Church Leadership

 

        A Leader in the church has to hold themselves to a higher standing at church, the community, and at home.  The main positions is the pastor (overseer, bishop, or elder) and deacons.  The majority of the standards has more to do with character than duties.  People can learn how to do a job, but character comes from within.  If they do not have a strong relationship with God, then the character will reveal that.

    Pastors are teachers.  They teach the church on spiritual matters affecting life.  Deacons are to serve the church.  They help settle disputes, wait on people, and serve in whatever capacity is needed.  They minister to the church through action.  Together the pastor and the deacons take care of the church flock.  They uphold church ordinances and hold the church accountable to do the same.  The main ordinances to be upheld are baptism and the Lord's Supper.

    Baptism is not required for salvation, but it is the first act of obedience as a Christian.  If you can't do that simple instruction, then how can God ever trust you with something bigger.  It only needs to happen once because once saved always saved.  Once you fulfill baptism, then you can start moving forward in maturing as a Christian.  

    The Lord's Supper represents how Jesus became the sacrificial lamb for the church.  It also reminds the church of Jesus' last supper.  It points forward to your relationship with God and waiting on Jesus' return.  This act of remembrance could happen every week, once a month, once a quarter, or once a year.  It is important to be a part of church where leadership makes baptism and Lord's Supper import for membership.

Matthew 26:26-30, Mark 14:22-26, Luke 22:14-20, Acts 6:1-7, Romans 6:1-11, Colossians 2:11-12, 1 Timothy 3:1-13, Titus 1:5-9

Missional Church

 

    A church that follows Jesus will go out into the world to introduce them to Jesus, tell them the Good News, and make disciples.  It starts in your own home, then community, and where ever else the Holy Spirit takes you.  You were set apart not to make you special, but to serve God.  You have a purpose.  You are a part of the royal priesthood that follows in Jesus' footsteps.  You have direct access to God.  do not waste what you have been given.  Give it to the world.

    A missional church is a church full of believers that take responsibility for the blessings that God has given them.  They take their gifts and talents into the world boldly to meet the needs of people in the world.  It starts somewhere.  It can be a smile, debate, visiting the sick, or any opportunity that makes people want to listen to what you have to say.  You go out and meet their needs and they will eventually respond.

    Acts is a great place to find out how to be a missional church.  It is the book of how Jesus' first church came about after his ascension.  The power of the church comes from the Holy Spirit, not the people.  It can take pressure off if you understand that you only have to be yourself.  You are not held on a pedestal.  Follow Jesus and be yourself.  God will use it if you are willing.

    A missional church will support one another in prayer, encouragement, and wisdom.  You should never be alone.  You always have the Holy Spirit, but you should also have the support of your church to strengthen you.  No one succeeds when they are alone.  Life is too hard.  You will get overwhelmed with life versus serving the church and seeking opportunities to bring people into the church.

    If you are a Christian, then you are a missionary.  You do not have to go to far off places to serve.  You serve where you work, your church, and other places in your community.  You don't have to be in the spotlight to be a missionary.  It is often easier if you are in the background working to just take moments to serve.

    A missional church does the Lord Supper, baptism, meals together, serve the community, lay hands, worship, pray, and fast.  This church is obedient to God's commands.  This is what you were set apart to do.  Don't overthink it.  Just let it become a part of who you are and it will become natural.  Start small if you need to or jump all in if that is what you need.  

    The point is to grow and keep trying.  Make mistakes and learn from them.  You are needed.  There is too many needs in the world and not enough people willing to help.  At the same time don't kill yourself trying to do everything because other people do not step up.  It takes balance and lots of prayer.  Be willing to get uncomfortable because you will not be useful until you do.  When things start getting too comfortable again be prepared to change things up because something is about to happen to do just that.  

Matthew 28:16-20, Acts 11:19-30, 13:1-3, & 1 Peter 2:9-12

Church at War

 

    Christians are at war with society, themselves, and the spiritual world.  The battle is all spiritual, but it often feels personal.  The church is at war with society and not conforming to be like the world.  If you are a Christian, then you battle with your own desires versus living for God.  Then there is the unseen, but felt far too often spiritual battle where God is fighting Satan on the majority of it for you.  You still have to become a prayer warrior and scripturally strong to even know how to fight these battles.

    Your war is with wanting to live in the light with Jesus, but the darkness of human nature that Satan controls keeps creeping in somehow.  Satan is a liar.  He makes what looks and sounds good or logical into something ugly and dangerous.  He tricks people with false teachings, division in the church, persecution to get people to back down, and other evil tactics.

    Satan blinds the world to his tactics and works at misleading people from the truth.  That is why he attacks Christians.  Christians expose the truth and brings evil into the light.  Jesus has already won the war, but that makes Satan all the more dangerous.  He has nothing to lose and his goal is to take as many people down with him.  

    Do not lose sight of who the real players are in this war.  Satan wants to destroy everything good and pure in the world.  Don't be one of his victims.  Do not lose focus on what matters and stay close to Jesus. This war is supernatural and it is against Jesus' people.  It is real and it is vicious.  Just because you can't see it does not mean you are not in it.  Resist evil and lean into Jesus for strength, endurance, and rest.  

