Children are the future of the Church. I have visited many Churches and have noticed a pattern either there is no children's ministry and it is hard to find someone who wants to do the Job. Or there are a few women sold out for the task but not enough and so the load is heavy. Sometimes there is just one children's church leader and she is holding on by a thread because of the load. I have also been to Churches that care more about how the ministry looks to those visiting the church then How well the ministry is teaching the word of God to the kids. They put on all kinds of fun activities and show case the kids to the congregation often. But the kids barely know who Jesus is why he died and what it means to be a good Christian. I Have been working with kids in the church for going on 15 years and I pray that more people would get involved in this ministry but for the right reasons. The kids will be running our churches and spreading the Gospel of Christ in the future if we 1. realize how vitally important this ministry is 2. Make the teaching of Gods word first priority and 3. love them through the whole process. Other wise we may lose them to the world in the end. I have seen many kids become very worldly once they are of college age. kids that were in church their whole life. are just not interested in living for Christ. There may be other reasons why that happens but I believe the scripture tells us that if we raise a child in the way that they should go and when they mature they will not depart. The church needs to get more serious about the children's church ministry and be sure that the kids are growing up in the word of God. At the end of the day if your church has no kids ministry and you don't have the time to get involved in one, Be your child's teacher and read a kids bible and pray with them before bed. get some great resources online for children's church and do them at home with your kids on your time. Be a spiritual parent as well as their biological one the rewards will be endless. Lord I pray that more people in your house would consider doing Children's church and would take that choice very seriously. In Jesus name Amen.
Here is a link to help you decide if you are right for the ministry. http://ministry-to-children.com/7-questions-to-ask-about-your-lesson/
Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Affirmations by V. Toussaint
Today we are talking about the things we say. In my walk with God I have always heard preachings on what kind of confessions we make out of our mouth has power to create. If I say when I get up first thing in the morning that " I have too many things to do today, it's going to take forever. Man today is going to stink. I want to go back to sleep" I have just created my day and will get exactly what I said I would. But if I say "Wow I have a lot to get done today! Lord Jesus please give me the energy and motivation to work hard and get it all done. May I finish to enjoy the rest of my day and relax till it's time for bed . May my sleep be sweet for tomorrow so I might have a very productive day again. " Then I have set up my day for success. It took me a while to do this in my own life. I got the bad confession part down pretty fast. "Don't say negative things, right got it" But to purposely make good confessions and pray them took some time for me to get down. I read a couple of books that helped me that I recommend to anybody who wants to go from negative to positive confessions or affirmations. The first is "Live your best life now" by Joel Olsteen and "The dynamic laws of prosperity" by Catherine Ponder. Those two books changed my life. My faith has grown so much since I read them and I have experienced many great powerful moves of God in my life because of using what I learned. If you have a problem with negative things constantly coming out of your mouth do what ever you can to change that about your self. You will be happier and I promise you will see God begin to move in your life to create the goodness of your confessions. Remember God created the whole universe by the power of his words. He said "Let there be light and there was" Jesus said " If we say to that mountain be removed and believe it shall be removed." So start moving mountains of negativity out of your way. Lord we thank you that we have the power to create greatness with our tongues. Please, by the leading of your holy spirit teach us to tame our tongues and to confess the positive things we want for our lives. In Jesus name. Amen.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Christian marriage by V. toussaint
Recently I received some news that a couple I know is having marital problems and they are at a breaking point. This came at a time when I happened to be studying the statistics on Christian marriage in the US verses that of the rest of the nation. Shockingly the statistics are about the same. Then I began thinking about some of the high profile Christian marriages that have split up in recent years. Juanita Bynum and Paula White to be more clear. I also began some research on domestic violence in the church and found that the numbers were very high. I was shocked to find that in this day and age we still have such issues in the church. We are supposed to be transformed and healed. We are supposed to be revealing that to the world so they will want Christ as we do. Yet they must not see much of a difference in us then they see in themselves. It