How early Christians expressed their joy
Singing has always been a vital part of Christian worship. In about the year
112, Roman governor Pliny noted that Christians “met regularly before dawn on a
fixed day to chant verses alternately among themselves in honor of Christ as if
to a god.” Though it is sometimes difficult to distinguish early Christian
poetry from hymns, here are three brief selections that were likely sung by
early Christians.
There is only one physician,
Of flesh, yet spiritual,
Born yet unbegotten, God incarnate,
Genuine life in the midst of death,
Sprung from Mary as well as God,
First subject to suffering, then beyond it,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Christian History Magazine-Issue 37: Worship in the Early Church. 1993. Carol
Stream, IL: Christianity Today.
----------------
How much should we imitate the worship practices of the early church?
by RALPH P. MARTIN
Many worship practices that meet us in the pages of the New Testament and early
Christianity are tantalizingly obscure: Why were Christians being baptized for
the dead? Why were women required to wear coverings on their heads? Why did
believers wash one another’s feet?
What do we make today of these and other practices? Should we continue them?
Many are clearly mandated, or fully described and valued, in the New Testament.
Yet we find many of them difficult to fit into our contemporary worship.
Sometimes our problem is lack of knowledge. Much description of worship in the
New Testament gives the impression that worship practices were developed ad
hoc—occasioned by the needs of the hour. Sometimes we do not know the intended
significance of various worship settings and occasions.
But often we can read the texts only too clearly. The question is, what
principle is being illustrated and enforced? So we continue genuinely to puzzle
over why early Christians practiced certain rites—and whether and how we should
follow their lead.
Washing Feet
Christian History Magazine-Issue 37: Worship in the Early Church. 1993. Carol
Stream, IL: Christianity Today.
Feb 2008
Fresh Expressions of Church in
England, page 3: "Incarnational
mission is mission after the pattern and in the style of Jesus.... Nor do
they have in mind a particular set pattern of what a fresh expression will
look like. It is more like a journey that begins with listening to the
context [not to God's Word] and the wider community. It continues with
loving service. As people listen and serve, new communities where people
come to faith are formed. Only later does worship begin. The key elements
are ...
incarnational mission... and a sense of journey, growth and
development.'...
"Our society is now
changing at such a rate that this kind of fresh expression of church has
moved from being highly desirable to vitally important if we are to connect
with more of our culture.... We have not, in recent years, been very good at
two key areas of theology—missiology and ecclesiology—that are vital to
understanding fresh expressions of church."
See
The Dopamine-Driven Church
Definition:
(Encyclopedia):
"a label that has been used to refer to a particular subset of Christians who
are rethinking Christianity against the backdrop of Postmodernism....
Emerging Church
groups have typically contained some or all of the following elements:
-
Highly creative approaches to worship
and spiritual reflection. This can involve everything from the use of
contemporary music and films through to liturgy or other more ancient
customs. ...
-
A
flexible approach to theology whereby
individual differences in belief and morality are accepted within reason.
-
A
more holistic approach to the role of
the church in society. This can mean anything from greater emphasis on
fellowship in the structure of the group to a higher degree of emphasis on
social action, community building or Christian outreach.
-
A desire to
re-analyse the Bible against the
context into which it was written...."
Psalm 119:11
A.
W. Tozer
True or false worship
(self-focused or God-focused)"
"Men who refuse to worship
the true God now worship themselves with tender devotion."
"The Lordship of Jesus
Christ is not quite forgotten among Christians, but it has been relegated to the
hymnal where all responsibility toward it may be comfortably discharged in a
glow of religious emotion. Or if it is taught as a theory in the classroom it is
rarely applied to practical living. The idea that the Man Christ Jesus has
absolute final authority over the whole church and over its members in every
detail of their lives is simply not now accepted as true by the rank and file of
evangelical Christians."
"In the conduct of our public worship where is the authority of Christ to be
found? The truth is that today the Lord rarely controls a service, and the
influence He exerts is very small. We sing of Him and preach about Him, but He
must not interfere; we worship our way, and it must be right because we have
always done it that way, as have the other churches in our group."
"The things that are closest to our hearts are the things we talk about, and if
God is close to your heart, you will talk about Him."
"You can be a hypocrite and
love the world. You can be a deceived ruler in the religious system and love the
world. You can be a cheap, snobbish, modern Christian and love the world. But
you cannot be a genuine Bible Christian and love the world."
"Without doubt the emphasis
in Christian teaching today should be on worship. There is little danger that we
shall become merely worshipers and neglect the practical implications of the
gospel. No one can long worship God in spirit and in truth before the obligation
to holy service becomes too strong to resist. Fellowship with God leads straight
to obedience and good works. That is the divine order and it can never be
reversed."
