Introduction
"This
year one-third of all local church pastors will consider resigning
under the weight of their responsibilities. In America, one
denomination alone sees an average of four pastors resign
every single day because of discouragement, personal and professional
failure, and loss of purpose." If that statement applies
to you, go immediately to the section titled "Powerful
Concepts of Ministry"
and read it. Your career as a pastor may just depend on it.
Now that we have
given the pastors a little meat to chew on, let's get to the
nuts and bolts of what this site provides for the ordinary
Christian [and Messianic Jewish-Christian], and what the central
purposes of this site are (there are two basic ones).
1. The
first major purpose of this site is to help enable the flow
of the Holy Spirit's life-giving power and guidance into as
large a number of Christians as is possible, enlivening their
walk with the Lord and thus bringing about a spiritual unity
within the entire body of Christ across denominational lines.
This site helps the Christian reader to accomplish that by
providing him or her with a quality selection of connective
expository Bible studies taken from and based on meditative
studies in the Word of God. How does one grow spiritually
by studying the Word of God in this manner? The Word is spiritual
food for the soul. Jeremiah 15:16 states, "Thy words
were found, and I did eat them, and thy word was unto me the
joy and rejoicing of mine heart." Jesus states in Matthew
4:4 "But He answered and said, 'It is written, 'Man shall
not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out
through the mouth of God.'" George Muller states in his
autobiography, The Life of Trust, "...it is as plain
to me as anything, that the first thing the child of God has
to do morning by morning is, to obtain food for his inner
man. As the outward man is not fit for work for any length
of time except we take food, and as this is one of the first
things we do in the morning, so it should be with the inner
man. We should take food for that, as every one must allow.
Now what is food for the inner man? Not prayer, but the Word
of God, and here again, not simple reading of the Word of
God, so that it only passes through our minds, just as water
runs through a pipe, but considering what we read, pondering
over it, and applying it to our hearts. We may therefore profitably
meditate, with God's blessing, though we are so weak spiritually;
nay, the weaker we are, the more we need meditation for the
strengthening of our inner man. By the blessing of God I ascribe
to this mode the help and strength which I had had from God
to pass in peace through deeper trials, in various ways, than
I had ever had before." Mr. Muller goes on to say, "How
different, when the soul is refreshed and made happy early
in the morning, from what it is when, without preparation,
the service, the trials, and the temptations of the day come
upon one!" This site is chock full of this kind of digestive
study of God's Word that goes from the beginning to end of
whatever epistle or gospel that's being presented. And the
reader should try to learn how to study the Word on his or
her own in like manner, spending time to meditate on what
is being read, and asking God's direction and inspiration,
just as the pastors who gave these expository studies did
in preparing them. So now, dig in and feast on the meals prepared
for your inner man or woman.
So in this first
category what does this site provide? I can divide what is
provided into two main resources. All genuine spiritual growth
is a by-product of these two resources. Personal, and as a
result, church growth occurs because these two main needs
of the Christian are being met. I like to call these the two
main pillars of spiritual and church growth. The first need
and pillar is having an effective prayer-life. The second
is being thoroughly fed in the Word of God.
2. The
second major purpose of this site is to educate Christians
about Jesus' primary mission which he gave to the church and
all believers in Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:6-9.
What is that mission? Read it for yourself. Matthew 28:18-20
states, "Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to
the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw
him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came
to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything
I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to
the very end of the age.'" Acts 1:6-9 states, "So
when they met together, they asked him, 'Lord, are you at
this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?' He said
to them: 'It is not for you to know the times or dates the
Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive
power when the Holy Spirit comes on [upon] you, and you will
be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth." Jesus prophecied in Matthew
24:14 that we as Christians would ultimately accomplish this
goal set before us by him over 1900 years ago. Matthew 24:14
states, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached
in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then
the end will come." [Verses 15-25 shows what "end"
Jesus is talking about, the "end of the age", this
evil age of man under Satan’s evil influence.] In one
word, what is the mission Jesus gives all Christians, his
body of believers, to accomplish?--Evangelism, personal, local
church, national and international. This site provides vital
educational tools that help the believer know how he or she
can evangelize on a personal level, as well as how to help
support local church evangelism, and evangelism at the national
and international levels as well. (See the "What
is Evangelism?" section.)
One thing I want
understood about this site: God is no respecter of persons,
nor does he hold any special favoritism for one Christian
denomination over another. And I do not want any pastor or
local member from any one denomination to feel that I am trying
to persuade them to join another denomination. I have used
the strongest resources that some of the various differing
parts of the body of Christ have to offer, without respect
to who they are, or any desire to promote migration to these
differing Christian fellowships or denominations. The
purpose of this Christian unity web site is to strengthen
pastors and their congregations and individual Christians
right where they are, and thus strengthen the particular part
of the body of Christ they are a part of. We as Christians
may never achieve doctrinal unity this side of Jesus Christ's
second coming, but we certainly can strive to achieve spiritual
unity by being spiritually strengthened--and then when sufficiently
strengthened, we can all lend a hand in the mission Jesus
gave to the church--all of us--to accomplish before his glorious
return to earth with our rewards.
And for you pastors,
successful application of the sound Biblical instruction of
Jesus to Peter is what God respects and rewards. "...do
you love Me?...Feed my sheep." I hope this site can provide
some of the sheep feed that will help make the sheep in your
fold spiritually healthy, strong and reproductive. May your
reading experience on this Christian unity webpage enhance
your understanding of God's Word and bring you onto the path
of personal Christian revival.
What follows describes
the contents of this site and where to find what you are looking
for. This web site covers eleven basic areas of spiritual
interest. The first area covers spiritual harvesting tools:
1."What
Is Pre-Evangelism?" (what it is, who it is for) and
"What Is Evangelism?" (what it is, who it is
for). |
2."What
is Prayer?" |
3."What
Is Praise & Worship?" |
4."The
gospel of Christ through the letters of Paul" and
the gospel of Mark (and later of John) |
5."Jesus,
Our Passover Lamb" |
6.Christian
Growth (Personal growth & marriage). |
7.Some
Church History--Let's get to know each other. |
8.Powerful
Concepts of Ministry. |
9.What
is Faith (saving faith)? |
10.Prophecies
of Jesus Christ’s 1st & 2nd Coming |
11.Differing
Christian Concepts of what Hell is (which shows it’s
a secondary doctrinal issue in God’s Word, if
so many differing Christian groups and denominations disagree
on how God’s Word is to be interpreted on this subject
.) |
My primary focus
and effort is to continue to constantly provide more quality
material in the area of Paul’s epistles and the gospel
and epistles of John, so as to help further the spiritual
growth of the readers. When studied and applied, this primary
gospel of Christ information will deepen a Christian’s
understanding and walk with Jesus Christ (Yeshua to our Messianic
brothers and sisters in Christ). The topical studies on prophecy
(about 5% of this site) are secondary to this purpose, and
only included as a side dish for Christians, and to highlight
to non-believers the veracity and authenticity of God’s
Word so that they might believe.
|