#proclaiming — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #proclaiming, aggregated by home.social.
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The Big Conversation – Christadelphians in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom people may find several villages and towns where there reside Christadelphians, a body of Christians who try to base their beliefs and practices wholly on the Bible, which they regard as God’s word. They try therefore to rid themselves of the various ideas and rituals which have attached themselves to Christendom over the last 2,000 years and to return to the beliefs and practices of the first century apostles.
Being a group of people who want to follow the Nazarene Jew Jeshua, who did not want to do his own will, but always did the Will of his heavenly Father, they as the man born in Bethlehem, are living in this world but not wanting to be of this world following human traditions and human dogmas. That does not make them so popular, because people may look strange at those people who do not want to celebrate Halloween and other pagan festivities.
Because the Christadelphians are a community without the trappings of elaborate buildings, priests or icons, their institutions and fellowship-rooms not be seen straight away. The outer sights are not important for the Christadelphians who prefer to give honour to God and show a deep respect for God’s word and love to have a strong sense of family and fellowship.
On the above map you can see some of the more than 300 ecclesiae in Great Britain and Ireland. They were taken under the loop by brother Jon Downes who on the 10th of October asked
What is happening?
For him the present size & growth or non-growth of UK ecclesiae show there isn’t a, ‘No Change’ option
It’s not that we aren’t trying!
he said to about 350 Christadelphians present at Dudley college.
In this world of figures, comparisons and evaluations it is all about numbers in graphics which have to show an up-going trend and reach high peaks. this for sure can not be said about our very small community. Lots of people may think when it is not big it has no value and can not be good. But people should look at the intrinsic value and to see what a group or church is believing, following up, and how they keep to what they preach. It is true that minorities do not exert influence, and that they should have to contend on the culture or the systems around it.
Christadelphians do not fall in the temptation to pretend to be a majority, even if one is not. They do know they are just a little grain of sand in our religious world. But that does not mean that many more little grains can be put together with water and with clay form a nice vase. Though sometimes it can look like we are coming to sit more in an urn. Especially in Belgium we are in distress and can do with some support form abroad. Though looking at other countries can show us also how important it is to make more work of the announcing or making known of our society.
All over the world people may not forget that the church of Jesus Christ is never a majority, in any fallen culture, even if we happen to outnumber every[one] else around us. They should come to see that the real church of God is the church of Christ were people are willing to follow Jesus his words, his teachings, but also his manners and his aspirations. It is a place where people are willing to share the agapè love of Christ, who was even willing to give his life for others, even for those who turned against him. Would we do that?
Where Christian churches have held fast to the truth that the Holy Scriptures have been given by God as an authoritative and infallible rule of faith and practice, they have never wandered very seriously out of the right way. But when, on the other hand, reason has been exalted above revelation, and made the the exponent of revelation, all kinds of errors and mischiefs have been the result, and got many sorts of denominations which have lots of rituals people may like very much but which are not according to God’s Law. And that part is the most important in our building community. We should all try to live according God’s Law and love His Words more than the words of man.
Unfortunately, lots of Christians do not closely follow the Bible today and prefer to join churches in which they can keep up their human traditions. They have changed things to how they want them to be.
Since the times of Jesus, there have been small groups of people who believed what the Bible said. Many of these people were cruelly treated in times past as a result of their beliefs. Such believers united in the North of America when in 1864 broke out the Civil War. Dr. Thomas thought up the word “Christadelphian“, a name combining the name “Christ” with the Greek word “adelphi” meaning “brother”. So the name “Christadelphian” means “brothers and sisters in Christ“.Christadelphians are grateful to John Thomas for his efforts in searching out the message of the Bible. John Thomas was not a prophet or someone special. He read the Bible, just as we try to do. Christadelphians follow Jesus Christ, not John Thomas. Not following just one man or just one human organisation gives that we may have different ideas about certain things, but that doe snot mean we would not have union with each other, though we must agree that there are certain Christadelphian groups who shamefully do not want to have contact with other Christadelphians. According to the Belgian Free Christadelphians this is also part of the reasons why it is so difficult to show the world a bigger group of religious people under one name: Christadelphians.
Being joined together by our common faith in the Bible, and the way we live, we all should try to meet each other and have contact with each other as loving siblings. All being brothers and sisters in Christ. Though each “ecclesia” has to look after its own affairs, and choose members who determine arrangements and organise activities on behalf of their members they should feel that unity with Christ with other Christadelphians world wide and show the outside world that Jesus Christ is their head of each ecclesia.
Living in this world we do agree that “It’s not about the numbers” … …but the “numbers tell a story”. And those numbers in west Europe may be alarming. Therefore there was the call to come thereto in the UK to discuss that matter of dwindling ciphers.
Like any other western capitalist country in the UK Bible ownership and Bible knowledge has slumped, some english people also do find it a form of indoctrination when parents in their home pray and talk about God in front of their children of that child.
Jon Downes presented the anxious members a snapshot of our society in the UK.
and showed those present how a typical ecclesia looks like.
When we look at the adult baptisms in our community from related people (3,5) and from non related
(1.0) plus counting the (0.5) refellowshipping members, comparing them with the average of 10 people falling asleep and 2 people leaving the fellowship, we might say that such numbers bring the graphic line downwards.What might happen to the Christadelphian community in the United Kingdom when they do not something to change the coarse.
happened.
Therefore lets look at the United Kingdom as an example.
what might this give to that community, where we find, like everywhere in the world members becoming older and dying, whilst the world is getting less interested in God and commandment.
In case we can bring the Gospel of the Good News to many more ears, we should be able by a co-effort of preaching to increase the interest in God again and get again some people interested in joining a community of lovers of Christ and lovers of God.
We must see that
The lost are our hope
and that there is good reason to try to reach the lost. We as brothers and sisters in Christ should love the people in the world so much that we will be offering some of our spare time for preaching work.
We are the hope of the lost
Luckily it is not all ad or sad news.
Good News!
tells brother Downes is that we can look at
- 120 baptisms a year (4 average sized ecclesias)
- In the last 40 years, 39 new ecclesias. (Although 96 have closed & some were renamed).
- In the last 15 years,1/4 of all baptisms from non Christadelphian backgrounds were by just 16 ecclesias. (Although 1/3 didn’t baptise any)
- While many ecclesias are shrinking many are growing.
- Numbers in Africa are growing!
- Bible Learning Centres & Learning English are having a big impact
Instead of going for Plan A is it not better that we go for Plan B?
Plan A discussed at the Big Conversation of 2015 October 10 at Dudley college, UK- Current UK Christadelphian population of 8-8500 is based on 223 2015 ALS Diary returns on households & 178 2015 CCH survey returns. 10 Ecclesias had neither return and were estimated on previous diary returns.
- 1985 to 2015 data based on records kept from the back of the Christadelphian, clearly subject to some error, gaps and misreporting. The last 12 months of Magazine entries were analysed separately and yielded results consistent with the records obtained.
- Net loss of 120 per annum and the 10, 5, 1 ratio derived from average of last 10 years data. Approx 240 out and 120 in. These do not include brothers and sisters movement in and out of the UK.
- Forecast from 2015 based on a linear continuation which could easily be a) more dramatic because of rapid closure of small ecclesias, ageing population, reduced home pool to draw from, fewer people to witness, higher rates of leaving the community b) less dramatic as in a smaller community there are fewer people falling asleep each year.
One of the deceases of this time is that too many people want to enjoy their own little cocoon and not getting out of their comfort zone to share life with the spiritually needy. Those who call themselves Christian may not forget that this means to be a follower of Jesus Christ and demands also doing what he required from his followers. Jesus asked us to go out in the world to proclaim the Kingdom of God. We are to make every effort to bring hope and healing in Jesus name to those in need.
We are to see that the tangible goodness of God flows into every nook and cranny of our communities – especially in those places where darkness seems to prevail. {Walking With Intentionality}
+
Preceding articles:
Religious Practices around the world
Manifests for believers #3 Catholic versus Protestant
Ecclesia to exist, grow and communities to have people communicating with each other
The Ecclesia in the churchsystem
The Big Conversation follow up
Reasons why you may not miss the opportunity to go to a Small Church
Engaging the culture without losing the gospel
Evangelisation, local preaching opposite overseas evangelism
Feeling-good, search for happiness and the church
Members of the ecclesia uniting and seeking God’s help in tribulation
Why we do not have our worship-services in a church building
Belgian Christadelphians 2013 & 2014 in review
Personal thoughts, communication, establishing ecclesia and guest writings
++
Additional reading:
- People are turning their back on Christianity
- Looking on what is going on and not being of it
- London an exaggerated microcosm of the UK at large
- Parents forbidden to pray in front of their children or to take them to church
- State and attitude of certain people to blame for radicalisation
- More Muslim children than Christian children growing up in our cities
- Will Islam conquer Europe
- Christianity to be enshrined
- Halloween custom of the nations
- Wrong ideas about religious terrorism
- A call easy to understand
- Discipleship way of life on the narrow way to everlasting life
- Many forgot how Christ should be our anchor and our focus
- The meek one riding on an ass
- Do not be afraid to learn or to speak
- Reasons to come together
- Congregate, to gather, to meet
- Fellowship
- Disciple of Christ counting lives and friends dear to them
- The first on the list of the concerns of the saint
- Holiness and expression of worship coming from inside
- To find ways of Godly understanding
- Perishable non theologians daring to go out to preach
- Who are the honest ones?
- Certain people trying to stem freedom of speech
- Priority to form a loving brotherhood
- Newsweek asks: How ignorant are you?
- Religious Freedom in a Multicultural World
- Some christians do have problems with the Christian connection with Jews
- American atheists most religiously literate Americans
- Determine the drive
- Try driving forward instead of backwards
- Campbell, Thomas and Bijbelvorsers
- Looking at older articles series over Russell on the previous Bible-scholar Association
- Wanting to know more about basic teachings of Christadelphianism
- Christadelphians or Messianic Christians or Messianic Jews
- Christadelphian people
- Who are Christadelphians
- What are Brothers in Christ
- Two new encyclopaedic articles
- Christadelphians today
- Keeping an ecclesia in modern times
- Small churches of the few Christadelphians
- Christianity to be enshrined
- Christianity is a love affair
- Intentions of an Ecclesia
- Character transformed by the influence of our fellowships
- Love for each other attracting others
- What makes a consecrated Christian
- A call easy to understand
- If you have integrity
- Work with joy and pray with love
- To know Christ is filling life with meaning
- The truth is very plain to see and God can be clearly seen
+++
Other articles of interest:
- Walking in Total Dependence Upon God
- What is God’s Will For Your Life?
- On the Affirmation of Scripture
- A Snapshot of the Church in America
- a little church
- Four Pressing Needs in Rural Communities, and How the Church Should Respond
- If It’s All About Relationship…
- Leading a church is not a hands free exercise
- Walking With Intentionality
- Living Our Faith in a New Way
- What’s in It for Me?
- Deacon Selection In the Small Church
- Lord’s Day 10: God is in Control
- Just Try a Few Things
- “When Faith Goes, All Good Things Go”
- Growing Deep
- All the Wrong Reasons
- Little Church
- Leading Change
- Small Groups & Grow A Small Church by Multiplying Its Small Groups
- Living well
- Blessed by His Hand
- Encouragement for the Small
- How Did You Get Here?
- How to Impersonate a Big Church
- What Do You Do Well?
- Recognize the Facts
- What are your top two struggles?
- The Best Thing You Can Do
- On the road to sainthood and not silent about it
- Incognito Zone: Where the Church Is Booming
- House Church Reaches Out to Atheists, Agnostics in California
- The one religion that’s not part of my spiritual quest
- Six Ways Not to Forsake the Assembly
- Tent Making
- Journey On The Narrow Path
+++
Related articles
- One in three people born in the UK this year will suffer from some form of dementia in their lifetime, the Alzheimer’s Research UK charity has warned. (grumpyelder.com)
- Israel Goldstein Youth Village looking for dates in Europe (christadelphianworld.blogspot.com)
- Looking for writers for two Lifestyle Magazines (christadelphianworld.blogspot.com)
- Change of name (christadelphianworld.blogspot.com)
Rate this:
#AdultBaptism #Agape #BeingInUnion #Belgium #BiblicalTruth #BrothersAndSistersInChrist #BrothersInChrist #CapitalistWorld #Christadelphian #ChristadelphianCommunity #Christadelphians #Christendom #ChristianChurches #ChristianTruth #Christians #ChurchOfJesusChrist #ComfortZone #DwindlingChurch #Ecclesia #Fellowship #FollowerOfChrist #FollowingJesusChrist #FollowingMan #GreatBritain #HopeOfEcclesia #Influence #InterestInGod #Ireland #JohnThomas #JonDownes #LeavingTheFellowship #LivingInThisWorld #LoversOfChrist #LoversOfGod #Minority #NorthOfAmerica #NumbersAmount_ #PaganFestivities #Preaching #PreachingWork #Proclaim #Proclaiming #ReachingTheLost #Refellowshipping #RuleOfPractice #SistersInChrist #SmallCommunity #TeachingsOfChrist #Temptation #Union #UnitedKingdom #Unity #UnityInChrist #UnityInDiversity #WayOfLiving #WordOfMan
-
The Big Conversation – Christadelphians in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom people may find several villages and towns where there reside Christadelphians, a body of Christians who try to base their beliefs and practices wholly on the Bible, which they regard as God’s word. They try therefore to rid themselves of the various ideas and rituals which have attached themselves to Christendom over the last 2,000 years and to return to the beliefs and practices of the first century apostles.
Being a group of people who want to follow the Nazarene Jew Jeshua, who did not want to do his own will, but always did the Will of his heavenly Father, they as the man born in Bethlehem, are living in this world but not wanting to be of this world following human traditions and human dogmas. That does not make them so popular, because people may look strange at those people who do not want to celebrate Halloween and other pagan festivities.
Because the Christadelphians are a community without the trappings of elaborate buildings, priests or icons, their institutions and fellowship-rooms not be seen straight away. The outer sights are not important for the Christadelphians who prefer to give honour to God and show a deep respect for God’s word and love to have a strong sense of family and fellowship.
On the above map you can see some of the more than 300 ecclesiae in Great Britain and Ireland. They were taken under the loop by brother Jon Downes who on the 10th of October asked
What is happening?
For him the present size & growth or non-growth of UK ecclesiae show there isn’t a, ‘No Change’ option
It’s not that we aren’t trying!
he said to about 350 Christadelphians present at Dudley college.
In this world of figures, comparisons and evaluations it is all about numbers in graphics which have to show an up-going trend and reach high peaks. this for sure can not be said about our very small community. Lots of people may think when it is not big it has no value and can not be good. But people should look at the intrinsic value and to see what a group or church is believing, following up, and how they keep to what they preach. It is true that minorities do not exert influence, and that they should have to contend on the culture or the systems around it.
Christadelphians do not fall in the temptation to pretend to be a majority, even if one is not. They do know they are just a little grain of sand in our religious world. But that does not mean that many more little grains can be put together with water and with clay form a nice vase. Though sometimes it can look like we are coming to sit more in an urn. Especially in Belgium we are in distress and can do with some support form abroad. Though looking at other countries can show us also how important it is to make more work of the announcing or making known of our society.
All over the world people may not forget that the church of Jesus Christ is never a majority, in any fallen culture, even if we happen to outnumber every[one] else around us. They should come to see that the real church of God is the church of Christ were people are willing to follow Jesus his words, his teachings, but also his manners and his aspirations. It is a place where people are willing to share the agapè love of Christ, who was even willing to give his life for others, even for those who turned against him. Would we do that?
Where Christian churches have held fast to the truth that the Holy Scriptures have been given by God as an authoritative and infallible rule of faith and practice, they have never wandered very seriously out of the right way. But when, on the other hand, reason has been exalted above revelation, and made the the exponent of revelation, all kinds of errors and mischiefs have been the result, and got many sorts of denominations which have lots of rituals people may like very much but which are not according to God’s Law. And that part is the most important in our building community. We should all try to live according God’s Law and love His Words more than the words of man.
Unfortunately, lots of Christians do not closely follow the Bible today and prefer to join churches in which they can keep up their human traditions. They have changed things to how they want them to be.
Since the times of Jesus, there have been small groups of people who believed what the Bible said. Many of these people were cruelly treated in times past as a result of their beliefs. Such believers united in the North of America when in 1864 broke out the Civil War. Dr. Thomas thought up the word “Christadelphian“, a name combining the name “Christ” with the Greek word “adelphi” meaning “brother”. So the name “Christadelphian” means “brothers and sisters in Christ“.Christadelphians are grateful to John Thomas for his efforts in searching out the message of the Bible. John Thomas was not a prophet or someone special. He read the Bible, just as we try to do. Christadelphians follow Jesus Christ, not John Thomas. Not following just one man or just one human organisation gives that we may have different ideas about certain things, but that doe snot mean we would not have union with each other, though we must agree that there are certain Christadelphian groups who shamefully do not want to have contact with other Christadelphians. According to the Belgian Free Christadelphians this is also part of the reasons why it is so difficult to show the world a bigger group of religious people under one name: Christadelphians.
Being joined together by our common faith in the Bible, and the way we live, we all should try to meet each other and have contact with each other as loving siblings. All being brothers and sisters in Christ. Though each “ecclesia” has to look after its own affairs, and choose members who determine arrangements and organise activities on behalf of their members they should feel that unity with Christ with other Christadelphians world wide and show the outside world that Jesus Christ is their head of each ecclesia.
Living in this world we do agree that “It’s not about the numbers” … …but the “numbers tell a story”. And those numbers in west Europe may be alarming. Therefore there was the call to come thereto in the UK to discuss that matter of dwindling ciphers.