The Pursuit of God,
"To great sections of the Church the art of worship has been lost entirely,
and in its place has come that strange and foreign thing called the `program.'
This word has been borrowed from the stage and applied with sad wisdom to the
type of public service which now passes for worship among us.
"Sound Bible exposition is an imperative must in the Church of the
living God. Without it no church can be a New Testament church in any strict
meaning of that term. But exposition may be carried on in such way as to leave
the hearers devoid of any true spiritual nourishment whatever. For it is not
mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself...."
"The way to deeper knowledge of God is through the lonely
valleys of soul poverty and abnegation of all things. The blessed ones who
possess the Kingdom are they who have repudiated every external thing and have
rooted from their hearts all sense of possessing. These are the 'poor in
spirit.'" Page 23
"To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul's paradox
of love, scorned indeed by the too-easily-satisfied religionist, but justified
in happy experience by the children of the burning heart." Page 14
Why We Must Think
Rightly About God
"What
comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about
us. ... Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts
of God.
For
this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and
the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or
do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret
law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of
the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the
Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God,
just as her most significant message is what she says about Him or leaves
unsaid, for her silence is often more eloquent than her speech. ...
Were
we able to extract from any man a complete answer to the question, ”What comes
into your mind when you think about God?” we might predict with certainty the
spiritual future of that man. Were we able to know exactly what our most
influential religious leaders think of God today, we might be able with some
precision to foretell where the Church will stand tomorrow. ...
A right conception of God is basic not only to systematic theology but to
practical Christian living as well. It is to worship what the foundation is to
the temple; where it is inadequate or out of plumb the whole structure must
sooner or later collapse. I believe there is scarcely an error in doctrine or a
failure in applying Christian ethics that cannot be traced finally to imperfect
and ignoble thoughts about God....
It is my opinion that the Christian conception of God current in these middle
years of the twentieth century is so decadent as to be utterly beneath the
dignity of the Most High God and actually to constitute for professed believers
something amounting to a moral calamity.
All the problems of heaven and earth, though they were to confront us together
and at once, would be nothing compared with the overwhelming problem of God:
That He is; what He is like; and what we as moral beings must do about Him....
The
idolatrous heart assumes that God is other than He is - in itself a
monstrous sin - and substitutes for the true God one made after its own
likeness. Always this God will conform to the image of the one who created
it and will be base or pure, cruel or kind, according to the moral state of the
mind from which it emerges....
The
essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy
of Him. It begins in the mind and may be present where no overt act of
worship has taken place. 'When they knew God,'wrote Paul, 'they glorified him
not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and
their foolish heart was darkened.'
Then followed the worship of idols fashioned after the likeness of men and birds
and beasts and creeping things. But this series of degrading acts began in the
mind. Wrong ideas about God are not only the fountain from which the polluted
waters of idolatry flow; they are themselves idolatrous. The idolater simply
imagines things about God and acts as if they were true.
Perverted notions about God soon rot the religion in which they appear. The long
career of Israel demonstrates this clearly enough, and the history of the Church
confirms it. So necessary to the Church is a lofty concept of God that when that
concept in any measure declines, the Church with her worship and her moral
standards declines along with it. The first step down for any church is taken
when it surrenders its high opinion of God.
Before the Christian Church goes into eclipse anywhere there must first be a
corrupting of her simple basic theology. She simply gets a wrong answer to the
question, 'What is God like?' and goes on from there. Though she may continue to
cling to a sound nominal creed, her practical working creed has become false.
The masses of her adherents come to believe that God is different from what He
actually is; and that is heresy of the most insidious and deadly kind.
The
heaviest obligation lying upon the Christian Church today is to purify and
elevate her concept of God until it is once more worthy of Him - and of her. In
all her prayers and labors this should have first place. We do the greatest
service to the next generation of Christians by passing on to them undimmed and
undiminished that noble concept of God which we received from our Hebrew and
Christian fathers of generations past. This will prove of greater value to them
than anything that art or science can devise.
The Knowledge of the
Holy by A. W. Tozer, Chapter 1
"Without doubt the emphasis
in Christian teaching today should be on worship. There is little danger that we
shall become merely worshipers and neglect the practical implications of the
gospel. No one can long worship God in spirit and in truth before the obligation
to holy service becomes too strong to resist. Fellowship with God leads straight
to obedience and good works. That is the divine order and it can never be
reversed."
Born After Midnight, 126.
"Worship, I say, rises or falls with our concept of God .... and if there is one
terrible disease in the Church of Christ, it is that we do not see God as great
as He is." Worship: The Missing Jewel of the Evangelical Church, 25.
