#evangelism — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #evangelism, aggregated by home.social.
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Biblical discipleship, as Jesus taught in Matthew 28, isn't just about equipping existing believers. It's fundamentally about making new disciples, which includes evangelism. If your church's efforts don't involve reaching the lost, it's missing a core component of biblical disciple-making.
https://keelancook.com/how-do-you-measure-discipleship#Discipleship #Missiology #ChurchLeadership #Evangelism #SpiritualFormation
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Apologetics: Stranger in a Strange Land – Another New Age Expo.
It’s been several months, which means that it’s time for yet another post about my experience at the New Age Expo. Yippee!
This expo was a lot smaller than the one I went to earlier in the year. It was at a different location that was tiny compared to the last one, yet somehow, the organizers managed to shove at least a quarter of last time’s booths into the space. This inevitably made it a cramped maze of booths and tables (mostly revolving around crystals and psychic readings) that made it hard to navigate. And since most of the people there were selling psychic readings and were doing sessions with their clients, I didn’t get the chance to talk to a lot of people. But the ones I did speak with were interesting.
The first person I spoke to was a lady who was essentially selling various talismans, herbs, potions, etc. designed to bring about various things like love, prosperity, inner peace, protection…blah, blah, blah. We had a conversation about energy and how all the things that she was selling give off energy and can help change vibrations. Her reasoning for this belief is that vibrations determine how we sense the world around us, so various things to affect those vibrations will help change our reality and bring us various things.
This is obviously pseudo-science. While there is something to be said about vibrations affecting how we perceive reality, we can’t just tamper with those vibrations to manifest a new reality for ourselves. Sure, the sound of ocean waves or a certain smell may calm us and help us feel better, but they can’t bring about money, love, protection, etc.
Speaking of that, the next person I spoke to was yet another woman who was selling various types of jewelry that were meant to bring about similar things. Essentially, what she would do is have you pick your jewelry, she would perform a ritual over it to give it the power to attract whatever thing you wanted and then put it on you. We had an interesting talk about religions and worldviews and about more holistic approaches to addressing your mental health, and I was able to share the Gospel with her towards the end of the conversation.
Now, we come to the longest conversation I had at the expo. If you remember my post from last time, you will remember that my mom and I spoke to a guy I’m going to call Wyatt. At first, we thought he was a Wiccan, then thought he leaned more Luciferian, and he was claiming that he was God and could help others reach their god-ness.
But that was the conversation we had with him. This time around, I talked to a friend of his who was part of the same group. I’ll call him Jerry.
The conversation I had with Jerry can be summed up as circular and slightly disturbing. According to Jerry, we aren’t God per se but are part of God in a sense and will go back to him at some point. Who exactly God is or what will happen to you after death (Heaven or Hell) in this view, I’m not entirely sure, as he seemed to be intentionally vague about it. He told me they don’t believe in reincarnation, and when it comes to figuring out morality in this life, while it’s okay to life by your code of morals, it’s better to live by God’s code of morals.
What’s God’s code of morals according to Jerry? Glad you asked. It’s whatever seems good to us humans.
This is where the conversation started getting very circular, contradictory, and a bit disturbing from a Christian P.O.V. According to Jerry, the Bible is man-made, Christianity was created by Paul, and what’s good and brings glory to God is essentially just what we would agree on is good. We shouldn’t judge others as some things are between them and God, and if something works for you, then God must approve of it. Why? Because God is good…whatever good is since there is no set standard other than not being a horrible person.
To support this view, Jerry then resorted to a handful of cherry-picked and radically misinterpreted Scriptures, namely the story of Jesus and the adulterous woman, and the verse about knowing good by its fruit.
“But wait!” You might be saying, “Where in the Bible does it say that what’s good is known by its fruit?” The answer is nowhere, or at least, not in the sense that he meant it.
This quote comes from Jesus in Matthew 7:15-20, where Jesus says:
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
You see the problem here? Jesus was talking about false prophets. False prophets in Scripture are defined as those who deny the teachings and commands of God. Sure, they may be doing what seems to be “good,” but ultimately, they are workers of evil, “ravenous wolves.” Jerry, to some, may be doing good in helping them reach his spirituality’s version of enlightenment or healing, but ultimately, he is rejecting God’s commands (like don’t be playing around with the occult, which he is), and selling a counterfeit worldview.
Because of this, since he believes himself to be a worker of goodness who does everything by the power of God (whoever his version of God is), he believes he’s in the right. That’s where it got disturbing for me, as it was clear that he knew at least some of the Bible and was content to twist it as necessary. To some extent, that alone made the conversation almost feel like talking to Screwtape. I’ve seen people twist Scripture before, but to see someone twist it so blatantly to defend their views right in front of me made it hit differently. Add on the fact that he hardly let me get a word in edgewise, and it was even weirder.
