Living Springs Q&a

Q&A #210: Pastors Doug, and Blake discuss the following: 1. Why is it that conspiracy theories such as Q-Anon, the Big Lie, and anti-vaxx rhetoric have found such a strong following among evangelical churches and communities? 2. What is the churches stance on climate change? Do Christians have an obligation to care for the environment the same way they are called to care for each other? 3. is it ethical for Christians to evangelize uncontacted communities in places like the Amazon, Papua New Guinea, or Indonesia? Even if that could be illegal or damaging to their safety and way of life? 4. I'm not sure what to do with the story of Jesus cursing the fig tree (Mark 11). It came up in the readings for the devos with pastor Doug, It's always been a sticking point with me that i've never dug down into. It seems almost petty to curse the tree for not having figs "because it was not the season for figs (NIV)" I understand Jesus is human, so do i just understand it as an expression of emotion? Because i'd de

Q&A #207: Pastors Doug, Blake and Kyle discuss the following: 1. What is the churches current stance on conversion therapy? If someone is openly gay, is the church only supportive until someone has a partner? if the answer to that is yes, why? 2. Is Satanism and the Satanic temple a threat to the modern church? 3. I was just wondering why the lights stay on for worship time now? My scattered mind found it easier to focus when they were off haha

Q&A #207: Pastors Doug, and Kyle discuss the following: 1. Doug and Kyle mentioned that the Bible talks about fornication and therefore “condemns” premarital sex. The Greek word used there is Porneia, and it’s an umbrella term for sexual acts that seem to demean the image of God in another person. It’s an umbrella term for acts like adultery, prostitution and sexual idolatry. It doesn’t seem to relate to a committed couple who love each other and love Jesus. Thoughts? 2. if suffering is the result of free will for humans and heavenly beings, is a person responsible for cancer or other sicknesses because of their thoughts or actions, or because they've invited evil beings into their personal business somehow 3.. Do you believe that we are in the End Times right now? Why or why not? 4. What does Mark 9:49 mean in the context of Mark 9:50? 49 Everyone will be salted with fire. 50 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peac

Q&A #205: Pastors Doug, Blake, and Kyle discuss the following: 1.Hello, I’d like to know your opinions on premarital sex. Do you believe that individuals Should abstain even into the middle ages should they not find the suitable partner? Follow up if yes What if you have previously been married? There are quite a few studies that show the benefits of this activity in loving relationships. Would this mean that only those who are married are allowed to reap these benefits? Does this not encourage hasty decisions? 2.In Matthew 17 during the transfiguration of Jesus, he tells the disciples with him that John the Baptist was Elijah. Does that mean that John the Baptist was the reincarnation of Elijah? I'm confused

Q&A #203: Pastors Doug, Blake, and Kyle discuss the following: 1. In Genesis 1:18 the lord says that man shouldn't be alone, and that he would make a helper for him. And then, he proceeds to bring all the animals to the man, but the man didn't find a suitable "helper" (read: "mate"?). My question is, did Adam lie with some of those animals while he was trying to find a mate? Could that be why primates have human features, why would Adam NOT have done so if God was bringing them to him to find a suitable helper? Only when he decided none were suitable did God create woman, but it would seem a natural conclusion from those verses that Adam tried various animals out sexually... 2. What is the significance of John the Baptist going into the desert to preach? Is that where all of the sinners and outcasts lived?

Q&A #201: Pastors Doug, Blake, and Kyle discuss the following: 1.How come Psalm 14 and 53 are so close to the same? Why repeat it? 2.If we are to lean into grace, and anticipate God's grace already at work in our lives, are we failing to do this when we reach out to professional help (i.e. counsellors, etc), or asking for people to pray with and for us in our time of need? 3. Could Judas be in heaven? 4. In Luke 16: 1-9, the parable of the fired manager (or whatever), Jesus commends the manager for his shrewd plan to discount everyone's bills. The one word that trips me up in the last verse is “eternal” when Jesus says, “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends, so that when it is gone, you will have eternal dwellings.” Why does Jesus use the word eternal? Is not the only (good) eternal dwelling in heaven? 5.What is the difference between the spirit and the soul? Where does the soul go when we die? According to ECC 12:7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to

Q&A #199: 1. Can you comment, in light of being authentic and holy, Paul's comments about being all things for all people, ie. kind of clothed in their clothing so that they can relate. Example of secular workplace. What we think of solution may not be accepted--"let's take some time to pray". We are sometimes legitimately stifled from our authentic holy reaction. 2. To Doug's point. I don't reject your Christ, I love your Christ. It's just that so many of you Christians are so unlike your Christ. Ghandi From Bruxy Cavey - End of Religion 3. If you had not become a pastor, what do you think you’d be doing now? 4. What is your favourite part about being a pastor? And what is your least favourite? I often hear Christians using the expletive, “My word!” . The way I understand it is that this is a replacement for, “My God!”, or “Jesus!”. Why is this okay to say—is not the Christian’s Word, God? and more exactly ,Jesus? If one is a blasphemy, are they not all, at least in appropriate?

