Lesson 11: Forgotten God - Part 4 Mission-Minded Communities

Questions:

(1) Can you describe characteristics of a Supernatural Christian “Discipling” Community?

(2) What continuing signs do we see of Constantine’s influence in the Lord’s Body today?

(3) Watch: Secret Church with David Platt, Part 1 The Gospel, Possessions & Prosperity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eAiArw1MjM What does this video have to do with a Mission-Minded Community?

(4) What did Jesus say would distinguish His Spirit-led Community, the “called out?”

(5) How do “one another” commands support a mission-minded community?

THE MISSION-MINDED COMMUNITY

(1) They know how to prioritize their lives, time, funds, and efforts.

(2) They understand that the Spirit lives within them and God's power is available to accomplish God's mission

(3) They are a community of folks who really love one another, the lost, and their neighbors

(4) Jesus gave us a church family to train and mentor us. We don't have to do it alone.

(5) They work together by "network" fishing"..only God gets the glory for turning the hearts and minds of men to His Plan.

(6) A mission-minded community allows disciples to “practice” discipling in small steps, then following Christ’s example of using a debriefing process that supports and uplifts them.

(7) Power of prayer of agreement – They ask for wisdom and courage to meet the challenges of taking the Gospel to the world. They pray continually.

(8) The Spirit gives to each a special gift needed to support the community of believers. Each uses that gift for the vision of Christ in the world.

(9) They glory only in the Cross. They are not haughty or full of pride. Their identity is in Christ. Their children do not think of themselves as athletes, musicians, doctors, lawyers, or Indian Chefs first. They take pride in the cross and the power of God – All sin is derived from lust and pride. They exemplify humility in Christ and do not speak as if they are citizens of this world.

(10) They practice “one another” day to day, house to house, with the vision of Christ for loving the LOST, LAME, and the LUKEWARM. Those who minister to these are those who are LIVING IT!

(11) They are courageous! For God did not give us a Spirit of timidity! They don't play it "SAFE".

I think you might have guessed why we introduced Study Buddies to you as just a taste of what it would be like to restore N.T. closeness, caring, compassion, sharing, and reliance on a daily basis. We need to take this opportunity to reach out to each other on a daily basis to gain community strength through Christ to meet His vision.

WHY IS IT SO HARD?

As Americans, we are too used to being separated by our cars, our big homes and large yards, selective entertainment, educational opportunities, and value systems. We are not use to having people in our business, on our door steps daily, or involved with us in such intimate relationships just because they are Christians. We are closer to our extracurricular activities friends than we are to our church family. We are closer to our peers at work and rely on them more than we do our church family....in fact, we can hardly say we have a church family...we have church acquaintances.....

"Prefer One Another"

We don’t feel this closeness because we don’t think we NEED to….

If we are going to be a community of disciple makers, we will NEED that closeness with other Christians...or we will not be the Bride that Christ is returning to take to the Wedding Feast –that SUPERNATURAL COMMUNITY

SUPERNATURAL COMMUNITY can put POSSESSIONS, BUDGETS, TIME, TALENTS, and FINANCES into PERSPECTIVE

Listen to Burned Up (3 minutes): https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10103343/Forgotten_God/Burnedup_Assets.mp3

Our culture has trained us to be consumers while God is looking for loving, sharing, caring disciples!

NETWORK FISHING:

God did not call us to become fishers of men with angling poles (rod & reels). He called us to use our “nets”. Nets require like-minded peers who can assist in helping those who are fishing for men. Christ did not send His disciples one by one. He sent them out in pairs and small groups. God gave us the church to support our efforts as we witness to the world.

How do you know if you are in a community of Spirit-led disciples?

1. Their prayer life is unending, continual, and vital

2. They don't try to "normalize" you, they encourage you to stretch yourself. Being radical is the norm.

3. They infuse you with strength and wisdom - a blood transfusion for the anemia in the spiritual climate of today's world.

4. They witness and share their stories with you so that you see the possibilities and power of God in lives of submitted servants

5. They rely on the power of God. The only way to explain the events and blessings you see in their community is by the power of the Holy Spirit.

What distinguishes a Spirit- led community from a moderately successful church?

