Sermon Video: Thanking God for you - Ephesians 1:15-19a

After reminding the church at Ephesus about God's wondrous blessings given to them in Christ, the Apostle Paul continues by sharing that he personally thanks God for them.  Not only is Paul thankful to God for saving them, Paul also prays for them that they might grow in their faith and know God more.

FFOZ (Torah Clubs) admit that they are purposefully aiming to disrupt and divide the Church

Intentions matters, so do goals and methods.  The Franklin Christian Ministerium has gone to great lengths to demonstrate the danger posed by what the First Fruits of Zion are attempting to do in our midst with their Torah Clubs.  In fact, the level of disruption, number of people who have left the fellowship and discipleship of their previous churches, and animosity toward the traditional and apostolic teachings of the Church that we have seen here locally are an integral part of the overall purposeful plan of the leadership of First Fruits of Zion.  In other words, what they have done, and are continuing to do, here locally they hope to do all over the world.  This is what they want to happen because this is what they believe must happen to bring about the End Times.  They believe they are on a particular mission from God, chosen for this purpose, and are all the more dangerous because of this misguided zeal.

But you've been told this is just a Bible Study, its just about learning the Jewish roots of the scriptures and Jesus.  Don't take my word for it, listen to what FFOZ's leadership has to say...

{All quotes below comes from the video recordings of the Malchut 2022 Conference, a gathering of Torah Club leaders and financial backers, in other words, this is what they tell the insiders, the true believers.}

Quotations are in italics, emphasis in bold is my own addition, commentary in {brackets} is my own.

One of our dreams as an organization is to see post-supersessionist Christianity. A Christianity that is restored to a proper theology with Israel to the Torah and to the Kingdom. Most of us started our journey to post-supersessionist Christianity in the church. And while many of us still attend the church we see it differently now, we see it through different eyes. We see that something is missing. (Boaz Micael - And Then the End Will Come, 8:27ff) 

{Participation in FFOZ starts with people who are in the Church, there’s no reason for them to stay there once they’ve had their “eyes opened.”}

So, the responsibility of this message falls on us, a small minority of God‘s people who’ve come to an understanding of the gospel of the kingdom and whose lives are being transformed by the undiluted power of Yeshua’s message. And we’re called to take this gospel of message to the kingdoms, repent for the kingdom of God is it at hand. And this prophetic movement has only become possible in our generation. It’s our responsibility. (Boaz Michael - And Then the End Will Come, 23:11ff) 

{We alone can save the Church?  A reform not possible in any point of Church history until now?}

Imagine having your home filled with Christians, experiencing the renewal of their salvation, bringing them into an understanding of the gospel of the kingdom, increasing their devotion to king Messiah, assisting them alongside yourself of becoming agents of the kingdom alongside Israel. And this is all through your mission and efforts where HaShem has placed you. (Boaz Michael - And Then the End Will Come, 38:20ff) 

{Why belong to the Church if the real Kingdom work is only happening in Torah Clubs?}

We’re going to return to the Torah and find that its wisdom is the antidote to the fractured and confused world that we live in and a fractured and confused church that we are part of. Some of you might feel like your Torah clubs groups are in some way subversive. Like they’re supplanting the local church. Like they’re not legitimate expressions or legitimate places of communal fellowship. Now I want to tell you the opposite is true. Many people say, many people say, I don’t wanna say it because someone might say, “you said that.“ So I’m just going to say many people say that the institutional church that we have known is not recoverable. It’s not coming back the way it was. It’s going to change, and perhaps a Torah Club or some type of home base communities are the pattern for the future. But know this and be confident in this, the institutional churches’ issues are not a result of your efforts in the Torah Club. They are a result of various cultural and generational shifts. And perhaps it’s the result of sharing a tired message that has not resulted in what it has promised. (Boaz Michael - And Then the End Will Come, 39:52ff) 

{FFOZ proclaims the Church to be dead, groups like the Torah Clubs are the future.}

You are the creators. You are the doers. You are the ones that God has chosen to proclaim this gospel, the gospel of the kingdom, to all nations. What an amazing burden that HaShem has placed upon us. You’ve dedicated yourself to a mission. You might not have the biggest Torah Club. You might not even think of yourself as qualified to teach others about the gospel of the kingdom and yet you are here. And yet your eyes have been opened. (Boaz Michael - And Then the End Will Come)

