations of our sonship in Christ that are found in Romans 8.
We can relish in the fact that being (1) led by the Spirit proves our (2) adoption, and if we are adopted then we are (3) sons of God and joint-heirs with Christ.
And it doesn't get much better than that.
The following is a study on Romans 8:14-16.
To Download the podcast, click - HERE
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To Download the Notes for the study, click - HERE
For more podcasts: www.stevemccranie.com/sermons
Monday, October 17, 2011 at 09:08PM 
One of the dangers of living in the lukewarm, Laodicean church culture of today is that we tend to adopt the mantra of the world regarding sin and repeat it over and over again, as truth, within our church circles.
For example, "Don't ask, don't tell."
Or, in other words, if you won't ask me about my sin and lack of Christian virtue and holiness, then I promise I won't ask you about yours. Then we can both live under the deception that we are saved, living the "abundant life in Christ," and that the Lord is "mighty pleased with us."
Really? But the Scriptures may say something quite different.
The following is a study on Romans 8:3-5.
To Download the podcast, click - HERE
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To Download the Notes for the study, click - HERE
For more podcasts: www.stevemccranie.com/sermons
Sunday, October 9, 2011 at 09:49PM 
"In Christ." Martin Luther puts it this way:
"Everything which Christ has becomes the property of the believing soul; everything which the soul has, becomes the property of Christ. Christ possesses all blessings and eternal life: they are thenceforward the property of the soul. The soul has all its iniquities and sins: they become thenceforward the property of Christ. It is then that a blessed exchange commences."
But there is much more. Being "in Christ" is... well, such a profound truth that it boggles the mind to even think about it.
Keen listening...
The following is a study on Romans 8:1.
To Download the podcast, click - HERE
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To Download the Notes for the study, click - HERE
For more podcasts: www.stevemccranie.com/sermons
Monday, October 3, 2011 at 10:25PM 
The Christian life is full of some strange, yet Biblical paradoxes. Consider the following:
Salvation is both free and costly.
To find your life you must lose it.
Those who are last will be first.
The least among men is the greatest.
Those who give will receive.
Those who are humble will be exalted.
God is Three yet One.
And the granddaddy of them all...
True freedom comes only through slavery. Really? Oh, yes. It is the most marvelous paradox of all. Listen and find out why.
The following is a study on being a Slave.
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To Download the Notes for the study, click - HERE
For more podcasts: www.stevemccranie.com/sermons
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at 03:46PM 
Sometimes when we view God we have a selfish, sinful, Laodicean tendency to think that He is just like us. After all, we bend over backwards to cut our kids slack because we want them to like us and... uh, I guess that's how God deals with us. Wrong.
Then we continually make excuses for sinful behavior and just chuck it all up to the mantra of, "you know how kids are these days" or "boys will be boys" or "that's just the way I am"... and we think and pray that God views our sin the same way. Again, wrong.
God is not created in our image.
And it's high time to man-up.
The following is a study on the Holiness of God.
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Monday, September 26, 2011 at 08:44PM 
Some people feel that the Scriptures no longer speak to us today. That the answers it offers are to questions we no longer ask.
Really? Try this one on for size.
Question from Romans 6: If it is true that the Law convicts and condemns, and if I am now free from the Law and under grace... then it would stand to reason that I am free from any moral restraint in my behavior.
In other words, if the law no longer needs to be obeyed, and if God's grace covers all my sins, then I (and all Believers) are perfectly free to do as we please and sin to our heart's content.
The following is a study on Romans 6:15-23.
To Download the podcast, click - HERE
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To Download the Notes for the study, click - HERE
For more podcasts: www.stevemccranie.com/sermons
Sunday, September 25, 2011 at 07:33PM 
Doulos. It means "slave, or one who is held in servitude as chattel (or property) of another." But there is much more.
Doulos deals with a permanent relationship of servitude to another. It is one whose very existence is characterized by obedience, one whose own personal will is surrendered to the will of another. It depicts one who is completely devoted to and dependent on another.