Francis Chan asserts and rightly so that anyone can build a moderately successful church by bringing in a talented speaker, good music, fun activities and sustain a crowd for a while. But only those who submit themselves to the power of the Holy Spirit will see the mighty work that God can do. Those who humbles themselves to the glory and honor of God are dedicated to the vision of Christ. Nothing is identified that God is not given the glory. Nothing is done unless the Spirit leads. Prayer before Planning & Implementation becomes critical. Some plant, some water, but the Lord gives the increase.

6. The Spirit-led community is in Love with Jesus...not the world, not things, not prestige, not wealth, not fashion, not popularity.

7. Activity, fervent working & worshipping, boisterous assemblies, and zeal...are not critical characteristics of a Spirit-led church. Rather, being in AWE of His Power and stunned by His Work is the mark of a Spirit-led community.

8. Is it determined precisely who is glorified? Are we impressed by our own performance or seeing the "hand of God'.

9. Do we look more like Elijah rather than the prophets of Baal ( p 213, praying fervently for the Lord to do His work.) or overtly clamoring to impress others.

10. God is a "gentleman"...He will not force Himself upon us. So being a slave of Christ has always been a matter of choice. Choose you this day who you will serve.

A MISSION-MINDED COMMUNITY Prioritizes each moment for the Kingdom

(1) What is the benchmark of a Spirit-lead church? What evidence might you look for?

(2) How do most Christians rectify the discrepancy between what they see in Scripture and what they see in their own Christian walk?

(3) Why is the Holy Spirit vital to our lives today?

(4) What is wrong with the statement: “I want to find a healthy balance between extremes”?

(5) What are the dangers of opening our hearts and lives to His presence and actions more fully than we have ever don before? What are the blessings?

(6) Can you give some illustrations of where you have “cut and pasted” verses together which might need to be re-evaluated?

(7) Why is application of God’s Word vital? How do Spirit-led Christians respond to God’s Word?

(8) In today's world we have come to judge almost everything by our material, consumeristic standards. We judge our success by what "we" have accomplished. We teach our children to judge themselves by the sports "they" can play, the grades "they" make, the talents "they" possess, and by the entertainment "they" have been privileged to participate in.

· How would a Spirit-led family do this differently?

· Resource: http://www.vergenetwork.org/building-a-missional-family/

(9) Why do you think people who have once been involved in a church, leave not only the congregation, but God altogether?

(10) I used to say that "selfishness" (self-centeredness) was the root of all the problems in the world...but that statement did not give hope or a solution. A better way of putting this would be to say that the "lack of submitting to the Holy Spirit" is the root of all problems. How is this demonstrated in our churches? In our lives?

(11)Submitting to the Holy Spirit includes examining our cultural biases. Are you willing to examine every aspect of your faith?

· Give examples of assumptions you have made in the past

· Give examples of cultural norms you have discovered are not pleasing to God

(12) If the Counselor/Comforter exists in our hearts, what supernatural traits should we exhibit on a daily basis?

Lesson 10: Chapter 7 Take-Away, Part 3 Mission-Minded Communities

What are the signs of a Mission-Minded Community?

Homework was to Watch: Videos - MULTIPLY (class was given the 2 hour DVDs)

Matthew 28:18-20

Those who are truly disciples of Christ make other disciples; this is what it means to be a follower of Christ. Discipling is not choice, it is the mission that all disciples of Christ adhere to. “As you go into the world, mentor people by your loving life-style and teaching to become disciples of Christ, baptizing them in the authority of God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and then continue to mentor them in all things.”

This is commandment of promise. While we accomplish the will of God, Christ will be with us until the end of the age. This is a commandment for “going”. It has nothing do to with asking people to “come to church.” This is the cost of discipleship; to spend our time, energy, resources, social agendas, and entertainment perspectives on fellowshipping and apprenticing our personal contacts for the perfection of their faith.

MISSION STATEMENT

A mission-minded community has a mission statement. I suggest that we use Paul’s (follow him as he follows Christ). His mission statement can be found in Col 1:28, “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.” What better mission statement might we have?

OR we might wish to make a mission statement out of the two great commandments: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and Love your neighbor as yourself.  

Since these are the summation of all God is ever asking of us, why have we ignored them for so long? Who is God that we should dedicate everything to Him? Is He still powerful and is He still mightily working in the world today? If we do not think so, then we don’t dedicate all our time and energy to asking Him for what He has promised us. He has promised to send His Holy Spirit to live inside us to empower us with wisdom, strength, and courage for every opportunity to shine the Light in the dark places. Are we walking moment by moment to be an instrument of God’s Will in this world? Do we love the commission He has sent us on—a mission of reconciliation?

