Satan and the Devil. Three.

Halloween spooky Fun?

All Hallows is perhaps one of the most important lessons in the Church in relation to showing children and young people that the light of Jesus has victory over darkness, it also helps to show them good from wrong!

But the problem lays with us believers, since many today do not believe in the Devil, seeing him as a mythical or fun creature with hors, a tail between his leg and a pitch fork?

But we who have been attacked, who suffer intimidation, threats or many kinds from criminal gangs on estates, know better and really need to have a daily assurance from time to time that God is still there to hear us and help us!

Jesus came to save sinners, to save those in darkness, those in sexual deviancy, crime, prison and slavery, Halloween is a great opportunity not to be missed but used to cut crime and much more dishonesty in our community with village, stick or town!

Isaiah 42:7, 16, Matthew 6:13, Luke 1:79, John 8:12, 9:5, 12:46, 2 Thessalonians 3:13, 1 Peter 3:17, 2 Peter 1:19, Revelation 22:11.

#blm! Part-Two.

Stereotyping?

Something that all of humanity has is the impression that if one does one thing terrible, all of that race colour and creed must be the same?

But we who think we are civilised are not, since we are better and not like the rest who is our estimation are not!

This is when we see the ugly side of comfort sin at work in our hearts to judge others, without seeing our own same situation? Jesus told the hypocrites to take the plank out of their own eyes before even attempting to remove the speck from others!

Black people want equality with white society, but this does not mean they are better than us? It just shows that we are all the same and hold very similar points of views one being Anti-Semitism and as much as some Arabs consider black people still to be semi-ape creatures only fir for abuse?

Humanity in its thinking has not changed, many of those black chiefs in West-Africa would still do the same as they did two-hundred years ago! While attitudes are not limited to colour barriers, basically we are all the same, but conditioning has caused more division’s.

Mark 7:3-5, Luke 6:41-42, Numbers 14:24, Philippians 4:5, Titus 3:2, 1 Peter 3:8.

Mark 16! Part-Two.

Great Spiritual powers Displayed?

Many Christians today have grown dismissive of the impossible, of the power of healing and many other areas that seem to be very controversial when related to the work of the Holy Spirit within the believer!

Many are to comfortable in the Bible lesson preaching and not active in evangelism or sharing their faith, some of us have become lazy believing once we are saved we will just hang around in Church until Heaven?

These verses reveal the power of God at work in all believers who are open to serve Him and shows us that we are a protected people!

Yes we will suffer at times and be rejected by a hostile world that ridicules all that challenges its desire for sin and dishonesty, but in these last words in the gospel of Mark we are commissioned to go into community, work, family and share what God, what Jesus has and is and will be doing for us?

Mark 16:9-20, (17-18), Acts 28:3-5, 1 Corinthians 12:9, 28-30, James 3:8, Revelation 22:2.

Virtual Church?

Thinking outside the Box!

We take too much for granted in the western world when it comes to Christianity, we believe up to this point that we were safe in our established traditionalism? But a minute bug has ended our ability to fellowship to break bread and to gossip, if not pray together!

Now in quarantine we have the Internet, various mediums of communications through Android and Apple systems and yet no one has come up with a virtual Church app?

We have almost virtual everything else, so why not meeting together and facing the real challenges of daily life?

It is not really known how long these lockdowns and re-lockdowns will continue for? Some unwise people are chancing it and it may be to their hurt and suffering if not death! Hope in God now comes to play and so does that personal relationship that some of us like to talk about, but might not really have?

1 Chronicles 29:15, Job 4:6, 5:16, Psalm 25:5, 42:5, 71:14, 119:114, Matthew 18:20, Acts 24:15, 1 Corinthians 14:27, 29, 2 Corinthians 1:7, Colossians 2:17, Hebrews 10:1.

The old story and new Tech!

EASTER is not Cancelled?

Most Churches now have an internet connection of some kind from those lovely downloads to worship and so on, perhaps not all are that great after all and we need still in leadership and preaching to do our own things?

We will use the net to speak to loved one and friends so why not a link up from home to home to share in this live event?

