I Approach The Churched And Non Churched Can Be Found

This also alludes to the true Christian and the false Christian, where the only things separating them are their works. The true Christian listens and obeys the words, while the false Christian may look the same, but has not applied the teachings of Christ to his life. We can’t always tell if a person is a Christian by their outward appearances. We look at someone in church and don’t know if Christ is really in them. Jesus taught to the Jews of his time about repentance and that he was the way the truth and the life, that nobody comes to the father except by me. The Jews of the time may have embraced him, thought he was a great prophet, great teacher, and he spoke with wisdom, but the false Christians were the ones who rejected the teachings and did not repent of their sins. Their foundation was not there and their admiration of him was in vain.

As a church we have misappropriated the level of judgement dispensed. We understand that all have sinned and that true discipleship requires accountability and discipline, however, the indubitable level must be delivered in a humble and nonjudgemental manner. We must realize the greatest impact for change is empathy, compassion and action. The only way to ensure the action is effective, one must first hear what the people feel as though their issues are. Next we must remove ourselves from a hypocritical place of judgement so that we can full understand and

Yet it appeals to God, his will, his kingdom; to Christ, his spirit, his law. There will be an increase of health when theology takes in hand the problems of social redemption and considers how its doctrines connect with the Kingdom of God in actual realization (p.17). The social gospel fuses the Christian spirit and the social consciousness in a new outreaching toward God and in remarkable experiences of his comfort

Another strength, which also seems to be the helpful part of making this article effective and overall worth the read to a Christian as a whole, is seen in his concluding statement of a quote by Timothy Richard of China, “How can we expect an unbelieving world to take us seriously in our talk about a gospel of reconciliation when we remain so obviously un-reconciled to one another?”4

He laments, “In some seminaries today pastors are not trained to use the Bible for ministry decisions.” (12) He argues that the contrasting errors of adding human rules to God’s Word and ignoring it all together, both reject the authority and the sufficiency of Scripture. Rienow maintains that Scripture is not relegated to the realm of ‘religion,’ but is sufficient for issues that we face day to day including family, marriage, education and government. He warns that taking a stand on the sufficiency of Scripture can be dangerous. He points out that Scriptural authority has been replaced outside and inside the church. He states, “We have become twisted and governed by a bizarre mix of feelings, personal experience, human wisdom and pragmatism, rather than the Scriptures.”

In a world that does not know the Gospel anymore, we must indulge in it, and love our fellow community though they may not share similar values, but find balancing in still remaining in our own values. Though many of times we find ourselves in opposition of the majority of the world, we must exude Christ love onto others as He does to us unconditionally. The author addresses ways in which we are able to live out our faith and still find a place within our community though they may not share similar values.

Therefore it is incumbent upon the preacher to preach the “whole counsel of God, in season and out of season” (Acts 20:26-27; 2 Tim. 4:2-3); and it is equally important for those in the congregation to share these truths with all whom they should meet and do know. Ignoring the hard passages of Scripture will not make them go away or be annulled; and the soul of a man living in sin will never find peace because of those truths. Men ignore them at their peril and mock them in the ignorance of their soon demise (spiritual). There have been indicators of the previous over the last century, therefore the research to follow highlights the difference between sinners in the hands of God as delivered by Edwards and Billy Graham, and how the preacher today might present what has been in Scripture since the times of

Preaching the word comes next. Chandler calls it essential that all of scripture be preached across the world. He goes on to say that by preaching and sharing in a knowledge of the word we help to create the Jesus-culture that was discussed in the previous chapter. Continuing on that thought, in the next chapter, Chandler points out the necessity of teaching the children of the church to be avid followers of the word and the gospel instead of merely teaching them how to modify their behavior. This is important because it lays a scriptural foundation for the child’s maturation from child to adult who can understand and abide by the

Book review of Steven R. Harmon’s Ecumenism Means You, Too With an electrical guitarist jamming in front of a red background, one may assume the cover to Steven R. Harmon’s “Ecumenism Means You, Too” book is actually a teen novel. But his audience might not be too far removed from the teen age range. Harmon’s goal, according to his caption on the front cover is for “ordinary Christians to seek Christian unity”. And our author has a unique way of discussing the issue of Christian unity—he frames ecumenism in comparison to the band U2 and their ecumenically driven lyrics.