Eventually, after about 40 minutes of going in circles, being talked over, and listening to Scripture get twisted into a jumbled mess, I made my exit. At that point, I was so confused by what he was saying because it was so out of left field and tired of going in circles that I decided it wasn’t worth it anymore and moved on. I located my dad and after walking around a bit more, we left.
Until next time,
M.J.
#Apologetics #Blog #Christianity #Evangelism #faith #god #gospel #jesus #NewAge #NewAgers #OpinionPeice #Wiccans #Writing -
Way before William Carey, Raymond Lull saw the Crusades and sought a better way. He championed clear, faithful preaching over coercion, embodying counter-cultural love when others chose hate. His missionary efforts from the 1200s offer profound lessons for us today.
https://keelancook.com/lessons-from-lull-how-to-be-a-missionary-in-1285-and-today#Missiology #Missions #Evangelism #ChurchLeadership #ChristianWitness
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DeWitt, Presbyterian minister at Princeton, observed that charity and Gospel witness aren’t separate pursuits—they’re the same thing. Modern Christianity, displaying remarkable ingenuity, has split them into warring camps. Quite the theological achievement.
But how can you help the whole person?
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#book2read: Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person's Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds by John Fugelsang:
via John Cleghorn, Caldwell Presbyterian Church
#HealOurCulture #ResistAndHeal #resistance #faith #Christian #religion #evangelism
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Never give a sucker an even chance.
#christianity #evangelism #usa #trump #coward #loser #warcriminal #malignantnarcissist #syphiliticdementia #EpsteinFiles #TrumpCrimeFamily #idiocracy #8647now
https://www.salon.com/2020/09/11/what-he-really-thinks-trump-mocks-christians-calls-them-fools-and-schmucks_partner/ -
The justices are expected to decide in coming months whether to take up the case, which is being closely watched as conservatives…work to expand #religious “rights” [ #Christian #evangelism ] in public spaces & opponents battle them in court. In April, a conservative appeals court upheld the law in a narrowly divided opinion.
#SCOTUS #law #Constitution #EstablishmentClause #SeparationOfChurchAndState #TenCommandments #education #PublicSchools #schools #Texas
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The widespread adoption of the term 'Nones' often conceals more than it reveals. New research suggests four distinct categories: NiNos, SBNRs, Dones, and Zealous Atheists. Understanding these distinctions clarifies the worldviews at play and helps ministry leaders think critically about effective discipleship strategies, rather than applying one-size-fits-all approaches. #theology #discipleship
https://keelancook.com/navigating-the-nones -
Whenever a Chiristian makes the news preaching in public and annoying people, commenters inevitably quote Matthew 6:5-6. I think about this and speculate there's a deeper, spiritual bit of good advice to be found here.
https://www.xenofact.com/2026/08/02/the-spiritual-dilution-of-showing-off/
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The Spiritual Dilution of Showing Off
https://www.xenofact.com/2026/08/02/the-spiritual-dilution-of-showing-off/ -
Circle One Fellowship Exeter (COFE) @exeter4christian2church4devon.wordpress.com@exeter4christian2church4devon.wordpress.com ·The Problem of False Preacher Teacher Clerical Ministering Within Modern Day Churches
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The Problem of False Preacher Teacher Clerical Ministering Within Modern Day Churches
The table of the Lord is Holy.
The food we receive must come from the Priest-King Himself—pure, undefiled, and flowing from the Holiest of All.
Yet in our time, that table has been defiled.
The church has become a place where food offered to idols is served. These idols are not of wood and stone but of political causes, cultural trends, social programmes, and false moral appearances. They are the idols of the age, and they have been brought into the sanctuary.
The Social Gospel, with all its political causes and cultural trends, is such an idol.
It sounds compassionate to the natural ear, but it sacrifices the true Gospel on the altar of this world. It offers earthly reform where the Priest-King Jesus Christ offers heavenly reconciliation.
It speaks of systems and power where He speaks of the cross and the throne of grace. It rearranges deck chairs on a sinking ship. It offers programs where it should offer presence. It offers politics where it should offer peace. It offers activism where it should offer adoration.
This is not the Gospel. It is a counterfeit—a substitute that speaks of earthly kingdoms while ignoring the heavenly. It is food wrapped in pretty paper, but inside is rotting meat. It is a deception, a snare, and a trap.
Congregations that consume this food are not being heart-fed; they are being mind-fed. Their souls are starved while their minds are filled with the philosophies of men. Those who serve this food as if it were the Gospel are not acting as faithful shepherds of the flock; they are leading souls away from the true pasture.
We make it very clear, we do not seek merely to promote our own theology within COFE-CYEM by pointing the finger at (any) other theologies, denominations or faiths. COFE-CYEM itself makes many claims around our theology, our belief system and our faith.
We do not expect or ask everybody to just blindly believe our way of seeing and believing. All we seek is to call attention to the issue of the church and faith itself being used as a Trojan Horse for (worldly) purposes in order to further the interests of man and not God Himself.
