Posts Tagged ‘Body of Christ’

Social Media – A Tool for Ministry

Posted: May 12, 2015 in belief, catholic, Christian, Church, Church History, Evangelical, Evangelism, Faith, God, Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, Hope, Jesus, kerygma, Kingdom of God, letter, life, Love, message, Ministry, poetry, power, preach, Preaching, redemption, repent, Repentance, Sacramental, Scriptural, sermon, sign, story, storytelling, Teaching, Testimony, The Story, universal
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Social Media – A Tool for Ministry

For atleast the past 10 years, I have discovered and now believe that Social Media is a powerful tool for ministry. Posting on social media sites has allowed me to be salt and light to a lost and dying world by reaching those people who may never visit a community of faith.

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” ~ Matthew 5:13-16 (ESV)

social-media

Through the use of social media many people can be touched with the Gospel. Social media is an influential tool.

Let’s take for example how I use my Twitter account. I post short Gospel messages each day with a link to The Story.

The Story is an online booklet containing content and design that was created for the believer and unbeliever, to clearly present the Gospel of Jesus. ViewTheStory.com, the online version, was setup for churches, ministires, and individuals to embed on their website. Spread The Truth ministries created the online version specifically for churches, but anyone can use it as a tool to share the Good News.

Each day I post on my Twitter feed anywhere from 8-10 little messages with links to The Story. Each day I check my dashboard at ViewTheStory.com to see how many visits and views were made to the online booklet. So far since September of 2012, there have been 3,247 all time views, and 2,988 all time unique visitors to the link sponsored by Symphony Ministries. Last month a total of 731 people visited and viewed The Story, the Good News of Jesus Christ. I am amazed at the response, and have prayed that of the three thousand people who visited The Story that many of them received salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

There are other social media or media outlets that I use to spread the Gospel message. I have learned many things in this Communication in Ministry course related to communicating the Gospel. The main thing I have learned is that when we give a clear, concise, honest, presentation of the Gospel message, it will help the listener or viewer to respond to God’s call to salvation. For that, I am very thankful.

 

Kerygma, Part Two…

Posted: May 12, 2015 in Ancient Faith, Biblical, Books, catholic, Christian, Church, Church History, Covenant theology, Evangelism, Faith, Hope, kerygma, life, Liturgical, Love, Ministry, Orthodox, orthodoxy, Preaching, Repentance, sanctification, Scriptural, Teaching, Testimony, The Story, universal
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Kerygma

The Kerygma – Part Two

The Kerygma

To review, kerygma is the Greek word κήρυγμα kérugma, translated proclamation or preaching. The Kergyma is proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ in spoken words, or even proclaimed in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. It is the proclamation of Jesus redemptive work. It is the proclamation God’s story of the history of redemption from the beginning of creation. Proclamation was usually followed by teaching and instruction in the elements of the faith, or the reading of a Creed. What Jesus did and taught in His ministry was included within the basic proclamation.

Here is a summary of the ancient kerygma:

  1. The Age of Fulfillment has dawned, the “latter days” foretold by the prophets.
  2. This has taken place through the birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah.
  3. By virtue of the resurrection, and His ascension into heaven, Jesus has been exalted at the right hand of God as King of Kings – the Messianic head of the new Israel.
  4. The Holy Spirit in the Church is the sign of Jesus’ present power and glory.
  5. The Messianic Age will reach its consummation in the return of Jesus.
  6. An appeal is made for repentance for the forgiveness of sins, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and salvation.

Jesus the Messiah, of course, was the center of this ancient kerygma. The cross, the resurrection, and His ascension to the right hand of Majesty are crucial to the kerygmatic preaching of Messiah Jesus.

Kerygmatic preaching is not a technique that can simply be learned by articulate spokespersons, it is a relationship that must be received, experienced, and thereby announced.

