Podcasts about established church

Liberty Dispatch ~ May 31, 2024On the eve of "Pride Comes Before the Fall Month," hosts Andrew and Matthew are joined by Dr. Voddie Baucham to discuss his new book, It's Not Like Being Black: How Sexual Activists Hijacked the Civil Rights Movement (interview begins @ 21:00). The guys also cover a plethora of news over the last couple of weeks and talk about how Canada's new State-funded, established Church of the Rainbow is hell-bent on colonizing all nations and institutions.Segment 1 - News Brief:"Klaus Schwab to Step Down as Executive Chairman of World Economic Forum" | LifeSiteNews https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/klaus-schwab-to-step-down-as-executive-chairman-of-world-economic-forum;"Trudeau Govt Spends $2.9 Million on UN's COP28 Summit" | LifeSiteNews https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/trudeau-govt-spends-2-9-million-on-uns-cop28-summit;"RCMP Officers Uncomfortable with Political Pressure" | True North https://tnc.news/2024/05/13/rcmp-officers-uncomfortable-with-political-pressure;"RCMP's New Law and Threats to Politicians" | The Counter Signal https://thecountersignal.com/rcmp-new-law-threats-politicians;"Trudeau to Give 5,000 Visas to Palestinian Refugees for Resettlement in Canada" | The Post Millennial https://thepostmillennial.com/trudeau-to-give-5000-visas-to-palestinian-refugees-for-resettlement-in-canada?utm_content=;"U of T Seeks Court Injunction to Clear Encampment as Protesters Stay Put" | CTV News https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/u-of-t-seeks-court-injunction-to-clear-encampment-as-protesters-stay-put-1.6903203;Segment 2 - Interview with Dr. Voddie Baucham:Voddie Baucham Ministries: https://www.voddiebaucham.org/; "Is Gay the New Black?" | Voddie Baucham: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkL3lT95vOU; "The Children of Caesar" | Voddie Baucham: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuXFGsy6UBY; Get Dr. Baucham's New Book - "It's Not Like Being Black": https://www.amazon.com/Its-Not-Like-Being-Black/dp/1684513642/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.pUpXNlNddYTE_WU7QH0w2A-nIOmhIWWZ-_8M15m_CSYDa1TzNU6oOWRxC2wRN_ZRSRhdktG9WV01fbRJfzdnaI-V94iZhFpp31krdVjjnd8A4sYD91dDHHb-FoLKa27OHg5hJK4d-kGK9stHq3fPBcwzLgkFHDVRKrMlDPLzX9TXQbWJdKHuVT0YsPE6JZaMkka9LOWHns-kb_NzfioTqn6J8Nz39R-ORTWmO_76pKk.nmK43nPGr2LDqHXYiys6kvw2vsW2uNtDMpxhpc4d06s&qid=1712337621&sr=1-1; Segment 3 - The Pro-Death, Anti-Logic of Insane Woke Leftists:"Episcopal Church Unveils New Pride Shield in Celebration of LGBTQ Inclusion" | Episcopal Church https://www.episcopalchurch.org/publicaffairs/episcopal-church-unveils-new-pride-shield-in-celebration-of-lgbtq-inclusion;"Trudeau Government Spends $1.7 Million to Target Pro-Family African Nations with LGBT Advocacy" | LifeSiteNews https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/trudeau-government-1-7-million-target-pro-family-african-nations-lgbt;"Canadian Pro-Lifer Linda Gibbons to be Released from Jail Following Last Week's Arrest" | LifeSiteNews https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/canadian-pro-lifer-linda-gibbons-to-be-released-from-jail-following-last-weeks-arrest;"Trudeau Government Has Spent $10 Million Promoting DEI in the Military as Recruitment Flounders" | LifeSiteNews https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/trudeau-government-has-spent-10-million-promoting-dei-in-the-military-as-recruitment-flounders;"Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc First Nation Graves in Kamloops" | National Post https://nationalpost.com/opinion/tkemlups-te-secwepemc-first-nation-graves-kamloops;"BC First Nations Chief Says Residential School Victims May Have Been Incinerated" | Western Standard https://www.westernstandard.news/bc/bc-first-nations-chief-says-residential-school-victims-may-have-been-incinerated/54884; REGISTER TO LEAD A TRUE READINGS FOR TRUE ROYALTY VOL:2 EVENT IN YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD: https://libertycoalitioncanada.com/storyhour/; SUPPORT OUR LEGAL ADVOCACY - Help us defend Canadians' God-given rights and liberties: https://libertycoalitioncanada.com/donate/; https://libertycoalitioncanada.com/liberty-defense-fund/our-legal-strategy/;SHOW SPONSORS:Join Red Balloon Today!: https://www.redballoon.work/lcc; Invest with Rocklinc: info@rocklinc.com or call them at 905-631-546; Diversify Your Money with Bull Bitcoin: https://mission.bullbitcoin.com/lcc;BarterPay: https://barterpay.ca/; Barter It: https://vip.barterit.ca/launch; Carpe Fide - "Seize the Faith": Store: https://carpe-fide.myshopify.com/, use Promo Code LCC10 for 10% off (US Store Only), or shop Canadian @ https://canadacarpefide.myshopify.com/ | Podcast: https://www.carpefide.com/episodes;Get freedom from Censorious CRMs by singing up for SalesNexus: https://www.salesnexus.com/;Ready to own your own business? Join the Pro Fleet Care team today!: https://profleetcare.com/;Sick of Mainstream Media Lies? Help Support Independent Media! DONATE TO LCC TODAY!: https://libertycoalitioncanada.com/donate/ Please Support us in bringing you honest, truthful reporting and analysis from a Christian perspective.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR SHOWS/CHANNELS:LIBERTY DISPATCH PODCAST: https://libertydispatch.podbean.com; https://rumble.com/LDshow; OPEN MIKE WITH MICHAEL THIESSEN: https://openmikewithmichaelthiessen.podbean.com; https://rumble.com/openmike;THE OTHER CLUB: https://rumble.com/c/c-2541984; THE LIBERTY LOUNGE WITH TIM TYSOE: https://rumble.com/LLwTT;CONTACT US:Questions/comments about podcasts/news/analysis: mailbag@libertycoalitioncanada.com;Questions/comments about donations: give@libertycoalitioncanada.com;Questions/comments that are church-related: churches@libertycoalitioncanada.com;General Inquiries: info@libertycoalitioncanada.com. STAY UP-TO-DATE ON ALL THINGS LCC:Gab: https://gab.com/libertycoalitioncanada Telegram: https://t.me/libertycoalitioncanadanews Instagram: https://instagram.com/libertycoalitioncanada Facebook: https://facebook.com/LibertyCoalitionCanada Twitter: @LibertyCCanada - https://twitter.com/LibertyCCanada Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/LibertyCoalitionCanada YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@liberty4canada - WE GOT CANCELLED AGAIN!!! Please LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, RATE & REVIEW and SHARE it with others!

Liberty Dispatch ~ May 31, 2024On the eve of "Pride Comes Before the Fall Month," hosts Andrew and Matthew are joined by Dr. Voddie Baucham to discuss his new book, It's Not Like Being Black: How Sexual Activists Hijacked the Civil Rights Movement (interview begins @ 21:00). The guys also cover a plethora of news over the last couple of weeks and talk about how Canada's new State-funded, established Church of the Rainbow is hell-bent on colonizing all nations and institutions.Segment 1 - News Brief:"Klaus Schwab to Step Down as Executive Chairman of World Economic Forum" | LifeSiteNews https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/klaus-schwab-to-step-down-as-executive-chairman-of-world-economic-forum;"Trudeau Govt Spends $2.9 Million on UN's COP28 Summit" | LifeSiteNews https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/trudeau-govt-spends-2-9-million-on-uns-cop28-summit;"RCMP Officers Uncomfortable with Political Pressure" | True North https://tnc.news/2024/05/13/rcmp-officers-uncomfortable-with-political-pressure;"RCMP's New Law and Threats to Politicians" | The Counter Signal https://thecountersignal.com/rcmp-new-law-threats-politicians;"Trudeau to Give 5,000 Visas to Palestinian Refugees for Resettlement in Canada" | The Post Millennial https://thepostmillennial.com/trudeau-to-give-5000-visas-to-palestinian-refugees-for-resettlement-in-canada?utm_content=;"U of T Seeks Court Injunction to Clear Encampment as Protesters Stay Put" | CTV News https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/u-of-t-seeks-court-injunction-to-clear-encampment-as-protesters-stay-put-1.6903203;Segment 2 - Interview with Dr. Voddie Baucham:Voddie Baucham Ministries: https://www.voddiebaucham.org/; "Is Gay the New Black?" | Voddie Baucham: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkL3lT95vOU; "The Children of Caesar" | Voddie Baucham: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuXFGsy6UBY; Get Dr. Baucham's New Book - "It's Not Like Being Black": https://www.amazon.com/Its-Not-Like-Being-Black/dp/1684513642/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.pUpXNlNddYTE_WU7QH0w2A-nIOmhIWWZ-_8M15m_CSYDa1TzNU6oOWRxC2wRN_ZRSRhdktG9WV01fbRJfzdnaI-V94iZhFpp31krdVjjnd8A4sYD91dDHHb-FoLKa27OHg5hJK4d-kGK9stHq3fPBcwzLgkFHDVRKrMlDPLzX9TXQbWJdKHuVT0YsPE6JZaMkka9LOWHns-kb_NzfioTqn6J8Nz39R-ORTWmO_76pKk.nmK43nPGr2LDqHXYiys6kvw2vsW2uNtDMpxhpc4d06s&qid=1712337621&sr=1-1; Segment 3 - The Pro-Death, Anti-Logic of Insane Woke Leftists:"Episcopal Church Unveils New Pride Shield in Celebration of LGBTQ Inclusion" | Episcopal Church https://www.episcopalchurch.org/publicaffairs/episcopal-church-unveils-new-pride-shield-in-celebration-of-lgbtq-inclusion;"Trudeau Government Spends $1.7 Million to Target Pro-Family African Nations with LGBT Advocacy" | LifeSiteNews https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/trudeau-government-1-7-million-target-pro-family-african-nations-lgbt;"Canadian Pro-Lifer Linda Gibbons to be Released from Jail Following Last Week's Arrest" | LifeSiteNews https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/canadian-pro-lifer-linda-gibbons-to-be-released-from-jail-following-last-weeks-arrest;"Trudeau Government Has Spent $10 Million Promoting DEI in the Military as Recruitment Flounders" | LifeSiteNews https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/trudeau-government-has-spent-10-million-promoting-dei-in-the-military-as-recruitment-flounders;"Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc First Nation Graves in Kamloops" | National Post https://nationalpost.com/opinion/tkemlups-te-secwepemc-first-nation-graves-kamloops;"BC First Nations Chief Says Residential School Victims May Have Been Incinerated" | Western Standard https://www.westernstandard.news/bc/bc-first-nations-chief-says-residential-school-victims-may-have-been-incinerated/54884; REGISTER TO LEAD A TRUE READINGS FOR TRUE ROYALTY VOL:2 EVENT IN YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD: https://libertycoalitioncanada.com/storyhour/; SUPPORT OUR LEGAL ADVOCACY - Help us defend Canadians' God-given rights and liberties: https://libertycoalitioncanada.com/donate/; https://libertycoalitioncanada.com/liberty-defense-fund/our-legal-strategy/;SHOW SPONSORS:Join Red Balloon Today!: https://www.redballoon.work/lcc; Invest with Rocklinc: info@rocklinc.com or call them at 905-631-546; Diversify Your Money with Bull Bitcoin: https://mission.bullbitcoin.com/lcc;BarterPay: https://barterpay.ca/; Barter It: https://vip.barterit.ca/launch; Carpe Fide - "Seize the Faith": Store: https://carpe-fide.myshopify.com/, use Promo Code LCC10 for 10% off (US Store Only), or shop Canadian @ https://canadacarpefide.myshopify.com/ | Podcast: https://www.carpefide.com/episodes;Get freedom from Censorious CRMs by singing up for SalesNexus: https://www.salesnexus.com/;Ready to own your own business? Join the Pro Fleet Care team today!: https://profleetcare.com/;Sick of Mainstream Media Lies? Help Support Independent Media! DONATE TO LCC TODAY!: https://libertycoalitioncanada.com/donate/ Please Support us in bringing you honest, truthful reporting and analysis from a Christian perspective.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR SHOWS/CHANNELS:LIBERTY DISPATCH PODCAST: https://libertydispatch.podbean.com; https://rumble.com/LDshow; OPEN MIKE WITH MICHAEL THIESSEN: https://openmikewithmichaelthiessen.podbean.com; https://rumble.com/openmike;THE OTHER CLUB: https://rumble.com/c/c-2541984; THE LIBERTY LOUNGE WITH TIM TYSOE: https://rumble.com/LLwTT;CONTACT US:Questions/comments about podcasts/news/analysis: mailbag@libertycoalitioncanada.com;Questions/comments about donations: give@libertycoalitioncanada.com;Questions/comments that are church-related: churches@libertycoalitioncanada.com;General Inquiries: info@libertycoalitioncanada.com. STAY UP-TO-DATE ON ALL THINGS LCC:Gab: https://gab.com/libertycoalitioncanada Telegram: https://t.me/libertycoalitioncanadanews Instagram: https://instagram.com/libertycoalitioncanada Facebook: https://facebook.com/LibertyCoalitionCanada Twitter: @LibertyCCanada - https://twitter.com/LibertyCCanada Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/LibertyCoalitionCanada YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@liberty4canada - WE GOT CANCELLED AGAIN!!! Please LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, RATE & REVIEW and SHARE it with others!