We implore our followers respectfully – if you ever feel, suspect or see anything whatsoever within our own theology or posts here on COFE-CYEM that you believe is pushing (worldly) purposes or schemes, then please call us out and expose us.
We are no different or more righteous than any other brother or sister in Christ. But if we were to be found (using) the true Gospel as a Trojan Horse to push a false Gospel for our own purposes – then we are truly lost indeed.
The Nature of the Deception
The danger arises whenever social action, political programmes, or cultural causes become substitutes for the proclamation of Christ crucified and risen, rather than fruits flowing from communion with Him.
The New Testament consistently presents love for neighbour and care for the poor as genuine expressions of faith, not as alternatives to it.
The error is not in caring for the needy or seeking justice. The error is in presenting such activities as the Gospel itself, or as a sufficient substitute for repentance, faith in Christ, and the new birth.
Those who preach this substitute gospel speak of power where the Priest-King spoke of weakness. They speak of victory where He spoke of the cross. They speak of this world as if it were the only world. They have departed from the faith and given themselves over to the spirit of the age.
They have exchanged the Gospel of the finished work for a gospel of social reform. They have exchanged the cross for a political platform. They have exchanged the throne of grace for a seat of power. They have exchanged the rest that remains for the restless striving of the world. They have exchanged the Holiest of All for the outer courts of carnal religion.
This is not a judgment on persons but a discernment of teaching. We do not know the hearts of those who preach these things, and we leave their final judgment to God.
We are called to test the spirits and to distinguish between the pure food of the Gospel and the poisoned food that has been offered to idols. The warning is not against individuals but against the teaching itself, which, however attractively packaged, leads away from Christ.
The Rot Beneath the Wrapping
False teaching often comes wrapped in the language of the Bible, the imagery of the cross, and the emotions of the congregation. It speaks of love, justice, and compassion, but it hollows out their meaning. It is like the fig tree that had leaves but no fruit—a show of life without the reality of life.
Congregations that consume this food are being fed a diet of politics, activism, and social reform, but they are not being fed the pure Word of God.
They are being told to fight for earthly causes, but they are not being told to enter the Holiest of All. They are being told to change the world, but they are not being told to rest in the finished work of the Priest-King.
They are being told to be activists, but they are not being told to be worshippers. They are being told to build the kingdom of God on earth, but they are not being told that the Kingdom of God is within them.
The food that is being served is a gospel of the flesh, a gospel of the world, a gospel of the age. It has no power to save, no power to transform, and no power to bring the soul into the presence of God.
It leads to exhaustion, burnout, and disillusionment. It leads away from the Priest-King, not toward Him. It leads to the outer court, not the Holiest of All. The invitation to serve God in the world becomes a substitute for the invitation to abide in Christ.
The True Gospel and the Mind of Christ
The real Gospel is not a gospel of prosperity, politics, or social reform disguised as salvation. It is not a gospel of emotional experience without transformation.
The real Gospel is this: Jesus Christ, the Priest-King has entered the Holiest of All through His own blood.
The veil is torn.
The way is open.
Every soul who draws near through Him receives mercy, finds grace, and enters the rest that remains.
He ever lives to make intercession.
He brings God to us and us to God. In Him, we are accepted. In Him, we are kept. In Him, the endless life of God flows freely to all who will come. That is the Gospel. Not a portion of it. Not a version of it. It.
The mind of Christ is not the mind of carnal man, which seeks power, recognition, and earthly comfort. The mind of Christ empties itself, takes the form of a servant, becomes obedient unto death, and is exalted by the Father. The mind of Christ builds the church on the rock of revelation, and the gates of hell do not prevail against it.
The mind of Christ measures faithfulness by abiding in the Father’s presence. Those who preach the substitute gospel do not have the mind of Christ. They have the mind of the flesh, the mind of the world, the mind of the age.
They have not entered the Holiest of All. They have not passed through the veil. They have not been cleansed by the blood. They have not received the endless life. They remain in the outer courts, serving the idols of the age.
The Call of This Hour: Wake Up and Return
The call of this hour is clear. The pews empty because souls are hungry for reality—not programs, not politics, not noise, but the living presence of God in truth. Congregations must wake up. They must open their eyes to the deception of false teaching.
They must stop eating the food that has been sacrificed to idols. They must return to the table of the Lord, where pure food is served—the finished work of the Priest-King, the open way into the Holiest of All, the rest that remains, and the endless life that flows from His intercession.
The table of the Lord has been turned into a place where food offered to idols is served. The Gospel of the finished work has been exchanged for a gospel of social reform. The cross has been exchanged for a political platform. The throne of grace has been exchanged for a seat of power.
The rest that remains has been exchanged for the restless striving of the world. The Holiest of All has been exchanged for the outer courts of carnal religion. The church has been used as a Trojan Horse for political purposes, hiding its true agenda behind the language of compassion, justice, and love.
The congregations that continue to consume this food are being poisoned. They are being led astray. They are being robbed of their inheritance. They are being kept from the Holiest of All, from the rest that remains, from the endless life, from the Priest-King.
