question & answer sunday

at the sermon this morning was the "questions and answer time" by pastor dave kenney.

how do we know that the lord spoke to us?
first, it must be from the heart. second, it must be agreeable to the scripture.

is it okay for us to take life support off someone?
a person who is on life support is not going to live "naturally" without the life support; therefore it is acceptable. however, it is not okay to starve them or dehydrate them or inject some chemical into their body to end their life.

let's say someone is exteremly sick and in pain. it would be okay if we pray to god to end their sufferings. if their purpose in life has been fulfilled, their children is up and well and everything is taken care of. then maybe it is time to go. everyone, including you and me, has our own time. the only expection would be if god came before our time is up.

is it okay to give undertable money?
if you are paying someone to get what you are supposed to get, then it would be acceptable. but if you are bribing someone (get something that are illegal and not supposingly yours), then it is wrong.

pastor dave's example: he gets pulled over by the indonesian police while driving (most probably because of his skin color: caucasian). he would just give them 'what they wanted', because arguing with the police will not solve the problem. of course, he is unhappy about the situation.

are we obligated to give 10% of our salary? is it 10% of our gross or net salary?

according to the old testimonial, we are obligated to give 10% of our salary. however, we do not follow a lot of the teachings of the old testimonial (like not eating animals with woofs).

if let's say someone claims to be dedicated to god and gives only 1% of his/her salary then it would show how much his/her dedication is to god.

if you are bad with maths and gives 9.5% of your income, god would not mind. god does not need our money. the point is to give joyfully, systematically, generously and in response to the needs.

a friend of mine who is a doctor says that masturbating is healthy. so is it okay to masturbate?
the bible does not address to this matter in particular. however sex is intended for a husband and wife to get closer to each other. and adultry is definitely a sin. sexual activity with anything other than what god created sex for would therefore not agreeable to what god wanted.

tsunami happened on after christmas and the earthquake at nias after easter? is there any connection?

no. it was just a coincidence. people are always trying to find a way to find out why things happen. and if you try hard enough, you'll find something somehow.

plus, there was also a question about the da vinci code. but i forgot to take note on that one. it was very interesting though.

guess that covers most of what was asked. hope that helps. :)