A Spirituality from Jesus Christ
| Some other great resources to look at: ____________________________________________________ 1. JESUS CHRIST: (Click on the Main Heading and it will open to the website) Good News Unlimited………ws Unlimited is a Christian service organization with corporate offices in Auburn California. It is an evangelical, interdenominational, non-profit ministry. Through printed and spoken media, GNU publishes the good news of Jesus Christ. The events of Christ's death and resurrection are seen as the central Christian revelation, and of more importance than any other Bible teaching. Dr. Desmond Ford: Welcome Dr Desmond Ford (Phd Michigan State USA) (Phd Manchester, England) is a Bible scholar of world renown. He is the author of over 20 books on subjects ranging from theology to health and lifestyle. His work has been quoted and referred to by scholars such as F. F. Bruce, G. R. Beasley-Murray and in reference works such as The New Unger's Bible Dictionary and Baker's Encyclopaedia of the Bible because of his research on apocalyptic themes. Dr Desmond Ford returned to Australia in 2000 and retired after many years teaching theology in the United States. Retired? Yes, in a sense. Des is still a prolific speaker and writer who continues to challenge people world-wide with the wonders of the Bible story and the joy of the gospel as revealed and experienced in the saving grace of Jesus Christ. This website was set up by the family and friends of Dr Desmond Ford to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our online library makes Dr Ford's material freely available to all who choose to read or listen. Des has one goal and that is for us all to know Jesus Christ and Him crucified as our personal Saviour. To that end, this site is dedicated. The material comes in a variety of formats:
The material is free for you to download and share with your friends. The Cross: The Victory of God's Holiness: There's no word in biblical Hebrew for "doubt." Are you surprised. at this? Biblical Hebrew has no word for "doubt." Isn't it odd, then, that for the past several decades so much preaching has tried to assuage people's doubts. Modern preaching often aims at identifying people's doubts, voicing their doubts, classifying their doubts, illumining their doubts. On the one hand I understand why preachers think they have to address people's doubts. On the other hand I have heard many sermons on doubt that ended up legitimating doubt, ended up confirming doubt. And I have heard more than one sermon where the preacher himself voiced his own doubts and many listeners went home relieved, since they now felt their own unbelief was all right. We should rather understand why biblical Hebrew has no word for "doubt": for our Hebrew foreparents God was the immediate, intense, intimate atmosphere in which their life unfolded, and to doubt him would have been as nonsensical as doubting the air they breathed and the fact of breathing itself and the necessity of breathing. The Politics of Jesus Christ: Part 1 .... by Ken Aitken Jesus was concerned with the politics of the heart …. of the inner person and not the outer person and the external issues. He was neither left or right in his politics but very much of the centre. The Politics of Jesus Christ Part 2 .... by Ken Aitken A Spirituality from Jesus Christ transformed the First Century Roman Empire. How did that Spirituality Develop Further? …. Jesus Christ … the fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecies .... . by Ken Aitken The Old Testament is the story the nation of Israel which predicts the coming of the Messiah. The Messiah came in the person of Jesus Christ of the New Testament. Given in table form below, there are some striking parallels like an intricate Biblical clockwork within the bigger Biblical clockwork. This brochure aims to give us even greater confidence in the Word of God as the Word for the Old and New Testament. Kingdom of God .... by Anthony Aitken (son of Ken Aitken) Throughout the Gospels, Jesus frequently proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom of God . The repetition of this phrase, especially at important events throughout His ministry, suggests Jesus placed a strong emphasis on it. Thus the intent of this essay is to analyse Jesus’ understanding of this phrase within His cultural and historical context. The first step will be the study of the Old Testament understanding and application of the concepts kingdom, king and reign. Secondly, the concept of the Messiah will be assessed, especially in relation to the Davidic line. Thirdly, examination will be undertaken on the origin of the phrase Son of God and Son of Man to appreciate the broader historical context. Fourthly, all references to Kingdom and Kingdom of God, in the book of Luke, will be highlighted to discover the central message of this phrase. Lastly, an overview of the scholarly opinion over the last century will be outlined to determine how the phrase should be interpreted in this epoch. Norman Perrin’s perspective of the Kingdom as a symbol will be highlighted as the apparent best synthesis on the subject. It should be noted that the book of Luke will be the central gospel text used because it contains the most references to the Kingdom of God and was primarily written for the Gentiles. Jesus’ Proclamation of Love .... Anthony Aitken Surrounding the historical figure of Jesus is a strong polemic that revolves around His character, His perceived role and His intended aim. Central to this polemic, is the study of Jesus’ attitude to the Law. The main point of contention seems to be whether he preached for the abrogation of the Torah or whether he trumpeted a re-interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures. Unfortunately, the discussion of Christ often degenerates into the “dialectic of opposition,” between old and new covenants and Jesus the Jewish rabbi and Jesus of Christendom. Jesus as seen through the synoptic gospels is a complex character and often paradoxical. The resolution of this paradox appears most possible through Jesus’ re-interpretation of Israel ’s understanding of holiness and separateness in the form of mercy and compassion. In addition to, reminding Israel that the Law was supposed to achieve relationship with their God. NOT REPLACEMENT ... EXPANSION! .... by Rev. Fred Klett Much fuss has been made in our Jewish evangelism circles regarding "replacement" theology, the idea that the church has "replaced" the Jewish people in the plan of God. Some have even accused all who think New Covenant believers are "Spiritual Israel" as being guilty of this "replacement theology", that is, of replacing the Jewish people with the church. Charges have been made that this idea of "Spiritual Israel" leads to anti-semitism. ONE NEW MAN by George and Eileen Anderson For about nineteen hundred years there has been a stand-off between Christianity and Judaism. On many occasions that stand-off has led to deliberate murder. Mass murder. Murder commemorated by celebrations and medals. And yet, during those very same nineteen hundred years, there have been individual Christians who have shown an unselfish love for the Jews. Often at great personal cost. Personal cost that included life itself. It was a warm Shabbat evening in Jerusalem. The elderly couple - twenty years older than us, and with a sprightliness that many younger people would envy - had invited us to spend a few hours with them in their flat. Over coffee they told their story. ___________________________________________________ 2. THE LIFE FROM JESUS CHRIST: _______________________ THE BIBLE The word ‘Bible’ is derived from the Greek word ‘Biblia’, which means ‘books,’ and refers to the sacred writings of Judaism and Christianity. The Bible consists of 66 books and has two parts. The first part is called the ‘Old Testament’ by Christians. It consists of 39 books of the sacred writings of the Jewish people which was written originally in Hebrew, except for some portions in Aramaic.
