Todd Hunter has stumbled upon something he believes is bringing former Christians back to church and has the potential to draw the unchurched.
Continue reading “Christians Rediscover Liturgies for Evangelism”
Nov 11 2009
Christians Rediscover Liturgies for Evangelism
Sep 28 2009
How Emergent Was the Ancient Church?
Thanks to Fr. Stephen for this tip, which has helped to provide fodder for a few other posts this week. Blame him if you don’t like them.
Nathan Busenitz has posted on the growing trend among some in the Emergent Church to ‘get back to the roots of Christianity.’ I have to wonder if they would feel the same way if they read either Justin or Pliny the Younger’s account of the early Christian worship service:
Aug 27 2009
Irenaeus and the only Son of Adam Who is God
Those who claim that Jesus was a man…have not yet been joined in the Word of God the Father. I have demonstrated from Scriptures that there is not one son of Adam who is called God or Lord in an absolute and universal sense. But Jesus is God himself, by his own right, beyond any human being who has ever lived. He is the Lord, the eternal King….and the incarnated Word… He is the only Lord, the wonderful , the counselor, the one who is beautiful in appearance and the Almighty God. (Against Heresies 3.19.2 ACD vol 1 pg 68_
Aug 25 2009
Melito of Sardis – The Impassible Suffered
Aug 23 2009
Athanasius' Godhead – Worshiping the Son is Worshiping the Father
Mar 01 2009
Sunday Thoughts – 3/1
It is the start of a new month, March, and it is still snowing, cold, and ugly out. Somewhere, in a hole, a groundhog is laughing at me.
Anyway, I pray that all is well with you. It has been a busy week here at the house of Polycarp, but that happens every now and then.
The economy, we are reminded, is the worse that it has been in 25 years, on some days, since the Great Depression, on other days. But, dear Child of God, are you worried? We see bad news all the time, and we are not the first. Think about it, for a minute. We have an 8.5 unemployment rate. Do you realize that many countries have double that, triple that even, and that was before the economic crisis. This is a good moment of the Church to show the love and mercy of the Saints. We see someone hurting, help them, and be to them the hands of God in this world. In every crisis, and every high point, we have an moment to give God the praise.
I got me a new phone yesterday, tired of my Palm Centro. Now, I didn’t rush out and get an expensive one – I do not believe in materialistic ventures – but I was able to get a better one for about 20$. Of all the features that it comes with, I am grateful for the fact that I can load E-Sword and Olive Tree. E-Sword is by far and away the best bible program for free while Olive Tree provides free resources, I am only interested in their NETS module. E-Sword has a better layout and is more readable as a program. I look forward to using these programs in church, for a quick assassination attempt against the preacher. (Am I being humorous? Um….)
Our congregation of the Church will be having a tent revival in May. I will post more about this later, of course, but I wanted to invited each of you. It will be in Sharon, WV, with hotels in Charleston. I might be able to help for lodging, if given enough notice. The only thing that I can promise is that if you come, I promise I will not preach to you.
Elvis is on the radio, singing Farther Alone. Growing up in Louisiana, I had heard about the singing of this song in the hills of West Virginia, at a little mountain Church. If you get to come up here, I will show you one of the most beautiful structures devoted to God.
I have discovered Greek Byzantine Psalms, sung, on youtube no less. I am going to have to find me a cd or something. It is something to listen to these hymns, knowing that for nearly 2000 years, these psalms have been sung.
We should be reminded, from time to time, that the Church was not born speaking English, under the American flag, with the KJV in hand singing Southern Gospel. We have a communion with those Apostles when we break bread together. Sometimes, I feel like we are on the battle line with Peter and Paul, not needing someone else to tell us what they really meant when they wrote those simple words of Faith. The sheep are still being fed by Peter, and Paul is still beating down the doors to share the love of God and the doctrine of the Church. And we are still being reprimanded along side the Corinthians and edified with the Philadelphians for our love to the Saints.
