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Q & A

10/31/2023

Q. Our church has been discussing how a “corporate” prayer of confession should be prayed. One group wants it printed in the bulletin so the congregation can read it together in unison. Others want this prayer to be led by a minister or elder. Does everyone have to speak the words for it to be “corporate” prayer?
10/24/2023

Q. I recently asked about putting flowers on the altar, and our minister became quite upset. He insisted we don’t have an altar in the church, we have a communion table. Why was this such a big deal to him?
10/17/2023

Q. Why did Jesus “have” to die on the cross? It seems to me that if God wanted to forgive us, he could just do it. Doesn’t crucifying Jesus cast God in the role of a father who gets mad, beats his children, and then doesn’t feel so angry any more?
10/10/2023

Q. There is a question in “Belonging to God: A First Catechism” that bothers me. It asks: “What makes you a child of God?” The answer given is: “Grace- God’s free gift of love that I do not deserve and cannot earn.” I find the idea that somehow a child of God does not deserve God’s love totally abhorrent. We don’t expect that newborn babies must deserve our love; we simply give them our love. I am convinced that God gives His love in the same way, without any consideration of whether we “deserve” it or not.
10/3/2023

Q. My co-worker (from another denomination) keeps telling me it is un-Biblical for women to hold leadership positions. What Scriptures support his viewpoint, and what Scriptures support the Presbyterian position?
9/26/2023

Q. Jesus told Doubting Thomas to touch him and believe in the resurrection, but he would not let Mary Magdalene touch him. Why not? Isn’t this a contradiction?
9/18/2023

Q. One of our church members is really upset that the church gets involved in politics, rather than “making disciples” and “going out to do mission.” Why does the church involve itself with non-church-related issues?
9/12/2023

Q. In Matthew 8 it says the centurion came to Jesus and asked him to heal his servant; but in Luke 7 it says the centurion did not come to Jesus, but sent the Jewish elders on his behalf. Isn’t this a contradiction? Which one is correct?
8/25/2023

Q&A: How do you explain cremation to a child? Children usually want to know if their loved one will look like ashes in heaven or how God will recognize them.
8/11/2023

Q&A: When is a marriage considered over, so that by biblical standards a person is no longer validly married?