Like any other western capitalist country in the UK Bible ownership and Bible knowledge has slumped, some english people also do find it a form of indoctrination when parents in their home pray and talk about God in front of their children of that child.
Jon Downes presented the anxious members a snapshot of our society in the UK.
and showed those present how a typical ecclesia looks like.
When we look at the adult baptisms in our community from related people (3,5) and from non related
(1.0) plus counting the (0.5) refellowshipping members, comparing them with the average of 10 people falling asleep and 2 people leaving the fellowship, we might say that such numbers bring the graphic line downwards.What might happen to the Christadelphian community in the United Kingdom when they do not something to change the coarse.
happened.
Therefore lets look at the United Kingdom as an example.
what might this give to that community, where we find, like everywhere in the world members becoming older and dying, whilst the world is getting less interested in God and commandment.
In case we can bring the Gospel of the Good News to many more ears, we should be able by a co-effort of preaching to increase the interest in God again and get again some people interested in joining a community of lovers of Christ and lovers of God.
We must see that
The lost are our hope
and that there is good reason to try to reach the lost. We as brothers and sisters in Christ should love the people in the world so much that we will be offering some of our spare time for preaching work.
We are the hope of the lost
Luckily it is not all ad or sad news.
Good News!
tells brother Downes is that we can look at
- 120 baptisms a year (4 average sized ecclesias)
- In the last 40 years, 39 new ecclesias. (Although 96 have closed & some were renamed).
- In the last 15 years,1/4 of all baptisms from non Christadelphian backgrounds were by just 16 ecclesias. (Although 1/3 didn’t baptise any)
- While many ecclesias are shrinking many are growing.
- Numbers in Africa are growing!
- Bible Learning Centres & Learning English are having a big impact
Instead of going for Plan A is it not better that we go for Plan B?
Plan A discussed at the Big Conversation of 2015 October 10 at Dudley college, UK- Current UK Christadelphian population of 8-8500 is based on 223 2015 ALS Diary returns on households & 178 2015 CCH survey returns. 10 Ecclesias had neither return and were estimated on previous diary returns.
- 1985 to 2015 data based on records kept from the back of the Christadelphian, clearly subject to some error, gaps and misreporting. The last 12 months of Magazine entries were analysed separately and yielded results consistent with the records obtained.
- Net loss of 120 per annum and the 10, 5, 1 ratio derived from average of last 10 years data. Approx 240 out and 120 in. These do not include brothers and sisters movement in and out of the UK.
- Forecast from 2015 based on a linear continuation which could easily be a) more dramatic because of rapid closure of small ecclesias, ageing population, reduced home pool to draw from, fewer people to witness, higher rates of leaving the community b) less dramatic as in a smaller community there are fewer people falling asleep each year.
One of the deceases of this time is that too many people want to enjoy their own little cocoon and not getting out of their comfort zone to share life with the spiritually needy. Those who call themselves Christian may not forget that this means to be a follower of Jesus Christ and demands also doing what he required from his followers. Jesus asked us to go out in the world to proclaim the Kingdom of God. We are to make every effort to bring hope and healing in Jesus name to those in need.
We are to see that the tangible goodness of God flows into every nook and cranny of our communities – especially in those places where darkness seems to prevail. {Walking With Intentionality}
+
Preceding articles:
Religious Practices around the world
Manifests for believers #3 Catholic versus Protestant
Ecclesia to exist, grow and communities to have people communicating with each other
The Ecclesia in the churchsystem
The Big Conversation follow up
Reasons why you may not miss the opportunity to go to a Small Church
Engaging the culture without losing the gospel
Evangelisation, local preaching opposite overseas evangelism
Feeling-good, search for happiness and the church
Members of the ecclesia uniting and seeking God’s help in tribulation
Why we do not have our worship-services in a church building
Belgian Christadelphians 2013 & 2014 in review
Personal thoughts, communication, establishing ecclesia and guest writings
++
Additional reading:
- People are turning their back on Christianity
- Looking on what is going on and not being of it
- London an exaggerated microcosm of the UK at large
- Parents forbidden to pray in front of their children or to take them to church
- State and attitude of certain people to blame for radicalisation
- More Muslim children than Christian children growing up in our cities
- Will Islam conquer Europe
- Christianity to be enshrined
- Halloween custom of the nations
- Wrong ideas about religious terrorism
- A call easy to understand
- Discipleship way of life on the narrow way to everlasting life
- Many forgot how Christ should be our anchor and our focus
- The meek one riding on an ass
- Do not be afraid to learn or to speak
- Reasons to come together
- Congregate, to gather, to meet
- Fellowship
- Disciple of Christ counting lives and friends dear to them
- The first on the list of the concerns of the saint
- Holiness and expression of worship coming from inside
- To find ways of Godly understanding
- Perishable non theologians daring to go out to preach
- Who are the honest ones?
- Certain people trying to stem freedom of speech
- Priority to form a loving brotherhood
- Newsweek asks: How ignorant are you?
- Religious Freedom in a Multicultural World
- Some christians do have problems with the Christian connection with Jews
- American atheists most religiously literate Americans
- Determine the drive
- Try driving forward instead of backwards
- Campbell, Thomas and Bijbelvorsers
- Looking at older articles series over Russell on the previous Bible-scholar Association
- Wanting to know more about basic teachings of Christadelphianism
- Christadelphians or Messianic Christians or Messianic Jews
- Christadelphian people
- Who are Christadelphians
- What are Brothers in Christ
- Two new encyclopaedic articles
- Christadelphians today
- Keeping an ecclesia in modern times
- Small churches of the few Christadelphians
- Christianity to be enshrined
- Christianity is a love affair
- Intentions of an Ecclesia
- Character transformed by the influence of our fellowships
- Love for each other attracting others
- What makes a consecrated Christian
- A call easy to understand
- If you have integrity
- Work with joy and pray with love
- To know Christ is filling life with meaning
- The truth is very plain to see and God can be clearly seen
+++
Other articles of interest:
- Walking in Total Dependence Upon God
- What is God’s Will For Your Life?
- On the Affirmation of Scripture
- A Snapshot of the Church in America
- a little church
- Four Pressing Needs in Rural Communities, and How the Church Should Respond
- If It’s All About Relationship…
- Leading a church is not a hands free exercise
- Walking With Intentionality
- Living Our Faith in a New Way
- What’s in It for Me?
- Deacon Selection In the Small Church
- Lord’s Day 10: God is in Control
- Just Try a Few Things
- “When Faith Goes, All Good Things Go”
- Growing Deep
- All the Wrong Reasons
- Little Church
- Leading Change
- Small Groups & Grow A Small Church by Multiplying Its Small Groups
- Living well
- Blessed by His Hand
- Encouragement for the Small
- How Did You Get Here?
- How to Impersonate a Big Church
- What Do You Do Well?
- Recognize the Facts
- What are your top two struggles?
- The Best Thing You Can Do
- On the road to sainthood and not silent about it
- Incognito Zone: Where the Church Is Booming
- House Church Reaches Out to Atheists, Agnostics in California
- The one religion that’s not part of my spiritual quest
- Six Ways Not to Forsake the Assembly
- Tent Making
- Journey On The Narrow Path
+++
Related articles
- One in three people born in the UK this year will suffer from some form of dementia in their lifetime, the Alzheimer’s Research UK charity has warned. (grumpyelder.com)
- Israel Goldstein Youth Village looking for dates in Europe (christadelphianworld.blogspot.com)
- Looking for writers for two Lifestyle Magazines (christadelphianworld.blogspot.com)
- Change of name (christadelphianworld.blogspot.com)
Rate this:
#AdultBaptism #Agape #BeingInUnion #Belgium #BiblicalTruth #BrothersAndSistersInChrist #BrothersInChrist #CapitalistWorld #Christadelphian #ChristadelphianCommunity #Christadelphians #Christendom #ChristianChurches #ChristianTruth #Christians #ChurchOfJesusChrist #ComfortZone #DwindlingChurch #Ecclesia #Fellowship #FollowerOfChrist #FollowingJesusChrist #FollowingMan #GreatBritain #HopeOfEcclesia #Influence #InterestInGod #Ireland #JohnThomas #JonDownes #LeavingTheFellowship #LivingInThisWorld #LoversOfChrist #LoversOfGod #Minority #NorthOfAmerica #NumbersAmount_ #PaganFestivities #Preaching #PreachingWork #Proclaim #Proclaiming #ReachingTheLost #Refellowshipping #RuleOfPractice #SistersInChrist #SmallCommunity #TeachingsOfChrist #Temptation #Union #UnitedKingdom #Unity #UnityInChrist #UnityInDiversity #WayOfLiving #WordOfMan
-
The Big Conversation – Christadelphians in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom people may find several villages and towns where there reside Christadelphians, a body of Christians who try to base their beliefs and practices wholly on the Bible, which they regard as God’s word. They try therefore to rid themselves of the various ideas and rituals which have attached themselves to Christendom over the last 2,000 years and to return to the beliefs and practices of the first century apostles.
Being a group of people who want to follow the Nazarene Jew Jeshua, who did not want to do his own will, but always did the Will of his heavenly Father, they as the man born in Bethlehem, are living in this world but not wanting to be of this world following human traditions and human dogmas. That does not make them so popular, because people may look strange at those people who do not want to celebrate Halloween and other pagan festivities.
Because the Christadelphians are a community without the trappings of elaborate buildings, priests or icons, their institutions and fellowship-rooms not be seen straight away. The outer sights are not important for the Christadelphians who prefer to give honour to God and show a deep respect for God’s word and love to have a strong sense of family and fellowship.
On the above map you can see some of the more than 300 ecclesiae in Great Britain and Ireland. They were taken under the loop by brother Jon Downes who on the 10th of October asked
What is happening?
For him the present size & growth or non-growth of UK ecclesiae show there isn’t a, ‘No Change’ option
It’s not that we aren’t trying!
he said to about 350 Christadelphians present at Dudley college.
In this world of figures, comparisons and evaluations it is all about numbers in graphics which have to show an up-going trend and reach high peaks. this for sure can not be said about our very small community. Lots of people may think when it is not big it has no value and can not be good. But people should look at the intrinsic value and to see what a group or church is believing, following up, and how they keep to what they preach. It is true that minorities do not exert influence, and that they should have to contend on the culture or the systems around it.
Christadelphians do not fall in the temptation to pretend to be a majority, even if one is not. They do know they are just a little grain of sand in our religious world. But that does not mean that many more little grains can be put together with water and with clay form a nice vase. Though sometimes it can look like we are coming to sit more in an urn. Especially in Belgium we are in distress and can do with some support form abroad. Though looking at other countries can show us also how important it is to make more work of the announcing or making known of our society.
All over the world people may not forget that the church of Jesus Christ is never a majority, in any fallen culture, even if we happen to outnumber every[one] else around us. They should come to see that the real church of God is the church of Christ were people are willing to follow Jesus his words, his teachings, but also his manners and his aspirations. It is a place where people are willing to share the agapè love of Christ, who was even willing to give his life for others, even for those who turned against him. Would we do that?
Where Christian churches have held fast to the truth that the Holy Scriptures have been given by God as an authoritative and infallible rule of faith and practice, they have never wandered very seriously out of the right way. But when, on the other hand, reason has been exalted above revelation, and made the the exponent of revelation, all kinds of errors and mischiefs have been the result, and got many sorts of denominations which have lots of rituals people may like very much but which are not according to God’s Law. And that part is the most important in our building community. We should all try to live according God’s Law and love His Words more than the words of man.
Unfortunately, lots of Christians do not closely follow the Bible today and prefer to join churches in which they can keep up their human traditions. They have changed things to how they want them to be.
Since the times of Jesus, there have been small groups of people who believed what the Bible said. Many of these people were cruelly treated in times past as a result of their beliefs. Such believers united in the North of America when in 1864 broke out the Civil War. Dr. Thomas thought up the word “Christadelphian“, a name combining the name “Christ” with the Greek word “adelphi” meaning “brother”. So the name “Christadelphian” means “brothers and sisters in Christ“.Christadelphians are grateful to John Thomas for his efforts in searching out the message of the Bible. John Thomas was not a prophet or someone special. He read the Bible, just as we try to do. Christadelphians follow Jesus Christ, not John Thomas. Not following just one man or just one human organisation gives that we may have different ideas about certain things, but that doe snot mean we would not have union with each other, though we must agree that there are certain Christadelphian groups who shamefully do not want to have contact with other Christadelphians. According to the Belgian Free Christadelphians this is also part of the reasons why it is so difficult to show the world a bigger group of religious people under one name: Christadelphians.
Being joined together by our common faith in the Bible, and the way we live, we all should try to meet each other and have contact with each other as loving siblings. All being brothers and sisters in Christ. Though each “ecclesia” has to look after its own affairs, and choose members who determine arrangements and organise activities on behalf of their members they should feel that unity with Christ with other Christadelphians world wide and show the outside world that Jesus Christ is their head of each ecclesia.
Living in this world we do agree that “It’s not about the numbers” … …but the “numbers tell a story”. And those numbers in west Europe may be alarming. Therefore there was the call to come thereto in the UK to discuss that matter of dwindling ciphers.
Like any other western capitalist country in the UK Bible ownership and Bible knowledge has slumped, some english people also do find it a form of indoctrination when parents in their home pray and talk about God in front of their children of that child.
Jon Downes presented the anxious members a snapshot of our society in the UK.
and showed those present how a typical ecclesia looks like.
When we look at the adult baptisms in our community from related people (3,5) and from non related
(1.0) plus counting the (0.5) refellowshipping members, comparing them with the average of 10 people falling asleep and 2 people leaving the fellowship, we might say that such numbers bring the graphic line downwards.What might happen to the Christadelphian community in the United Kingdom when they do not something to change the coarse.
happened.
Therefore lets look at the United Kingdom as an example.
what might this give to that community, where we find, like everywhere in the world members becoming older and dying, whilst the world is getting less interested in God and commandment.
In case we can bring the Gospel of the Good News to many more ears, we should be able by a co-effort of preaching to increase the interest in God again and get again some people interested in joining a community of lovers of Christ and lovers of God.
We must see that
The lost are our hope
and that there is good reason to try to reach the lost. We as brothers and sisters in Christ should love the people in the world so much that we will be offering some of our spare time for preaching work.
We are the hope of the lost
Luckily it is not all ad or sad news.
Good News!
tells brother Downes is that we can look at
- 120 baptisms a year (4 average sized ecclesias)
- In the last 40 years, 39 new ecclesias. (Although 96 have closed & some were renamed).
- In the last 15 years,1/4 of all baptisms from non Christadelphian backgrounds were by just 16 ecclesias. (Although 1/3 didn’t baptise any)
- While many ecclesias are shrinking many are growing.
- Numbers in Africa are growing!
- Bible Learning Centres & Learning English are having a big impact
Instead of going for Plan A is it not better that we go for Plan B?
Plan A discussed at the Big Conversation of 2015 October 10 at Dudley college, UK- Current UK Christadelphian population of 8-8500 is based on 223 2015 ALS Diary returns on households & 178 2015 CCH survey returns. 10 Ecclesias had neither return and were estimated on previous diary returns.
- 1985 to 2015 data based on records kept from the back of the Christadelphian, clearly subject to some error, gaps and misreporting. The last 12 months of Magazine entries were analysed separately and yielded results consistent with the records obtained.
- Net loss of 120 per annum and the 10, 5, 1 ratio derived from average of last 10 years data. Approx 240 out and 120 in. These do not include brothers and sisters movement in and out of the UK.
- Forecast from 2015 based on a linear continuation which could easily be a) more dramatic because of rapid closure of small ecclesias, ageing population, reduced home pool to draw from, fewer people to witness, higher rates of leaving the community b) less dramatic as in a smaller community there are fewer people falling asleep each year.
One of the deceases of this time is that too many people want to enjoy their own little cocoon and not getting out of their comfort zone to share life with the spiritually needy. Those who call themselves Christian may not forget that this means to be a follower of Jesus Christ and demands also doing what he required from his followers. Jesus asked us to go out in the world to proclaim the Kingdom of God. We are to make every effort to bring hope and healing in Jesus name to those in need.
We are to see that the tangible goodness of God flows into every nook and cranny of our communities – especially in those places where darkness seems to prevail. {Walking With Intentionality}
+
Preceding articles:
Religious Practices around the world
Manifests for believers #3 Catholic versus Protestant
Ecclesia to exist, grow and communities to have people communicating with each other
The Ecclesia in the churchsystem
The Big Conversation follow up
Reasons why you may not miss the opportunity to go to a Small Church
Engaging the culture without losing the gospel
Evangelisation, local preaching opposite overseas evangelism
Feeling-good, search for happiness and the church
Members of the ecclesia uniting and seeking God’s help in tribulation
Why we do not have our worship-services in a church building
Belgian Christadelphians 2013 & 2014 in review
Personal thoughts, communication, establishing ecclesia and guest writings
++
Additional reading:
- People are turning their back on Christianity
- Looking on what is going on and not being of it
- London an exaggerated microcosm of the UK at large
- Parents forbidden to pray in front of their children or to take them to church
- State and attitude of certain people to blame for radicalisation
- More Muslim children than Christian children growing up in our cities
- Will Islam conquer Europe
- Christianity to be enshrined
- Halloween custom of the nations
- Wrong ideas about religious terrorism
- A call easy to understand
- Discipleship way of life on the narrow way to everlasting life
- Many forgot how Christ should be our anchor and our focus
- The meek one riding on an ass
- Do not be afraid to learn or to speak
- Reasons to come together
- Congregate, to gather, to meet
- Fellowship
- Disciple of Christ counting lives and friends dear to them
- The first on the list of the concerns of the saint
- Holiness and expression of worship coming from inside
- To find ways of Godly understanding
- Perishable non theologians daring to go out to preach
- Who are the honest ones?