    The Holy Spirit does his part in protecting the church with spiritual gifts and the armor of God.  You do not have to be afraid, but you do need to be aware.  When you are going through it remember that God would not allow it unless it served a purpose bigger than yourself.  Sometimes you have to endure persecution to grow and see the bigger picture more clearly.  It is never easy or fun, but the reward makes it worth it in the end.

    A church that comes together to fight this spiritual war is a strong church.  People that come together to pray and study scripture are not easily broken.  If you chose to be an island, then you are fighting alone.  That was never God's design.  Christians need each other.  The church is not strong without all of it's people.  Together with God's power Christians can push back the darkness.

Matthew 4:1-11, Acts 4:23-31, 20:28-31, 2 Corinthians 1:8-11, 5:16-17, 11:1-4, Ephesians 6:10-20, James 5:1-18, & Revelations 2:9-10

Church Character

 

    Church character is comprised on many things like spiritual gifts, God's children, and obedience.  However a big part of that is God's people coming together to worship Him.  Worship is more than the singing part in the church service. It is an attitude of submission, love, and respects that pours over into how a Christian behaves.  Worship is believing and declaring God's greatness.  It is a good response to what God has done in your life.

    God is working in your life right now.  You may not feel like it.  You may not see Him being obvious, but He is working in and around your life.  He is in the details.  When you respond to honor God's greatness with appreciation and respect you are worshipping God.  It becomes a part of your character in how you make decisions, attitude, actions, how you work, and how you spend your free time.  

    If you are a Christian, then a typical response to God is a desire that becomes a practice to spend time in His Word.  You invest time and energy to become more like Jesus.  You want to spend more time with people you can talk about Jesus with, so church becomes a place where you eat, teach, talk, and pray with other believers.  You are open to correction if you are understanding things incorrectly.  You give your time and money for God's causes.  .

    Church is not perfect because it is full of imperfect people including you.  That means that it can get messy.  There can be dysfunction, but the point is to see church for what it is and what it could be.  Pray over it.  Seek wisdom on how you can help, solves, or stay out of issues.  The point is to not give up.  You may find the worst hurts come from church people, but remember hurt people hurt others.  Pray for them and give God time to change theirs or your heart.  

    If a church you are attending does not represent Jesus as a whole, then you do not need to stay.  If the pastor does not preach the complete Bible truthfully, then you should leave.  You can continue to pray, but you do not need to deprive yourself of what you need in God's people to be a martyr for people pretending to be God's people.  

    The character of the church is supposed to represent God's grace to the world.  It is supposed to be community that supports, loves, and lives each other like Jesus did with his apostles.  It should be a stable place in difficult times.  It should be a place of forgiveness and encouragement.  Acts of kindness is the mark of Christianity.  

    If you are not kind, then you are not representing God well.  Church is not about you and what you like.  If you make it about your agenda and desires, then you are part of what makes a church unhealthy.  Make sure that you reflect God's love instead of your personal desires.

Acts 2, Romans 12:9-13, Galatians 5:13-15, 6:1-3, Ephesians 4:31-32, Philippians 2:3-4, & 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11

Body of Christ

 

    When Christians come together they make up the body of Christ in the church.  The church needs everyone to function properly, take care of each other, and go out into the world as disciples.  You have a part in the church.  It id determined by God.  The church is flawed because it is put together by flawed people including you.  That does not change the fact that you are a part of Jesus' church if you are a Christian.

    Every Christian faces persecution in some format.  The church can cause the worst hurts in people, so it could be where you feel persecuted.  If that is the case, push deeper into your relationship with Christ and figure out what you can do to change or make things better.  Forgiveness can be very hard, but it also leads to healing.  Forgiveness is also not something you can do when you feel like it.  Jesus commanded us to forgive each other because he knew you would benefit from it.

        When the church struggles it sometimes parts.  This is good if a part of the church wants to be unbiblical.  It is bad if it is just personality differences.  When you let the world into church you are going to have problems that hurts everyone in the church.  Sometimes you have to push your own agenda, pride, and opinions aside for the greater good.  

    The church needs to come together to pray over the world, each other, and confess struggles so that you can see the best in each other.  You are called to be a community not a meeting place of strangers that only talk once a week.  You are called to work together using your spiritual gifts to strengthen each other.  If you don't have community, then you don't have strength and security in the church.  

    If you have spiritual gifts, then you are exalted to serve not for your own benefit.  The body of Christ is to come together unified in trusting God.  Use your gifts to build each other up to be strong in Jesus.  If you are a Christian, then you do have at least one Spiritual Gift.  It benefits everyone if you learn what it is and how to use it the way it is meant to be used: helping the church.  Spiritual gifts leads to learning, counsel, prayer warriors, strong faith, revelations, boldness, and more.

    Society has a way to segregating people: sex, age, race, culture, education, money, and more.  In the church you are called to leave all that at the door.  God doesn't care about any of it.  He is aware of how it affects your life, but when you come together you are one.  You are united in Jesus.  Titles, class systems, and sin only cause division.  

