Household of Faith-Living Stone Association of Churches

It’s not about you.

householdchurch — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 17:22:24 +0000

How can I have a relationship with God?

householdchurch — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:46:53 +0000

http://www.matthiasmedia.com.au/2wtl/

Breaking the mold. 1 Corinthians Series.

householdchurch — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:39:20 +0000

Household of Faith Church-Living Stone Association of Churches

householdchurch — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:15:30 +0000

949-54-BOOK-1

Kingdom Prayers (Bible.org)

householdchurch — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 07:14:01 +0000

Focus your prayers on the bigger issues of the kingdom, knowing the coming of the kingdom is the will of God for the women in your group and their families—“Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Study the prayers of the New Testament and see how they involved kingdom issues: character-building in those who suffered, the glory of God in the midst of persecution, and the knowledge of Jesus in the world.
Examples of kingdom prayers:

Matt. 6:33-34: Pray for ____ to seek first God’s kingdom in her life. (If there are monetary or physical needs involved, this is a condition necessary for God’s promise to supply to kick in.)

Jas. 1:2-4, 12: Pray for God to use this difficulty to produce endurance, completion, and blessing.

Jas. 1:17-18; 4:3: Pray for ___ to trust that God gives good gifts, realizing that His gifts are better than those she wants.

Eph. 1:17-21: Pray for God to give _____ wisdom and the revelation of Him in the midst of this time.

Eph. 4:1-3: Pray for _____ to walk worthy and to show forth these qualities to others with whom she is having difficulty.

Col. 1:9-12: Pray for God to fill _____ with the knowledge of His will that she may walk worthy.

Col. 3:1-4: Pray that God will give _____ the grace to set her mind on the things above rather than the circumstances.

Rom. 8:28-29: Pray that _____ will trust that God is at work in the midst of these difficulties for her good, not for her destruction. Pray that God will use this time to mold her more into the image of Jesus.

Jesus examines our ambitions (Matthew 6:19–34)

householdchurch — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 04:51:13 +0000