Words can help establish church culture. Be careful with your vocabulary! Josh and Sam discuss the impact of leadership lingo and how pastors can use language to guide the congregation. Language is an important way to set expectations in the church. Some established church lingo can even hinder growth.Episode Sponsors:Churchteams:Are you tired of multiple applications for church check-in, giving, membership, and scheduling?Churchteams was built to bring together all your people and data under one umbrella with best-in-class quality features.Get value without compromise. Pricing is simple and based on the number of people in the database. This includes all the essential features so that you can grow into using more without having to pay more. Plans start at $37 per month for churches under 200 people. Get two months free at EST.church!Upward Sports:Upward Sports equips churches to run self-sustaining sports ministries in their communities. Whether you are a sports fanatic, or on staff at a church, Upward Sports will give you all the tools you need to run a first-class sports ministry that allows you to reach families in your community.Upward Sports offers basketball, soccer, flag football, cheerleading, volleyball, baseball and softball through league and camp offerings.At Upward Sports, we want to help your church make a difference, and give you increased opportunities to share the gospel. Learn more today at Upward.org/ChurchAnswers.

A session from Church Advance 2024. Connect with Mike Brown at https://WestfForidaBaptist.com/Leadership Access more show notes and recommended resources at https://BryanSamms.com/Notes Connect with Bryan at https://BryanSamms.com/Connect Connect with Luke at https://MustIncrease.com/Luke

A God-Established Church (Acts 16:6-40) by TCWC

Can the Church of England escape from the deadly grip of bishops and bureaucrats who spend their entire time genuflecting to the metropolitan Left? Why does Archbishop Justin Welby wade obsessively into secular political battles when his churches are emptying? And do worshippers realise that eye-watering sums of money are being siphoned off from their parishes in order to fund worthless exercises in social engineering? In this episode of Holy Smoke, the Rev Marcus Walker, Rector of St Bartholomew the Great in the City of London, reveals the scale of the crisis facing the Established Church. His analysis is devastating. Among the subjects he addresses is the cultural cringe that led Welby and gang to value the opinions of Paula Vennells, the disgraced former head of the Post Office who nearly became Bishop of London, over those of qualified theologians and parochial clergy.  Under its current Rector, the ancient parish of St Bart's has become a beacon of hope for proud traditional Anglicans. Marcus tells me how he's reaching out to a new generation of Christians bored out of their minds by episcopal jargon – and also what he thinks of Pope Francis's attempt to crush the Latin Mass. It's a rollercoaster of an interview with one of the great clerics of our age. Don't miss it!

In this episode, Pastor Zac interviews Rev. Sam Perez of Grace Reformed Church in Jersey City. 

In this episode of the Unseen Leadership Podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Dan Iten are joined by Josh King, Lead pastor of Second Baptist in Conway, Arkansas. In the episode, Josh discusses his journey in ministry, starting at the age of 18, and emphasizes the importance of investing in established churches and valuing their resources and legacy. He highlights the need for young leaders to prepare themselves for leadership roles by immersing themselves in the environments and practices of their desired positions and learning from experienced leaders. Through his own experiences and mentorship, Josh encourages young leaders to recognize and affirm the callings of others, empowering them to step into their leadership roles with confidence. QUOTES FROM EPISODE 80 “When you see a calling within somebody and in their life, call it out. Giving that confidence to somebody is huge and affirming.” – Josh King “There is a big difference between saying someone is ready for ministry and simply telling them they are called.” – Josh King “Don't wait until you have the job. Start learning now by hanging out with people who are actively doing what you want to do and pick it up as you can.” – Josh King “A shift for me was not being bitter about not being the trendy, cool, leader with all these special giftings, but instead, just embracing whom God created me to be.” – Josh King “We can be so tempted to get go ahead and get to a decision, but things like struggling with a committee, or struggling with some deacons or some lay leaders, there's discipleship in that.” – Josh King “If you can see the beauty in the minutia and in the journey, I would have learned quicker to bring my eyes down a little bit and to see the now, not just the next.” – Josh King “We love leadership so much, yet over and over Scripture puts a greater emphasis on following in that, great leaders are actually just great followers. And God gives a following to those who are great followers.” – Josh King “If you worry more about following Christ and about submitting to the godly leaders in your life, the leadership will come later. That's how you get developed.” – Josh King “God is not going to hold you responsible for the mess that you found. He's just holding you responsible for what you do in it.” – Josh King RECOMMENDED RESOURCES The God Who Goes Before You: Pastoral Leadership as Christ-Centered Followership by Timothy Paul Jones and Michael S. Wilder Shepherd Leadership: Wisdom for Leaders from Psalm 23 by Blaine McCormick and David Davenport

In this episode, Pastor Brett Hill breaks down the first chapter of Revelation right after helping us understand how John got the assignment. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/brett-d-hill/support

Today Andrew speaks with Matt Moran. Matt is a pastor and church planter and has seen first hand the how a partnership between a Micro Church and an established church can bare eternal fruit

A Christian Prince, an Established Church, King Charles' Impeccable Style, and more.    

Voters in Turkey go to the polls today in the country's presidential election. The two main candidates, the incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his challenger, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, have set out their visions for the nation's future. We explore the religious differences between the candidates and consider how the outcome of the election could affect life and faith in Turkey and the country's significant international role. The Coronation of King Charles III was a spectacular display of Britishness but also a profoundly religious event. While a number of faiths played a small role, it was overwhelmingly an Anglican ceremony and a powerful statement of the Church of England's central place within the state. But as ever smaller numbers of people go to Anglican services, and the nation's religious life becomes more diverse, does it still have a legitimate right to remain as England's established church? We hear the arguments on both sides. St Francis of Assisi is the Pope's favourite saint. It's why he took the name Francis, and it's why his papacy has placed such a strong emphasis on care for the natural world and a commitment to the poor. Born at the end of the 12th century, St Francis, who renounced his wealth to form a humble order of friars, has been a compelling subject for artists throughout the centuries. Now, the National Gallery in London is hosting the first major UK art exhibition to explore his life and legacy. Producer: Jonathan Hallewell Presenter: Edward Stourton Editor: Tim Pemberton

Episode 739: Establishing healthy partnership between an established church and a plant can be a challenge. Ed Stetzer talks with Ron Edmondson about how to lead an established church to support church planting.