It is the exact opposite of what we honor and esteem in our culture today.
And, most important, it is the type of "slave / master" relationship that we are to have with Jesus.
Confused? Then keep listening.
The following is a study on being a Servant or a Slave.
To Download the podcast, click - HERE
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To Download the Notes for the study, click - HERE
For more podcasts: www.stevemccranie.com/sermons
Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 11:40PM 
Psalm 106 tells of Israel's rebellion and sin and the bountiful mercy of God. But is also paints a prophetic picture of the church in America today.
Consider the following:
"But they mingled with the Gentiles (or heathens) and learned their works. They served their idols, which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons."
Are you wondering how someone could sacrifice their children to demons? Then keep listening... because we do it everyday.
The following is a study on Psalm 106.
To Download the podcast, click - HERE
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For more podcasts: www.stevemccranie.com/sermons
Sunday, July 31, 2011 at 08:42AM 
As Bob Dylan once said, "The times, they are a-changin'."
And they are changing at light speed for the church in America. Actually, they've already changed.
Let me elaborate.
For years, decades actually, we as the church have been pretty much satisfied with sitting on the sidelines with our hands stuck deep into our pocket so as to not soil them with the dirty things of the world— with sin, and sinners, and a culture that laughs at our God and at His Word. Now don't get me wrong, our reluctance to engage the encroaching sin in our nation and in our neighborhoods has nothing to do with us living the supposed "sanctified" or "separated" life the Scriptures talk about. It has nothing to do with us quoting, like a worn-out excuse, our mantra of "friendship with the world being enmity, or hatred, toward God"— or something spiritual sounding like that. * As if living a holy life was a sincerely held belief among the church today. Please. Our separation is not a sign of our spiritually, but of our apathy and our fear.
We desperately believe that, if we leave them alone... maybe they'll leave us alone.
Ya, think? Well, think again.
Church, to most of us, has become nothing more than a series of weekly feel good pep rallies. We pack into our safe-havens on Sunday and enjoy some inspiring music, an encouraging message that makes us feel good about who we are and the lives we are leading, and then, just as dessert follows a three-course meal, we top it off with some pot-luck fellowship dinners. Occasionally, and I do mean occasionally, the pastor or speaker will rail against some of the evils of our day: abortion, pornography, sexual immorality, homosexuality and the like. You take your pick, any evil will do. And we, like trained geese, will squawk and flap our wings in agreement, nod our heads in affirmation and cry out, as one man and one voice, that "something must be done about the moral decline and decadence in our nation. For the sake of our children's children, something must be done about it!"
Sounds good, doesn't it? Even feels kinda good at times, you know, getting all worked-up and hot-under-the-collar passionate about these kinds of things.
But the reality is that nothing much is being done about the proverbial, it. Not much at all. And, if you are like most of us who claim membership in church today in America, not much is being done about it by you. Or your friends. Or your church. Or your pastor. Or anybody that you know personally.
Did you ever wonder why?
My four. No more. Shut the door!
One of reasons is that, for the better part of the last century, basically since the last great missionary movement ran its course and died out in the late 1800s, we as the church have been building walls around our holy huddles as fast as we can lay the bricks. No house of sticks or straw for us. "My four. No more. Now shut the door!" We chose to ignore the Great Commission and sacrifice the example of our Lord on the altar of living the quiet, tranquil, Walnut Grove kind of life.
"I don't care what the world does, just as long as it doesn't come near my beautiful house on Great Oak Avenue. You know, the one with the white picket fence, the swing set and slide, and Lassie running around in the backyard."
Get the point?
And we want our kids to be normal. (That's normal by the world's standards and not normal from God's point of view.) Which means, we don't want them, or us for that matter, to stand out too much in our society. We just want to be like everybody else. To fit in. To be popular. Accepted. Loved. If everybody is doing something... well, we want to do it too. Just not to the extreme. After all, we're Christians you know.