- Certain people trying to stem freedom of speech
- Priority to form a loving brotherhood
- Newsweek asks: How ignorant are you?
- Religious Freedom in a Multicultural World
- Some christians do have problems with the Christian connection with Jews
- American atheists most religiously literate Americans
- Determine the drive
- Try driving forward instead of backwards
- Campbell, Thomas and Bijbelvorsers
- Looking at older articles series over Russell on the previous Bible-scholar Association
- Wanting to know more about basic teachings of Christadelphianism
- Christadelphians or Messianic Christians or Messianic Jews
- Christadelphian people
- Who are Christadelphians
- What are Brothers in Christ
- Two new encyclopaedic articles
- Christadelphians today
- Keeping an ecclesia in modern times
- Small churches of the few Christadelphians
- Christianity to be enshrined
- Christianity is a love affair
- Intentions of an Ecclesia
- Character transformed by the influence of our fellowships
- Love for each other attracting others
- What makes a consecrated Christian
- A call easy to understand
- If you have integrity
- Work with joy and pray with love
- To know Christ is filling life with meaning
- The truth is very plain to see and God can be clearly seen
+++
Other articles of interest:
- Walking in Total Dependence Upon God
- What is God’s Will For Your Life?
- On the Affirmation of Scripture
- A Snapshot of the Church in America
- a little church
- Four Pressing Needs in Rural Communities, and How the Church Should Respond
- If It’s All About Relationship…
- Leading a church is not a hands free exercise
- Walking With Intentionality
- Living Our Faith in a New Way
- What’s in It for Me?
- Deacon Selection In the Small Church
- Lord’s Day 10: God is in Control
- Just Try a Few Things
- “When Faith Goes, All Good Things Go”
- Growing Deep
- All the Wrong Reasons
- Little Church
- Leading Change
- Small Groups & Grow A Small Church by Multiplying Its Small Groups
- Living well
- Blessed by His Hand
- Encouragement for the Small
- How Did You Get Here?
- How to Impersonate a Big Church
- What Do You Do Well?
- Recognize the Facts
- What are your top two struggles?
- The Best Thing You Can Do
- On the road to sainthood and not silent about it
- Incognito Zone: Where the Church Is Booming
- House Church Reaches Out to Atheists, Agnostics in California
- The one religion that’s not part of my spiritual quest
- Six Ways Not to Forsake the Assembly
- Tent Making
- Journey On The Narrow Path
+++
Related articles
- One in three people born in the UK this year will suffer from some form of dementia in their lifetime, the Alzheimer’s Research UK charity has warned. (grumpyelder.com)
- Israel Goldstein Youth Village looking for dates in Europe (christadelphianworld.blogspot.com)
- Looking for writers for two Lifestyle Magazines (christadelphianworld.blogspot.com)
- Change of name (christadelphianworld.blogspot.com)
Rate this:
#AdultBaptism #Agape #BeingInUnion #Belgium #BiblicalTruth #BrothersAndSistersInChrist #BrothersInChrist #CapitalistWorld #Christadelphian #ChristadelphianCommunity #Christadelphians #Christendom #ChristianChurches #ChristianTruth #Christians #ChurchOfJesusChrist #ComfortZone #DwindlingChurch #Ecclesia #Fellowship #FollowerOfChrist #FollowingJesusChrist #FollowingMan #GreatBritain #HopeOfEcclesia #Influence #InterestInGod #Ireland #JohnThomas #JonDownes #LeavingTheFellowship #LivingInThisWorld #LoversOfChrist #LoversOfGod #Minority #NorthOfAmerica #NumbersAmount_ #PaganFestivities #Preaching #PreachingWork #Proclaim #Proclaiming #ReachingTheLost #Refellowshipping #RuleOfPractice #SistersInChrist #SmallCommunity #TeachingsOfChrist #Temptation #Union #UnitedKingdom #Unity #UnityInChrist #UnityInDiversity #WayOfLiving #WordOfMan
-
The Big Conversation – Christadelphians in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom people may find several villages and towns where there reside Christadelphians, a body of Christians who try to base their beliefs and practices wholly on the Bible, which they regard as God’s word. They try therefore to rid themselves of the various ideas and rituals which have attached themselves to Christendom over the last 2,000 years and to return to the beliefs and practices of the first century apostles.
Being a group of people who want to follow the Nazarene Jew Jeshua, who did not want to do his own will, but always did the Will of his heavenly Father, they as the man born in Bethlehem, are living in this world but not wanting to be of this world following human traditions and human dogmas. That does not make them so popular, because people may look strange at those people who do not want to celebrate Halloween and other pagan festivities.
Because the Christadelphians are a community without the trappings of elaborate buildings, priests or icons, their institutions and fellowship-rooms not be seen straight away. The outer sights are not important for the Christadelphians who prefer to give honour to God and show a deep respect for God’s word and love to have a strong sense of family and fellowship.
On the above map you can see some of the more than 300 ecclesiae in Great Britain and Ireland. They were taken under the loop by brother Jon Downes who on the 10th of October asked
What is happening?
For him the present size & growth or non-growth of UK ecclesiae show there isn’t a, ‘No Change’ option
It’s not that we aren’t trying!
he said to about 350 Christadelphians present at Dudley college.
In this world of figures, comparisons and evaluations it is all about numbers in graphics which have to show an up-going trend and reach high peaks. this for sure can not be said about our very small community. Lots of people may think when it is not big it has no value and can not be good. But people should look at the intrinsic value and to see what a group or church is believing, following up, and how they keep to what they preach. It is true that minorities do not exert influence, and that they should have to contend on the culture or the systems around it.
Christadelphians do not fall in the temptation to pretend to be a majority, even if one is not. They do know they are just a little grain of sand in our religious world. But that does not mean that many more little grains can be put together with water and with clay form a nice vase. Though sometimes it can look like we are coming to sit more in an urn. Especially in Belgium we are in distress and can do with some support form abroad. Though looking at other countries can show us also how important it is to make more work of the announcing or making known of our society.
All over the world people may not forget that the church of Jesus Christ is never a majority, in any fallen culture, even if we happen to outnumber every[one] else around us. They should come to see that the real church of God is the church of Christ were people are willing to follow Jesus his words, his teachings, but also his manners and his aspirations. It is a place where people are willing to share the agapè love of Christ, who was even willing to give his life for others, even for those who turned against him. Would we do that?
Where Christian churches have held fast to the truth that the Holy Scriptures have been given by God as an authoritative and infallible rule of faith and practice, they have never wandered very seriously out of the right way. But when, on the other hand, reason has been exalted above revelation, and made the the exponent of revelation, all kinds of errors and mischiefs have been the result, and got many sorts of denominations which have lots of rituals people may like very much but which are not according to God’s Law. And that part is the most important in our building community. We should all try to live according God’s Law and love His Words more than the words of man.
Unfortunately, lots of Christians do not closely follow the Bible today and prefer to join churches in which they can keep up their human traditions. They have changed things to how they want them to be.
Since the times of Jesus, there have been small groups of people who believed what the Bible said. Many of these people were cruelly treated in times past as a result of their beliefs. Such believers united in the North of America when in 1864 broke out the Civil War. Dr. Thomas thought up the word “Christadelphian“, a name combining the name “Christ” with the Greek word “adelphi” meaning “brother”. So the name “Christadelphian” means “brothers and sisters in Christ“.Christadelphians are grateful to John Thomas for his efforts in searching out the message of the Bible. John Thomas was not a prophet or someone special. He read the Bible, just as we try to do. Christadelphians follow Jesus Christ, not John Thomas. Not following just one man or just one human organisation gives that we may have different ideas about certain things, but that doe snot mean we would not have union with each other, though we must agree that there are certain Christadelphian groups who shamefully do not want to have contact with other Christadelphians. According to the Belgian Free Christadelphians this is also part of the reasons why it is so difficult to show the world a bigger group of religious people under one name: Christadelphians.
Being joined together by our common faith in the Bible, and the way we live, we all should try to meet each other and have contact with each other as loving siblings. All being brothers and sisters in Christ. Though each “ecclesia” has to look after its own affairs, and choose members who determine arrangements and organise activities on behalf of their members they should feel that unity with Christ with other Christadelphians world wide and show the outside world that Jesus Christ is their head of each ecclesia.
Living in this world we do agree that “It’s not about the numbers” … …but the “numbers tell a story”. And those numbers in west Europe may be alarming. Therefore there was the call to come thereto in the UK to discuss that matter of dwindling ciphers.
Like any other western capitalist country in the UK Bible ownership and Bible knowledge has slumped, some english people also do find it a form of indoctrination when parents in their home pray and talk about God in front of their children of that child.
Jon Downes presented the anxious members a snapshot of our society in the UK.
and showed those present how a typical ecclesia looks like.
When we look at the adult baptisms in our community from related people (3,5) and from non related
(1.0) plus counting the (0.5) refellowshipping members, comparing them with the average of 10 people falling asleep and 2 people leaving the fellowship, we might say that such numbers bring the graphic line downwards.What might happen to the Christadelphian community in the United Kingdom when they do not something to change the coarse.
happened.
Therefore lets look at the United Kingdom as an example.
what might this give to that community, where we find, like everywhere in the world members becoming older and dying, whilst the world is getting less interested in God and commandment.
In case we can bring the Gospel of the Good News to many more ears, we should be able by a co-effort of preaching to increase the interest in God again and get again some people interested in joining a community of lovers of Christ and lovers of God.
We must see that
The lost are our hope
and that there is good reason to try to reach the lost. We as brothers and sisters in Christ should love the people in the world so much that we will be offering some of our spare time for preaching work.
We are the hope of the lost
Luckily it is not all ad or sad news.
Good News!
tells brother Downes is that we can look at
- 120 baptisms a year (4 average sized ecclesias)
- In the last 40 years, 39 new ecclesias. (Although 96 have closed & some were renamed).
- In the last 15 years,1/4 of all baptisms from non Christadelphian backgrounds were by just 16 ecclesias. (Although 1/3 didn’t baptise any)
- While many ecclesias are shrinking many are growing.
- Numbers in Africa are growing!
- Bible Learning Centres & Learning English are having a big impact
Instead of going for Plan A is it not better that we go for Plan B?
Plan A discussed at the Big Conversation of 2015 October 10 at Dudley college, UK- Current UK Christadelphian population of 8-8500 is based on 223 2015 ALS Diary returns on households & 178 2015 CCH survey returns. 10 Ecclesias had neither return and were estimated on previous diary returns.
- 1985 to 2015 data based on records kept from the back of the Christadelphian, clearly subject to some error, gaps and misreporting. The last 12 months of Magazine entries were analysed separately and yielded results consistent with the records obtained.
- Net loss of 120 per annum and the 10, 5, 1 ratio derived from average of last 10 years data. Approx 240 out and 120 in. These do not include brothers and sisters movement in and out of the UK.
- Forecast from 2015 based on a linear continuation which could easily be a) more dramatic because of rapid closure of small ecclesias, ageing population, reduced home pool to draw from, fewer people to witness, higher rates of leaving the community b) less dramatic as in a smaller community there are fewer people falling asleep each year.
One of the deceases of this time is that too many people want to enjoy their own little cocoon and not getting out of their comfort zone to share life with the spiritually needy. Those who call themselves Christian may not forget that this means to be a follower of Jesus Christ and demands also doing what he required from his followers. Jesus asked us to go out in the world to proclaim the Kingdom of God. We are to make every effort to bring hope and healing in Jesus name to those in need.
We are to see that the tangible goodness of God flows into every nook and cranny of our communities – especially in those places where darkness seems to prevail. {Walking With Intentionality}
+
Preceding articles:
Religious Practices around the world
Manifests for believers #3 Catholic versus Protestant
Ecclesia to exist, grow and communities to have people communicating with each other
The Ecclesia in the churchsystem
The Big Conversation follow up
Reasons why you may not miss the opportunity to go to a Small Church
Engaging the culture without losing the gospel
Evangelisation, local preaching opposite overseas evangelism
Feeling-good, search for happiness and the church
Members of the ecclesia uniting and seeking God’s help in tribulation
Why we do not have our worship-services in a church building
Belgian Christadelphians 2013 & 2014 in review
Personal thoughts, communication, establishing ecclesia and guest writings
++
Additional reading:
- People are turning their back on Christianity
- Looking on what is going on and not being of it
- London an exaggerated microcosm of the UK at large
- Parents forbidden to pray in front of their children or to take them to church
- State and attitude of certain people to blame for radicalisation
- More Muslim children than Christian children growing up in our cities
- Will Islam conquer Europe
- Christianity to be enshrined
- Halloween custom of the nations
- Wrong ideas about religious terrorism
- A call easy to understand
- Discipleship way of life on the narrow way to everlasting life
- Many forgot how Christ should be our anchor and our focus
- The meek one riding on an ass
- Do not be afraid to learn or to speak
- Reasons to come together
- Congregate, to gather, to meet
- Fellowship
- Disciple of Christ counting lives and friends dear to them
- The first on the list of the concerns of the saint
- Holiness and expression of worship coming from inside
- To find ways of Godly understanding
- Perishable non theologians daring to go out to preach
- Who are the honest ones?
- Certain people trying to stem freedom of speech
- Priority to form a loving brotherhood
- Newsweek asks: How ignorant are you?
- Religious Freedom in a Multicultural World
- Some christians do have problems with the Christian connection with Jews
- American atheists most religiously literate Americans
- Determine the drive
- Try driving forward instead of backwards
- Campbell, Thomas and Bijbelvorsers
- Looking at older articles series over Russell on the previous Bible-scholar Association
- Wanting to know more about basic teachings of Christadelphianism
- Christadelphians or Messianic Christians or Messianic Jews
- Christadelphian people
- Who are Christadelphians
- What are Brothers in Christ
- Two new encyclopaedic articles
- Christadelphians today
- Keeping an ecclesia in modern times
- Small churches of the few Christadelphians
- Christianity to be enshrined
- Christianity is a love affair
- Intentions of an Ecclesia
- Character transformed by the influence of our fellowships
- Love for each other attracting others
- What makes a consecrated Christian
- A call easy to understand
- If you have integrity
- Work with joy and pray with love
- To know Christ is filling life with meaning
- The truth is very plain to see and God can be clearly seen
+++
Other articles of interest:
- Walking in Total Dependence Upon God
- What is God’s Will For Your Life?
- On the Affirmation of Scripture
- A Snapshot of the Church in America
- a little church
- Four Pressing Needs in Rural Communities, and How the Church Should Respond
- If It’s All About Relationship…
- Leading a church is not a hands free exercise
- Walking With Intentionality
- Living Our Faith in a New Way
- What’s in It for Me?
- Deacon Selection In the Small Church
- Lord’s Day 10: God is in Control
- Just Try a Few Things
- “When Faith Goes, All Good Things Go”
- Growing Deep
- All the Wrong Reasons
- Little Church
- Leading Change
- Small Groups & Grow A Small Church by Multiplying Its Small Groups
- Living well
- Blessed by His Hand
- Encouragement for the Small
- How Did You Get Here?
- How to Impersonate a Big Church
- What Do You Do Well?
- Recognize the Facts
- What are your top two struggles?
- The Best Thing You Can Do
- On the road to sainthood and not silent about it
- Incognito Zone: Where the Church Is Booming
- House Church Reaches Out to Atheists, Agnostics in California
- The one religion that’s not part of my spiritual quest
- Six Ways Not to Forsake the Assembly
- Tent Making
- Journey On The Narrow Path
+++
Related articles
- One in three people born in the UK this year will suffer from some form of dementia in their lifetime, the Alzheimer’s Research UK charity has warned. (grumpyelder.com)
- Israel Goldstein Youth Village looking for dates in Europe (christadelphianworld.blogspot.com)
- Looking for writers for two Lifestyle Magazines (christadelphianworld.blogspot.com)
- Change of name (christadelphianworld.blogspot.com)
Rate this:
#AdultBaptism #Agape #BeingInUnion #Belgium #BiblicalTruth #BrothersAndSistersInChrist #BrothersInChrist #CapitalistWorld #Christadelphian #ChristadelphianCommunity #Christadelphians #Christendom #ChristianChurches #ChristianTruth #Christians #ChurchOfJesusChrist #ComfortZone #DwindlingChurch #Ecclesia #Fellowship #FollowerOfChrist #FollowingJesusChrist #FollowingMan #GreatBritain #HopeOfEcclesia #Influence #InterestInGod #Ireland #JohnThomas #JonDownes #LeavingTheFellowship #LivingInThisWorld #LoversOfChrist #LoversOfGod #Minority #NorthOfAmerica #NumbersAmount_ #PaganFestivities #Preaching #PreachingWork #Proclaim #Proclaiming #ReachingTheLost #Refellowshipping #RuleOfPractice #SistersInChrist #SmallCommunity #TeachingsOfChrist #Temptation #Union #UnitedKingdom #Unity #UnityInChrist #UnityInDiversity #WayOfLiving #WordOfMan
-
Engaging the culture without losing the gospel
As the culture changes all around us, it is no longer possible to pretend that Christians are a Moral Majority. For the Christadelphian community it was already very clear that Christendom had gone astray and that not many people knew the essence of the Divine Creator and His Plan.
Guestspeaker’s 1° article 2014 March 26 on “From Guestwriters”In certain parts of the world we may find mega churches, like in the United states of America. But what we also see in those countries is that there is a very strange discrepancy between the way of life and the way presented in the Holy Scriptures. In the talks about pro-life issues and arguments at our website From Guestwriters this is made clear in the different reactions where some readers point out at the huge amount of abortions been done every day. Such points of discussion as the abortion debate show how values and attitudes have changed over the years.