Well, I have kept you long enough. I have to get ready for church now. God bless, my friends
Feb 17 2009
Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy: Biblical, Extra-Biblical, and Unbiblical
Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. (1 Corinthians 4:6 NKJV)
I measure everything doctrinal by what has been written by the Apostles and Prophets. For me, there are two categories of doctrine, biblical and unbiblical, or orthodox and unorthodox, true and false. We are told several times to hold to the doctrine of the Church as taught by the Apostles, and I can find no ability in those words to expand or develop doctrine beyond that which was found in the 1st century Church.
However, the practices – orthopraxy – of the Church fall into three categories:
- Biblical
- Extrabiblical
- Unbiblical
We are commanded two sacraments in the New Testament, baptism and the Eucharist, but beyond that and the use of psalms and hymns in worshiping God (Ephesians 5.19; Colossians 3.16; James 5.13) and the fact that the first day of the week was the meeting day (Acts 20.7; 1st Corinthians 16.2), there is very little to nothing else to guide the Christian in daily or weekly ritual life.
A few decades after John had written Revelation, Pliny the Younger wrote,
They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food–but food of an ordinary and innocent kind.
We know that the Church had a certain and fixed day to meet together, and that they had somewhat of a normal routine, at least those under the persecution of Pliny the Younger. Somehow, they had developed practices not found in the bible.
Recently, I have heard that the idea of an ‘altar call’ ‘cannot be found in the bible.’ Technically that is true, and I will not devote myself to defending the ‘altar call’ usually given at the end of a service in which the sinners, the wayward, or needy are invited to come to the altar; yet, I will post the biblically example that I have seen of what we might call an altar call:
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. (Acts 2:36-41 NKJV)
Peter finished his sermon, and the question was asked – what do we do now? Peter answered, and those that had received his word, came forward. Granted, it may not be a ‘traditional’ altar call, but in the end, it has all the hallmarks of one.
But the question is, is the Church allowed to practice something godly that is not in the bible. We return to those three concepts. Biblical are those things, such as the sacraments, which are mandated in the bible, yet for baptism, we do not find the prohibition against baptismal founts or the need for only running water. We just see the command. The same is said for the Eucharist. We do not know the exact ceremony but we know that it is commanded. Extrabiblical are those things that we develop to carry on those commands, such as baptismal founts for baptism. Unbiblical might be a different formula or requirements of the baptismal candidate that is not found in Scripture which would prevent the baptism from being carried out.
I have been thinking, of course, of those other things that we do which are not exactly found in the bible, but are either used or practiced in our congregations today. Here is a short list:
- Revival, tent or otherwise
- Musical Instruments
- King James Only, or even English Translations
- Electricity
- Sunday School classes
- Youth leaders, ministers, or any other ‘ministers’ not found in Eph. 4.11
- Many forms of Church Government employed today
- Programs
- Special Songs
- Youth Camps
Granted, that is a short list of things not found in the bible – yet we do these things on a regular and traditional basis. If we can do these things, surely, we can understand that an altar call is not unbiblical but extrabiblical, and that it is a practise developed over time and culture.
As a rejoinder to this, let me state first, that the altar call is not the point of the service, nor should people be expected to wait until the end of the service to pray to or to seek God. There are times when saints need to be shaken away from their extrabiblical concepts, but we must remember, extrabiblical is not unbiblical.
Feb 08 2009
Sunday Thoughts, 2/8
Well, here we are again, Sunday morning. Has anything changed for you this week? It has for me, but I cannot tell you until tomorrow. I have one more person to tell this morning – and then I’ll make a general announcement, I reckon.
I was perusing the search engine terms that have brought people here this week, and I have found some interesting ones.
- the south will rise again
- pyramit by branham
- gay christian singers
- www.arnoldmurray.com
- how do we become the new testament church
- sid roth
- doctrines of salvation joseph f. smith j
- edmund kwan false prophet blog
Over the past few months, the search term “Sid Roth” have brought in thousands of people – and not all of them happy with me. And of course, this past week has seen a few of the articles that I have posted concerning Arnold Murray gain attention. Personally, I have no problem being one of the top sites to benefits from searches like that – at least there is a chance that those in favor of such false prophets could see something to direct them in the right direction.
