|
| | | | |
| Pastor Mathias | | Ms. Brunell - Executive Director | | Mr. Gaffney - Managing Director | | Ms. Helmers - Managing Director | | | |
| Mr. Flynn - Senior Director | | Mr. Bolton - Director | | Ms. Irwin - Director | | Mr. James - Director | | Mr. Levine - Director | | Ms. Radewicz - Director | | Mr. Rodgers - Director | | Mr. Shea - Director | | Mr. Widmyer - Director | | | |
| Ms. Avery | | Ms. Baird | | Ms. Baker | | Ms. Bray | | Ms. Burns | | Ms. Coffey | | Ms. Crane | | Mr. David | | Ms. Drew | | | |
| Mr. Dunlap | | Mr. Ewing | | Mr. Farley | | Ms. Finley | | Mr. Friedman | | Ms. Gay | | Ms. Hahn | | Ms. Hobbs | | Ms. Holder | | | |
| Mr. Horton | | Ms. Lee | | Mr. Maddox | | Ms. Perez | | Ms. Rollins | | Ms. Smith | | Ms. Smith | | Ms. Weslin | | Mr. Wilkerson | | | | | | M.R. Mathias - Ambassador |
|
| |  | | | Park Street Church | Park Street Church is a historic stop on the Freedom Trail. The founding of the church is predated to 1804 when the "Religious Improvement Society" began weekly meetings with lectures and prayer.[2] The society organized the charter of the church on February 27, 1809 by twenty-six local people, mostly former members of the Old South Meeting House, who wanted to plant a church with orthodox Trinitarian theology.
The cornerstone of the church was laid on May 1 and construction was completed by the end of the year, under the guidance of Peter Banner (architect), Benajah Young (chief mason) and Solomon Willard (woodcarver). Banner took inspiration from several early pattern books, and his design is reminiscent of a London church by Christopher Wren. Park Street church's steeple rises to 217 feet (66 m), and remains a landmark visible from several Boston neighborhoods.[3] The church was the tallest building in the United States from 1810 to 1846. [More] | |  |
| |  | | | Christ Church, Hyde Park | Christ Church, officially The Parish of Christ Church, Hyde Park is a historic church building built in 1893 at 1220 River Road in Hyde Park, Massachusetts, a neighborhood of Boston. It is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts.
Christ Church was the second church building designed by Ralph Adams Cram (after the nearby All Saints' Church, Ashmont), who went on to design many church buildings, notably the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York City.[2] The church was built in 1893 and added to the National Historic Register in 1986. [More] | | |
| |  | | | Mattanah | The amazing name Mattanah: meaning and etymology | Mattanah in the Bible
The name Mattanah occurs only in one scene of the Bible. It's the name of a place that Israel passed on their way from Mount Hor — where Moses constructed the famous bronze serpent, a.k.a Nehushtan — to Moab (Numbers 21:18-19). | | |
| |  | | | What Easter Doesn't Tell You - Good News Magazine | United Church of God | What Easter Doesn't Tell You
1 comments
Printer-friendly version
article by Darris McNeely
Could it be that Easter traditions leave something missing in the story of Jesus Christ?
Basket of decorated Easter eggs.
Source: Martin Poole/Photodisc/Thinkstock
What do brightly colored eggs, rabbits, decorated cakes and sunrise services have to do with the Jesus Christ of the Bible?
There are Christians who believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior who do not observe any Easter traditions. I happen to be one of them. Let me explain why.
I’ve learned that Easter doesn’t tell you the whole story about Christ’s life, death and resurrection. If something is missing—and there is—then it changes the entire story. What’s missing and why is crucial for you to understand!
What do Easter customs have to do with Jesus Christ?
Did you know that Easter as a celebration has nothing to do with Jesus Christ?
The name itself doesn’t mean Jesus’ resurrection, as some might assume. The word Easter actually comes from the name of an ancient Babylonian fertility goddess worshipped long before Jesus was born!
A quick Internet search will reveal the origins of Easter bunnies, colored eggs, hot cross buns and the sunrise service. You’ll find that these traditions associated with Easter for the most part come from ancient, idolatrous, pre-Christian fertility celebrations. They were part of religious rites a long time before the time of Christ, and they have nothing to do with what the Bible instructs or the practice of the early Church.
