In this teaching, “Breaking Bread”, I attempt to elucidate what the term means and what it is referring to by discussing its Hebrew origins and its connection with the Old Covenant Meal – The Passover Meal, as well as its Christian usage and its connections with The New Covenant Meal – The Lord’s Supper. Both of these meals are examples of “Breaking Bread” – which is essentially an Agape Meal to Celebrate Life.
Paul the apostle explained that what he had written to the Ephesians about husbands and wives spiritually applied to Christ and the Church. Paul was comparing the marriage relationship to the relationship between Christ and the Church – the husband being Christ, and the Church being the wife. Starting with this passage in Ephesians, and referring back to Ancient Jewish Wedding Customs, this teaching looks at the Bride of Christ as His Partner and Confidante.
“The weakness of God” – this is, indeed, a captivating phrase penned by Paul the apostle in his letter to the Church. (1 Corinthians 1:25) This “weakness” is God’s chosen “methodology” from “before the foundation of the world – in “the Lamb slain” (Revelation 13:8), in His choice of Israel and Gideon’s company, and ultimately in the cross of Christ. The Lord revealed to Paul that He dwells in our weakness. And, since the Church is the dwelling place of
Another Look at Consensus in the Church In certain movements within the Church, it is currently in vogue to criticize church leaders for usurping the Headship of Christ. I agree that, generally speaking, this is a valid criticism. But the more accurate statement would be that human beings, church leaders and people alike, are very guilty of usurping the Headship of Christ in the Church – and numerically speaking there are more people than church leaders doing so. I am
In His prayer to the Father in John 17, Jesus said that both He and His people (the Ekklesia) are in the world, but not of the world. Throughout church history, it has been, and still is, very difficult for the Church to understand this paradox, and has been even more difficult for the Church to embody its spiritual realities. The Church is to represent a heavenly King and a heavenly Kingdom. Herein lies the challenge: How do we effectively
A Governing Principle: Bearing One Another’s Burdens & The Law of Christ In this article I point out that using the Hebrew nation as a prototype, God established the concept of tribes – extended family households – as a model for His kingdom people. I am calling this model “Kingdom Households”, and proposing that this is still a model for God’s kingdom people, the Church, which is His Body. (The Ecclesia which Jesus is building). These are the specific proposals
Before His ascension, Jesus told His disciples: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples….” Since it takes the authority of Christ to make a disciple of Christ, authentic Equipping Ministries will, by nature of the case, share the life of Christ – that is, they are Christ-centered, disciple-making relationships through which Christ is revealed and relationship with Christ is nurtured. In his Letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul tells us that
The Church has a calling that could be referred to as “The Even Greater Commission”: “… that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 3:10 Jesus laid down His life for a Bride who will love Him more than herself. The Lord purposed to have a Church that would demonstrate the wisdom and power of self-denying obedience in order to put to shame
Using the scriptural word picture of The Vineyard of the Lord, this article takes a look at the current condition of the Church. In response to this, it then takes another look at the commission of the Church, addressing various aspects of discipleship all in light of the New Covenant, with a particular focus on the Christ-centeredness of apostolic teaching and apostolic fellowship.
Introduction The Lord’s final word at the end of the Old Testament spoke of a “Period of Restoration” before the Day of the Lord in which there would be a “turning of the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers”. PART 1 discusses interpretation of prophetic scriptures, and specifically interpretations of “The Period of Restoration”. PART 2 discusses spiritual “children” and “fathers” throughout biblical history and the present generation. PART 3 contains