{Michael Boaz believes his followers are the only ones chosen by God to spread the true Gospel, that they will bring about the End Times.  This sort of cult-like zeal is very dangerous, and will inevitably lead to those who buy into it leaving the Church.}

At the end of the day we are a disruptive movement. We’re disruptors. And a disruptive movement is an ideological idea that’s connected to community to prevent something from continuing or operating in a normal way. We’re introducing an idea that is intended to challenge and to transform the status quo. We’re not satisfied with, and we’ve not been inspired by the direction that the institutional church has gone for the most part over the past 2000 years. (Boaz Michael - What's your IQ? p.1) 

{The Church throughout its history doesn’t suit them, so they’ll disrupt it.}

We have to be disruptors that are very patient in our disruption. We have disruptive ideas. A disruptive idea is a perspective, the introduction of an idea that opposes an entrenched view, process, or perspective. This disruptive idea of ours, it attempts to displace the opinion of the majority in a particular field and transform the status quo. So we are a disruptive movement full of disruptive ideas. And we believe that the church or perhaps disciples must be re-introduced to the Jewish Messiah. And this re-introduction will result in radical changes to their worldview, to their theology, to their practice of faith as disciples of Yeshua. (Boaz Michael - What's your IQ? p. 1-2) 

{FFOZ’s goal is radical change to both the faith and practice of the Church.}

So these ideas, they are disruptive. And to some degree they’re confrontational. They are threatening to established organizations And structures of power. So it should come as no surprise that we should encounter opposition. That we feel suppressed. (Boaz Michael - What's your IQ p.3)  

{FFOZ knows that their ideas are a threat to the Church, to dismantle/overthrow the Church is the end goal.}

Likewise, were in a similar situation right now where we realize that the whole body of Messiah, the whole church, is a mission field as well. (Daniel Lancaster - Band of Survivors, 1:14ff) 

{The Church is the mission field because in FFOZ’s belief system, the Church is full of people who don’t know the true Gospel.}

The leadership of FFOZ believes that the Church is moribund, that they, and they alone, have their "eyes opened" to the true Gospel and that God has called them to change the world with it.  Is it any wonder that the bonds of fellowship and Christian brotherhood have been strained, and at times broken, by this movement?  The Franklin Christian Ministerium's effort against the FFOZ is also a commitment to support and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the larger Christian community.  If your church is being confronted with these teachings, if members of your congregation have opened themselves up to it, don't hesitate to contact any one of our pastors, there's no need to stand alone against this, we're ready to stand with you.

Is my role in the fight against the Torah Clubs (FFOZ) personal? Absolutely, and it should be, this is why.

 

The Mustard Seed Mission committee accepting an award for Outstanding Service from Venango County Human Services in 2012.  This was our team, and I'm proud of that team and what each member contributed, but this picture also includes, after they left us, those who went on to bring the Torah Clubs to this community.

On of the criticisms that has been aimed at the Franklin Ministerium following our decision to publicly warn the Christian community about the theology behind the Torah Clubs (First Fruits of Zion) {The Franklin Christian Miniserium's warning against the Torah Clubs and the First Fruits of Zion} has been that our action didn't arise out of sense of pastoral responsibility or Gospel fealty, but rather is personal in nature.  That criticism implies that a personal motive in such a case is a base motive, an unworthy motive, that somehow diminishes any claim to Truth we might be making.  While it is true that personal motivations can be the basis for abusing authority or power, it is also true that any confrontation that involves the people, places, and institutions into which we've poured our hearts and souls cannot help but be personal.  For us, as pastors serving in this community, to be dispassionate about this issue, and disconnected from it emotionally, would itself be a dangerous sign.  Do we really want pastors who aren't personally invested in what they do?  

The following reasons are why this issue is personal to me, it isn't an exhaustive list, and my fellow pastors who have taken this stand with me would have their own list (although no doubt with much overlap).  Consider it and decide if, "this is personal," really should disqualify us from speaking with authority; for all the reasons below I don't buy that at all.

These are fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

I'll lead with the most universal of motives, one that we all are required to share as followers of Jesus: Love for each other.  Given that Jesus commands us to love one another, in fact making the law of love the centerpiece of his New Covenant, it isn't optional, we have to love.  Therefore, anyone who has shown themself to be a devoted follower of Jesus Christ, someone redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb, is my spiritual brother or sister.  We are family.  When an issue concerns our family, doesn't it need to be personal?

