Developing relationships-The days after Pentecost were days of learning what it meant to follow Christ in a community of believers. Many were attracted to the church by the preaching of the disciples and had not previously known each other so it was a time of learning to live with each other as Christ would have them. Our society values isolation and the church has fallen prey to it. As a result, few in the church really know each other well enough to admit to having needs. In addition, very few know them well enough to minister to them because they have not had a close relationship with them. People require more than an hour a week in a worship service to develop close relationships. Churches need to make a big effort to help members get to know each other. In the past, pot luck suppers were a place where people got to know each other but few churches today organize social times. Many churches today that still have social times are going to catered meals and eating at restaurants but that is only available to those who can afford them. In addition, many members do not know other members well enough to be open and honest so little socialization occurs in large gatherings. People today develop best in groups of less than 16 people, therefore the church needs to organize small group to help members get to know each other and learn to live like Christ would have them live. Short six week Bible studies are not adequate, it requires long term commitment to each other. (See “Living Presence” in “Rebuilding the Kingdom” (Lulu Press) for developing a small group ministry)
Posts Tagged ‘kingdomtide’
Third Sunday of Kingdomtide-Sept 17
Love Others -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 Concern for others involves more than just seeing them as people of value. It involves active concern for the welfare of others where we look out for each other. The world has no concern except to survive and is always looking out for number one. Their first concern in any decision is what will it benefit them. The church needs to show active concern for others as it develops programs and makes decisions by considering the impact it will have on those involved, not just on its benefit to us. The church needs to actively develop programs to minister to church members and train them to minister to those around the church who don’t belong to a church. The church has turned most of its social services over to the government so most people no longer see the church as caring about them. They see the government supplying their needs and now look to the government when they need help. While the government provides for their immediate needs like food and housing, it does little to provide long term help to enable them to get back on their feet and able to help themselves. In fact, many government rules prevent or at least discourage people from helping themselves. If the government provides for their needs, there is little incentive to provide for themselves. In addition, while the government can supply their physical needs, it can not supply their spiritual needs. Concern for others also involves forgiveness– Many people are afraid to show any sign of weakness because they are afraid that others will take advantage of it. As a result, they are afraid to admit that they made a mistake and ask for forgiveness. By the same token, they are afraid to extend forgiveness to others because they are afraid others will see it as a sign of weakness in them and try to take advantage of them. As a result, our bitterness and resentment drives a wedge between us cutting us off from fellowship with each other. God calls us to forgive others, just as He has forgiven us. In fact, it is because He has forgiven us that He expects us to forgive others (see the parable of the King and His servants in Matt 18:22-35). As we forgive others, we break down the barriers of bitterness and resentment which divide us and which prevent us from experiencing the joy that comes from fellowship with each other.
First Sunday of Kingdomtide-Sept 3
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.
Eleventh Sunday of Kingdomtide-Nov 20
Freedom and Domination-The prophets were very clear about responsibility. The saying had been, “The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge”, implying that the children suffered due to the sins of their parents. While all mankind suffers because of the sins of Adam and Eve, it is because we choose to follow their example and choose our way over God’s way. God gave the law to direct our behavior towards what God had intended but our desire is to obey the letter of the law while getting around it to get our way if possible. Since our heart seeks to disobey, even when we outwardly obey, our heart isn’t in it and we are rebelling against God’s law, and the penalty for sin is death. The people later demanded a king like the other nations but God warned them that the king would tax them and conscript their sons and daughters for his benefit and would lead them away from God. In fact, that is what the kings did. The prophets reminded the people that “the soul that sins will die”. Each man is responsible for his own behavior. Men want to have someone else in charge to make decisions and take the heat for bad decisions. When we appoint leaders over us, we are authorizing them to make decisions on our behalf. We then become responsible for their decisions. If they don’t do what we want, we should remove them if we can. If we can remove them and do not, we are consenting to their decisions. When leaders take power by force and try to force us to do something that violates God’s will, we must decide whether we will obey them or obey God. We cannot claim we violated God’s law because man told us to, because no man has the authority to override God’s commands. Ultimately, God will hold us accountable for our behavior and will hold them accountable for theirs.