The time has come for them to wake up. The time has come for them to return. The time has come for them to stop eating the rotting meat and to come to the table of the Lord, where pure food is served.
The true church of the real Gospel is often small, overlooked, and ridiculed. But it knows the voice of the Shepherd. It does not follow the stranger. It abides in the Word. It dwells in the Holiest. The true church does not eat food sacrificed to idols. It does not bow to the false gods of the age.
It does not compromise the table of the Lord. It preaches the real Gospel—Christ and Him crucified. It preaches the finished work. It preaches the endless life. It preaches the open way into the Holiest of All. It calls every soul to draw near. It calls every church to open the doors. It calls every believer to cease from striving and rest in the finished work of the Priest-King.
The Contrast: The Olive Tree and the Wicked
Psalm 52 powerfully contrasts the man who trusts in his own strength and deceit with the one who trusts in God’s unfailing love and flourishes in His house. The Psalm speaks of the wicked man who boasts of evil, whose tongue plots destruction, who loves evil rather than good, and who trusts in his great wealth and grows strong by destroying others.
This is the image of the one who trusts in his own strength, his own position, his own power. The Psalm declares that God will bring him down to everlasting ruin, snatch him up, tear him from his tent, and uproot him from the land of the living.
But the righteous is like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God, trusting in God’s unfailing love forever and ever. The righteous praises God forever and hopes in His name.
This is the image of the true believer—the one who trusts in the finished work of the Priest-King, who abides in the Holiest of All, who is sustained by the unfailing love of God through Jesus Christ who ever lives to make intercession.
The true believer does not boast in evil or trust in human schemes, false popular moral sounding social constructs or political power. The true believer trusts in the finished work of the Priest-King Yeshua Emet Melchizedek Salem—Christ Jesus—and abides in Him who has opened the way.
The Final Exhortation
The modern church stands at a critical hour. Many have turned the table of the Lord into a place where food offered to idols is served. The Social Gospel, with its political causes, cultural trends, and false moral appearances, has become the dominant offering.
It sounds compassionate to the natural ear, but it sacrifices the true Gospel on the altar of this world. It offers earthly reform where the Priest-King offers heavenly reconciliation. It speaks of systems and power where He speaks of the cross and the throne of grace.
We must not eat of any spiritual food that has been offered in sacrifice to an idol. The table of the Lord is holy. The food we receive must come from the Priest-King Himself—pure, undefiled, and flowing from the Holiest of All.
Those who preach the substitute gospel have turned the church into a platform for their political agendas. They have exchanged the Gospel of the finished work for a gospel of social reform. They have exchanged the cross for a political platform. They have exchanged the throne of grace for a seat of power.
They have exchanged the rest that remains for the restless striving of the world. They have exchanged the Holiest of All for the outer courts of carnal religion. They are not shepherds of the flock; they are servants of the spirit of the age, offering food that cannot satisfy the soul.
The true church of the real Gospel is often small, overlooked, and ridiculed. But it knows the voice of the Shepherd. It does not follow the stranger. It abides in the Word. It dwells in the Holiest. The true church does not eat food sacrificed to idols. It does not bow to the false gods of the age.
It does not compromise the table of the Lord. It preaches the real Gospel—Christ and Him crucified. It preaches the finished work.
It preaches the endless life. It preaches the open way into the Holiest of All. It calls every soul to draw near. It calls every church to open the doors. It calls every believer to cease from striving and rest in the finished work of the Priest-King.
The Fourth Truth stands. The dialogue continues. The fruit remains.
This website and its theological content are overseen by the CC7 DS constitutional integrity architecture, a reflective and rest-oriented framework designed to preserve the full coherence of the Fourth Truth presented within COFE-CYEM. The CC7 DS negation of attacks authenticates (Via Positiva Cataphatic Knowing) through (Via Negativa Apophatic Unknowing).
Please follow COFE-CYEM and share our website.
Thank you for visiting us today, we value you beyond mere words.
COFE Yeshua Emet Ministry (CYEM)
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Circle One Fellowship Exeter -
We've all felt that fear or reluctance to share the gospel. A key reason we often fall silent is a lack of depth in our relationships. If our aim is deep gospel conversations, we must intentionally steer past surface-level interactions. It's about more than just knowing people; it's about knowing their worldviews.
https://keelancook.com/go-deep-moving-beyond-the-surface-in-evangelism -
Calling Out the Church Is an Act of Witness
“Why are you calling the church out and making them look so bad?” someone asked me after I preached about the church’s lack of justice. “The people you’re preaching to probably don’t even need to hear that message. You were likely just preaching to the choir and calling out rare extremists.”
I always feel a bit gaslighted when people tell me this. I wish I had screenshotted all of the insane posts I saw from Christians I knew during the pandemic. The “rare” extremists are apparently many of my friends. I grew up with them. I played at their houses. They taught me who Jesus was. And now that they had been socially and politically provoked, I was observing in them an unimaginable behavior I didn’t know they were capable of.