Russell Godward leads a conversation on the journey from established church to movement.Visit Russell's YouTube channel: youtube.com/@russellgodward8500

A full unedited Transcript can be found here.Limted Time offer on my New Book Revitalize To Plant:Reshaping the Established Church to Plant Churches is only $15.00 for the first 100 orders.Check out the Blog for the Podcast, including this week's episode by clicking this link.Rev. Dr. Bob Hunter discusses the importance of men in the church planting or revitilazation process. He also talks about how men have disengaed from the church at an alarming rate whoch simulaneously correlates with the rise in issues with me. They are more likely to suffer addicions, be incarerated, and other negative life situations.Bob runs a ministry to young boys where he teaches healthy masculinity which is bilically based.Bob is a Father, husband, teacher, pastor, jack-of-all trades,He also runs a Citrusr farm and sales citrus.Lemons, Oanges, Grapefruit and more. The name of his ministry Rip'd for Life. Here is the link. https://www.facebook.com/RIPD4LIFERip'd for Life's guiding principles are as follows:RIP'd 4 Life guiding principlesRelationships come first. Relationships are the ultimate reality of the universe and the relationality of God is the basis for understanding all human issues because we were made in the image of our creator who is a relational being. RIP'd 4 Life will make all of its decisions based on the relational well-being of its participants. If it's not good for the relationship, then we don't do it.Giving as a way of life. Human beings are prone to excess. As a dominant cultural force, consumerism and materialism threaten the human soul and ultimately lead to the destruction of the earth and personal dissatisfaction. At RIP'd 4 Life we exist to give. We are endeavor to give and not take. We exist for the sake of others. We aim to serve in the manner of Christ. All of our participants are challenged to think, act and live outside of oneself. We believe the secret to living is giving.Life in community. Communitas is a Latin word that denotes an intense community spirit where feelings of equality, solidarity and togetherness are present. RIP'd 4 Life Camp experiences aspire to create a true spirit of community. Campers and counselors sleep in the same quarters, eat the same food, and participate in all activities together. There are no persons of privilege and no second class citizens. We are a community that practices embraces a common purpose in Jesus Christ.Experiential Learning. Experience is life's best teacher. Young men are taught many things in theory, but rarely implement those lessons in the context of real life. Experiential learning occurs when human beings are placed in real life situations that demand a response. In order to promote experiential learning, RIP'd 4 Life will create age appropriate activities where experiential learning can occur. There is no set curriculum or content, participants discover what needs to be discovered and those learning experiences are not soon forgotten.Holistic Holiness. Holiness is about having right relationships and pursuing “wholeness.” The “inner man” seeking a right relationship with God is the basis for right relations with others. Once a right relationship is established with God, right relationships can be developed with others, the world we live in and our own bodies. RIP'd 4 Life is interested in the “whole” person (Mind, body and soul) and our activities will reflect the whole being of a person.Jesus not masculinity. Definitions of manhood are wide and varied. Instead of using gender stereotypes and cultural values to inform young men about what they should become, we default to Jesus. We have no indication from scripture that Jesus came to earth for the purpose of modeling manhood. As such, we do not say he is the perfect male, we say he is the perfect human being and his perfect life saves us from ourselves making it possible to be transformed into the image of God. Therefore, we resist narrow definitions of what a man is (e.g., the stronger sex, dominant, etc.). We do not say things like “Man-up,” “Grow-up,” “Be a man,” etc. As a community, we endeavor to be transformed into the likeness of Christ and this requires the embodiment of virtues such as humility, courage, justice, mercy and forgiveness. Our main objective is to seek godliness and the masculine thing will take care of itself. That is not to say traditionally masculine things do not happen at our camps & retreats (sporting competitions, brotherhood, etc.), it is to say our perspective on those things is different and what we do is filtered through the lens of Christ-likeness

Aaron Frasier has officated 24 funerals in very short period of time. He discusses how he provides assistance to families who have suffered the loss of a loved one during the funeral. Arron is the Pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church. They also have a weekly PodcastFull Transcript. See Related blog on thie episode at echoesthrougheternity.comAre you starting a new church or Ministry? Dr Skinner is here to help. Contact Him at (706) 916-3945 Or Email him at missionalleadershipcoaching@gmail.comThe last resource you'll need on church planting..Revitalize to Plant:Reshaping the Established Church to Plant ChurchesPastors of established churches everywhere are searching for the secret formula to revitalize their churches. They have paid thousands of dollars for outside consultants only to be disappointed. The answer has been in the very word they preach every Sunday: plant churches. Planting churches results in the church developing a missional mindset that connects them with the heart of God which lies in the process of resurrection and restoration.

Rev. Kyle Poole is the District Superintndent for the Church of the Nazarene in Georgia. Kyle joins us to discuss the changing cultural landscape for churches and ho they can faithfully navigate the changes. He also shares his perspective on leadership from a mid-level administrative position.https://georgianazarenedistrict.org/Please like and subscribe if you enjoy.The last resource you'll need for Church Planting and Revitilization: Revitilize to Plant:Re-Shaping the Established Church to Plant Churches. Available on Amazon and any where books are sold.

Dr.Barrett reads one his chapters from our soon to be available book, Revitilize to Plant:Reshaping the Established Church to Plant Churches.

Dr. Skinner previews his soon to be released book Revitalize to Plant:Reshaping the Established Church to Plant Churches.

Dee Black joins the show with Sam to talk about what happens when an established church starts incorporating hip-hop into the worship culture. Check out his latest album, The Gospel According To here: https://ingrv.es/the-gospel-according-wra-jYou can also watch the Waymaker video mentioned in this episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOnl7GYxSv8Episode Sponsor: Looking for education that is affordable, accessible, and attainable? Check out Church Answers University: https://churchanswers.university/

Explore our resources at practicalshepherding.com Financially support the work of ministry through Practical ShepherdingPurchase Pastoral Friendship through 10ofThose use code PFRND8 at checkout(1:55) Biblical and Historical examples of established churches(5:25) Categories and characteristics of an established church(7:31) Priorities for your first year of pastoring an established church(16:43) Priorities for your first 5-10 years of pastoring an established church (27:05) When an established church searches for a new pastor(32:23) How should an established church view an interim period(37:32) Final word and prayer

Explore our resources at practicalshepherding.com Financially support the work of ministry through Practical ShepherdingPurchase Pastoral Friendship through 10ofThose use code PFRND8 at checkout(1:55) Biblical and Historical examples of established churches(5:25) Categories and characteristics of an established church(7:31) Priorities for your first year of pastoring an established church(16:43) Priorities for your first 5-10 years of pastoring an established church (27:05) When an established church searches for a new pastor(32:23) How should an established church view an interim period(37:32) Final word and prayer

While there are certain repeated questions new churches get, there are different repeated questions you get when your church becomes more established. In this episode, we discuss 5 questions you get often as an established church. Welcome to episode 292 of Practical Church Planting.  Ambassadors Ministries If you wish you had a large paid staff and more leaders that could give dedicated time to the mission of your church, check about Ambassadors Ministries. At no cost to your church, they will coach your leaders to fundraise full, part-time, or supplemental salary and support you in all the administrative tasks of fundraising, so you can remain focused on the hard work of ministry. Check out ambassadorsministries.com/practical for more information. CONNECT AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get practical tips delivered right to you. For free resources to help you plant a church that thrives, check out practicalplanting.com.  You can also watch the video version of the podcast on our YouTube channel. Have questions or want encouragement from other church planters? Join the Practical Church Planting Facebook group.

This episode features Paul Huyghebaert and Rob Shaver of Grace Chapel Church. They shared a conversation about implementing disciple making movement principles from around the world in our already established North American churches.

And some suggestions on how to improve upon the Established Church.In order to have righteous societies, we need an official, institutional Recognized Church in each state. This is the first episode in a series and begins the discussion on how we can get the Recognized Church at the local and state level.In the podcast, I mentioned an article by Dr. Joe Morecraft on the original version of the Westminster Confession vs. the American version. It's an interesting read that shows how America over-reacted against the doctrine of the Established Church.

In this episode, we interview Dr. Katharine Gerbner, Professor of History at the University of Minnesota, about her research on the religious dimensions of the Atlantic slave trade. Dr. Gerbner studied three groups: Anglicans, Quakers, and Moravians analyzing how they engaged with, defended, and benefited from the slave trade in Barbados and other English Colonies. How did groups that we associate with pacifism and abolitionism justify owning other human beings? What was the focus of the Established Church of England in relation to the expansion of the British Empire? Our latest episode explores these and other related topics that help us understand our early American religious experience. Dr. Katharine Gerbner holds degrees from Columbia and Harvard Universities. She is a native of Germantown PA and is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Minnesota. She writes; “My first book, Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World, shows how debates between slave-owners, black Christians, and missionaries transformed the practice of Protestantism and the language of race.” 

The pandemic has taken a toll on the Church.  “Churches initially lost 50 percent of their congregations,” says pastor, author, and podcaster Dr. Desmond Barrett. “Since that time, 75 percent of it has come back, but there is a quarter of the population that has not come back to the church.”  Barrett serves as the lead pastor at Summit Church of the Nazarene in Ashland, Kentucky and writes and podcasts on the topic of church revitalization.   “It's an opportunity to become the Acts-driven church. We cannot go back to two years ago. We cannot go back to the ‘glory days,' whenever they were in the local church,” he says. “We have to focus on the season that we're in here, today.”   For churches that once focused primarily on programming for the people in the pews, Barrett sees this as an opportunity to look outward to those who live in the shadow of our steeples.   “God has called us to minister to those people,” he says. In order to do that, “we have to become a praying people.”  And if you're a church leader discouraged by empty chairs, Barrett assures us that God is not surprised by the pandemic and its effects. He can use it all to revitalize His church.   “Stop focusing on what you did yesterday or even what you're going to do tomorrow. Because when you do that you realize that God is in the midst.”  Listen to our 15-minute conversation to hear Desmond Barrett's strategies for emerging from the pandemic and hear how many congregations are returning to a focus on prayer.  Dr. Desmond Barrett is the author of Revitalizing the Declining Church: From Death's Door to Community Growth, and Addition Through Subtraction: Revitalizing the Established Church. You can find the article that inspired this conversation here.

Dr Sam Rainer joins us this week for a special episode where we ask him all about his ministries - Church Answers, EST. - For the Established Church Podcast, and his newest book, "https://www.amazon.com/gp/slredirect/picassoRedirect.html/ref=pa_sp_atf_aps_sr_pg1_1?ie=UTF8&adId=A041873713N1BF6WO6BRO&url=%2FChurch-Revitalization-Checklist-Practical-Congregation-ebook%2Fdp%2FB097Q7RH1B%2Fref%3Dsr_1_1_sspa%3Fcrid%3DP64O7HYRANW5%26keywords%3Dsam%2Brainer%26qid%3D1652952635%26sprefix%3Dsam%2Brainer%252Caps%252C131%26sr%3D8-1-spons%26psc%3D1&qualifier=1652952635&id=467742932362362&widgetName=sp_atf (The Church Revitalization Checklist)". We had so much to talk about that we had to call in help! Guest host, Brandon Knight also joined us this episode to ask Dr Rainer some about Church Administration. Brandon is a seminary student with his own podcast, "My Seminary Life" where he discusses what he's been learning in seminary and recently he just finished a class on Church administration. We all laugh and have a good time while also discussing the deep ideas of the importance of established Churches and organization in ministry. Maybe we shouldn't "just preach the Gospel"; maybe we should also have accountability and organization? . Please consider sponsoring our show: patreon.com/thewholechurchpodcast . Make a one-time donation: Cashapp $wholechurch . Subscribe to our show: https://the-whole-church-podcast.captivate.fm/listen (https://the-whole-church-podcast.captivate.fm/listen) . Rate us & leave a review: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-whole-church-podcast-104837 (https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-whole-church-podcast-104837)

In 2019, there were many lectures and commemorations of the first African Americans to arrive in the Colony of Virginia who were forced into labor for the Planter class. But, 1619 was also the year that brought the first large influx of English Women to the Colony. Why did these women agree to become wives to men they had never met? What was the role and status of these women at Jamestown? What new laws gave incentive for these women to come to a place that posed so many threats to their well-being? How did the Established Church look upon women?  Today we will discuss with Jamie Helmick the answer to these and other fascinating questions. Jamie Helmick is the Special Projects and Programs Manager for Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. Jamie has degrees from Christopher Newport University (CNU) and Old Dominion University. 