Tenth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Nov 13-B
Church and State-B Jesus illustrated the real separation of church and State when asked about the taxes. He stated that we should render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God, that which is God’s. Since God created everything, everything is under His domain, including the government. However, God has established governments to keep the peace and maintain order and taxes and laws are necessary to carry out their responsibility. Since God created life for a purpose, only He has the right to determine when it ends and since God laid down the ground rules in the Ten Commandments, man does not have the right to change them or set them aside. The government is established to enforce them, but does not have the right to abolish them or change them. The Constitution recognizes that we have certain God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and established procedures to protect them through the safeguards it established. The liberal politicians do not recognize God, so they do not recognize anything as being under God’s domain. They believe that their right to pursue happiness takes precedence over other people’s right to life and liberty, and feel they can change the law or set it aside when they wish, in order to pursue their right to happiness. Clearly there is a conflict of world views. Everyone must choose who he will follow, God or man. God has set before us life and death. Following God will result in life and following man will result in death, because disobeying God is sin and the wages of sin is death. Eve chose the fruit of disobedience over the fruit of following God and many people today still choose the way of death. Many today do not know they have a choice and choose death by default. The church needs to teach them the way of life.
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Tenth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Nov 13-A
Church and State-A Liberal politicians cry out when Christians call for protecting life, saying that the Constitution requires a separation of church and State. It does but not like they say. The Constitution prohibits the government from passing laws restricting the free exercise of religion. It does not prohibit the church from voicing its opinion on religious matters. Speaking one’s views on the value of life falls under the Constitution’s protection of free speech. You do not lose the protection of the Constitution simply because you are a Christian. Without God, man seeks only his own best interest. He can say that he wants what is best for everyone, but when it comes to doing it, he puts his interest before everyone else’s. That creates conflict as every man seeks his own interest. If four people have one pie, they cannot all have all of it. God calls us to seek what is best for everyone. True Christians and Jews recognize that and put God’s law before man’s law when the two conflict. Dictators fear true Christians and Jews because the dictator cannot force them to disobey God. There are many that believe they are Christians and Jews and may even attend church or synagogue, but when forced to choose, they choose to obey man and not God. Many who attended Christian churches supported Hitler when he came to power or at least stood by and did nothing when he exterminated the Jews, those who were crippled, and the mentally deficient, because they knew what Hitler would do to them if they opposed him. They put their own interest ahead of God’s law and preferred to play it safe. Many Christians did choose to obey God and spoke out against Hitler, and Hitler put many of them in prison or killed them. Dictators may severely punish those who stand up for God, but God’s people know that the rewards in the end are well worth it. The church today faces a similar choice. It can remain silent as it did in Germany, or it can choose to stand up for God.
Eighth Week of Kingdomtide-Oct 23
Time –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. 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.
Seventh Sunday of Kingdomtide-Oct 16
Marriage God created man and woman to pair off. One reason is to enable the couple to teach children what they need to learn. While some today say that two men or two women can raise children just as well, it is very difficult for a man to teach a girl to be a woman or a woman to teach a boy to be a man. It is also difficult for two men or two women to teach kids how men and women should treat each other. Kids learn by watching and doing, not just by verbal instruction. Sometimes a close friend or relative can fill in for the missing spouse but it is very difficult. Marriage results in a long-term consistent training that is not possible with a series of short term boyfriends or roommates. Another reason is to protect the wife and children. If there is no legal marriage, either one can walk off whenever the going gets rough. With a legal marriage, they have to get a divorce before they can find someone else or be guilty of adultery. In addition, it provides a legal means to divide the couple’s assets and to ensure that the wife and children are provided for.
Christian Values-Value of Family and Gender-study course
promo https://youtu.be/v1vdPNPjr-I – time 3.12 m
Course URL- https://www.udemy.com/course/value-of-family-and-gender/?referralCode=B59AC09CACA5C0C97BDD
Sixth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Oct 9
Value of Children –In early history, children were prized because they were necessary for the preservation of the family or group. In fact, women (who produced children) and children were so prized that they were often kidnapped or taken as captives of war from neighboring groups. Over the years, they were often valued to help out on the farm and farm families had a lot of children. As cities have grown, the value of children has declined. At various times in history, they have lost their value and various means of aborting unwanted children or killing them after birth, were developed. However, at no time in history has it taken on the proportions it has today. Environmental activists seek to restrict the birthrate to preserve nature and groups like Planned Parenthood seek to restrict the birth of populations they don’t like, such as Blacks and Hispanics, and the poor. They look at whether they can contribute what they cost to maintain or will they restrict our opportunities? We have no way of estimating what the future economic contribution of a child will be. Many non-White and poor White orphans have gone on to make great contributions, when given the opportunity and the education. Christians recognize that each person is created by God for a purpose and to take that life is to destroy God’s creation. Many individuals contribute a great deal that cannot be measured in dollars and cents and God created them regardless of their skin color and nationality.