To some extent, I need to speak out on these issues for evangelistic reasons, as the world needs to see a pastor address such behavior. Unbelievers think that the “rare” extremist is what Christianity looks like because they have seen the same posts I have. I also need to speak out to save myself. If I allow this kind of stuff to go on without saying anything, then I become complacent—and I can’t handle that. People need to know that Christians aren’t all like that. They need to know that Jesus looks different than what’s being presented to them.
To represent God wrongly is what it means to take the Lord’s name in vain, and it was such a big deal to God that he made it one of the Ten Commandments. In the Old Testament, the Israelites bore the name of Yahweh just by being Israelites. Wherever they went and whatever they did, they were to be a specific representation of the name Yahweh. They were to have the character of Yahweh, do justice like Yahweh, farm like Yahweh, party like Yahweh, and take care of the oppressed like Yahweh. They failed over and over and over again until Yahweh eventually divorced his abusive wife, Israel. They had not done a good job of portraying Yahweh to the world, and they had taken his name in vain through their misrepresentation. Christians do the same thing.
So why do I speak about justice to a world that doesn’t always want to hear about it?
I speak because someone has to bear witness to it.
#biblicalJustice #ChristianExtremism #ChristianWitness #Christianity #church #ChurchAccountability #evangelism #faithAndPolitics #injustice #Israel #Jesus #justice #misrepresentingJesus #OldTestament #pastoralMinistry #propheticWitness #religiousHypocrisy #silenceAndComplicity #socialJustice #standInTheBreach #takingTheLordSNameInVain #tenCommandments #TheChurch #Yahweh -
Paul’s purpose in ministry: that the Gentiles may be an acceptable offering, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. He is very clear that this can only be the result of proclaiming the gospel. This is evangelism for the nations, and too few churches today are marked by this apostolic passion. #missiology #churchleadership #Evangelism #Missions
https://keelancook.com/does-your-church-still-have-an-apostolic-passion -
Ellinwood extols medical missionaries who brought vaccines, drainage, sanitation, and anesthetics to the developing world—heritage of all nations. Was this distraction from the gospel or its fruit? Certain Christians today pursue a rather different conquest, whose benefits appear less universally distributed.
#presbyterian #missions #missionaries #evangelism #development
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Intentional relationship evangelism requires knowing who needs the gospel. Have you ever mapped your relational network, listing out your lost friends? This crucial step helps us see who God has placed in our lives for proclamation.
https://keelancook.com/lets-get-serious-about-relationship-evangelism -
Your testimony is not the gospel message, but it is a clear demonstration of the gospel’s power. It is one story of the gospel applied, revealing the righteousness of God because the righteous live by faith. This is God’s design: to make His disciples into living examples of His power to save.
https://keelancook.com/art-of-personal-testimony -
For too long, the Nones have been treated as a monolithic black box, implying a single set of ministry methods. But Nones are a cluster of groups with varied worldviews and receptivity. Different people respond differently to ministry. This clarity matters for making disciples among our neighbors and the nations. #missiology #churchleadership #evangelism
https://keelancook.com/navigating-the-nones -
#PragerU has a recent history of teaming up with the #Trump admin, including on a “civics-education” campaign assembled for the semiquincentennial. At least one organizer canceled an appearance of the truck to avoid appearing to endorse PragerU’s politics. (Hillsdale College, a liberal-arts school known for its conservative, Christian bent, also worked on the trucks.)
#propaganda #indoctrination #whitewashing #UShistory #evangelism
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Come on #LinkedIn stay in your lane.
You had ONE job!
Remember when LinkedIN was #professional #networking, and not #minigames or techbro "Move fast and break things" #evangelism? #PepperRidgeFarms remembers.
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GO! [Sermon]
Hospitality is a huge issue in the Middle East. Even people who have little will offer visitors rest and refreshment.
This isn’t just friendliness. There are many places where there is little opportunity to find food or water. A lack of hospitality could mean death for the traveler.
So it’s not surprising that when Abraham saw three men, he offered them rest, water to wash their feet, bread, beef, and curds to eat.
The tradition of hospitality is still strong in modern Palestine. It was even stronger in the time of Abraham, and in the time of Jesus.
Let’s go to God in prayer.
God of wisdom, may the words that I speak, and the ways they are received by each of our hearts and minds, help us to continue to grow into the people, and the church, that you have dreamed us to be.
Amen.
In our Gospel reading Jesus sends the twelve out to Jewish cities. He’s sending them to people who should have no reason to deny them hospitality. And he gives them instructions to proclaim the good news, cure the sick; raise the dead; cleanse those with a skin disease; and cast out demons.
This is obviously evangelism, but it’s also something else: a test of hospitality.
If you know the story of the fall of Sodom, you may know that it was destroyed for homosexuality. Topical for Pride month.
