The Bible does not expressly forbid you to attend your friend's church as an observer, to gather information, or even as a social courtesy or expression of friendship (or even to get him to stop being a pest). But if you do visit your friend's church, you do well to explain to your friend ahead of time what you are doing, why you are doing it, and also what you are NOT doing and why. You are not expressing religious fellowship or placing any approval on what is taught, believed, or practiced at the "non-denominational church." You are not dissatisfied with the teaching and practice of your church home and would like your friend to place what is taught at a higher priority that any supposed entertainment or social factors that other churches might offer. We gather around God's Word and sacrament to be spiritually nourished and express praise and thanks to God in a way that pleases him—that is, with doctrinal integrity and a focus on the gospel rather than the number of people of a certain age group or social and cultural stimulants.

By focusing on the Word of God, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the importance and centrality of the means of grace, and doctrinal integrity with your contentment, you are saying more than simply, "I already have a church." While your friend should have had the courtesy to stop or at least tone down his requests after you said that, you owe him more. It's not a matter of your church versus his church. It's a matter of doctrinal integrity, Christ-centered unconditional gospel, a high view of the gospel and the sacraments as God's chosen instruments to create and maintain saving faith, and a primary focus on God who reveals himself in the Bible rather than a primary focus on other people of your age group or external components like musical styles or worship patterns in and of themselves. And you may invite him to come and observe your church teachings and practices too.

Your friend's comment on how it is time you strengthened your faith might indicate that he somehow considers your faith-life to be weak or in danger. Ask him both what he means and to offer examples of what he observes that give him concern. He is right—it is always a great time for you and me and everyone else to strengthen our faith-life through the unconditional gospel. But to assume that your friend's church is somehow going to accomplish this where your church cannot—this is not courteous or wise.

You are asking about a specific application to a set of Bible principles (namely, those dealing with expressing religious fellowship with others).  It is normally unwise to offer specific counsel on applications without a thorough review of the principles themselves.

For this reason I invite and strongly urge you to read an essay located on the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary website that reviews the fellowship principles and then also gives guidance on applying the principles to situations, including the one you ask about. To read the essay, please click here. The first eleven pages deal with the subject of prayer, giving principles and offering guidance on applications. May the Lord bless your review of the Bible truths!

We should be very glad that election by grace overcomes the "free will" that we have as fallen sinners. After the fall into sin we were free to choose from a salad bar of sins as we made our way to hell.  We could choose a very sinful lifestyle or an outwardly moral one. The one thing we were not free to choose was Christ as our Savior. But through the power of the Holy Spirit working through the gospel, God overcame the resistance of our will that was hostile to him. Faith is a creation not of our free will but of God's grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). But that does not mean we are unwilling children of God. God's grace made the unwilling willing, and we gladly serve him (Ephesians 2:10).

Since there is no predestination to hell, God's overcoming our sinful "free will" (better called "unfree will") was a wonderful gift.  What could be better than having our unfree will made truly free!  Why would anyone want to be "free" to go to hell?  What a joy to be made truly free from sin and free to love and serve God (Titus 3:3-8).

I invite and strongly urge you (and your divorced boyfriend if at all possible) to speak with one of our pastors about this. He will be able to learn more details about the previous marriage, the divorce, the circumstances, the matter of repentance if appropriate, and several other things.

You ask, Can someone who has been divorced get remarried in the church? Yes, under certain circumstances, this can be done and frequently is done. It is confusing and unwise language to say that a divorced person is still married. It is also inaccurate to say God does not recognize divorces. I suggest that your parents also speak with the pastor. They obviously care about you, your relationship to God, and God's teachings regarding marriage, divorce, and remarriage. They could use some guidance and clarification on what the Bible teaches.

At the heart of these situations is the matter of godly repentance following a divorce and when contemplating marriage (or remarriage). Full repentance, involving a Christ-centered, unconditional pardon, along with sincere sorrow for sin is not optional but what we seek above all else. So should you and your boyfriend.

Any action or any failure to act with the intent to cause death or accelerate the dying process is contrary to Scripture (Genesis 9:6; Exodus 20:13; Matthew 25:42). Scripture does not make a distinction between the denial of food or the denial of fluids. Scripture first looks at the heart and compels individuals to examine their motive.

Today's culture increasingly views a declining quality of life brought on by age, disease or accident as justification to deny continued life-sustaining measures. The decision to remove a person's food or fluids is often shrouded in euphemisms to "let them go" or "set them free" without first challenging the motive.

Any action to deny food and/or fluids which is intended to shorten life and hasten death is contrary to Scripture and is an affront to the Creator who holds dominion over life and death (Deuteronomy 32:39).

On the other hand, Scripture also reminds us that a person's time on this earth is limited (Psalm 90:10; 1 Corinthians 15:22; Hebrews 9:27). Life does come to an end, and for most people it is a progressive process that occurs over a span of time. As the body ages and the organs of the body begin to fail, efforts to resuscitate or even sustain the body cross a line between beneficial and futile care.