The worldliness that we are called to avoid can take a religious or a secular form. And so we differ from those who are not Christians both in our devotional life, which Jesus has dealt with in the first half of the chapter, and also in our ambitions. These are disclosed principally in two ways: ‘What do we really value?’ and ‘What do we worry about?’ It is to these twin areas of money and worry that Jesus now turns, as he seeks to show with embarrassing directness what it means to be a citizen of the kingdom.
Verses 19–24 are all about money. Jesus is unambiguous on this subject, which many preachers dare not face. ‘You cannot serve both God and Money’ (24). Money is literally ‘Mammon’, who seems to have been the Carthaginian god of wealth. You cannot have divided loyalties in this matter. God has to come first, and money a poor second. Jesus is specific, too, about the sorts of things that grab our spending power. He warns against giving priority to items such as clothes, which will wear out and are so readily perishable. He warns against overvaluing precious metals, which rust can spoil. He warns against putting our treasure where it can be stolen. Wise people, the true children of the kingdom, put their treasure where they cannot lose it, where it will never wear out, and where it can never be eroded. Their treasure is in heaven. It is safe with the Father.
Verses 22–23 have a general application: the eye is the window to the soul. You can often tell how things are with people by the message relayed through their eyes. Jealousy, prejudice, resentment, greed, lust—these are like films that can creep over the eye and distort the vision. All this is true. But the particular application of this image is to money. And it is not without significance that the words good (literally ‘single’) and bad often have a financial nuance in the Greek language. ‘Single’ means generous, open-hearted, warm. ‘Bad’ means miserly, niggardly. So it would seem that Jesus is developing his theme about money. Not only is it important to have your treasure in the right place; it is also vital to approach life with a generous, warm appraisal of other people. There are few things so distorting as an ungenerous, mean and critical spirit.
Hence the conclusion: you cannot be devoted to God if you are devoted to money and the things money will buy (24). They are rival affections. Money, the ancients came to see, is like sea-water. The more you drink of it the thirstier you get. The love of money is indeed a root of all kinds of evil.16 In May 1987 Time magazine came out with an issue all about the corruption in high places brought about by wrongly placed priorities. ‘Whatever happened to Ethics?’ was splashed across the cover. More than a hundred of the Reagan administration either had to resign through scandals, many of them financial, or were under deep suspicion. ‘Not since the reckless 1920s have the financial columns carried such unrelenting tales of vivid scandals, creative new means for dirty-dealing, insider-trading, money-laundering, greenmailing.’ And this was all pitilessly documented by Time magazine. Money possesses a terrible power to corrupt. Believers must make sure that they are not overcome by it. And yet they are.
There are few areas where the standards of the world have so invaded the church as in this area of money. Christian giving is frequently at an abysmal standard, and when it rises to 10% or so, there is often the implicit or explicit assumption that God will bless you in financial terms for what you give. It is very convenient to forget that the preacher of this Sermon was penniless and remained that way until devotion to God drove him to a cross of wood. He practised what he preached. He did not try to serve God and Money. William Barclay makes an interesting point. ‘Mammon’ has a Hebrew root which means ‘entrust’. Mammon was the wealth people entrusted to bankers to keep safe for them. But as the years went on, Mammon came to mean not that which is entrusted but that in which people put their trust. God entrusted us with all we have. It is the supreme treason to prize the gift above the donor. This generation is accountable at this point. Things that have been entrusted to us by God to support us have become, in effect, our god. Disciples are marked out clearly by their attitude to money.
Closely allied to the theme of money is worry (6:25–34). On the whole, the more money people have, the more anxious care they expend on how to keep it, increase it, and stop others stealing it. Secular people are preoccupied with their lives and bodies (25), and in particular with three areas which Jesus takes as examples: food, drink and clothes. Disciples should stand out in sharp contrast. We should not be consumed by merimna, anxious care, over these things.
Worry is not a little weakness we all give way to from time to time. It is a sin that is strictly forbidden. R. H. Mounce says, ‘Worry is practical atheism and an affront to God’, and Jesus gives good reasons for the truth of this.
Worry is unnecessary, even for the hardworking. Nobody works harder for a living than a bird, but birds do not worry. Yet the heavenly Father looks after them. How much less should we worry!
Worry is useless. Anxious care cannot add a single hour to life (27; or, as hēlikia may be translated, ‘a few centimetres to height’). The past cannot be changed: the future cannot be charted. So worry about them is useless and debilitating.
Worry is blind. It refuses to learn the lessons of God’s providence taught us by the birds and flowers. Short-lived as they are, in their quiet dependence on their environment they display that ‘peace’ that should mark believers who know that behind their environment there is a loving heavenly Father.
Worry is essentially a failure to trust God. And for disciples to be of little faith (30) hurts God greatly. It means we do not trust him, and that is always grievous. It means that we do not put him first, but instead all these things (33) come first. Our ambition as disciples must be to put God and his kingly rule at the top of our list of priorities, and we shall find that God takes care of the necessities of life.
But what if he does not? What of the hardships of believers? Is Jesus being unfeeling and unrealistic here? No. He himself knew the pinch of near-starvation and was to taste in his flesh the bite of cruel nails. But these things did not rob him of his loving trust in his heavenly Father, whose overarching providence would not allow anything to befall him which was not, in the last analysis, for good. That analysis might not be apparent until eternity, but it could be relied on, and it still can. For it depends on the faithfulness of God to his creation. Christians, like their Master, are totally secure in their relationship with the Father—and in all other respects totally insecure. In a world marred by sin and suffering, hardship is inevitable for everybody, and particularly for those who seek to live for God. After all, we follow a crucified Messiah and cannot expect a bed of roses. We were never promised one. What we are promised is the endless, unremitting, detailed, loving care of the Father over every aspect of our lives. Even in deep need, even in the hour of death, the fruits of trusting him are evident in the way believers behave. There should be a quiet glow, a radiance, about us that comes from acknowledging God’s rule in our lives, and from seeking to act righteously and so to stay in that right relationship with him. When those things are in place, a Christian life stands out as a beacon in the surrounding gloom.
There is, in the life of the fourteenth-century German mystic Johann Tauler, a remarkable story that shows something of the attitude Jesus was looking for in his disciples. One day Tauler met a beggar. ‘God give you a good day, my friend,’ he said.
The beggar answered, ‘I thank God I never had a bad one.’
Then Tauler said, ‘God give you a happy life, my friend.’
‘I thank God’, said the beggar, ‘that I am never unhappy.’
In amazement Tauler asked, ‘What do you mean?’
‘Well,’ said the beggar, ‘when it is fine I thank God. When it rains I thank God. When I have plenty I thank God. When I am hungry I thank God. And, since God’s will is my will, and whatever pleases him pleases me, why should I say I am unhappy when I am not?’
Tauler looked at the man in astonishment. ‘Who are you?’ he asked.
‘I am a king,’ said the beggar.
‘Where, then, is your kingdom?’ asked Tauler.
The beggar replied quietly, ‘In my heart.’
‘Do not worry about tomorrow’ (34). In anxiety, as in money matters, disciples are to demonstrate that they are governed by ambitions different from those of others. Our ambition should be to put God first; to avoid the pious worldliness of religious showmanship described in the first part of Matthew 6; and to avoid also the secular preoccupation with wealth and the daily concerns of life outlined in the second part. Incidentally, lest we allow the force of what Jesus says to pass us by through long familiarity, it might do no harm sometimes to check up on our finances and see how extravagant we are in our spending on food, drink and clothes, to mention just those three examples Jesus took. Our findings might disturb us.