I can testify that those who have taken up leadership positions in the Torah Clubs (2/3 of them here locally I know well enough for this) have demonstrated over the 11+ years that I have been in Franklin, a love for Jesus Christ, a willingness to serve his Church, and a zeal for righteousness.  I have no doubt of this.  

Which is why it troubles me all the more when I see evidence that these brothers and sisters in Christ are embracing Modalism (A denial of the Trinity and the Nicene Creed), or elevating Torah above the rest of Scripture, or following an organization that claims only those who keep Torah (think kosher, Sabbath, festivals) are the ones who truly love Jesus.  These are real people, that I know, who have gone astray, watching them do so had better be personal to me, and it is.  As a shepherd of the sheep, while they may not be in my flock, watching them wander off into the wilderness while spurning our efforts to call them back to safety, is painful.

In addition to the leaders who are known to me, the Torah Clubs have pulled in a number of committed Christians whom I know, whom I respect, and for whom my concern for their spiritual well being is very real.

I've worked alongside them previously on behalf of the Kingdom of God.

As the captioned picture at the top of this post shows, I once proudly stood alongside two of the local Torah Clubs leaders back in 2012 when we were all honored by the county for our role in leading Mustard Seed Missions.  In that first year, and for some time after, we worked together weekly, sometimes daily, to help those in need as these two individuals held key roles in our organization.  As the President of MSM, I relied upon their work and dedication as we turned that idea into something that has now helped over 1,700 families in its ten+ years of existence.  To have once pulled on the rope together in the same direction, and to have had success in doing so, only to a few years later see these same people that I once strove with striving now against my work, my ministry, and my passion, is hard.  To be forced to call them out (not by name, that's a conscious choice here) because they're harming those same things, and to now oppose what they're passionate about and have dedicated their lives to, can't help but be emotional.  We once were on the same team, I didn't change what and who I represent, but we find ourselves in opposition now just the same.

This is my town, my community, my home.

Baptist polity makes this one different for me than most of my fellow ministers.  I'm a free agent when it comes to where I serve the Church.  I'm originally from Michigan, and Michigan will always be where I'm from, but at some point after my wife Nicole and I moved here to Franklin in 2012, this became our home.  It started for me with my opposite corner of the 11th and Liberty intersection neighbor, Pastor Jeff Little, who was the first to welcome us and has since become a "friend closer than a brother."  It continued on with joining the ministerium where I was welcomed by Pastor David Janz, Pastor Scott Woodlee, and Mother Holly, among others.  We formed a bond, worked together, dreamed of what might be possible in this community.

In all honesty, and I've written and spoken about this before, Franklin was the first community that ever treated me with respect, that every cared about my ideas, and that accepted me in a leadership role.  That I was able to help create Mustard Seed Missions in this community, less than a year after moving here, is a powerful testimony to how gracious the people of God have been to me in this place.

For much of my time here I have also served as a member of the Venango County Christian Ministerium, an organization I helped start.  We bring together the Christian community throughout Venango County for a joint worship service on Thanksgiving and Palm Sunday, and have also over the years organized the observance of the National Day of Prayer and the 40 Days of Prayer during Lent.  It is known in this community that I have put significant time and effort into building ecumenical bonds among our churches.  The Church in Venango County matters to me.

This is also where my daughter, my precious Clara Marie, was born, this is her home, if I needed any more motivation to be invested in what happens here, that's one more reason.  Is it any wonder that when I see a threat to this area's Christian community it feels deeply and painfully personal to me?

This is my Church.

As a minister ordained to serve the Church of Jesus Christ, in my case as an American Baptist minister, the universal Church is my Church.  Whenever I hear of false teaching, of dangerous charlatans milking it for money, or demagogues using it for their own ends, it touches a nerve.  I have written and spoken against such many times over the years, but these dangerous always originated elsewhere, were a greater danger to other local churches than our own.  That doesn't make doing our small part any less important, each one of us who serves this Church faithfully is diminished by each person who uses it as a means to an end.  Each time it is harmed, our small piece of it is harmed too.

