EChurch@Wartburg – 2.18.18

Welcome to a Gathering of EChurch@Wartburg

The TWW community would love to pray for you!

Please include your prayer request in the comment section of this post

http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=105836&picture=give-bread-3Share Bread

Here is our Order of Worship

A Prayer for Lent link

Lord, grant us simplicity of faith
and a generosity of service
that gives without counting cost.
A life overflowing with Grace
poured out from the One
who gave everything,
that we might show
the power of love
to a broken world,
and share the truth
from a living Word.
Lord, grant us simplicity of faith,
and a yearning to share it.
Amen

Prayer from the earliest Christians -1 Clement (c. 96) link

We ask you, Master, be our helper and defender.
Rescue those of our number in distress; raise up the fallen;
assist the needy; heal the sick; turn back those of your people who stray;
feed the hungry; release our captives; revive the weak; encourage those who lose heart.
Let all the nations realize that you are the only God, that Jesus Christ is your Child,
and that we are your people and the sheep of your pasture.
Amen

Scripture Reading:  Luke 22:14-23 (NASB Bible Gateway)

The Lord’s Supper

When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Mine on the table. For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” And they began to discuss among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing.

Prayer of Richard of Chichester (1193-1257) link and link

Thanks be to You, our Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the benefits which You have given us,
for all the pains and insults which You have borne for us.
Most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother,
may we know You more clearly,
love You more dearly,
and follow You more nearly,
day by day.
Amen.

Benediction: Jude 24-25 link

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,  to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Comments

EChurch@Wartburg – 2.18.18 — 7 Comments

  1. Last week I struggled with the sermon for a couple of reasons but this week it is Yes! and Amen!

    Jesus said “remember” him, which is a practice of the mind, not the body. Bowing heads, raising arms, holding hands, standing, speaking out loud, etc, etc, are all physical actions. Feel free to use them if it aids your concentration on prayer, or if you want to “look” like you are praying (?), but it is in our minds, our thoughts, that we remember Jesus! Even while eating and drinking in the car, we can remember Jesus, or feeding a child, or cooking for the family. When we have unbelieving family around the table for a meal, we often don’t pray aloud. But I am surely remembering Jesus! And much more!

    This sermon was a good reminder of a lot of the truths that have become dear to me; Jesus is my rest, not the sabbath, he fulfilled the Law, we have the law of Christ written on our hears, he is my authority – not the institution or leaders of the church, he is my Passover lamb…

    ..in awesome wonder…

  2. Please pray for me as I just started a position as Worship Music Director at a new church the beginning of February. The last two churches we were at were taken over by Calvanistas in a denomination that is Wesleyan/Armenian and supports women in ministry leadership. I was deeply wounded in both those situations as a woman who felt called to ministry and gave many volunteer hours in worship ministry, missions, and as a deacon couple. My husband has become quite disillusioned with church structures as well. I have struggled with anxiety and panic attacks, and worry about being caught in an authoritarian situation again. Even though the new church does not seem authoritarian, I am always second guessing myself and afraid to make decisions on my own. Pray that I can find and promote freedom in Christ in this new place, and balance church commitments with family time in a healthy way. My husband, especially, is reluctant to dive in and build new relationships. We are both grieving the loss of relationships at the previous two churches.

  3. Hi Deb and Dee,

    If you have time later on, it might be a good idea to start looking into this new cult called New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). They are growing very rapidly and they aim to be in control of the “7 mountains”: Government, Media, Entertainment, Education, Business, Family and Religion.

    Many people are fooled into thinking these are “Christians”, but they aren’t. They threw away their bibles (literally) and only listen to modern day “Super Apostles” that claimed to hear directly from God today.

    They combined the worst part of abusive authority with modern day false prophets, to make Prosperity Gospel a commandment. Prosperity is a requirement now.

    I wrote a summery about this on the Christian Forum. Feel free to read over it. I will also copy and paste it here:

    https://www.christianforums.com/threads/new-apostolic-reformation-nar-overview.8051078/

    I recently heard about this cult called New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). What shocked me the most is that NAR grabbed the worst parts of other cults and putted it all together into one. If there is a Church of the Anti-Christ, this would be quite close to it.