Green, M. (2000). The message of Matthew : The kingdom of heaven (102–105). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., U.S.A.: Inter-Varsity Press.

What is a disciple?

householdchurch — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:51:08 +0000

DISCIPLE. A disciple (from Lat. discipulus, ‘pupil, learner’, corresponding to Gk. mathētēs, from manthanō, ‘to learn’) is basically the pupil of a teacher. The corresponding Heb. term limmûḏ is somewhat rare in the OT (Is. 8:16; 50:4; 54:13; cf. Je. 13:23), but in the rabbinical writings the talmîḏ (cf. 1 Ch. 25:8) is a familiar figure as the pupil of a rabbi from whom he learned traditional lore. In the Gk. world philosophers were likewise surrounded by their pupils. Since pupils often adopted the distinctive teaching of their masters, the word came to signify the adherent of a particular outlook in religion or philosophy.
Jewish usage is seen in the NT references to the disciples of the Pharisees (Mk. 2:18). The Jews considered themselves to be ultimately disciples of Moses (Jn. 9:28), since his teaching formed the basis of rabbinic instruction. The followers of John the Baptist were known as his disciples (Mk. 2:18; Jn. 1:35). The term was probably applied to his close associates. They practised prayer and fasting in accordance with his instructions (Mk. 2:18; Lk. 11:1), and some of them cared for him in prison and saw to his burial (Mt. 11:2–7; Mk. 6:29).
Although Jesus (like John) was not an officially recognized teacher (Jn. 7:14f.), he was popularly known as a teacher or rabbi (Mk. 9:5; 11:21; Jn. 3:2), and his associates were known as disciples. The word can be used of all who responded to his message (Mt. 5:1; Lk. 6:17; 19:37), but it can also refer more narrowly to those who accompanied him on his travels (Mk. 6:45; Lk. 8:2f.; 10:1), and especially to the twelve apostles (Mk. 3:14). Discipleship was based on a call by Jesus (Mk. 1:16–20; 2:13f.; Lk. 9:59–62; even Lk. 9:57f. presupposes Jesus’ invitation in general terms). It involved personal allegiance to him, expressed in following him and giving him an exclusive loyalty (Mk. 8:34–38; Lk. 14:26–33). In at least some cases it meant literal abandonment of home, business ties and possessions (Mk. 10:21, 28), but in every case readiness to put the claims of Jesus first, whatever the cost, was demanded. Such an attitude went well beyond the normal pupil-teacher relationship and gave the word ‘disciple’ a new sense. Faith in Jesus and allegiance to him are what determine the fate of men at the last judgment (Lk. 12:8f.).
Those who became disciples were taught by Jesus and appointed as his representatives to preach his message, cast out demons and heal the sick (Mk. 3:14f.); although these responsibilities were primarily delegated to the Twelve, they were not confined to them (Mk. 5:19; 9:38–41; Lk. 10:1–16).
According to Luke, the members of the early church were known as disciples (Acts 6:1f., and frequently thereafter). This makes it clear that the earthly disciples of Jesus formed the nucleus of the church and that the pattern of the relationship between Jesus and his earthly disciples was constitutive for the relationship between the risen Lord and the members of his church. The word, however, is not found outside the Gospels and Acts, and other NT writers used a variety of terms (believers, saints, brothers) to express more fully the characteristics of discipleship after Easter.
Wood, D. R. W., & Marshall, I. H. (1996). New Bible dictionary (3rd ed.) (277–278). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

