Religious and social Changes

Question 1 attempt.

According to the bible the purpose of life is to love and trust and obey God. To trust that he has nothing but love for us and he would not tell us to do something with out a good reason. ... Adam and Eve the first couple were meant to live forever in a paradise earth .

So also do our church have purpose for all that she do, the purpose of Church is not something to be over emphasize on but in note sheld it can be consider as to mould all Christian to know the truth about the true and only one God.

As Darlene Zschech pointed out, in a wonderful talk she gave when she came to speak at HTB: ‘The two greatest days of your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.’

Purpose in life is far more important than property or possessions.  Having more to live with is no substitute for having more to live for.

Until we know the purpose of our lives we cannot even begin to make the best use of them.  When the breakfast cereal ‘Shredded Wheat’ was first produced apparently some people thought that its purpose was more like a brillo pad for scrubbing saucepans.  They complained it was of no use!  They misunderstood its purpose and as a result they did not get the best use out of it.  Until we know the purpose for our lives we will never get the best use out of them.

God has a specific purpose for each of us.  As well as specific purposes for every individual life, God’s general will for us all is revealed in the Bible.  In the passages for today we see what he wants for every single person.

To know and be known by Him

Psalm 139:1–10

God's primary calling for all of us is to know him and to be known by him.  ‘Oh Lord, you have searched me and you know me’ (v.1).

 

Perhaps this is David reflecting in his old age on how God has guided him throughout his life.  ‘You hem me in – behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me’ (v.5).  This speaks of God’s loving and gentle hand pressing him along the path of his choosing.

 

We cannot escape God’s presence.   He knows everything (v.2) and he is everywhere (vv.7–10).  David knows that wherever he goes the Lord’s hand will guide him: ‘... your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast’ (v.10).

 

Lord, thank you that the primary purpose of our lives is to know you and to be known by you.  Lord, we desperately need your guidance.  Thank you for the promise here that your hand will guide us and your right hand will hold us fast.

 

2.  To love and be loved forever

1 John 5:1–21

The purpose of our lives is to love and be loved forever.  The moment we put our faith in Jesus Christ we are ‘born of God’ (v.1).  We become the much-loved child of God who ‘is love’.  God loves us far more than human parents love their own children.

 

We love our Father in heaven and, therefore, we should love all his children.  I have noticed over the years that we have a special love for the children of our friends from the moment they are born.  John writes ‘everyone who loves the father loves his child as well’ (v.1).

 

Just as parents who love their children want them to be confident about their future, God wants us to be confident about our future.

 

The moment we put our faith in Jesus Christ we are ‘born of God’ (v.1) and receive ‘eternal life’ (v.12) – but how can we be confident of this?  St John tells us that this is the purpose of his letter – ‘I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life’ (v.13).

 

We see in this passage three tests of a true Christian:

 

Faith

‘Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God ... everyone born of God overcomes the world.  This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.  Who is it that overcomes the world?  Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God’ (vv.1a,4–5).

 

A Christian is a person who puts their faith in Jesus.  In doing so, they become a child of God.

 

Love

‘Everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.  This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands’ (vv.1b–2).

 

The evidence of true faith is love – love for God, love for Jesus, love for others.  Faith expresses itself in love.

 

Obedience

‘This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.  This is love for God: to obey his commands’ (vv.2–3).

 

This love is not just feeling.  It involves action – obedience to God’s commands.

 

John goes on to speak about three witnesses.  How can we be sure that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God?  God has three witnesses (vv.6–8):

 

Water

At the baptism of Jesus, God testified, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased’ (Matthew 3:17).  The sacrament of baptism focuses on ‘the water’.

 

Blood

The blood Jesus shed on the cross for us is the second witness.  Jesus ‘came by water and blood ... he did not come by water only, but by water and blood’ (1 John 5:6).  The sacrament of Holy Communion focuses on ‘the blood’.

 

Spirit

The Holy Spirit testifies in our hearts that Jesus is the Son of God (vv.6,10).  The Spirit is the Spirit of truth (v.6).  ‘And we are in him who is true – even in his Son Jesus Christ.  He is the true God and eternal life’ (v.20).

