Theology: For Beginners

The education system does not take a five year olds, and place them in high school. They know that a child must start from the beginning, and pass K through 8 first. New Believers need a Theology book for beginners. A book that explains theology in simple terms. Discover why going to church is important, why we sing, and take an offering. Learn the Biblical theology of the sermon, and the Lord's Supper.

We do the same things over and over at our church, but why? Do you know why? Leave Greek words, commentaries, and Lexicons until later. Learn the basic first. Build a solid theological foundation, then the rest will take care of itself.

Perhaps that is what Jesus meant when he spoke about wise and the foolish man. The wise man built his house on the firm foundation of the rock. The foolish went for beach front property, so he built his house on the sand. Understanding what goes on in church is building your spiritual house on the rock.
Basic theology from The Art of Worship will give you that solid foundation,

If you invited a friend to church, and they asked you why your church did a certain thing, would you know how to answer them? The Art of Worship will give you the answers to those questions, delivered in a completely understandable way.

Click this link to order your copy: www.2t2ministries.org.

Making Your Own Shift

          Jerry Harris preaches to a remarkable church in Quincy, Illinois.  In addition, the church has a number of satellite Churches; each one is successful and growing. But, something hit Jerry one day.  He writes about it in his book Shifted: The Crossing Story.

            “If we look out on the faces of our congregations, how many actual disciples do we see? How many are personally convinced that they are disciples but are sorely mistaken? How many of them believe this fallacy because of the bar we have set them? Real Life (Real Life Ministries, led by Jim Putman) chose Matthew 4:19 as their definition of discipleship seeing Jesus calling His own disciples. “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” There are three criteria that help define discipleship in this divine statement. Am I genuinely following Christ? (follow me...), being changed by Christ ?(...and I will make you), and living life on mission for Christ ?(...fishers of men.) _This is the question I honestly wasn’t asking myself or confronting others with until this point. ”Are we making disciples”? The difficult truth for me was that with all my education, experience, and success, I really didn’t know how to mobilize a church to make disciples of Jesus Christ. The best I was providing was an environment for them to figure it out for themselves.” Jerry goes on to explain how they developed a Relational Discipleship approach at The Crossing.

            The statement that caught my attention was, “The best I was providing was an environment for them to figure it out for themselves.”

Is the development of a spiritual life solely the job of our preachers and the leadership at our church? Can we blame others because we are not growing?

Churches are constantly exploring new ways to maximize the growth of their members. But you don’t need to wait for the next great program to come along. The reality is that the body of Christ does create an environment where you can develop into a mature believer. There is no reason to sit back and wait for the next program to come along. Take hold of your own spiritual growth. Make the most of every worship opportunity and grow.  How?

            Worship is an art. It takes practice, and an understanding of how to worship is essential. The Art of Worship helps you understand how to make the most of your worship experience. This book is a must read for every believer.

            If you have ever been board with church, wondered if you were missing something, or felt like your faith has gone stale, then The Art of Worship is for you.

            Look for The Art of Worship, at the beginning April from your favorite book seller, and begin to make sense of your worship.

Quiet Times

From the new book The Art of Worship, coming soon.

            Do a Bible word search on the term, “quiet time”.  It is not there, in any translation. Try “personal Bible study” in any concordance.  That phrase is not there either. There is no description for how to spend time in the word. Do we get up early, or stay up late? Should a journal be involved? How long is the correct investment of time? Does our one on one time with God have to be daily, or can it be every other day?

             Personal Bible Study may be one of the most guilt producing aspect of the Christian faith.  Listen to someone testify about getting up at 4:00 AM to spend an hour each day with the Lord, and some feel guilty that they are not morning people. Hear someone else describe spending evenings with the Lord, and another group feels guilt about having to spend their time with the children.  If someone equates reading the Bible with spirituality, there is yet another group that feels bad because they struggle to read a single sentence.

            There are no rules about spending time with God, and there should be no guilt associated with how you approach him. That being stated, Believers are not off the hook. Jesus said, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great” (Luke 6:46-49).

            The difference between a house built on the rock and one built on the sand is the strength of the substrate the house is built upon. The person in the sand house claims Jesus as his Lord. The issue is that they do not do what he says.  Why? Because they don’t know what he has said. All they know is what others have told them.

Tell me what you think about Bible Study