is sad and makes me wonder about who Christians are trying to transform into? That maybe Christians are saying my sins are forgiven and I am saved and that is the end of it. They are not really seeking to be more holy and sanctified. they are not working out their salvation with fear and trembling. I blame the domestic issues on a doctrine of submission on the part of the wife but not on the part of the Husband. My research showed me that this belief is the common culprit in domestic issues. It is my belief from the scriptures that there is a call for mutual submission to each other in the Christian marriage.Eph. 5:21 Submit to one another in fear of God. I cannot say I blame any women for leaving a potentially dangerous situation. I was in that very same situation once myself and God delivered me from it. The situation to me is poor teachings in our churches and not enough compassion on the side of the church to protect women from violence from the man who is supposed to love them like Christ loves the church and lay down his life for her. Or more importantly, I don't see the Jesus of the bible beating the Church into submission and so we shouldn't see husbands beating their wives into submission in the church. There needs to be mutual love, mutual respect, and mutual submission taught in our churches starting as soon as possible because the problem of divorce is not going to go away without it and the domestic issue will not turn around with the old doctrine of one sided submission still being taught. I pray God deliver every women that is dealing with domestic violence. I pray God speak to the hearts of Christians every where to heal our marriages by teaching the truth about what the word says regarding marriage. And I pray that compassion be on the hearts of the Christians to be willing to start counseling for women in these types of situations and shelters for those seeking refuge. I pray for much more marriage counselling in churches and for the doctrine of one sided submission to disappear. It is not biblical and it's time we recognize it. Lifting this all up to Jesus, Amen.
citations:
Study: Christian Divorce rate Identical to National Average By Audrey Barrack/Christian Post reporter
Christianity and domestic violence, Wikipedia
Monday, October 11, 2010
A brand new week.
Hello and God bless you.
This week we are going to concentrate on moving forward in all our endeavors. We will strengthen our spiritual selves through a real effort to seek God's word and follow it to prosperity. Each and every one of us has to make a conscious decision about how much time we really want to spend with God and going about His business. Regardless of your individual calling, a fair balance must always be struck between your personal life and your ministry. God should be first in your life but your spiritual walk is an individual one that should not be dominated by a feeling of obligation to attend every church service or function. The bible says that God looks at your heart and if you are feeling guilty about not attending church than maybe you should.
This week we are going to concentrate on moving forward in all our endeavors. We will strengthen our spiritual selves through a real effort to seek God's word and follow it to prosperity. Each and every one of us has to make a conscious decision about how much time we really want to spend with God and going about His business. Regardless of your individual calling, a fair balance must always be struck between your personal life and your ministry. God should be first in your life but your spiritual walk is an individual one that should not be dominated by a feeling of obligation to attend every church service or function. The bible says that God looks at your heart and if you are feeling guilty about not attending church than maybe you should.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Are you a seeker sensitive Christian?
Most people initially attend a church service because of one or more the following reasons:
1. They were invited by a friend, family member or evangelist.
2. They are searching for a greater sense of meaning in their lives and look to the church as a doorway to the path of spiritual growth.
3. They are curious about " what this is all about"
4. They feel that being part of a church is an important aspect of their sense of community and/ or public image and are looking for a "church home".
In church language we call these people "seekers", because they are looking for something. Sometimes they don't even know what it is that they are looking for yet, but the fact that they have taken that first step by attending service is in and of itself a sign of their willingness to try something new. We have to give them credit, I mean let's face it, they have come into a strange new environment with strange new customs. Customs like standing, kneeling and praying on command, singing and dancing in public, outward displays of affection and being asked for money on a regular basis.They are also exposed to new terms like "born again", "spirit walk" and "spirit filled" not to mention people getting " slain in the spirit" and " talking in tongues"( see the book "Christianese" by Pastor Don Moore for more on the language of Christianity). All of this can be a little overwhelming. In some cases, an improper introduction to Christianity can be all that it takes to turn that seeker away from God for a long time, if not forever.