Perhaps none of this matters to you. Maybe you believe Easter customs are fun as part of your worship of Christ or family traditions. If that’s the case, let me show you from God’s Word why it should matter.
Exchanging truth for lies
The Church Jesus founded had a very clear understanding of who He was and how to worship Him. But over many decades things changed. Early Christians became confused and then lost the plain biblical teaching about God the Father and Jesus Christ.
How could people who believed in God possibly let that happen? One reason is that we all have a natural tendency to forget the things we learn. The early Church learned the true faith by the teachings of Christ and the apostles. But we can tell from the very early writings of the New Testament that heresy was beginning to spread in the Church. False teachings were beginning to gain ground.
The apostle Paul warned that some were already flirting with a false gospel (Galatians:1:6). The apostle Peter warned that “there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them” (2 Peter:2:1).
In the years after the death of the original apostles, other false teachings began creeping into the Church. Among them was a distortion of the truth about the death and resurrection of Jesus.
As we just read, Peter warned that there was a danger of “denying the Lord who bought them”—that is, replacing the clear truth about Jesus Christ and His teachings on salvation and eternal life with pagan myths and falsehood. Yet despite Peter’s clear warning, many bought into the denial.
Pagan myths at the heart of Easter
Easter evolved from a story about an ancient god named Tammuz. The story of Tammuz is at the heart of the pagan world—and at the heart of Easter. It’s a story of a never-ending annual cycle without meaning, direction or purpose. In this myth, Tammuz died every year at the beginning of winter and was “resurrected” in the spring by a goddess named Ishtar.
Did you notice that name— Ishtar? Does it sound familiar?
That’s because the word Easter ultimately comes from the name of this ancient false goddess, Ishtar. So much of what people do today to celebrate Easter is nothing more than customs that come directly from the way ancient people worshipped their goddess Ishtar. Why and how did this happen? People had embraced the Ishtar and Tammuz myths and related stories for centuries. In the decades following Jesus and the apostles, as Christianity spread across the world, people started blending these myths into the true story of Christ.
Eventually the fake stories replaced the true one. For the corrupted church leadership taking control at the time, it was convenient to blend pagan myths into biblical truth to attract more people to the church—the more to hold power over. It’s a recurring story told often in the Bible.
But the life of Tammuz and other pagan gods is meaningless when it comes to salvation and what God is really doing with human life. Only God coming to live in the flesh could open the door of salvation for the human creation. Borrowing from false pagan myths to create a “Christian” story doesn’t work. It’s nothing more than empty, meaningless tradition.
But is it ever popular! Every year there are parades and Easter sunrise servic [More] | | |
| |  | | | Focus on the Family | Wegsites and Ministries | Adoption & Orphan Care Initiative™ / Wait No More®
What is it?
At Focus on the Family, we believe every child deserves to know the love of a family. Through our Wait No More events, we’re raising awareness of and recruiting adoptive families for children and youth in foster care. Recognizing the challenges adoptive families can face, we also provide best-in-class post-placement resources for adoptive families. And while not every family is called to adopt, as Christians, we're all called to care for orphans. [More] | | |
| |  | | | Who We Are | The Chalmers Center | | The Chalmers Center is a research and training organization that equips churches around the world to empower people who are poor. By changing the way churches think about poverty and training them in practical poverty alleviation tools, the Chalmers Center supports local churches as they proclaim the gospel in both word and deed. As a result, the poor experience lasting transformation, rediscovering their God-given dignity and supporting themselves and their families. [More] | | |
| |  | | | Authentic Manhood | Authentic Manhood is all about setting men up to live lives of truth, passion and purpose. Our resources offer clear and practical Biblical insights on God’s design for manhood that are both refreshing and inspiring. We point men to a gospel-centered vision of life that sets them up to enjoy God’s grace as they pursue the promises of His Word.