Sometimes that line is clear and easy to see: the organs begin to fail and, without the knowledge or resources to reverse the process, death becomes imminent. In such a circumstance the provision to continue feeding may antagonize or accelerate the dying process because of the body's inability to digest the food. The continued administration of fluids may provide comfort in the closing moments of life. In some circumstances, however, fluids also may not be able to be processed by the body and could agonize the dying process unless they are stopped.

Scripture speaks against actions and inactions which ignore God's dominion over life and death. The real challenges are in the so-called "gray area," because it is unclear whether death is imminent or an action is futile.

The reality is that all people involved with medical care and treatment decision-making are sinful and imperfect. Their judgments are often clouded by ignorance and/or biases. For that reason, when a particular circumstance becomes especially difficult, it is good to obtain second and third medical opinions and ask Christian family, friends, and clergy who are devoted first to serving God and who have a good knowledge of Scripture.

In the New Testament that understanding of the word "prison" comes from the context.  The souls that died in the flood are the souls in question. Where are the souls that died in unbelief?  They are in Hell. In the Old Testament the "prison" for angels and people is referred to in Isaiah 24:21-22.

There is no specific treatment of dinosaurs in the Bible. The data in the Bible requires a fairly young earth. Creation scientists offer various theories of dinosaur extinction, most of which involve a role for the flood (Genesis 6-8), but we are not attached to any specific theory or explanation since there is no biblical information about dinosaurs.

I am thankful that you have the opportunity to speak with this gentleman who is questioning God's goodness and apparently wrestling with a burdened conscience as well. Your brief description of his questions may well indicate that he has not been served with law and gospel in an adequate way and he could use help in trusting God's goodness above and beyond God's use of sinful actions (like war and hatred) in this world.

I would begin by focusing primarily on the reality and universality of human sin and God's ultimate solution to human guilt through Jesus Christ and his saving work for us all. This is not a direct answer to the question of participating in war as a soldier nor the reality that God allows "innocent" civilians to suffer during wartime, but it sets a foundation that will be needed to allow this gentleman to trust God's promises and divine wisdom in ruling the world. If we do not trust God as our Savior from sin and guilt, we will not trust his promises that he allows sin and wicked deeds to take place and then uses them for good purposes (that go beyond our ability to understand fully.)

While the Bible records many examples of war, violent deaths, civilian casualties, and military high and low points—and all of these may be useful to help demonstrate how God works providentially in this world, the quickest answer is perhaps simply to say this:

1. When you serve as a faithful soldier representing your country in a just war (with a just cause, appropriate means, etc.), God only asks that you obey the civil authorities. See Romans 13:1-7. So if this man's conscience is troubling him about serving as a soldier, this might help. (But he still needs to focus on Christ regardless).
2. When it comes to wicked and most unpleasant deeds, God may at any time 1) forbid or prevent them, 2) allow them to take place (giving means and opportunity but not sinful motive), and if he allows them, 3) limit and direct them for his broader purposes for everyone involved, and 4) use them for the ultimate good of his dear people (believers) and to serve his ultimate glory. In doing all of this he acts in ways that may make no sense to us at the time. Remember the day we call "Good Friday." For a time it appeared to believers as horrible, unacceptable, and evidence God had lost control. But it was very "good" indeed and was a part of God's master plan to deal graciously with his people and to deal severely with unbelievers.
3. When we learn God's love and goodness in Jesus Christ and receive the gift of Christian faith through the Holy Spirit in the gospel, he allows us to walk by faith, not by sight. That is, we learn to trust divine promises and assurances when we cannot "prove" that things are fitting and good in the long run. For this former soldier, as a forgiven sinner relying on Jesus Christ, he will be led to trust that his killing in war was serving God's purposes—to bring fellow believers among the enemy to glory, to serve God as his instrument of judgment for those who despised the gospel, to demonstrate the evil of war and value of peace so that others involved may seek divine wisdom and comfort and encouragement through the gospel that is intended for all mankind, etc.
4. The biggest temptation your friend faces is what everyone asking these kinds of questions faces: the temptation to allow human sentiment and judgment on what is good and bad, right and wrong, loving and unloving to stand in judgment on divine providence and decisions on those issues. When we are brought to trust the work and promises of Jesus Christ, we also learn to stand in awe of our good and gracious God rather than to stand in judgment of him.

The text of Genesis specifically says that each day of creation was from evening to morning, or a period of darkness followed by a period of light.

Peter is saying nothing about the days of creation. He is saying that time is irrelevant to God. God could have created the world in no time at all. The days of the account in Genesis are days to us, not days to God. They are the pattern for our week.

Even if the days were millions of years, this would solve nothing of the conflict with evolution since the creation account specifically excludes evolution from one kind to another. The only honest way to hold to evolution is simply to reject the creation account and not attempt to make it say something it cannot say.

Lutherans probably don't use the expression because the phrase is so vague. What does a "personal relationship" mean? We would prefer to emphasize clearly that we have faith in Christ for the forgiveness of sins and that this motivates us to live for him. This kind of personal relationship is not a vague, subjective feeling, but a firm trust-relationship based on Scripture.