Thanks. I almost forgot.
The last thing we ever want to be said about us, or our children, is that "they are so heavenly minded, they're not of any earthly good." No way. Never. Geez. That's like a Scarlet Letter or a kiss of death. It's a birth mark or a bad tattoo that won't wash off. We just can't have that.
So, to keep that curse from being said about the church today, we go to great pains to mimic the world and its values, no matter how perverted they may be. Whatever the world or the culture is doing, we want to do it too— only Christianize it, sanitize it, and not let any of the nasty sinners join with us and dirty the whole thing up again.
Remember the soiling of hands we talked about earlier?
Think about it.
The Theys and the Ours
They have their colleges and universities. We have ours. They have their movies. We have our movies. They have their radio stations that play their music. We have our radio stations that play our music. They have their television and cable networks with all their secular programming. And we have our stations and networks that pump out our religious programming. They have their award nights, the Oscar and the Grammy. We have our award night, the Dove. They have Stephen King and John Grisham and Mary Higgins Clark. We have Frank Peretti and Ted Decker and Robert Whitlow.
"Whatever you got, we got it also. Only ours is better. More Christ-like."
Need we say more?
And all of this worked for the church until the last decade or so. Then, inevitably and prophetically, thing began to change.
As long as the world allowed us to dance and sing and raise our hands and speak of finite, unchanging truth in the church, we could live happily and satisfied in our plastic bubble.
"We won't bother you, if you will just leave us alone to live our lives quietly and among our friends. You do what you want with the world and all its sin, just keep it off my front porch. If you'll do that, I'll promise to ignore the commands of Christ to be 'salt and light' in this world. And, if you'll continue to grant me freedom of speech, I promise to only use that freedom in my church among my friends and never in the marketplace or in the media to somehow infringe on your world. I promise to never do that. I also promise, if you will just let me do my little Christian thing unmolested and all by myself, then I promise to 'keep my light hidden under a basket' and I won't 'put it on the table where people will see my good work and glorify the Father in heaven.' I promise. Just please leave me alone and let me do my little church thing." *
But the world has rejected our offer. They have said a resounding 'no' to our demands.
The False Virtue of Tolerance
In order for the world to become one and serve as the platform from which the antichrist will one day ascend, all intolerance must be eradicated from our society. All intolerance. No exceptions. There is now a common way of thinking, for a perceived common good. We are no longer individuals, but are now citizens of a world community. We are a village, a tribe, one big ol' dysfunctional family. And to be good global citizens, we must all think and act and speak the same.
No exceptions.
If the church, or anyone for that matter, chooses to believe or live in an intolerant fashion, they will find themselves at odds with and enemies of the new paradigm shift we see being formed right before our eyes. If we can only preach tolerance— that's tolerance of sin, or an alternative lifestyle, then we can peacefully co-exist with the world, the culture, the society and our government. But if we choose to remain, in our words, orthodox and fundamental, then they will view us as, in their words, bigots and racists. And the society and government will deal with bigots and racists accordingly.
So what is the church to do? What does the Scripture say about the moral issues facing our nation today? What is God's view on tolerance?
Simply put, the God of the Bible is not tolerant, nor ever has been, of sin.
What is His view of abortion? The Scriptures call it murder. Intolerant.
How does God view homosexuality? Is it an alternative lifestyle to be accepted? "Don't ask, don't tell." No, the Scriptures call it a perversion and an abomination. Intolerant.
What is His view on sexual immorality? You got it. Intolerant.
Divorce? The Scriptures say that God hates it. Intolerant.
Biblical Christianity runs headlong into the moral tolerance of our society with no common ground for compromise. None. And as Biblical Christians who make up Biblical churches, we also have no orders from our heavenly Commander-and-Chief to compromise or soft-sell the cancer of sin in our land. No matter what our nation's Commander-and-Chief may say.
"But if we don't compromise with the world and their sin, they will view us as unloving, bigoted, homophobic, raciest and will do everything they can to silence our voices."