Worship means "to feel in
the heart"....Worship also means to "express in some appropriate manner" what
you feel....and what will be expressed? "A humbling but delightful sense of
admiring awe and astonished wonder."
Worship The Missing Jewel of the Evangelical Church 8, 9
"...no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or
base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God."
The Knowledge of the Holy, 9.
"Men who refuse to worship
the true God now worship themselves with tender devotion."
A.W. Tozer The Divine Conquest, 52.
True or false worship
(self-focused or God-focused)"
"Men who refuse to worship
the true God now worship themselves with tender devotion."
"The Lordship of Jesus
Christ is not quite forgotten among Christians, but it has been relegated to the
hymnal where all responsibility toward it may be comfortably discharged in a
glow of religious emotion. Or if it is taught as a theory in the classroom it is
rarely applied to practical living. The idea that the Man Christ Jesus has
absolute final authority over the whole church and over its members in every
detail of their lives is simply not now accepted as true by the rank and file of
evangelical Christians."
"In the conduct of our public worship where is the authority of Christ to be
found? The truth is that today the Lord rarely controls a service, and the
influence He exerts is very small. We sing of Him and preach about Him, but He
must not interfere; we worship our way, and it must be right because we have
always done it that way, as have the other churches in our group."
"The things that are closest to our hearts are the things we talk about, and if
God is close to your heart, you will talk about Him."
"You can be a hypocrite and
love the world. You can be a deceived ruler in the religious system and love the
world. You can be a cheap, snobbish, modern Christian and love the world. But
you cannot be a genuine Bible Christian and love the world."
"Without doubt the emphasis
in Christian teaching today should be on worship. There is little danger that we
shall become merely worshipers and neglect the practical implications of the
gospel. No one can long worship God in spirit and in truth before the obligation
to holy service becomes too strong to resist. Fellowship with God leads straight
to obedience and good works. That is the divine order and it can never be
reversed."
http://www.crossroad.to/Excerpts/books/faith/Tozer/tozer-quotes.htm
... have been shut out of the discourse almost completely. The
honest self-appraisal of those great men of God stands as a stark and
striking comparison to today's quests for self esteem, entertaining, and
show-time gospel presentations. Joel Osteen writes a book to show people
how to improve their lives, and yet it not only doesn't mention sin,
carnality, and our desperate attempts at righteousness, it doesn't even
mention God or Christ! I really have to wonder why these many ministries
are just flat out avoiding the sinful nature of man. Are some of them
really Christian men who are drunk on the lure and vision of the church
growth movement? Or are they men who do not know Christ at all, and
instead follow the call of dark forces to lull their congregations into
a false sense of worship? Such
worship and "service" negate the need for
our Saviour on one hand, and promotes a comfortableness with interfaith
dialogue on the other. Maybe the answer one answer to the puzzle-- along
with our our needed response-- can be found in here:" ... in the last
days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves,
lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents,
unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without
self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty,
lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness
but denying its power. And from such people turn away!" ...all who
desire to live godly in Christ Jesus ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 109 - 6 Sep 2012 - URL: http://www.crossroad.to/text/responses/Church.htm
... in the Sermon on the Mount.'" [No, those aren't the main
"causes" Jesus outlined in that great message. His concerns dealt with
the heart and spirit, not possessions or earthly: Blessed are the "poor
in spirit," those who mourn or hunger for His righteousness, the meek,
the merciful, the pure, the peacemakers (sharing God's way to peace, not
practicing conflict resolution), those who face persecution for His
name's sake, those who-- by His Spirit-- seek His kingdom, not earthly
gains and are salt and light in the dark and corrupt world. See The
Secret of Abundant Life] "Some of the pastors came away from that
two-hour meeting talking about planning a mass event where tens of
thousands of evangelicals could worship
together... 'I think coming together to worship
and to bless the city' is the best idea, said Eckhardt, who is pastor of
Crusader Ministries.... 'We believe that when you come together to
worship and do something like that,
something happens in the heavenlies... some things that will impact the
spirit realm." January 2005 Love for an Offensive Gospel: "In the New
Testament the members of a local church are never seen coming together
for the purpose of evangelism. Evangelism took place apart from the
meetings of the church – in the workplace, at the synagogue, in town
squares, among family members and friends. The early Christian went to
where the unbelievers were and presented the gospel of Christ." ...it
should give us great ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 99 - 3 Sep 2012 - URL: http://www.crossroad.to/News/archive/post-modern1.html
... , what is idolatry? What is an idol? The bringing or meeting
together in the human heart of two opposite principles. These are in
every human heart, and are seen in various shapes and lusts, and mixed
with natural religion. Idolatry embodies two things that are quite
distinct and opposite. Idolatry embodies a false notion of God; at the
same time it deifies some lust or corruption. These heathen idolaters
had their god of war, of love, of murder, of wine, and the god of death.
