Topic: Communion Is Sacred – Thursday October 12, 2017.
Luke 22:19 “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.”
Text: Luke 22:19
The bread of communion symbolizes the body of Jesus which was broken for us through His sufferings. He not only died for us on the cross but also bore 39 stripes on His back by which we are healed. Partaking of communion should remind us of the emotional and physical salvation that Jesus provided for us. The Lord’s Supper comes from a part of the Passover meal that was celebrated only once a year. However, the early Christian church took Communion weekly and sometimes daily. There is no specific frequency of the Lord’s Supper prescribed in scripture.
As we take Communion, we are solemnly proclaiming the Lord’s death, and our union with Him and with others through that death. This is a profession of our faith and therefore, there are serious consequences for those who profess something they don’t possess.
It is most likely that what makes a person worthy or unworthy is whether or not he is born again. This is also totally consistent with the doctrine of grace that Paul constantly preached. There were unbelievers among the true Christians just as Jesus prophesied, and this still exists today. It is a dangerous offense for an unbeliever to take the Lord’s Supper. When taking Communion, each person should examine himself to see whether or not he is in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5).
This message was written by The Association of Related Ministries International (ARMI) is an extension of Andrew Wommack Ministries (AWM). ARMI is a unique partnership committed to providing resources to help like-minded ministers succeed in a spirit of excellence and to draw from the experience and expertise of both the AWM and Charis Bible College staff. (www.awmi.net).
Topic: The Good Shepherd — Thursday October 12, 2017.
Read: Isaiah 40:6–11, Bible in a Year: Isaiah 39–40; Colossians 4 He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart. Isaiah 40:11
I sat in the hospital room with my husband, waiting anxiously. Our young son was having corrective eye surgery and I felt the butterflies jostle in my stomach as I fretted and worried. I tried to pray, asking God to give me His peace. As I leafed through my Bible, I thought about Isaiah 40, so I turned to the familiar passage, wondering if anything fresh would strike me. As I read, I caught my breath, for the words from so many years ago reminded me that the Lord “tends his flock like a shepherd” as He “gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart” (v. 11). In that moment my anxiety left me as I realized the Lord was holding us, leading us, and caring for us. That was just what I needed, Lord, I breathed silently. I felt enveloped in God’s peace during and after the surgery (which thankfully went well).
The Lord promised His people through the prophet Isaiah that He would be their shepherd, guiding them in their daily lives and giving them comfort. We too can know His gentle tending as we tell Him our anxious thoughts and seek His love and peace. We know that He is our Good Shepherd, holding us close to His heart and carrying us in His everlasting arms.
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, You are the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep. Thank You for the gift of Your sacrificial love and for the peace that passes all understanding.
The Good Shepherd cares for His sheep.
Insight:
Isaiah 40 starts a significant shift in the book of Isaiah, from grief and pronouncements of judgment for Israel’s sin, to a note of rock-solid comfort (v. 1), forgiveness, and healing—based entirely on God’s mercy and goodness. When the prophet wonders whether the people are too weak and fickle for this message, he is reminded that God’s restoration is not based on them, but only on God’s powerful word (v. 8).
In fact, Isaiah 40 is the first Old Testament text that explicitly articulates the theme of “good news” (v. 9) so important in the New Testament. This good news is that God’s powerful love in our lives does not depend on us. Despite our sin, we can always rely on our merciful God who will both tenderly care for us like a shepherd (v. 11) and, like a mighty warrior (v. 10), powerfully transform our lives.
In order to trust God with our deepest struggles, why do we need Him to be both tender like a shepherd and powerful like a warrior? Monica Brands
This message was written By Amy Boucher Pye [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]
“I was agnostic going into that concert and I’m a firm believer in God now,” Taylor Benge told CNN after surviving the Las Vegas shooting. He explained: “Because there’s no way that all of that happened and that I made it and I was blessed enough to still be here alive talking to you today.”
