When Christ ascended He gave five gifts to humankind; of these gifts, some were apostles and some were prophets. What was their counsel and practice? Apostolic and prophetic counsel and practice answers the big questions that every person has in life; examines and discerns the condition of the lamp stand (Rev. 2-3), that is, is [...]
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Loren Mead, of the ALBAN INSTITUTE, advocated that the local congregation embrace, and work toward, four kinds of growth. These are the four kinds of growth identified by Mead, with my personal comments added: (1) NUMERICAL GROWTH, as they seek to evangelize large numbers of non-Christians through their life of witness and Gospel proclamation and [...]
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THE WORLDVIEW OF FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE The nature and orientation of God It was Friedrich Nietzsche who startled the European world with the announcement that God was dead and that they were His murderers: “What was the holiest and most powerful of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives” [...]
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Introduction We live in a world filled with prophets, individuals who are dissatisfied with the way that things are and who articulate a new design for living that moves a people toward a preferred way of personal and communal existence; in other words, they engage in designing and fostering a revitalization movement within their respective [...]
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A SYMBOL OF OUR TIME At the time of the Reformation, the Reformers wrote “the symbol of our time” when they wrote the first and unaltered Augsburg Confession. This symbol was not a judge like Scripture but was “merely a witness and exposition of the faith, setting forth how at various times the Holy Scriptures [...]
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Who Are You: the importance of “naming” things as they really are During the time of The Warring States, an era of intense conflict and social dysfunction within 6th century B.C. China, Confucius searched China’s ancient past to find a better way of life for the Chinese people. His solution began with the premise that [...]
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Why Are We Here? “…and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man…now write what you see, what is and what is to take place hereafter…” These words record the time when Jesus was walking through the lampstands of Asia Minor, commenting on what He saw and what was taking place. [...]
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-God’s plan is a MYSTERY but it is also an OPEN SECRET (1) its content was once hidden but has been revealed in the apostolic age (2) according to Ephesians 3:3-6, the heart of this mystery is God’s intent to unite into ONE COMMUNITY the two separate segments of ancient society: the Jew and the [...]
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LAW AND GOSPEL in Luther’s Galatians Commentary INTRODUCTION -when the Law causes a person to acknowledge his or her sinfulness, and to confess one’s sin from the bottom of one’s heart, then it has done its work properly…then it is the time for grace, that the Blessed Seed (Jesus Christ) may come to raise up [...]
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Bullard – Seven Enduring Principles for Transforming Your Congregation 1: Continual transformation rather than one-time transformation -transformation is an ongoing journey…congregations do not transform once but are continually transforming -they are continuously involved in the processes of change and transition 2: Going forward rather than going back -transforming congregations desire to go forward into the future…yet they [...]