… LIFE is the creation of all living things made by the infinite personal Creator God …= LIVE. Death is the dissolution of life = EVIL …. Brought about by the finite personal created being called Satan. Jesus is the Door between Death and Life. · The Spirituality and Religion of Christianity .... In the twentieth century from around 1940’s (The Second World period), in our western culture, there have been major philosophical changes. Almost overnight, our society moved from what has been called the ‘Modern’ Period of Life to the ‘Postmodern’, a move which was away from an emphasis on scientific, verifiable facts to one of seeing personal experiences as the key to identity. People are now increasingly exploring the intuitive side of our being instead of being purely rational. This is the ultimate philosophical origin of the burgeoning New Spirituality Movement. o Manual of Wisdom from a Spirituality from Jesus Christ … wisdom for a sustainable life after receiving the new freedom of life ….. from one of His Kids on Earth o The Sustainable Life 11 … for a life of wholeness …. Objectives of this paper …..: § How to live a whole life instead of living with a hole in your life § To explain a sustainable life § How the application of a sustainable life will bring healing, restoration and transformation of the present boundaries of your life in an ongoing sense § Practical examples of the sustainable life o The Sustainable Life From a Christian Spirituality .... Life is like a tree with roots and fruits ........ ....... Are You Disabled on the Inside or Disabled on the Outside? ..... By Ken Aitken June 2003 Blessing and a Cursing: Deut 11: 26- 29 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey, the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day and a curse, if ye will not obey, the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known. And it shall come to pass, when the LORD thy God hath brought thee in unto the land whither, thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal. o The Death of Right and Wrong by Tammy Bruce ..... Reviewer's Name: Bill Muehlenberg Tammy Bruce is angry. And judging by the contents of this book, she has a right to be. She is angry at the damage and destruction being wrought on individuals and societies in the name of moral relativism. And a major source of this tsunami of immorality and amorality, according to Bruce, comes from the radical Left. What makes this book unique, however, is that it is not just the usual suspects making the charges of moral decay. The author is no right-wing religious patriarchal maniac. She is pretty nearly the opposite: a liberal, secular feminist and lesbian who is pro-choice. And she had been a card-carrying member of the radical Left for many years, before defecting to a more sensible and sober position. Pictures have frames. So do world views. The frame we put around our world determines how we view and what we do. A frame is a context that determines the meaning of things inside the frame. In this season God is asking us to position the frame of the church WITHIN the frame of the kingdom. Frames establish priorities. A pastor came from the United States to Australia and told about the healing ministry of his church in malls and supermarkets. In one instance a whole bunch of people got healed around the super-market checkout and the church member concluded with a brief talk on the saving power of Jesus. Thus the Kingdom of God was highlighted. ‘Signs, wonders and miracles are advertisements for the Kingdom of God and the love of the King for His people’, said the visiting pastor. This would have hoped that the people at the conference would go and multiply Kingdom healings and Kingdom signs in malls, supermarkets and workplaces. To my knowledge they did not. But they did institute a course based on a book the visiting pastor had written. Which is to say that they reverted to ‘the letter’ and churchified his teaching on miracles turning it into a church thing rather than a Kingdom thing. We need to discern the subtleties here because they are crucial for the Lord’s work in this season. o Two Patterns of the Church ... The Religious Fortress Mentality or The Church as a Spiritual Community The Religious Fortress Mentality ….. Weekly, The Church goes into the world to bring people to the church OR ….. Weekly, The Church meets together …. People centred versus Program orientated ….. people led by the Holy Spirit versus organisational hierarchy. o God's Yellow Pages ..... Let your fingers do the walking...
It is well known that Christ consistently used the expression “follower.” He never asks for admirers, worshippers, or adherents. No, he calls disciples. It is not adherents of a teaching but followers of a life Christ is looking for. Christ understood that being a “disciple” was in innermost and deepest harmony with what he said about himself. Christ claimed to be the way and the truth and the life (Jn. 14:6). For this reason, he could never be satisfied with adherents who accepted his teaching – especially with those who in their lives ignored it or let things take their usual course. His whole life on earth, from beginning to end, was destined solely to have followers and to make admirers impossible. ____________________________________________ Interesting Beginnings: A Spirituality from Jesus Christ began in the first century which was set in the context of the Roman Empire. In the first century, life in the Roman Empire began to change. People who had been influenced by Jesus Christ who later became known as Christians began arriving in Rome. They spread from 120 people meeting together in an upper room in Jerusalem and spread to the four corners of the then known world. Their influence took over the Roman Empire, went to Turkey and Egypt and the Apostle Thomas even went to India. So what is understood then by "The Context of the Roman Empire"? |
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