Ask the Pastor

Ask the Pastor

Ask The Pastor: Why does Island Pond celebrate Satan’s holiday?

Ask The Pastor: Why does Island Pond celebrate Satan’s holiday? This past week I was stopped before the service and asked this question. The reason this person asked is because we do an outreach close to Halloween called Trunk or Treat. While we do not mention anything about Halloween at the event, any reasonable person can put “two and two” together when it is within a week of Halloween, people dress up, and candy is given out. But this begs…

Ask the pastor: What’s the difference between the United Methodists and Southern Baptists?

Ask the pastor: What’s the difference between the United Methodists and Southern Baptists? This is a timely question as a number of people have recently left United Methodist churches (UMC) and some are ending up at Southern Baptist churches (SBC). This begs the question… what are the differences between the two denominations? Before I got this question, I did not know a ton about the UMC so I had to do some research and below is what I found. But…

Ask The Pastor: Is it okay for a youth pastor to watch inappropriate movies with his sister?

Question: Is it okay for a youth pastor to watch movies of violence, sex, assault and anything of the like with his sister? Thanks for your question! Back in 2020 I answered the question, “Is it a sin to watch R rated movies?” and that answer has a lot of similarities to the answer I will give you. The short version of this previous Ask The Pastor question is this: The Bible doesn’t specify which ratings we should be watching…

Ask The Pastor: Is It OK to watch The Chosen TV series?

What do you think about watching The Chosen TV series? As you may be aware, some Christians have posted on various blogs and websites that they are against watching The Chosen, which is a television show put out by some Christians that tell the story based off of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). While there are a number of reasons why they say they won’t watch it, most of the reasons all come down to the series portraying…

Ask The Pastor: Does Regeneration Precede Faith?

I want to be honest with you. I don’t really like talking about Calvinism and Arminianism because it is such a debated and heated topic. Churches have split over it. Hundreds of years ago people were put to death over it. To discuss this issue is like walking through a mine field of theological explosions. One of the issues at the heart of the Calvinism and Arminianism debate is when regeneration happens. If it happens before faith (salvation) then you…

Ask The Pastor: Do Pets Go To Heaven?

Question: Do Pets (Animals) Go To Heaven? Answer: If you know me at all, you know I am not exactly a big dog person. I do like cats and I have also grown fond of my silkie chickens, perhaps because they remind me of cats 🙂 But I do recognize that many of you out there love dogs and other animals and have likely thought at some point, “Will my dog go to heaven? Will my pet hamster go heaven? Will…

Ask The Pastor: What is the Trinity and why is it important?

Question: I’ve heard the word “trinity” used a lot, but I don’t quite understand what it is and why it is so important for Christians. Can you explain? Thanks for asking! You are correct, the doctrine of the trinity is a very important doctrine of the Christian faith. It is unique in that the word “trinity” is never actually given in the Bible. However, the idea of the trinity is given throughout Scripture. First, what IS the trinity? In his…

Ask The Pastor: What does Jesus mean when he says, “when two or more are gathered in my name?”

Question: So, in Matthew 18:20 when it says “For where two or three gather in my name, there I am in the midst of them.” I’ve always just accepted that and been encouraged by that. But, I was just pondering over it and thought- but wait- He is with me when I am by myself too. So what is the difference? Is this differentiating between persons of the trinity? Answer: As you already pointed out, Matthew 18:20 says, “For where…

How Should I Address Those That Are Transgender?

Ask The Pastor – How Should I Address Those That Are Transgender? This is a question that I came up with myself because I was asking this very question recently! The other day I read in an article that actress Ellen Page, who announced a few years back that she was gay, has now announced that she is transgender. She said that her preferred pronoun is “he” and would like to now be called Elliot Page. This, and many similar…

Do I Pray To The Father, Son, or Holy Spirit?

Do I Pray To The Father, Son, or Holy Spirit? In the Lewis household, we have an unspoken policy that any of the adults in our house can open mail, regardless of whom it is directed to. So when a bill comes in addressed to my wife, she has no problem with me opening it. When a card arrives for Pastor Kyle, I have no problem with her opening it. As long as it makes it to the house, either…

Ask The Pastor: Can A Democrat Be A Christian?

Ask The Pastor: Can A Democrat Be A Christian? Thank you church! Let’s just skip right to the loaded, controversial questions! Here is my response… To begin with, we need to establish how a person is saved: Salvation comes from believing in Jesus Christ as Lord. We are not saved through any actions or beliefs other than by believing in Jesus. So to answer your question at the broadest level… Yes! A Democrat can be a Christian. A Republican can…
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