Our resources, including the original Men’s Fraternity curriculum created by Dr. Robert Lewis, have influenced millions of men around the world. Our newest resource is “33 The Series.” It is a multi-volume, gospel-centered video series that presents the timeless truths of Authentic Manhood in a powerfully new and engaging way. It includes new insightful teaching, inspiring testimonies, expert interviews and multiple creative features. As a man experiences the different volumes of 33, he will find himself building a vision for Authentic Manhood in his own life that is built on the gospel of Jesus Christ and was modeled by Him in His 33 years on earth. [More] | | |
| |  | | | About Jerald Finney after his salvation: Full version ? Separation of Church and State Law | About Jerald Finney after his salvation: Full version
Click here to hear Jerald Finney’s lecture, “Hierarchy of Law,” on Youtube given at Faith Baptist Church in Paris, Texas January 13, 2013.
To listen to a lecture by Jerald Finney on August 26, 2012 at Old Paths Baptist Church in Fayetville, Tennessee on the 16th anniversary of that church and also the day the church finalized their change from incorporated 501(c)(3) religious organization and legal entity to a non-legal, spiritual enity only:
Jerald Finney Lectures on Hierarchy of Law
Church Corporate 501(c)(3) status (Youtube)
Blogtalk Radio Shows:
Top Reasons Given For Church Corporate 501c3 Status April 17, 2014
(Go to about the 50 minute mark for beginning of the discussion on this issue. This broadcast begins the study of the “limited liability” excuse.)
Aron Brackeen, of Go Ye International, was the first to interview Jerald Finney after the publication of God Betrayed in 2008. In the interview, Mr. Brackeen actually reviewed the entire book. The interview may also be heard on the Go Ye International website. The interview is presented here in three segments:
Segment 1 of Aaron Brackeen’s Interview of Jerald Finney
Segment 2 of Aaron Brackeen’s Interview of Jerald Finney
Segment 3 of Aaron Brackeen’s Interview of Jerald Finney
To play the above, just click the link. To download, right click link and then left click “Save link as.”
To hear an 2008 Southwest Radio Ministries radio interview of Jerald Finney by Larry Spargimino go to this YouTube site: Larry Spargimino interviews Jerald Finney on the subject of Separation of Church and State. Click “Southwest Radio Church” and scroll down to 7/3/08 and 7/4/08 and click to hear Larry Spargimino’s interviews of Jerald Finney. Mr. Spargimino is especially well versed in the issues concerning church and state law and his questions and comments were especially insightful. Some other interviews of Jerald Finney are linked to at Radio Interview page of Church and State Law.
About Jerald Finney after his salvation/Full version
“Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world, shall keep it unto life eternal.”[En1] “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”[En2]
Finney practices law in Austin, Texas, and can be reached at 512-385-0761 (home); 512-785-8445 (cell); jerald.finney@sbcglobal.net. His Texas Texas State Bar No. is 00787466. You can find all his contact information on churchandstatelaw.com.
The journey that has brought Jerald Finney to the point of working as a church and state lawyer with the Biblical Law Center, writing God Betrayed/Separation of Church and State: The Biblical Principles and the American Application and other books and articles in the church-state law, and finally dedicating himself to the church and state law ministry of Old Paths Baptist Church began in 1982. He was saved and baptized and became a member of Community Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas in July 1982. Being a new Christian was exhilarating. Within a year of his salvation the Lord had laid it on the hearts of the members of the church to start a boy’s home. As a result of that calling the church stepped forward in faith and opened a home for wayward boys shortly after that.
Finney was the lead counsel for the Biblical Law Center (“BLC”) from May, 2005 until early 2011. The BLC helps churches who desire to organize according to New Testament principles. In 2011, The Lord led him to withdraw as lead counsel and assistant director of the Biblical Law Center in order to work as an church and state law legal specialist as part of the “Church and State Law” ministry of Old Paths Baptist Church of Northfield, Minnesota. He still has the greatest of love and respect for Dr. Greg Dixon and the Biblical Law Center and maintains close contact with Dr. Dixon.
Finney has honestly evaluated several methods of church organization used by various other organizations and individuals which allegedly comport with both biblical principles and civil law. His extensive Holy Spirit led studies of the Bible, civil law, and history have totally convinced him that the method first used by Attorney Al Cunningham to organize church matters comports with both biblical and legal principles and methodologies. On the other hand, some methods being promoted by some other individuals and organizations are invalid legally and biblically.