Bring Glory to God                        If We Allow All Churches to Die It Says Our God Is WeakBecause It Was Once a Plant and an Established Church                        HistoryWe Love to Restore Other Things                        Cars                        Furniture                         Tools

Get in touch: Twitter- @5pointsplanting Facebook- @5pointsplanting Or by email at:  reformedplanting@gmail.com

A lot of church leaders have a lot of emotions right now. On this episode, Gary Moritz of City United Church joins the show to discuss the emotional impact of leading a church revitalization. Josh, Gary, and Sam discuss some personal stories of leading while also experiencing many emotions. Check out Gary's new book, "Carry On". Episode Sponsor: On March 22-24, experienced ministry leaders from around the country will gather on the campus of Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, to explore how God's church can thrive in this ever-changing ministry context. Founded on an unyielding commitment to biblical truth, built by expert practitioners, and designed to encourage and equip God's people in every area of ministry, this gathering is a place where you can be empowered to live your calling, wherever God has called you. So join us in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 22-24, and learn more at swbts.edu/ministrynow2022.

Austin Ruse's address at the second National Conservatism Conference, 11/01/21.

There were two songs I was going to play for my cousin Rita's friend, who's husband had a stroke. One was "Like A River Glorious", which I played a while back and this was the other one. For this piece I only had an organ and piano duet arrangement, so I had to order the music. When I got it, my printer was also not working. Now that I finally got it and figured out how to print it, I've recorded it for her. This is a hymn that has been used around the globe and across denominational lines. It was also incorporated in two of the most televised services of the last two decades, the funeral of Princess Diana of Wales (1977) and the royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton (2011). The author of this hymn never intended to be a minister, and instead wished to be a doctor. Eventually after hearing the preaching of Howell Harris, he made the decision to pursue ordination in the Established Church. He became a well known writer of Welsh Methodism, with beautiful imagery, and this hymn contains traces of the hardships he experienced as a traveling minister. I hope you enjoy it.

If you belong to or care about the Church of England, you may be shocked by some of the things you learn in this episode of Holy Smoke.  I'm not referring to the familiar evidence that the Established Church, in common with all mainstream Christian denominations in Britain, is watching its congregations shrink at a humiliating rate. In 2019, an average of only 690,000 people attended Church of England services on Sundays – 50,000 fewer than in 2016. And that was before Covid. This is what people mean when they talk about churchgoing falling off a cliff, and it's a desperate problem for a church facing the impossible challenge of maintaining 16,000 buildings, many of them Grade I listed. What shocked me was what my guest, the Rev Marcus Walker, Rector of St Bartholomew the Great in the City of London, revealed about the horrors of the C of E's insatiably greedy and tediously right-on bureaucracy. An ever-growing army of administrators and busybodies – he describes their numbers as ‘astronomical' – is raiding the collection plates of local parishes so that they can force-feed churchgoers with their drivel. Marcus is one of the best-connected priests in the Church of England – and one of the bravest. In our interview he talks candidly about the ‘despoiling' of parishes by the managerial culture promoted by the bishops, which has thrown away more than £240 million on doomed projects to attract new worshippers. These schemes are mostly cack-handed attempts to foist the charismatic evangelical model of ‘church plants' on ordinary parishes. (For an idea of just how badly this can go wrong, read the under-reported story of the resignation of the Bishop of Winchester, Tim Dakin, a hardline evangelical whose obsession with mega-churches and alleged harassment of vicars led Winchester to be dubbed ‘the diocese of North Korea'). It was a barking mad scheme to create 10,000 ‘lay-led churches' that prompted Marcus Walker, writing in The Spectator in July, to launch a ‘Save the parish' campaign that, among other things, encourages parish priests and their congregations to lock away their money so that the power-crazed mediocrities who control the church can't get their hands on it. Trust me: you don't want to miss what the Rector of the oldest parish church in the City of London has to say. And, once you've listened to him, I don't think you'll be surprised that St Bartholomew's is absolutely thriving under his stewardship. (Note to Catholic listeners: I couldn't resist asking Marcus, former deputy director of the Anglican Centre in Rome, what he makes of Pope Francis's campaign to suppress the traditional Latin Mass…)

A new MP3 sermon from Presbyterian Reformed Church of RI is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: On the Evils Which the Established Church in Edinburgh Has ... Suffered Subtitle: Chalmers Audio Library Speaker: Thomas Chalmers Broadcaster: Presbyterian Reformed Church of RI Event: Sunday Service Date: 9/17/2021 Bible: James 2:1-13 Length: 149 min.

Message by JD Mangrum on 09/05/21. Visit Us Online

Can you teach an old dog new tricks? Can tradition be a good thing? Can "the way we've always done it" get us off track? Is there a way to honor the past, but not miss what the Holy Spirit is doing in the "here and now"? Josh and Bailey are back to discuss the good, bad, and ugly of the Established Church and Established Church Worship.

The evangelical church is coming out of Worship War I and is entering Worship War II. Consumerism and Comparison is taking hold of our churches, and it is directly affecting our worship practices. Find out how Josh and Bailey think we should battle Worship War II: Established Church Worship vs. Emerging Church Worship.

Tim Farron interviews the MP who is the link between parliament and the Church of England - Andrew Selous. As well as being a Christian and a Conservative MP, Andrew is the Second Church Estates Commissioner, meaning he answers MPs' questions about the church. Tim asks him about his role and whether the C of E being tied to the state is good or bad. Tim also shares his thoughts on foreign aid and answers a listener's question about submitting to governing authorities. If you have any thoughts or questions, email farron@premier.org.uk or add 07711 701133 to your phone and send a message on WhatsApp.

When the community changes around a church, should the congregation change the name? Ed Litton of Redemption Church joins the show today. He shares the story of the name change at his church. The New Testament word for church is ekklesia, which implies a mobile group of people. The church must be flexible to accomplish the vision. On this episode, we cover good motivations for a name or location change, as well as bad motivations. Episode Sponsors:Located in Fort Worth, Texas, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is committed to providing theological education for individuals engaging in Christian ministry. Southwestern Seminary offers a variety of degree programs at the undergraduate, masters, and doctoral levels. Just this year, our friends at Southwestern launched new 8-week online classes, which means you don’t have to wait until the next full semester to begin. If you are interested in taking the next step in ministry, visit SWBTS.edu to learn more about how you can get started. You need to learn more about two great resources from Church Initiative. The makers of GriefShare and DivorceCare offer a team of experienced coaches. They equip your church members to get the program started—so it’s not on your plate.Pastors are saying these are among the easiest, most effective ministries they’ve ever offered. Check out GriefShare and DivorceCare.

When you are a leader, change is hard. When you are a young leader in an older established church, change is really hard. We talk about it.We also talk about healthy living as a pastors and discuss the elephant in the room: weight loss. We also discuss Pence’s RNC speech and how he remixed a passage in Hebrews.We close the show answering the controversial question, “Does pineapple belong on pizza?”Clergy Cliff Notes:Delmar led a conversation about weight, health, and addiction. No specfic link but here are some tools.Beach Body On-demand - https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/My Macros+ - https://getmymacros.com/Pence remixed Hebrews -https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2020/08/27/pence-bible-rnc-jesus-flag/ (If you don’t have a Washington Post subscription check out this link from The Relevant Magazine - https://relevantmagazine.com/current/vice-president-mike-pence-swapped-out-jesus-for-old-glory-in-his-rnc-address/)Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/practicallypastoring/ Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJe__lRri3NqmA1a9rRnqQQ Join the Practical(ly) Pastoring Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/practicallypastoring

This episode was from last year(EP.29); hosts, Michael & Shauna, have a special guest Pastor, Andy Swart discussing; launching a biblical counseling ministry within his established church. Intentionally raising up lay leaders who love people and know God's Word to do the work of the ministry within their own body - cultivating Saints for Soul Care - the purpose of "one-anothering" in the local church. Episode Notes Moving from Planting (Metro Church) to an already established church (The Mount). Creating an environment that allows people to struggle, starting from the platform. Truth Renewed isn’t a replacement for the church regarding counseling, but an overflow of care. Truth Renewed is a training center to help equip church leaders to become biblical counselors and launch biblical counseling in the local church. Trident of ministry; robust theology, organization strategy, counsel and care. In the same way, we raise up leaders to make Sunday happen, we need to raise up care leaders for the rest of the week - where ministry lives. Don’t stop plowing, it takes time to bring life change and equipping the saints. Trust the process of sanctification. Find those in your congregation who are gifted in caring for others, they’re serious about God’s Word and the process of transformation, and scholarship them. Find a line item in your budget to cultivate the saints in soul care. The posture of a pastor should be a leader of learning. Sunday morning is to edify the saints. Email us on any topics; topics@speakthetruth.org Reach out to Shauna if you’d like to start a biblical counseling ministry @ christiancounseling.com Episode Resources: The Mount Church Metro Church Rage Ministries Instruments in the Redeemer's Hand's Christiancounseling.com Information about training your lay leaders as biblical counselors or becoming a training center, email Shauna, Shauna@christiancounseling.com

We now have an established church in our country, and it is a Secular Church. The first amendment's "freedom of religion" clauses had a distinct purpose, but it was not to separate church and state to the extent, or in the manner, that we turn our backs on God. -James Madison"The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe with blood for centuries." Instead of ensuring that opposing religious factions don't persecute one another, modern interpretations of the establishment clause have been used to attack religion. This is a serious problem, and one that needs to be addressed. The First Amendment of United States ConstitutionCongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Some instances of this happening today: Students for life arrested for writing pro-life messages in chalk on the sidewalk. Little Sisters of the Poor's contraceptive case The Colorado baker, Jack Phillips A list of 1st Amendment cases and outcomes Enjoy solving today's problems with the wisdom of the past? Join the Conversation of Our Generation. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/conofourgen/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/conofourgen/support

We now have an established church in our country, and it is a Secular Church. The first amendment's "freedom of religion" clauses had a distinct purpose, but it was not to separate church and state to the extent, or in the manner, that we turn our backs on God.