Whether we, as a ministerium, can convince the Christian community of this or not, everything in our education, training, and experience is telling every one of us that what the Torah Clubs (FFOZ) are teaching, and what they're aiming to do, will harm the Church.  That this movement is outside of the historic, orthodox, and apostolic tradition and teaching of the Church.  We also know that it is rejected by the history, theology, and leadership of Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Churches.  Should not harm caused to the Bride of Christ be personal to every one of us who belong to it?  

This is my church.

Within that universal framework exists an untold number of individual churches.  First Baptist Church of Franklin is my church.  This is true on two levels: (1) This is where I worship, fellowship, pray, and serve, and (2) this is the congregation with whose care and protection I have been entrusted.  Thus both my own personal Christian discipleship which takes place within this congregation that I belong to, and the people for whom I will one day give an account before Almighty God as to how well I served as their shepherd, are at risk when a dangerous idea aimed at the Church takes root in our community.  For my own sake, and for the sake of my people, this fight is deeply personal.

The Torah Clubs are being presented as just another Bible study.  In reality, it is an effort to proselytize within the local church.  By the admission of the founder of First Fruits of Zion, the Church is the mission field.  It is not the Lost who are sought after to join this movement, but those already in fellowship within local churches who are being told that the Church (and their pastor by extension) has been lying to them about Jesus all along.  We are purposefully the targets, and taking us from the historic, apostolic, and biblical faith and practice in which we were raised is the goal.  I wouldn't make this claim lightly, but having read such things in their own published works, I'd be a fool to not take the threat seriously.  This is an organization that believes it will bring about the End Times by converting the Church to the practices of Judaism.

{The evidence of this motivation and goal:An Examination of the unorthodox beliefs of the First Fruits of Zion, their Torah Clubs, and the Hebrew Roots Movement in general} 

Let me add this, each of us who has accepted the role of pastoral leader has taken up a sacred trust.  We must not only preach, teach, and demonstrate the Gospel to our people, but we must also go forth, thankfully in this case not alone, to protect the sheep from the wolves.  Whether or not this is dangerous to us is not really a question we can entertain, it must be done.

This is my Gospel

The reason why protecting the Gospel is personal to me is clear: It saved me too.  At this point in my life I'm an ordained pastor, a leader within the Church, but I too was once just a kid who learned that Jesus died upon the Cross and rose again from the dead to save me from my sins.  I put my hope and trust in that salvation, was baptized, and began a life of fellowship in the community of believers.  Like that old commercial where the guy says he liked the product so much he bought the company, I'm a defender of the Gospel because I know what it has done for me.  When I sing Amazing Grace, the words are my words too.

So let me count the cost

We could, as a ministerium, have done nothing, we could have remained silent, we could have hoped that this movement would prove itself to be the latest fad, here today, gone tomorrow.  Lord willing, when we look back on this moment in ten years it will be with relief, it will be with God-honoring stories of how some of our fellow Christians lost their way for a time, but how the grace of God once more brought them home.  We pray that this will happen, but after many hours of discussion and research, as a ministerium, it was clear to us that we had a role to play, "for such a time as this," that we would have to take a stand.

If the local Torah Club leaders continue to embrace the notion that the proper form of Christian discipleship is to 'live like Jews' {Which is the bedrock belief of the organization whose teaching they chose to bring to our community}, doing so in the face of everything we as this community's pastoral leaders are able to do to show how false and dangerous this path is to them, if they will not repent, and personal and painful as that will be for me and the rest of the local pastoral leaders, our other task remains and cannot be set aside: We must protect the sheep from wolves that would devour them, and I make no excuse for that being entirely personal to me.

Sermon Video: "that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith" - Romans 1:8-15

Before beginning to unfold the theology of his letter, the Apostle Paul takes a moment to express his desire, both past and future, to visit the Church at Rome and fellowship with its people.  Why?  Because he knows that when they experience each other's faith they will be mutually encouraged.

Why be a part of the Church?  One reason among many: mutual encouragement.  You can lift others up and they can lift you up.

The Church is far from perfect, but is the only vehicle that God has ordained to fulfill his purpose in this Age, it is where disciples of Jesus grow to maturity together through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Sermon Video: "one Lord, one faith, one baptism" - Ephesians 4:4-6

As a Maundy Thursday (celebration of the Last Supper) text, Ephesians 4:4-6 offers much in keeping with Jesus' emphasis on that evening of unity and brotherhood among his followers.  It reminds us through the repetition of 'one' seven times followed by 'all' four times that God's will for his people is purposefully unified.  God intended the followers of Jesus Christ to form one unit, to be connected, and given that one Spirit empowers them, one hope animates them, and one destiny awaits them, unity in the here and now gains becomes not only possible but ideal.

