Welcome to the blog of Stephen Bond, Senior Pastor of Summit Christian Church in Sparks, Nevada.

Missing the Point

May 14, 2013 01:27 PM | Permalink

The Reno-Gazette Journal Faith Forum question this week asks: Should Jewish women be allowed to pray like men at Jerusalem's Western Wall? This is my respose.

The Bible teaches that all people have equal access to God through Jesus Christ. “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). This means men and women have equal access to God in prayer through faith in Christ.

Praying at Jerusalem’s Western Wall misses the point. Prayers offered at the Western Wall have no more power than prayers offered in the privacy of a bedroom.

Thus, I would encourage the Jewish women clamoring to pray at the Western Wall to press ahead zealously in prayer without regard to where those prayers are offered. If I had a chance to speak to those women I would urge them, instead, to consider Yeshua (Jesus) as their long-awaited Messiah and the Name through whom all prayers are assured of being answered.

Pastor Stephen Bond

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For Relationship

May 4, 2013 03:23 PM | Permalink

The Bible says we are created in God’s image. This makes us unique in all creation. God created us in his image so we could freely choose to follow him and, thus, experience the loving community that God shares within himself as God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit.

Why are we here? We are here to worship and enjoy fellowship with the holy God who created us! “Worship the Lord with gladness…Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us and we are his…” (Psalm 100:2-3).

But none of us have done this perfectly—this is the message of Christianity. Because we have fallen short we need a Savior. Christ died to take our punishment so we can now be restored to right relationship with God. Thus, only through Christ can humans fulfill the purpose for which we were created.

Pastor Stephen Bond

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Conversation with God

April 27, 2013 03:00 PM | Permalink

Prayer is an amazing gift! Jesus says, “You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it” (John 14:14). To ask “in Jesus’ name” means to ask according to his will. One purpose of prayer is to train us to seek the things that matter to God.

God is not a genie in a bottle that we use willy-nilly for our own purposes. Rather, God woos us throughout our lives to align with his will. Prayer is not “twisting God’s arm” to get what we want. Quite the opposite—prayer teaches us to yield to what God wants.

The Bible exhorts us to “pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Prayer is essentially personal conversation with the Living God. Once we experience a restored to relationship with God through faith in Christ, prayer is a primary avenue that our relationship with the Lord is developed.

Pastor Stephen Bond

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