Tag Archives: Prayer

THE PARADOX OF PRAYER

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THE PARADOX OF PRAYER JACK COTTRELL – 2020      QUESTION:   If God can do whatever He chooses, and if He really loves us, why doesn’t He answer all of our prayers?       ANSWER:  The answer to this question might seem like a paradox to some, but here is at least part of the deal:  God does not answer all of our prayers just because He loves us!.       Here I will approach this issue based on James 5:13-18.  I will use this text to help resolve the paradox of prayer.  First, I will make some general comments on these verses … Continue reading →

THE BREAD AND THE CUP OF BLESSING

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THE BREAD AND CUP OF BLESSING A COMMUNION MEDITATION – Jack Cottrell, February 2018 Imagine you are sharing a meal with some fellow Christians, and you say, “Brother Smith, will you ask the blessing on our food?” The prayer that follows often includes this: “Dear God, we pray that you will bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies.” “Ask the blessing”? “Bless this food”? Where do we get these ideas and this language? Maybe from our Bibles. The KJV of Matthew 26:26 says, “Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, … Continue reading →

GOD’S FOREKNOWLEDGE: WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

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GOD’S FOREKNOWLEDGE: WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? JACK COTTRELL – JUNE 2016 My adult Bible study class (First Church of Christ, Greendale, IN) has been studying the book of Romans. Today was our second Sunday on Romans 8:29, and our focus was the foreknowledge of God. Among other things I presented four reasons why God’s foreknowledge is an important doctrine. (It is just serendipitous that all four points are alliterative—all begin with “Pr–”.) I. PROPHECY. Generic prophecy is by definition any message spoken on behalf of someone else. One major kind of prophecy, though, is predictive prophecy, i.e., a message that … Continue reading →

DOES GOD CARE HOW WE VOTE?

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DOES GOD CARE HOW WE VOTE? A sermon preached by Jack Cottrell at First Church of Christ, Greendale, IN, May 22, 2016. Just so there is no misunderstanding, I am NOT posing the question, “Does God tell us FOR WHOM to vote?” I will not be revealing some secret method for discovering a hidden message tucked away in texts about TRUMPets or HILLs or any such things. Also, what I am saying here applies not just to voting for president, but to voting at all levels; and it applies not just in the U.S.A. in 2016 but to all times … Continue reading →

God’s Foreknowledge in the Bible

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QUESTION: Does the Bible teach that God knows the future? ANSWER: This is the question of divine foreknowledge. One of the main attributes of God is called “omniscience,” which literally means the knowledge of everything. As usually applied, to say that God is omniscient means that he knows everything. This means he knows all possibilities as well as all actualities. In the category of actualities, this means he has complete knowledge of the actual past, the actual present, and the actual future. His knowledge of the future is his foreknowledge. Divine foreknowledge has always been accepted by most Bible-believers. There … Continue reading →

IS IT WRONG TO QUESTION GOD?

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QUESTION: Yesterday our class had a discussion about questioning God and being angry with God. My understanding is that questioning God is acceptable if done with the proper attitude and “heart,” but that being angry with God (blaming God, accusing God) is never acceptable. What say you? ANSWER: I think your way of summarizing the answer is on target. One place I have discussed this is in my original book on the providence of God, entitled What the Bible Says About God the Ruler (College Press, 1984). This book has a chapter on prayer and providence. It seeks to analyze … Continue reading →

CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS IN JAMES 5:13-20

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QUESTION: How do you reconcile James 5:13-20 with your explanation of 1 John 1:9? You have said that the latter does not mean that confession of a Christian’s specific sins is a condition for their being forgiven. But James 5:14-16 seems to say that confession of sins and prayer are necessary for forgiveness. How do you explain this? ANSWER: In this passage James says (5:14) that a Christian who is sick should call for the elders, and that the elders should come and pray for the sick person’s healing, while applying oil to that person for medicinal purposes, as in … Continue reading →

THE PARADOX OF PRAYER

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THE PARADOX OF PRAYER by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Monday, June 13, 2011 at 1:17pm THE PARADOX OF PRAYER:  JAMES 5:13-18  (A SERMON PREACHED 5/29/11)   THE PARADOX:  If God can do whatever He chooses, and if He really loves us, why doesn’t He answer all of our prayers?  Here I will comment on James 5:13-18, and will use this text to help resolve the paradox of prayer.   PART ONE:  COMMENTS ON THE TEXT.   Verse13 – “Suffering” means any time things are going bad for you in any way. “Cheerful” means any time things are looking good for … Continue reading →

Are Exorcisms Miraculous?

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Are Exorcisms Miraculous? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 2:33pm THE FOLLOWING QUESTION comes in response to my note, “Why Demonic Works in a Christian Context?” In this note I affirm the cessationist view of miraculous spiritual gifts, i.e., the Holy Spirit is not giving miraculous gifts to Christians today. The suggestion below is that modern-day exorcisms are evidence that miraculous gifts from the Spirit are still present, since exorcisms are “supernatural by nature.” HERE IS THE QUESTION: “What of those that currently cast out demons, especially in third world countries where missionaries speak of current … Continue reading →

Is the Bible Revealed, Inspired, or Both?

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Is the Bible Revealed, Inspired, or Both? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 1:56pm A RECENT QUESTION: “I’m going through ‘The Holy Spirit’ with a church group right now. I realize that not all of the Word is given to us through special revelation. Would it be fair to say, however, that technically all of Scripture is revealed since revelation is both specific and general?” MY REPLY: First let me refer you to my book, “Power from on High: What the Bible Says About the Holy Spirit” (College Press, 2007, 506pp.), which has a long chapter … Continue reading →