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Posts Tagged ‘Faith in practice’
study course-Time, Truth, and Education
07
Nov
For more information, see our study course
https://www.udemy.com/course/the-value-of-time-truth-and-education/?referralCode=C26C56C7A09175208154
Tenth Sunday of Kingdomtide Nov 9
07
Nov
Time, Truth, and Education –God places great value on time, both past, present, and future. We must remember past events and learn from them, we must experience His presence in the present through celebrating the past, and we must look forward to the future when He will fulfill what He promised. God told the Jews to celebrate three events as a way of doing that and to do it forever. Many say we are not under the law any longer and do not have to celebrate them, however that is only partially true. They were designed to teach the major tenets of the faith. By celebrating them, it reminded the Jews of what God had done and showed them what God would do. They continued to celebrate them, but forgot the meaning of them, so they did not recognize Jesus when He came. God has fulfilled two of the celebrations so we no longer look forward to their fulfillment, yet they should now be a part of our experience and worth celebrating. We celebrate our birth, why not celebrate being born again. We celebrate when God gave the law to guide the Jews, why not celebrate when the Holy Spirit came into our lives and became our teacher and guide. I am glad Jesus came to save me and that the Holy Spirit came to guide me, and I celebrate those events. Do you? God has not fulfilled Rosh Hosanna. Jesus said he will come again and take those who are His, to be with Him. However, He said if we are not ready when He comes, we will be left behind, so it is important to remember that He is coming and to be ready. How can we be ready, if we don’t remind ourselves that He is coming. If we forget, we will not be ready and we will be left behind like the Jews that forgot He was coming the first time. Just about everything I do is designed to prepare myself and those who are willing to listen, to walk with Jesus. What do you spend most of your time for? Time is important. The time to prepare is now. When time ends, there won’t be a second chance.
Fourth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Sept 28
27
Sep
God’s Values vs Man’s values Man looks at things from his own perspective, while God sees the whole picture. Man’s values are those that appear to benefit him and fail to realize the fact that what benefits others will ultimately benefit him. Without God, we are centered on getting things for us. If there are four people and one pie, man sees the benefit of getting the whole pie, but everyone can’t have the whole pie. There will be a struggle and only the strongest will get the pie. They all will only benefit if they divide the pie. God laid down His values in the Ten Commandments and throughout the Bible, to provide for the benefit of everyone, but they seem foolish to man. Why should we give in order to receive when all we have to do is take it. If we give, the other person may not give back, but if we take it, someone else will want to take it from us. We will only find peace and happiness as we understand the love of God and see things from His perspective. In the weeks ahead, I will be examining the various values and how God and man see them differently.
Third Sunday of Kingdomtide-Sept 21
17
Sep
organized teaching-In addition to a firm foundation, members need organized teaching. Often, the preaching and the adult Sunday Schools of many churches are very haphazard with no master plan. Sermons are often chosen week by week or from a series that hits the pastor’s fancy. Adult Sunday School classes are often chosen for each quarter at random. Without a basic foundation of knowledge and without organized instruction, bits and pieces of knowledge are tossed together in a heap. Many adult church members know many things about the faith but have no way to pull it together and do not understand how it applies to their life. The church needs to draw up a blueprint of what its members need to know and teach them in an organized manner. Using the Christian calendar gives structure to teaching and helps the church provide organized teaching. By going through the Christian calendar, it goes through all the major teachings of the church each year. I have a series of courses on Udemy to teach Christian beliefs. It begins with a course on Basic Christian beliefs. Next is a course on the Celebrations and how they help members understand the faith. Next I have courses on The values laid down in the Ten Commandments., including the value of life, the value of the rule of law, and the value of the family. See promos and links under “study courses”
Thirteenth Sunday of Pentecost-B-August 31
28
Aug
Problem pregnancies. Our society glorifies sex but does not warn girls about the dangers. Pro-abortion crisis pregnancy centers prey on such girls by promising protection against pregnancy but do not tell them that there is a high failure rate or about the multitude of sexually transmitted diseases that go with sex with multiple partners. They encourage frequent sex and profit from these girls by selling both the “protection” and “the solution to the problem” when the protection fails. As a result many girls and women find themselves pregnant and unable to care for a child. Christian crisis pregnancy centers have grown up in most cities and many larger towns to help girls caught by unwanted pregnancy. Volunteer counselors are needed to let these girls know that someone cares and is there to help them, as well as to educate them on preventing unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases in the future. Check out “National Right-to-life” on the web.
Thirteenth Sunday of Pentecost-A-August 31
28
Aug
Hospital Ministry- Those in the hospital are often not there by choice. Many people hate to go to the hospital when they are sick or injured, though it is sometimes necessary. In unfamiliar circumstances, away from family and friends, and often unable to do many things they normally do. Staff do not have time to stop and chat so days are long and boring. I spent a number of times in the hospital as a child and a couple times as an adult and I don’t like it either. When I was a child, I always looked forward to the “gray ladies” (retired women who volunteered in the hospital and would bring around pop and ice cream in the afternoons and stop to talk) and the “candy strippers” named after the red and white stripped uniforms they wore(teen girls who volunteered in the hospital who brought around books, magazines, games, puzzles, and crafts in the evenings and spent time with us playing games and showing us how to make simple craft items). When I was in the hospital at age 40 for my hip replacement, no gray ladies or candy strippers came around during the week I was there. They tell me they get very few volunteers these days. Many tell me they hate to visit friends or family in the hospital because it is so depressing. If you feel hospitals are depressing, think how the patients feel. In addition, many people work and don’t have a lot of time to visit. Lastly, many people have no friends or family close by who can visit. Days are long when someone is confined to bed all day and although hospitals have TV sets, they get old after awhile.
MAGA-A-C
28
Aug
Our society says it doesn’t matter what you believe but all we have to do is look around us and see the difference between America in the 1950’s and America today. The values of the culture have changed and it has deeply affected our society. The liberal attacks on the value of life, the value of the rule of law, and the value of the family have destroyed the fabric of our nation and opened the door to the violence that now grips our nation. Liberal politicians see situations and grab the easiest solution. Got an unwanted baby, abort it. It doesn’t deal with the problem that created it or the girl’s problem of dealing with it afterward. Got someone shooting up a school, take away everyone’s guns. It doesn’t deal with the anger. The shooter at Sandy Hook had a propane tank filled with explosives he intended to set off which would have killed dozens of kids but police were able to take him down before he reached it. If he could not have gotten a gun, he would have set off the bomb first which would have been far more devastating. They just try to put a band aid on a gaping wound which doesn’t solve the problem, it just sweeps it under the rug. We just saw where a shooter opened fire on children in a church. It was refreshing to hear Malania Trump call for a common sense solution. We need to identify potential shooters and try to defuse the anger or get them off the streets. Though the shooter did not give specific information, he broadcast his intentions long before the incident but nobody listened. Other shooters have also openly broadcast their intentions before hand but nobody was listening, they were too intent on taking away the guns from innocent people.