    Unity does not guarantee that you agree on everything.  It means that you work at hearing people out and seek a solution.  You are still an individual person with your own personality, thoughts, and ideas.  You are also a part of something bigger than yourself.  You can still be you and a part of Jesus' body.  The point is that you as an individual are working to be closer to Jesus. If you do that, then you will naturally work at being a part of something bigger than yourself: the church.

    Jesu is the head of the church.  The pastor is the spokesman for Jesus.  The teachers are the educators of God's Word.  It doesn't change the fact that everyone still answers to God. Everyone has a different role, but when you put the roles together it is beautiful, holy, and strong.  It is all sewn together through love for Jesus and each other.  It isn't perfect because each person gets in their own way occasionally, but it is better than the alternative.  

Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12-13:3, & Philippians 1:20-24

Jesus Led Church

 

    You may not like going to church.  You may have a problem with churchy people.  That does not change the fact that if you are a true Christian, then you are part of Jesus' church.  That means that you need to surround yourself with other true believers to become strong and serve Jesus as he commanded.

    The church entails all believers from all over the world throughout time.  It is impossible to go to church with everyone throughout the world alive, let alone throughout history.  What you need to do is find one in your community in which your serve that the pastor teaches the entire Bible and not just the feel good part.  You also need to know the Bible to know that your pastor doesn't manipulate God's Word to suite what they want to say.

    A Jesus led church looks at how Jesus lived his life and the commands that he stated, then they try to follow like his apostles.  The church today is where believers come together to assemble.  It is fine for unbelievers to come and learn, but they have no role in the church until they become believers and take the time to learn Jesus' way of doing things.

    Jesus' church is unified through his sacrifice and faith.  It is set apart to live holy.  It is universal which means it does not belong to one nation or people group.  It is apostolic which means that it began with Jesus' apostles, the people who knew him best and had all the inside knowledge.  They outlined the church that the church should be living today.  You have it much easier because they took the time to build it from scratch and record what they did. You have the outline. 

    Jesus is the head of the church.  No man can fill that position.  When you become a Christian you enter a covenant installed by Jesus that gives you access to God.  In that covenant you are agreeing to all Jesus did and that he is the head of the church which consist of you, but is not only you.  You agree to work together to continue his work in the world.  You are agreeing to go into the world declaring the truth and offering to make disciples ( you can't force or manipulate anyone to follow Jesus).  In return you are adopted into God's family.  

    Following Jesus means that you submit to his authority out of love.  You rely on him for control in your life, provision, and the promises to be fulfilled.  You trust him with your best interest.  Your relationship with him is the most important relationship you have.  If you honor it, then your other relationships are healthier or fade away.  

    Titles do not matter to Jesus, but position and heart does.  Position yourself as a willing servant with a loving heart and you will be blessed.  You are a piece of the church.  You are needed, but it is not all about you.  You are a part of the church to serve, encourage, challenge, and be sanctified in truth.  You are a steward of God's grace and led by the Holy Spirit toward obedience.  You have a responsibility to the church, but it is always your choice to fulfill it or deny it.

Matthew 16:17-20, Acts 20:28-31, Ephesians 1:19-23, 5:22-23, & Colossians 1:15-20

Destiny

 

    Destiny are events that will necessarily happen to a particular person or thing in the future.  It is basically set in stone.  God gives you free will, but there are certain things that are destined no matter what.  One thing that is destiny is eternity.  You will have an eternal body, but you chose where you end up: Heaven or Hell.

    Predestination is God's sovereignty in your life.  He created you for a purpose.  He made a direct and personalized path to Him.  You have choices.  You can follow the path or forge your own, but He has already cleared a path for you that gives you fulfillment.  

    Election is the destiny of those who choose to follow Jesus.  Only Christians get to embrace this destiny because they are set apart by God and serving His purpose.  There is some controversy on this.  The fact is God knows everything, so He knows who is going to follow Him.  He has opened the door for everyone, but He knows who will reject Him.  It doesn't mean that He doesn't still love them or care.  He still pursues them like everyone else.  He just knows that they are going to reject Him.

    Conditional election is based on faith.  You choose God or you reject God.  God knows the circumstances.  He knows the opportunities He has given you.  He knows what you will do with those opportunities.  On judgment day you will face Him and answer for good or evil what you did with the time and opportunities that He gave you.  You live by faith and salvation or you reject God's gift of eternal peace.

    Unconditional election is believed to be that God elects unconditionally without a person's choice.  People who believe this believe God chose you before you were created and you have no choice in the matter.  You are either saved or not saved.  It is your destiny to choose salvation.  It does highlight God's sovereignty, but it takes away free will.  

    Corporate election is God chooses select groups like a class system.  Everyone in a certain church or religion will have salvation.  It basically says there are the born Christians in Christ, but it takes away the individual or personalized aspect to salvation.  This group will be blessed through Jesus and ties more into the old testament.  Some believe this from stories of whole families being saved.  The stories do not got into detail, so it is unclear.  All we need to get from them is that families united in the decision to follow Jesus.

    Your destiny is tied up with God's sovereignty, but you do have free will to make your own choices in your life.  Theology gives you options on how to follow Jesus, but it does not force you to follow him.  Salvation gives you assurance.  If you have salvation, then your destiny is with God for all eternity.  God will not force your to repent.  He will never remove the gift of free will.  However, if you choose to follow Jesus in faith and repentance, then your salvation is guaranteed.  Once saved, always saved because your identity is stamped by the Holy Spirit as an adopted child of God.