One man responded on social media by quoting atheist Sam Harris: “Either God can do nothing to stop catastrophes like this, or he doesn’t care to, or he doesn’t exist. God is either impotent, evil, or imaginary. Take your pick, and choose wisely.”
There’s another option.
God created us with free will so we could choose to love him and each other (Matthew 22:37, 39). But freedom without consequences is not free. If I choose not to go to work but God miraculously transports me to my office, I have no real choice in the matter.
Of course, we would like God to prevent horrific misuses of freedom such as the Las Vegas shooting. But logically, he could not honor our freedom while preventing its results, no matter how tragic they are.
Here’s the problem: sometimes in the Bible, that’s just what he did.
When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were condemned by King Nebuchadnezzar to the fiery furnace, God protected them from the fire (Daniel 3:27). When Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den, God sent an angel to shut the predators’ mouths (Daniel 6:22). When Herod imprisoned Peter, the Lord sent an angel to free him (Acts 12:6–11).
If God could protect these men from the consequences of misused freedom, why did he not protect those who were killed or injured in Las Vegas? Why did he not protect the victims of the Holocaust or 9/11?
It seems to me that we have three options.
One: God is capricious.
Grieving the death of his wife, C. S. Lewis noted, “The conclusion I dread is not ‘So there’s no God after all,’ but ‘So this is what God’s really like. Deceive yourself no longer.’” Perhaps God loves some people more than others. Perhaps some of us are more important to his purposes than others.
But “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Therefore, his character requires him to love us all unconditionally. He loved those who died in Las Vegas no less than those who survived.
Two: God has reasons he won’t explain to us.
Perhaps our Creator is unwilling to explain himself to his creation. But he invites us to “reason together” with him (Isaiah 1:18)—the Hebrew means to “argue it out.” He wants us to love him “with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37).
Three: God has reasons we cannot understand.
When God allows or prevents the consequences of misused human freedom, he must have reasons that are consistent with his loving heart. But if he is God and we are not, it is only logical that his thoughts would be higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9). A math teacher cannot teach calculus to a toddler. Even God cannot explain what we cannot comprehend.
Here’s the good news: in heaven “I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). So will you.
I do not know why God allowed the tragedy in Las Vegas. But I do know that he redeems all he allows and that he is love. The less we understand our Father’s ways, the more we need to trust his heart.
Trump’s executive order is expected this week and would allow businesses and other groups to buy health insurance together.
Critics are worried those health plans would not be regulated by the same rules as Obamacare plans, such as the law that people with pre-existing conditions are protected.
Trump’s order could make plans cheaper for healthier people, while the Obamacare marketplace would be used primarily for sicker people. Eventually, that could cause a hike in premium costs, according to TheHill.com.
“If this executive order is anything like the rumors then it could have a huge impact on stability of the individual insurance market,” said Larry Levitt, a health policy expert at the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Supporters of Trump’s executive order say it would free up the healthcare marketplace and actually, lower prices for Americans.
Allowing people more affordable arrangements is not a bad thing,” said Kevin Kuhlman, director of government relations at the National Federation of Independent Businesses.
Association health plans, where people are able to band together to purchase a plan, already exist, but Trump’s change could allow them to get around Obamacare rules.
The changes “will lead to less [insurers] playing in this market and potentially a sicker risk pool which translates to higher premiums,” said Kevin Lucia, a professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Health Insurance Reforms.
(Photo: Facebook/Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego)The California headquarters for the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego, California.
A Roman Catholic Church bishop recently oversaw a mass for the LGBT community and their family members, with an emphasis on both being welcoming and having respectful disagreement.
Auxiliary Bishop John Dolan of the Diocese of San Diego oversaw the mass on Saturday at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church.
The worship service was held in honor of the 20th anniversary of the release of the Catholic Church pastoral document “Always Our Children,” which focused on how to minister to parents with homosexual children.
The San Diego Diocese directed The Christian Post to a copy of Bishop Dolan’s homily, in which he noted that “Always Our Children” received criticism from both liberals and conservatives.
