Encounter Recovery Ministries

This is part two of a vital series on recovering the whole counsel of God, meaning the work of Christ and the ministry of the Spirit in appropriating that work in you. In this lesson we learn about renewing our fellowship with and relying upon the Holy Spirit, alone.

This lesson is a reminder that the finished work of Christ, and the work of the Spirit in appropriating that work, are inseparable. Now, this is important because most modern preaching does not include the good news of how the Spirit appropriates Christ into your life, and is therefore not gospel preaching.

Do you realize you are under a divine imperative to minister to your brothers and sisters in Christ? Christ has graced each member of His body with at least one spiritual gift. And this He has done so that you are a now vital contributor to the life and edification of the body of Christ. Don't let the clergy-driven system rob you of this high calling.

It goes without saying that the health of our church fellowship effects or own spiritual and mental health. On the other hand, most Christians are sick and spiritually anemic but refuse to recognize it is because of the sick church they attend. In order to recover, they must come out of that church, and churches like it.

This sermon is a plea to view Christian wholeness and maturity as an imperative. The redemption that God has accomplished for us in Christ is to be worked out in our fellowship so that we become more and more like Jesus and walk as children of light. But we must first escape the traditions and doctrines of men that would keep us broken, confused, and immature.

The sermon emphasizes cultivating a prayer life modeled after Jesus, moving beyond lofty words to a genuine relationship with God as Father. It highlights the importance of communal prayer, recognizing that our connection with the divine is inextricably linked to our interpersonal relationships and mutual edification within the body of Christ. The Lord's Prayer serves as a guide, urging believers to prioritize God's name, kingdom, and will above personal requests, while also underscoring the necessity of forgiveness and release from resentment as essential components of a mature and intimate prayer life.

The sermon emphasizes that a life defined by love for God manifests as joyful obedience to His will, mirroring the example of Jesus who delighted in fulfilling the Father's purpose. Drawing from passages like Psalm 40 and Hebrews, it highlights Jesus' sacrifice as the ultimate fulfillment of God's will and calls believers to align their lives with this model, seeking to know and pray for the power to fulfill God's desires. Ultimately, the message underscores that true Christian living involves a continual pursuit of God's will, motivated by love and resulting in a life dedicated to His glory, reflecting the intimate relationship between the Father and the Son.

Do you attend church weekly and yet find yourself struggling with addiction, broken relationships, spriitually immaturity, and confusion as to your church life? You are not alone, and in this brief exhortation we tell you why this is the case for you.

We continue now to examine how to pray like Jesus. In this lesson we consider praying for our enemies as foundational to Christlike prayer. We also consider Christ's model of how we are to pray for one another as found in John 17.

There is a lot of religious shame tied to prayer. People are told they do not pray long enough, often enough, or hard enough. In this exhortation, we seek to free you from this by reminding you that under the new covenant, you are the temple of God, and you are always in the presence of God; prayer therefore is a way of life and a constant state not an act or duty.

The worst spiritual condition is to no longer care to hear the voice of the Spirit. To be so entrenched in religious activities one becomes more devoted to those activities than to Christ Himself. In this brief exhortation, we consider the prevelance of this condition and call you to set aside anything, especially present religious practices that dull your hearing and rob you of spiritual maturity and discernment.

If you are in Christ you are most certainly in the Church, for you ARE the Church; but it is also entirely possible for you to be in what is called the Church and NOT be in Christ. How do you know you are "in Christ"? This is the vital question we answer in this brief series. Please, I beg you, join me.

Many a tender conscience has been tormented by the thought that those who "fall away" cannot be renewed and restored, based largely on a misinterpretation of Hebrews 6:4-6. In this lesson we examine the greater context of that passage and both set at liberty those so tormented, and also discover the true warning intended by that text.

This is a six-week series on learrning to pray like Jesus by hearing and embracing His teaching AND His example.

This part two of a six-week series on learning to pray like Jesus. Jesus taught us by word and by His living example how to pray, and it is the great privilege of every Christian to walk in his footsteps, and in His prayer life.

There is a gospel principle which is so vital that without it we have only half the gospel, and half a gospel does not create half a Christian, but no Christian at all. In this brief exhortation you are reminded of this vital principle.

