New Outreach Programs In A Local Church Can Be Difficult.

The Old Testament’s prophetic books contain loads of useful knowledge that provide support to Christians wanting to live godly lives. Particularly, the prophets demonstrate religious ritualism, social injustice, and idolatry in ways that allow Christians to successfully evade the constant mistakes God’s chosen people made and the penalties they endured. Although not entirely, the prophets Jeremiah, Zephaniah, and Micah spoke openly regarding said notions. Through the benefit of knowledge and criticism of them, Christians are better prepared to integrate an in depth perception of God’s character; thus, promoting wisdom and desire for sharing the Gospel.

What I found disappointing about the surveys provided was that there seem to be no means to verify the information collected. The questions asked in the survey were subjective. If I were to contact a church and ask if they offer outreach, the majority will say yes. When asked what type of outreach the answers would be similar. Do you offer services to youth? Yes, most churches have youth ministries. Do you offer any form of education based programs? This would fall under Sunday school and Bible Study, both staples in most churches. Do you have prison outreach? Again, churches offer this ministry, which typically amounts to several members going to a local prison and praying with prisoners. If the questions were more in-depth the survey

Ludicrous. Torturous. Appalling. The unthinkable prophetic acts that God commanded for Ezekiel to perform throughout his ministry were meant to be sensational scenes that demonstrated what was to come for the Israelites. Ezekiel, illustrating the siege of Jerusalem was one of the first prophetic acts God required Ezekiel to complete. God commanded Ezekiel to create a miniature version of an invading army camped around Jerusalem and then place an iron plate between himself and Jerusalem. Ezekiel, while lying on the left side of his body for three hundred ninety days, represented the number of years that Israel was punished, and then lying on his right side for forty days, represented the number of years that Judah was punished. Ezekiel had to portion out water and grain cake, which he was supposed to cook on human manure to demonstrate the unclean bread that Israel would soon eat, but Ezekiel refused as cooking on human manure disobeyed God’s dietary laws. Therefore, God compromised with Ezekiel and allowed him to prepare the food on animal manure instead. Ezekiel, portraying the siege of Jerusalem was just the beginning of what God required Ezekiel to do in order to illustrate the suffering that the Israelites were about to experience due to their unfaithfulness. Not only did God use Ezekiel to perform extraordinary prophetic acts in order to get His message across to the Israelites, but God also allowed for Ezekiel to have visions that reached beyond history and

This part is adapted from “Developing Programs for Senior Citizens—A Handbook for churches,” produced by the Delaware County of (PA) Services for the Aging, and is included here with their permission. We gratefully acknowledge the editors: Judy Oerkvitz, Louis Colbert, Norma Thomas and Verne Dalton.

On March fifteenth Ezekiel’s parents died of an unknown cause. He was heartbroken, but soon his happiness returned when he received all of his parents inheritance plus a mansion that was already payed off. He was always waited on by a butler and his own cook. When he had gone to New York a man offered him a job. Ezekiel was stunned someone would ever offer him! a job, he looked at the man and said,” Sir, I have loads of money, a mansion I don’t have to pay for, a butler, and my own personal chef, why would I want to work and want anything else .

This book, Beyond the River Chebar, is a collection of articles that talks about the kingship and eschatology in Ezekiel. Block wants to show the proper interpretation of the book of Ezekiel by providing different views on the interpretation of certain passages and different theological views. Moreover, Block provides history and other aspects for the better understanding of the book of Ezekiel.

(Ezekiel 37:1-14)This passage of scripture was prophesied to Israel but we can gain tremendous insight and blessing into how God can operate in our life.