 

On the Alpha Weekend there is a chance for each of the guests to be prayed for, and to ask to receive the Holy Spirit.  For many people this is the key moment on the course – as they receive the Holy Spirit they experience the reality of a relationship with God, and assurance of his love for them.  It is this experience of God which confirms and establishes their faith.  This work of the Holy Spirit in confirming and strengthening our faith is also recognised in the more liturgical traditions of the church.  In the Anglican Church, among other churches, the service of Confirmation focuses on the Holy Spirit.  These are just two examples of this third witness that John highlights – the Holy Spirit.

 

God wants us to be confident that Jesus really is the Christ, the Son of God.  He wants us to know that we have life in his Son (v.11).  Indeed, we have ‘eternal life’ (v.13).

 

He wants us to have confidence in approaching God.  ‘This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him’ (vv.14–15).

 

Sometimes we know what God’s will is – it is clearly spelt out in the Scriptures.  At other times, we may not be so sure.  In whatever situation we can add to our prayers ‘Your will be done’.

 

If the answer is ‘yes’ he may be increasing our faith.  If the answer is ‘wait’ he may be increasing our patience.  If the answer is ‘no’ he may have something better in mind.  We have to trust that his will is ‘good, pleasing and perfect’ (Romans 12:2).

 

John challenges us that those ‘born of God [ie Christian believers] do not continue to sin’ (v.18a).  In other words, we must not wilfully carry on sinning just as we did before we turned to Christ.  However, he also reminds us of God’s wonderful promise that ‘the one who was born of God [ie Jesus] keeps [us] safe, and the evil one cannot harm [us]’ (v.18b).  We are safe in his arms of love.

 

Lord, thank you that you love us more than parents loves their own children.  Help us to love all of your children.  Thank you for this amazing gift of eternal life – which starts now and goes on forever.  Help us to live lives of faith, love, obedience and freedom.  Thank you that Jesus keeps us safe in his arms of love and the evil one cannot harm us.

 

3.  To be blessed and to bless

Daniel 11:36–12:13

God blesses us in order that we may be a blessing to others.

 

By the start of this passage, the mind of the writer has already turned from the time of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (who was the king who will do as he pleases, 11:36a) to the end times.

 

We have here one of the great Old Testament affirmations of life beyond the grave.  ‘But at that time your people – everyone whose name is found written in the book – will be delivered.  Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.  Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever’ (12:1b–3).

 

One day we will shine like stars.  We will have everlasting life.  In the meantime, a purification process needs to take place.  ‘Many will be purified, made spotless and refined’ (v.10).  As well as leading ourselves, we are to lead others: to ‘put others on the right path to life’ (v.3, MSG).  God’s purpose for us is not that we should sit around waiting for Jesus’ return to redeem the world.  He wants our lives to make a difference now.  We are called to be a blessing to those around us.

 

We are called to help each other in our discipleship.  I am very grateful for the encouragement, support and challenge over the years of close Christian friends, as well as of older, wiser, mentors.  It is so helpful to surround ourselves with other believers, to have mentors, and to be willing in turn to help those younger in faith than us.  As we challenge and help each other we all grow in our discipleship.

Daniel was told, ‘And you?  Go about your business without fretting or worrying.  Relax.  When it’s all over, you will be on your feet to receive your reward’ (v.13, MSG).  What a wonderful promise this must have been for Daniel.  He had worked so hard both in his business life and in his work as a prophet.  Now rest would come and God had allotted to him an inheritance.

Lord, thank you that you have blessed us so much.  Thank you for the promise of everlasting life that we will shine like the stars forever and ever.  Help us to bring blessing to others as we lead others on the right path to life.

The church has been an integral part of our communities for several centuries. One only needs to look at the skyline of almost any town in America or of any city in Europe to see the towering spirals of steeples and spires indicating the presence of church buildings below. 

But the landscape is changing. Now churches meet in former malls and shopping plazas, in rented school buildings, homes, or hotel meeting rooms. Some churches even gather in secret, sometimes virtually underground, hidden from the oppressive view of local authorities. 