The Christian disciple is a follower of a hated, rejected, and crucified Christ. We must therefore give up thinking that we can make the world like Jesus enough to avoid the world's hostility. Attempts to do so only result in creating a false Jesus. Let us instead walk in the Spirit and more closely follow the revelation of Jesus preserved for us in Scripture-- the crucified Messiah.

There is but one true Christ, the revelation of whom is preserved for us within Scripture alone and made real by the Holy Spirit, alone. But much of what calls itself Christianity preaches another Jesus, a different spirit, and gospel. Here is the infallible test to ensure you are actually following Jesus Christ.

In this teaching we are reminded of the propensity to forsake the living God --the fountain of living water--in favor of man-made, dead religiosity that only appears to be true. The remedy is also offered and questions from you are welcome.

For you to grow in Christ by putting off the old self and puting on the new self, we need to grow in our sensitivity to the voice of Christ in the text of Scripture. It is not just hearing "ABOUT" Jesus, as some translation read, but hearing Jesus and being taught by Him that causes our growth in Him.

Everyone has a past. Before becoming a disciple of Christ, each of us was living in ways he or she now regrets. This is why it is important understand one's present life is conditioned not by the past, but the future age being lived out in the present day. You are now, a new creation, and you no longer belong to the old creation and its ways, including your past.

The disciple is one under the yoke of Christ, and that is evident by the disciple becoming more like his Master. As we learn from Him we discover He is gentle and humble in heart and this progressively defines the character of the disciple as well.

The disciple's greatest longing is to be more like Jesus, and he/she knows this does not happen in isolation. We need to gather, but for the reasons the Bible tells us, and not merely to be a cog in the insitutional church. No, we gather for the express purpose of mutual edification and growth, that is, to be better disciples for having come together than before we gathered.

Religious tradition addiction effects most Christians. It is more deadly than fentanyl and cocaine and more socially acceptable than alcohol. It is a system with leaders who are vested in keeping you dependent upon it and not upon Jesus Christ. Though it operates in his name, it keeps you spiritually immature, and ignorant of who you are in Christ and your place as a Spirit-gifted member of the body of Christ. One must discern it, leave it, and find true fellowship that helps you mature in Christ's image. This series is designed to help you do that.

Please listen carefully to this plea for repentance and renewal into the New Testament vision for the church as the body of Christ. Throughout the history of the people of God, there has occurred horrible and appaling seasons. We are in such a season today. The institutional church system which began 1700 years ago, has remade the church in its own image and for the benefit and personal interests of false prophets and priests. And most Christians are okay with it!!

It is important to remember that those who betrayed Jesus were very religious people, a cast a characters that included a disciple (Judas), the chief priests, scribes, and officers, with Satan himself present to enusre it all came off well.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we want to respond to all things in accord with our Lord's word and example.This includes how we respond to human evil. Here are a few thoughts on how to do this.

What is the ground of our assurance as disciples? what will be our confidence on the day of judgment? Throughout the history of institutional Christianity, assurance has been tied to externals like church attendance, sacraments, using Christian termonoligies and symbols. In this episode, we are reminded what it is that brings the disciple great assurance.

From the lips of Jesus to the preaching and pens of the apostles, wealth is presented as a major obstacle to spiritual health. This is contrary to most ancient cultures and certainly contrary to the American culture, even contrary to American religion. How is the disciple to respond?

Fallen humanity remains very religious, and the disciple of Jesus must not be taken in by the hypocrisy and lies of false religion tradition. Rather, we must discern and expose the religious traditions of men for what they are, and instead, listen to Jesus alone.

The disciple of Jesus must share in his Master's definition of the church as being His Body. The ministry therefore belongs to Christ and is realized by the mediating work of the Spirit through the entire Body. The clergy-laity distinction is a man-made institution from which the disciple must therefore come out.

With the coming of our Lord came the radical teaching that to love is one commandment with two parts: Love of God and love of neighbor. This is how Jesus loved and this is how his disciples are to love as well.

It is foundational that disciples not demand to be served but to serve one another, just as Jesus did. Wealth, status, and power are not the way of Jesus nor of his disciples. This is very important in our day in which most pastors believe they have authority they do not truly possess.