The Easter story is a key even to our own personal salvation, many believers are now quarantined with family and many great opportunities have arisen to link service, talk, bible study and preaching altogether with worship!

We hope that this Easter will see loved ones and friends saved in light of this unknown plague and the sudden silence on a vaccine or cure being found with much prayer for the old and infirm that is required?

Matthew 18:20, John 3:3, 15-17, Acts 20:7, 11, Romans 3:21-31, 1 Corinthians 5:4, 10:16.

101 Years round Two!

1918 to the Present?

It takes great leadership skills to help people with this new virus and not arrogance or laughing it off as was seen in 1918 with the estimated death’s of over fifty-million people and that apart from World War-I (1914-18).

Ekklesia leadership is greatly required also at this time to get the message of hope in Jesus will lead to salvation and that there is an Eternity for all of wither it is Heaven or Hell!

It is so hard to know what is driving some politicians around the world, since many feel safe and come across as uncaring! We have much to deal with in these last days and being to comfortable may not be such a good option in the work that we have to do?

Many have already turned back to the world and they are ineffective, so we must avoid them and not let their bad influences draw us away from Jesus our Saviour and Redeemer?

Psalm 91:5, Matthew 8:76, Luke 8:24, 2 Corinthians 7:13, James 1:14.

Working with Children n Young People?

Laying Foundations!

Roman Catholicism believes that if you can win them young you have them for life, so the saying goes? But this is not actually true, because all children have to be confirmed into the Church at a certain age wither they profess a faith or not since this is a religious system that is based on traditions and ritualism!

We must not make excuses in our reaching out to children in Sunday school, youth clubs, house groups and other, believing that the new growth comes only this way? One has to wonder where the power of God is in such places, since these are the ideas of the human mind and not that of the inborn Holy Spirit!

The Apostles the Fathers of the Ekklesia did not preach exclusively to one age group and thus this is the way to progress and continue in under the grace of God! It is good to have a working for every-age within the life of the Church and nothing must be side-lines, even the dotty old dears may hear something and the dynamic power of the Spirit will bring them to salvation?

Matthew 3:1, Mark 1:4, Acts 6:2, 15:31, Romans 1:9, 15:4, 1 Corinthians 9:18, 14:3, Galatians 1:23, 1 Thessalonians 2:16, 1 Timothy 4:13, Philemon 1:7, Hebrews 13:22.

The HARVEST Festival?

Another opportunity to reach Out!

This time of the year is very traditional for many, especially in the country side, a time is made to give thanks to God for the fruits of hard labour and farming is a very unpredictable profession to be in with many a sad disappointment dependent on the weather and many other factors such as disease?

In the Holy Bible we find that Pentecost or Shavo’ut was also the harvest of the first fruits and the significance of it seems to many lost with the giving of the Holy Spirit to the early Ekklesia? This harvest signifies that believers empowered by the Holy Spirit will produce fruit in winning others to Jesus!

So which ever way we approach the thanksgiving or Pentecost, we have the opportunity to invite others to receive Jesus into their lives! Much can be done during the Harvest, than just flowers and food and their is the ability to think up new things to keep the valued introduction and much more going?

Genesis 8:22, Proverbs 10:5, Jeremiah 8:20, Matthew 9:37, 13:30, Revelation 14:15.

Effective Ministry?

Many groups and Meetings!

Some fellowships do very little and rely on the community, others act in a silly way bringing golf and the funfair to their buildings in the hope of raising the attendance numbers? While others are full of activity, from house groups to meetings and yet there is no essential results of attendance or growth?

Good leadership is needed from the Pastor to the elders or deacons or what ever way you make that call! Organisation and review is as important, while the prayer meeting is one of the focuses of the believers to pray weekly on the events, the direction of the Ekklesia, the sick, troubles and the surrounding community!

Preaching the Gospel with emphasis on the Cross, the need for personal salvation and that believers share their faith at work, home, school and other without the fear of humans is the key to success!

Leviticus 19:15, Psalm 91:5, Isaiah 8:12, Acts 8:25, 1 John 4:18, 5:9-11, Revelation 22:20.