Church purpose versus church growth

What Really Happened in the Garden

Ian Johnson April 16, 2024 1 Comment

God created the first human, male and female, as a being like himself with whom he could share his life and his creation. But the disobedience of the first humans introduced shame, which drove them away from God and hindered them from agreeing with God about their sin and returning to him. This is always the effect of shame, which comes from us, not from God.

Complex unity, Confession and Repentance, Conversation with God, Desire to have our own way, Forgetting God, Free will, God is Love, God's Existence and Nature, God's purpose for us, Guilt versus Shame, Knowing good and evil, Language and Speech, Male and female, Marriage, Marriage, Marriage and Reproduction, Meaning of Unity, Repentance, Replacing Relationship with Morality, Sin, To be in his image, To bear fruit, To fill and govern the Earth, Trinity, Unity, What is sin?

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Sin, Offense, Guilt and Shame–Definitions, God’s Work and the Social Order.

Ian Johnson April 6, 2024 0 Comments

Defines the common sets of terms pertaining to sin, offense, guilt, shame and honor, with a discussion of God’s work and initial comments on the importance of their confusion in maintaining the social order.

Desire to have our own way, Merit, Peril of Seeking Power, Peril of Seeking Respectability, Purpose of the Church, Rejecting God, Repentance, Replacing Relationship with Morality, Salvation, Sins versus sin, Social control and statecraft, What is sin?

barcode Christianity, confusion, guilt, honor, merit, offended, offense, Oz, punishment, rebellion, shame, sin, sins, social expectations, social order, society

The Son of Man has Power on Earth to Forgive Sins

Ian Johnson February 23, 2024 0 Comments

When Jesus said that the son of man has power to forgive sins on Earth, he was referring to his humanity–and ours. God has already forgiven. Like Jesus, we have the power–and the mission–to offer forgiveness on Earth.

Divisions in the Church, Forgive as we forgive, forgiveness and mercy, Forgiveness and Unforgiveness, God is Love, God was never our enemy, God's Existence and Nature, Reconciliation, Restoration of God's Image, Restoration of our Relationships

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The Power of My Forgiveness and Unforgiveness, Revisited

Ian Johnson February 19, 2024 2 Comments

My forgiveness or unforgiveness of you has real power. If I hold onto a grudge against you, or you hold onto a grudge against me, it binds both of us, limits the Body of Christ, and affects the whole world, until it is released. So we must properly deal with grudges.

Church purpose versus church growth, Divisions in the Church, Forgive as we forgive, Forgiveness and Unforgiveness, Reconciliation, Restoration of God's Image, Restoration of our Relationships

collective grudge, forgive, forgiveness, God's forgiveness, grudge, new series, offense, Offenses, sin

God’s Work and Voice in Me, Part 7D: Voices Anyone? An immodest proposal,

Ian Johnson October 17, 2023 0 Comments

As one who has long had the experience of being aware, at times, of God’s voice, I propose to the Church at large that we should 1) treat spiritual “voices,” in general, as real and not as mere symptoms of mental illness, 2) learn to distinguish God’s voice from the other voices in our world, and 3) resolve to follow God’s voice. #3 is the key, because we will not be able to discern God’s voice unless we are his sheep, who hear and follow it.

A God who Speaks, Compulsory Christianity, Conversation with God, God Acts by Speaking, God Never Stopped Speaking, God Speaks to Us, God's purpose for us, God's Voice, Heresy, Language and Speech, Peril of Seeking Power, Peril of Seeking Respectability, Social control and statecraft, The Kingdom is all around us, The Kingdom of the Heavens, To be in his image

advertising, delusion, delusions, denial, discernment, God's Voice, hallucination, Hearing God, hearing voices, mental illness, propaganda, Reality, voices

Part 7B: What Does a “Relationship” with God Mean?

Ian Johnson September 22, 2023 2 Comments

A strange thing happened in the 1970’s–we learned for the first time that what we need is a “personal relationship” with Christ. But this terminology is not scriptural, and was left largely undefined, with curious results. That “relationship” became self-defined! What does it mean? What should it mean? What are a believer’s relationships with God? Jesus is our shepherd, older brother, King, teacher and friend, but the word “relationship” is not found. We are called God’s children, house, temple and sheep, but never said to be “in a relationship” with him.