Q&A #198 1. I have been around a lot of people who seem to talk about the supernatural experiences and gifts a lot (prophecy, seeing angels etc), in light of a couple of the messages the last few weeks talking about the shortcomings of these things, how do we bring balance to conversations to help people we care about who seem lost in things that can be good, but aren’t the main thing. 2. Where is Matthew 17:21? In reading my Bible I noticed that Matthew 17 goes from v20 to v22. I checked it in multiple versions with mixed results. NIV, ESV, NLT, are all missing it though it can be found in KJV, NKJV and AMP (though it’s referenced in AMP that it’s not always included). I know the Bible was made up of various manuscripts so some may have it and some wouldn’t but is seems like a pretty important verse in the context (those demons will not be removed without prayer and fasting) and it also seems to be inline with the New Testament as a whole, my notes even say that it basically says the same as Mark 9:

Q&A #197 Fearing God, eternal life, monotheism and Exodus 12:29 are discussed in this episode. 1. I grew up in a conservative home that some times erred on the side of legalism. I feel like my idea of what it meant to fear God wasn’t healthy. I’m finding ways to walk in Truth of what it doesn’t mean to fear to God but I am still stuck on what it does mean to live in the freedom and victory He has won for me but fear Him properly. Any thoughts would be appreciated? 2. What does it mean to have eternal life (John 3:16) if you claim we are not immortal, I understand we are not physically immortal, but according to John 3:16, are we spiritually immortal if we receive the gift of eternal life? 3. Is monotheism truly the biblical position? If that is the case, why would Israel be tempted to worship other gods if they didn’t believe in them? 4. From this weekend’s message: Do we not have the same issues nowadays? Problem with all the present day “wolves in sheep’s clothing” is that they know the scriptures and

Q&A #196 Love and suffering, dangerous ideas, loving wife as Christ loved the church, healthy fear of God and a new heaven and new earth are all discussed in this episode. 1. If God is love, why does it seem like he plays favourites throughout the Bible? When he rescued the Israelites from Egypt one of the punishments was the killing of the first born. I know that the pharaoh was disobeying God, but what about the average person among the household and staff? Why did they have to suffer too? 2. Version 2 You often joke that each other is a heretic, but all joking aside what would you say are some of the most dangerous ideas today? 3. Help me resolve a question with my spouse. It is a basic rule of marriage that a spouse warms the other when they’re cold. My husband asked where that rule came from and I suggested it’s from the Bible when it says to love your wife. He said that’s out of context but my rebuttal was that if Jesus would wash his disciples’ feet then he certain wouldn’t shy away from warming the

Q&A #195 Baptism, the enemy disarmed and heresy are discussed in this episode. 1. If baptism is about Jesus’ death and resurrection, why was John baptizing people before Jesus’ ministry, let alone death and resurrection? 2. Thanks for the message today. I have a few questions. When you mentioned that the enemy is disarmed when we are in Christ I have the following questions: (a) Is this automatic when we are saved? (b) Is the enemy only disarmed when we are in Christ? Scripture seems to indicate that there are times when we may not be in Christ. IE If we remain in him? If we remain attached to the vine? (c) If not remaining in him are we left open to attack from the enemy? (d) When does prayer play a role (specifically if other people pray for someone) (e) When does Ephesians 6 10-18 play a role? Or James 4:7 3. You often joke that each other is a heretic, but all joking aside what would you say are some of the most dangerous heretical ideas today?

Q&A #194 Universal redemption and free will. 1. Does universal redemption violate a person‘s right to choose? Do we really have free will if our eternal destination is already decided? Does free will necessitate the option for someone to not spend their eternal existence with God?