Are we ecstatic about our own salvation and are we giving God the glory in ALL things?

What about that neighbor? We have all too often hypothetically used “neighbor” to dismiss the responsibility we have to those people who live in proximity to us. Who are the 5 closest neighbors to your front door? Do you love them….as yourself? Do you even KNOW their names? Do you know what their dreams are, aspirations, goals, problems, and can you assist them in any way? This is what God has called you to….love your neighbor!

What mission statement can you compose that will reflect how you will be sharing the Light in the darkness?

Remember: Disciples Disciple! Disciples multiply! Who better to disciple than your neighbor, your friends, your co-workers, your loved ones? Disciples of Christ follow Christ in His work of sharing the Light to the world.

SUPERNATURAL
In these lessons we will agree to use the definition of “supernatural” as something that cannot be accomplished by “natural” man. Salvation then is a “supernatural” act of God. Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the (dunamis – supernatural/miraculous) power of God unto salvation….”

The indwelling of the Spirit and His fruit in our lives is supernatural according to Gal 5:22-23. Our spiritual blessings in Christ are supernatural gifts which no one can take away. Joy, peace, love, hope are all blessings that do not rely on experience or circumstances, but rather they rely on faith in the working of God in our lives. No one can steal your joy, unless you allow them to do so.

SUPERNATURAL LOVE

God loves us without condition. He loves us so much that He gave His only begotten Son. God has not changed in His love for mankind. He loves us all: AIDs victim, prostitute, sexually impure, haters of self, adulterer, liar, white-collar criminal, Hollywood film star, preacher of false doctrines, church-going pew sitter, angelic child, even the criminal on death row. God LOVES each and every one of His creations. It is only by the supernatural power of God that we, as Christians, are able to LOVE one another and to love the world, to love the unlovable, and those who hate us. We praise God for giving us the Holy Spirit through whom we can grow in the love and grace of our Lord.

It is our calling to LOVE as Christ first loved us. It is not our job to condemn, but to love. It is not our place to accuse; that is the Devil’s job (Rev 12:10). It is not our position to sit in judgment of those who are in the world (1 Cor 5:12), but to RESCUE them as our mission of reconciliation empowers us to do (James 5:19-20).

FORGOTTEN HOW to LOVE?

How did we get it sooooooo convoluted in our thinking? How did we get so judgmental? Unloving? Unlovely? How is it that churches have become museums for saints instead of hospitals for sinners? How did we become so pharisaical as to think we did not need to reach out to those who are lost, hurting, and dying without hope? Perhaps it is because we have FORESAKEN our FIRST LOVE! (Revelation 2:4)

Have we forgotten how to “touch” the untouchable? Sometime we give our clothing and other items to the Good Will or to our congregation’s Benevolent Closet, which in itself is not a bad thing, but it does not put us eyeball to eyeball, hand to heart in front of those folks who might need us in their world. God asks us to give a simple glass of water “in His Name”, not in the name of another organization. He asks us to “give in His Name” not just to “give.” He asks us to see the hurting and to respond, not just empty unwanted items into a bin. Have we forgotten what it means to love?

LUKEWARM and LOVING IT! MUST LISTEN TO THESE 4 short VIDEOS - CLICK on link for 1 of 4...find links for other 3 here also....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vllUDgVps7M&list=PL394D3D4AA6779489  (4 short videos)

Watch: Francis Chan – Why People Hate Church (1 hour video but WORTH it!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6xGoWuPDjw

A MISSION-MINDED COMMUNITY gives ALL GLORY to the POWER of GOD

PRIDE: Reliance on Wealth, Position, Status, Education, Possessions, and Talents

 

What are we proud of?

Look up pride and proud. The definition we will use here is, “an inflated sense of one’s personal status or accomplishments.”

 

What can a Christian be proud of? Have pride in? When have you heard people say, “I’m proud of….?  Paul explains, “Indeed, I count everything as worthless because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.”

 When we recognize that it is God working in our weakness which results in His mission being accomplished on earth, we no longer have any bragging rights. When we understand that we can only live the Christian life by the power of God, then what can we possibly brag about? Who do we praise?