There are eight kerygmatic sermons given by the Apostles in Luke’s letter to Theophilus, the Acts of the Apostles. They are found in the following passages:

1) Acts 2:14-36

2) Acts 3:12-26

3) Acts 4:8-12

4) Acts 5:29-32

5) Acts 10: 34-43

6) Acts 13:16-41

7) Acts 14:15-17

8) Acts 17: 22-31

As a Watchman…

Posted: March 12, 2015 in poetry
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I wrote this upon waking from a dream:

I stand high above the sea of souls

Gazing at the wondrous beauty of the Body

The building upon which I stand is enormous

The purest white, spacious, with many rooms, and many floors, and many wings

I stand watching…

I stand waiting…

I stand listening…

I hear countless tales and lore

I hear many words come forth

Sometimes I hear something strange

Sometimes I see a wall coming

That alienates

That separates

Then the Word comes

Then the Spirit comes

They come together as One

With the Father

In the high tower

Of protection it’s sure

Inside that which my invocation seeks

The prayer of the heart

For upon which I stand

As a watchman…

Church Tradition

Posted: March 6, 2015 in Biblical, Calling, catholic, Charismatic, Christian, Church, Church History, Covenant, Covenant theology, Evangelical, Evangelism, life, Liturgical, Lutheran, Ministry, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Protestant, Reformed, Renaissance, Repentance, Sacramental, sanctification, Scriptural, universal
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Tradtions

When it comes to church tradition, is it something you respect or suspect? Is it something you even think about at all? Hear from a church history professor, Brian Litfin, about the value of digging into tradition.

Ever since the 1500s, we Protestants have been Traditionphobes. In some circles, we would rather hear a cuss word than the T word. Bringing “tradition” to your ministry is surely some kind of regressive move that will stifle church growth. For many of us, embracing the past seems like the opposite of being a visionary pastor.

But times are changing. The rising generation looks backward in order to find the way forward. I see this all the time in today’s college students—and at Moody, where I teach, that means future ministry leaders. Tradition isn’t as scary to the Millennials as it is to their parents or grandparents. In fact, these rootless young people know intuitively how much they need it.

While church traditions can’t supplant the Bible, they can certainly round out the story that the Bible presents. Take the apostle Peter, for example. He just disappears in Acts 15, never to be heard from again. We have two of his letters, of course. But do they tell us anything about his life?

As it turns out, there are a whole lot of ancient church traditions that tell us about Peter. Some of these are likely to be accurate; others are historically dubious. Which of the following assertions do you think is true?

Peter traveled widely on evangelistic missions outside of Israel.
He ministered in Rome and provided leadership for the early Christians.
He died by crucifixion in Nero’s circus.
He was crucified upside-down.
He was buried in a grave now located beneath the altar of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome
The [Roman] Catholic Church has recovered his actual bones.
He considered himself the founding bishop of Rome.

Although sorting through the historical evidence isn’t easy for busy pastors to do, the bigger problem is that we hardly think it’s worth our time. We’re Traditionphobes. That kind of stuff is for superstitious saint worshipers to worry about. Really? Maybe it’s time to reclaim our heritage in the faith—starting with the original generation of believers. You just might find a few nuggets amid the rubble of tradition. And when you see how spiritually rich some of this stuff is… who knows? You might even become a Traditionphile.

~ Brian Litfin

My New Covenant Relationship With God

Posted: July 7, 2014 in Biblical, catholic, Charismatic, Christian, Church, Church History, Covenant, Covenant theology, Evangelical, Evangelism, life, Liturgical, Ministry, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Reformed, Renaissance, Repentance, Sacramental, sanctification, Scriptural, universal
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covenant-triangleMy New Covenant Relationship with God

I believe that entrance into the Kingdom of God is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. My call to ministry is one based upon God’s faithfulness to fulfill His revealed purpose in my life. I had no ability to acquire salvation on my own. His loving grace granted me repentance and faith. God enabled me to make the choice of trusting in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. He transformed me into a new creation in Christ Jesus, and now His sanctifying grace is making me holy in my daily life.

The Holy Spirit baptized me into the Body of Christ, the Church, of which I am a member. Now, I am a member of the Community of Jesus Christ. God created a community of worship, dedication, and faith in the time of the Old Covenant. Now, the community has changed with the coming of the new and better covenant. Within this community of the Kingdom, I am able to view my calling more clearly. It means that being a “covenant person” of a covenant people (the Church); Called to a mission along with many others, and equipped by God through the Holy Spirit as an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher, I pursue the Missio Dei.

Therefore, I can speak with conviction along with the Apostle Paul when he said in 2 Corinthians 3:6, “ He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant – not of the letter but of the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” Therefore, I see that those members of the Community of Faith are ministers unto each other, the world, and unto God.

My call and the call of His Church (Matthew 25:35-45) is to minister unto a world that is lost. We are to be beacons of light to those who are blind in darkness. We are to be workers of justice and freedom for the oppressed and captive. We are to demonstrate to the poor the power of His greatness and His faithfulness from which we hope, and to proclaim the Gospel and His Kingdom!