Matthew 11:28-30, 13:1-23, John 3:18-21, 5:39-40, 10:25-30, Romans 8:26-39, 9:10-13, 11:5-7, Ephesians 1:3-8, 4:30, Hebrews 6:4-8, Jude 24-25, & Revelations 13:5-8

Christian Maturing

 

    A Christian is maturing if they are becoming more like Jesus every day.  Everyone has a different starting and end point, so every journey looks different.  Don't compare your journey to anyone else.  Your journey is personalized for you.  The point is you are growing in your relationship with God.

    Maturing is growth and development.  Christian maturity is not about how much you are at church looking the part.  It is about what you do when no one else is around.  Are you living out your sanctification?  Do you claim your identity in Christ with integrity?  Do you live set apart to be holy or are you like everyone else in the world?

    Christian maturity is accepting where you are at in life and thanking God.  It is being willing to give up dreams, aspirations, and ideologies about your life to follow Jesus.  You are mating if you are growing in that relationship becoming more like him in small ways everyday.  

    When you become a Christian you are positionally sanctified to be a part of God's family.  As you mature in your Christianity you are progressively sanctified.  This process last until the day you die and joint Jesus.  That is when you get the perfected sanctification by receiving your eternal body and living in perfection.  That is what all of this is about: eternity with God.

    God started His good work in you and He will see it through.  Are you willing to go along for the journey or will you reject your divine appointing?  The journey means working out your doubt, what you believe, why you believe it, and willing to continue to learn and grow.  A Christian maturing thinks, acts, and speaks differently from the person that they were before they encountered Jesus for the first time because their world has transformed from within.

    Maturing in Christianity is a slow process.  You work on it a little everyday.  You treat it like a marathon so you do not burn out quickly.  You take each temptation on winning some battles and losing some battles.  The point is to learn from the battles lost and try to do better next time.  The point is to never give up or quit.  

    Life has seasons that can make you reel, but always turn to the Bible to find the truth.  You will get tired, but God will also give you rest.  If you allow the Holy Spirit to always be working on your heart you will learn to ask for what you really need.  You will learn to love like Jesus.  You will learn how to forgive yourself and other people.  You will learn to take certain things in stride and not allow people to affect you too much. Make sure you place people in your life to be true friends to help you grow.     

Proverbs 27:17, Matthew 25:23, Roman 6:1-4, 12:1-2, 1 Corinthians 3:1-4, Ephesians 4:17-24, Philippians 1:3-6, 2:12-13, Colossians 3:1-11, 2 Timothy 4:6-8, & Hebrews 5:11-14, 12:1-4

Adopted by God

 

        When you become a Christian, you are adopted into God's family.  Jesus makes you righteous.  You become a new person with responsibilities of the title you now hold.  However, God is the one that takes on the responsibility of you as His child.  It is a binding commitment.  He will never change His mind.  Once you are His, you are always His.  You will never be rejected by God.

    When God takes responsibility of you He does so as a good father.  That means that He will never stop loving you, but He will also discipline you when you do wrong.  He will not ignore you or pretend that you are just acting out.  He will show you His love in a way that will protect you in the long run.  He prepares you for the future and helps you grow into the Christian you need to be to go out into the world.

    Being adopted by God changes you.  It changes every aspect of your life.  It gives you an eternal identity and a certain status to go with that identity.  He gives you an eternal inheritance.  You get to be a part of a functional family.  It won't be complete on this side of Heaven, but you do get a feel for it.  

    Some of the blessings you get now is complete access to God.  He listens and wants to give you good things in life.  When you pray it is just a conversation with your father.  You can be honest, vulnerable, and truthful about everything without hesitation of judgement.  However, that does not mean when He replies it is always what you want to hear.  Tell Him your joys, sorrows, hurts, and everything else in between.  He wants to hear it all.

    Being adopted by God means you have freedom unlike the children of the world.  You get to learn what real love is.  You are no longer chained to your sins.  You have the Holy Spirit to guide, teach, and redirect you misguided ideology.  He helps you defeat temptation.  He understands you in a way no one else in the world ever will.

    The adoption is all up to you.  You can choose to believe and follow Jesus becoming a brother or sister to him or you can reject the only real truth and go your own direction.  You don't know everything when you first become a Christian.  There will be growing pains.  It is a lifelong journey to develop that relationship.  It comes with a lot of ups and downs and mistakes along the way.  Just remember that God loves you no matter what.  Hold onto your joy and hope while you find strength in your relationship with God.

    No matter what your biological family dynamic is, if you are adopted by God then you have the perfect family for eternity.  You get to experience it a little in the church, but remember the church is filled with people figuring out life too.  It will not be perfect now, but that doesn't mean that God doesn't love you or have a purpose for your life.  He is trying to give you an abundant life because life is meant to be lived.  Live your life, but make sure that God is the center of it.