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REUTERS/NAVESH CHITRAKARA man is shown here holding on to a flag representing the LGBT community during the South Asia Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Sports Fest in Kathmandu, Nepal.
“It was too left-leaning for some; even though the bishops then made it clear that the letter was not breaking any new ground on sexual morality, chastity, and mature sexual development according to Sacred Scripture and Tradition,” said Dolan.
“The document was also too right-leaning for others; especially as the language used in the document regarding homosexuality seemed stilted and even offensive to many in the gay community.”
Dolan went on to note that since the release of the pastoral message, dialogue between the Church and the LGBT community has not always been “fruitful or civil.”
“Ad hominem attacks and lies about those with whom we disagree must always be avoided,” continued Dolan.
“Civil discourse and fruitful dialogue cannot be forfeited by those who uphold the teachings of the Church and/or by those who struggle to incorporate our teachings within their personal lives.”
The Saturday mass was not without its critics, as a small number of Catholics protested outside of the church, with one telling the San Diego Union Tribune that she considered the “Always Our Children” document “flawed.”
“The Church is bending with the cultural zeitgeist. The Church is bending with the times and with the pervasiveness of homosexual activism throughout the country and indeed the globe,” said the protester, as quoted by the Tribune.
“And we feel the Church should stand strong as a bulwark against cultural trends. … Our concern today is the Church is becoming too accommodating to homosexuality.”
(Photo: The Christian Post/Brandon Showalter)Christians sing and worship at the Arkansas tent, one of 58 tents set up at the National Mall during America’s Tent of Meeting sponsored by Awaken the Dawn, Washington, D.C. on October 7, 2017.(Photo: The Christian Post/Brandon Showalter)Christians sing and worship at the Texas tent, one of 58 tents set up at the National Mall during America’s Tent of Meeting sponsored by Awaken the Dawn, Washington, D.C. on October 8, 2017.(Photo: The Christian Post/Brandon Showalter)Christians sing and worship at the Delaware tent, one of 58 tent camps set up at the National Mall during the America’s Tent of Meeting sponsored by Awaken the Dawn, Washington, D.C. on October 7, 2017.(Photo: The Christian Post/Brandon Showalter)Fifty-eight tents representing all 50 states and eight regions line the National Mall where Christians from all walks of life are coming together to sing, worship, read scripture and pray together during America’s Tent of Meeting sponsored by Awaken the Dawn, Washington, D.C. on October 7, 2017.(Photo: The Christian Post/Brandon Showalter)Christians sing and worship inside the Virginia tent, one of 58 tents set up at the National Mall during the America’s Tent of Meeting sponsored by Awaken the Dawn, Washington, D.C. on October 7, 2017.
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WASHINGTON — Tens of thousands of Christians from every state in the U.S. have assembled on the National Mall this weekend to sing and worship in dozens of tents and pray for a “spiritual shift” in America.
America’s Tent of Meeting, is sponsored by Awaken the Dawn and several other partner organizations for the express purpose of focusing on Jesus and to pray for a nation in crisis. ATM began Friday night with a call to repentance on the main stage where an estimated 30,000 people were in attendance park police said, according to an and event organizer.
“I see Awaken the Dawn as part of a bigger story that God is telling,” said Michael Beardslee of Phoenix, Arizona, in an interview with The Christian Post outside the New Mexico prayer tent. Beardslee works for a nonprofit volunteer engagement agency and has just begun doctoral studies at Grand Canyon University.
“There is a story that the enemy is telling in our nation, and he likes a lot of attention and he gets the attention a lot of the time,” he said. But it’s God’s story that will prevail, he added.
Beardslee has been praying and fasting for revival to sweep the nation for the past 20 years. He is a member of New Promise Christian Fellowship, a nondenominational church in Phoenix, which hosts the Phoenix House of Prayer, a weekly regional prayer meeting.
“I don’t know what God’s going to do and how He’s going to do it, but I know He works in mysterious ways.”
He was inspired by the vision of ATD, calling people from all 50 states to come and worship on America’s front yard in front of the Capitol, and he took time off work to make the journey with his parents.