Their idols were deified vices, lusts, passions, corruptions, and the
wickedness of the human heart. Such was the working of Satan on the
human mind, that he brought forth an idol representing two things
apparently distinct, yet united: religion and lust,
worship and devilism; the prostration of
the body before a god that truly was nothing less than some deified lust
and corruption. This is devilism, a false religion,
worshipping some lust or corruption under
the mask of religion; our natural corruptions under a profession;
worshipping our pride, our
respectability, our covetousness, or love of the world. All these are
worshipped under the garb of religion,
which is idolatry; and this is what every man does, except so far as he
is delivered from it by the power and grace of God. Men must
worship something. All have a natural
religion. When the mind is dark through sin, the heart ignorant, the old
veil remaining on the heart, no teaching of the Spirit of God in the
soul, we must worship ...
... Quotes and Excerpts from Christians for Biblical Equality-
CBE Fact Sheet Compiled by Dwayna Litz and Christy Cahela
www.ltwinternational.org THE GOD OF CBE "I think that if you want to in
your personal devotions address God as 'Mother' I don't have a problem
with that." – T.J. Ostrander, CBE speaker, (quoted verbatim from tape#
ACF290: "Sophia Wisdom of God or Goddess of Wisdom"; sold via the CBE
web site: www.cbeinternational.org). "I believe it is important to call
God, 'Mother' as well as 'Father' in public
worship."- Paul R. Smith, CBE author (Source: Smith's book, Is it
Okay to Call God Mother; p.1; offered via www.cbeinternational.org) "We
sing the words of John W. Peterson in worshipful
praise, 'Shepherd of love you knew I had lost my way' Would it be worse
or blasphemous, to sing something like 'Mother of love'? Both are
figures of speech. But because of our fear of taking on the trappings of
radical feminism or goddess worship, we
dare not sing those words — except perhaps in our closets of prayer."-
Ruth Tucker, CBE author (Source: Tucker's book, Women in the Maze;
20-21; www.cbeinternational.org; See: Evangelical Feminism and Biblical
Truth, Wayne Grudem, Multnomah Publishers, 509-513)" there is a good
Biblical reason, then, to speak of God as both Father and Mother, both
'she' and 'he'." --Richard and Catherine Kroeger, CBE authors; "Women
Elders Called by God?" ( ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 95 - 6 Sep 2012 - URL: http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/Church/feminism/cbe.htm
... drew more than 11,000 women from a dozen states to Gaylord
Entertainment Center Friday and yesterday for two days of music, prayer
and a humorous look at the challenges women face."...there is a man
behind all those Women of Faith. Stephen Arterburn, a former Promise
Keepers... founder of New Life Clinics, a chain of Christian mental
health clinics." The speakers I heard in 1999 often drew laughter by
making husbands and children the target of their jokes. The balance was
overwhelmingly in favor of fun, freedom (from traditional boundaries
--Biblical as well as cultural) and feel-good affirmations rather than
faith and faithfulness. Humor is great-- but not when it mocks God's
ways or demeans the people He has put in our lives. 1 Peter 3:4
Worship must emphasize God, not
entertainment, leaders say:" 'Arts will be integrated in
worship' so that the liturgy tutors
worshippers about being in right relationship with God, said Marcia
McFee, a worship consultant who is
pursuing a doctorate in liturgical studies and ethics. 'Liturgy that
embodies right relationship is inclusive,' she commented. 'It needs
everybody.' To be inclusive, she urged worship
planners to use diverse imagery in describing the ways God loves, and to
use diverse forms and styles because people learn differently.'...
Liturgy should be imaginative and never boring, she emphasized. 'To
visit the kingdom requires imagination.' All styles of
worship can be boring if they are
unimaginative, she said. 'We must use vivid imagery.' [Sounds like an
OBE ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 93 - 3 Sep 2012 - URL: http://www.crossroad.to/News/Church/archive/changing-1.html
... News| Preparing for Persecution| Victory December 2007
Fifteen Die as Christmas Persecution Continues: "As many as 15 people
have died in the continuing violence against the Christian community in
India's Orissa state.... After destroying Pastor Anand's church
building, the same radical group went on a rampage later that night and
burned down at least 10 Christian families' homes.... In Haryana state,
violence touched one of GFA's Bible college students who went to visit a
friend for Christmas. When Salingh stepped off the bus in his friend's
hometown on Christmas day, anti-Christian radicals gathered around him.
They forcefully took his bag, found his Bible and Gospel tracts, and
began accusing him of forcing conversions. They then beat him badly."