The world is listening to our every conversation and determines our value system by the way we praise and glorify in all our interests. We are to be ambassadors for Christ, not football, baseball, movie shows, or fashion. What does our conversation tell the world about what we value? Well, we praise what we value, it’s as simple as that! We are to praise God in word and deed and do all to His glory. But our culture has led us to clap for everything except a soul being brought into His Kingdom, to shout for everything except our joy in the Lord, to share with our colleagues everything but the Light, and to demonstrate our affection for everything except the Cross.

Remember our lesson on Acts 12 when Herod did not give glory to God for his talent of speaking eloquently before his people? God struck him dead and he was eaten by worms. Paul tells us to glory and brag only in the cross of Christ. Christians need to be VERY careful when they start a sentence with, “I’m so proud of…”

·         I am so proud of my children

·         I am so proud of our school

·         I’m proud to be an American

·         I’m Texas proud

Christians need to check their cultural habits at the door of humility under the Cross. We sing, “my glory all the cross”, but our every day conversations tell a different story. How might a Spirit-led disciple rephrase the 4 items above?

·         I am proud of the way God has led my children to become who they are today because of the cross of Christ.

·         I am thankful for the blessings God has poured out on our school through His mercy

·         I am thankful that God has blessed America with freedoms and privileges not seen in many nations

·         I am grateful to our Lord for fellow believers who live in Texas and share Christ’s vision for the lost.

In an earlier lesson, we saw how Paul handled this very temptation. He could have said, “I am so proud of Titus for having concern for you”. Instead he said, “Thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you.” (2 Cor 8:16)

As Spirit-led individuals and communities of faith, our speech should ALWAYS give glory to God. Since pride comes before a fall (in the case of Herod, literally a fall), we need to honor God if our nation is to continue to be blessed. “God bless America!”…is that a command to God or a request? I’m not convinced it is a humble request.

Read Jeremiah 9:23-24 & Ezekiel 16:49-50. What advice would you give to the class about how to honor, praise, and submit our hearts, minds, and tongues to God?

Jeremiah 9:23-24

²³ This is what the Lord says:
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches, ²⁴ but let the one who boasts boast about this:
that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.

Ezekiel 16:49-50

⁴⁹ “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. ⁵⁰ They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.

PRIDE is in opposition of being "poor in spirit"

"To be alive is to be broken. And to be broken is to stand in need of grace. Honesty keeps us in touch with our neediness and the trugh that we are saved sinners. There is a beautiful transparency to honest disciples who never wear a false face and do not pretend to be anything but who they are.

When a man or woman is truly honest (not just working at it) it is virtually impossible to insult them personally. There is nothing there to insult. those who were truly ready for the Kingdom were just such people (in first Century). Their inner poverty of spirit and rigorous honesty had set them free. They were people who had nothing to be proud of." ....save the Cross of Jesus Christ.

Excerpt From: Manning, Brennan. "The Ragamuffin Gospel"
 

My prayer for all of us is to surrender to the Holy Spirit, to help us see, observe those around us in need of the Light. That God will increase our love the each other and for the lost, that we will have gentleness, yet persistence in proclaiming the truth. That God will give us creative ways of introducing others to the Gospel and that our prayer lives will never cease. I pray that we will work with the Holy Spirit to become a supernatural community of disciple makers.

 

And finally, I pray that we will not sin by learning to do what God commands and then not do it.

 

Lesson 9: Chapter 7 Take-Away, Part 2 The Supernatural Body of Christ

We often hear that we would like to RESTORE New Testament Christianity, but unfortunately we rarely understand what that would mean. What we HAVE restored too often is the c of C (church of Constantine) a ruler who took over the church in the late 4th Century. A ruler that had no connection to the Mission of Christ or God's Vision for His church. 

Quick Review of Contantine's Influence

(1) Constantine was never baptized (maybe sprinkled on his death bed) therefore he could not have been led by the Holy Spirit to be a leader of the Lord's Body. He declared himself Vicar of Vicars (bishop of bishops) which of course, (1) there is no such title in the Lord's Body and (2) he could not have been any kind of bishop not having accepted Christ in baptism.