The creative architecture of church buildings is as varied as the area in which the structure is located. The structure and programming of individual churches are also wide-ranging, probably depending upon the culture in which the church is positioned. The New Testament also chronicles a vast diversity of local churches as God’s missionary endeavors to spread the gospel traveled from Jerusalem to Rome and beyond. 

It’s interesting and important to note that “cookie-cutter” churches were never God’s intent. The early church in Jerusalem had qualities and functions (Acts 2:44-47) that were entirely different than other New Testament churches. Even the second church chronologically mentioned in Acts, the church in Antioch (Acts 11:19-26), did things quite differently than the first local church in Jerusalem. By the time of the conclusion of the New Testament (Revelation 2-3), it was obvious that each local church had unique characteristics that were different from the others. 

American and global churches today are obviously quite distinct. From mega-churches to house-churches, God’s people gather in a variety of places and settings — and yet they gather for the same grand purpose. The church is God’s idea and is God’s plan (Matthew 16:18), and no matter what the building looks like or how the programs are organized, the church must be absolutely committed to what God wants His church to be. 

Question 2

Church structure had suffer right from the ancient days to now,

1.   The structure doesn’t reflect the strategy.

Whenever our team works with a church, we help them to identify their “growth engines.” This helps to frame the strategy that drives both numerical and spiritual growth. The staff structure should support these growth engines. Form follows function. On the other hand, if you try to layer new strategy onto an old structure, the strategy will always fail.

2.   Roles are filled without considering strengths.

Every person has a unique wiring. When people function in roles that reflect that wiring, the team is healthier and the person is more fulfilled. That why it’s important to consider every person’s gifts, experiences and personalities.

As Jim Collins suggested, it’s both important to get the right people on the bus and also make sure they’re in the right seat.

3.   People without leadership capacity are placed in leadership positions.

You can’t just determine whether or not someone has leadership gifts. You must also determine whether or not they have the appropriate leadership capacity for that position. With that, you need to consider where people are on the  Do they have the potential to lead tens, fifties, hundreds or thousands?

By the way, the best predictor of someone’s leadership capacity is to look at how they’ve performed in the past. Leadership capacity develops over time–it doesn’t just show up out of thin air.

4.   Leadership at the top is not team-based.

Every organization is destined to struggle if there’s only one controlling “leader” at the top. Leadership happens in teams. That’s why every church of every size should have a structure that flows from a senior leadership team rather than just a senior leader.

You can read more about this philosophy in my eBook

Staff are “led” by committees rather than teams being led by staff.

There’s only one person on a church staff that should report to a board or a committee, and that’s the senior pastor. Every other person should only have one boss to make happy. Youth pastors shouldn’t have to report to youth committees. Worship pastors shouldn’t have to report to worship committees. Discipleship pastors shouldn’t report to discipleship committees.

Additionally, no lay ministries should stand on their own. Every ministry or program should be connected to the leadership team. This is another way to make sure the structure supports the strategy.

5.   The staff team is not built for growth.

When our team completes a staffing and structure review for a church, we typically recommend a future structure that would support the ministry if it was twice its current size. Current structures and leadership capacity will get you the same results you’ve always achieved. It will take new structures and increased leadership capacity to achieve new, expanded results.

Healthy, growing churches plan before they build. That biblical approach works not only for the physical infrastructure, it also works for the people infrastructure that will eventually support future ministry expansion.

The above are the major problems our church is facing drastically.

Question three :

Christianity has much to offer women. Women benefit in two ways: first, by the restraint that appeal to Christian values may place on the unbridled exercise of male power; and second, by the recognition and affirmation of the value of typically feminine roles, virtues, and dispositions.

Even though the New Testament contains no unambiguous endorsement of female equality, and certainly offers no support to female dominance, there are hints and glimmers of a ‘kingdom’ in which things could be different. Jesus not only ministers amongst and with women, he teaches that humility, poverty of spirit, and sincere devotion are more important than worldly power or priestly status. He speaks of a love whose exercise knows no limits or distinctions, a love which, as Paul puts it, ‘is patient and kind . . . not jealous or boastful . .

 . not arrogant or rude . . . does not insist on its own way . . . ’. Such a message could inspire and empower those whose daily work and care were often ascribed little economic or cultural, let alone spiritual, value.