Those people who call themselves Christian either are not so much interested in having an active faith or going to worship services or when they want to go to worship services they expect them to be relaxing and entertaining. For many the entertaining factor receives priority. This makes it understandable why certain churches in the States get full house whilst the churches really interested in and giving eye and ear for the Word of God do not have so many people coming to their service.
In general people are very much influenced by the media and television and show business are not the instruments who, today, bring the people to God. the television church services are full of show elements and short quoting form a few words taken from Scripture but also taken out of context. No time is given to sincerely listen and to sincerely study a full paragraph of a Bible chapter.
Our very fast changing world can do with a sort of new reformation. What’s needed now, in shifting times, is neither a doubling-down on the status quo nor a pullback into isolation. Instead, we need a church that speaks to social and political issues with a bigger vision in mind: that of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Christianity seems increasingly strange, and even subversive, to our culture, we have the opportunity to reclaim the freakishness of the gospel, which is what gives it its power in the first place.
We should seek the kingdom of God, before everything else and we should love to bring others to the entrance gate of that Kingdom. We connect that kingdom agenda to the culture around us, both by speaking it to the world and by showing it in our churches. As we do so, we remember our mission to oppose demons, not to demonise opponents. As we advocate for human dignity, for religious liberty, for family stability, let’s do so as those with a prophetic word that turns everything upside down.
Today more than ever those who feel the connection with the Nazarene master teacher Jeshua should connect with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ and show their love for each other. Not staying in their small local cocoon, but also connecting to other brethren and sisters from all over. They should be welcoming any visiting brother or sister and when they receive mail from some brother or sister form somewhere in the world they should take time to answer that mail and to show their love to that correspondent by not ignoring him or her but letting those writers be feeling recognised as brothers and sisters of the body of Christ.
Though that Body of Christ may be composed of different nationalities, different cultured races, they should all show that they have union in that body of Christ by the unity of spirit in Christ. Unity should be shown by their willingness to communicate with each other and to be respectful for the different characters and different opinions. Unity does not have to mean that all have to say exactly the same or have to use the same bible translation, read the same books, may not have different ways of civilian life, may not have different tastes. Those differences make the world coloured and not boring. We should be happy with such diversity and the differences between ecclesiae may provide different pastures for bible believers to find themselves at ease in one or the other ecclesia.
Jubilant Joel Osteen Juice MegachurchIn Jesus time the apostles were also of different character and different opinion or used not always the same words. We should neither. In our way of reaching people we should recognise that they should not know Christadelphianisms and may have a religious vocabulary closer to the denomination to which they belonged originally or still belong. By preaching to them we do have to be able to use different words and different Bible translations so that they can come to understand what the Word of God is saying. We are just some intermediaries who want to show them that Jesus is our mediator and the Way to God.
The Lord’s Hall a Christian megachurch in the Philippines that is managed by the Day by Day Christian Ministries DBD since 2005 situated and leased from the CCP, due to numerous concerns at the time though the church is known as DBD’s flagship church, and is known for being a venue for massive Christian gatherings by Rev Gamaliel Alba and Sun Cruises, CCP Complex, Roxas Blvd.Those we want to attract to the Word of God we have to convince that it are not the megachurches or the churches with the most members that are really following the Word of God and would not have false teachings or wrong doctrines. Lots of people may also put their hope in such megachurches because they expect megachurch pastors to have all the answers and that those churches could grow so much because those pastors are personally successful as well as leaders of successful churches because they can offer the best for man.
At conferences such preachers also may attract a lot of attention because many think they have the solution for today’s problem, a diminishing church.
and so we come to see what crumbs of wisdom they might cast our way that will help us and our small churches be”successful” like they are.
writes pastor Jim in his article “Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?“. Like many of us in the Christadelphian community is has seen Abraham and should have gathered enough experience to have some sound opinion. He believes that such leaders of mega churches may deliver good sermons. For sure they probably are good administrators, very good players with words or good speakers having a good deal of charisma. He correctly points out
Their churches offer tons of programs for children and adults—from support groups for people with various problems to children’s ministry and everything in between. But are a variety of programs offered to attract large numbers of people to their church a measure of success as Jesus defined success? I’m not so sure of this… {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
He is leading a Home Fellowship Group in a Bible Study of the Gospel of Mark. At their last session they discussed this question of “supersize” as Jesus seemed to see it.
He accepted the large crowds he attracted—some so large along the Sea of Galilee that he acquired a boat to get in so he would not be crushed by the crowds seeking to touch him and be healed. But Jesus tends to see those crowds as no reason for gratification. He feels that many of them are there for the wrong reason, to be healed of their infirmities and to see the miraculous. Jesus heals them and has compassion for them, but proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God is his main mission. That proclamation is his main mission because it has the power to transform people’s lives, and sometimes people who are only seeking physical healing and entertainment can get in the way of that proclamation. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
In those days Jesus also had to get listening ears. In that age people were much more willing to listen and to go into discussion about religious and spiritual matters. There was much more interest in God than today. But Jesus knew that from the many that came around to hear him speak, there were also many who came out of curiosity or wanted to see miracles or hear controversial talks.
Jesus saw the crowds to whom he sought to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God in the same way as a sower.
Only a small portion of the crowd would actually be transformed by the good news of the Kingdom of God. The rest would let other things choke it out of their lives and die unchanged. Thus I feel Jesus was not impressed with numbers but with changes in the lives of people who heard him. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?} {Please do read also Mark 4: 1-9}
Too often people think it our the numbers that make it to be good. Perhaps the numbers show the popularity, but for sure they do not always show the integrity or the good value of a product or group.
The pastor thinks the answer to his and our question “Is Bigger Better?” as it pertains to churches is this:
it is not size alone that leads to success of any church, large or small, but it is its ability to follow Jesus and in doing so transform the lives of those who are a part of that church and those who that church reaches out to. The measure of a church’s success is the number of lives that have been changed and transformed due to its proclamation both in word and in deed of the Kingdom of God. The successful church is the “good soil” in the Parable of the Sower” that brings forth transformation of people’s lives and nurtures their growth in relationship to God and God’s Kingdom.
A successful church, regardless of the names on the roster, changes people into devoted followers of Jesus and his teachings as they live their lives each day. Small churches can be just as successful as large churches in changing people’s lives as they live the great commandment to love God and neighbor as yourself.” Sometimes because small churches are more personal, they are able to live this better than those with thousands on their membership roster. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
The Christadelphians are a very tiny community. We only can hope that all people in this small community bear their hearts on the right place. God knows the heart and it is for him that we should work and go out in the world getting people to know the Master works of God.
We may not forget that by being such a small community we have the advantage that we can get together in small cosy groups and feel much more the unity of the small group than in such mega churches were everybody can sit next to each other without knowing the other. When sitting in a stadium, arena or in such a huge church were there are hundreds or thousands of people it can well be that the individual may be drowning in the numbers.
We should be ready to throw out the lifeline and to pull those people who are looking for the Truth, to get to our meetings and let them feel that we are real followers of Jesus, keeping to his teachings and not adoring human doctrines, but keeping to Biblical doctrines, studying the infallible Word of God daily.
+
Preceding:
Personal thoughts, communication, establishing ecclesia and guest writings
The Big Conversation follow up
Evangelisation, local preaching opposite overseas evangelism
The Right One to follow and to worship
Wanting to live in Christ’s city
A participation in the body of Christ
Ecclesia to exist, grow and communities to have people communicating with each other
++
Additional reading:
- Who are the Christadelphians
- What are Brothers in Christ
- Christadelphian people
- Small churches of the few Christadelphians
- Strange Fire conference 2013
- Bloggers for Christ and Bloggers for Peace
- Being Missional
- Atonement And Fellowship 4/8
- Atonement And Fellowship 5/8
- Good or bad preacher
- Quibbling siblings united or allied children of an organisation or a church
- Reflection for today: hating your brother
+++
Further reading:
- Lessons Learned at Strange Fire
- A Vision of Holiness
- Praying in Circles
- In this Moment
- Wanting to be Heard
- truth nugget #66
- Unite against their corruption, not our church’s
- Prosperity Gospel – The Bane of The True Gospel
- The Conference Every Mega-Church Pastor Should Attend
- Millennials And Christianity!
- In Delight of the Deca-Church
- [TL;DR] In Defense of the Mega-Church
- Agree to Disagree
- Kingdom Building: The Large Church and the Small Church Working Together
- Mega Churches: What’s the big deal?
- 3 Reasons Why You Should Go To A Small Church
- Missed Opportunities
- Pastoral Environment and the Fight for Holiness
- Welcome to the Club
- 365 Day Photo Challenge 167/365 “Church on the Hill”
- Extravaganza City
- Instructed In God’s Ways
- Why Black Mega Church Pastors Catch Such Heat
- Book Review: The Blessed Church
- My Two Cents… conderning a famous mega-church preacher
- I don’t believe in mega churches
- American Christian Idol
+++
Related articles
- LISTEN: The Body of Believers, Part 2 (Onward Christian Soldiers #98 with Daniel Whyte III) (blackchristiannews.com)
- The Truth About The Roman Catholic Church (nowtheendbegins.com)
- 1 Corinthians 11:27-34 Taking a Spiritual Self-Exam (jimerwin.com)
- Lessons From The Road (beyondthemiryclay.wordpress.com)
- The Daily Gospel and Readings 21 September 2015 (prayersandmeditations.com)
- Such A Time As This (mylordmyfriend.com)
- A Perfect Inheritance (birdchirp.wordpress.com)
- How Long Will You Waver? (juicyecumenism.com)
- Pastors & Patriots Dinner – for such a time as this! (christian-reporter-news.ticketleap.com)
- No More Youth Pastors? (Part I) (joshuaziefle.net)
Rate this:
#BeingInUnion #BodyOfChrist #BrotherInChrist #Brotherhood #BrothersAndSistersInChrist #BrothersInChrist #Charisma #ChristadelphianCommunity #Christadelphianisms #Christian #ChristianChurch #ChurchService #Communication #Denomination #Disunion #Diversity #EntertainmentInChurch #GoodSoil #HomeFellowship #HumanDoctrines #Ignoring #IgnoringOthers #Lifeline #Media #MegaChurch #Mission #MoralMajority #NeglectingOthers #NewReformation #NoticingOthers #NumbersAmount_ #Opinion #Orator #ParticipationInBodyOfChrist #Pastor #Preaching #PreachingWork #Proclaiming #Proclamation #Quantity #ReligiousCommunity #ReligiousDiversity #ReligiousFreedom #ReligiousVocabulary #SisterInChrist #SistersInChrist #SmallGroup #SpiritInChrist #Successfulness #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Unity #UnityInChrist #UnityInDiversity #WorshipService
-
Engaging the culture without losing the gospel
As the culture changes all around us, it is no longer possible to pretend that Christians are a Moral Majority. For the Christadelphian community it was already very clear that Christendom had gone astray and that not many people knew the essence of the Divine Creator and His Plan.
Guestspeaker’s 1° article 2014 March 26 on “From Guestwriters”In certain parts of the world we may find mega churches, like in the United states of America. But what we also see in those countries is that there is a very strange discrepancy between the way of life and the way presented in the Holy Scriptures. In the talks about pro-life issues and arguments at our website From Guestwriters this is made clear in the different reactions where some readers point out at the huge amount of abortions been done every day. Such points of discussion as the abortion debate show how values and attitudes have changed over the years.
Those people who call themselves Christian either are not so much interested in having an active faith or going to worship services or when they want to go to worship services they expect them to be relaxing and entertaining. For many the entertaining factor receives priority. This makes it understandable why certain churches in the States get full house whilst the churches really interested in and giving eye and ear for the Word of God do not have so many people coming to their service.
In general people are very much influenced by the media and television and show business are not the instruments who, today, bring the people to God. the television church services are full of show elements and short quoting form a few words taken from Scripture but also taken out of context. No time is given to sincerely listen and to sincerely study a full paragraph of a Bible chapter.
Our very fast changing world can do with a sort of new reformation. What’s needed now, in shifting times, is neither a doubling-down on the status quo nor a pullback into isolation. Instead, we need a church that speaks to social and political issues with a bigger vision in mind: that of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Christianity seems increasingly strange, and even subversive, to our culture, we have the opportunity to reclaim the freakishness of the gospel, which is what gives it its power in the first place.
We should seek the kingdom of God, before everything else and we should love to bring others to the entrance gate of that Kingdom. We connect that kingdom agenda to the culture around us, both by speaking it to the world and by showing it in our churches. As we do so, we remember our mission to oppose demons, not to demonise opponents. As we advocate for human dignity, for religious liberty, for family stability, let’s do so as those with a prophetic word that turns everything upside down.
Today more than ever those who feel the connection with the Nazarene master teacher Jeshua should connect with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ and show their love for each other. Not staying in their small local cocoon, but also connecting to other brethren and sisters from all over. They should be welcoming any visiting brother or sister and when they receive mail from some brother or sister form somewhere in the world they should take time to answer that mail and to show their love to that correspondent by not ignoring him or her but letting those writers be feeling recognised as brothers and sisters of the body of Christ.
Though that Body of Christ may be composed of different nationalities, different cultured races, they should all show that they have union in that body of Christ by the unity of spirit in Christ. Unity should be shown by their willingness to communicate with each other and to be respectful for the different characters and different opinions. Unity does not have to mean that all have to say exactly the same or have to use the same bible translation, read the same books, may not have different ways of civilian life, may not have different tastes. Those differences make the world coloured and not boring. We should be happy with such diversity and the differences between ecclesiae may provide different pastures for bible believers to find themselves at ease in one or the other ecclesia.
Jubilant Joel Osteen Juice MegachurchIn Jesus time the apostles were also of different character and different opinion or used not always the same words. We should neither. In our way of reaching people we should recognise that they should not know Christadelphianisms and may have a religious vocabulary closer to the denomination to which they belonged originally or still belong. By preaching to them we do have to be able to use different words and different Bible translations so that they can come to understand what the Word of God is saying. We are just some intermediaries who want to show them that Jesus is our mediator and the Way to God.
The Lord’s Hall a Christian megachurch in the Philippines that is managed by the Day by Day Christian Ministries DBD since 2005 situated and leased from the CCP, due to numerous concerns at the time though the church is known as DBD’s flagship church, and is known for being a venue for massive Christian gatherings by Rev Gamaliel Alba and Sun Cruises, CCP Complex, Roxas Blvd.Those we want to attract to the Word of God we have to convince that it are not the megachurches or the churches with the most members that are really following the Word of God and would not have false teachings or wrong doctrines. Lots of people may also put their hope in such megachurches because they expect megachurch pastors to have all the answers and that those churches could grow so much because those pastors are personally successful as well as leaders of successful churches because they can offer the best for man.
At conferences such preachers also may attract a lot of attention because many think they have the solution for today’s problem, a diminishing church.
and so we come to see what crumbs of wisdom they might cast our way that will help us and our small churches be”successful” like they are.
writes pastor Jim in his article “Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?“. Like many of us in the Christadelphian community is has seen Abraham and should have gathered enough experience to have some sound opinion. He believes that such leaders of mega churches may deliver good sermons. For sure they probably are good administrators, very good players with words or good speakers having a good deal of charisma. He correctly points out
Their churches offer tons of programs for children and adults—from support groups for people with various problems to children’s ministry and everything in between. But are a variety of programs offered to attract large numbers of people to their church a measure of success as Jesus defined success? I’m not so sure of this… {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
He is leading a Home Fellowship Group in a Bible Study of the Gospel of Mark. At their last session they discussed this question of “supersize” as Jesus seemed to see it.
He accepted the large crowds he attracted—some so large along the Sea of Galilee that he acquired a boat to get in so he would not be crushed by the crowds seeking to touch him and be healed. But Jesus tends to see those crowds as no reason for gratification. He feels that many of them are there for the wrong reason, to be healed of their infirmities and to see the miraculous. Jesus heals them and has compassion for them, but proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God is his main mission. That proclamation is his main mission because it has the power to transform people’s lives, and sometimes people who are only seeking physical healing and entertainment can get in the way of that proclamation. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
In those days Jesus also had to get listening ears. In that age people were much more willing to listen and to go into discussion about religious and spiritual matters. There was much more interest in God than today. But Jesus knew that from the many that came around to hear him speak, there were also many who came out of curiosity or wanted to see miracles or hear controversial talks.
Jesus saw the crowds to whom he sought to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God in the same way as a sower.
Only a small portion of the crowd would actually be transformed by the good news of the Kingdom of God. The rest would let other things choke it out of their lives and die unchanged. Thus I feel Jesus was not impressed with numbers but with changes in the lives of people who heard him. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?} {Please do read also Mark 4: 1-9}
Too often people think it our the numbers that make it to be good. Perhaps the numbers show the popularity, but for sure they do not always show the integrity or the good value of a product or group.
The pastor thinks the answer to his and our question “Is Bigger Better?” as it pertains to churches is this:
it is not size alone that leads to success of any church, large or small, but it is its ability to follow Jesus and in doing so transform the lives of those who are a part of that church and those who that church reaches out to. The measure of a church’s success is the number of lives that have been changed and transformed due to its proclamation both in word and in deed of the Kingdom of God. The successful church is the “good soil” in the Parable of the Sower” that brings forth transformation of people’s lives and nurtures their growth in relationship to God and God’s Kingdom.