The purposeful tension between Unity and Purity within the Church: A Scriptural Mandate

One of the earliest impulses toward schism within the Early Church, preceding even the great theological controversies regarding the nature of Jesus Christ in the 3rd and 4th centuries that led to the Council of Nicaea {A brief theology derived from the Nicene Creed}, was between those who believed that the Church was intended to be a small community of spiritually elite disciples, hand-picked by God for salvation, and those who viewed it as a mixed group of sinners and saints (tares among the wheat), all works in progress, even the redeemed.  The monastic movement, soon to become one of the central forces in the Medieval Church, was a response to the mixed company of the local church, that allowed those seeking a deeper commitment to live among like-minded individuals.  Likewise, the Donatist Controversy that tore apart the North African Church for six centuries began as a squabble between those who had fiercely resisted the great Roman persecutions and remained true to their faith, and those who had succumbed to imprisonment and torture by recanting.  After the time of persecution ended, those who had risked death were unwilling to allow anyone short of the bishop the authority to welcome the 'lapsed' Christians back into the fold.  St. Augustine weighed-in against the majority 'pure only' Donatists, even welcoming Imperial persecution of them for not returning to the official Church, for he believed that the Church was not reserved for the pure alone, but for all those seeking to become pure.

{For more on Church History: What Every Christian Should Know About: Church History, scroll down to the bottom of the page}

While the tension between unity and purity is inherent when working with flawed human beings, some of whom will always be more committed to spiritual discipline (or further along the journey) than others, it is also inherent within the text of Scripture.  In other words, God commanded his people to care about both unity and purity, knowing that these two ideals would be at times in opposition, and knowing that his people would at times struggle to balance them.  Why?  Because both unity and purity have value in the Church, both are necessary.

Consider a hypothetical church that stresses unity at the expense of purity: By what standard will admittance into this church be made?  How will such a church respond to beliefs and practices that are contrary to Scripture, even harmful to the Gospel?  A church that accepts everyone and every belief ceases to make progress toward transforming those who belong to it into Christ-likeness.  Such a church lacks both discipline and definition.

Consider a hypothetical church that stresses purity at the expense of unity: How will such a church fulfill the call to evangelism?  How will such a church avoid endless schism, and avoid becoming a church where only those who agree on everything are welcome?  A church that accepts no one but like minded individuals can neither grow nor impact its culture.  Such a church lacks both freedom of conscience and grace.

Examples abound, to varying degrees of churches that exemplify both extremes.  Going beyond a balance of the two priorities is unhealthy, whether one emphasizes unity or purity.  This observation is not my own brilliant analysis, rather it is in keeping with the thesis of Dr. Ronald Mayers book, Both/And: A Balanced Apologetic.  I have a much highlighted copy on my shelf, having had Dr. Mayers as my professor for nearly half of my religion classes at Cornerstone, and having even taught two of his classes during my senior year while he was at a seminar.

It is one thing to say that the Bible says this or that, another to demonstrate it.  The following examples are thus offered as a partial demonstration, they are but a sampling:

Texts on the importance of unity:

John 17:20-21 (NIV)

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Ephesians 4:1-6 (NIV)

4 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Titus 3:9-10 (NIV)

9 But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. 10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them.

1 John 4:7-8 (NIV)

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Texts on the importance of purity:

Matthew 7:15-20 (NIV)

15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Galatians 1:6-9 (NIV)

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!

1 John 4:1-2 (NIV)

4 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,

Notice that examples can be found stressing both purity and unity from Jesus in the Gospels, as well as the writings of the Apostle Paul.  The two examples from 1 John are instructive.  They occur only a few sentences apart, and while John throughout his letter stresses the absolute need for Christians to love each other, going so far as to declare that without love for the brethren an individual should doubt that he/she is genuinely saved, he still feels that it is necessary to warn his readers that not every person claiming to represent God is actually doing so.  John applies a standard for unity: affirmation of the incarnation.  