Tens of thousands more are expected to attend over the course of the weekend, with various evangelistic equipping sessions planned and round-the-clock prayer in the tents until the event concludes Monday morning. Fifty-eight prayer tents, one for each state and eight regional tents are stationed all along the National Mall grounds. Speaker include Mike Bickle of the International House of Prayer, Francis Chan of We Are Church, Heidi Baker of Iris Global, Shawn Bolz of Expressions 58 and several others.
The vision for all 50 states to gather around the worth of Jesus and exalt Him, as articulated by The Prayer Furnace’s David Bradshaw in an interview with CP, was what inspired Christy Holt to make the trip to Washington from Pensacola, Florida, to participate.
“I came because there is unity when all gather together and when they said there were going to be 50 tents on the mall. I love D.C. and I love the fact that every state is represented in our union,” Holt told CP in an interview outside the Smithsonian.
“With our country and the mess that it’s in and the disunity, I thought ‘Lord Jesus, thank you that somebody got a vision of unity and of what that would look like.'”
She made a point to say that everything that happens in the nation’s capital trickles down into the rest of the country and she wanted to come to intercede for her home state and to pray against the bitter division operating in the country.
Marcie Lowe, a friend of Holt’s, who was born in Ohio but is now based in Florida and is currently working in North Dakota, told CP with a chuckle, “I’m tent-hopping, I really am.” She is taking the time to pray and worship in several states’ tents.
“My heart is for so many states in the union, but first and foremost for the United States of America. If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything. And we’re taking a stand for Jesus,” Lowe said of their presence in Washington.
“The whole world sees that we need Jesus. The whole world sees that we need to make a move for faith, for justice, and for liberty for all. It’s time right now. It’s [2 Chronicles] 7:14 ‘if my people who are called according to my name.’ We need to humble ourselves and we need to seek His face, and pray. And we need to do it right now. We need to show God that we are on His side once and for all.”
Likewise, Angel Sweazy traveled to the District from Nevada. She is a member of Horizon Christian Church, a nondenominational evangelical congregation in Reno. With her husband she is pioneering a YWAM base there and believes the timing of America’s Tent of Meeting is significant given the recent horror in her home state.
Last Sunday, gunman Stephen Paddock murdered 58 people attending a country music festival in Las Vegas, using high-powered firearms from his 32nd floor Mandalay Bay hotel room.
“The enemy overplayed his cards this time, because what he planned for evil, the Lord has just come in and said, ‘But I can make good out of everything,” Sweazy said.
As CP reported earlier this week, a man who said he was an atheist told CNN that the only way he escaped was with God’s help, and he’s now a believer.
A “major spiritual shift” happened Friday night as thousands have begun praying, Sweazy continued, noting that she could sense the change in the air.
And God “is speaking through each one of these 50 tents,” she said, remarking on how God’s people are all uniquely praising Him.
Although the darkness is intensifying and Revelation 12-like events are happening, she said, “this is the time for us [as Christians] to stand up and say, ‘Yes. Yes and amen to what God has planned and we don’t need to be afraid at all because, as a city and as a nation, we can see this is really bad but He told us this was going to happen,” and that He has great plans in store for America.
“He is coming, and there is so much excitement in the air knowing that,” she emphasized.
Restored, an international Christian domestic abuse education charity, and Churches Together in Cumbria, which delivers domestic abuse training to churches across Cumbria, connected with the institutions to launch a survey on Wednesday.
The researchers want to hear from anyone who attends a church in Cumbria, to ask them their views about whether and how their church is responding to domestic abuse.
The Crime Survey in England and Wales found that approximately one in four women and one in seven men have experienced domestic abuse since the age of 16.
Researchers added that in Cumbria alone police are called to, on average, 17 incidents of domestic abuse each day.
They said it’s the first major survey research into churchgoers and domestic abuse in the UK, and hope it will lead to a major national study.