“What did you think of the service?” my dad asked as my family packed into the van. My parents wanted to show us different types of churches than the Anglican one we had attended for years. While we wanted to visit more, we had suddenly found our next church before searching more than a month. We believe that some denominations are more righteous while others not, but as long as they are Christian I say that does not matter. Anglican and nondenominational churches along with others do not matter as long as they have truly Christen congregations.

In all cases, Christian life in the secular world is to be carried out under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and in compliance to the will of God rather than the will of the world. Christians may work to ensure that the Word of God is heard and is given room among the many other voices which will constitute the diverse whole. To insist that the Word of God be imposed on all without exception is to fall once again into an unbiblical oppression. To fail to articulate the Word of God in the saeculum, however, is to give in in a secularism which, by excluding the Creator, can lead only to death. Deliverance from sin and forgiveness of sin were indeed emphasized in his preaching; but his dominant thought was that of struggle toward an ideal moral life. This is the idea that must take possession of modern Christianity, if it is to be reconciled with modern views and civilization and to win for itself the educated classes. Not as a dogmatic system, but as a moral power, based on the powerful personality of Jesus, must Christianity be proclaimed to the thinking people of our times?

Reading Lohfink was an experience in climbing an inviting ladder of which some of the rungs were missing when you got there. His description of how the community of believers lived their faith and the impact they had is truly inspiring. It leaves me to reflect on the life of our own community: Have we indeed left everything to follow Jesus? Are we living toward each other with the kind of love that is uncommon in the world? Are we a people of peace, light to the world, flavorful salt in how we live? Reading the accounts of how the early church lived among the pagans and loved sacrificially, there is a call for me as a leader to teach, practice and exemplify that kind of love among our people, along with making opportunities for us to practice it together. On the other hand, Lohfink’s polarizing reaction to “individualism” failed to recognize that a contrast-community consists of individuals who have been transformed by the cross of Jesus and the power of His Spirit. Lohfink argues that no missionary effort is needed because the church as contrast-society will gather people to itself by attraction. He quotes Bronx, saying: “…if it is possible at all to speak of the ancient church's missionary theory the most that can be said is this. The twelve apostles preached the

It is a Holy wholeness that Jesus presents to us with the Canaanite woman. In today’s context, often times the Church sets boundary lines between the churched and the unchurched, presenting the gospel only for those who are churched. In our text, the Canaanite women stands for those who are considered the unchurched, who are standing before the church seeking a healing, a wholeness. So often the church gives harsh guidelines, and goes so far as to name names. The hurting reality is, many who are considered the unchurched, do not live with the type of faith like the Canaanite woman, whom Jesus insults. This is why I believe that this text is a vital text for the life of the church. Instead of trying to keep the gospel for those whom are considered

We, as human beings, have certain beliefs, ideas, and principles that each and every one of us claim to be true. We also, however, have everything else that comes along with being man, to name a few, concupiscence, death, fear and anger, which we can sum up in the one word “evil”. We, as men, may have a tendency towards evil, but there is still hope, for we also have a desire to do good. Sometimes it is difficult though for a man to distinguish which is good and which is evil. For example, in light of the book The Robe, a man might justify his renouncing Christ as a means of saving his life. We, as Catholics, however, know that it would be a “good” to lose our life for the sake of Christ’s kingdom. Luke 9:24 says, “ For whoever want to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.”We must have courage and trust in Christ to lose our life for Him, for it is no small thing to be a martyr for the sake of His Church. Here, on earth, we are bound by these evils and though we may be considered free, in the sense that we are not enslaved by men, we truly are enslaved by sin and all of the temptations that come with it. We will not be free of this enslavement until we experience true joy and freedom in Heaven, when we are finally in Christ’s presence. As His followers, however, we must spread His Word while we are on earth for the salvation of souls. It works like this: if I told my friend about Jesus, and she proceeded to tell her family and

This passage is preceded by a warning from Jesus about the Sadducees and Pharisees, and to beware of their false teachings, which is a common theme in Matthew. As usual, he rebukes them for their lack of faith and comprehension of his true mission and identity, and for their constant concern