Archbishop Stephen Cottrell made the headlines even before he was enthroned last week, when he ‘revealed’ that Jesus was black. This came as news to everyone except the far left, race-baiting fanatics of Black Lives Matter. This week, I talk to Dr Gavin Ashenden, a former chaplain to the Queen, about the implications of this disastrous appointment, which means that for the first time in the history of the Established Church the sees of Canterbury York and the London are all occupied by intellectually challenged bureaucrats with an adolescence enthusiasm for wokeness. Subscribe to the Spectator's first podcast newsletter here (https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast-highlights) and get each week's podcast highlights in your inbox every Tuesday.

Archbishop Stephen Cottrell made the headlines even before he was enthroned last week, when he ‘revealed’ that Jesus was black. This came as news to everyone except the far left, race-baiting fanatics of Black Lives Matter. This week, I talk to Dr Gavin Ashenden, a former chaplain to the Queen, about the implications of this disastrous appointment, which means that for the first time in the history of the Established Church the sees of Canterbury York and the London are all occupied by intellectually challenged bureaucrats with an adolescence enthusiasm for wokeness. Subscribe to the Spectator's first podcast newsletter here (https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast-highlights) and get each week's podcast highlights in your inbox every Tuesday.

Episode 63: Pastoring a Long Established Church   Taking the pastorate of an older church...     Change does take time. Be patient.   The attitude “We were here before you got here and will be here after you’re gone” usually proves true. Your attitude toward that statement will be reflected in the changes you choose to make and in your leadership.   The only way you change #2 is by staying a long time and doing a lot of funerals.   Make yourself as much of the community’s pastor as well as your churches.   Laugh at yourself a lot, many older churches take themselves way too serious, so set a good tone.   BE VISIBLE!