Dr Kristin Aune, Senior Research Fellow at Coventry University and the project’s lead researcher, told Premier: “Organisations like Restored are working to try and train churches about how to deal with domestic abuse and sometimes churches say ‘well it’s not an issue for us’, so this research is going to show if it is an issue, which we sadly think it will be.”
Experts at Coventry University are also investigating the prevalence of the issue within families who go to church. They’re concerned domestic abuse remains a hidden problem at church.
Paula, a survivor of abuse, told Restored: “Many Christian women who are victims of domestic abuse end up having to leave their church.
“This happened to me and I still grieve for the fellowship that I was part of for years.”
Dr Aune told Premier: “People put on their nice clothes for church, put a smile on their face and someone asks them ‘are you okay?’. They say ‘I’m fine’ and they [other people] have no idea what’s actually happening at home and the abuser could even be someone who goes to church too.
“Of course, it’s a sensitive thing to have to talk about but until we actually address as a church these really difficult problems that are in our midst, we can’t move forward and work for change.”
Malala Yousafzai says she is “so excited” after being accepted to study at the world famous University of Oxford.
The 20-year-old Pakistani activist who rose to prominence after being shot in the head and neck by the Taliban while on her way home from school in 2012, has won praise for her campaigning and advocacy surrounding the rights of girls to receive education.
Already a Nobel Peace Prize winner and the youngest ever UN Messenger of Peace, Malala will now hope to complete the prestigious Philosophy, Politics and Economics degree at Oxford.
Announcing the news on Twitter, Malala wrote: “So excited to go to Oxford!! Well done to all A-level students – the hardest year. Best wishes for life ahead!”
She joins some of the most famous leaders in the world in studying PPE at Oxford including former Pakistani President Benazir Bhutto, former US President Bill Clinton, Ex-British Prime Minister David Cameron and leader of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi.
Why did I agree to speak a conference that I have blasted in the past for being anti-Zionistic and perhaps even anti-Semitic? Why am I participating in an event that has been used to propagate what I have branded “a deadly anti-Israel theological error”? (I meant the word “deadly” quite literally.)
In a 2014 radio broadcast, I suggested that the Christ at the Checkpoint (CATC) conference that was about to be held would be “anything but constructive” and, in some cases, “anything but from above”—meaning, from the Lord and His Spirit. (The relevant comments begin about one hour and six minutes into the show. For my comments on the 2016 CATC conference, which I said would be “biased” and “hostile” to a pro-Israel position, go here.)
When I first saw the 2010 video With God on Our Side, I branded it an “anti-Semitic hit piece.” Yet that video reflects the perspective of many CATC participants (although the official CATC statement rejects anti-Semitism). Why then would I participate in such an event in 2018, perhaps as the only speaker espousing my position? Why allow my name to be used to grant further legitimacy to the event, as critics have already asked me?
The answer is simple.
Palestinian Christian leaders have invited me to speak at the conference becauseof my deep disagreement with their positions. To quote the invitation I was sent, “We want to challenge and be challenged! In other words, we are inviting you because we disagree, and we want you to present your point of view and articulate it with your own words, and then someone who represents a different point of view (either a Palestinian Christian or an international) will respond and then [be] followed by a small conversation.”
And what if I wanted to address radical Islam, the real culprit in the oppression of Palestinians? I was assured I had complete freedom to do so.
Looking at the list of conference speakers, I already know that I have some profound and deep differences with them (and they with me). But that’s the very reason I’ll be there: I get to voice my disagreements in the clearest possible terms, without compromise, excuse, or equivocation. Then I get to hear them do the same. Then we get to challenge each other. Isn’t this exactly what followers of Jesus should do?
Again, I’ve been told for several years now that to participate is to legitimize. I’ve been warned that the whole conference is an elaborate propaganda machine designed to undermine the State of Israel. To speak at the conference, then, is to be a useful idiot in someone else’s agenda.
I understand those concerns, and I appreciate them being raised. But there are cogent responses to those concerns.
