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Archive for the ‘Faith in practice’ Category

Freedom of Religion-B-V

26 Nov

We are in a cultural war between the forces of light and the forces of darkness. While liberals try to tell you that they just want equal time to express  their beliefs, it is a lie. While they tell you they want to take all religion out of the schools, that is also a lie. While their religion is not organized like Christianity or Islam, their beliefs are as much a religion as anyone else’s religion. They believe in a god, they believe that they are the god and supreme ruler of their universe. They have a belief in a reason for their existence and the existence of everything around them, they believe it all happened by accidental occurrences down through history.  They have a belief in what will happen when we die, they believe we will simply cease to exist. Their “religion” is very similar to the existential religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, and similar religions. They are seeking to replace your religion with theirs. In fact, the seeds of this religion began sprouting in America in the hippy years when the hippies rejected the materialist culture and adopted many Hindu and Buddhist practices. They were originally attracted to Socialism which they equated with Communism (no relation to what Russia and China claim to have which is merely Socialism in disguise). Many of our leaders today are Socialists that came out of the hippy movement and have close ties with Russia and China. They have  infiltrated the schools, the media, and the government to teach their religion and force you to accept it if you resist. The California State Assembly passed a resolution directing all religious leaders to promote homosexuality and the transgender lifestyle. While it is not legally binding, it shows how far the homosexual lobby is willing to go to promote its agenda. How long will it be before they pass a law requiring it? It is obviously a trial balloon sent up to see how much opposition there is before they push for a law.  There are other States waiting to see how it turns out before pushing their own attempts to stamp out all religions, except their own. They believe that they are god the all-knowing one, and know what is best for you and are seeking to make themselves the god who rules your universe as well as their own, just as Caesar and many other kings and rulers of the past have done.  The Bible says that in the last days, Satan will prowl like a roaring lion seeking who he may devour, seeking to turn even the elect, and all we have to do is look around to see that he has been very successful.

 

 
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Posted in Church & Society, Faith in practice, Freedom of Religion, Politics

 

Eleventh Sunday of Kingdomtide-Nov, 12

10 Nov

Dwell in Unity-God wants us to not only love Him, but to love those He created as well As others see the love we have for each other, they will want that love and want to know the God who is the source of that love. Many churches today have a hard time attracting members because unbelievers do not see that love in the church. Many churches are more a collection of strangers than a family of brothers and sisters in Christ. Members can not care for each other if they don’t know each other’s needs. God also calls us to love others in the body of believers, regardless of the church they belong to, so that others might see how good it is to live as God wants us to. The multitude of denominations presents a picture of widespread division and the refusal of churches of different traditions to work together indicates there is little of the love the church claims to possess. The Church claims that Jesus is the way but does not appear to agree on what that way is. How can unbelievers take the church’s message seriously?

 
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Posted in Church ministry, Faith in practice, Kingdomtide

 

Ninth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Oct 29-B

29 Oct

Ministry to members-B  The minister must be free to concentrate extensive time to members going through trials. However, the pastor is often so tied up in administrative duties that he has little contact with members and is not aware of members who are going through trials. The church should seek to limit the time required for the pastor in administrative duties to free him to minister to members and train help. Most pastors don’t get to spend much time actually visiting and ministering to their members and even working full time, the pastor cannot adequately supervise and minister to a church of more than 150-200 members. However, most pastors aren’t trained to do such work, even if they have time. There is too much need for the pastor to be able to do it all himself. Some churches are hiring nurses and Social Workers as part of their pastoral staff to provide medical care and Social Services to their members. At the very least, the pastor should know the nurses and Social Workers in his congregation and consult them as needed. Pastors need to train lay leaders to help them carry on their ministry when the church becomes too large for them to do it adequately themselves. The best method is to have each lay leader oversee a small group that is like a family, who he nurtures and ministers to the members under the pastor’s supervision similar to how it was done in the early church. Such small group ministry is proving just as effective today as it was in the early church, however few churches utilize it.-(See “The Living Presence” in “Rebuilding the Kingdom” copyright 2012)