It has been a great week for me, and I hope for you. (Wb, we are praying for you)
John Chrysostom, in his homily on Colossians, wrote,
“This is the cause of all evils, the not knowing the Scriptures. We go into battle without arms, and how are we to come off safe?”
How true this is. We see this in Edmond Kwan and his gospel where the Apostles disobeyed Christ, leaving him to fulfill the establishment of the Church. We see this in the likes of Arnold Murray who, following William Branham, teaches his blinded disciples something called the ’serpent seed doctrine.’ How heinous and filthy both of these doctrines truly are.
Take Kwan’s gospel of disobedience. He says that he proves himself as follower of ‘Jesus’ by the ‘miracles’ that he has performed. Yet, he denies Scripture, destroys the Canon and any hope that Christ was who He said He was and doing what He said He was doing.
Then you have the racist Arnold Murray who believes that some people(s) are literal descendants of the adversary. Both, because they have ‘learned’ the Scriptures have triumphed because those that follow them do not know the Scriptures, not enough to defend the Church and her mighty and beautiful doctrine against the wickedness of both of these men.
I love the doctrine of the Church – it is as sweet as honey, built upon great men with Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone. It is a doctrine worth defending, and worth telling others about. I can talk about it for hours, the history, the applications, the differences of interpretation – if given a platform or if I catch my wife unaware.
But if you corrupt it, it can be used as a weapon against Christ and His people. It can be used to trick the simple, and destroy souls. This is why we must be vigilant in preservation of the Church.
In a little bit, we’ll head out to Church service this morning, to celebrate our communion among the Saints and to worship our God, Jesus Christ. We will sings glad songs – perhaps poorly for some of us, but glad nonetheless. We will hear a good word of God, enjoy warm fellowship, and retire for Sunday afternoon rest in anticipation for tonight’s service. God is good.
I hope that all of you, each of you, whether you like me or not, find this day good and joyful.
Jan 04 2009
Sunday Thoughts 1/4
The first Sunday of the new year – good for us!
I hope all is well with you all (y’all, you guys). I am a wee bit tired this morning, as I was hope late preparing, or attempting to prepare a response to Roy – it’s almost done. The response is video and it is done, excepting for the uploading to Youtube. Tomorrow, I believe, it should be done.
We are on our way to church this morning, and as usual, we are going to stop at McDonald’s. I find that their coffee is not that bad – with ice, whip cream and espresso. We were at Monticello on Friday and had a mocha at their cafe – hot chocolate with espresso (very light espresso), but Micky D’s actually has good, somewhat good, coffee.
We buried a union man yesterday, and I was asked to say a prayer at the committal service. It turned into a bit more than that. At the grave side (he was cremeted) I was able to tell the story of the evergreens – a traditional UMWA funeral ceremony, the American Legion gave a 21 gun salute, and then I gave my prayer, which included a reading from Wisdom 3.1-4. I said a few kind words, but what could I say about a man who was ‘no a religious man’? When my time comes, I do not want to give the minister pause concerning my final destination. To be sure, I can judge no man, and would not place the departed anywhere but in the hands of God, but what assurance could I offer? What hope of immortality could I offer but that of memory and taking up the man’s work for justice?
I have a few posts that I am actually working on for the week, including one concerning the fabled antichrist. I believe, like doctrine, understanding of prophecy must be measured against Scripture. Unlike doctrine, it is something that we can wrangle over, but in the end it too must have a measure of common sense. I would like to work on a translation of Mark, finishing a long project. And of course, Tertullian and Sirach.
For most of us, Monday is the day to return to work after the holidays. I was off for two weeks, and I am not looking forward to going back. I might take it easy…going for a few hours. As we start the clock again on coal fatalities, I hope that this year is better than the last. I hate writing those reports – first it is the death of a coal miner on which I report and second, the miner is usually reduced to a number.