The Voice of COVID-19Podcast IntroductionHello out there, my name is Breck Wheelock and I would like to welcome you to another episode in which we will be looking to Scripture to help us navigate through this time of corona virus crisis. Our text for today’s episode comes from the book of Amos; specifically, chapter 3, verses 3-6. And as we did a couple of lessons ago, we will be considering the expositional insights of Charles Spurgeon regarding this passage. Spurgeon chose to preach on this particular text because of a severe outbreak of cholera that was occurring in London at the time. He titled the sermon, “The Voice of the Cholera” (sermon 705), and it was preached from the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit in London on August 12th of 1866.I have selected and edited only those portions of the sermon which I felt best suited the purposes of this podcast, and I have modified some of Spurgeon’s language to make it more understandable to our modern ears. In altering the text, I did my best to maintain the integrity and the intent of Spurgeon’s thoughts. If you would like to read the original sermon in its entirety, it is readily available online. In fact, you can even listen to the original sermon being read on YouTube.The primary lesson that we will be pondering in this episode is this: when God judges a nation, it is not without a purpose, and He will not remove the judgment, until its full purpose has been accomplished.With that, let us begin by reading from chapter 3 of Amos. Though Spurgeon will only be focusing on verses 3-6, I will read verses 1-6 so as to give us a bit more context.Text: Amos 3:1-6 (NKJV)Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying:2 “You only have I known of all the families of the earth;Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”3 Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?4 Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey?Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing?5 Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no trap for it?Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all?6 If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid?If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?Spurgeon begins his sermon with the following introductory remarks:Sermon IntroductionWe have all been grieved by the mortality that has been caused by the mysterious spread of cholera in our great city of London; thus, I shall speak boldly as to the theological aspect of the subject. As Christians, we believe that God sends all pestilences and that He sends them with a purpose. Therefore, as a minister of God, it is my business to call the people’s attention to God in this time of disease, and teach them the lessons which God would have them to learn.To begin, I do not believe that every affliction is a judgment upon each and every individual person to whom it occurs. We see that in this world, the best of men often endure a great deal of suffering, and that the worst of men frequently have very little suffering.Let’s pause for a moment here because this is a very important distinction that Spurgeon is making. When God sends a widespread judgment, such as a famine or a plague or a war, these types of judgments are not directed at individuals, they are directed at nations (Spurgeon is going to elaborate on this point in the next few sentences). Moreover, it is critical that we understand as God’s people that when we have to go through a national judgment, such as the one that we are currently enduring vis-à-vis the corona virus, God is not punishing us. Christ has already suffered the punishment for His people’s sins; He paid the debt of our sins in full, there is no remaining balance. The slate is completely clean for God’s elect. However, that being said, God will still occasionally judge His people in the sense of disciplining and chastising them, as a father disciplines or chastises his children.Spurgeon continues:Though we do not believe that every affliction is a judgment upon each and every individual person to whom it occurs, we do, however, very firmly believe that there are national judgments, and that national sins provoke national chastisements. As to individuals, their punishment or reward is reserved for the Great White Throne Judgment of Christ; but nations will not exist in the next world: there is no such thing as a judgment of nations, as such, at the last great day; that will be the judgment of individuals one by one. The trial and punishment of nations takes place only in this present world, and it is here that we are to look for the judgment of God upon national sin. In light of this, I shall speak to you today regarding the national chastisement that God is presently visiting upon England.This is an EXCELLENT point that Spurgeon makes, and we don’t want to miss it because it is the foundation which he is going to build upon throughout the remainder of this sermon. His point here is that there will not be any nations (plural) in the next life, there will only be one kingdom, one nation (singular) – the true Israel of God. Furthermore, this heavenly nation will be completely pure – no sin, no curse, no death, no sorrow, no pain, no trials or afflictions or tribulations. In short, there will be no judgments upon this heavenly nation because there will be no need! Sin will have been completely vanquished and all things will have been reconciled by the blood of Christ.But in this life, there are many nations; and on this side of heaven, God will frequently visit and judge a nation according to its wickedness. During such times of national judgment, God’s people are not immune; for them, the judgment is meant as a chastisement, as we already noted. With this foundational principle in mind, let us commence with Spurgeon’s verse-by-verse exposition of the passage, beginning with verse 3:Verse 3THE FIRST QUESTION that Amos asks, says Spurgeon, is this: “Can two walk together except they be agreed?” In other words, can God continue to walk with a sinful people? Is it not to be expected that when a nation falls out with God, God will no longer continue to bless it? In this metaphor given by Amos, two travelers have been cordially walking together for some time when suddenly they fall to angry words, and after a while one strikes the other and mistreats him. Are we to think that the one attacked (in this case, God) will continue to walk with the one who maliciously assaulted Him (in this case, the nation of Israel)? They must part company.Now, when God walks with a nation that nation prospers, but if that nation falls to words with God, quarrels with Him about His will and His law, and rushes perversely into sinful ways; indeed, if there be some in that nation who would have no God at all, who do their best to stamp out/destroy/eradicate His very name from the earth which He Himself has made, then we cannot expect that God should continue to walk with such offenders.Brethren, let me ask you soberly, has there not been enough wickedness in England, and especially here in London, to make God angry with us? Has there not been serious disagreement between the dwellers in this city and God? Has there not been enough to make Him say, “I will walk no more with this people: I will greatly chasten them, and send heavy judgments upon them”?Let’s stop here for a moment to reflect upon these poignant questions that are being asked by Spurgeon. Consider our own nation. Has our nation fallen to words with God? Has our nation quarreled with Him about His will and His law? Have we removed prayer from our schools? Have we removed the 10 Commandments from our courthouses? Have we rushed perversely into sinful ways? Are there many in our nation who would have no God at all, who do their best to stamp out/destroy/eradicate His very name from the earth? Has there not been enough disagreement between the people of our nation and God to make Him say, “I will walk no more with this people: I will chasten them, and send heavy judgments of disease and economic devastation upon them”?These are sobering questions, questions that we really don’t want to address, questions that make us very uncomfortable. But maybe that’s the point. Maybe we’ve become too comfortable. Maybe God has sent this judgment precisely to make all of us extremely uncomfortable. Certainly, God would have the unbelievers of our nation to be uncomfortable; to stop them from carrying on in their wickedness, if but only for a season, and to cause them, perhaps, to consider heavenly things and to forsake their wicked ways.But what about us, as believers? Would God send this judgment to make us uncomfortable too? Well, the wickedness that we now see coursing throughout our nation didn’t happen overnight, and it didn’t occur in a vacuum. Are there not many who profess Christ in America? How, then, have so many evil atrocities overtaken our land? Have we who profess Christ become complacent? Have we become apathetic? Have we become desensitized to the sins of our nation? Have we been negligent in civic affairs? Have we failed to cast our vote? Have we declined to speak up when we had the opportunity (sins of omission)? Have we ourselves, from time to time, sat at the table of the world and joined in the revelry of Babylon (sins of commission)? Have we made no contribution in God’s anger toward our nation?Brethren, each of us would do well to contemplate these questions, and in deep humility, to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us those ways in which we may have provoked the Lord to judge our country.This is precisely what Spurgeon would urge his own congregation to do. He goes on to list several of the sins of England that, in his opinion, would be more than enough reason for God to visit London with His judgment of cholera. He says that:The rampant drunkenness of England is enough to provoke God to smite it with all His thunderbolts. Moreover, there can be no doubt that amongst all classes and ranks of men there is enough debauchery and lewdness to bring down Heaven’s wrath upon our city. The sins of the flesh are sure to be visited before long by that God who loathes iniquity, and in whose nostrils, fornication is a stench. He will not forever endure this abounding sin, for it is committed, be it remembered, in a country famous above all others for its love of home and its high esteem of the joys which cluster around family life. So long as this continues, we need not wonder if God’s health-giving providence should refuse to walk with us, for He cannot be agreed with a people who choose the way of unrighteousness.Note the specific sins that Spurgeon has here enumerated: rampant drunkenness, along with general debauchery, lewdness, and flagrant and prolific fornication, which inevitably leads to the degradation of the purity of family life. Do we not see the same depravity occurring within our own country; indeed, even more so?Surely the drunkenness of London in 1866 pales in comparison to the drug abuse that now infests every one of our major cities, and which has infiltrated even the most remote small towns and main streets of America. And what shall we say about the degradation of the purity of family life that results from general debauchery, lewdness, and fornication? Could Spurgeon have even conceived of a society that would actively promote and celebrate homosexual, transgender, and polyamorous relationships; a society that would redefine marriage itself and legalize the marriage of same-sex couples? Could he imagine a civilization that would murder over half a million of its unborn children every year?Thus, we must conclude with Spurgeon, that so long as these evils continue, we need not wonder if God’s health-giving providence should refuse to walk with us, for He cannot be agreed with a people who choose the way of unrighteousness.Now, to be clear, I’m not saying that we, as God’s people, are the ones who have brought this judgment of corona virus upon our nation. No, I’m not saying that. What I am saying is that as God’s people, we need to be willing to search ourselves to see if there be any unclean thing in us that may have acted as kindle or spark in igniting the fiery anger of God’s judgment.Brethren, this is what I’ve been trying to do. I’ve been trying to ask those hard questions. Have I contributed in any way to the degradation of the purity of family life? For those of you who might not know, I work in surgery, and my work takes me to many different hospitals throughout the Dallas metroplex. Over the last several weeks, I’ve overheard many conversations among doctors and nurses in which they’re complaining about the stress and the strain of having to participate in educating their kids because the schools are closed. What is being communicated quite clearly from these types of conversations is that children are really just a gigantic burden, and at least for these parents, they’re really not interested in doing the hard work of teaching and disciplining their children, they would rather leave that job to others. In other words, they’re just not really interested in being parents. And to my shame, I often don’t speak up. These are missed opportunities where I could have tried to elevate the purity of family life, but I didn’t. And I’ve been convicted of this and I’ve had to repent.To give another personal anecdote. There’s a surgeon I often work with who is catholic, and he’s quite passionate about protecting unborn life. He openly talks about the heinousness of abortion with those who are in the operating room while he’s working. He also frequently speaks out against the LGBTQ agenda and the devastating effects that their agenda is having on the home.Now, it’s important that we exercise a good deal of discernment in the conversations that we have at our workplace. But that being said, I greatly admire this surgeon’s boldness to speak truth, and it has challenged me to be more active in seeking out those opportunities, when appropriate.Moreover, since my work has been greatly reduced over the past several weeks, I’ve had a lot more time at home with my wife and kids, and I’ve been trying to make the best use of this time. I’ve been trying to reestablish things that I’ve somewhat been neglecting. For example, getting back into the habit of having regular and consistent worship time with the kids, going over catechism questions with them, and helping them to memorize Bible verses.Husbands/fathers, are you shepherding your family as you have been commanded to do? Are you washing your wife with the Word? Parents, are you pouring yourselves into your children? Are you diligently striving to raise your children in the fear and admonition of the Lord? If we fail to do things, should we be surprised that the world around us has such a low opinion of family life?Before we return to Spurgeon, allow me to make one more comment here. When it comes to engaging the culture and speaking out against the sins of our nation, our church, Cornerstone Baptist, does much that is to be commended. Just recently, the leadership of our church encouraged us to take part in the 40 Days For Life campaign, whose purpose is to help people in local communities end the injustice of abortion through prayer and fasting, community outreach and peaceful vigil. In addition to this, Justin dedicates a sermon every year to the subject of abortion and the sanctity of life, and he also speaks out, from time to time, against the LGBTQ agenda. Furthermore, I know that many of you are shepherding your families well and that you frequently engage with your neighbors, coworkers, friends, and extended family members so as to be a faithful witness to Christ. We even have a deacon who works for a law firm that is dedicated to defending our religious freedoms! There is much to be applauded when it comes to the leadership and to the faithfulness of the people at Cornerstone, and to the extent that we remain faithful in doing what God has called us to do with regard to our families, our church, and our nation, we are innocent of any national judgments that may befall us.Continuing on, Spurgeon gives another example of a great national sin that would provoke God to send the judgment of cholera upon England. He says,Brethren, if there be any one thing which yet provokes God above all this, it is the fact that, we have once again, as a nation, permitted Roman Catholicism to claim to be our national religion. In our Established Church the gospel is no longer dominant, though there is a remnant of good and faithful preachers who still linger, and who are like a handful of salt amid general putrefaction. We no longer have any right to speak of our national Protestant Church; it is not Protestant, for it tolerates all the heresies of Rome. Not many streets from the church in which we are assembled, you may have your candles, and your incense, along with all the other pomps and vanities of the detestable idolatry of Rome. That Romanism against which many bore testimony and thus burned at the stake as martyrs to the truth. That monster, that old wolf that tore out the palpitating hearts of your forefathers, you have suffered to come back into your house, and you are cherishing it, and feeding it with your children’s meat. Once again, the harlot of Babylon flaunts her lasciviousness in our faces almost without rebuke. It is the same spirit of Antichrist with which your fathers wrestled, and yet our country bears it, and even rejoices in it. Is it for nothing that God has favored this land with the gospel? Must all her light be turned to darkness? Must all the gains of the valiant men of old be lost by the laziness and cowardice of this thoughtless generation? In days past, men like John Knox, Hugh Latimer, and John Bradford, fought like lions for the truth, and are we to yield like cowards? Are the men of oak succeeded by the men of weeping willows? The men who cried, “No Romanism here!” now sleep within their tombs, and their descendants wear the yoke which their fathers scorned. Shall not God visit us for this?We must remember the context here. Spurgeon is speaking of his own nation, England, and the year is 1866. Without getting into the rich protestant history of Great Britain, suffice to say, much blood had been shed over the centuries to free the English people from the tyrannies of the Roman Catholic church. In light of this, Spurgeon is quite beside himself that the protestant church of England was losing all the ground that it had gained – and at so great a price – to the idolatry of Rome. For Spurgeon, this national sin of failing to protect the true gospel and failing to protect England’s godly heritage that had been passed down to them by the blood of martyrs, was the most provocative sin of all, and demanded that God come down to judge England with plague and pestilence.Once again, consider our own national roots. Those who first came to the shores of America were by and large seeking religious freedom whereby they could pursue holiness without fear of persecution by tyrant kings. As a result, our government and legal system was ultimately established upon Judeo-Christian values, as was our original education system. Of the first 100 colleges and universities in America, only a handful were not established by Christian denominations or by individuals who declared a religious purpose. This is our American heritage. But where are we now? Do our government officials fear God? Do our judges uphold justice? Do our public schools teach our children to meditate upon and delight in the law of the Lord day, or do our public schools teach our children to hate God, and to meditate upon and delight in whatever is right in their own eyes? We have not succumbed to the idolatry of Romanism, we have succumbed to the idolatry of Humanism; we have not merely allowed a perversion of the gospel to take hold in our society, we have allowed a hatred of the gospel to take hold in our society. Which is worse, a nation that will tolerate a perversion of the gospel, or a nation that will tolerate no gospel at all? If the England of Spurgeon’s day was worthy of national judgment, how much more is our own nation worthy? We must again agree with Spurgeon’s assessment.Can two walk together, except they be agreed? Rampant drunkenness, debauchery, fornication, failure of God’s people to protect the purity of marriage and family, failure of God’s people to protect their Godly heritage, etc. – these things are obviously contrary to the mind and will of God; thus, we cannot wonder if there should be a plague upon our