 
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Posted in Church ministry, Faith in practice, Kingdomtide

 

Ninth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Oct 29-A

29 Oct

Minister to members-A Ministry to members going through trials-The minister must be free to concentrate extensive time to members going through trials (seriously ill or dying family member, job loss, financial crisis, etc). Unfortunately, most pastors aren’t trained to do such work, even if they have time. Most schools training pastor provide extensive training in theology but little training in actually ministering to their people. Pastors need to get such training and begin training mature Christians in the congregation to assist them, because there is too much need for the pastor to be able to do it all himself. Jesus recognized that He would need to concentrate His efforts on training the twelve to take over when He left and pastors need to train lay leaders to help them carry on their ministry when the church becomes too large for them to do it adequately themselves. In the past, members knew each and when a member was in need. In addition, they helped the pastor in meeting the need. Church members today are often so caught up in their own lives that they have little interaction with other members outside church and interaction in church is often superficial. Most members do not know other members well enough to know when they are going through trials. In addition, members do not know each other well enough to confide in other members when they are going through trials. The result is that most members feel isolated and alone in handling trials. They often feel defeated and do not experience victory over trials. As a result, their worship is merely show and no substance. The church needs to provide regular supervision of its members to enable it to recognize and minister to members in need.

 
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Posted in Church ministry, Faith in practice, Kingdomtide

 

Eighth Sunday of Kingdomtide Oct 22

19 Oct

Small Group ministry-part-B  witness to those around them

As they learn to identify needs and how to minister to those in need in the small groups, they begin to develop a concern for those around them. As they begin reaching out to those around them to get to know them, they begin to see the needs of those outside the church and can begin to minister to them also, demonstrating the love of Christ to unbelievers. As unbelievers see the love of Christ they begin to desire that love and are attracted to the small group. People are more willing to join a small group where they know the person that brought them than to walk into a large church where they don’t know anyone. As they get to know the members of the group, they are more willing to attend church since they know the people from their group. Many churches are often built away from residential areas. In addition, churches no longer have neighborhood activities where unbelievers get to know those in the church.  The small group can be the church present in the neighborhood and reach out to the neighbors through neighborhood Bible studies and children’s activities.

 
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Posted in Church ministry, Faith in practice, Kingdomtide

 

Fifth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Oct 1

05 Oct

–Developing mutual concern-People were attracted to the early church because of the love they saw members had for each other. Our society has become increasingly isolated. Though surrounded by crowds, they are strangers and people withdraw into their private world. This isolation is seeping into the church as people drive farther to church and often do not see each other from one Sunday to the next. While many pastors and church leaders feel they have good access to knowing when members have problems, few members in most churches know each other well enough to drop the mask they wear to keep people at a distance and reveal who they really are and that they have needs. The lack of this concern is why there are so many in church who struggle with loneliness and depression and why there are so many in church who do things that hurt others. Many people who form the core of churches today are interrelated to others in the core of the church because their children grew up together in the church and married. When they have problems or needs, their family helps either directly or through the church. However there are many in most churches who are outside the core because they have only recently joined or their children had left home before they joined and often are not well known by those in the core. When they have problems or needs, the core of the church is often not aware of it and those in need are reluctant to ask for help. In a small church, where the pastor gets out and regularly visits all his members, he may eventually become aware of problems, however, in a large church, the pastor can not personally visit everyone so a deacon or elder board should divide up the congregation so each board member has responsibility for overseeing a portion of the church. (see “The Living Presence” in my series “Rebuilding The kingdom” for pastors and church leaders) Small group fellowships enable people to get to know each other and develop a concern for each other. Developing a concern for someone goes beyond merely knowing about them, it involves caring about what happens to them. As they get to know each other, they are more willing to share who they really are and that they have needs. They also begin to care about each other and minister to each other’s needs. People who care about each other seek to help each other grow and prosper.