Household of Faith-Living Stone Association of Churches

householdchurch — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 02:03:11 +0000

http://churchsearch2.9marks.org/locator.php?zip=92805&radius=5&x=55&y=58&action=search

The Mission of 9Marks

We believe the local church is the focal point of God’s plan for displaying his glory to the nations. Our vision is simple: A Church that reflects the character of God. Our mission is to cultivate and encourage these nine marks:

1. Expositional Preaching
This is preaching which expounds what Scripture says in a particular passage, carefully explaining its meaning and applying it to the congregation. It is a commitment to hearing God’s Word and to recovering the centrality of it in our worship.

2. Biblical Theology
Paul charges Titus to “teach what is in accord with sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1). Our concern should be not only with how we are taught, but with what we are taught. Biblical theology is a commitment to know the God of the Bible as He has revealed Himself in Scripture.

3. Biblical Understanding of the Good News
The gospel is the heart of Christianity. But the good news is not that God wants to meet people’s felt needs or help them develop a healthier self-image. We have sinfully rebelled against our Creator and Judge. Yet He has graciously sent His Son to die the death we deserved for our sin, and He has credited Christ’s acquittal to those who repent of their sins and believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection. That is the good news.

4. Biblical Understanding of Conversion
The spiritual change each person needs is so radical, so near the root of us, that only God can do it. We need God to convert us. Conversion need not be an emotionally heated experience, but it must evidence itself in godly fruit if it is to be what the Bible regards as a true conversion.

5. Biblical Understanding of Evangelism
How someone shares the gospel is closely related to how he understands the gospel. To present it as an additive that gives non-Christians something they naturally want (i.e. joy or peace) is to present a half-truth, which elicits false conversions. The whole truth is that our deepest need is spiritual life, and that new life only comes by repenting of our sins and believing in Jesus. We present the gospel openly, and leave the converting to God.

6. Biblical Understanding of Membership
Membership should reflect a living commitment to a local church in attendance, giving, prayer and service; otherwise it is meaningless, worthless, and even dangerous. We should not allow people to keep their membership in our churches for sentimental reasons or lack of attention. To be a member is knowingly to be traveling together as aliens and strangers in this world as we head to our heavenly home.

7. Biblical Church Discipline
Church discipline gives parameters to church membership. The idea seems negative to people today – “didn’t our Lord forbid judging?” But if we cannot say how a Christian should not live, how can we say how he or she should live? Each local church actually has a biblical responsibility to judge the life and teaching of its leaders, and even of its members, particularly insofar as either could compromise the church’s witness to the gospel.

8. Promotion of Christian Discipleship and Growth
A pervasive concern with church growth exists today – not simply with growing numbers, but with growing members. Though many Christians measure other things, the only certain observable sign of growth is a life of increasing holiness, rooted in Christian self-denial. These concepts are nearly extinct in the modern church. Recovering true discipleship for today would build the church and promote a clearer witness to the world.

9. Biblical Understanding of Leadership
What eighteenth-century Baptists and Presbyterians often agreed upon was that there should be a plurality of elders in each local church. This plurality of elders is not only biblical, but practical — it has the immense benefit of rounding out the pastor’s gifts to ensure the proper shepherding of God’s church.

In identifying and promoting these nine marks, we are not intending to lay down an exhaustive or authoritative list. There are other significant marks of healthy churches, like prayer and fellowship. We want to pursue those ourselves as well, and we want you to pursue them with us. But these nine are the ones we think are most neglected in most local churches today, with the most damaging ramifications. Join us in cultivating churches that reflect the character of God

What We Believe

householdchurch — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 06:07:16 +0000

Article One: Scripture

The Bible is the infallible word of God, the supreme rule for faith and practice.

The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament came from the very mouth of God and are without error in the originals. Scripture is therefore the unique and supreme guide for all it affirms, including both belief and behavior.

The teachings of the Bible are sufficient for salvation and sanctification. While there are questions of meaning and application over which we may agree to disagree, there is nothing for which we are responsible to God in terms of our salvation and sanctification that is not expressed in Scripture, either in precept or principle.