Exactly.
I guess that's why Jesus said, "And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed." *
What are we to do? How are we to stand against the fearful, it?
We have but one weapon. Truth.
Our Weapon of Choice: Truth
There is legislation pending that will classify Biblical preaching on abortion or homosexuality as hate speech, punishable as a hate crime. Why? Because the world now cannot allow finite, unchanging, Biblical truth to be spoken even within the safe-haven of a church building. The agents of tolerance cannot tolerate our intolerance of their sin. Now the tentacles of our society and government want to regulate exactly what is being preached and believed within the bounds of Christian orthodoxy. The dye has been cast. The enemy has breached the wall. It is time to determine exactly what kind of Christian you truly are.
What is happening today is not unlike what took place in Nazi Germany two generations ago when the Third Reich, like our Department of Homeland Security, determined what are 'good' and 'toxic' churches. Good churches are tolerant and will be allowed to function and live, albeit regulated. Toxic churches are intolerant, divisive, bigoted and a blight to our society. They must go the way of the dinosaur, either willingly or by force.
Since we, as the church, failed to take the battle to the agents of darkness with the Truth of the Gospel, it looks like the Lord is going to allow the enemy to take the war to us. One way or the other, Truth will prevail.
Are you prepared?
The Declaration of Independence
Since it is apparent that we can no longer hide among ourselves, holding hands and doing our Christian dance, for me, there is only one course of action to take. I'll sum it up in the words that have been attributed to Edmond Burke:
"The only thing necessary for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing."
We have been given the mandate from our Lord to speak His Truth. Satan is the father of lies and so is his world system. But we see in the Revelation how the final chapter of this life saga ends. I know what side I want to be on. Do you?
And if we are the good men, the called-out ones, the Church— we can no longer remain silent to the sin and abomination in the land. Where are the Elijahs and John the Baptist for our day? Where are the men of God who the Scripture states, "the world was not worthy of them." *
Where are they?
Are you one of them? Am I?
Today is my Independence Day.
It is the day that I claim independence from the flawed example of the church that craves worldly acceptance and feigns sold-out commitment to Christ. It is a day of independence whereby I let all mankind know that I will speak His word, tolerant or not, wherever He desires it spoken. I will strive to surrender myself to Him daily in all aspects of my life and no longer live for the acceptance or accolades of this sinful world or fallen man. And I will accept the consequences of speaking His Truth with the same willingness as the Reformers of old or the heroes of Hebrews 11.
Adveho quis may. Come what may.
Will you join with me? Come what may.
* James 4:4; Matthew 5:14-16; John 3:19-20; Hebrews 11:38
Saturday, July 30, 2011 at 11:38PM 
Did you know that one of the true signs of saving faith is the fact that you will face persecution? Consider the following:
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs— heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. Romans 8:16-17
Are you wondering exactly what that means and how it plays out in our lives today?
Good. Then keep listening.
The following is a study on John 15:18-27.
To Download the podcast, click - HERE
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To Download the Notes for the study, click - HERE
For more podcasts: www.stevemccranie.com/sermons
Thursday, July 21, 2011 at 11:18PM 
The players from John 15:
One, Jesus is the Vine... all of the Vine. He is the roots, the stalk, the leaves... literally, He is everything.
Two, we, as Believers, are the branches of the Vine. We are a part of the Vine, not separate and distinct from the Vine, but connected to the Vine to serve a specific purpose. And what is that purpose? To bear the fruit of the Vine. Note, we don't create the fruit for our own use, we just bear it. And why? For what purpose?
Three, for the enjoyment and glory of the Vinedresser, God the Father.
But there is so much more. Keep listening.
The following is a study on John 15:1-8.
To Download the podcast, click - HERE
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To Download the Notes for the study, click - HERE
For more podcasts: www.stevemccranie.com/sermons
To download a free copy of Love Jesus, Hate Church, click - HERE