 
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Posted in Body Ministry, Faith in practice, Kingdomtide

 

First Sunday of Kingdomtide-Sept 3

31 Aug

Salt & Light Kingdomtide involves life in the kingdom. While Jesus is coming back someday to establish His kingdom on the earth, we are called to redeem the world around us as we live out our life every day. We are called to transform our world as we become salt and light in our community. Salt is a preservative. It prevents the spread of decay by creating a condition that prevents the growth of that which causes decay. Christians are called to create a situation in their community that prevents the spread of evil. They can do that by winning souls and turning them from evil and by enacting laws that prevent the spread of evil by punishing those who engage in it. Light on the other hand exposes that which is hidden so we don’t trip over it. Evil likes to hide in the dark, but light exposes it so it can be removed or destroyed. Christians are also called to expose evil. Evil thrives on lies but Christians are called to teach the truth, exposing the lies. In addition, through education we teach others the consequences of sin and by living out God’s love, we show the world the benefits of love and care for each other and it will stand out in contrast to the evil in selfishness and hatred. Kingdomtide should be a time when we seek to cultivate the qualities that enable us to be salt and light in our communities.

 

 
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Posted in Church & Society, Faith in practice, Kingdomtide

 

Fourteenth Sunday of Pentecost-Aug 27

26 Aug

Dealing with issues teens & Adults One of the greatest needs today is the teaching of Biblical values. Our country was founded on the principle that the government should be by the people, of the people, and for the people. That means that it will be run by the people, will consist of everyday citizens, not career politicians, and shall be geared toward benefiting the people. That requires that the people be informed about what is going on and able to decide what is best for them. The result was a push for universal education so everyone would be educated and for affordable newspapers to inform the people so they could vote intelligently. Up until the 1970’s, the churches, the schools and media were active in teaching Christian values so even those who did not attend church generally supported Christian values and open discussion of issues was allowed and even encouraged. Since then, the schools and the media have become increasingly liberal and have increasingly pushed their views openly and actively suppressed any opposing views. In addition, the church has been very lax in teaching Christian values to its members. Eighty percent of active churchgoers say they want their church to teach moral values, especially those regarding the family. Since they don’t understand Biblical values, many who attend church today hold liberal views while continuing to give lip service to the Bible. Young people who once received Christian values in school are increasingly being indoctrinated with liberal values and persecuted when they question them. The church must actively teach members Christian values and to question what they hear from the media. In addition, the church needs to help members understand why those values are important so they can defend them against liberal teaching. As a result, I have created a series of courses on Udemy on Christian values and how they differ from man-centered values to help church leaders understand and teach Biblical values. They are in a series of short videos so they can be shown one at a time and allow a discussion time in between.

 
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Posted in Church ministry, Faith in practice, Pentecost

 

Sermon-Seek Ye First-video

11 Aug

Many Americans today are seeking prosperity, hoping it will bring happiness, but God has a better plan.

 

 

 
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Posted in Faith in practice, Lent, sermon, Videos

 

Eleventh Sunday of Pentecost-Aug 6

07 Aug

Curbside attractions-People are attracted by activity. People are attracted by a fight or other disturbance simply because life is dull and it is a diversion. They are also attracted by someone telling a story or painting a picture. The Salvation Army used to wander through the slums playing instruments to attract a crowd. Then they would stop and start preaching to the crowd. A friend of mine in Chicago had an old VW bus with the side door. He fixed a board with a sheet of paper on it just inside the van and would pull up to the curb, put money in the meter, and open the side door. Then he would start drawing a picture. As a crowd gathered on the sidewalk, he began telling a Bible story related to the picture he was drawing. In trailer parks we have lived in, there was very little for the kids to do and they often hung around with nothing to do. I often went out on the corner and began drawing a picture on a board.  When they saw me, they quickly gathered to hear Bible stories. After a couple times, the kids are eager to join a local children’s Bible club.

 
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Posted in Church ministry, Faith in practice, Pentecost

 
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