A successful church, regardless of the names on the roster, changes people into devoted followers of Jesus and his teachings as they live their lives each day. Small churches can be just as successful as large churches in changing people’s lives as they live the great commandment to love God and neighbor as yourself.” Sometimes because small churches are more personal, they are able to live this better than those with thousands on their membership roster. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
The Christadelphians are a very tiny community. We only can hope that all people in this small community bear their hearts on the right place. God knows the heart and it is for him that we should work and go out in the world getting people to know the Master works of God.
We may not forget that by being such a small community we have the advantage that we can get together in small cosy groups and feel much more the unity of the small group than in such mega churches were everybody can sit next to each other without knowing the other. When sitting in a stadium, arena or in such a huge church were there are hundreds or thousands of people it can well be that the individual may be drowning in the numbers.
We should be ready to throw out the lifeline and to pull those people who are looking for the Truth, to get to our meetings and let them feel that we are real followers of Jesus, keeping to his teachings and not adoring human doctrines, but keeping to Biblical doctrines, studying the infallible Word of God daily.
+
Preceding:
Personal thoughts, communication, establishing ecclesia and guest writings
The Big Conversation follow up
Evangelisation, local preaching opposite overseas evangelism
The Right One to follow and to worship
Wanting to live in Christ’s city
A participation in the body of Christ
Ecclesia to exist, grow and communities to have people communicating with each other
++
Additional reading:
- Who are the Christadelphians
- What are Brothers in Christ
- Christadelphian people
- Small churches of the few Christadelphians
- Strange Fire conference 2013
- Bloggers for Christ and Bloggers for Peace
- Being Missional
- Atonement And Fellowship 4/8
- Atonement And Fellowship 5/8
- Good or bad preacher
- Quibbling siblings united or allied children of an organisation or a church
- Reflection for today: hating your brother
+++
Further reading:
- Lessons Learned at Strange Fire
- A Vision of Holiness
- Praying in Circles
- In this Moment
- Wanting to be Heard
- truth nugget #66
- Unite against their corruption, not our church’s
- Prosperity Gospel – The Bane of The True Gospel
- The Conference Every Mega-Church Pastor Should Attend
- Millennials And Christianity!
- In Delight of the Deca-Church
- [TL;DR] In Defense of the Mega-Church
- Agree to Disagree
- Kingdom Building: The Large Church and the Small Church Working Together
- Mega Churches: What’s the big deal?
- 3 Reasons Why You Should Go To A Small Church
- Missed Opportunities
- Pastoral Environment and the Fight for Holiness
- Welcome to the Club
- 365 Day Photo Challenge 167/365 “Church on the Hill”
- Extravaganza City
- Instructed In God’s Ways
- Why Black Mega Church Pastors Catch Such Heat
- Book Review: The Blessed Church
- My Two Cents… conderning a famous mega-church preacher
- I don’t believe in mega churches
- American Christian Idol
+++
Related articles
- LISTEN: The Body of Believers, Part 2 (Onward Christian Soldiers #98 with Daniel Whyte III) (blackchristiannews.com)
- The Truth About The Roman Catholic Church (nowtheendbegins.com)
- 1 Corinthians 11:27-34 Taking a Spiritual Self-Exam (jimerwin.com)
- Lessons From The Road (beyondthemiryclay.wordpress.com)
- The Daily Gospel and Readings 21 September 2015 (prayersandmeditations.com)
- Such A Time As This (mylordmyfriend.com)
- A Perfect Inheritance (birdchirp.wordpress.com)
- How Long Will You Waver? (juicyecumenism.com)
- Pastors & Patriots Dinner – for such a time as this! (christian-reporter-news.ticketleap.com)
- No More Youth Pastors? (Part I) (joshuaziefle.net)
Rate this:
#BeingInUnion #BodyOfChrist #BrotherInChrist #Brotherhood #BrothersAndSistersInChrist #BrothersInChrist #Charisma #ChristadelphianCommunity #Christadelphianisms #Christian #ChristianChurch #ChurchService #Communication #Denomination #Disunion #Diversity #EntertainmentInChurch #GoodSoil #HomeFellowship #HumanDoctrines #Ignoring #IgnoringOthers #Lifeline #Media #MegaChurch #Mission #MoralMajority #NeglectingOthers #NewReformation #NoticingOthers #NumbersAmount_ #Opinion #Orator #ParticipationInBodyOfChrist #Pastor #Preaching #PreachingWork #Proclaiming #Proclamation #Quantity #ReligiousCommunity #ReligiousDiversity #ReligiousFreedom #ReligiousVocabulary #SisterInChrist #SistersInChrist #SmallGroup #SpiritInChrist #Successfulness #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Unity #UnityInChrist #UnityInDiversity #WorshipService
-
Engaging the culture without losing the gospel
As the culture changes all around us, it is no longer possible to pretend that Christians are a Moral Majority. For the Christadelphian community it was already very clear that Christendom had gone astray and that not many people knew the essence of the Divine Creator and His Plan.
Guestspeaker’s 1° article 2014 March 26 on “From Guestwriters”In certain parts of the world we may find mega churches, like in the United states of America. But what we also see in those countries is that there is a very strange discrepancy between the way of life and the way presented in the Holy Scriptures. In the talks about pro-life issues and arguments at our website From Guestwriters this is made clear in the different reactions where some readers point out at the huge amount of abortions been done every day. Such points of discussion as the abortion debate show how values and attitudes have changed over the years.
Those people who call themselves Christian either are not so much interested in having an active faith or going to worship services or when they want to go to worship services they expect them to be relaxing and entertaining. For many the entertaining factor receives priority. This makes it understandable why certain churches in the States get full house whilst the churches really interested in and giving eye and ear for the Word of God do not have so many people coming to their service.
In general people are very much influenced by the media and television and show business are not the instruments who, today, bring the people to God. the television church services are full of show elements and short quoting form a few words taken from Scripture but also taken out of context. No time is given to sincerely listen and to sincerely study a full paragraph of a Bible chapter.
Our very fast changing world can do with a sort of new reformation. What’s needed now, in shifting times, is neither a doubling-down on the status quo nor a pullback into isolation. Instead, we need a church that speaks to social and political issues with a bigger vision in mind: that of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Christianity seems increasingly strange, and even subversive, to our culture, we have the opportunity to reclaim the freakishness of the gospel, which is what gives it its power in the first place.
We should seek the kingdom of God, before everything else and we should love to bring others to the entrance gate of that Kingdom. We connect that kingdom agenda to the culture around us, both by speaking it to the world and by showing it in our churches. As we do so, we remember our mission to oppose demons, not to demonise opponents. As we advocate for human dignity, for religious liberty, for family stability, let’s do so as those with a prophetic word that turns everything upside down.
Today more than ever those who feel the connection with the Nazarene master teacher Jeshua should connect with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ and show their love for each other. Not staying in their small local cocoon, but also connecting to other brethren and sisters from all over. They should be welcoming any visiting brother or sister and when they receive mail from some brother or sister form somewhere in the world they should take time to answer that mail and to show their love to that correspondent by not ignoring him or her but letting those writers be feeling recognised as brothers and sisters of the body of Christ.
Though that Body of Christ may be composed of different nationalities, different cultured races, they should all show that they have union in that body of Christ by the unity of spirit in Christ. Unity should be shown by their willingness to communicate with each other and to be respectful for the different characters and different opinions. Unity does not have to mean that all have to say exactly the same or have to use the same bible translation, read the same books, may not have different ways of civilian life, may not have different tastes. Those differences make the world coloured and not boring. We should be happy with such diversity and the differences between ecclesiae may provide different pastures for bible believers to find themselves at ease in one or the other ecclesia.
Jubilant Joel Osteen Juice MegachurchIn Jesus time the apostles were also of different character and different opinion or used not always the same words. We should neither. In our way of reaching people we should recognise that they should not know Christadelphianisms and may have a religious vocabulary closer to the denomination to which they belonged originally or still belong. By preaching to them we do have to be able to use different words and different Bible translations so that they can come to understand what the Word of God is saying. We are just some intermediaries who want to show them that Jesus is our mediator and the Way to God.
The Lord’s Hall a Christian megachurch in the Philippines that is managed by the Day by Day Christian Ministries DBD since 2005 situated and leased from the CCP, due to numerous concerns at the time though the church is known as DBD’s flagship church, and is known for being a venue for massive Christian gatherings by Rev Gamaliel Alba and Sun Cruises, CCP Complex, Roxas Blvd.Those we want to attract to the Word of God we have to convince that it are not the megachurches or the churches with the most members that are really following the Word of God and would not have false teachings or wrong doctrines. Lots of people may also put their hope in such megachurches because they expect megachurch pastors to have all the answers and that those churches could grow so much because those pastors are personally successful as well as leaders of successful churches because they can offer the best for man.
At conferences such preachers also may attract a lot of attention because many think they have the solution for today’s problem, a diminishing church.
and so we come to see what crumbs of wisdom they might cast our way that will help us and our small churches be”successful” like they are.
writes pastor Jim in his article “Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?“. Like many of us in the Christadelphian community is has seen Abraham and should have gathered enough experience to have some sound opinion. He believes that such leaders of mega churches may deliver good sermons. For sure they probably are good administrators, very good players with words or good speakers having a good deal of charisma. He correctly points out
Their churches offer tons of programs for children and adults—from support groups for people with various problems to children’s ministry and everything in between. But are a variety of programs offered to attract large numbers of people to their church a measure of success as Jesus defined success? I’m not so sure of this… {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
He is leading a Home Fellowship Group in a Bible Study of the Gospel of Mark. At their last session they discussed this question of “supersize” as Jesus seemed to see it.
He accepted the large crowds he attracted—some so large along the Sea of Galilee that he acquired a boat to get in so he would not be crushed by the crowds seeking to touch him and be healed. But Jesus tends to see those crowds as no reason for gratification. He feels that many of them are there for the wrong reason, to be healed of their infirmities and to see the miraculous. Jesus heals them and has compassion for them, but proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God is his main mission. That proclamation is his main mission because it has the power to transform people’s lives, and sometimes people who are only seeking physical healing and entertainment can get in the way of that proclamation. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
In those days Jesus also had to get listening ears. In that age people were much more willing to listen and to go into discussion about religious and spiritual matters. There was much more interest in God than today. But Jesus knew that from the many that came around to hear him speak, there were also many who came out of curiosity or wanted to see miracles or hear controversial talks.
Jesus saw the crowds to whom he sought to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God in the same way as a sower.
Only a small portion of the crowd would actually be transformed by the good news of the Kingdom of God. The rest would let other things choke it out of their lives and die unchanged. Thus I feel Jesus was not impressed with numbers but with changes in the lives of people who heard him. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?} {Please do read also Mark 4: 1-9}
Too often people think it our the numbers that make it to be good. Perhaps the numbers show the popularity, but for sure they do not always show the integrity or the good value of a product or group.
The pastor thinks the answer to his and our question “Is Bigger Better?” as it pertains to churches is this:
it is not size alone that leads to success of any church, large or small, but it is its ability to follow Jesus and in doing so transform the lives of those who are a part of that church and those who that church reaches out to. The measure of a church’s success is the number of lives that have been changed and transformed due to its proclamation both in word and in deed of the Kingdom of God. The successful church is the “good soil” in the Parable of the Sower” that brings forth transformation of people’s lives and nurtures their growth in relationship to God and God’s Kingdom.
A successful church, regardless of the names on the roster, changes people into devoted followers of Jesus and his teachings as they live their lives each day. Small churches can be just as successful as large churches in changing people’s lives as they live the great commandment to love God and neighbor as yourself.” Sometimes because small churches are more personal, they are able to live this better than those with thousands on their membership roster. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
The Christadelphians are a very tiny community. We only can hope that all people in this small community bear their hearts on the right place. God knows the heart and it is for him that we should work and go out in the world getting people to know the Master works of God.
We may not forget that by being such a small community we have the advantage that we can get together in small cosy groups and feel much more the unity of the small group than in such mega churches were everybody can sit next to each other without knowing the other. When sitting in a stadium, arena or in such a huge church were there are hundreds or thousands of people it can well be that the individual may be drowning in the numbers.
We should be ready to throw out the lifeline and to pull those people who are looking for the Truth, to get to our meetings and let them feel that we are real followers of Jesus, keeping to his teachings and not adoring human doctrines, but keeping to Biblical doctrines, studying the infallible Word of God daily.
+
Preceding:
Personal thoughts, communication, establishing ecclesia and guest writings
The Big Conversation follow up
Evangelisation, local preaching opposite overseas evangelism
The Right One to follow and to worship
Wanting to live in Christ’s city
A participation in the body of Christ
Ecclesia to exist, grow and communities to have people communicating with each other
++
Additional reading:
- Who are the Christadelphians
- What are Brothers in Christ
- Christadelphian people
- Small churches of the few Christadelphians
- Strange Fire conference 2013
- Bloggers for Christ and Bloggers for Peace
- Being Missional
- Atonement And Fellowship 4/8
- Atonement And Fellowship 5/8
- Good or bad preacher
- Quibbling siblings united or allied children of an organisation or a church
- Reflection for today: hating your brother
+++
Further reading:
- Lessons Learned at Strange Fire
- A Vision of Holiness
- Praying in Circles
- In this Moment
- Wanting to be Heard
- truth nugget #66
- Unite against their corruption, not our church’s
- Prosperity Gospel – The Bane of The True Gospel
- The Conference Every Mega-Church Pastor Should Attend
- Millennials And Christianity!
- In Delight of the Deca-Church
- [TL;DR] In Defense of the Mega-Church
- Agree to Disagree
- Kingdom Building: The Large Church and the Small Church Working Together
- Mega Churches: What’s the big deal?
- 3 Reasons Why You Should Go To A Small Church
- Missed Opportunities
- Pastoral Environment and the Fight for Holiness
- Welcome to the Club
- 365 Day Photo Challenge 167/365 “Church on the Hill”
- Extravaganza City
- Instructed In God’s Ways
- Why Black Mega Church Pastors Catch Such Heat
- Book Review: The Blessed Church
- My Two Cents… conderning a famous mega-church preacher
- I don’t believe in mega churches
- American Christian Idol
+++
Related articles
- LISTEN: The Body of Believers, Part 2 (Onward Christian Soldiers #98 with Daniel Whyte III) (blackchristiannews.com)
- The Truth About The Roman Catholic Church (nowtheendbegins.com)
- 1 Corinthians 11:27-34 Taking a Spiritual Self-Exam (jimerwin.com)
- Lessons From The Road (beyondthemiryclay.wordpress.com)
- The Daily Gospel and Readings 21 September 2015 (prayersandmeditations.com)
- Such A Time As This (mylordmyfriend.com)
- A Perfect Inheritance (birdchirp.wordpress.com)
- How Long Will You Waver? (juicyecumenism.com)
- Pastors & Patriots Dinner – for such a time as this! (christian-reporter-news.ticketleap.com)
- No More Youth Pastors? (Part I) (joshuaziefle.net)
Rate this:
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Engaging the culture without losing the gospel
As the culture changes all around us, it is no longer possible to pretend that Christians are a Moral Majority. For the Christadelphian community it was already very clear that Christendom had gone astray and that not many people knew the essence of the Divine Creator and His Plan.
Guestspeaker’s 1° article 2014 March 26 on “From Guestwriters”In certain parts of the world we may find mega churches, like in the United states of America. But what we also see in those countries is that there is a very strange discrepancy between the way of life and the way presented in the Holy Scriptures. In the talks about pro-life issues and arguments at our website From Guestwriters this is made clear in the different reactions where some readers point out at the huge amount of abortions been done every day. Such points of discussion as the abortion debate show how values and attitudes have changed over the years.
Those people who call themselves Christian either are not so much interested in having an active faith or going to worship services or when they want to go to worship services they expect them to be relaxing and entertaining. For many the entertaining factor receives priority. This makes it understandable why certain churches in the States get full house whilst the churches really interested in and giving eye and ear for the Word of God do not have so many people coming to their service.
In general people are very much influenced by the media and television and show business are not the instruments who, today, bring the people to God. the television church services are full of show elements and short quoting form a few words taken from Scripture but also taken out of context. No time is given to sincerely listen and to sincerely study a full paragraph of a Bible chapter.
Our very fast changing world can do with a sort of new reformation. What’s needed now, in shifting times, is neither a doubling-down on the status quo nor a pullback into isolation. Instead, we need a church that speaks to social and political issues with a bigger vision in mind: that of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Christianity seems increasingly strange, and even subversive, to our culture, we have the opportunity to reclaim the freakishness of the gospel, which is what gives it its power in the first place.
We should seek the kingdom of God, before everything else and we should love to bring others to the entrance gate of that Kingdom. We connect that kingdom agenda to the culture around us, both by speaking it to the world and by showing it in our churches. As we do so, we remember our mission to oppose demons, not to demonise opponents. As we advocate for human dignity, for religious liberty, for family stability, let’s do so as those with a prophetic word that turns everything upside down.
Today more than ever those who feel the connection with the Nazarene master teacher Jeshua should connect with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ and show their love for each other. Not staying in their small local cocoon, but also connecting to other brethren and sisters from all over. They should be welcoming any visiting brother or sister and when they receive mail from some brother or sister form somewhere in the world they should take time to answer that mail and to show their love to that correspondent by not ignoring him or her but letting those writers be feeling recognised as brothers and sisters of the body of Christ.
Though that Body of Christ may be composed of different nationalities, different cultured races, they should all show that they have union in that body of Christ by the unity of spirit in Christ. Unity should be shown by their willingness to communicate with each other and to be respectful for the different characters and different opinions. Unity does not have to mean that all have to say exactly the same or have to use the same bible translation, read the same books, may not have different ways of civilian life, may not have different tastes. Those differences make the world coloured and not boring. We should be happy with such diversity and the differences between ecclesiae may provide different pastures for bible believers to find themselves at ease in one or the other ecclesia.