nation.Verse 4Continuing on to verse 4, Spurgeon writes:THE SECOND QUESTION of the prophet is this, “Will a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den if he has taken nothing?” Amos had observed that a lion does not roar without reason. By the use of this rhetorical question he brings forward the second truth, that when God speaks it is not without a cause, and especially when He speaks with a threatening voice. My brethren, our God is too gracious to send us this cholera without a motive. Are we to imagine that the Lord has done this for nothing? To accomplish no purpose? The great Lion of vengeance has not roared unless sin has provoked Him.Since I have already indicated our great national sins, I should like to ask those Christians who are present what role they may have played in these sins. You who profess to be people of God, and who recognize God’s hand in this visitation with cholera, I ask you how far has justice found provocation in you? What have you had to do, professing Christians, with the drunkenness of this city? Are you sure that you are quite clear of it? Have you both by your teaching and by your example shown to men that the religion of Jesus is not consistent with drunkenness? Oh, if you have been guilty, I pray you seek to be purged of this sin. You cannot wipe out all the national iniquity, but if each man reformed himself of this vice, by God’s grace, this great evil would cease.Let each Christian look at home. Have you in any way fallen into lightness of talk and thought, and so helped to increase the flood of this evil? Oh, my brethren, who among us must not confess to some guilt? Let us bow our heads in penitence, and seek to the God of all grace that He would not roar over this His prey, but be pleased to purge us from it that we may be clean in His presence.And as to this resurgent Romanism — have we spoken out about that? Or do we lend it our direct or even indirect support? God grant that if we have not repudiated it we may do so, and holding the truth in the love and power of it may we come out of Babylon, lest we be partakers of her plagues in the day when God shall visit her in His wrath. Such, I think, was what Amos indicated by his second question.Here is where we see Spurgeon urging his congregation to look inwardly, to see what role they may have played in the national sins that he previously mentioned. As we have already observed, this is the proper response of God’s people during a time of national judgment. We are to take inventory of our own lives, and see if we have lent direct or indirect support to those sins which have given cause for the Lion to roar over His prey.Verse 5Moving on to verse 5, Spurgeon writes:THE THIRD QUESTION is this: “Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth where there is no trap for it?”You see the bird in flight that suddenly swoops to the ground and is taken into the net. Amos is here directing us to the fact that the bird would not be taken into the net unless the net had been purposely designed and laid out in order to catch it. It is taken because the snare was meant to take it, and Amos means to remind us that men do not die without a design on God’s part. It is the same thought as before, but it is held up in another light. The bird is not taken in the net without the design of the fowler, and men do not fall into the net of death without an intent on God’s part. Death, with all which it involves on earth and in eternity, is not sent by God without a reason. Forever banished from the Christian’s conversation is the word “chance.” God rules and overrules all things, and He does nothing without a motive. The insatiable archer is not permitted to shoot his bolts at random— every arrow that flies bears this inscription, “I have a message from God for you.” When God sends disease to walk through the streets at night, to stretch out His mighty but invisible hand, and take away a child, or a young man, and give over to the grave those who might have otherwise had a long life, do not for a moment think that the Lord has done so without some holy and wise purpose to have been accomplished by it. We must conclude that a purpose, consistent with the love and justice of God, lies hidden in this present harvest of death.Then follows a FOURTH QUESTION: “Shall one take up a snare from the earth and have taken nothing at all? In other words, the fowler does not remove the net until he has caught his bird. Thus, this fourth question implies that God has a purpose in sending tribulation, and we should expect that He will not remove the tribulation that He has sent until its full purpose has been accomplished. Whatever God has to say to London, if He be heard at once, He need not speak again, but if He is not heard the first time, there shall come a second voice, and yet another. The fowler doesn’t take away his net unless a bird has been caught by it, and God takes not away the trouble which He sends unless it has fulfilled the design for which it was sent. If you ask me what I think would be His design in sending us cholera, I believe it to be this—to wake up our indifferent population, to make them remember that there is a God, to make them more receptive to the influences of the gospel, to drive them to church, to prepare their minds to receive the Word, and moreover to startle Christians into energy and earnestness, that they may work while it is called today.My reason for selecting this subject at all was so that I might be a useful instrument in the hands of the Holy Spirit to aid in this great design. Brothers and sisters, you are acquainted with history, and you have reason to bless God, that as He has turned the pages of history, we have been spared many of those dreadful calamities which have occurred in this and other lands. Who can read the story of the plague of London without a shudder? Who has read of famines in this land without gratitude for the abundance of bread? Who can turn to the descriptions of past bloody wars without thankfulness that we live in better days? But it is much to be feared that a constant run of prosperity, perpetual peace and freedom from disease, may breed in our minds just what it has done in all human minds before, namely, security and pride, heathenism and forgetfulness of God. It is a most solemn fact that human nature can scarcely bear a long continuance of peace and health. It is almost necessary that we should be every now and then salted with affliction, lest we putrefy with sin.Let’s briefly stop to elaborate upon this point. Spurgeon states that a constant run of prosperity, perpetual peace, and freedom from disease will inevitably lead to a false sense of security, pride, heathenism, and forgetfulness of God. This is exactly what has happened to our nation. And for this reason, though I want this judgment to end, I pray that God would not remove His net until He has caught His bird. God has used COVID-19 to overthrow our high places, to topple over our many idols. How many in our nation have made an idol of sports and entertainment? How many have made an idol of material wealth? How many are addicted to ease, and creaturely comforts, and a life of indulgence, extravagance, and affluence? In so many ways, God has used COVID-19 to topple over our nation’s idols. But if after this judgment is removed, we immediately rush back to those high places and raise up those idols that the Lord toppled over so that we might worship them once again, then this judgment will only have been a foreshock of a more violent quaking – an even greater judgment – which will most assuredly come. God forbid that we should escape this judgment with our tail between our legs, only to return straightaway to our vomit, licking our lusts and lapping up the empty luxuries of this fallen world. We would hope that this mild rebuke would be enough to teach us to heed the words of the Preacher – that without the fear of the Lord, “all is vanity”. To quote Ezekiel Hopkins,“What is gold and silver but diversified earth, and hard and shining clay! The richest perfumes are but the clammy sweat of trees. The softest silks are but the excrement of a vile worm. The most expensive wines are nothing but puddle-water strained through a vine. Our choicest delicacies are but dirt, cooked and served up to us. The truth is, the world is much better in show than in substance. How vain is the world at the hour of death! Nor can these earthly pleasures free us from our cares and crosses. In God alone can be found true rest and satisfaction. Let us, then, turn the stream of our desires away from earth to heaven, for there alone can we find permanent and lasting satisfaction. Let us walk humbly with our God.” (Works, I:14-50)Amen. Let this judgment of COVID-19 be used to wean us all from the world; to remind us all to walk humbly with our God. Our prayer should be that the Lord’s will would be done; that the great Fowler would not gather up His net until He catch His fowl; that COVID-19 would not be removed, until it has accomplished all the purposes for which it was sent; that it would continue on its purifying path until we have all thoroughly learned its lesson. Lord, let us hear the voice of the Preacher that you have sent to us, let us hear the voice of COVID-19,Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:Fear God and keep His commandments,For this is man’s all.For God will bring every work into judgment,Including every secret thing,Whether good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)Verse 6Finally, regarding verse 6 of Amos chapter 3, Spurgeon offers the following comments:Thus far, we have seen that it is no wonder if disease should come, we have learned that it does not come without a cause, we have seen that when it does come there is a design, and that it will not be removed unless that design be answered, and now we are prepared to take the further step, raised by THE FIFTH QUESTION, namely, that an awakening should be the result. “Shall the trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid?”During war in ancient times, there were men stationed upon watch towers, and when they saw the enemy coming the trumpet was sounded, and the people rushed to arms. The sound of a trumpet was the warning of war. This cholera is like the sound of a trumpet. Pestilence is a trumpet which must be heard; its echoes reach every citizen within the boundaries of a nation. In the darkest cellar in the most crowded haunt of vice; and in the palaces of kings, in the halls of the rich and great, the sound finds an entrance and the cry is raised, “The death plague is come! The cholera is among us!” All men are compelled to hear the trumpet-voice— if only they would heed its message! If only all of us would be aroused to search our own heart, and, above all, would fly to Christ Jesus, the great sacrifice for sin, and find in Him a rescue from the greater plague, the wrath to come!The great end and design of God, then, it seems, is to arouse the city, and that arousing should follow from the fact declared in THE LAST QUESTION: “Shall there be calamity in a city, and the Lord has not done it?”Shall there be cholera in the city, and God has not done it? My soul cowered under the majesty of that question, as I read it; it seemed to stretch its black wings over my head, and had I not known them to be the wings of God, I would have been afraid. The text talked with me in this fashion: — It is not the cholera which has slain these hundreds, the cholera is but the sword; the hand that directs and wields this sword of cholera is the true master of death. God himself is traversing London. God, the great Judge of all, at whose belt swing the keys of death and hell, the mysterious One whose voice made the stars, and can quench them at His will; — it was none other than He who walked down our crowded courts, and entering our lanes and alleys called one after another the souls of men to their last account! God is abroad! God has come down, and is going through this city. Tread solemnly when you go to your business tomorrow morning; you walk the streets where God has walked. The last time this disease was here I had a pervading sense of the presence of God wherever I went. It seemed to me as if the veil between time and eternity were more transparent than usual. If anything ought to compel our attention to God’s voice, if anything ought to make us feel His rod, it is the fact that it is not the rod that smites, but God Himself that uses the rod.Spurgeon ends his verse-by-verse exposition on a very sobering note. He admits that verse 6 rattled him at first, for he recognized that God, not cholera, was the One taking those many lives in London. Cholera was simply the means that God chose to use, the instrument by which to sound His voice among the people. Likewise, COVID-19 is an instrument of God, a trumpet blast that is meant to awaken both believer and unbeliever alike. For the believer, it is a disciplinary trumpet, a reminder that this life soon shall pass, and only what is done for Christ shall last. For the unbeliever, it is a threatening trumpet, a warning to repent before a greater judgment comes.I will leave the closing remarks to Spurgeon himself, and will not add any additional comments as they would only serve to diminish the power of his words.Concluding remarksMy dear hearers, I will speak as God’s mouth to you as the Holy Spirit shall enable me. Is not the Lord speaking to all of us both saints and sinners, and warning us to be agreed with him? O you who are his blood-bought people, believers in Jesus, is there any sin that has parted you from communion with Christ? Have you fallen into anything which has provoked the Spirit, so that His comforts are withdrawn? If so, by deep humility and earnest prayer, flee to the foot of the cross of the Lord Jesus, and pray— “Return, Oh heavenly Dove, return, sweet messenger of rest;I hate the sins that made You mourn, and drove You from my breast.”And for those of you who are not His people, can you bear to be at disagreement with God? How can He walk with you? You ask His protection, but how can you expect it if you are not agreed with Him? If two men walk together, there must be a place where they meet each other. Do you know where that is? It is at the cross. Sinner, if you trust in Jesus, God will meet you there. That is the place where true at-one-ment is made between God and sinners. If you go to Jesus in repentance, saying, “Have mercy upon my iniquity; wash me in Your blood,” you shall be agreed with God, and then you may look forward to living or dying with equal delight, for if we live, we shall walk with God on earth, and if we die we shall walk with God above.Brethren, while the lion roars, should we not remove any evil which may have caused His anger to burn? Christian, search yourself now and purge out the old leaven. The head of the Jewish household, when the feast of unleavened bread drew near, not only put away the loaves of bread ordinarily used in the household, but he also took a candle and searched every part of the house, lest there should be even a crumb of leaven anywhere. He cleansed it all out. Likewise, Christian, as this is God’s visitation, ask for the candle of the Holy Spirit to discover any little sin. Let any little self-indulgence into which we have fallen be conscientiously given up, and for the sake of that dear Savior who denied Himself every comfort for us, let us take up our cross and follow Him, determined that if the Lion shall roar, it shall not be because of any prey in us.And oh, sinner, against whom God has been roaring, do you not remember His own words, “Beware, you that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.” Who can remove the iniquity which provokes the Lord to jealousy, except the dying Savior, the Lord Jesus? He has put away sin by bearing it in His own body, and if you trust Him, there shall be no sin in you to provoke God.Moreover, the Lord our God speaks to us by His providence, and says, “Submit yourself, this day, to God’s design.” The great Fowler has spread the net: He will not take away that net until He has caught the bird. Be caught in it; fly not from your God. If He puts out even an angry hand, fly into it: there is no shelter from an angry God but in the pierced hand of His dear Son. When vengeance would strike a heavy blow, the closer you can get to it, the less will it wound you. Get close to God in Christ; cling to Him, and He will not destroy you. Fly to Jesus! Sinner, fly! Be taken in God’s net. Say to God, “What would You have me to do? Would You have me to be Yours? Here I am, Lord; before You take me in the nets of death, take me in the nets of grace. Before the snares of hell prevent me, let the blessed snare of Your eternal love sweetly entangle me. I am Yours, do as You will.”Be awake, Christian, and be aware of God’s design, for the trumpet is sounding, and when the trumpet sounds, the Christian must not slumber. Let the presence of God infuse into you a more than ordinary courage and zeal. My brethren, I charge you, as you love Jesus, as you know the value of your own soul – now, if never before, be in earnest for the salvation of the sons of men. Men are always dying, time like a mighty rushing stream is always bearing them away, but now they are hurried down the torrent in increasing numbers. If you and I do not exert ourselves to teach them the gospel, upon our heads must be their blood. We know that it is God’s work to save, but He works by instruments, and we have His own solemn word for it: “If the watchman fails to warn them, they shall perish, but their blood will I require at the watchman’s hands.” Are there no houses in your neighborhood where Jesus is unknown? Is there no court, no lane, no alley near to where you reside, without God and without Christ? Have you no friends who are unconverted? Have you no acquaintance unsaved? It is a great mercy when the bell tolls if we can say of those who die, “I did all I could to save them from ruin.”As for myself, I know that there are some of you here, who, if you be lost, are not lost for lack of warning, nor for lack of teaching. I have set before you life and death; I have threatened you in God’s name, and I have directed you to the precious blood of Jesus. Years ago, there seemed to be some hope about you, but it was like the morning cloud and the early dew; for you are still unsaved. When I heard the other day that Mrs. So-and-So was dead, and that she died of cholera, I could not lament, for she was one who had long feared God. When they told me that a worthy young man had fallen, I was sorrowful to have lost so good a student from the college, but I was thankful that one who had served his God so well in his youth had gone to his rest; but if I heard of the death of some of you, it would cause me unmingled grief and fear. Some of you have been sitting here for years who will, I fear, go out of this church to destruction— you know you will, unless you are changed. If you die as you now are you have nothing to expect but a fearful judgment and a fiery indignation. Some of you know well the result of sin, and yet you choose it; your consciences prick you often, and yet you run against them; you have been alarmed and so awakened that it seems impossible that you can continue as you are; but alas, you will not turn and your end is coming.My hearer, it is terrible to think of your doom. God has warned you that He will meet you in another world, and when He does, you will not be able to say that He did not speak openly and honestly with you during your time in this world. You will be speechless, because the trumpet was sounded and you did not heed the warning; God was in the city, but you would not hear Him. Death spoke as His minister, but you plugged your ears because you were resolved to die, and your heart was set on mischief. You scorned eternal life and chose destruction for the sake of a few worthless pleasures, or a deceitful darling lust which will treacherously stab you through your heart; you let Jesus go and heaven go, and all this for a moment’s pleasure! Ah, my hearer, you shall have much to answer for. I pray that you will not venture into eternal wrath. Give these words some consideration, I beg you, and as you consider them, may the Holy Spirit fasten them as nails in a sure place, and may you seek the Lord while He may be found, and call upon Him while He is near, for this is His word to you, “As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked would turn from his way and live.”Amen. May the Lord bless these words to your soul.