(2) He changed the PLACE of Worship (Isa 17:7-8). Instead of the daily house-to-house worship that spread the Gospel into the known world, he placed Christians in Basillicas patterned after pagan temples with rows facing a podium, diasis, clergy and assigned times so that he could be in control and "manage" Christianity.

(3) He changed the "one another" interactivity of the assembly into an "audience" instead of "participants".

(4) He started the idea of "church", a place. The word "church is not in any Scripture or copy of Scripture until after Constantine. "We are going to church, (Kirke-Teutonic for a secular building meaning "circle" or pagan worship place like Stone Hinge) does not even resemble what first century Christians practiced. "Church", a place substituted for Ekklasia, "the called out" meaning people who were sanctified for the purpose of being sent on the mission of God.

You will notice that Christ and the Apostles did not go to an established place to preach or pray. They went to the mountains, in boats, in homes, and where ever the people were. This is the point....they preached EVERYWHERE.

READ!

Taken from James Nored blog, "Missional Outreach":

Out of 132 contacts that Jesus had w/people, 6 were in temple, 4 were in synagogue, & 122 were in the mainstream of life."  

Also Jesus never invited anyone to the synagogue or the temple - where did he meet them? On the road ... along the lake ... in their homes.  Why not invite them to the temple or synagogue... especially when he was going to be speaking? Because the people he usually hung out with wouldn't have been welcome there anyway.

He was almost never 'one-on-one' with anyone ... possible exceptions: Nicodemus and the woman at the well of Sychar. There were almost always multiple witnesses to what he did and taught.

So? So why have we gotten into this thing of inviting people to 'church?' How long has it been since you were invited to a mosque? Did you go? Probably not. Why not? Because it's a scary thing to do. You don't know anyone there. You don't know what's expected of you or how to act. Its not the place for you.

We invite people to church because we enjoy it and we want the visitor to enjoy what we enjoy. We are comfortable and we think they should be comfortable. Jesus modeled doing the hard thing: going to the 'turf' of the people he was sent to reach ... going where they are comfortable (at the cost of being uncomfortable ... yes, even persecuted).

So, NEVER invite people to your church? If they ask you if they can come, sure. That's a sign you are doing something right and have something they are searching for.

Stop thinking that you ONLY need to "bring folks to church" although it is not evil...it is all too often not what they really need. Ask God to give you wisdom to know what they need. Do they need to know and be convicted that they are broken in need of a remedy for sin? Do they need to know that Jesus is the Son of God? Do they need to know that God loves them and has made the ultimate sacrifce? Do they need to know that you have been transformed through your relationship with God's Spirit? Do they need to know that you love them because of Christ?

The Greek word, "ekklesia", is used 115 times in the New Testament, and in most Bibles it is always translated as "church" (except in Acts 19:32, 39, 41, where it is properly translated as "assembly" of saints.

(4) He changed the ORDER of Worship (Liturgy) by prescribing how worship would be organized.

--Where 2 or 3 taught lessons, he placed an orator to deliver a "one-way" lesson

--He stopped the interactive nature of the communication. There would never again be an interruptive cry in the "audience" of "Men and brethren what shall we do?"

--He set the order of worship so that it was not spontaneous or interactive (James 5:17) 3 songs and a prayer, lesson, sacriments, prayer and dismissal. No more "one another" Scriptures would be practiced in the Basillica.

--He started the vain repetitions

--He took the responsibility of memorizing and learning Scripture away from the laity (common folk) and gave the responsibility of interpreting Scripture to the masses to the clergy.

(5) He changed the "rulers" over Worship:

--He made himself to be Vicar of Christ (bishop of bishops)

--He modeled church leaders after the Roman government and appointed clergy as the official interpreters of Scripture. Regular folk no longer had to worry about studying the Scriptures. They would be told what was written and what it meant.

--He called the Nicene council to set the dogma of the church and to set up hierarchical clergy which mirrored the Roman government

--We no longer confessed our sins one to another but to a singular person or small group of professionals

--He gave the clergy power, funds, status, and property. They were no longer sacrificial servants but high officials with power from Caesar.

(6) He changed some of the fundamental PUPROSES of the Assembly (Acts 2:41, James 2:2 or Acts 13:43, Hebrews 10:25; 2 Thess 2:1)

--To collect all the masses into one place at one time to sit facing a stage or podium instead of seated around tables breaking bread eyeball to eyeball.