I hope that this week goes well for each of you and that at sometime today, you find time to pray. If you are nearby, why don’t you join one of us this morning?
To make it possible for everyone to attend church next Sunday, we are
going to have a special “No Excuse Sunday”.
Cots will be placed in the foyer for those who say, “Sunday is my only day to sleep in.”
There will be a special section with lounge chairs who feel that our pews are too hard.
Eye drops will be available for those with tired eyes from watching T.V. late Saturday night.
We will have steel helmets for those who say ” The roof would cave in if I ever came to church.”
Blankets will be furnished for those who think the church is too cold and fans for those who say it is too hot.
Score cards will be available for those who wish to list the hypocrites present.
Relatives and friends will be in attendance for those who can’t go to church and cook dinner, too.
We will distribute “Stamp Out Stewardship” buttons for those who feel that church is always asking for money.
One section will be devoted to trees and grass for those who like to seek God in nature.
Doctors and nurses will be in attendance for those who plan to be sick on Sunday.
The sanctuary will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies for those who never have seen the church without them.
We will provide hearing aids for those who can’t hear the preacher and cotton for those who say he is to loud.
by Unknown
Dec 02 2008
Christians and Muslims, both under one roof
Would you lend out your place of worship to any other religion? Or even other denominations for that matter? Do you think Christ would really want you lend out those things which you claim to worship God with to those that do not worship God?
Franklin – Each Sunday, children gather in the fellowship hall at Faith Presbyterian Church to ponder the lessons of Christianity, among them, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Now the church is setting a real-life example for the kids, by opening its Sunday school space to its Muslim neighbors for two of their five daily prayers.
Faith Presbyterian becomes the third satellite prayer center for area Muslims who wish to pray communally but may not be able to get across town to one of the four area mosques. The other prayer sites are at Waukesha Memorial Hospital and the Muslim Student Center on Milwaukee’s east side.
“We’re very grateful to the church,” said Ajaz Qhavi, a Franklin physician and Muslim who worked with church officials on behalf of the Islamic Center of Milwaukee.
Faith Presbyterian’s pastor, the Rev. Deb Bergeson-Graham, welcomed the visitors as an opportunity for her congregation to live their Christian faith.
“I think we’re doing this, not because of what they believe, but because of what we believe,” said Bergeson-Graham. “It’s what Christ would have us do.”
About 150 Muslim families live within a two-mile radius of the church at 3800 W. Rawson Ave., according to Qhavi.
The obligation to pray five times daily – at dawn, midday, mid-afternoon, sunset and before bed – is among the five pillars of Islam.
The prayers, which contain verses from the Qur’an and are said in Arabic, can be spoken anywhere – at home, outside, at the airport, said Islamic Center Executive Director Isa Sadlon.
But many Muslims prefer to pray with others, and five daily trips to the mosque can be burdensome. The prayer centers, he said, allow them to meet their obligations closer to home or work.
Since last week, Muslims can gather at Faith Presbyterian for the dawn and nightfall prayers Monday through Friday. The Islamic Center is paying a nominal rental fee to cover church expenses.
“We didn’t want this to be about profit-making,” said Franklin Municipal Judge Fred Klimetz, who sits on the church’s governing Session.
Faith Presbyterian isn’t the first church to open its doors to Milwaukee-area Muslims. Before the Islamic Center purchased its building in 1982, it conducted its Friday congregational prayers in the basement of Kenwood United Methodist Church near the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, said Islamic Society of Milwaukee President Othman Atta.
Faith Presbyterian’s decision to welcome its Muslim neighbors drew overwhelming – though not universal – support from parishioners, according to Bergeson-Graham.
One older member, who’s been with the church for about a decade, strongly objected.
“I told him, ‘I’m sorry you feel this way, and I hope you continue to worship with us,’ ” she said.
Sadlon wasn’t surprised.
“This has been true throughout the whole history of Islam,” said Sadlon, who was raised Catholic but converted to Islam about 20 years ago.
“We don’t take it personally. Sometimes your worst enemy becomes your best friend. But it takes time.”
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