Jubilant Joel Osteen Juice MegachurchIn Jesus time the apostles were also of different character and different opinion or used not always the same words. We should neither. In our way of reaching people we should recognise that they should not know Christadelphianisms and may have a religious vocabulary closer to the denomination to which they belonged originally or still belong. By preaching to them we do have to be able to use different words and different Bible translations so that they can come to understand what the Word of God is saying. We are just some intermediaries who want to show them that Jesus is our mediator and the Way to God.
The Lord’s Hall a Christian megachurch in the Philippines that is managed by the Day by Day Christian Ministries DBD since 2005 situated and leased from the CCP, due to numerous concerns at the time though the church is known as DBD’s flagship church, and is known for being a venue for massive Christian gatherings by Rev Gamaliel Alba and Sun Cruises, CCP Complex, Roxas Blvd.Those we want to attract to the Word of God we have to convince that it are not the megachurches or the churches with the most members that are really following the Word of God and would not have false teachings or wrong doctrines. Lots of people may also put their hope in such megachurches because they expect megachurch pastors to have all the answers and that those churches could grow so much because those pastors are personally successful as well as leaders of successful churches because they can offer the best for man.
At conferences such preachers also may attract a lot of attention because many think they have the solution for today’s problem, a diminishing church.
and so we come to see what crumbs of wisdom they might cast our way that will help us and our small churches be”successful” like they are.
writes pastor Jim in his article “Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?“. Like many of us in the Christadelphian community is has seen Abraham and should have gathered enough experience to have some sound opinion. He believes that such leaders of mega churches may deliver good sermons. For sure they probably are good administrators, very good players with words or good speakers having a good deal of charisma. He correctly points out
Their churches offer tons of programs for children and adults—from support groups for people with various problems to children’s ministry and everything in between. But are a variety of programs offered to attract large numbers of people to their church a measure of success as Jesus defined success? I’m not so sure of this… {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
He is leading a Home Fellowship Group in a Bible Study of the Gospel of Mark. At their last session they discussed this question of “supersize” as Jesus seemed to see it.
He accepted the large crowds he attracted—some so large along the Sea of Galilee that he acquired a boat to get in so he would not be crushed by the crowds seeking to touch him and be healed. But Jesus tends to see those crowds as no reason for gratification. He feels that many of them are there for the wrong reason, to be healed of their infirmities and to see the miraculous. Jesus heals them and has compassion for them, but proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God is his main mission. That proclamation is his main mission because it has the power to transform people’s lives, and sometimes people who are only seeking physical healing and entertainment can get in the way of that proclamation. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
In those days Jesus also had to get listening ears. In that age people were much more willing to listen and to go into discussion about religious and spiritual matters. There was much more interest in God than today. But Jesus knew that from the many that came around to hear him speak, there were also many who came out of curiosity or wanted to see miracles or hear controversial talks.
Jesus saw the crowds to whom he sought to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God in the same way as a sower.
Only a small portion of the crowd would actually be transformed by the good news of the Kingdom of God. The rest would let other things choke it out of their lives and die unchanged. Thus I feel Jesus was not impressed with numbers but with changes in the lives of people who heard him. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?} {Please do read also Mark 4: 1-9}
Too often people think it our the numbers that make it to be good. Perhaps the numbers show the popularity, but for sure they do not always show the integrity or the good value of a product or group.
The pastor thinks the answer to his and our question “Is Bigger Better?” as it pertains to churches is this:
it is not size alone that leads to success of any church, large or small, but it is its ability to follow Jesus and in doing so transform the lives of those who are a part of that church and those who that church reaches out to. The measure of a church’s success is the number of lives that have been changed and transformed due to its proclamation both in word and in deed of the Kingdom of God. The successful church is the “good soil” in the Parable of the Sower” that brings forth transformation of people’s lives and nurtures their growth in relationship to God and God’s Kingdom.
A successful church, regardless of the names on the roster, changes people into devoted followers of Jesus and his teachings as they live their lives each day. Small churches can be just as successful as large churches in changing people’s lives as they live the great commandment to love God and neighbor as yourself.” Sometimes because small churches are more personal, they are able to live this better than those with thousands on their membership roster. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
The Christadelphians are a very tiny community. We only can hope that all people in this small community bear their hearts on the right place. God knows the heart and it is for him that we should work and go out in the world getting people to know the Master works of God.
We may not forget that by being such a small community we have the advantage that we can get together in small cosy groups and feel much more the unity of the small group than in such mega churches were everybody can sit next to each other without knowing the other. When sitting in a stadium, arena or in such a huge church were there are hundreds or thousands of people it can well be that the individual may be drowning in the numbers.
We should be ready to throw out the lifeline and to pull those people who are looking for the Truth, to get to our meetings and let them feel that we are real followers of Jesus, keeping to his teachings and not adoring human doctrines, but keeping to Biblical doctrines, studying the infallible Word of God daily.
+
Preceding:
Personal thoughts, communication, establishing ecclesia and guest writings
The Big Conversation follow up
Evangelisation, local preaching opposite overseas evangelism
The Right One to follow and to worship
Wanting to live in Christ’s city
A participation in the body of Christ
Ecclesia to exist, grow and communities to have people communicating with each other
++
Additional reading:
- Who are the Christadelphians
- What are Brothers in Christ
- Christadelphian people
- Small churches of the few Christadelphians
- Strange Fire conference 2013
- Bloggers for Christ and Bloggers for Peace
- Being Missional
- Atonement And Fellowship 4/8
- Atonement And Fellowship 5/8
- Good or bad preacher
- Quibbling siblings united or allied children of an organisation or a church
- Reflection for today: hating your brother
+++
Further reading:
- Lessons Learned at Strange Fire
- A Vision of Holiness
- Praying in Circles
- In this Moment
- Wanting to be Heard
- truth nugget #66
- Unite against their corruption, not our church’s
- Prosperity Gospel – The Bane of The True Gospel
- The Conference Every Mega-Church Pastor Should Attend
- Millennials And Christianity!
- In Delight of the Deca-Church
- [TL;DR] In Defense of the Mega-Church
- Agree to Disagree
- Kingdom Building: The Large Church and the Small Church Working Together
- Mega Churches: What’s the big deal?
- 3 Reasons Why You Should Go To A Small Church
- Missed Opportunities
- Pastoral Environment and the Fight for Holiness
- Welcome to the Club
- 365 Day Photo Challenge 167/365 “Church on the Hill”
- Extravaganza City
- Instructed In God’s Ways
- Why Black Mega Church Pastors Catch Such Heat
- Book Review: The Blessed Church
- My Two Cents… conderning a famous mega-church preacher
- I don’t believe in mega churches
- American Christian Idol
+++
Related articles
- LISTEN: The Body of Believers, Part 2 (Onward Christian Soldiers #98 with Daniel Whyte III) (blackchristiannews.com)
- The Truth About The Roman Catholic Church (nowtheendbegins.com)
- 1 Corinthians 11:27-34 Taking a Spiritual Self-Exam (jimerwin.com)
- Lessons From The Road (beyondthemiryclay.wordpress.com)
- The Daily Gospel and Readings 21 September 2015 (prayersandmeditations.com)
- Such A Time As This (mylordmyfriend.com)
- A Perfect Inheritance (birdchirp.wordpress.com)
- How Long Will You Waver? (juicyecumenism.com)
- Pastors & Patriots Dinner – for such a time as this! (christian-reporter-news.ticketleap.com)
- No More Youth Pastors? (Part I) (joshuaziefle.net)
Rate this:
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Those who love Jesus
In Evangelisation, local preaching opposite overseas evangelism we looked at a specific blog where the Christadelphians where accused of not loving Jesus. The blog mentioned is not the only one which tries to blacken the Christadelphian community and let her readers to believe that we would not love Jesus. In the discussion of the blog Honor «god» and Queen of Heaven you might find their reasoning. So often we get people complaining to us that we are not following God’s Word and that we are blasphemous and hate Jesus because we do not take him to be God. Having so many times to defend our Christadelphian faith and to proof to people that it well can be that we do love Jesus even much more than they do, that we decided to open some platform where we specifically go deeper into that subject of loving Jesus and following Jesus.
C4U: Christ For You & Christadelphians For You, started on 7 February 2015On 2015, February the 7th, C4U a Wix.com website was created to tell the world that we have Christ for us and that the Christadelphians are willing to show the world why it is so important to have Christ for us.
We want to show the importance the Christadelphians put on Bible reading and following what is written and advised in the Bible. It is not just o.k. to read it now and then, but when we do love God, we should want to read the Book of books, with His infallible Word in it, regularly. When we do love God we would also listen very carefully to His Voice which resounds throughout the 66 books of the Canonic Bible.
From the beginning of that compilation of books, we are told about creation, what has happened to it and what is going to happen in the future. We can also see that there is put a lot of focus on one particular man, who was already promised in the Garden of Eden, many years later to several people who wanted to listen to the different prophets God had chosen to represent Him. The prophet Isaiah gave a light of the future world and with him many pointed out to a saviour to come. Like the astrologers who came to visit the newborn in Bethlehem, everybody could come to the same conclusion as they when they would listen attentively to the Word of God, given to all in the Book of books, the Bible.
The prophet born in Bethlehem, who came to live with his parents in Nazareth and later in life started a public life, which did not last long, because people had sought to kill him, is the one we want to put our focus on.
All for Christ, a website started in 2015, February 8, to show people the reason of the importance of Christ Jesus for us all, and how we all should come to follow him, who is the Way to Jehovah GodAlso “All for Christ” wants to look at this spectacular man, who had not such special looks or was not so rich, but was special because of his way how he could cope with people and how he could explain the Words of God.
Both new websites want to focus on Jesus Christ and bring the reasons forward why this man of flesh and blood is so special for humankind.
At the same time they want to show that it are perhaps those, who really want to believe what is written in the Bible, about that man and who want to stick to those words instead of following human doctrines, who are the real lovers of Christ.
Those who cannot accept that it ever would be possible that a man could follow God’s commandments do not have trust in the Maker of man, because than He would have created a being impossible to follow His wishes, and as such have created from the start an imperfect being and having demanded straight ahead too much. Not only do they injustice to the maker of man. They also do totally injustice to Jesus, because they consider him impossible to be a man of flesh and blood not capable to do the Will of God, but as God he could naturally do that Will of God, because then he would be that God Himself doing His own Will. They also forget that they, making Jesus into God, make of him a liar, because God knows everything, though Jesus said he did not know when he would come back, did not know when the end-times would take place and did not know who would be seated next to him. In case he is God, he would not have told the truth because God knows everything. But it makes Scriptures even more untrustable, because in it is told that God can not be seen or man would fall dead, that God can not be tempted, that God is an eternal Spirit (meaning he cannot die) Who does not tell lies. Though we are told Jesus was born (had a beginning) and was seen by many. We are also told that Jesus was tempted more than once. Worst of all is that in the New Testament is said Jesus died and after he was taken out of the dead, having been three days in hell, he showed to his disciples his wounds and confirmed to them that he was not a spirit (this would once more be a contradiction then in the Scriptures).With the new websites we want to show people who Christ Jesus really was and is, and how he has been made higher than before (having been lower than angels, though God was, is and always shall be the Most High), now seated next to Jehovah God to be the one mediator between man and God.
Both sites want to show the world what Christ has done for us all and why he earns the glory. they shall bring forward how important it is to recognise what Jesus really did, giving his life for all mankind, offering himself as a lamb and a ransom for God.
Everybody should know that those who love Jesus most are those who believe what Jesus himself said and are willing to follow up everything Jesus asked.
Christadelphians are Brothers and Sisters in Christ not only willing to be part of the Body of Christ passively, but taking up the task Jesus has given seriously, going out in the world proclaiming the Good News of the coming Kingdom of God.
+
Find the new websites:
+++
Related articles
- January 31 – culture (cohdailyprayer2014.wordpress.com)
Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
+
When we bring Jesus to people we don’t have to bring our ethnicity with Him. We don’t even need to hold too strongly to the culture of Circle of Hope! We are called to show honor to people as they are. Their transformation starts from the inside out. Whatever conformity happens is the work of the Spirit. Jesus is going to transform every culture as He relentlessly creates Christ culture. It is a wonder how large and inclusive Christ culture is! God enjoys all the flavors in which his truth and love can be served. - Today’s Defeat Is Tomorrow’s Victory (dailybibleplan.com)
The members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen had accused Stephen of blasphemy (the same charge against Jesus) and brought him before the Sanhedrin for trial. When the high priest asked Stephen if the charges against him were true, Stephen could have used his time to mount his own defense. Instead, Stephen used his time to recap Israel’s relationship with God. He spoke about the many times in Israel’s history in which God was faithful to his promises yet the people rejected God and His prophets, including the Messiah Jesus Christ. Even when faced with untrue charges against him, Stephen stood firm in his beliefs and spoke of his Lord to the very end when the religious leaders got so caught up in their anger that they stoned Stephen to death without even giving him a proper trial. - Relax in the promises of God (disciplesofhope.wordpress.com)
Learn to relax in the promises of God. Never get carried away by the external that you forget to trust God inwardly. Indeed, Jesus rebuked those disciples about their low faith when they were scared of of the great storm despite being with him the boat (Refer Mark 4:35-41). Do not get fearful about anything, for instance the economy, wars, relationships etc. Instead put your trust in the word of God.
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Then there are people who do read the Bible regularly but do not read it in faith. Bible reading is not be mere reading alone. You got to try to understand it. You got to believe in it. Most importantly, one who reads the Bible must read it so one becomes more like Christ in obedience to God. - Christian: if New Testament is false, why not Hebrew Bible too? (dailyminyan.com)
A Christian told me the other day that I was being hypocritical by questioning New Testament’s validity as inspired scripture. I was warned that I should not cast stones at the New Testament, that is to claim that it is based on lies, since there are atheist critics of the “Old Testament” (the Jewish Bible) who assert that it is just as false and full of discrepancies as the New Testament. - Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? (renewamerica.com)
We can stipulate that “Allah” is the generic word for “God” in Arabic, just as “El” and “Elohim” are in Hebrew and “theos” is in Greek. Thus there are many Christians in the Arabic speaking world who refer to the God of the Bible as “Allah,” and who use it in phrases such as “Inshallah,” which means “God willing.”(It’s worth noting in passing that the highest court in Malaysia recently ruled that Muslims and Muslims alone are permitted to use the word “Allah.”)But generic words for God, because they are generic, can be used to refer to a multiplicity of gods. So the term must be narrowed down. If someone uses a generic word for “God,” the follow-up question must be asked, “Which ‘god’ are your referring to?”
Our remark: Naturally when those Christians do take Jesus to be the God, than you could say the Jews and Muslims do have an other God, because they, like Jesus have the God of Abraham, which is only One True God, not existing out of three persons.
- Have a brilliant weekend (0: (hmweimar.wordpress.com)
We thank you Lord for being our father, we thank Christ for his sacrifice and the Holy Spirit for guidance and compassion. - Listen: The New Birth, Part 2 (Onward Christian Soldiers #69 with Daniel Whyte III) (blackchristiannews.com)
Faith is necessary for the new birth. The requirement for the new birth is faith in Jesus Christ who was crucified for our sins. The Lord Jesus explained this to Nicodemus by reminding him of something that happened to the children of Israel while they were in the wilderness. - Advocate,which is name for attorney (divinedirection.typepad.com)
You have your own attorney when you go into the judge’s chambers for adjudication. According to God’s Word, you have an Advocate,which is another name for attorney. - A Defense Attorney Has Been Appointed For You (fbcpolson.wordpress.com)
Because Jesus died, our debt is paid. Hallelujah! Though our sins are as scarlet, He will wash them white as snow! - “I Die Daily” (birdchirp.wordpress.com)
When we surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ we say by that surrender, “I am dying to the world and coming alive in Christ, to walk in His steps, to share the cross with Him, to lose my life in His service.”
Rate this:
#2015 #69 #AllForChristWebsite_ #BeingPartOfTheBodyOfChrist #Bethlehem #BibleReading #BookOfBooks #C4U #CommandmentsOfGod #EternalSpirit #Focus #FocusOnSonOfGod #FollowingJesusChrist #GloryOfChrist #HatingJesus #HumanDoctrines #HumanJesus #ImperfectBeing #KnowingEverything #Liar #LoveForChrist #LoveForGod #LoveGod #LoversOfChrist #LovingJesus #Maker #ManFromNazareth #ManJesus #MostHigh #Proclaiming #Saviour #SeatedNextToGod #SovereignMaker #Spirit #TellingLies #TellingTheTruth #Trinity #WordOfGod
- January 31 – culture (cohdailyprayer2014.wordpress.com)
-
Those who love Jesus
In Evangelisation, local preaching opposite overseas evangelism we looked at a specific blog where the Christadelphians where accused of not loving Jesus. The blog mentioned is not the only one which tries to blacken the Christadelphian community and let her readers to believe that we would not love Jesus. In the discussion of the blog Honor «god» and Queen of Heaven you might find their reasoning. So often we get people complaining to us that we are not following God’s Word and that we are blasphemous and hate Jesus because we do not take him to be God. Having so many times to defend our Christadelphian faith and to proof to people that it well can be that we do love Jesus even much more than they do, that we decided to open some platform where we specifically go deeper into that subject of loving Jesus and following Jesus.
C4U: Christ For You & Christadelphians For You, started on 7 February 2015On 2015, February the 7th, C4U a Wix.com website was created to tell the world that we have Christ for us and that the Christadelphians are willing to show the world why it is so important to have Christ for us.