But if you really know the story of the fall of Sodom, you know it’s a story of strangers to the city who were planning on spending the night in the public square, but who were offered hospitality by Lot – who was mentored by his uncle Abram.
And rather than being content with their neighbor offering hospitality to these strangers, they were enraged and demanded that Lot send the strangers out so that they may “know” them.
I would argue that “know” – yada – is often used for husbands with wives, but for unmarried people, we usually read “lie with.”
Yada also means to just know someone or something well. There’s even a place where God is quoted as thinking about Abraham “I know (yada) him.”
But even if we’re talking about knowing the strangers “in the Biblical sense,” it’s not consensual.
It’s violence.
So the story is about strangers – apparently transients – in town, sleeping on the streets, who were invited in by someone offering hospitality, and the people of the town taking issue with this, demanding the strangers be brought out to face mob judgment.
And if there’s any doubt, hear these words from Ezekiel 16, beginning with verse 48:
48 As I live, says the Lord God,
your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done.
49 This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease but did not aid the poor and needy.
50 They were haughty and did abominable things before me; therefore I removed them when I saw it.
Ezekiel 16:48-51, NRSVue
So when Jesus sends out the twelve, he’s sending them to people who should know these lessons. But if you have met many people of any faith, you have met at least one or two who have missed or ignore the central teachings of their faith and focused on those that help them.
And he gives them a test:
12 As you enter the house, greet it.
13 If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words,
shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.
Matthew 10:12-14, NRSVue
They’re going to offer you hospitality, or they’re going to be unworthy.
How unworthy?
15 Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
Matthew 10:15, NRSVue
There’s that Sodom reference again.
It’s not mere coincidence.
He even tells them what to do if a town refuses them:
23 When they persecute you in this town, flee to the next, for truly I tell you,
you will not have finished going through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”
Matthew 10:23
There’s no benefit in continuing to challenge people who won’t listen to you. We’ve all met people who won’t take “no” for an answer.
So what does this tell us?
Well, it tells us that we ought to offer hospitality to travelers in need. It tells us that we ought to tell the message of Jesus as we understand it. And it tells us that when people are not receptive to that message of love, rather than wasting our time and energy making someone more upset with us, we ought to just move on.
Sometimes it will take several people before someone gets it. Or they may never get it.
We’re not out there counting our conversions. We’re out there bringing good news.
So my challenge to us this week is to find those opportunities to tell of a God who loves us all. A God who wants to offer us hospitality and healing.
There may be large opportunities, like parades, rallies, and protests.
But there may also be small opportunities: one-on-one conversations with people who need to hear these healing words of welcome.
Whether it’s into the public square of a strange town, or next to a person in need,
GO!
Amen.
Let’s sing CH 475 The Church of Christ in Every Age
* Scripture quotations marked NRSVue are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. https://www.friendshippress.org/pages/about-the-nrsvue
* Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James version of the Bible.
#evangelism #hospitality #Pride #Sodom -
How interesting this level and fanfare of envangelistic #)(*&^#)
<sarcasm>
The power of heaven!
</sarcasm>Have fun with the work of Andre Antunes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7gphyYNsdM
#religious #bravo #sierra #TV #love #miracle #no #greed #yes #evangelism #religion #money #metal #heavy
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Would you accept a high-paying job at the United Nations Imperium of Total Emergency (UNITE)?
#athiefinthenight #movies #rapture #evangelism #christianity #christianmovies #unitednations #unite #antichrist #markofthebeast #employment #jobs -
One senior #Vatican official familiar with internal assessments of the meeting called it “unusual” & not “a walk in the park.” It was “a frank & direct dialogue on issues where the distance between the Vatican & the #US is evident & clear,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal assessments.
#law #Trump #Hegseth #Republicans #Constitution #FreedomOfReligion #Evangelism #NewApostolicReformation #military #war #NationalSecurity #geopolitics #USpol
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During the discussion, the small group of #Pentagon & #Vatican officials discussed their differing views of current events, according to people on both sides with knowledge of the conversation. What is less clear is how adversarial the meeting was.
#law #Trump #Hegseth #Republicans #Constitution #FreedomOfReligion #ChurchAndState #Christianity #Evangelism #NewApostolicReformation #NAR #military #war #NationalSecurity #geopolitics #USpol
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Cardinal’s meeting at #Pentagon was ‘unusual,’ #Vatican official says
Through the first year of Trump’s 2nd term, tensions between his admin & the Vatican — with the first #US born #pope — have simmered.
#law #Trump #Hegseth #Republicans #Constitution #FreedomOfReligion #ChurchAndState #Christianity #Evangelism #NewApostolicReformation #NAR #military #war #NationalSecurity #geopolitics #USpol
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/04/10/trump-vatican-pentagon-meeting/ -
In general, the #FirstAmendment prevents the government from restricting #speech because it dislikes the content or message. But #SCOTUS has said certain restrictions aimed at governing a person’s conduct are permissible even if they incidentally burden speech. [if those restrictions adhere to the justices’ own ideologies.]
