In 1 Corinthians 14:24, Paul starts out, “if all of you are prophesying… .” Let me stop right there. Paul’s very statement there is significant, because he makes the assumption that it is possible for everyone to prophesy . . . Paul directly assumes that everyone can prophesy, and it implies that it is a normal part of the gathering together process.
Jesus didn’t come to tell everybody the Good News that we can go to heaven when we die. He came to declare that the Kingdom of God, or as Matthew calls it the Kingdom of Heaven, has come to this earth.
This was not what I was accustomed to on Sunday mornings, where hymns were sung with an expected austerity that was interpreted as reverence. But in this young assembly, I saw other young people celebrating the God I had become so deeply endeared to. I realized that my emotions, given by God, could be expressed so that others may see my joy in being His child. This experience was a game changer for me.
One of the most common arguments against organic fellowships (aka “home church”, “simple church”, “house church,” etc.) is the argument around heresy. Heresy, simply put, is wrong teaching, or teaching that strays from what is accepted as truth. It is… Read More ›
One thing that was becoming obvious, even then, to many in the Kingdom of God, was that the traditional church system was not a scriptural model, and was already suffering from increasing corruption, and had become a top heavy hierarchical monstrosity that would not survive if it was part of a business. And therein was much of the issue, too, that the church looked more like corporate business pedaling religion than the intimate redeemed community that was set up by Jesus and His apostles.
I know the feeling. You’ve had enough! It was the last straw! Whatever the problem is, you’re not going back. You’re not alone. People are leaving the institutional churches in droves.
I assert that modern day clergy do not understand these basic truths. If they did, they would not try to stifle ordinary believers from performing the priestly duties that God gave them to do.
In light of all the worldwide changes in recent years, is the Church able to be effective in carrying out its mission? Can we collectively learn to think on our feet, or more properly, respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit, in order to respond appropriately to the many issues that are arising in the world to challenge the authority of God? I want to suggest to you that all this is possible if we understand where we are headed and what we are to do.
The Lord’s Supper was originally celebrated as an entire meal for the first three hundred years or so by the Church. It was not until the Roman emperor, Constantine, when Christianity became the national religion of Rome, that the Lord’s… Read More ›
Beyond Traditon 