We want to show the importance the Christadelphians put on Bible reading and following what is written and advised in the Bible. It is not just o.k. to read it now and then, but when we do love God, we should want to read the Book of books, with His infallible Word in it, regularly. When we do love God we would also listen very carefully to His Voice which resounds throughout the 66 books of the Canonic Bible.
From the beginning of that compilation of books, we are told about creation, what has happened to it and what is going to happen in the future. We can also see that there is put a lot of focus on one particular man, who was already promised in the Garden of Eden, many years later to several people who wanted to listen to the different prophets God had chosen to represent Him. The prophet Isaiah gave a light of the future world and with him many pointed out to a saviour to come. Like the astrologers who came to visit the newborn in Bethlehem, everybody could come to the same conclusion as they when they would listen attentively to the Word of God, given to all in the Book of books, the Bible.
The prophet born in Bethlehem, who came to live with his parents in Nazareth and later in life started a public life, which did not last long, because people had sought to kill him, is the one we want to put our focus on.
All for Christ, a website started in 2015, February 8, to show people the reason of the importance of Christ Jesus for us all, and how we all should come to follow him, who is the Way to Jehovah GodAlso “All for Christ” wants to look at this spectacular man, who had not such special looks or was not so rich, but was special because of his way how he could cope with people and how he could explain the Words of God.
Both new websites want to focus on Jesus Christ and bring the reasons forward why this man of flesh and blood is so special for humankind.
At the same time they want to show that it are perhaps those, who really want to believe what is written in the Bible, about that man and who want to stick to those words instead of following human doctrines, who are the real lovers of Christ.
Those who cannot accept that it ever would be possible that a man could follow God’s commandments do not have trust in the Maker of man, because than He would have created a being impossible to follow His wishes, and as such have created from the start an imperfect being and having demanded straight ahead too much. Not only do they injustice to the maker of man. They also do totally injustice to Jesus, because they consider him impossible to be a man of flesh and blood not capable to do the Will of God, but as God he could naturally do that Will of God, because then he would be that God Himself doing His own Will. They also forget that they, making Jesus into God, make of him a liar, because God knows everything, though Jesus said he did not know when he would come back, did not know when the end-times would take place and did not know who would be seated next to him. In case he is God, he would not have told the truth because God knows everything. But it makes Scriptures even more untrustable, because in it is told that God can not be seen or man would fall dead, that God can not be tempted, that God is an eternal Spirit (meaning he cannot die) Who does not tell lies. Though we are told Jesus was born (had a beginning) and was seen by many. We are also told that Jesus was tempted more than once. Worst of all is that in the New Testament is said Jesus died and after he was taken out of the dead, having been three days in hell, he showed to his disciples his wounds and confirmed to them that he was not a spirit (this would once more be a contradiction then in the Scriptures).With the new websites we want to show people who Christ Jesus really was and is, and how he has been made higher than before (having been lower than angels, though God was, is and always shall be the Most High), now seated next to Jehovah God to be the one mediator between man and God.
Both sites want to show the world what Christ has done for us all and why he earns the glory. they shall bring forward how important it is to recognise what Jesus really did, giving his life for all mankind, offering himself as a lamb and a ransom for God.
Everybody should know that those who love Jesus most are those who believe what Jesus himself said and are willing to follow up everything Jesus asked.
Christadelphians are Brothers and Sisters in Christ not only willing to be part of the Body of Christ passively, but taking up the task Jesus has given seriously, going out in the world proclaiming the Good News of the coming Kingdom of God.
+
Find the new websites:
+++
Related articles
- January 31 – culture (cohdailyprayer2014.wordpress.com)
Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
+
When we bring Jesus to people we don’t have to bring our ethnicity with Him. We don’t even need to hold too strongly to the culture of Circle of Hope! We are called to show honor to people as they are. Their transformation starts from the inside out. Whatever conformity happens is the work of the Spirit. Jesus is going to transform every culture as He relentlessly creates Christ culture. It is a wonder how large and inclusive Christ culture is! God enjoys all the flavors in which his truth and love can be served. - Today’s Defeat Is Tomorrow’s Victory (dailybibleplan.com)
The members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen had accused Stephen of blasphemy (the same charge against Jesus) and brought him before the Sanhedrin for trial. When the high priest asked Stephen if the charges against him were true, Stephen could have used his time to mount his own defense. Instead, Stephen used his time to recap Israel’s relationship with God. He spoke about the many times in Israel’s history in which God was faithful to his promises yet the people rejected God and His prophets, including the Messiah Jesus Christ. Even when faced with untrue charges against him, Stephen stood firm in his beliefs and spoke of his Lord to the very end when the religious leaders got so caught up in their anger that they stoned Stephen to death without even giving him a proper trial. - Relax in the promises of God (disciplesofhope.wordpress.com)
Learn to relax in the promises of God. Never get carried away by the external that you forget to trust God inwardly. Indeed, Jesus rebuked those disciples about their low faith when they were scared of of the great storm despite being with him the boat (Refer Mark 4:35-41). Do not get fearful about anything, for instance the economy, wars, relationships etc. Instead put your trust in the word of God.
+
Then there are people who do read the Bible regularly but do not read it in faith. Bible reading is not be mere reading alone. You got to try to understand it. You got to believe in it. Most importantly, one who reads the Bible must read it so one becomes more like Christ in obedience to God. - Christian: if New Testament is false, why not Hebrew Bible too? (dailyminyan.com)
A Christian told me the other day that I was being hypocritical by questioning New Testament’s validity as inspired scripture. I was warned that I should not cast stones at the New Testament, that is to claim that it is based on lies, since there are atheist critics of the “Old Testament” (the Jewish Bible) who assert that it is just as false and full of discrepancies as the New Testament. - Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? (renewamerica.com)
We can stipulate that “Allah” is the generic word for “God” in Arabic, just as “El” and “Elohim” are in Hebrew and “theos” is in Greek. Thus there are many Christians in the Arabic speaking world who refer to the God of the Bible as “Allah,” and who use it in phrases such as “Inshallah,” which means “God willing.”(It’s worth noting in passing that the highest court in Malaysia recently ruled that Muslims and Muslims alone are permitted to use the word “Allah.”)But generic words for God, because they are generic, can be used to refer to a multiplicity of gods. So the term must be narrowed down. If someone uses a generic word for “God,” the follow-up question must be asked, “Which ‘god’ are your referring to?”
Our remark: Naturally when those Christians do take Jesus to be the God, than you could say the Jews and Muslims do have an other God, because they, like Jesus have the God of Abraham, which is only One True God, not existing out of three persons.
- Have a brilliant weekend (0: (hmweimar.wordpress.com)
We thank you Lord for being our father, we thank Christ for his sacrifice and the Holy Spirit for guidance and compassion. - Listen: The New Birth, Part 2 (Onward Christian Soldiers #69 with Daniel Whyte III) (blackchristiannews.com)
Faith is necessary for the new birth. The requirement for the new birth is faith in Jesus Christ who was crucified for our sins. The Lord Jesus explained this to Nicodemus by reminding him of something that happened to the children of Israel while they were in the wilderness. - Advocate,which is name for attorney (divinedirection.typepad.com)
You have your own attorney when you go into the judge’s chambers for adjudication. According to God’s Word, you have an Advocate,which is another name for attorney. - A Defense Attorney Has Been Appointed For You (fbcpolson.wordpress.com)
Because Jesus died, our debt is paid. Hallelujah! Though our sins are as scarlet, He will wash them white as snow! - “I Die Daily” (birdchirp.wordpress.com)
When we surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ we say by that surrender, “I am dying to the world and coming alive in Christ, to walk in His steps, to share the cross with Him, to lose my life in His service.”
Rate this:
#2015 #69 #AllForChristWebsite_ #BeingPartOfTheBodyOfChrist #Bethlehem #BibleReading #BookOfBooks #C4U #CommandmentsOfGod #EternalSpirit #Focus #FocusOnSonOfGod #FollowingJesusChrist #GloryOfChrist #HatingJesus #HumanDoctrines #HumanJesus #ImperfectBeing #KnowingEverything #Liar #LoveForChrist #LoveForGod #LoveGod #LoversOfChrist #LovingJesus #Maker #ManFromNazareth #ManJesus #MostHigh #Proclaiming #Saviour #SeatedNextToGod #SovereignMaker #Spirit #TellingLies #TellingTheTruth #Trinity #WordOfGod
- January 31 – culture (cohdailyprayer2014.wordpress.com)
-
Those who love Jesus
In Evangelisation, local preaching opposite overseas evangelism we looked at a specific blog where the Christadelphians where accused of not loving Jesus. The blog mentioned is not the only one which tries to blacken the Christadelphian community and let her readers to believe that we would not love Jesus. In the discussion of the blog Honor «god» and Queen of Heaven you might find their reasoning. So often we get people complaining to us that we are not following God’s Word and that we are blasphemous and hate Jesus because we do not take him to be God. Having so many times to defend our Christadelphian faith and to proof to people that it well can be that we do love Jesus even much more than they do, that we decided to open some platform where we specifically go deeper into that subject of loving Jesus and following Jesus.
C4U: Christ For You & Christadelphians For You, started on 7 February 2015On 2015, February the 7th, C4U a Wix.com website was created to tell the world that we have Christ for us and that the Christadelphians are willing to show the world why it is so important to have Christ for us.
We want to show the importance the Christadelphians put on Bible reading and following what is written and advised in the Bible. It is not just o.k. to read it now and then, but when we do love God, we should want to read the Book of books, with His infallible Word in it, regularly. When we do love God we would also listen very carefully to His Voice which resounds throughout the 66 books of the Canonic Bible.
From the beginning of that compilation of books, we are told about creation, what has happened to it and what is going to happen in the future. We can also see that there is put a lot of focus on one particular man, who was already promised in the Garden of Eden, many years later to several people who wanted to listen to the different prophets God had chosen to represent Him. The prophet Isaiah gave a light of the future world and with him many pointed out to a saviour to come. Like the astrologers who came to visit the newborn in Bethlehem, everybody could come to the same conclusion as they when they would listen attentively to the Word of God, given to all in the Book of books, the Bible.
The prophet born in Bethlehem, who came to live with his parents in Nazareth and later in life started a public life, which did not last long, because people had sought to kill him, is the one we want to put our focus on.
All for Christ, a website started in 2015, February 8, to show people the reason of the importance of Christ Jesus for us all, and how we all should come to follow him, who is the Way to Jehovah GodAlso “All for Christ” wants to look at this spectacular man, who had not such special looks or was not so rich, but was special because of his way how he could cope with people and how he could explain the Words of God.
Both new websites want to focus on Jesus Christ and bring the reasons forward why this man of flesh and blood is so special for humankind.
At the same time they want to show that it are perhaps those, who really want to believe what is written in the Bible, about that man and who want to stick to those words instead of following human doctrines, who are the real lovers of Christ.
Those who cannot accept that it ever would be possible that a man could follow God’s commandments do not have trust in the Maker of man, because than He would have created a being impossible to follow His wishes, and as such have created from the start an imperfect being and having demanded straight ahead too much. Not only do they injustice to the maker of man. They also do totally injustice to Jesus, because they consider him impossible to be a man of flesh and blood not capable to do the Will of God, but as God he could naturally do that Will of God, because then he would be that God Himself doing His own Will. They also forget that they, making Jesus into God, make of him a liar, because God knows everything, though Jesus said he did not know when he would come back, did not know when the end-times would take place and did not know who would be seated next to him. In case he is God, he would not have told the truth because God knows everything. But it makes Scriptures even more untrustable, because in it is told that God can not be seen or man would fall dead, that God can not be tempted, that God is an eternal Spirit (meaning he cannot die) Who does not tell lies. Though we are told Jesus was born (had a beginning) and was seen by many. We are also told that Jesus was tempted more than once. Worst of all is that in the New Testament is said Jesus died and after he was taken out of the dead, having been three days in hell, he showed to his disciples his wounds and confirmed to them that he was not a spirit (this would once more be a contradiction then in the Scriptures).With the new websites we want to show people who Christ Jesus really was and is, and how he has been made higher than before (having been lower than angels, though God was, is and always shall be the Most High), now seated next to Jehovah God to be the one mediator between man and God.
Both sites want to show the world what Christ has done for us all and why he earns the glory. they shall bring forward how important it is to recognise what Jesus really did, giving his life for all mankind, offering himself as a lamb and a ransom for God.
Everybody should know that those who love Jesus most are those who believe what Jesus himself said and are willing to follow up everything Jesus asked.
Christadelphians are Brothers and Sisters in Christ not only willing to be part of the Body of Christ passively, but taking up the task Jesus has given seriously, going out in the world proclaiming the Good News of the coming Kingdom of God.
+
Find the new websites:
+++
Related articles
- January 31 – culture (cohdailyprayer2014.wordpress.com)
Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
+
When we bring Jesus to people we don’t have to bring our ethnicity with Him. We don’t even need to hold too strongly to the culture of Circle of Hope! We are called to show honor to people as they are. Their transformation starts from the inside out. Whatever conformity happens is the work of the Spirit. Jesus is going to transform every culture as He relentlessly creates Christ culture. It is a wonder how large and inclusive Christ culture is! God enjoys all the flavors in which his truth and love can be served. - Today’s Defeat Is Tomorrow’s Victory (dailybibleplan.com)
The members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen had accused Stephen of blasphemy (the same charge against Jesus) and brought him before the Sanhedrin for trial. When the high priest asked Stephen if the charges against him were true, Stephen could have used his time to mount his own defense. Instead, Stephen used his time to recap Israel’s relationship with God. He spoke about the many times in Israel’s history in which God was faithful to his promises yet the people rejected God and His prophets, including the Messiah Jesus Christ. Even when faced with untrue charges against him, Stephen stood firm in his beliefs and spoke of his Lord to the very end when the religious leaders got so caught up in their anger that they stoned Stephen to death without even giving him a proper trial. - Relax in the promises of God (disciplesofhope.wordpress.com)
Learn to relax in the promises of God. Never get carried away by the external that you forget to trust God inwardly. Indeed, Jesus rebuked those disciples about their low faith when they were scared of of the great storm despite being with him the boat (Refer Mark 4:35-41). Do not get fearful about anything, for instance the economy, wars, relationships etc. Instead put your trust in the word of God.
+
Then there are people who do read the Bible regularly but do not read it in faith. Bible reading is not be mere reading alone. You got to try to understand it. You got to believe in it. Most importantly, one who reads the Bible must read it so one becomes more like Christ in obedience to God. - Christian: if New Testament is false, why not Hebrew Bible too? (dailyminyan.com)
A Christian told me the other day that I was being hypocritical by questioning New Testament’s validity as inspired scripture. I was warned that I should not cast stones at the New Testament, that is to claim that it is based on lies, since there are atheist critics of the “Old Testament” (the Jewish Bible) who assert that it is just as false and full of discrepancies as the New Testament. - Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? (renewamerica.com)
We can stipulate that “Allah” is the generic word for “God” in Arabic, just as “El” and “Elohim” are in Hebrew and “theos” is in Greek. Thus there are many Christians in the Arabic speaking world who refer to the God of the Bible as “Allah,” and who use it in phrases such as “Inshallah,” which means “God willing.”(It’s worth noting in passing that the highest court in Malaysia recently ruled that Muslims and Muslims alone are permitted to use the word “Allah.”)But generic words for God, because they are generic, can be used to refer to a multiplicity of gods. So the term must be narrowed down. If someone uses a generic word for “God,” the follow-up question must be asked, “Which ‘god’ are your referring to?”
Our remark: Naturally when those Christians do take Jesus to be the God, than you could say the Jews and Muslims do have an other God, because they, like Jesus have the God of Abraham, which is only One True God, not existing out of three persons.
- Have a brilliant weekend (0: (hmweimar.wordpress.com)
We thank you Lord for being our father, we thank Christ for his sacrifice and the Holy Spirit for guidance and compassion. - Listen: The New Birth, Part 2 (Onward Christian Soldiers #69 with Daniel Whyte III) (blackchristiannews.com)
Faith is necessary for the new birth. The requirement for the new birth is faith in Jesus Christ who was crucified for our sins. The Lord Jesus explained this to Nicodemus by reminding him of something that happened to the children of Israel while they were in the wilderness. - Advocate,which is name for attorney (divinedirection.typepad.com)
You have your own attorney when you go into the judge’s chambers for adjudication. According to God’s Word, you have an Advocate,which is another name for attorney. - A Defense Attorney Has Been Appointed For You (fbcpolson.wordpress.com)
Because Jesus died, our debt is paid. Hallelujah! Though our sins are as scarlet, He will wash them white as snow! - “I Die Daily” (birdchirp.wordpress.com)
When we surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ we say by that surrender, “I am dying to the world and coming alive in Christ, to walk in His steps, to share the cross with Him, to lose my life in His service.”
Rate this:
#2015 #69 #AllForChristWebsite_ #BeingPartOfTheBodyOfChrist #Bethlehem #BibleReading #BookOfBooks #C4U #CommandmentsOfGod #EternalSpirit #Focus #FocusOnSonOfGod #FollowingJesusChrist #GloryOfChrist #HatingJesus #HumanDoctrines #HumanJesus #ImperfectBeing #KnowingEverything #Liar #LoveForChrist #LoveForGod #LoveGod #LoversOfChrist #LovingJesus #Maker #ManFromNazareth #ManJesus #MostHigh #Proclaiming #Saviour #SeatedNextToGod #SovereignMaker #Spirit #TellingLies #TellingTheTruth #Trinity #WordOfGod
- January 31 – culture (cohdailyprayer2014.wordpress.com)
-
Those who love Jesus
In Evangelisation, local preaching opposite overseas evangelism we looked at a specific blog where the Christadelphians where accused of not loving Jesus. The blog mentioned is not the only one which tries to blacken the Christadelphian community and let her readers to believe that we would not love Jesus. In the discussion of the blog Honor «god» and Queen of Heaven you might find their reasoning. So often we get people complaining to us that we are not following God’s Word and that we are blasphemous and hate Jesus because we do not take him to be God. Having so many times to defend our Christadelphian faith and to proof to people that it well can be that we do love Jesus even much more than they do, that we decided to open some platform where we specifically go deeper into that subject of loving Jesus and following Jesus.