So where does that leave us? Well, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the person who our belief system is named after (Christianity), is very clear on certain points : We are to spread the Gospel(Mark 16:15); We are not to judge((Matthew 7:1); We are not to place burdens on our brethren(Matthew 23); The world will recognize us by our love for one another.(John 13:34-35) and we are supposed to serve our fellow man.(Matthew 25:31)
These points directly reflect the theme of this post. Our role as Christians should be to bring the knowledge of God to those who do not yet know Him. There is no work that we can do in this world that is more important to God than this. Our role is not to judge what an individual does with that knowledge, nor place a time frame on how long we give them to "get it right" before we judge them.
If a person visits your church and is a drunk, or a prostitute, or a homosexual, or an adulterer etc... do you make them feel welcome? or do you look down on them? Does your response to them reflect what Jesus would do? I'm sure many self righteous Christians can find a ton of scriptures to justify their actions when they shun someone, but the truth of the matter is that the spirit of the law is overlooked when the letter of the law is quoted. We believe that as followers of Christ we should implement His teachings in our daily lives by showing kindness and compassion towards others, volunteering to help those less fortunate, donating to charity, and by teaching the love of God through example.
1. They were invited by a friend, family member or evangelist.
2. They are searching for a greater sense of meaning in their lives and look to the church as a doorway to the path of spiritual growth.
3. They are curious about " what this is all about"
4. They feel that being part of a church is an important aspect of their sense of community and/ or public image and are looking for a "church home".
In church language we call these people "seekers", because they are looking for something. Sometimes they don't even know what it is that they are looking for yet, but the fact that they have taken that first step by attending service is in and of itself a sign of their willingness to try something new. We have to give them credit, I mean let's face it, they have come into a strange new environment with strange new customs. Customs like standing, kneeling and praying on command, singing and dancing in public, outward displays of affection and being asked for money on a regular basis.They are also exposed to new terms like "born again", "spirit walk" and "spirit filled" not to mention people getting " slain in the spirit" and " talking in tongues"( see the book "Christianese" by Pastor Don Moore for more on the language of Christianity). All of this can be a little overwhelming. In some cases, an improper introduction to Christianity can be all that it takes to turn that seeker away from God for a long time, if not forever.
So where does that leave us? Well, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the person who our belief system is named after (Christianity), is very clear on certain points : We are to spread the Gospel(Mark 16:15); We are not to judge((Matthew 7:1); We are not to place burdens on our brethren(Matthew 23); The world will recognize us by our love for one another.(John 13:34-35) and we are supposed to serve our fellow man.(Matthew 25:31)
These points directly reflect the theme of this post. Our role as Christians should be to bring the knowledge of God to those who do not yet know Him. There is no work that we can do in this world that is more important to God than this. Our role is not to judge what an individual does with that knowledge, nor place a time frame on how long we give them to "get it right" before we judge them.
If a person visits your church and is a drunk, or a prostitute, or a homosexual, or an adulterer etc... do you make them feel welcome? or do you look down on them? Does your response to them reflect what Jesus would do? I'm sure many self righteous Christians can find a ton of scriptures to justify their actions when they shun someone, but the truth of the matter is that the spirit of the law is overlooked when the letter of the law is quoted. We believe that as followers of Christ we should implement His teachings in our daily lives by showing kindness and compassion towards others, volunteering to help those less fortunate, donating to charity, and by teaching the love of God through example.
We are on our way!
Thank you for spending this time with us as we talk about issues which affect each and every one of us in our Cristian walk. It doesn't matter if you are a new Christian, have been a part of the body for years, or are just curious about God, I hope that this blog has something for everyone. I would like to take this time to welcome you and hope that this blog helps you achieve a greater level of understanding of your spiritual self. I would also like to take this time to thank the Lord our God for giving me the motivation, dedication and inspiration to start this ministry, and to thank Him in advance for the ability to positively affect so many lives. I know that I am not worthy of this work, but through His grace and infinite mercy, I am made righteous and whole.
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