"Eugenics and Other Evils," by G.K. Chesterton, published in 1922. Chapter 7 -- The Established Church of Doubt: "Let us now finally consider what the honest Eugenists do mean, since it has become increasingly evident that they cannot mean what they say." Comments to 218-214-CALL  (218-234-2255) Contributions: https://www.paypal.me/grizzlysgrowls ADDITIONAL NOTE: Check out what Chesterton had to say about news reporting.  Sounds a bit familiar, huh?  

"Eugenics and Other Evils," by G.K. Chesterton, published in 1922. Chapter 7 -- The Established Church of Doubt: "Let us now finally consider what the honest Eugenists do mean, since it has become increasingly evident that they cannot mean what they say." Comments to 218-214-CALL  (218-234-2255) Contributions: https://www.paypal.me/grizzlysgrowls ADDITIONAL NOTE: Check out what Chesterton had to say about news reporting.  Sounds a bit familiar, huh?  

"Eugenics and Other Evils," by G.K. Chesterton, published in 1922. Chapter 7 -- The Established Church of Doubt: "Let us now finally consider what the honest Eugenists do mean, since it has become increasingly evident that they cannot mean what they say." Comments to 218-214-CALL  (218-234-2255) Contributions: https://www.paypal.me/grizzlysgrowls ADDITIONAL NOTE: Check out what Chesterton had to say about news reporting.  Sounds a bit familiar, huh?  

Episode 53 is brought to you by our sponsor, Incite Ministries. On this week’s episode of The Church Leadership Podcast, Mark...

For many ESTablished Church leaders the first time to preach at a church is at a In View of A Call Weekend. EST discusses the various ways to plan for that sermon as well as the impact it may have on one's family.

For many ESTablished Church leaders the first time to preach at a church is at a In View of A Call Weekend. EST discusses the various ways to plan for that sermon as well as the impact it may have on one's family.

In this episode, hosts, Michael & Shauna, have a special guest Pastor, Andy Swart discussing; launching a biblical counseling ministry within his established church. Intentionally raising up lay leaders who love people and know God's Word to do the work of the ministry within their own body - cultivating Saints for Soul Care - the purpose of "one anothering" in the local church.

Today’s episode features new co-host Sam Rainer, Lead Pastor of West Bradenton Baptist Church in Bradenton, FL and President of Church Answers. The discussion today is about neighborhood church adoption. Some highlights from today’s episode include: Adoption is more theologically accurate than merger or acquisition. Relationships and ministry should be priority when adopting another church..... The post A Case Study of an Established Church Adopting a Struggling Church appeared first on Church Answers.

When is it acceptable and how should we use levity in sermons and leading. In this episode Micah, Sam, and Josh share their experiences with joking around and a few tips on how to use it effectively while leading an Established Church.

When is it acceptable and how should we use levity in sermons and leading. In this episode Micah, Sam, and Josh share their experiences with joking around and a few tips on how to use it effectively while leading an Established Church.

Listen as Jonathan and Sam discuss Sam’s book Obstacles in the Established Church. This book is helpful for pastors and leaders alike, anyone who leads, but especially in the church. In this episode you’ll hear Sam’s heart for the local church as well as some insight on his ministry journey.

This text concludes the narrative of Paul's first missionary journey. Instead of making a b-line for Antioch after preaching at this final stop in Derbe, Paul retraced his missionary steps and went around strengthening the new church plants. From Luke's description of Paul's concluding actions we learn about the qualities of an established church.

Many younger ministry leaders will find themselves serving in established churches. Sam Rainer, the pastor at West Bradenton Baptist Church, is one of the leading voices about the established church, which he defines as "churches who've been around a long time, have a presence in the community, and have standing programs or ministries." We talk about two of the obstacles from his book Obstacles in the Established Church, and how younger ministry leaders can serve faithfully.You can follow Sam on Twitter at @SamRainer where you can learn more about the Revitalize Network. You can also grab a copy of his book from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Obstacles-Established-Church-Leaders-Overcome/dp/0692289852

Many younger ministry leaders will find themselves serving in established churches. Sam Rainer, the pastor at West Bradenton Baptist Church, is one of the leading voices about the established church, which he defines as "churches who've been around a long time, have a presence in the community, and have standing programs or ministries." We talk about two of the obstacles from his book Obstacles in the Established Church, and how younger ministry leaders can serve faithfully.You can follow Sam on Twitter at @SamRainer where you can learn more about the Revitalize Network. You can also grab a copy of his book from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Obstacles-Established-Church-Leaders-Overcome/dp/0692289852

Micah sits down with Dr. Desmond Henry from South Africa and some of the distinctions and similarities to the established church in the United States.Dr. Henry's article - http://desmond-henry.com/the-future-of-ministry-in-established-south-african-baptist-churches/

Micah sits down with Dr. Desmond Henry from South Africa and some of the distinctions and similarities to the established church in the United States.Dr. Henry's article - http://desmond-henry.com/the-future-of-ministry-in-established-south-african-baptist-churches/

Sam Rainer joins us to talk about the established church and why pastors should love them. We also highlight an upcoming conference for pastors of established churches. The post Six Reasons to Love the Established Church appeared first on Church Answers.

Micah interviews Professor Alvin Reid and uncovers some of his insights into evangelism and local missional work.

Micah interviews Professor Alvin Reid and uncovers some of his insights into evangelism and local missional work.

Listen in as Pastor Eric Thomas (First Baptist Norfolk VA) speaks about tenure, following legacy pastors and checking his ego in the Established Church.

Listen in as Pastor Eric Thomas (First Baptist Norfolk VA) speaks about tenure, following legacy pastors and checking his ego in the Established Church.

Jimmy Scroggins joins us again and leads us through the major changes he had to make at Family Church as well as what he learned in the process. The post Leading Change in an Established Church, featuring Jimmy Scroggins appeared first on Church Answers.

This is the first message in the series, "Essentials of an Established Church." In this sermon, we learn from Acts 2:14-42 that an established church consists of a genuine converts who are established in Jesus and His gospel.

In this episode, Josh Teis talks with Tony Liuzzo about how to refresh an established church. Tony pastors a thriving church in Columbus, Ohio. When he took over as the lead pastor the church had declined to an average of 400 people. Now the church averages 750 people on a weekly basis.Quotes from the episode:“In order for God to get you where he wants you to be, he has to put you through the fire.” – Tony Liuzzo“Lord, move or move me.” – Tony Liuzzo“If we would find that and not look at it as competing with the older, every church would do better. We're not competing with the older, don't try to get rid of them. Honor them, love them.” – Tony Liuzzo“The first thing that I did, was nothing.” – Tony Liuzzo“Refreshing an established church means you have to change some things that aren't working. Or, change some things that worked in the 70's and 80's.” – Tony Liuzzo“For the first year I was preaching the gospel and what doesn't change and where I stood, so they knew my heart.” – Tony Liuzzo“A lot of times the lines get blurred for what's biblical and what's traditional.” – Tony Liuzzo“You honor God by being biblical, you don't honor God just by being traditional. Now, don't throw out traditions just because you're trying to make change. There are some traditions that are good and healthy.” – Tony Liuzzo“The fact is the Bible says everything about our doctrine, but it says very little about our tradition.” – Josh Teis“I've noticed it might be that way because we've constantly feel the necessity to add a scripture verse to our tradition.” – Josh Teis“Shame on any pastor that takes over a church and they're more faithful to try to uphold the traditions than they are to uphold the purpose of why that church was established. And that's to reach the community and to reach the lost.” – Tony Liuzzo“The methods that they used, they used because they worked for their day and age and for their generation. “ – Tony Liuzzo“We'd make a change and say, ‘let me tell you how God is working with this'”. – Tony Liuzzo“Honor the past, but have a vision for the future.” – Tony Liuzzo“If you want to refresh your church, get your church focused on people.” – Tony Liuzzo

Jeff Duchemin - 2016 Network Conference Workshop

The results of Peter's first sermon. 3000 saved, lives were changed and the church was established.

The results of Peter's first sermon. 3000 saved, lives were changed and the church was established.

What happens when you’re a church planter who doesn’t know he’s a church planter? After the church’s founding pastor left to plant another church, Chris Rich was suddenly in the position of lead pastor at Damascus Road Church in Marysville, WA.  Hear how Chris had to change his view of the church from “established” to “replanted.”

Stan Granberg

Part 1, Chapter 7 -- The Established Church of Doubt: "Let us now finally consider what the honest Eugenists do mean, since it has become increasingly evident that they cannot mean what they say."  

"Eugenics and Other Evils," by G.K. Chesterton, published in 1922. Chapter 7 -- The Established Church of Doubt: "Let us now finally consider what the honest Eugenists do mean, since it has become increasingly evident that they cannot mean what they say." Comments to 218-214-CALL  (218-234-2255) Contributions: https://www.paypal.me/grizzlysgrowls    

"Eugenics and Other Evils," by G.K. Chesterton, published in 1922. Chapter 7 -- The Established Church of Doubt: "Let us now finally consider what the honest Eugenists do mean, since it has become increasingly evident that they cannot mean what they say." Comments to 218-214-CALL  (218-234-2255) Contributions: https://www.paypal.me/grizzlysgrowls    

Annual Conference 2010 Workshop - Walking an Established Church Through a "Retooling" | Verlon Fosner | Tue, Apr 27, 2010