Living Springs Q&a

Pastors Doug, Blake, and Kyle return as a team to discuss the following: 1. Can you guys share your thoughts on the whole trucker, freedom convoy thing? I've been hearing details of it being deeply rooted in white nationalist movements. I understand some of the frustration with the pandemic but aren't we just causing further division? A lot of Christians I know support the movement, and I'm struggling with how that makes us more like Jesus.. just a thought! 2.Freedom Convoy 2022.. knowing that many participants and organizers have ties to white nationalism at what point is the support of the freedom convoy forgiving or condoning these ideologies? 3. I was reading on the beliefs of the church and it quotes the apostles creed, and says I believe in the Holy Catholic church. Can you explain that. Thank you for all you do 4. Question from the birth of God week 4. If God's grace is infinite and never ending. It would be safe to say that our pouring out of grace to others is also infinite and never ending.

Pastors Doug and Kyle answer the following questions, and more! 1. Would any of the current team at LS be open to officiating a gay/ LGBTQIA wedding? If no, why not? 2. If God created some people as intersex, what does that say about God's views on non-binary gender? 3. How do you balance differing opinions and Christ? Ask your own question: https://livingsprings.wufoo.com/forms/s1oc9ua01mh36mq/

Q&A: Continuation of last week, Poor Jesus and less than Christians 1. What would your response be to someone whose take on the gospel is this "Ok, so Jesus sacrificed himself to himself to serve as a loophole for rules that he made up, so that people could be saved from a hell that he created?" I've been a believer basically my whole life, but even I struggle with this at times. If God created everything, including the rules surrounding salvation, then he could just change them as needed. I know a lot of it will come down to the idea of free will and wanting people to love and choose him for themselves, but why create "hell" and, in relation to that, if Satan already existed then wouldn't he have been the first to sin? Not Adam and Eve? And if God already had a heaven full of angels that could choose him or not then why bother creating us and the universe at all? And if God is the only one who has always existed, where did angels come from? Did he create them also? Did that happen in a prequel to the creat

Q&A #229 - God, his rules, free will and hell and maybe more We had some audio issues in the start. They were resolved at 24:34 in the episode if you would like to jump to that minute mark. Pastors answer the following questions c. What would your response be to someone whose take on the gospel is this "Ok, so Jesus sacrificed himself to himself to serve as a loophole for rules that he made up, so that people could be saved from a hell that he created?" I've been a believer basically my whole life, but even I struggle with this at times. If God created everything, including the rules surrounding salvation, then he could just change them as needed. I know a lot of it will come down to the idea of free will and wanting people to love and choose him for themselves, but why create "hell" and, in relation to that, if Satan already existed then wouldn't he have been the first to sin? Not Adam and Eve? And if God already had a heaven full of angels that could choose him or not then why bother creating us and the

Q&A #228 - women protecting, tithe, mandatory masks and more Pastors answer the following questions z. On a more serious note, what does Jeremiah 31:22b mean when it says “The Lord will create a new thing on earth— the woman will protect the man.” aa. Should all tithes be given to the church? If I want to tithe a profit on selling a house, should it all go to the church? bb. Just throwing this question out there for your opinions. If a church has a sign stating that masks are mandatory, and pastors and leaders and most of the congregation not complying to this rule. Would you feel comfortable with attending this church ,even though you love this church, their teachings ,the people and have attended for a long time. Ask your own question: https://livingsprings.wufoo.com/forms/s1oc9ua01mh36mq/

Q&A #226 - Jeremiah repeats, sex rules from the bible, women protecting and more Pastors answer the following questions u. I’ve been going to this church for 14 years and I’ve witnessed several times when it felt like a large part of the congregation left. This last year it feels there has been a lot of offence taken and hurt feelings and families leaving for multiple reasons. I have a lot of mixed emotions every time this happens. I have a few questions. My questions are not to blame or cause even more division. I am seeking wisdom and clarity to help process the feelings and thoughts I have on this experience. First what are your thoughts on why this happens? When I talk to families who leave, seemingly some of the decisions to leave are tied to people feeling hurt by the leadership of our church. What are you thoughts on that? I understand that the leadership of our church are people who are learning to follow God the best they can and obviously can’t be expected to be perfect. What accountability and re