    This cult is growing very fast and its infiltrating the churches. Because it was so hidden, many NAR pastors has slipped into churches without anyone realizing it.

    Their strategy:

    They often enter churches as a new and young pastor. Most victim churches are Charismatic churches, and some being conservative churches. Once put into a pastoral role, they slowly influence key members and put key people into power. And step by step the church would slowly transform into NAR.

    Their beliefs:

    1) Insufficiency of scripture

    The bible is old and is no longer relevant. It is now up to the new “Apostles” to bring new revelations directly from God.

    2) Revival of “Super Apostles” today

    New “Super Apostles” that can speak to God and angels directly is here today. They bring us new revelations that is much more important than the outdated bible.

    These “Apostles” can preach without the bible. Or they have authority to pick and choose which verses to use and which to reject. Hence their sermons often has no bible verses in them at all.

    3) Signs and wonders today (Destiny, Presence, Glory)

    Miracles are very easy and very common to any true believer of Jesus. Everyone should speak in tongues. The sick are healed. Even the dead is raised, today!

    The only reason why you don’t see miracles or bad things happen to you is because you lack faith.

    (Note: The Founder of NAR is Peter Wagner, the top “Super Apostle”. He died in 2016 and wasn’t resurrected. Apparently he lacked faith and other “Super Apostles” also lacked faith. Because all the king’s horses and all the king’s men, cannot put the king back together again.)

    If you had a miracle healing under NAR, leaving the church would mean the removal of that miracle and you would die from your sickness.

    Jesus Culture is their favorite band.

    4) Absolute power of the “Super Apostles”

    No one can question the power and authority of the “Super Apostles”, because they can hear directly from God. If anyone questions the “Apostles” in any way, that person has a spirit of rebellion, spirit of Satan and spirit of Jezebel in them. Whoever is against an “Apostle” is against God himself, and must be shunned, removed and excommunicated.

    When an “Apostle” made a wrong prophecy, it wasn’t due to a “lack of link” to God. This “Apostle” is not a false prophet. The “mistake” was due to the “Apostle” misinterpreting what he/she “did” hear from God. The “Apostle” only need to own up to his/her mistake and he/she can continue to be an “Apostle”.

    Spy on your fellow church members to ensure that they are all loyal to NAR. Report to leadership if you see anything suspicious.

    5) Unity of Super Apostles from all denominations.

    God can speak to and raise up “Super Apostles” from any denomination. God is calling all these churches into one, united under NAR.

    6) Theocracy and Dominionists: We want Dominion and Kingdom of God on earth, today

    Most of the events in Revelation has already happened. That is old news. Next step is for Jesus to return, which would only happen after NAR have Dominion over 7 mountains of this world: Government, Media, Entertainment, Education, Business, Family and Religion.

    Future salvation from Jesus must take the backseat. Because salvation will only come after NAR finish all its hard work in asserting Dominion over the 7 mountains. So stop preaching the Gospel (Good News) but instead go build God’s Dominating kingdom.

    Pray for the doom of the enemies of NAR, so NAR can quickly establish God’s kingdom. Forget about loving your enemies.

    Chasing after the world (Prosperity Gospel) is no longer evil, but is very good because that is furthering the Dominion of the Kingdom of God. In fact the Prosperity Gospel is a “commandment” from the “Super Apostles”, so it is from God. Anyone that is lazy, doesn’t build the kingdom or doesn’t donate enough to NAR, is against God. Prosperity in the 7 mountains is a commandment from God.

    Conclusion (of NAR’s false theology):

    -Forget the “outdated” bible. Trust your local NAR “Super Apostle”.
    -Trust every miracle you hear about. Do not test every spirit.
    -Submit to “Super Apostles” without any question. Else you will get excommunicated.
    -Prosperity Gospel is not only VERY good, but a requirement for every Christian to follow.
    -NAR “Super Apostles” must rule the world, the 7 mountains, before Jesus will return.
    -Don’t love the enemies of NAR. Pray for their doom!

    For more reading:
    Dominionists Head To Trump’s DC Hotel To Bring ‘Heaven’s Rule’ To America | Right Wing Watch
    New Apostolic Reformation (NAR)
    The Six Hallmarks of a NAR Church