A God who Speaks, Conversation with God, God Never Stopped Speaking, God Speaks to Us, God's purpose for us, God's Voice, His Children, His Friends, Language and Speech, Peril of Seeking Power, Peril of Seeking Respectability, Social control and statecraft, The Kingdom is all around us, The Kingdom of the Heavens, Through Jesus, To bear fruit

1960s, 1970s, Charismatic Renewal, delusional, delusions, friend, God is Dead, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Movement, king, Lord, Relationship, Relationship with Jesus, sheep, shepherd, Teacher, vine

You Are Not the One to Build, Part 6B: Spiritual Gifts: God Works through us for His Purpose

Ian Johnson September 4, 2023 1 Comment

The modern emphasis on first identifying my “gift” so that I may then “help” God develop it gets the matter exactly backwards. The important thing isn’t identifying my gift, it is offering my body as a living sacrifice so that the Spirit may exercise any gift He chooses through me. Then any gift I am observed to be actually exercising can be identified as my gift, and its exercise will be genuine and have God’s power.

A God who Speaks, Desire to have our own way, Disrespecting poor believers, Divisions in the Church, God Speaks to Us, God's purpose for us, Historical Background, In the Church, Meaning of Unity, Other Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Personal Background, Personality cults, Prophecy, Through others, Through teachers, Through the church, To be his ambassadors, To bear fruit, To live in unity

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You Are Not the One to Build, Part 6A: Persons given to the Church and formal “offices.”

Ian Johnson August 27, 2023 3 Comments

Addresses the subject of the roles of the people said in Ephesians 4 to be “given” to the Church by Christ and the qualifications and roles of church officers mentioned in the New Testament–overseers, officially recognized elders, and church servants (deacons). Also discusses the role of elders–older people in the church–even when not formally recognized as leaders, with application to me, the author of this presentation.

A God who Speaks, Confession of Sin, God's purpose for us, In the Church, Meaning of Unity, Prophecy, Through others, Through teachers, Through the church, To be his ambassadors, To live in unity

Apostles, bishops, Church officers, deacons, elders, evangeists, Fruit of the Spirit, God's gifts to the Church, Jesus' gifts to the Church, live worthy, living worthy, overseers, Pastor, pastors, People given to the Church, presbyters, Prophets, servant, servants, shepherd, teachers

You Are Not The One to Build, Part 4: God is “calling!” What does that mean?

Ian Johnson August 16, 2023 1 Comment

Linked text accompanying the You Tube video with the same name. God calls us. God’s call presents neither a question of what human has “authority” nor of human “leadership,” but of God’s right to make free use of what He gives.

A God who Speaks, Authority Contests, Divisions in the Church, God Acts by Speaking, God Speaks to Us, God's purpose for us, God's Voice, His Children, His Friends, Must Trust God to Enter, Peril of Seeking Power, The Kingdom is all around us, The Kingdom is all around us, The Kingdom of the Heavens, To be his ambassadors, To be in his image

authority, calling, callings, credentials, divine calling, education, God calling, human authority, Jesus, Jesus' authority, leadership, What is a calling

You Are Not the One to Build, Part 3: God Making Peace with the World Through the Most Notorious Sinners!

Ian Johnson July 13, 2023 0 Comments

Linked text to accompany the third in a series of videos about God’s gifts and callings for people, which he sometimes gives to notorious evildoers. Discusses Moses, King David and Saul of Tarsus, who literally got away with murder. Or did they?

A God who Speaks, Consequences, Discipline or Correction, forgiveness and mercy, Forgiveness and Unforgiveness, God is Love, God Never Stopped Speaking, God Speaks to Us, God was never our enemy, God's rationality, Merit, patience, Reconciliation, Repentance, Restoration of God's Image, Salvation, Sin, The Problem of Evil

Apostle Paul, consequences, criminals, God speaks, God's forgiveness, God's reputation, grace, King David, mercy, Moses, murderers, notorious, patience, Saul of Tarsus, sinners

What Really Happened in the Garden

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The Son of Man has Power on Earth to Forgive Sins

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The Power of My Forgiveness and Unforgiveness, Revisited

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God’s Work and Voice in Me, Part 7D: Voices Anyone? An immodest proposal,

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Part 7B: What Does a “Relationship” with God Mean?

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You Are Not the One to Build, Part 6B: Spiritual Gifts: God Works through us for His Purpose

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You Are Not the One to Build, Part 6A: Persons given to the Church and formal “offices.”

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You Are Not The One to Build, Part 4: God is “calling!” What does that mean?

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You Are Not the One to Build, Part 3: God Making Peace with the World Through the Most Notorious Sinners!

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