Posted in Uncategorized at 9:19 am by jeff@dlaog.com
Hello,
There is often among congregations an unspoken conflict regarding the mission of the church. Some folks feel the Pastor’s job is much like a cruise ship captains, with the major responsibility being keeping everyone aboard happy and entertained. A wonderfully insightful column that I hope you’ll read is found here, entitled “Seven Habits of Highly Ineffective Churches.” http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/354143_faith08.html
So, what is the mission of the church then. If it is not to keep everybody happy, what is it? The founding fathers of our movement described it this way:
The Church is the body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of her great commission. Each believer, born of the Spirit, is an integral part of the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven (Ephesians 1:22, 23; 2:22; Hebrews 12:23).Since God’s purpose concerning man is to seek and to save that which is lost, to be worshiped by man, and to build a body of believers in the image of His Son, the priority reason-for-being of the Assemblies of God as part of the Church is:a. To be an agency of God for evangelizing the world (Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:19, 20; Mark 16:15, 16).b. To be a corporate body in which man may worship God (1 Corinthians 12:13).c. To be a channel of God’s purpose to build a body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son (Ephesians4:11-16; 1 Corinthians 12:28; 14:12).The Assemblies of God exists expressly to give continuing emphasis to this reason-for-being in the New Testament apostolic pattern by teaching and encouraging believers to be baptized in the Holy Spirit.This experience:a. Enables them to evangelize in the power of the Spirit with accompanyingsupernatural signs (Mark 16:15-20; Acts 4:29-31; Hebrews 2:3,4).b. Adds a necessary dimension to a worshipful relationship with God(1 Corinthians 2:10-16; 1 Corinthians 12-14).c. Enables them to respond to the full working of the Holy Spirit in expression offruit and gifts and ministries as in New Testament times for the edifying of thebody of Christ (Galatians 5:22-26; 1 Corinthians 14:12; Ephesians 4:11,12;1 Corinthians 12:28; Colossians 1:29).
Posted in Uncategorized at 4:48 pm by jeff@dlaog.com
A few days ago, I linked to another blog that was writing on the subject
of perseverance. They have posted Pt. 2 to their teaching, and I know
that it is certainly what I needed to hear. I’d encourage you to go there
and read this. http://mikekatehagen.wordpress.com/
Posted in Uncategorized at 10:18 am by jeff@dlaog.com
7 Steps to Victory
20 Steps to a Successful Christian Marriage
34 Steps to an Overcoming Prayer Life
The numbers just keep going on and on and on. We just love to complicate things. While I was speaking
up at Rice Lake Fellowship, I really had a personal encounter with God. He called me to return to
the simplicity of the Gospel.
Really, the Gospel is simple.
We are sinners. Jesus came to save us from our sin.
We are sick and broken in our bodies. Jesus took stripes on His back so that we could be healed.
We are weak and powerless. Jesus ascended into heaven so that the Holy Spirit and power could be
poured out on those who believe.
Jesus will return in the same manner as His ascension.
These four simple truths contain the Gospel. This year, I really want to stay on track with the simplicity
of the Gospel in my preaching, teaching and personal life.
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:51 pm by jeff@dlaog.com
Well, the title here is just everybody’s favorite word, isn’t it? My wife has sure been hearing the verse a lot in her spirit where it goes “but you have need of perseverance…” (Jeff’s rough paraphrase). I’ve been ocnsidering this alot lately for a number of reasons, mostly though that I think that it pertains to me. I am in need of perseverance. Anyway, I found a blog that addresses this very issue, so I’d encourage you to check it out. http://mikekatehagen.wordpress.com/
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:46 pm by jeff@dlaog.com
One thing I would like to comment on is something that happened to me last Sunday. I share it in the message I gave here in Detroit Lakes the first Sunday of 2009. The truth of being ready, being always prepared to give an account of the gospel really came home to me in a humerous, yet powerful way. I pray this encourages you to always be prepared as well, for you never know when the opportunity to witness will arise.
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:09 pm by jeff@dlaog.com
Hello,
Well, it is the start of 2009. Can you believe that it is already 2009? It seems to be we should be no later than 1998! My goodness, it is hard to keep up with the times.
Just a few ideas pertaining to this blog. First of all, I’m experimenting with a Twitter application that hopefully this limited techie can somehow sync with the blog here, so that I can send and you can recieve instant notifications of updates, or the standard 160 character IM’s from Twitter. You can access Twitter at www.twitter.com.