Q&A #227 - rerelease of #105 - Marriage/Parenting resources, insults to pastors, John 12 and more This episode is a rerelease from episode 105 originally recorded in Feb 2019 with Pastors Doug, Blake and Kyle which you may know but also Pastors Melissa, Brock and Lorilee. Enjoy the episode and happy new year! Ask your own question: https://livingsprings.wufoo.com/forms/s1oc9ua01mh36mq/

Q&A #225 - Humans before Adam and Eve, Christmas traditions, people leaving our church and more... Pastors discuss the following questions from our backlog. 1. Were there human beings before Adam and Eve were created? When Cain was driven away by God into banishment because he murdered Abel, it says in Genesis that he took a wife and had children and then succeeding generations. Thank you 2. Should Christians participate in the classic Christmas traditions (decorating a Christmas tree, putting up lights, trading gifts) or is there reason to give them up to focus better on celebrating Christ? Would we be better off to adopt more Jewish traditions around this time (e.g. Hanukkah) that would allow us to connect more directly to traditions that are relevant to first century Christians? 3. I’ve been going to this church for 14 years and I’ve witnessed several times when it felt like a large part of the congregation left. This last year it feels there has been a lot of offence taken and hurt feelings and families

Q&A #224 - Historicity of the Bible, Is Jonah literal? thoughts about Joyce Meyer and more... Pastors discuss the following questions from our backlog. p. Where can we turn for evidence of the historicity of the Bible, especially of the Old Testament? How much weight should we put on evidence - or the lack thereof - of the historicity of the Bible in our faith? For example, if there isn't obvious historical evidence of the Exodus from Egypt outside of Hebrew literature, does/should that affect how we read the Old Testament? q. Kyle a while back you touched on the book of Jonah,do you view it as Literal or historical? r. What are your views on Joyce Meyers teachings ,and do you consider her a prosperity preacher? Thank you Ask your own question: https://livingsprings.wufoo.com/forms/s1oc9ua01mh36mq/

Q&A #223 - Christian bubbles, purity culture, the New Testament sacrificial system and more Pastors discuss the following questions from our backlog. k. Do you find it problematic in today's society with some Christian's raising their children without any secular culture? Ie. Creationist science, or no popular music etc. Is it damaging our children? l. Do you believe that youth and young adults that are raised exclusively in purity culture are adequately prepared to have healthy sexual relationships after they are married? Do you ever feel like purity culture also perpetuates rape culture in some instances? m. While Jesus was on Earth, do you think the disciples kept up animal sacrifices? What type of sacrifices do you think the disciples would have offered upon Jesus death, esp. Peter? When did animal sacrificing disappear (for the most part—I have seen it done in different countries) and was it gradual, or was there a decree? Ask your own question: https://livingsprings.wufoo.com/forms/s1oc9ua01mh36mq/

Q&A #222 - Catholics different bible, Accommodating ministry, evolution of souls, Christian bubble and more... Pastors discuss the following questions from our backlog. h. In the sep 29 q&a, it was mentioned that catholics have a different Bible - could you please explain that? i. I heard that the church is going to an accommodating perspective on serving, does that allow same-sex couples and trans people to serve in all areas of the church like kids ministry, or worship ? j. If the majority of scientific evidence is correct and the earth is billions of years old, and animals do not have eternal souls, was there a specific point in evolution where humans were endowed with eternal souls? At what point were humans the only ones endowed with eternal souls Ask your own question: https://livingsprings.wufoo.com/forms/s1oc9ua01mh36mq/ Ask your own question: https://livingsprings.wufoo.com/forms/s1oc9ua01mh36mq/

Q&A #221 - Blessed Fertility, Antichrist appearance, Texts predating the bible and more Pastors discuss the following questions from our backlog. 1. The second part of Galatians 4:27 says, “Because the deserted woman will have more children than the woman who has a husband.” Was Sarah deserted for Hagar? Perhaps after the sacrificing Isaac incident? (Aside: Kyle, you know who this question is from) 2. Where do you think the Antichrist will first appear? Politics? popular media? or possibly within the church itself? 3. What are your thoughts on texts such as The Epic of Gilgamesh that are dated thousands of years earlier than the Bible? Is it possible that these ancient stories influenced the old testament? Ask your own question: https://livingsprings.wufoo.com/forms/s1oc9ua01mh36mq/

Q&A #220: Pastors discuss the following questions from our backlog. 1. What are your thoughts on the book of Enoch? How do you think Christianity would be different if it had been added to the Bible? 2. Can you speak on Revelations 16:12?Been hearing alot about the Euphrates river drying up close to the end times.Is this Literal or Symbolic? Thank you 3. What is your favorite fictional story that reminds you of Jesus? 4. What is something positive you have learned from studying a different faith or interacting with a person of said faith?