First, no matter what someone else’s purpose is, if I can get my viewpoint out to an audience that strongly rejects my views, I will take that opportunity every day of the week. Those are the people I want to reach.
Second, by God’s grace, I have a large platform as well, and through radio, TV and internet, I can reach millions of people each week with the spoken and written word. All the sessions are livestreamed for the world to watch, and if I feel anything is being misreported or falsely portrayed, I can instantly post a blog or article or video that will set the record straight.
Third, and most importantly, I take these brothers at their word. They have asked me to speak because of our deeply-held differences, and they have asked me to hear their side as well. I will do this with joy, praying that God would help me communicate the truth in the clearest possible terms as well hear whatever truth they are communicating.
As a Messianic Jew, I am both a friend and critic of Israel, so I have no problem acknowledging our nation’s many shortcomings. Where my people have wronged (or continue to wrong) Palestinians, I will stand with the Palestinians for justice. And if I am shown definitively that Israel is persecuting Palestinian Christians for their Christian faith, I will shout it out for the world to hear.
But what is non-negotiable to me is that: 1) God’s promises to Israel are eternal and unbreakable and to deny these promises is to undermine the authority of the Word and the integrity of the Lord; 2) those promises include the physical preservation of the Jewish people and their return to the Land of Israel, along with the future salvation of Jews worldwide (what Paul called “all Israel”); 3) the doctrine called supersessionism (or replacement theology, meaning that the Church has superseded or replaced Israel in God’s redemptive plan) has opened the floodgates of anti-Semitism in Church history, leading to the slaughter of millions of Jews; 4) we cannot be a prophetic people in harmony with Jesus and reject the modern State of Israel as established by God.
All this holds true whether Israel is saintly or sinful and whether or not the Israelis currently believe in Jesus-Yeshua. It has to do with the faithfulness of God, not the faithfulness of His people.
I pray that my presence at the 2018 CATC conference will be redemptive and not combative, and that the church and world will be reminded that it is the Lord who regathered the Jewish people and established the modern State of Israel; that the real enemy to peace in the Middle East is militant Islam, not Israel; that the Lord wants justice for both Palestinians and Israelis; and that born-again, Palestinian Christians are our beloved brothers and sisters, fellow-heirs of the Messiah.
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In this debut episode of Revitalize & Replant, Mark Clifton joins us to explain why dying churches should be hopeful about their future.
Today’s Listener Question:
FROM RICHARD
I pastor a dying church. There is little to no evangelistic effort – no new non-churched members over the past 5 years. Any growth over the past 3 years has been transfer growth. The majority of our congregation is in denial about the path our church is on without change. The opponents are preserving the church to the point of death. How can I lead our church to understand there is hope for the future, and that we need to change in order to see fruit from our efforts?
Episode Highlights:
Members of dying churches often don’t recognize that reality.
“Your church does not have to die.”
There is often a sense of shame in a dying church.
“Christ has a plan for His Church.”
“If you pastor a dying church, focus on getting your church members to love Jesus more than they love their church.”
“Dying churches are often holding on to idols in the church that give them comfort and security.”
“Want what Jesus wants for your church.”
“God is under no obligation to resource your plans for His church.”
The three reasons for hope that we cover in this episode are:
Dying churches have a real possibility to have a future
Healthier churches have an opportunity to make a greater Kingdom impact
Church replanters have an opportunity like never before
Resources mentioned in this episode include:
Revitalize & Replant is sponsored by the North American Mission Board and ChurchReplanters.com. More than 10% of churches in North America are at risk of closing and the North American Mission Board is committed to reversing this trend by decreasing the death rate of existing churches while simultaneously increasing the birth rate of new churches. To learn more about what it means to become a replanting pastor or to explore resources for replanting and revitalization in your own church, visit ChurchReplanters.com.
Submit Your Question:
Do you have a question about church revitalization or replanting for us to use on the podcast? Visit the podcast page to submit your question. If we use it on the show, you’ll get a copy of Autopsy of a Deceased Church and Reclaiming Glory.
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