[Note. From here on Finney will be referred to in the first person.]
Being a part of the Community Baptist Church boy’s home ministry was one of the most joyful and blessed experiences of my life. I began to know some of the boys personally. One of the boys would assist me part time in my ph [More] | | |
| |  | | | Hold With Hope – Coming Spring of 2015 | Hold With Hope is a brand created upon the belief that we have so much to offer one another. We have: hope, love, passion, power, ingenuity and countless other invaluable resources to pass along.
Our designs and products are specifically constructed to spread the revelation of what is stored within ourselves as members of the human race. A simple word of provocation- inducing thought and awakening a passion for life that we can not extinguish once ignited. A simple phrase which, over time, can become a daily reminder that we are intended to do far more than simply fade into eternity without a profound echo.
We desire to spread the ability for you to take control of the messages you send to the people in your environment. To spark intentionality in our generation. To spark new found appreciation for reflection, and to awaken the need to live this day within the understanding that our lives are a gift, charged with a purpose to amplify the existence of the human condition which yearns to be enriched. That we are more to this world than understanding allows.
- Hold With Hope - [More] | | |
| |  | | | Statement of Faith | We believe in the One and Only Living God eternally existent in the Father, Son, and Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit). He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Creator of heaven and earth.
Gen 1:1, Deut 6:4, Isa 42:5, Isa 48:16, Matt 28:19
We believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is Israel’s promised Messiah and the Redeemer of the entire human race. By His life, death and resurrection, He fulfilled the Messianic prophecies of the Tanakh (Old Testament) related to Messiah’s first coming. Yeshua, the Divine Messiah, is the fullest revelation of God to man.
Isa 7:14, Isa 9:6-7, Isa 49:6, Isa 53:1-12, Ps 16:9-11, Heb 1:3
We believe that God made man in His own image and endowed him with a longing for intimate fellowship with God.
Gen 1:26, 2:7, Ps 42:1-2
We believe that man’s sin (disobedience to God’s revealed will) caused a separation between man and God.
Gen 2:16-17, Isa 59:1-2
We believe that the only provision God made for reconciling man to Himself was through the atoning work of the Messiah, Who died as the sacrifice for our disobedience and rose again, manifesting the victory over sin and death.
Lev 17:11, Isa 53:1-12, II Cor 5:19
We believe that the Bible (Old Testament and New Testament) is the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God, which is man’s only reliable foundation to faith. These 66 Books (Genesis – Revelation) are for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.
Num 12:6-8, Isa 8:20, II Tim 3:16-17
We believe that all who repent from sin and accept God’s message of salvation in the Messiah are born of the Ruach haKodesh. Faith in the Messiah as the Mediator of the New Covenant makes us true children of God.
Jer 31:31-34, Ezek 36:24-27, Jn 1:11-13
We believe that those who are of the Ruach haKodesh become members of the universal people of God, or the Body of Messiah. This one spiritual fellowship includes both Jews and Gentiles as equal members of this body.
I Cor 12:12-13, 27, Eph 2:11-18, Isa 49:6
We believe in the work and presence of the Ruach haKodesh in the life of the believer. He brings forth the fruit of righteousness in the life of all followers of the Messiah. The Ruach haKodesh also equips, orders, and leads the local body of believers, enabling the believers to become a community of love and service.
Ro 8:1-4, Rom 12, I Cor 12, Eph 4:11-12
We believe that God gave the practices of the Torah for moral instruction and as a body of cultural/national practice, which would point forward to the Messiah’s work. The Torah is valid as a reflection of God’s righteous standard and as a means of preserving a distinct nation of Israel. “Fulfillment” by the work of Yeshua does not imply the abrogation of the Torah but rather bringing it to its fullest meaning. Righteousness with God is based solely upon grace through faith.
Deut 30:11-20, 6:20-25, Ps 19:7-14, Matt 5:17-19, Ro 3:23, 27-31, 6:23, Eph 2:8-9
We believe that the nation of Israel is chosen by God to be a channel of blessing to all the nations on earth. The return of God’s people to their land is in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. The day will come when Israel as a nation will accept the Messiah, Yeshua. Then shall the Word of God go forth from Zion and the Messiah will come again to establish His world-wide rule from Jerusalem.