Q&A #219: Pastors Doug , and Kyle discuss the following questions from our backlog. 1. Old Testament… do you think it is written from the church leaders as a lesson or history? 2. When presenting scripture to children or giving them thier own Bible should violent/explicit passages in the Bible be censored or "rated" in the same way movies are? (Example: Ezekiel 23:20, Ezekiel 16:17, Hosea 13:16, II Kings 2:23-24) 3. How literally do you take the book of Revelations? Do you believe all of these events will come to pass?

Q&A #214: Pastors Kyle, and Blake discuss the following: 1. What is your view on Pastafarianism? 2.I know this is a United States issue... but I have a teen daughter and I'm having a really hard time explaining to her how women are actually being treated and respected in the world today; especially with the Texas abortion ban. I'm a Christian woman but I am struggling to find the right encouragements for her and myself these days. How would Jesus have handled this? It seems like we live in a world that is so anti woman these days. And I'm struggling 3. The Jewish Council seemed to be behind the plot to have Jesus crucified and in Mark 14, they all seem to be working as one. Yet, we know that Nicodemus was sympathetic to Jesus' teachings and Joseph of Arimathea (“an important member of the Jewish council”) was also a follower of Jesus, who boldly went to Pilot to get Jesus' body, and lovingly took care of it. Question: Are there other writings of that time period that describe more about the Jewish Counci

Q&A #214: Pastors Kyle, and Blake discuss the following: 1. My wife and I (I am a woman), have been watching your services while looking for a new church in Airdrie/Calgary. We love your messages and the idea of becoming love. On watching last week’s podcast, we know you are not an ‘affirming’ church and we’re ok with the idea of an ‘accommodating’ church but were wondering what that looks like in our case. As an openly gay couple, would we be welcomed and encouraged to participate and serve in your church? 2. Does Living Springs pay federal taxes? What is your view on tax exemptions for churches? Does that contradict what Jesus said in Mark 12:17? 3. Does Jesus call his followers to complete pacifism? If so should Christians be participating in the military, the police force, or owning firearms for personal protection?

Q&A #211: Pastors Kyle, and Blake discuss the following: 1. I've been seeing a large number of anti vaxx supporters within the Christian community who cry that it"s "their body their choice" but then flip the switch and say that abortion shouldn't be happening and women shouldn't have the right to choose. Are they not just picking what suits them best from the Bible in the moment then? How can you claim to be pro life for one specific thing but then decide it's only for certain scenarios? I just don't understand the large majority of Christian anti-vaxxers saying this and then being so horrified when a woman exercises her right to choose. As well, can you touch on your thoughts of Christians looking for "religious exemption" for not receiving vaccinations 2. Can you discuss your views on pastors who make considerably more amounts than their congregation? do you find their should be a cap on how much pastors can make? 3. What are your thoughts on the use of recreational marijuana?

Q&A #211: Pastors Kyle, and Blake discuss the following: 1. Mark 11:22-26 are these verses were a lot of people get wrapped up in the idea that God will make them rich, heal everyone, etc? It seems pretty straight forward, in english at least, that if you pray and believe you get what you ask for. It doesn't seem to have the caveat of "In God's will" though as that's likely implied in all scripture. Based on these verses, why doesn't God always heal or meet basic needs for some people? The verses seem to imply it's based on belief and faith that it will happen but then when it doesn't wouldn't that mean it's our fault? 2. How do you encourage someone to have faith and trust God when there is literally almost no good in their lives and none coming in the foreseeable future? It seems like such a pat response when someone is in such despair and though I trust God can make things better, he doesn't always do so, so how do you encourage someone who has been in the depths of mental, physical, and financial pai

Q&A #211: Pastors Doug, Kyle, and Blake discuss the following: 1. It strikes me that God created the world primarily without women. It was Adam's request that God did so. Is this kind of like when the Israelites wanted a king? Did Adam throw in a monkey wrench? I am female but just asking 2. Why is Jesus the "second Adam" and not the second Eve? This is really two questions: Was Eve not the first sinner? and why did God not come to earth as male and not female?

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