C4U: Christ For You & Christadelphians For You, started on 7 February 2015On 2015, February the 7th, C4U a Wix.com website was created to tell the world that we have Christ for us and that the Christadelphians are willing to show the world why it is so important to have Christ for us.
We want to show the importance the Christadelphians put on Bible reading and following what is written and advised in the Bible. It is not just o.k. to read it now and then, but when we do love God, we should want to read the Book of books, with His infallible Word in it, regularly. When we do love God we would also listen very carefully to His Voice which resounds throughout the 66 books of the Canonic Bible.
From the beginning of that compilation of books, we are told about creation, what has happened to it and what is going to happen in the future. We can also see that there is put a lot of focus on one particular man, who was already promised in the Garden of Eden, many years later to several people who wanted to listen to the different prophets God had chosen to represent Him. The prophet Isaiah gave a light of the future world and with him many pointed out to a saviour to come. Like the astrologers who came to visit the newborn in Bethlehem, everybody could come to the same conclusion as they when they would listen attentively to the Word of God, given to all in the Book of books, the Bible.
The prophet born in Bethlehem, who came to live with his parents in Nazareth and later in life started a public life, which did not last long, because people had sought to kill him, is the one we want to put our focus on.
All for Christ, a website started in 2015, February 8, to show people the reason of the importance of Christ Jesus for us all, and how we all should come to follow him, who is the Way to Jehovah GodAlso “All for Christ” wants to look at this spectacular man, who had not such special looks or was not so rich, but was special because of his way how he could cope with people and how he could explain the Words of God.
Both new websites want to focus on Jesus Christ and bring the reasons forward why this man of flesh and blood is so special for humankind.
At the same time they want to show that it are perhaps those, who really want to believe what is written in the Bible, about that man and who want to stick to those words instead of following human doctrines, who are the real lovers of Christ.
Those who cannot accept that it ever would be possible that a man could follow God’s commandments do not have trust in the Maker of man, because than He would have created a being impossible to follow His wishes, and as such have created from the start an imperfect being and having demanded straight ahead too much. Not only do they injustice to the maker of man. They also do totally injustice to Jesus, because they consider him impossible to be a man of flesh and blood not capable to do the Will of God, but as God he could naturally do that Will of God, because then he would be that God Himself doing His own Will. They also forget that they, making Jesus into God, make of him a liar, because God knows everything, though Jesus said he did not know when he would come back, did not know when the end-times would take place and did not know who would be seated next to him. In case he is God, he would not have told the truth because God knows everything. But it makes Scriptures even more untrustable, because in it is told that God can not be seen or man would fall dead, that God can not be tempted, that God is an eternal Spirit (meaning he cannot die) Who does not tell lies. Though we are told Jesus was born (had a beginning) and was seen by many. We are also told that Jesus was tempted more than once. Worst of all is that in the New Testament is said Jesus died and after he was taken out of the dead, having been three days in hell, he showed to his disciples his wounds and confirmed to them that he was not a spirit (this would once more be a contradiction then in the Scriptures).With the new websites we want to show people who Christ Jesus really was and is, and how he has been made higher than before (having been lower than angels, though God was, is and always shall be the Most High), now seated next to Jehovah God to be the one mediator between man and God.
Both sites want to show the world what Christ has done for us all and why he earns the glory. they shall bring forward how important it is to recognise what Jesus really did, giving his life for all mankind, offering himself as a lamb and a ransom for God.
Everybody should know that those who love Jesus most are those who believe what Jesus himself said and are willing to follow up everything Jesus asked.
Christadelphians are Brothers and Sisters in Christ not only willing to be part of the Body of Christ passively, but taking up the task Jesus has given seriously, going out in the world proclaiming the Good News of the coming Kingdom of God.
+
Find the new websites:
+++
Related articles
- January 31 – culture (cohdailyprayer2014.wordpress.com)
Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
+
When we bring Jesus to people we don’t have to bring our ethnicity with Him. We don’t even need to hold too strongly to the culture of Circle of Hope! We are called to show honor to people as they are. Their transformation starts from the inside out. Whatever conformity happens is the work of the Spirit. Jesus is going to transform every culture as He relentlessly creates Christ culture. It is a wonder how large and inclusive Christ culture is! God enjoys all the flavors in which his truth and love can be served. - Today’s Defeat Is Tomorrow’s Victory (dailybibleplan.com)
The members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen had accused Stephen of blasphemy (the same charge against Jesus) and brought him before the Sanhedrin for trial. When the high priest asked Stephen if the charges against him were true, Stephen could have used his time to mount his own defense. Instead, Stephen used his time to recap Israel’s relationship with God. He spoke about the many times in Israel’s history in which God was faithful to his promises yet the people rejected God and His prophets, including the Messiah Jesus Christ. Even when faced with untrue charges against him, Stephen stood firm in his beliefs and spoke of his Lord to the very end when the religious leaders got so caught up in their anger that they stoned Stephen to death without even giving him a proper trial. - Relax in the promises of God (disciplesofhope.wordpress.com)
Learn to relax in the promises of God. Never get carried away by the external that you forget to trust God inwardly. Indeed, Jesus rebuked those disciples about their low faith when they were scared of of the great storm despite being with him the boat (Refer Mark 4:35-41). Do not get fearful about anything, for instance the economy, wars, relationships etc. Instead put your trust in the word of God.
+
Then there are people who do read the Bible regularly but do not read it in faith. Bible reading is not be mere reading alone. You got to try to understand it. You got to believe in it. Most importantly, one who reads the Bible must read it so one becomes more like Christ in obedience to God. - Christian: if New Testament is false, why not Hebrew Bible too? (dailyminyan.com)
A Christian told me the other day that I was being hypocritical by questioning New Testament’s validity as inspired scripture. I was warned that I should not cast stones at the New Testament, that is to claim that it is based on lies, since there are atheist critics of the “Old Testament” (the Jewish Bible) who assert that it is just as false and full of discrepancies as the New Testament. - Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? (renewamerica.com)
We can stipulate that “Allah” is the generic word for “God” in Arabic, just as “El” and “Elohim” are in Hebrew and “theos” is in Greek. Thus there are many Christians in the Arabic speaking world who refer to the God of the Bible as “Allah,” and who use it in phrases such as “Inshallah,” which means “God willing.”(It’s worth noting in passing that the highest court in Malaysia recently ruled that Muslims and Muslims alone are permitted to use the word “Allah.”)But generic words for God, because they are generic, can be used to refer to a multiplicity of gods. So the term must be narrowed down. If someone uses a generic word for “God,” the follow-up question must be asked, “Which ‘god’ are your referring to?”
Our remark: Naturally when those Christians do take Jesus to be the God, than you could say the Jews and Muslims do have an other God, because they, like Jesus have the God of Abraham, which is only One True God, not existing out of three persons.
- Have a brilliant weekend (0: (hmweimar.wordpress.com)
We thank you Lord for being our father, we thank Christ for his sacrifice and the Holy Spirit for guidance and compassion. - Listen: The New Birth, Part 2 (Onward Christian Soldiers #69 with Daniel Whyte III) (blackchristiannews.com)
Faith is necessary for the new birth. The requirement for the new birth is faith in Jesus Christ who was crucified for our sins. The Lord Jesus explained this to Nicodemus by reminding him of something that happened to the children of Israel while they were in the wilderness. - Advocate,which is name for attorney (divinedirection.typepad.com)
You have your own attorney when you go into the judge’s chambers for adjudication. According to God’s Word, you have an Advocate,which is another name for attorney. - A Defense Attorney Has Been Appointed For You (fbcpolson.wordpress.com)
Because Jesus died, our debt is paid. Hallelujah! Though our sins are as scarlet, He will wash them white as snow! - “I Die Daily” (birdchirp.wordpress.com)
When we surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ we say by that surrender, “I am dying to the world and coming alive in Christ, to walk in His steps, to share the cross with Him, to lose my life in His service.”
Rate this:
#2015 #69 #AllForChristWebsite_ #BeingPartOfTheBodyOfChrist #Bethlehem #BibleReading #BookOfBooks #C4U #CommandmentsOfGod #EternalSpirit #Focus #FocusOnSonOfGod #FollowingJesusChrist #GloryOfChrist #HatingJesus #HumanDoctrines #HumanJesus #ImperfectBeing #KnowingEverything #Liar #LoveForChrist #LoveForGod #LoveGod #LoversOfChrist #LovingJesus #Maker #ManFromNazareth #ManJesus #MostHigh #Proclaiming #Saviour #SeatedNextToGod #SovereignMaker #Spirit #TellingLies #TellingTheTruth #Trinity #WordOfGod
- January 31 – culture (cohdailyprayer2014.wordpress.com)
-
Those who love Jesus
In Evangelisation, local preaching opposite overseas evangelism we looked at a specific blog where the Christadelphians where accused of not loving Jesus. The blog mentioned is not the only one which tries to blacken the Christadelphian community and let her readers to believe that we would not love Jesus. In the discussion of the blog Honor «god» and Queen of Heaven you might find their reasoning. So often we get people complaining to us that we are not following God’s Word and that we are blasphemous and hate Jesus because we do not take him to be God. Having so many times to defend our Christadelphian faith and to proof to people that it well can be that we do love Jesus even much more than they do, that we decided to open some platform where we specifically go deeper into that subject of loving Jesus and following Jesus.
C4U: Christ For You & Christadelphians For You, started on 7 February 2015On 2015, February the 7th, C4U a Wix.com website was created to tell the world that we have Christ for us and that the Christadelphians are willing to show the world why it is so important to have Christ for us.
We want to show the importance the Christadelphians put on Bible reading and following what is written and advised in the Bible. It is not just o.k. to read it now and then, but when we do love God, we should want to read the Book of books, with His infallible Word in it, regularly. When we do love God we would also listen very carefully to His Voice which resounds throughout the 66 books of the Canonic Bible.
From the beginning of that compilation of books, we are told about creation, what has happened to it and what is going to happen in the future. We can also see that there is put a lot of focus on one particular man, who was already promised in the Garden of Eden, many years later to several people who wanted to listen to the different prophets God had chosen to represent Him. The prophet Isaiah gave a light of the future world and with him many pointed out to a saviour to come. Like the astrologers who came to visit the newborn in Bethlehem, everybody could come to the same conclusion as they when they would listen attentively to the Word of God, given to all in the Book of books, the Bible.
The prophet born in Bethlehem, who came to live with his parents in Nazareth and later in life started a public life, which did not last long, because people had sought to kill him, is the one we want to put our focus on.
All for Christ, a website started in 2015, February 8, to show people the reason of the importance of Christ Jesus for us all, and how we all should come to follow him, who is the Way to Jehovah GodAlso “All for Christ” wants to look at this spectacular man, who had not such special looks or was not so rich, but was special because of his way how he could cope with people and how he could explain the Words of God.
Both new websites want to focus on Jesus Christ and bring the reasons forward why this man of flesh and blood is so special for humankind.
At the same time they want to show that it are perhaps those, who really want to believe what is written in the Bible, about that man and who want to stick to those words instead of following human doctrines, who are the real lovers of Christ.
Those who cannot accept that it ever would be possible that a man could follow God’s commandments do not have trust in the Maker of man, because than He would have created a being impossible to follow His wishes, and as such have created from the start an imperfect being and having demanded straight ahead too much. Not only do they injustice to the maker of man. They also do totally injustice to Jesus, because they consider him impossible to be a man of flesh and blood not capable to do the Will of God, but as God he could naturally do that Will of God, because then he would be that God Himself doing His own Will. They also forget that they, making Jesus into God, make of him a liar, because God knows everything, though Jesus said he did not know when he would come back, did not know when the end-times would take place and did not know who would be seated next to him. In case he is God, he would not have told the truth because God knows everything. But it makes Scriptures even more untrustable, because in it is told that God can not be seen or man would fall dead, that God can not be tempted, that God is an eternal Spirit (meaning he cannot die) Who does not tell lies. Though we are told Jesus was born (had a beginning) and was seen by many. We are also told that Jesus was tempted more than once. Worst of all is that in the New Testament is said Jesus died and after he was taken out of the dead, having been three days in hell, he showed to his disciples his wounds and confirmed to them that he was not a spirit (this would once more be a contradiction then in the Scriptures).With the new websites we want to show people who Christ Jesus really was and is, and how he has been made higher than before (having been lower than angels, though God was, is and always shall be the Most High), now seated next to Jehovah God to be the one mediator between man and God.
Both sites want to show the world what Christ has done for us all and why he earns the glory. they shall bring forward how important it is to recognise what Jesus really did, giving his life for all mankind, offering himself as a lamb and a ransom for God.
Everybody should know that those who love Jesus most are those who believe what Jesus himself said and are willing to follow up everything Jesus asked.
Christadelphians are Brothers and Sisters in Christ not only willing to be part of the Body of Christ passively, but taking up the task Jesus has given seriously, going out in the world proclaiming the Good News of the coming Kingdom of God.
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Find the new websites:
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- January 31 – culture (cohdailyprayer2014.wordpress.com)
Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
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When we bring Jesus to people we don’t have to bring our ethnicity with Him. We don’t even need to hold too strongly to the culture of Circle of Hope! We are called to show honor to people as they are. Their transformation starts from the inside out. Whatever conformity happens is the work of the Spirit. Jesus is going to transform every culture as He relentlessly creates Christ culture. It is a wonder how large and inclusive Christ culture is! God enjoys all the flavors in which his truth and love can be served. - Today’s Defeat Is Tomorrow’s Victory (dailybibleplan.com)
The members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen had accused Stephen of blasphemy (the same charge against Jesus) and brought him before the Sanhedrin for trial. When the high priest asked Stephen if the charges against him were true, Stephen could have used his time to mount his own defense. Instead, Stephen used his time to recap Israel’s relationship with God. He spoke about the many times in Israel’s history in which God was faithful to his promises yet the people rejected God and His prophets, including the Messiah Jesus Christ. Even when faced with untrue charges against him, Stephen stood firm in his beliefs and spoke of his Lord to the very end when the religious leaders got so caught up in their anger that they stoned Stephen to death without even giving him a proper trial. - Relax in the promises of God (disciplesofhope.wordpress.com)
Learn to relax in the promises of God. Never get carried away by the external that you forget to trust God inwardly. Indeed, Jesus rebuked those disciples about their low faith when they were scared of of the great storm despite being with him the boat (Refer Mark 4:35-41). Do not get fearful about anything, for instance the economy, wars, relationships etc. Instead put your trust in the word of God.
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Then there are people who do read the Bible regularly but do not read it in faith. Bible reading is not be mere reading alone. You got to try to understand it. You got to believe in it. Most importantly, one who reads the Bible must read it so one becomes more like Christ in obedience to God. - Christian: if New Testament is false, why not Hebrew Bible too? (dailyminyan.com)
A Christian told me the other day that I was being hypocritical by questioning New Testament’s validity as inspired scripture. I was warned that I should not cast stones at the New Testament, that is to claim that it is based on lies, since there are atheist critics of the “Old Testament” (the Jewish Bible) who assert that it is just as false and full of discrepancies as the New Testament. - Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? (renewamerica.com)
We can stipulate that “Allah” is the generic word for “God” in Arabic, just as “El” and “Elohim” are in Hebrew and “theos” is in Greek. Thus there are many Christians in the Arabic speaking world who refer to the God of the Bible as “Allah,” and who use it in phrases such as “Inshallah,” which means “God willing.”(It’s worth noting in passing that the highest court in Malaysia recently ruled that Muslims and Muslims alone are permitted to use the word “Allah.”)But generic words for God, because they are generic, can be used to refer to a multiplicity of gods. So the term must be narrowed down. If someone uses a generic word for “God,” the follow-up question must be asked, “Which ‘god’ are your referring to?”
Our remark: Naturally when those Christians do take Jesus to be the God, than you could say the Jews and Muslims do have an other God, because they, like Jesus have the God of Abraham, which is only One True God, not existing out of three persons.
- Have a brilliant weekend (0: (hmweimar.wordpress.com)
We thank you Lord for being our father, we thank Christ for his sacrifice and the Holy Spirit for guidance and compassion. - Listen: The New Birth, Part 2 (Onward Christian Soldiers #69 with Daniel Whyte III) (blackchristiannews.com)
Faith is necessary for the new birth. The requirement for the new birth is faith in Jesus Christ who was crucified for our sins. The Lord Jesus explained this to Nicodemus by reminding him of something that happened to the children of Israel while they were in the wilderness. - Advocate,which is name for attorney (divinedirection.typepad.com)
You have your own attorney when you go into the judge’s chambers for adjudication. According to God’s Word, you have an Advocate,which is another name for attorney. - A Defense Attorney Has Been Appointed For You (fbcpolson.wordpress.com)
Because Jesus died, our debt is paid. Hallelujah! Though our sins are as scarlet, He will wash them white as snow! - “I Die Daily” (birdchirp.wordpress.com)
When we surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ we say by that surrender, “I am dying to the world and coming alive in Christ, to walk in His steps, to share the cross with Him, to lose my life in His service.”
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- January 31 – culture (cohdailyprayer2014.wordpress.com)