Gen 2:1-3, Isa 11, Zech 12:10, Zech 13:1, Rom 11:26-29
We believe in the restoration of the First Century Believing Jewish Community. This community has been dormant for approximately 17 centuries and the resurrected “Messianic Movement” is an indication of God’s faithfulness to His covenant people. The restoration of the Romans 11 “Olive Tree” will provide unity between Jews and Gentiles in the Body of Messiah.
Rom 9-11
We believe in the spiritual unity of all believers in Yeshua, the Messiah. As Jewish and Grafted in followers of Yeshua, we are called to maintain our Biblical, Hebraic heritage and remain a part of the people of Israel and the universal body of believers. This is part of our identity and a witness to the faithfulness of God.
Acts 21:19-20, Ezek 36:22, Eph 2:14, Rom 9:4
Furthermore
We believe in a Biblical model of male leadership in our families and congregation.
We believe that a Biblical marriage is between one man and one woman.
We believe that life begins at conception in the womb.
We believe it is the parents responsibility to disciple their own children in the Faith. [More] | | |
| | | | | Why Study Hebraic Roots | There are many important reasons why we, as children of God should learn about the Hebraic Roots of our faith. First of all, let me say that when we talk about "Hebraic Roots", we are NOT teaching that we should come under the Torah of Moses, because we are not under the Torah but under grace. We are not saying that one should appropriate modern Jewish worship traditions, such as wearing a prayer shawl (Tallit), or head covering (Kippah), or putting on phylacteries (Tefillim). We ARE teaching the restoration of the authentic Biblical "faith once delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). This faith or the correct word "trust", is the "Trust of Abraham", (Romans4:16) perfected and made available to the whole world by the birth, ministry, death and resurrection of Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ), the Jewish Messiah.
Christian faith, as practiced in far too many places today, does not reflect Biblical Hebraic heritage. In many, if not most places, "Christianity" reflects the influences of non-Biblical belief systems, various human "religious" traditions, and worldly cultures. All around the world, the Spirit of the Holy One (Holy Spirit) is moving upon believers to explore their historic Biblical Hebraic Roots to determine how God would have the Body of Yeshua reclaim this inheritance. This reclaimation includes studying (a very Jewish and scriptural activity) the proper place of the Tanach (Older Testament), including the Torah (Law), in our lives. [More] | | |
| |  | | | Season 1 Episodes at FFOZ TV | | Jesus instructs us “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” This is the Golden Rule. But why does he add at the end “For this is the law and prophets”? Episode nineteen will explore the words of other rabbis who also distilled down the commandments in a similar way to Jesus. The Golden Rule is the practical application of the Leviticus commandment “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” and thus is the baseline of kingdom ethics and a prophetic picture of the peace of the Messianic Era. [More] | | |
| |  | | | About First Fruits of Zion | FFOZ TV | Messianic Jewish movement began in the eighteenth and nineteenth century as Jewish believers in Jesus sought to reconcile their faith in Jesus with their Jewish heritage.
Messianic Judaism has become a bridge between the Jewish people and the broader church, and as such it helps the church to understand better its origin and identity. | | |
| |  | | | Tennessee | | MCC members. Those that agree with our Statement of Faith are marked as Verified, MCC Steward, or MCC Congregation. We've listed these congregations in an attempt to help connect Messianic believers with one another. | | |
| |  | | | Statement of Faith | We believe that the Bible in its original text, from Genesis to Revelation, is the inspired, infallible, Word of God. It is the final authority in establishing all doctrinal truths and determining how God desires His people to live and worship (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
We believe in the Creator of heaven and earth, who is eternally existent in the plural unity revealed in the Shema: “Hear O Israel, the LORD (Yahweh) our God (Elohim), is one (echad) LORD (Yahweh).” The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are united in God (Elohim). We believe that the name, Yahweh, derived from the Hebrew letters, Yod, Hey, Vav, Hey, is the covenantal name of the Holy One of Israel (Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 11:1-2, Isaiah 61:1-3, Luke 4:18-21, John 17:21-24). [More] | | |
|
|
M.R. Mathias 