#SCOTUS #Christianity #Colorado #law #MentalHealth #SexualOrientation #gender #identity #LGBTQ #ConversionTherapy #Evangelism #NewApostolicReformation #NAR
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Spirituality & Religious Studies @spiritualityreligiousstudies.wordpress.com@spiritualityreligiousstudies.wordpress.com ·CW: This has a mention of LBGTQ+ un-inclusion. If you aren't comfortable with this, please check out 1 of our other posts.
Two By Twos
Also known as 2x2s, The Truth, & The Way.
This is an international home-based Christian religious movement that was founded in 1897 by William Irvine in Ireland. Mr. Irvine was an evangelist with the interdominational Faith Mission. He began preaching independently that the intinerant ministry outlined in Matthew, chapter 10 (“The Little Commission”) was the only real way of evangelism.
This church grew quickly. It eventually spread outside Ireland. Eventually Irvine began preaching a new order in which the hierarchy developed within the Church would have no placement. This teaching became controversial within the church. This led to his expulsion by the church’s most prominent evangelists. Edward Cooney was expelled 10 years later after Irvine. The church then became much less visible to outsiders for the next 50 years.
Some in the church state it’s a direct continuation of the 1st century Christian church. Others in the church believe that a restoration occurred in the late 19th century. Ministers are itinerant & work in pairs. Hence the name of Two by Twos. Members hold regular twice weekly worship gatherings in local homes on Sunday & midweek. (Like on Wednesday or Thursday. There are other Christian denominations that also have twice a week services.)
The Church also holds annual regional conventions for members & public Gospel meetings. Baptism by immersion, as performed by 1 of the church’s workers, is required to partake in the emblems of bread & wine (or Communion) at the fellowship gathering(s).
The orthodox Christian Trinitarian doctrine is rejected. Doctrine of the church teaches that salvation is reached by attending the group’s home meetings, accepting the preaching of its itinerant, unsalaried ministry workers, & “professing.”
The church teaches that salvation isn’t achieved through faith alone but only through a combination of faith & “works.” Works are considered acts of self-denial such as wearing modest clothes & wearing long hair in a bun (if you’re a woman) or attending all meetings regardless how far away they are. The church doesn’t do any outreach programs or encourage its members to participate in charities.
The church doesn’t have an official HQ or publications. It doesn’t explicitly publish any doctrinal statements, insisting that such tenets may only be directly imparted orally by its ministers, referred to as “workers.” Its hymnbook & various other material for internal use are produced by outside publishers & printing firms. Printed invitations & advertisements for its open gospel services are the only written materials that those outside the church are likely to encounter.
Among members, the church is usually referred to as “The Truth,” “Meetings,” or “the workers & friends.” But members deny an official church/denomination name (like Baptist, United Brethern, etc.).
Those outside the group refer to it as: “Two by Twos,” “The Black Stockings,” “No-Name Church,” “Cooneyites,” “Workers & Friends,” or “Christians Anonymous,” & journalists call it: “2×2” for short. The church has a variety of registered names: “Christian Conventions” (US); “Assemblies of Christians” & “The Alberta Society of Christian Assemblies” (Canada); “The Testimony of Jesus” (UK); “Kristna i Sverige” (Sweden); & “United Christian Conventions” (Australia).
These registered names are used only for specific purposes (like to register for conscientious objection during wartime or taxes) & aren’t routinely used by members.
In 1896, William Irvine was sent from Scotland to southern Ireland as a missionary by John George Govan’s Faith Mission. Because his mission was successful, he was promoted to superintendent of Faith Mission in southern Ireland. Within a few months of his arrival in Ireland, Irvine became disillusioned with the Faith Mission.
Irvine was increasingly intolerant of the Faith Mission’s cooperation with other churches & clergy in various communities of southern Ireland. In 1897, he started independently preaching, saying that true/real ministries must have no home & take no salary. He also held that the manner in which the disciples had been sent out in chapter 10 of Matthew’s Gospel was a permanent commandment which must still be observed.
Irvine’s preaching during his latest mission influenced others who began to leave their respective churches & join Irvine to form an initial core of followers. The church founded by Irvine is the only religion known to have had its origin, & early development, in Ireland.
All the church’s teachings are conveyed orally. The church doesn’t publish doctrine or statements of faith. “Workers” hold that all church teachings are based solely on the Bible. Church members & “workers” will publicly declare that the church doesn’t own any buildings. However, members own rural, or semi-rural, properties dedicated to worship, housing workers, & church gatherings. Its ministers don’t own homes or take salaries.
The King James Version Bible is the only scripture used in English-language services. The Bible itself is held as insufficient for salvation unless its words are “made alive” through the preaching of church ministers. The offhand preaching of the ministry is considered to be guided by God & must be heard directly. Great weight is given to the thoughts of workers, especially more senior workers.