See Persecution Belarus Pastor and Homeowners Fined for Holding
Worship Service in Private Home:" 'If
they want to pray to God they must have a registered place of
worship,' Ruslan Krutko of the Executive
Committee in the town of Baranovichi in the western Brest Region of
Belarus insisted.... 'They can't use a private home as a place of
worship. You couldn't use a private home
as a public toilet, could you? ..the three were dealt with in accordance
with the law.'...the country's restrictive 2002 Religion Law declares
all unregistered religious activity illegal, and the Criminal Code and
Code of Administrative Violations prescribe punishment for such
activity." ...church members complained to the news service about what
they regard as the 'illegally imposed fines .'They call for prayers and
appeals for the ability 'to conduct services without instruction,
proclaiming to ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 88 - 3 Sep 2012 - URL: http://www.crossroad.to/News/Persecution/archives/2006-2007.htm
... the majority of Hindus who, while respecting the yogis,
sought other ways of escape from this world of illusion (maya). "The
Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the less important Puranas tell of the
avatars of the god Vishnu. The most influential section of the
Mahabharata is known as the Song of God (Bhagavad-Gita). It has been
described as 'the focus of all Indian religion'. It teaches the way of
yoga, but also the way of devotion (bhakti) to a personal god and of
nonattached everyday living (i.e. the carrying out of daily tasks and
caste duties without self-involvement). The teaching of the
Bhagavad-gita is the justification for the variety of Hindu practice
today. "Polytheism (in some cases, animism) is still the basis of much
popular Hindu worship (at the house
shrines. temples, processions and pilgrimages), but outward forms are
not felt to be of any real consequence. The bhakti of the worshipper is
what matters." (From The New Lexicon: Webster's Dictionary of the
English Language, 1989) Monotheism: Belief in one God. New Age
Spirituality (occult): (From the Aquarian Age Community) "Spirituality
refers to the evolutionary process as it drives us forward, eventually,
to perfect wholeness. It relates to the expansion or evolution of
consciousness....[A ]ll activity-- be it physical, emotional,
intuitional and so forth-that leads towards greater perfection, goodness
and wholeness is therefore spiritual.... "Spiritual values are qualified
by ever-widening horizons, synthesis, growth and ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 77 - 6 Sep 2012 - URL: http://www.crossroad.to/glossary/religious.htm
... I could be wrong, but I cannot see the Savior dancing to a
musical score: WWJD comes to mind. Even if the Christian is a "strong"
Christian and has no real desire to do or think that which is not Godly,
their heart and body can and may still be caused to stumble thereby. No
matter how we love to think of ourselves to be in control, it has been
proven over and over through the centuries that man, even redeemed man
(and woman), is still fallible and the natural bent toward sinful
thoughts and behaviors is not eradicated once a person has been born
again.... There is a certain "sound" that I believe should differentiate
Christian music from rock music. What I mean is that I believe that our
"worship" should always sound like
worship. For example, if a person were to
walk by a gathering of Christians during a the musical portion of a
worship service at any given place, if
they did not know what was going on inside, they should be able to tell
by the "sound" they hear if that this is indeed a
worship service and not a rock, rap, R&B,
pop concert or country music event. The sound of Christian music should
literally speak of God's Holiness, His glory, and righteousness.
Christian music should be like everything else in a Christian's life...
it should make us stand out from the world and portray Christ as lovely.
Just as there should be a clear difference in the way we behave....
...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 65 - 6 Sep 2012 - URL: http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/music.htm
... , after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy
Spirit of promise...." Ephesians 1:13" ...because of the hope which is
laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the
truth of the gospel, which has come to you, has it has also in all the
world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the
day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth." Colossians 1:5-6 "And
this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a
witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." Matthew 24:14
Worship in Spirit& Truth" ...the hour is
coming, and now is, when the true worshipers
will worship the Father in spirit and
truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship
Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship
Him must worship in spirit and truth."
John 4:23-24 The offense of the Truth "Have I therefore become your
enemy because I tell you the truth?" Galatians 4:16 "For the wrath of
God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness
of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be
known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them." Romans
1:18-19 Hating or rejecting truth "And this is the condemnation, that
the light has come ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 64 - 13 Sep 2012 - URL: http://www.crossroad.to/HisWord/verses/topics/truth.htm
... " The god of this world has the world right where he wants it.