 For this reason are women don’t have any priestly status so do they participate active in church activities to show their devotion to God their creator who had placed them under men control and also they are whom God uses to help all of their husband.

n the context of patriarchal societies, Christianity may therefore appeal to women because of its masculine bias, rather than in spite of it. Christianity may have much to offer women who wish to turn their backs on power and embrace the virtues of love, humility, powerlessness, and self-sacrifice. But it also has a considerable amount to offer those who want some share in such power. For if power is concentrated in a male God and His church, there is much more to be gained by joining it than by rejecting it. Not only could Christian women claim the protection of the Almighty Father God, they could also enter into a relationship with Him that was every bit as close and intense as that enjoyed by a man. By such means a handful of women in Christian history have claimed the right to do theology, to speak for themselves, even to command kings and popes; in the societies in which they lived it is hard to imagine any other route by which they could have done so.

while in the other hand, men are overcome by weak spirit which makes them to participate inactive in some other church.

question four

Sometimes it can be a challenge for Christian who are older and/or have mobility problems to attend Church easily. The walk from the car may be too long or the stairs difficult to navigate. That is in the case of modern building.

Some of the mobility problems can also be danger to every Christian, evangelist and pastor.

For evangelist mobility to evangelized to the people can be a constraint problems as a result of the distance of their destination. For these reason must of them find it difficult to reached the target point of the evangelization, so also to Christian believers many encounter problems as a result of financial constraint in transporting their self to church in weekly bases.   

Question number five

Today much emphasis is placed on the role of the church as a transformation and change agent and rightly so (see Bosch 1999:376-393). However, this is not a new concept or understanding of the role of the church. Throughout the ages, as I will show, in spite of other ecclesiologies the church has been involved in the life of humankind, in making of nationhood, building of culture, structuring of society with its functions and institutions and in shaping the form and quality of political systems.

The Church of Jesus Christ has normally understood the transformation of society to be an essential part of its mission task.¹ While the focal point of missions has been to communicate the Good News of Christ, to call men and women to repentance and faith, and to baptise them into the church, it has also involved a process of teaching them to 'observe all things' that Jesus commanded. Christians have assumed that this obedience would lead to the transformation of their physical, social and spiritual lives. Sometimes this has been well done, sometimes poorly done. But missionaries have always implicitly assumed that the reception and the living out of the gospel would begin to transform both individual and community life.² And more often than not, specific steps were taken and institutions were established to aid this process. While we recognise today that the missionaries often envisioned a model of the transformed community that looked suspiciously like the ones they knew in their own cultures, there is no doubt that this transforming dimension was an essential aspect of mission.

There is one incentive which must impel us all to charity; it is pity for the misery of our neighbors and the desire to alleviate it, with all the means that lie in our power, and more besides. (Scott 1987:208)

As we have shown, there is no doubt that the early Christian centuries were a period of

The teachings of Christ in the New Testament carry on part of the Mosaic tradition relevant to economic ideology. He taught the necessity of being concerned with the welfare of one's brother, the importance of charity and almsgiving. He condemned the rich and praised the poor as he took their side. The medieval church in many ways attempted to remain true to the teachings of its Lord as it set out to develop its society politically, economically, socially and religiously. However, while on the one hand the Church drew up guidelines for helping the poor, and their assistance was structured accordingly, on the other hand, certain bishops began to allow believers to adopt a more comfortable life style. So the problem of the poor was attacked only at the level of its consequences and not of its causes. The poor were still dependent on the rich and, although some of the rich showed great generosity, the institutional and structural injustice which generated poverty was not dealt with at its roots.

In the light of the above stated question which has been posted what changing form of ourc churches life are we developing on thes changing circumstance, it has posed many thinking in to the life of all believers, some of their question are do my church changes my life, is there changes in my life since when I joint this church, while many do ask do my church have power to change my life, do my church perform miracles and wonder

In the light of the above of the above question, many tend to change their churches, so any church of Christian has to focus on molding it member in a Godly way not as competition.

So, a true church do don’t compete for a trust from any individual but God, because one with God is majority.

References

https://God’siconic.blogspot.com