{For more on the theology of 1 John: The Ecumenism of 1 John.  In the book I explain John's threefold test of faith (1. Affirmation of Jesus Christ, 2. Righteous living, aka 'walking in the light', and 3. love for fellow Christians.)  That standard is then applied to various groups to see if they belong inside or outside of the Church}

In the end, the Church needs to honor the tension inherent in the Scriptures by being both ecumenically minded, with a tent as big as Scripture allows, and on-guard against false teachers, maintaining the purity of the Gospel message.  My own life in ministry reflects my belief in this principle.  On the one hand, through the Franklin and Venango County ministeriums and Mustard Seed Missions, I regularly work with committed Christians from both a variety of Protestant churches and Catholics, and on the other hand, I consider it an obligation of my ordination to point out the dangerous and heretical views expressed by others, especially those that endanger the evangelistic mission of the Church by either warping the Gospel (for example: the Prosperity Gospel) or damaging the character/reputation of the Church itself (for example: the marriage of Church and politics).  It may seem odd to be both ecumenical and judgmental (in a good way, hopefully) to those who are not aware of the reasoning behind such a stance, but it is in keeping with my understanding of what the Scriptures require of both the Church and its ministers.

[In Evangelical Perspectives: Toward a Biblical Balance, a companion to Both/And: A Balanced Apologetic, Dr. Mayers identified twelve scriptural issues that require a both/and perspective: (1) Reality: Both God and Creation, (2) God: Both One and Many, (3) Christ: Both Divine and Human, (4) Man: Both Dignified and Depraved, (5) General Revelation: Both Within and Without, (6) Special Revelation: Both Event and Word, (7) Inspiration: Both Holy Spirit and Human Authors, (8) Testaments: Both Continuity and Discontinuity, (9) Salvation: Both Provision and Response, (10) Holy Spirit: Both Holiness and Eternal Security, (11) Church: Both Proclamation and Charity, and (12) Last Things: Both Already and Not Yet.  It is my view that Church: Both Unity and Purity fits within this framework.]

Sermon Video: When we can't meet together - Hebrews 10:24-25

In this time of national pandemic quarantine, it is a powerful reminder to us of the immeasurable value of being a part of the fellowship of a local church. As a local church, it is our obligation to "spur one another on towards love and good deeds". We build each other up, we mentor and disciple each other, inspiring our fellow Christian to live as Jesus lived by doing so ourselves. It is an amazing asset that some are in the habit of neglecting, of treating as an inconvenience, or at least a choice when other more interesting ones are not there. We cannot afford this bad habit as a Church. When the church is doing something, we need to be a part of it, as much as we are able.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Is this place sacred? John 2:12-17

During our Wednesday night Bible study this week we were continuing through the Gospel of John and came to the passage where Jesus chases the merchants out of the temple courts with a homemade whip.  Aside from how cool that must have been, to see Jesus acting so counter to our conception of him as meek and mild (something we get more from religious art than from the Gospels), it led us to discuss our own sense of sacred places.
Do we have sacred places today?  Should our church sanctuary be treated like the Temple?
It is an interesting discussion to have because most people who enter into a place of worship get the feeling that it isn't just another room.  In some branches of Christianity there is an expectation of silence prior to services, maybe even lowered lighting to enhance the solemn mood.  In other Christian churches you'll enter into the sanctuary and be greeted with a cacophony of noise; from pre-worship music to boisterous laughter from the conversations going on all around you.  I've been a part of both, and I can tell you, it only takes a moment to realize which type you've walked into.  Are both styles treating the space with proper reverence?  What should we be doing/saying/thinking as we prepare to worship?
The simple answer is preparing your heart and mind to praise God, learn from the Scriptures, join in corporate prayer, and partake of the rituals which unite our faith (whether you call them a Sacrament or not).  I can see the value of both approaches.  To focus on God, silence helps.  To remember that you're a part of a family that God has created, the warmth of conversation among friends help too.  There isn't one right or wrong on this, the point is that God's people gather together in worship.  Whether they do it in an old store front or a magnificent Cathedral doesn't really matter.  Whether to do it to silence and candlelight or the beating of drums and the hum of old friends catching up doesn't really matter.
In the end, Jesus has replaced the need for animal sacrifices with his own; he has replaced the need for one central place of worship with the gift of the Holy Spirit to all believers, and he has elevated each humble place where we gather to worship into a sacred assembly.