When Jesus called his first disciples, he issued a command to follow him. It was not a suggestion, but a command. In other words, to be a disciple means to be a follower of Jesus, and not merely a believer, as important as that is.

We are all born into a family culture that defines who we are and creates our personal identity. When we come to Christ, we are tempted to integrate Christ into our existing narrative and identity, which is just the opposite of what Christ calls His disciples to do. The disciple is to instead walk away from other defining narratives and make Jesus Himself our new identity.

Discipleship begins with Jesus at his preaching repentance for the kingdom of heaven is now here! Now, not just future, but now. If you are a disciple of Christ, you belong not to this present evil age but to the kingdom age. Jesus Himself inagurated this new age by His life, death, and resurrection, and it was this new kingdom age that was empowerd by the Spirit at Pentecost.

This is part two of this message of recovering the Body of Christ, and helping you to undrestand yourself as a Spirit-gifted, vital part of Christ's body. In this lesson, we discuss how we got where we are with clergy and laity and the institutional mindset which is opposed to New Testament vision for the Body of Christ.

The first pricniple of discipleship is loving Jesus beyond any person, place, or thing. This means family, self, and possessions must take their proper place. The good news is once we have committed to love Jesus supremely, these others thing also find there true place and meaning.

In this introduction we share the purpose and goals of this series on discipleship.

America is entering a time of economic uncertainty, says the media. So then, how are we as Christian to respond to such times as these? In this brief exhortation, you will learn to resist the temptation to fear, hoarding, and anger, and instead learn to trust the living God. It is godliness with contentment that is the true wealth, no matter what the state of Wall Street.

Do you realize that because the Holy Spirit dwells in you that this makes you a Spirit-gifted, vital minister in the Body of Christ? It is true. The ministry belongs to Christ, and He ministers in and through and among the entire Body and this includes you.

In the fourth century, what was the body of Christ became under the institutional church system in service to The Holy Roman Empire. Not all complied. Many escaped to the mountains and desert places. But in the new system, only was the gospel lost, so also was the New Testament pattern and purpose for the church. For you to grow in Christ you too must escape this system and find fellowship that supports God's purpose to conform you into the image of His Son.

It is often thought that a Christian owes fellowship with anyone who claims to be a follower of Christ. But this is simply not true. We are to be discerning as to with whom we fellowship. And we must be content to know that genuine fellowship is always found among the few and not the many. Here is some biblical guidance to help you put this into practice and find the true fellowship you crave.

This is part two of the two-part series: One Thing is Necessary. Here we take a closer look at what it means to live and love like Jesus: the one thing necessary for the Christian life. We examine Christ's character on three essential points: 1) Single-mindedness, 2) Purity of Heart, and 3) Purity of devotion.

To follow Jesus is to follow his way of life. And it is a joyous way of life. Nothing brings greater purpose and meaning to your life than to realize you are in fact becoming more like Jesus in very practical, and always. relational ways.

There is a way of following Jesus that Jesus himself commands; it is a way of life that he models for us. This way involves focusing on the one thing necessary. Ony one thing. In this brief exhortation, we examine how to adopt this way of life.

In this brief exhortation, we encourage you to rejoice and take comfort that you have found your way out of the institutional church system and discovered the body of Christ in your small gatherings in homes or other spaces. Rejoice! You are Christ's little flock.

Many Christians struggle with issues related to their mental and relational health, and while there can be many causes, the one they seldom consider is their church affiliation. In this talk, we address the institutional church system as being the underlying cause for much of the suffering and burnout for today's believer, and what to do about it.

This is an introduction to a new YouTube channel that will soon be active. On this channel, we will work to help you recover a biblical understanding of the Body of Christ and your vital role in it, and thus escape the clutches of the institutional church system.

In this introductory episode, we turn to First John to guide us out of any religious system that is destructive even though it calls itself a Christian Church. And American airwaves and buildings are filled with such false churches. In this new series, we will discover that John sets the standards for what it means to be in fellowship with the apostilc proclamation and to know the complete joy that fellowship brings to those who embrace it. You need not suffer in silence in these church systems any longer.

Do you realize the nature and purpose of the body of Christ and your vital role in it? The apostle John tells us the apostlic proclamation is that the Word of Life was manifested within humanity, and that this incarnate love of the Father in the Son remains with us in our fellowship even today!