Lucifer's prey is those in today's Christianity who aren't rooted in the
faith and therefore easily devoured after they've unwarily walked right into
his "Christianized" or "Christ-ized" traps. Darkness loves masquerading as
light. Counterfeiting truth is an effective means of deceiving and gaining
control of all who are not rooted in the knowledge of God's truth. Those who
are casting aside the doctrine of Christ are easy prey. They are unwarily
walking right into our enemy's trap of following his New Age "Christ" who
requires no doctrinal beliefs. Those who are casting aside the scriptural
knowledge of God are easy prey. They are unwarily walking right into our
enemy's trap of believing that the difference between religions is nothing
more than different "worship styles,"
"interpretations of truth," and "experiences" of "the same God." Those who
are meditating to know God through spiritual experience are easy prey. They
are unwarily walking right into our enemy's trap of entering his expressway
to Oneness with "God" and its mysteries of Being "as God." Whether every
person specifically comes to believe they are "divine" or not, choosing to
rely on the "authority" of their own relative experiences, dreams, visions,
and preferences, etcetera, to decide for themselves what is true or false
and right or wrong replaces God's Word of truth with relativism. This casts
aside the authority of God and His absolute truth in favor of exalting the
"authority" of Self. In essence, this follow's ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 64 - 3 Sep 2012 - URL: http://www.crossroad.to/Excerpts/books/in-name-of-purpose/led-away/10-sea.htm
... the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a
man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows
the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not
the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might
know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things
we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the
Holy Spirit teaches...." 1 Corinthian 2:9-13 "Jesus answered and said,
'I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden
these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes."
Matthew 11:25 Prayer and Worship in the
Spirit" ...the hour is coming, and now is, when the true
worshipers will
worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking
such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and
those who worship Him must
worship in spirit and truth." John
4:23-24 "For we are the circumcision, who
worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no
confidence in the flesh...." Philippians 3:3-4 "And take the helmet of
salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit...." Eph
6:17-18 Fruit of the Spirit "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not
fulfill ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 60 - 13 Sep 2012 - URL: http://www.crossroad.to/HisWord/verses/topics/spirit.htm
... now had to flee to the wilderness, leaving his home, wife,
and best friend. Did he have reason to praise God? Listen: "But as for
me, I shall sing of Thy strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Thy
lovingkindness in the morning. For Thou hast been my stronghold, And a
refuge in the day of my distress. 0 my strength, I will sing praises to
Thee For God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness."
Psalm 59:16-17 Suddenly my momentary struggles seemed mild. In the light
of David's praise, I saw my sovereign King and understood why He reminds
me more than 180 times to praise Him. He longs to meet my need, not His.
Praise turns my heart to God, produces worship,
and prepares me to receive everything He longs to give me. When I praise
Him with my will, I affirm the truths He has deposited in my mind. The
truths I think and speak in praise open my spiritual eyes to God's
glory. Seeing Him, I worship Him; for
praise builds an attitude of trust, adoration, humility, and surrender,
which releases God's resources into my life. The meaning of praise.
Since praise is the prelude to worship
and victory, I need to appreciate its nature and make it part of my
life. The Old Testament word translated "praise" stems from three
different Hebrew words: 1. Shabah- to soothe and still as well as to
praise and commend. It is usually an expression of praise to God for His
...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 56 - 13 Sep 2012 - URL: http://www.crossroad.to/Bible_studies/Wardrobe/8-Praise.htm
... True stories for children- 3 Standing Alone with Jesus Home
Heaven Armor New Word: Pantheism: The belief that a god or force or
spirit is in everything. Therefore everything is sacred. People can
worship trees, wolves, or anything they
like. Witches, Native Americans, Buddhists and many other groups around
the world believe in pantheism. The Star Wars movies and toys makes it
even more popular. But God warns us not to trust in other gods or
worship nature. Eleven-year old Laura
loves animals, trees, and all the other beautiful things God has
created. But she didn't like the environmental camp she had to visit
with her class. The camp counselor tried to teach all the sixth-graders
a new way of thinking about nature. "The counselor led us through the
forest," said Laura later. "He told us to stop to absorb the moment and
hug the trees. 'You are the tree,' he told us. 'You are one with all
natural things.' He was treating everything as sacred and calling trees
'mother and father trees.' He was really teaching us pantheism." Laura
didn't agree with him. She knew about pantheism, because her parents had
explained it to her. And the Bible said that it was both wrong and
dangerous. Just to make sure she was right, she asked him if he believed
in God. "God is in all things," he told her. Now she knew that he
believed in a different god. Later that day, she became more worried.