Ezekiel can be read as a story about an unfaithful wife and a husband (God) who has given his wife everything. The problem of this story is that the wife takes all of the blame. On one hand, it can be read that the wife is not honoring her husband. On the other hand, we do not know the reason the husband is doting on his wife? Is the wife is need of the husband, or does the wife feel that what the husband has given her is the husbands way of getting the wife faithfulness? My wife does not desire for me to just provide money and nice clothing. My wife also, and even more so desires a relationship. The blame is placed on the wife, but we do not know the way the husband has treated her. Furthermore, the pressure is placed on the woman that she cannot take control of her own life. What can be read from verse 15 is that the woman desired to do something for herself. It was not done correctly but in prostitution, instead of honestly and honorably. Nonetheless, the woman, in trying to make a living on her own, is blamed for not depending on the husband and is then punished (Ezk. 16:22, 58 NRSV).

How we connect people with the church, but more important, how we connect people with God. Everything may start with a “welcome home” and end with “how can I pray for you?”, “how was your week”, or “we have small groups”.

The book of Ezekiel reiterates a message that is clear from the beginning of the story of creation. Simply put, it is about God being the focal point and the source of all good rather than humanity. Often times while reading the scripture we tend to focus on the importance of humanity and foolishly put aside God himself! This message of forsaking God’s law and the pure simple message of his word naturally leads to the judgement of God. Ezekiel is ordained by God to speak to the Israelites and remind them of this fact. A few points that the book of Ezekiel focuses on is simply reminding the people who God is, the reason for their current status, and their possible future if they choose to partake in it by God’s grace.

While there are multiple opportunities for worship, none of the churches are at seating capacity for their services each week. This observation creates a belief that I would be able to reach without difficulty new members for St. Luke’s, creating growth opportunities in the congregation.

God’s warnings and accusations that are recorded in the books of the Major and Minor Prophets are not just for these ancient Kingdoms. They apply to our world today. If we focus on His accusations of evil and not the people or nations that these prophets warned, we can see the same rebellion and wickedness in our

In Ezekiel’s vision, God ordered Ezekiel to preach to the Valley of Dry Bones and command them to hear the word of the Lord, unite, breathe, and come back to life (Tullock & McEntire, 2006, p. 265). Upon following God’s command Ezekiel witnessed the bones adhere to God’s commands, stand, and come to life. Thus, representing how God would unite Israel once again, free it from the shackles of exile, breathe life back into his people as a nation, and allow them to return to Palestine. Moreover, this vision along with several other prophetic proclamations in the book of Ezekiel, chapters 33 – 39, focused on the restoration of Israel marks a shift in the book of Ezekiel towards more positive messages (Tullock & McEntire, 2006, p. 253).

Amos utilises the imagery of Israel ‘as though a man fled from a lion’ to portray the character of God as a mighty and ferocious power in the symbolism of a lion. Furthermore, the lion simile embellishes God’s authority in the text and demands a strong presence in the dynamics of the text. Similarly, in verse 6, Amos expresses that God shall ‘break out like a fire’, again using a symbol of the ferocity of nature to express God’s fury. Amos uses strong emotive language in verse 21, as God speaks to Israel saying that He ‘hates’, ‘despises’ and ‘rejects’ their supposedly religious actions; Amos is highlighting to the audience the rich emotion and the extent of anger that God is projecting unto Israel, as God rarely expresses what He loathes unless administering judgment. The repeated themes of despair, destruction and darkness in the text foreshadow the downfall Israel would surely meet as a result of their actions. The author’s use of prophetic woe emphasise the purpose of the text – a warning of judgement and an emotive lamentation for the people of Israel.

Even though His people continue to act disobediently, God is patient and remains faithful to His promise. In a way I am conforted by the Lord’s unconditional love and steadiness, because I am reminded that no matter what events take place in my life, God is in control and His purpose will be fulfilled. However, although I think that taking too much comfort in the grace and mercy of God can be a detriment to my relationship with the Father. As mentioned earlier, we see how God displays His grace and mercy for His people abundantly. However, we also see that God is a jealous and righteous God and will punish those who continue to disregard His position as the Almighty. Something that I found both particualrly interesting also relevant to this issue, is the way in which God uses the prophets to both warn and punish the disobedient. In the book