John 16:31-33, Romans 8:12-17, 12:14-16, 1 Corinthians 12:22-26, Galatians 4:1-7, & Hebrew 4:14-16

Justified Through Jesus

 

    God is just.  He gives people so many chances and people squander them more times than not.  Each person deserves a lot worse from God than received.  God loves you so much that He gives you life, time, and free will to do what you want with it.  The choice is your to follow Jesus or do your own thing.  It is important to know that Jesus is the only way to salvation.  He is the only justification you have on that day that you face God.

    God is just, but He does not allow sin to be ignored.  When you choose to reject Him and His ways, then you put yourself in opposition to God.  Any sin is worthy of God's wrath.  It is rebellion and what leader tolerates rebellion, let alone your creator.  Instead of you having to take God's full wrath, He poured it onto Jesus to take on your behalf.  This opened the door to salvation.  

    If you choose to walk in faith with Jesus, then you are hidden from God's full wrath.  That does not mean that you will never face consequences for doing wrong.  You may even face consequences for the sins of other people, but it could be so much worse.  Following Jesus means you are willing to take the small amount you get now for perfect peace with God in the future.  You understand the purpose of righteous living.  

    What God and Jesus did that day on the cross and the next three days was foretold in the beginning when sin was introduced into the world.  It had never been done before and will never be done again.  It was a one time event in history to change everything for the rest of time.  Jesus fulfilled every prophecy given about him throughout history.  Any prophecy that came after his ascension you can be assured will happen.

    Jesus is the one and only sacrifice worth enough to take on God's wrath and not be destroyed.  He is the only one that was able to open the door to salvation for everyone.  All you have to do is accept and walk through.  When you do you become justified through Jesus.  Your sins are atoned and you can start living a new life of faith.  You can stand before God without your sins destroying you.  

    You get to be righteous before God because Jesus exchanged your guilty sentence onto himself.  Jesus makes you all equal in justification and righteousness.  No one is more important than anyone else.  There are those that simply follow Jesus and those that chose to rebel. You are either free or a slave to sin.  You will either have eternity of perfection or torment. It all depends on what you do with what you know.

Romans 1:18-20, 2:12-16, 3:9-31, & 5:1-2

Salvation Requirements

 

    Salvation is a free gift from God through Jesus.  However, if you accept this gift it makes you a part of His holy family.  Being a part of His family has some responsibilities.  You accept salvation through faith, but then you repent in your heart all your sins known and unknown.  Next you live it out and proclaim it without embarrassment or hesitation.  

    While you are alive it is like you are running a marathon.  You have to practice.  You have to work the faith muscle.  You learn endurance by using your spiritual gifts and leaning into God in the hard times.  It is a relationship that should never go stagnant.  You also have to learn humility to repent when you sin.  Repentance is displayed in obedience.  If you truly love God, then you will obey him.

    To repent is to change your mind.  You change how you look and think about sin.  You repent what you know, but as you go on in life you realize that you still sin.  You have to repent as sin becomes aware to you.  It is like taking a spiritual shower.  You are staying spiritually hygienic.  You also want to repent from all your unknown sin, so you ask God to reveal them to you.

    You have to have a repentant heart to follow Jesus.  It ensures you have a heart seeking to be like him.  Your heart and attitude leads to your actions, so it helps you stay righteous.  If your heart is true then sin brings you real sorrow.  The truth becomes clear.  You accept God's forgiveness and change, but you also accept consequences in your life.  People do not forgive as quickly as God because they can't read your heart.  They only see the actions.  

2 Chronicles 7:12-15, Psalm 51, Jonah 3, Mark 1:14-15, Romans 4:13-15, Hebrews 11:1-19, & James 2:19-20

Gift of Salvation Part 2

 

    Salvation is a free gift from God given to you and everyone else who accepts through Jesus.  It makes you a Christian, a part of God's family.  You are adopted in to be loved and cared for eternity.  No one can take it away from you once you accept.  

    Salvation has nothing to do with how good you were before.  It is offered to everyone.  After salvation you become better out of love not duty.  Nothing you ever do in life is not influenced by the world in some way.  That makes your best deeds not good enough.  Don't wait to accept salvation until you are good enough or you will wait too long.  Accept it and then work with God on becoming who you were made to be.

    Salvation is a gift of love.  Jesus came to the world to show what love should look like.  He was gracious, kind, and firm to the truth.  He made the ultimate sacrifice to be the last sacrifice.  God sent him and he obeyed.  When he left, he left his people with the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit empowers Christian's new nature to be like Jesus.

    Everyone is an enemy of God until the moment of salvation.  It is proof of His love.  Why would He even bother pursuing you or anyone else?  Jesus took the the death that you deserved onto himself, so you have the opportunity not to spend eternity separated from God in regret.  

    You can have salvation only one way: faith.  You believe that Jesus was who he said he was, that he died, and that he resurrected himself to live among people for 40 more days before ascending to Heaven still living to be with God until the time of his return.  It is that simple.  You just have to believe, pronounce it, and turn from your sins as the Holy Spirit convicts you of them.

    Baptism is the first act of faith that God request of you.  Next you need to find a church that teaches the complete Bible not just the feel good parts or change it to suite society.  It doesn't have to be a particular formula or traditional church.  The point is to be with fellow believers that will help you grow and encourages you to disciple.  Christians were never meant to find salvation and then sit on the sideline allowing the world to figure it out for themselves.  You are called to live out Jesus' love like he did.