From these convictions flow the following articles of faith.

Article Two: The Trinity

There is one God, infinitely perfect, without change, creator of all yet not created, distinct from His creation yet everywhere present, perfectly balanced in all His attribute, omniscient over all time, wholly sovereign. He alone is the sole object of worship.

God exists eternally in three persons-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-equal in essence and divine perfection, all three uncreated, executing distinct but harmonious offices.

Article Three: God the Father

God the Father is an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. He concerns himself mercifully in the affairs of his creation, hearing and answering prayers, saving from sin all who come to him through Jesus Christ. All life is to be lived ultimately for his glory.

Article Four: God the Son

God the Son is fully God and fully human, without confusion or mixture, the unique and only Son. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, died on the cross as the sacrifice for our sins, was physically raised from the dead as prophesied, ascended into heaven, and now sits at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for the saints as the sole mediator. He will return to earth and ultimately every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Article Five: God the Holy Spirit

God the Spirit is sent to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He fully indwells every true believer as a guarantee of his inheritance, guides and empowers them, interceding in accordance with the will of God.

Article Six: Anthropology (Doctrine of Man)

Adam and Eve were both created in the image of God, Adam from the dust of the ground and Eve from his side. They disobeyed God and died, spiritually and physically. Therefore, all people are objects of wrath, sinners by nature and by choice. They are dead in their sins and incapable of pleasing God. Without the direct intervention of God, they will live separated from God, die in their sins, and receive the condemnation that their sin deserves.

Article Seven: Soteriology (Doctrine of Salvation)

Salvation from sin and access to God is available only through the work of Christ on the cross, given by God’s grace, mercy, and love, received solely by faith. In conversion, the believer is drawn by God to Himself, redeemed from his sins, declared wholly righteous, born again, made alive in Christ as a new creature, reconciled to God, becomes a child of God, and is filled with the fullness of the Holy Spirit through whom he is empowered for a life of obedience. Ultimately and mysteriously, it is only the elect who will truly respond to the gospel invitation.

Article Eight: Sanctification (Doctrine of Holiness)

God’s will for every believer is his sanctification. It is the necessary and certain fruit of salvation, yet not meritorious; it is God alone who saves. Through the work of the Spirit, saints are called and enabled to live lives of holiness, “in” but not “of” the world, fully dedicated disciples of Jesus Christ, persevering to the end. Disciples are declared to be sanctified through the work of Christ and are also called to become sanctified in the experiences of life.

One of the many results of sanctification is the desire to share the gospel with sinners; evangelism grows out of an awareness of what Christ has done for you.

Article Nine: Ecclesiology (Doctrine of the Church)

The church consists of all true disciples of Jesus Christ. All things exist under the supremacy of Christ, and therefore Christ and Christ alone is the head of the church. The local expression of the church is comprised of disciples gifted for the work of building up the body of Christ. While different local expressions may have different emphases, all are commanded to make disciples, which includes both evangelism and teaching obedience to all that Jesus taught. The church is to be committed to the reading of Scripture, the exhortation to obedience, and teaching of the doctrinal truths of Scripture, as well as to all that is necessary for the edification of the body, including worship, singing, prayer, and service, all to the glory of God.

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordinances to be valued and observed. They are visible signs representing spiritual truths; they do not accomplish salvation. Baptism is the washing of the believer, signifying that in conversion he has died to his old life and has been raised with Christ into a newness of life in which the power of sin is broken. The Lord’s Supper is the present proclamation of Christ’s atoning death, and looks forward to his return.

Article Ten: Eschatology (Doctrine of Last Things)

Jesus will return—personally, physically, visibly to all, suddenly—and all disciples living and dead will be bodily caught up to meet Him. At the final judgment, the unrepentant will be raised to the resurrection of judgment and everlasting punishment in hell. Believers, while already having passed from darkness to light, will be raised to the resurrection of life and will enjoy the everlasting, personal presence of God in His heavenly kingdom. God’s plan of creation, redemption, and glorification will be complete.

This is the hope for which we long, which helps to motivate us now toward godly living, and which propels us to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with a lost and dying world.

Household of Faith Church Weblog and Webpage now online at Householdchurch.org

householdchurch — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 06:34:18 +0000