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.

Believers Baptism?

A tough area of Contention!

Should a Born-Again believer be baptised or not?

Is it important to be baptised and do we have too be?

These and many more complex questions have been debated in Ekklesia over the last two-thousand years, and even today there is no clear understanding that is acceptable to all sides!

Many of the early Churches from three-hundred Ad to the time of the German Reformation of Martin Luther went with child baptism, since it was easier and pleased most? The Church from that time kept an exclusiveness on the Scriptures, through the clergy and the common man had to take the word or control as it was distributed with local superstitions and curses?

The most tremendous fact about baptism is that of the thief on the cross who entered heaven, without being baptised! This perhaps is the best clarification on the matter that are faith is on Jesus and focussed on how we are lead by Him and will follow Him doing, loving, caring and showing concern, while witnessing His truth to the dying world around us!

Luke 23:43. Romans 5:21, 1 Timothy 1:15, Hebrews 7:25, Revelation 2:7.

The watering down of the Truth!

Guy Fawkes now anti-Catholic?

Over the years things have been getting worse for Christians on the mainland -GB, with the watering down of the Gospel, witnessing at work and the introduction of denial doctrines to counter act the truth of the Bible!

Many Anglican Church leaders know refuse to acknowledge the reformation of 433 years ago and are sticking to their Roman Catholic or Celtic roots 4th Century foundation? The Protestant reformation is seen as anti-Catholic and yet they are the same to deny that under Queen Mary-1 over fifty-five thousand Christians were martyred in her short reign by the orders of the Papacy!

Another issue is the denial of historical facts and the many freedoms the media has with the press today, come from the Protestant Puritans fight? What we can say today, remains a issue in many Catholic nations as unspoken except in private!

One hope that the Guy, the English traitor is burned this November the 5th and that children are taught some historical facts that need to be reinforced in a right way in our Churches and schools today!

John 3:21, 4:24, Acts 10:34, Romans 2:2, 2 Corinthians 13:8, Galatians 4:16, 2 Timothy 2:25.

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.

The Value of Preaching? Two.

The Altar Call?

At one time this was the essential of leading those who were ready to repent to faith in Jesus, despite the terminology it remained an effective tool in Evangelism to lead to the lost to Jesus!

The preaching of Jesus death and resurrection remains essential today in ever increasing hostile and anti-Christian world! Our societies are in a state of moral collapse and the world is justifying sin, since it sees the Church doing the same!

An active Church is one that is preaching and reaching, while also comforting and helping the needy of the believers conscience rather than some far flung government scheme! Prayer must not be used as an excuse not to talk to people and share our faith with them?

Colossians 2:12, 1 Timothy 2:1-7, 2 Peter 1:8, Revelation 1:4, 11, 20.

Sunday evening Services! Two.

Ekklesia is not like the Kosmon?

What is being lost in not having an Sunday evening service is that of fellowship of believers ahead of the working week! The world is very hostile most of the time to believers, we are attacked for what disagrees with their standards and ours are dismissed as archaic?

A two hour slot of praise, prayer and preaching with an after fellowship of just meeting and talking with folk is the varied ways of helping and leading others to God! When you have worked prior to going into ministry, you are more likely to see the needs in particular loneliness and despair!

God came to save sinners and the Ekklesia is a place for believers to meet together and be built up, its not a club or some unneeded tradition of religious observance! We need to help those who are seeking God and keep our flocks well watered and fed?

Acts 2:42, Romans 16:8, Philippians 2:1, Philemon 1:6, 1 John 1:6.

The value of Preaching? One.

Has the Gospel any real value Today!

What a strange statement to make, but is it not true when every command in relation to sexual sin, except that of abusing children is ignored by most people who claim a faith in God?

But we have a faith in Jesus that is based on being born-again of the power of the Holy Spirit and we know God as our Father more personal than an idea of Him or an entity!

The message of the Gospel is as relevant today as it was nineteen-hundred years ago, because without it people will be lost to the eternal separation from the light of God and burn in the fires of hell!

We wonder what is wrong with our society, why narcotics, why knife and gun crime, but what we fail to recognise is if we deliberately excuse one sin then all of them can be excused by the world who have no knowledge of the truth?

Revelation 14:6, Mark 9:44-49, Romans 6: 7-9, 11-12, Ephesians 3:9-11, Colossians 1:23.

The Resurrection of Jesus!

Sometimes not fully Understood?

We like to think that all believers understand the fulness of the Easter message as we who have to teach and share it? But many just go along with it as part of the ‘Churchy experience,’ but they do not really believe that it was possible!

It is strange but it is easier to believe that someone, Jesus would die for us to make that final atonement for sin taking our failure on Himself, but at the same time refusing to understand the fulness of what the resurrection means in relation to conquering death and allowing us to enter into the New Life?

More emphasis on this is needed today, so that believers will once more be effective in sharing their faith and not afraid of losing it if attacked by the world? Being active remains an essential of being Born-Again, slackness is the work of the enemy to make the Gospel of Jesus ineffective and our witness non-existent?

Zephaniah 3:8, Acts 2:31, Romans 6:5, Philippians 3:10, Hebrews 6:2, 1 Peter 1:3.