Q&A #193 Further talk on reincarnation and the evil spirit of 1 Samuel 18 in this episode. 1. Further to my question about reincarnation from last week, I just envision that the Lord could use us in different places at different times, other than when we are first living. And it is not a punishment, but just the Lords wheel. It seems to me that our bodies are just a shell to hold our real selves, and so if the Lord chose to put us into another body and then send us back out there (here) for various reasons, just as it seems he did to Elijah, then why not? It is not the end of time yet. 2. In our daily bible discovery today in 1 Samuel 18 - a question arose about verse 9&10. It says in verse 9 that Saul jealously eyed David from that day forward. In verse 10 it says the next day an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul. One person thought God wanted Saul out of the picture, and a couple of us questioned the possibility of God sending evil spirits at all. When Jesus, who was God made flesh walked amon

Q&A #192 Sin in our hearts and reincarnation are discussed in this episode 1. In Psalm 66:18 it says if I have sin in my heart the Lord will not hear me. Is this Old Testament mentality or does this hold true for life as a Christian? How do I search my heart to know if God isn’t listening to my prayers because of sin? Any thoughts on this verse and others like it would be appreciated 2. In light of Matthew 17: 11-13, where Jesus says that Elijah came back to “put everything in order again” and the disciples “understood that He was talking about John the Baptist”, wouldn’t all this indicate that reincarnation is real? Is this not a clear example of reincarnation? I also remember that , then Jesus had the chance, He never said it wasn’t a practise, He just said that we don’t understand how it works

Q&A #191 God's relationship with Jewish people, free will and Jesus cleansing His temple. 1. I had a thought the other night while watching a documentary. How does God’s relationship with the Jewish people work since Jesus came? I know they don’t believe Jesus is the son of God minus the Messianic Jews but did they just carry on as they always had? Does God still speak to them as He once did 2. I have two words FREE WILL. ( Dun dun daaaaaaaa) How does it work? How do we truly know if we have it? Is there any proof that we do or don’t have it? 3. On Sunday you talked about how Jesus disrupts the status quo and how he cleanses the temple. Is it possible that the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people into the full life of the church is that same work? The Israelites thought what they were doing was right but was actually an injustice, could the church be doing the same thing with LGBTQ+ people?

Q&A #190 Fighting for rights and Scripture being God breathed. 1. I have read some social media posts by fellow Christians that say we should stand up and fight for our rights. Personally I want to stand up and fight too. But, before I fight anyone I want to know what my rights are as a follower of Jesus. What does the Bible say my rights are that I should fight for 2. What was the name of the pastor that Kyle was talking about on the podcast March 17th in regards to breaking the Covid rules? Is it James Coates? Because it didn't sound like it. 3. I read your lent segment today on how all scripture is God-breathed but I still cannot reconcile the fact that when that was written, they were talking about the old scriptures and prophets. Even if they were saying that what they wrote was from God, this would not preclude future prophecies and writers also listening and writing from the heart of the Holy Spirit. “While the authors write from their own personalities and will, the Spirit (breath) of God inspires

Q&A #189 Scandal safety measures, respecting authority, John 9:4 and David's transgressions. 1. What steps and practices do you take as church leaders to avoid getting caught up in a scandal like many other leaders in the North American church? 2. I have a couple of friends in the nursing industry and they say that the Covid situation isn’t as bad as the reports from the government would want us to believe. I want to please God in this season and I feel like that means to respect those in authority over us. I am really struggling with what that looks like and to also honour our mental health and to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those He has placed in our lives. What are your thoughts? 3. In John 9:4 Jesus talks about working the works of God while it is daylight. What is He referring to that the night is coming when no man can work? 4. Who would have recorded David's transgressions for it to be in the Bible? So would everyone in the kingdom then have known what he did? Then he is willing to wade thr

Q&A #188 The topics of Modalism and joy are discussed in this episode. 1. Can you please explain what Modalism is and how it differs from Trinitarianism? 2. Hi. I don’t know if I missed it but what is your definition of joy? 3. In challenging times, do we loose joy or happiness? Could you explain the difference please.

Q&A #187 Language, skin colour and lies we believe. 1. Since we are all descendants of Adam and Eve how do you account for the various languages and differences in the colour of our skin. 2. Why is it so easy to believe the lies we hear about ourselves and so hard to believe the truth?

Q&A #186 Glitches in the matrix and sexual scandal in the Evangelical church. 1. When we believe that God created everything we also need to believe that He created time. Is there such a thing as different dimensions and real “glitches in the matrix”? I recently read an account of a car full of people who were traveling somewhere. Their radio cut out and they all felt weird. When they looked at the clock they had “lost” an hour of time since the radio stopped. Is it possible their time skipped or is it just an interesting story? 2. Can you comment on the Ravi Zacharias scandal and the issues surrounding broader evangelical culture that create environments for so many sexual scandals we hear of over and over again?