Romans 5:6-11, Ephesians 2:8-10, Colossians 1:21-23, & Titus 1:1-7, 3:1-11

Biblical Sexual Ethics

 

    From the beginning God had a design for marriage and sex.  His design is one man and one woman in marriage become united as one through sex.  It is a marriage covenant not to be broken.  The problem is that we live in a broken world.  

    Divorce is just as high in the church as it is in the world.  Divorce was never part of the design, but God allows it because people have hard hearts that lead to breaking the marriage covenant.  God allows divorce when you have been abandoned or unfaithful.  

    There are many debates on if abuse should be a part of that.  God never wanted His people to be hurt especially by their spouse.  Some people believe it is part of sticking with their spouse through sickness and in health.  It is a call only an abused person can make for themselves with help of the Holy Spirit, but it can fall under abandonment since the spouse does abandon you emotionally.  Only someone with a hard heart would abuse.  They make a home unsafe. 

    Sex outside of marriage was never part of God's design.  Marriage is to represent the completion of love God has for His people.  .  Premarital sex can lead to multiple partners making it where you are cheating on your future spouse before you ever meet them.  It distorts God's design making it a sin that has many different consequences: children out of wedlock, STD, and spiritual and or emotional disconnect from God.  God forgives all sins, so He can remove the condemnation, shame, and guilt.  However, you will only turn to Him when you realize the sin for yourself.

    God is clear in the Bible that homosexuality and transgenderism goes against His design.  Same sex relations are strictly prohibited and in the days of the Bible carried severe consequences.  Today it has been declared a mental illness by some.  People that struggle with this should be met with Godly love and prayer.  They do not need your condemnation because God will deal with it His way.  Christians should encourage them not to give it identity.  Naming it gives it power.  Instead focus on the real struggle with sin and be supportive as they work through it with God.  You may not understand the struggle.  That is okay.  You can still love them the way Jesus loves them and direct them to Him.

    Pornography is adultery.  It is so common today that people don't even view it as a sin, but Jesus made it clear that it is.  He said it is better to remove your eyes than to look on someone with lust.  Almost half the families in the United States have a problem with porn in their home.  It is a struggle that many church leaders and pastors struggle with at some point or another.  It is just as common in women as it is in men now.  

    Sexual sin causes destruction for the family.  America has more broken and multi-dimensional homes than traditional or nuclear homes.  The family has almost lost all value in the nation because talking about sex is uncomfortable.  Facing sexual sin is hard because it affects every single person on some level or another.  Until you can be honest with yourself and your own sin, you can't help anyone else with theirs.  It is part of the sinful nature that comes naturally.  It is possibly the hardest part to put to death.  Teach yourself to see temptation for what it is and and how to avoid or walk away from it.

Genesis 2:4-25, Psalm 101:1-5, Matthew 1:18-25, 19:1-12, Romans 1:24-32, 6:1-14, 1 Corinthians 6:9-20, 10:12-13, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8, 1 Timothy 1:8-11, & Jude 5-11

Salvation Freedom

 

    Before you accept the gift of salvation you are an enemy of God.  That means you sentenced to accept His full wrath one day.  Salvation is more than escaping pain and doom.  It is a life of faith and building a relationship with your creator.  The reality is you are an enemy or child of God.  There is no in between or gray areas.  

    Salvation is believing everything about Jesus and accepting the cross to bare your sins.  Your life become a life of sacrifice because you sacrifice who you were to follow Jesus for the rest of your life.  The reward is eternity with Him.  Once you put your sins on the cross they are dead to you and removed from existence with God.  You are free because you are no longer bound to sin.  It no longer controls every aspect of who you are.  You are transformed into a righteous person under God's protection.

    Salvation changes you from the soul.  It helps you see sin for sin, so you are motivated to remove it from the roots and destroy it so it doesn't destroy you or your testimony.  Sin condemn while salvation gives you are fresh start to do things differently.  It changes your life perspective, how you think, and how you love.  Salvation has to be real for that kind of transformation.  You transform because you experience true freedom and the peace that comes with it.

    Salvation freedom does not work without God.  He gives you your identity.  You can't have that identity without Him as a part of it.  He is your creator, teacher, inspiration, and so much more.  Your identity is defined by your relationship with Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit to face everything with confidence.

    There is nothing wrong with being dependent on God.  He never lies, manipulates, or lets you down.  He won't do life your way, but if you let Him He will show you why His way is better.  You can rest because you know He is in control.  You can admit your weaknesses because He is strong.  You can love because He loved you first.  

    Jesus completed the law showing us how to live it in love.  You are no longer tied to the law that was created to show you how much you need God.  You now obey out of love and desire to do good by God and other people.  You are not bound to the law as works, but observe the law to experience peace.  You have an enlightenment that nonbelievers can't possess because the Holy Spirit reveals the truth to you on a personal level.

    Jesus gave you spiritual freedom to see past petty human issues.  He destroyed the power of hate that causes division.  Follow Jesus and you no longer have to struggle with issues involving race, economics, society, culture, or government. Jesus brings unity.  When he returns he will come to divide, but in a different way.  He will gather his people separating them from the people of the world.  They will never again experience hate, cruelty, bigotry, racism, or any other forms of bondage created by Satan and man.