Each student had to collect natural ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 55 - 5 Oct 2012 - URL: http://www.crossroad.to/Persecution/stories/3-Laura.html
... Short-term Wealth or Eternal Treasures? This timely message
based on Jeremiah 35 was told by Jerry Harr- November 2005 The opening
scene of this story takes place in Jerusalem, in the land of Judah, the
southern kingdom. It might be good for the purposes of this message to
review a little bit about the history of Israel. You remember that up
until the time of Solomon, Israel was one country. But after the time of
Solomon, the land of Israel split into two kingdoms: the northern
kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. The split happened
in 931 BC. The northern kingdom of Israel quickly turned to idol
worship. Fearing that after the split the
people of the northern kingdom would go down to Jerusalem in the
southern kingdom to worship, as God had
commanded in the law, Israel's king Jeroboam set up two golden calves in
Israel for the people to worship. You
remember that the woman in Samaria told Jesus that "our fathers
worshipped in this mountain, but you Jews
say that Jerusalem is the place where men ought to
worship" Now the people in the northern
kingdom were led by godless rulers who followed the terrible religious
practices of the nations around them, and after sending prophets to them
telling them to follow the one true God, God finally brought the king of
Assyria into the land, who took the people captive, scattering them into
the countries round about, and replacing them with heathens. This
happened around 722 BC. The southern kingdom of Judah still paid lip
service to God, but also began to follow the idol ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 55 - 13 Sep 2012 - URL: http://www.crossroad.to/Bible_studies/sermons/jeremiah-wealth-harr.htm
... I think, "Why did God take his life? The prophet that did the
lying and deceived the man of God, why didn't God punish him? I want to
look at these verses. I think there are some things to learn about God
here, and we shouldn't miss them. But first, we need to see who Jeroboam
is, and a little bit the history. History During the reigns of Kings
Saul, David and Solomon, Israel was one country. God had promised
Solomon that if he would walk before Him as David his father did, and
obey His commandments, then God would establish Solomon's throne and his
sons would reign over Israel. But God also warned him that if he or his
children would turn from following Him and go and serve other gods and
worship them, then He would cut off
Israel out of the land. You can find that in 1 Kings 9. Well, Solomon
took many wives, and these wives were from the nations around Israel,
godless nations, idol worshiping nations.
And these wives turned Solomon's heart to idols. So in 1 Kings 11 we
read: "So the LORD said to Solomon, 'Since this is your attitude and you
have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will
most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your
subordinates.'" Now the servant of Solomon that God would give the
kingdom to, was Jeroboam. And while Solomon was still on the throne, God
sends the prophet Abijah to Jeroboam, and he tells ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 54 - 13 Sep 2012 - URL: http://www.crossroad.to/Bible_studies/sermons/harr-deception.htm
... " and will shatter many nations like pottery. However,
fundamental to His rule is II Corinthians 3:17, "Now the Lord is the
Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." Instead
of taking away liberties and becoming more domineering, the kingdom will
move from a point of necessary control while people are learning truth,
integrity, honor, and how to make decisions, to increasing liberty so
that they can. "God created mankind to be free, and that is our most
natural state, which is why He put the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden.
It was not to cause Adam and Eve to fall, but there could be no true
obedience unless there was an opportunity to disobey. Likewise, there
can be no true worship unless there is
the freedom not to worship. Otherwise,
the Lord would have done better to have just created a computer instead
of man and programmed the computers to worship
Him! What kind of worship would that be?
Freedom is required for true worship,
true obedience, and true relationship. "The kingdom will start out
necessarily authoritative in many ways, or in many areas, but will move
toward increasing liberty --so do all true churches and movements that
are advancing toward the kingdom. You may have to be very controlling of
toddlers, but the older they get, the more they can be trusted, and the
more freedom they should have if they are going to develop into true
maturity, which requires personal responsibility. "Those who are here to
help prepare the way for ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 52 - 6 Sep 2012 - URL: http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/007/discernment/7-4-totalitarian-kingdom.htm
... how to have a fully authentic yet fully contemporary
understanding of God, Borg... traces his personal journey. He leads
readers from the all-powerful and authoritarian God of his (and their)
childhood and traditional faith to an equally powerful but dynamic image
of God that is relevant to contemporary seekers...." www.bestprices.com/cgi-bin/vlink/0060610352BT.html
[It may be more universally "relevant," but it isn't true according to
God's Word] Pastor Rick Warren quotes Marcus Borg on at least twice in
his "Rick Warren's Ministry Toolbox" at www.pastors.com Apparently he
approves of Borg's teachings. The third quote below is from an article
posted on the same website. 1. Rick Warren's Ministry Toolbox; quotes&
notes and www.pastors.com/RWMT/?ID=98: "When
worship is functioning as it should, it can be a powerful
mediator of the sacred. It can open the heart, shape the religious
imagination, and nourish the spiritual life, all within the experience
of community.- Marcus Borg, The God We Never Knew 2. Where Two or More
Are Gathered: Exploring Alternative Worship
Strategies: (by Bradley Sowash)" 'Churches that are full of God are
likely to find their pews full of people.'-- Marcus Borg 3." ...How
would it feel to participate in an extravagantly creative
worship experience? Could a service be
designed that mixes church tradition with original ideas? Does
alternative worship enhance or alienate
the church community? How does it effect outreach?....Matthew 26:6-13...
