Archive for the ‘Faith in practice’ Category
Fifth Sunday of Lent-Mar 17
13
Mar
Matt. 5:27-30 Thou shall not commit adultery-God commanded the children of Israel not to commit adultery because it destroys the marriage relationship by dividing the affection of the one committing adultery and destroys the trust of the other marriage partner. However, Jesus said You have heard it said, “You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” It is not the act of adultery that destroys the marriage relationship but the lust that precedes the act itself. When someone lusts after another, they have already set in motion the thoughts that lead to the act and even if they never commit the act itself, they have already violated their marriage vows to love only their spouse by fostering love for someone outside the marriage in their heart. See “The Value of Family and Gender” in Udemy at https://www.udemy.com/course/value-of-family-and-gender/?referralCode=B59AC09CACA5C0C97BDD
Fourth Sunday of Lent-Mar 10
13
Mar
(Matt 5:21-26) Jesus said, “You have heard it said…., you shall not kill….., but I say to you, everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment.” It is not killing that creates division, it is the anger that precedes the killing that creates the division and God hates anything that creates divisions among His people. Therefore, Christ says that we should not be angry with our brethren. While few church people are guilty of murder, there are many who are angry with each other and won’t speak to each other. You can not regulate hate because it can be hidden and not easily observed, so the law must forbid killing. However love goes beyond the Law. He who loves his brother will not hate him and so will not desire to kill him so the law forbidding murder will never be applied to them, however the law must still exist to control those who do not love each other and are liable to kill someone in order to prevent them from doing so or to punish them if they do. Love is only learned as God changes our heart. See “The Value of Life” on Udemy at https://www.udemy.com/course/christian-values-life/?referralCode=5EA3B1D6ED6DAB183AD0
Third Sunday of Lent- Mar 3
05
Mar
God wants us to not only love those in the body of believers but unbelievers as well. God may not like what they do, but He loves them as much as He loves us. He reached out to us when we were sinners and we should do the same to those who are still sinners and do not know Him yet. Hopefully they will come to know God’s love as we extend God’s love to them and they will leave their sinful ways and accept Christ as their Savior. God did not love us based on whether we accepted Him and our love for others should not be based on their acceptance of Christ. God loves us because He created us and He loves them for the same reason. That includes even those we don’t like. Matt. 5:43-48. Jesus said, “you have heard it said, love your neighbor and hate your enemy but I say unto you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven”. Our desire should be to be like God and God loves all people, not just those who love Him and He desires that we should do the same. It is God’s desire that none are lost and perhaps as we love our enemies and pray for them, we may lead them to desire that love also. By so doing, we may not only gain a friend, we may draw a soul into the kingdom of God. The people of the first century saw Christians love for one another and were drawn to the church.
Second Sunday of Lent-Feb 25
21
Feb
If We Love God Jesus said the greatest commandment is “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. (Matt 22:37)That means all of us. If we truly love God, we will glorify Him and magnify His name through worship. Too often today, worship seems empty and unfulfilling because we do not see the glory of God and do not see any reason to praise Him. As God’s people support and encourage each other, we will see reasons to praise God for what He is doing in the church. However, many churches today are little more than collections of people because they never get to know each other and support each other during trials. We are often so wrapped up in our daily activities that we don’t take time to get out and explore God’s creation. Too often we are so engulfed in the material world that we see little of God around us. Unless we go to the park or the countryside, we see little of God’s creation. Unless we walk with Him and experience His presence, we have little concept of His glory and see little reason to praise Him. We need to take time to get away and experience the quiet and majesty of His creation.
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.
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?
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)
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.
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.