    God pursues everyone.  He doesn't care about the color of your skin, language you speak, or nation you were born in.  He made you that way out of love.  Prejudices show that people are bond to sin.  Christians need to let go of any form of bondage to follow Jesus freely.  It doesn't happen over night, but has to happen or you will never experience the freedom that God is trying to give you in life.

John 15:9-17, Romans 6:1-11, 8:1-4, Ephesian 2

Power Over Sin

 

    Sin is serious like terminal cancer.  It eats away at you stealing your life.  However, God's love is more powerful than sin.  He loved you first.  He pursued you in your sin.  When you accept His love He ask you to sin no more.  That starts a spiritual battle in your heart from your human nature and your Christlike nature.  God's love shows you the way.  He always gives you are out from sinning.  The question is will you follow our chose to stay in sin?

    You can read God's Word.  You can conceptionally understand it.  However, until you allow it into your heart it does not how power in you.  You have to accept God's love and follow Jesus for knowledge to become wisdom.  Following Jesus is the ultimate act of love because Jesus came to this world out of love for you.

    God's character is love, but His love is not giving you everything you want.  It is giving you free will to do what is good and right.  You have the choice to follow Jesus or your own path.  If you are His adopted child and you stray, then He will discipline you to show you the right way.  That is love.  Love does not allow you to destroy yourself.  It show you how to be safe, productive, and good.

    Salvation through Jesus is the only way to be rescued from your sins.  It is the only way to become an adopted child of God.  When you have salvation you have the freedom to live righteously.  It is the beginning of your faith journey that will take you places you could never have gone without Jesus.  You learn how to love purely, sacrificially, and without expecting anything in return.

    God's love hold the deepest depth.  You are a slave to death doomed to die eternally if you don't accept that love.  Salvation is beginning of understanding the depth of God's love.  It starts healing you, enables you to forgive, and enhances your ability to love.  You start loving people where they are in life, but want more for them like Jesus did for you.  

    Sin deserves to die.  The fact that Jesus took all his power and put it into a human body to give people a way out is unbelievable, but true.  His power is more powerful than sin and everything that comes with it.  He took what you deserved, so you could have freedom from the eternal consequences.  He loves you enough to wait patiently for you without forcing or intimidating you into a decision.  He loves you enough to never take your free will away from you.  His powerful love is compassionate, kind, holds grace, merciful, slow to anger, faithful, strong, glorious, and true.

Numbers 21:4-9, Psalm 86:14-17, Isaiah 62:1-5, John 3:1-21, 7:50-53, 15:9-17, Romans 5:6-11, 2 Peter 3:8-10, & 1 John 4:7-8

Sinful Nature

 

    In the womb you were created perfect for a purpose.  Somewhere between being created and born the sinful nature becomes a part of you.  Sinning comes natural.  It feels right.  It takes having an encounter with God to really see sin for what it is.  It takes a relationship with God to really change the sinful nature.  It is not something you can do without God.

    No one had to reach you how to have a rebellious spirit.  It comes in different degrees with people, but everyone has a rebellious spirit that drives you toward sin.  It can be as simple as wanting things your way to the extreme in not believing in God at all.  

    Sin always comes with consequences.  It will always take more than you want to pay.  You can know what the consequences will be and allow that to keep your actions in check, but that doesn't change your heart.  God sees the heart.  Unless you make your heart right with God, you will never be free from your sinful nature.

    Unbelief leads to rebellion.  If you don't believe that God will do what He says He will do then why would you obey?  Walking in faith requires holy fear.  This fear is knowing the consequences and wanting to do right to be holy and not hurt the Holy Spirit.  It is not fear of the consequences like humanity faces fear.  

    Faith requires trust.  It is the opposite of sin.  Sin wants you to feed your pride while faith wants you to surrender to God's control.  The more you give control over to God the more freedom you have from the bondage of sin.  It no longer is a habit.  You are able to use your free will to do good instead of being tied to your selfish behavior.

    Sin is anything that goes against God's will or design.  That includes how you think, what you do, and the words you use that dishonor God.  It is choosing yourself over God.  In a way you make yourself your own God even if you never would admit it.  The more you hold onto control the more sin has a hold on you.

    Humanity will always struggle with the sinful nature, but it doesn't have to control you.  You can stop gossiping, crush your pride, work through obsessions or addictions, stop caring about other people's opinions, and a slew of other things that become sinful habits.  Put to death your sinful ways before they kill you.  

    Satan cast doubt into your mind.  If you feed that doubt it will push you further away from God.  If you go to scripture to fight doubt, then your faith becomes stronger and you find ways to avoid sinning.  His desire is to steal, kill, and destroy your life.  The closer you move toward God the harder Satan pursues you, but God is stronger than Satan.  If you give God control, then He can fight Satan on your behalf.  Most things that you get hit with are small in comparison to what Satan would do if he was able.

    Sin is serious.  It is choosing evil and wickedness over righteousness.  It affects every aspect of your life.  You will never be able to imagine a life that is not affected by sin until you enter Heaven.  In Heaven all these struggles disappear.  When it gets hard remember God's promises and what you are working toward: eternity.  