This woman's singular ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 51 - 15 Jun 2011 - URL: http://www.crossroad.to/Excerpts/books/unholy-alliances/borg/never-knew.htm
... . Arizona 1911, Preamble. We, the people of the State of
Arizona, grateful to Almighty God for our liberties, do ordain this
Constitution... Arkansas 1874, Preamble. We, the people of the State of
Arkansas, grateful to Almighty God for the privilege of choosing our own
form of government... California 1879, Preamble. We, the People of the
State of California, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom. Colorado
1876, Preamble. We, the people of Colorado, with profound reverence for
the Supreme Ruler of Universe. Connecticut 1818, Preamble. The People of
Connecticut, acknowledging with gratitude the good Providence of God in
permitting them to enjoy. Delaware 1897, Preamble. Through Divine
Goodness all men have, by nature, the rights of
worshipping and serving their Creator according to the dictates
of their consciences. Florida 1885, Preamble. We, the people of the
State of Florida, grateful to Almighty God for our constitutional
liberty, establish this Constitution... Georgia 1777, Preamble. We, the
people of Georgia, relying upon protection and guidance of Almighty God,
do ordain and establish this Constitution... Hawaii 1959, Preamble. We,
the people of Hawaii, Grateful for Divine Guidance. Establish this
Constitution. Idaho 1889, Preamble. We, the people of the State of
Idaho, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its
blessings. Illinois 1870, Preamble. We, the people of the State of
Illinois, grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and
religious liberty which ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 51 - 6 Sep 2012 - URL: http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/faith/America/preamble.htm
... definition of terms here. Since barbarianism is the
foundation of McManus' book, we need to look at what the idea of
barbarian really means, and the life that was lived by these kinds of
people. The essence of barbarianism, and the true barbarian way, is
certainly spiritual — but not in the way in which it is presented in
this book. McManus' presentation, however well-intentioned, is faulty
from the get-go. By linking the idea and lifestyle of the barbarian with
biblical Christianity, he redefines what "the barbarian way" really is.
It is crucial that we understand that barbarianism is a way of life and
thought rooted in paganism. It is not merely courage, fortitude and
devotion to cause. The entire foundation of a barbarian's life is a
spiritual pagan worldview that worships
the creature rather than the creator. It is a worldview steeped in false
worship, violence and superstition, and
is in no way compatible with biblical Christianity. The two are complete
opposites. Over and over in Paul's epistles he makes the point that "you
were like that, but now you are like this". Paul was the apostle to the
Gentiles. He said so himself. A Gentile in Paul's day was anyone other
than God's chosen people. These others were pagans,
worshiping idols, engaging in sexual
perversion and violence, and completely shut out from the presence of
God. Paul's before and after contrasts between pagans and Christians
make for a lot of reading time in the Scriptures. For McManus to try to
assimilate back into the Christian walk some of the things that
comprised ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 51 - 6 Sep 2012 - URL: http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/006/barbarian-way-reeves.htm
... and religion. If the World Management System could gain
control in these two areas, Comte reasoned, it could establish a
non-free society with a permanent world government that could never be
overcome. He wrote and lectured about his plans and attracted a
following of many who considered themselves to be among the intellectual
elite. To gain power over science, and of human behavior Comte claimed
that his plan was scientific, and therefore not to be disputed. He
invented the term, 'sociology' for his new master science. In every
instance methods of social control would be contrived and used to
replace self control. To gain power over religion he decided that all
religions should eventually be united to form a single world religion
which he called the 'Religion of Humanity' or 'Positive Religion'. The
object of worship would be humanity as
the Great Being, symbolically represented as a woman of thirty with a
child in her arms. The religious leaders would be called 'Priests of
Humanity.' Comte published Positive Philosophy (PPC) in six volumes
(1828-1842), System of Positive Polity (SPP), four volumes (1851-1854),
and Catechism of the Positive Religion, (CPR) (1852). Throughout the
generations others have been instructed by Comte's works, and some have
published instructions of their own. The following are among the steps
deemed necessary and used to establish a sociologically-controlled
non-free world management system (WORMS): 1. Replace Christianity With
Positive Religion 2. Abolish Monarchy 3. Institute& Expand Communistic
Principle 4. Limit Education& Establish Sociological Control 5. Control
Environment to Control ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 49 - 6 Sep 2012 - URL:
http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/08/carle/social-science-nonfree.htm