Special Features
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A special word of encouragement from Pastor Brad.
A powerful teaching to equip you with the knowledge you need to receive healing and live in divine health.
A new wave of revival is about to burst upon us. We must get ready!
From Pastor's Heart
Supporting the Local Church
I believe that people should tithe and give offerings to their local church. The local church is the primary means that God uses to bless people in the earth - to carry out His will and His work.
By tithing and giving to the local church, people are supporting the ministers who care for them and their families. They are helping to maintain a positive presence and witness in their city. They are assisting the poor and needy in their community. And they are providing support for missions and other outreaches.
Supporting the Local Church
I believe that people should tithe and give offerings to their local church. The local church is the primary means that God uses to bless people in the earth - to carry out His will and His work.
By tithing and giving to the local church, people are supporting the ministers who care for them and their families. They are helping to maintain a positive presence and witness in their city. They are assisting the poor and needy in their community. And they are providing support for missions and other outreaches.
More money results in more ministry. What if your church's income was suddenly doubled, or multiplied by three, four, five, or even ten times? Could your church have a greater impact in reaching more lost souls, teaching and equipping more Christians, helping more needy people, or supporting more missionaries? Too many projects have remained in the dreaming or planning stage because the money to make them a reality was never available within the local church.
The Word of God directs us to come together with other believers (Hebrews 10:25) to worship God, to pray, to encourage each other, and to receive instruction and inspiration (Acts 2:42, 46-47). The local church is the best place for that to happen. Watching Christian television, listening to teaching CD's, watching DVD's, and reading Christian books cannot take the place of what the local church has to offer.
Some people do not much believe in the local church. They think that they can stay at home and be just as good a Christian as they would if they went to church. It's too bad that God hasn't figured that out yet. God set pastors (Ephesians 4:11-16) in the church to be shepherds and told us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. Jesus was moved with compassion when he saw the multitudes because they had no shepherd to care for them (Matthew 9:36-38).
The church is a family and we all need the support of a family. Christians need a time of concentrated care and training. They may start with little things like learning the Bible and how to worship and pray. Then they will begin to use their abilities to contribute to and be a part of God's work. Only a church family can provide this kind of support and involvement. You cannot get that kind of experience through books and tapes. Christian television and radio tends to make people spectators who are simply sitting on the sidelines watching and listening.
You need your own company. Peter and John went to their own company when the crisis of life came (Acts 4:23). They did not go read a book. They went to find people who knew them and loved them - fellow believers who shared their faith. Sooner or later, all of us experience some sort of crisis, and it is important to have someone who cares for us.
What would you do if you were depending on a television program to be your pastor and you ended up in the hospital? Who would come to pray with you and encourage you to trust God and His Word? What if a loved one died? Could you call the television preacher to come and comfort you? Would he or she help you with funeral arrangements and conduct the funeral? Who would prepare food and bring it to your house for those who were grieving with you? What if your son or daughter wanted to get married? Would the author of your favorite Christian book provide the premarital counseling, minister to the wedding party, and perform the marriage ceremony?
We need a place where we can find real people of God. We need to meet together to support one another and combine our resources to do God's work. That is why it is more important to support your local church financially than to give anywhere else.
But we often find the Church of God descending to business methods in order to raise money enough to pay its expenses; hence, we have bake and rummage sales, raffles, bazaars, auctions, concerts, and all sorts of schemes to raise money, while the vast majority of Christians rob God of His tithes and offerings. If Christian people would live up to the Bible command, and pay God their tithes (one-tenth of their income) and generously give offerings, there would be no need for such methods of raising money - there would be more than enough.
Please, financially support your local church so that there is more than enough to do all the work of God.
With His Love,
Pastor Brad
The Word of God directs us to come together with other believers (Hebrews 10:25) to worship God, to pray, to encourage each other, and to receive instruction and inspiration (Acts 2:42, 46-47). The local church is the best place for that to happen. Watching Christian television, listening to teaching CD's, watching DVD's, and reading Christian books cannot take the place of what the local church has to offer.
Some people do not much believe in the local church. They think that they can stay at home and be just as good a Christian as they would if they went to church. It's too bad that God hasn't figured that out yet. God set pastors (Ephesians 4:11-16) in the church to be shepherds and told us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. Jesus was moved with compassion when he saw the multitudes because they had no shepherd to care for them (Matthew 9:36-38).
The church is a family and we all need the support of a family. Christians need a time of concentrated care and training. They may start with little things like learning the Bible and how to worship and pray. Then they will begin to use their abilities to contribute to and be a part of God's work. Only a church family can provide this kind of support and involvement. You cannot get that kind of experience through books and tapes. Christian television and radio tends to make people spectators who are simply sitting on the sidelines watching and listening.
You need your own company. Peter and John went to their own company when the crisis of life came (Acts 4:23). They did not go read a book. They went to find people who knew them and loved them - fellow believers who shared their faith. Sooner or later, all of us experience some sort of crisis, and it is important to have someone who cares for us.
What would you do if you were depending on a television program to be your pastor and you ended up in the hospital? Who would come to pray with you and encourage you to trust God and His Word? What if a loved one died? Could you call the television preacher to come and comfort you? Would he or she help you with funeral arrangements and conduct the funeral? Who would prepare food and bring it to your house for those who were grieving with you? What if your son or daughter wanted to get married? Would the author of your favorite Christian book provide the premarital counseling, minister to the wedding party, and perform the marriage ceremony?
We need a place where we can find real people of God. We need to meet together to support one another and combine our resources to do God's work. That is why it is more important to support your local church financially than to give anywhere else.
But we often find the Church of God descending to business methods in order to raise money enough to pay its expenses; hence, we have bake and rummage sales, raffles, bazaars, auctions, concerts, and all sorts of schemes to raise money, while the vast majority of Christians rob God of His tithes and offerings. If Christian people would live up to the Bible command, and pay God their tithes (one-tenth of their income) and generously give offerings, there would be no need for such methods of raising money - there would be more than enough.
Please, financially support your local church so that there is more than enough to do all the work of God.
With His Love,
Pastor Brad
"I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus."
1 Corinthians 1:4
1 Corinthians 1:4