Does God Honor the Good Thoughts of Non-Believers?

Episode 308 | Dr. Michael Horton and Adriel Sanchez answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today's show: 1. I go to a church where people can serve themselves communion. I'm new to this church and I have never been to a church that does this. I did talk to one of the pastors about it and he assured me that it was Biblical, because what mattered was that people were being led by the Spirit to take communion. This still bothers me. Can you tell me what you think about this and provide Biblical support for your view? 2. I was just wondering about prayer. The other day I asked a number of my friends to pray for another friend who is going to have surgery. I realized after I did that that one of my friends is not a Christian, and she actually doesn't even pray. So, when she replied she just said, "I'll just hold her close to my heart." Now I'm wondering, did I goof when I asked her that, or does God honor good thoughts too? 3. What's the difference between excusing sin and showing grace? 4. Why does God tell Jeremiah that he will not listen when his people call for him? 5. How do we get back to the teachings of the early church?