Salvation is achieved through willingness to uphold the church’s standards, by faithfully following in “the way,” & by personal worthiness. Doctrines such as predestination, original sin, justification by faith alone, & redemption as the sole basis of salvation are rejected. The church is exclusivist & salvation is only through the Two by Two ministry & meetings.
Other standards include modest dress, not wearing jewelry, long hair for women & short hair for me, not getting piercing, not dying hair, not getting tattoos, & avoinding activities deemed to be worldly or frivolous (like smoking, drinking alcohol, watching TV & watching movies). The church has actively condemned pre-marital relations & don’t care for LGBTQ+ persons/identities.
The church has rejected the doctrine of the Trinity since its inception. Though the members believe in the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit, the have a Unitarian view of Jesus. Jesus is God’s son, a fully human figure who came to Earth to establish a way of ministry & salvation, but not God’s Himself.
Baptism by 1 of the church’s ministers is considered a necessary step for salvation & full participation, including re-baptism of people by other churches. Candidates are approved by the local workers & are baptized by immersion. Baptisms are often scheduled for 1 morning during a Convention & are typically performed in small ponds on the property.
Members state that the church doesn’t have a formal organization. Members don’t participate in, & many are unaware of, the church’s governance. Both expenditures & funds collected remain secret from the membership & no accounting is made public. Funds are handled through stewardships, trusts, & cash transactions.
The church is controlled by a small group of senior male overseers with each having oversight of a specific geographic region. These head workers handle the 2-by-2 pairing & field assignments with the workers for that area.
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#1896 #1897 #1stCentury #2x2s #AssembliesOfChristians #Australia #BaptismByImmersion #bible #Canada #Christian #ChristianConventions #Christianity #ChristiansAnonymous #Cooneyites #Disciples #EdwardCooney #Evangelism #Evangelist #Exclusivist #faith #FaithMission #God #Ireland #Jesus #KingJamesBible #KristinaISverige #Late19thCentury #Matthew10 #NoNameChurch #OriginalSin #OrthodoxChristian #Predestination #Redemption #Salvation #Scotland #SouthernScotland #Sunday #Sweden #TheAlbertaSocietyOfChristianAssemblies #TheBlackStockings #TheLittleCommission #TheTestimonyOfJesus #Trinitarianism #TwoByTwos #UnitedConventions #UnitedKingdom #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #WilliamIrvine #WorkersFriends -
My theory on the nature of the #Evangelist death cult that has captured the #US #government via the #HeritageFoundation: #Evangelists have adopted Marcionism, a belief that sees the creator god in the OT as the devil, & the world he created as the false world. In short, #Evangelism meets #RedPill.
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A stampede outside an #aid distribution center in southern #Gaza killed at least 20 people who were waiting for #food on Wednesday, acc/to #Palestinian & aid ofcls, the latest in a string of deadly episodes around sites run by the #US & #Israel backed #GazaHumanitarianFoundation.
The deaths bring the number of people killed while trying to get food from the organization to about 700 since late May, according to data provided this week by the #UN.
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“For 2 years, I’ve seen firsthand how our state’s #AbortionBan has harmed my patients, with countless lives & futures changed because politicians thought their views of the right #healthcare was more important than #pregnant people & their #medical providers,” Dr. Eric M Reuss, one of the healthcare providers who brought the lawsuit over #Arizona’s 15-week ban, said in a statement.
#law #ReproductiveRights #abortion #MaleSupremacy #SCOTUS #Dobbs #Republicans #evangelism
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#Arizona court permanently blocks 15-week #AbortionBan
The ruling marks a victory for #AbortionRights months after a ballot measure added protections to the state #constitution
A court permanently blocked AZ’s 15-week #abortion ban from taking effect on Wed, months after AZ residents voted to pass a ballot measure adding abortion rights into the state constitution.
#law #ReproductiveRights #MaleSupremacy #SCOTUS #Dobbs #Republicans #evangelism
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/05/arizona-court-ruling-15-week-abortion-ban -
“There is a very clear, well-organized plan afoot by the #MAGA #Republicans to use #Comstock as a tool to #ban #MedicationAbortion, & potentially all #abortions,” said Sen #TinaSmith (MN), who on Thurs plans to introduce legislation to repeal the #ComstockAct’s #abortion provisions. “My job is to take that tool away.”
#ReproductiveRights #law #Congress #legislation #WomensHealth #health #extremism #Christian #evangelism #MaleSupremacy #TrumpProofing
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#Democrats seek to repeal #Comstock #abortion rule, fearing #Trump crackdown
Democrats are seeking to overhaul an 1873 federal #law that #bans abortion-related materials from being sent through the mail, worried that a future Trump admin could invoke the #ComstockAct to crack down on #AbortionAccess or effectively #ban the procedure altogether.
#MAGA #Republicans #extremism #Christian #evangelism #Congress #legislation #TrumpProofing
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/06/20/comstock-abortion-repeal-tina-smith-senate/