    Sin separates you from God.  Faith brings you closer.  Faith takes time and work, but it is stronger than the sinful nature.  Sin leads to a hard dysfunctional heart.  Faith leads to love that heals all emotional and spiritual wounds.  Sin leads to havoc, condemnation, and death.  Faith leads to love, transparent righteousness, innocence, and eternal perfection.  You are always moving more into your sinful nature or your faith.  You never stay stagnant.  It has always been your choice which you put your energy into.

Genesis 3, Psalm 51:1-6, Romans 3:23-26, 5:12-19, 6:20-23, Hebrews 12:1-4

Created Identity

 

    God created people as man and woman.  There has only ever been two sexes.  Each sex is a miracle.  You are a beautiful masterpiece made by God.  God made woman from man.  Women are made to compliment, help, and support men.  Neither sex is better than the other.  We each have our own roles, strengths, and weaknesses.  We are both stronger and better when together versus working against each other or yourself.

    Creation designed you in His likeness.  To change God's designis a sin against His masterpiece that is you.  His designing you gave your purpose in the role of your sex.  God could have created any number of sexes, but He chose two.  He could have made Eve in any way of His choosing like speaking her into existence like Adam.  However, He chose to make woman from man.  God chose to make man before woman, so the order matters too.  God can meet both male and female needs best when they are together. 

    Male and Female are distinctly different and that is a wonderful thing.  Through God's design of male and female He also designed marriage.  It is not about hierarchy or who is better.  It is about holy love.  God loves each sex equally.  Marriage was designed to serve a purpose (children), but it also is a gift.  It makes aspects of life easier.  People are the ones that complicate things.  God's design is perfect on so many levels.  God's way may not be easy, but it is simple.  

    Men were built to be strong and be able to make decisive decisions.  They are meant to lead without manipulation, bullying, or abuse of any kind.  The job of the man is to protect this world, all life, and women.  His strength does not always have to be muscles.  It can be intellect, character and other ways that show love and protection.  

    Women, it is okay to be a tomboy, tough, and strong.  Just understand that men are stronger and they can still take care of you.  Women your job is to take care of the family however that may look.  You support your man and allow him to lead.  You can give him wise wisdom, but he is the leader.  You were created to be his life partner not his mother (unless he is your child or mentally unable to be the man).  You are your man's helper.  This is an important and valuable role.  It does not demean you, but compliments your strong character and submission to God.  It takes strength to submit and not have the last word.

    Mothers, once your boy grows up, then let him go to be the man for his wife.  Father, teach your daughters on how to be led by men properly.  Parents, teach your children how to be men and women for marriage.  If that is not possible, then trust God to lead them on how to be a husband or wife.  Marriage is loving sacrificially like Jesus did for the church.  It is also okay if you stay single.  God has a purpose for you.  Singleness does not devalue at all.  It just means you have different struggles than married people.

Genesis 1:26-2:25, 5:1-2, Psalm 121: 1-2, Matthew 19:4-6, Mark 10:5-9, 1 Corinthians 15:45-49, & Ephesian 5:21-33

Self Worth

 

    God created everything.  He created the heavens and earth.  He created everything that brings beauty into this world.  He created all life including you.  Humans are God's masterpiece.  You are made in the likeness of God.  

    Male and female are different in almost every aspect except that they were made by God and both hold worth in different ways.  Everyone holds a likeness to God in some way.  You are a physical representative of God in this world.  Nothing else is able to communicate and have a relationship with God like people.

    Every person matters.  Every person has a purpose.  How you treat others matters to God.  He cares if you chose abortion, prejudice, genocide, murder, or other forms of hateful acts that harms His creations.  He cares enough to forgive you and forget any past mistake, but He does want you to repent.  No one is without fault of hurting someone in some way.  He can use acts of hate to change people's hearts including your heart.

    A person is a body, a soul, and a complex mind.  You have a personality that is all your own.  You have the ability to reason.  You build your morality and what direction you take spiritually.  Your freewill directs your life and how you invest your time with the life God gave to you.  

    God created and loves each person.  You are not clumped into a group with Him.  You are precious, valued, and important to God.  You have dignity because you are His creation.  You are an eternal being.  You decide where you end up in life.  

    God commands you to love everyone, so when it is hard to love people pray for them.  Pray over your own heart to see them the way God sees them.  Pray to see their value in this world.  Sin can cloud your perspective.  Sin can make some people very hard to love.  Like you, your enemy is a workmanship, a masterpiece, of God.  No matter how far they stray from Him that truth never changes.

    No matter what people tell you, you are worth the effort.  You are crafted by God.  You are a piece of art, uniquely made and can never be fully copied.  You are worthy of love, dignity, and bare minimum of respect as God's image bearer.  Your nationality, race, sex, language, intellect, personality, or anything else does not matter because God made you exactly the beautiful image that you are.  You don't need to try to change or improve the appearance.  Grow in your relationship with Him and everything else will sort itself out.  God's signature is on your DNA.

Genesis 1:26-31, Romans 8:26-30, 2 Corinthians 3:16-18, Ephesian 2:8-10, & Revelations 7:9-14