--To relinquish any form of “one another” participation or interaction

(7) He changed the MISSION of the common folk

 Well actually, he dismissed the "mission" of the common folk and left the "saving of souls" up to the professional (clergy). 
When all we had to do was show up at a Basillica, pagan temple, once a week and someone else gave the lesson because they were clergy and we weren't...we didnt have to study our Bibles, and we didn't have to visit the sick, because they were paid to do that, and we didn't have to worry about where the funds went because there were committees to do that, and we didn't have to feed the poor because there were clergy whose unique job it was to make bread and pass it out to the orphans and widows, and we didn't have to do anything but "be nice" and do what the clergy said, and we didn't have to pray because the clergy would pray for us and forgive us of our sins so we didn't have to confess it before the congregation...then did we NO LONGER LOOK LIKE the Bride of Christ?  

HOW DO WE LOOK TODAY?

(8) He called the Nicene Council which begin  perversions in Christian Dogma

--named a one-world religion –Holy Roman Catholic Church, views on the Trinity, a creed of belief, and church organization and purpose.

--It began a tradition of accepting men’s views and opinions which arose beyond Scripture as truth. 

--It set up 9 elements for the Liturgy and worked through the acceptance of the canon (Biblical books accepted as inspired).

--It calculated the a table for the exact date of Easter – although it is the First Resurrection Day, it was named by for Heathen Goddess Easter. This practice needs to disappear as it is a stumbling block to Jews and Muslims alike.

--It formally stated that “baptism should be delayed” until the prospect is known to have no serious offense.

Restoration Movement--a Snipit

Click on Picture to Search Encyclopedia

You may have been exposed to the American Restoration Movement which many are so proud of because of the efforts of people like Alexander Campbell and Barton W. Stone. My ties to this movement run fairly deep as my father is actually mentioned in this encyclopedia and I am related to B.W. Stone. I grew up appreciating what these men had done. But now that I am older and have studied much more of the church's history, including works by European fathers such as Dr Hans Grimm, I realize that this movement was only a small part of God's operation among men.





Through a unique perspective Dr Grimm was able to chronical the Lord's Body from the time of persecution in Rome to WWII when European Christians were sent to the concentration camps even before Jews because they refused aliegence to any "state or dictator" save Christ. This summary of his book includes: (1) criteria ancient Christians kept for recognizing membership in the Lord’s Body (2) proof that Dr Grimm was a member of one of the oldest Christian families in Central Europe, (3) the incarceration of Christians (which NOBODY talks about) during WWII (4) Dr Grimm meeting Otis Gatewood (missionary friend of our family and who I went to Germany on a mission trip back in the 60’s) and (5) his AMAZEMENT to hear that the Lord’s church was alive and well!

I am glad to see that we have called this a "movement" and now recognize that this "movement" needs to continue to MOVE! Perhaps we have taken too much "pride" in this movement as if it had come to completion. Let's examine this movement further. Each of these two men, Stone & Campbell (1790-1870) came from eclesiastical traditions of the Presbyterian persuation.  We appreciate their work to unify everyone and to restore New Testament Christianity. However, they too had filters which rendered them blind to some fundamental facts about the Lord's Body.

These filters go all the way back to 312 AD, Constantine's influence on Christianity and not back to the first Century.

IS THIS REALLY CHURCH?

 Resource: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/nicea1.txt

WATCH:

What do we STILL NEED to do to RESTORE First Century Christianity?

Click Here: HANDOUT: ONE ANOTHER VERSES

GO BACK TO THE BIBLE:

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50mqagzxU0c#t=141

PERHAPS FREEDOM is our ENEMY

After Constantine "freed" Christianity, the people became complacent and non-missional. Perhaps we too with all our freedoms have become complacent and non-missional. Perhaps God needs to take those freedoms away from us so that we will, as early Christians did, count the cost of discipleship with our very lives.

I am not sure God even asks us to pray for our freedom. Our riches and freedoms have led to a very crippled and lame Christianity.

Psalm 52:7“Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge, But trusted in the abundance of his riches And was strong in his evil desire.”

God never told us to "fight for our rights." As His servants, we have no "rights". Our freedom is given to us by God in order that we might do what? Galatians 5:13

 

Who's rights are we to stand up for according to Scripture? (Isaiah 10:2)

Join us for Part 3: The signs of a Mission-Minded Community