Jan 31, 2013

Special Collection Sunday February 3

This Sunday at Resurrection Church we shall be collecting a special collection for River of Life Homes.  River of Life Homes provides 24-hour hotline crisis, emergency shelter and transitional housing for women and children who are victims of family violence. The agency provides emergency shelter for up to three months, average of 30 days. Upon admittance to the emergency shelter, the client is met by a volunteer and provided with a shelter and program orientation. River of Life Homes provide counseling, personal support services, life planning and education on the cycle of domestic violence and the types of domestic violence. The agency provides transitional housing for up to one year, 6 months average. Transitional housing services are available to women, and their children, who have completed emergency shelter program and need further time to complete their life plan or job training. Transitional housing selection is based on application and qualification requirements, regardless of race, creed, color, religion, national origin or economic status. 

If you have any electronics, tools, or furnishing to donate please call River of Life at:
(214)886-3563.  Contact at River of life is Lovina Iheke.  The website for River of Life can be found here.

River of Life also has a Guide Star review which shows their total collections and their total expenses for the last available tax years.  This is a legitimate charity and has need as you can see.

We ask that you be as generous as you possibly can.  This ministry provides a blessed need for the women and children in our local community.  It also provides our small congregation with an opportunity to minister in ways the Holy Spirit will direct if we are open to His call of service and love.  We ask that you pray for Pastor Rea as he discerns God's call in ministry to the poor and homeless in our area.

In all, may the will of God be done and may we be continually directed in our ministry.

Jan 29, 2013

The Desire of Our Hearts

Pastor Daniel

If the heart be chiefly and directly fixed on God, and the soul engaged to glorify him, some degree of religious affection will be the effect and attendant of it. But to seek after affection directly and chiefly; to have the heart principally set upon that; is to place it in the room of God and his glory. If it be sought, that others may take notice of it, and admire us for our spirituality and forwardness in religion, it is then damnable pride; if for the sake of feeling the pleasure of being affected, it is then idolatry and self-gratification.

Men have a great deal of pleasure in human knowledge, in studies of natural things; but this is nothing to that joy which arises from divine light shining into the soul. This spiritual light is the dawning of the light of glory in the heart. There is nothing so powerful as this to support persons in affliction, and to give the mind peace and brightness in this stormy and dark world. This knowledge will wean from the world, and raise the inclination to heavenly things. It will turn the heart to God as the fountain of good, and to choose him for the only portion. This light, and this only, will bring the soul to a saving close with Christ. It conforms the heart to the gospel, mortifies its enmity and opposition against the scheme of salvation therein revealed: it causes the heart to embrace the joyful tidings, and entirely to adhere to, and acquiesce in the revelation of Christ as our Savior.

Jan 27, 2013

Empowerment

Third Sunday of the Year.
Readings: Isaiah 58:9b-12, I Corinthians 12:12-14, 17, Luke 4:14-28

One of the words used so much today is empowerment.  Our president promises to empower women.  The UN has made 2013 the year "To empower the oppressed".  Many groups in China are dedicated to empowering ethnic minorities.  In Japan there are groups and people who want the foreign population empowered.  So many in the world need empowerment that it seems the word itself has lost meaning.   Perhaps it is because all of this empowerment being discussed is focused merely on empowering and not what the empowered will do once all this empowerment occurs.  For example the UN fails to mention which group of oppressed 2013 is dedicated to, what the UN will do to empower these oppressed, and what the UN will do to assure the oppressed are able to stay empowered.  For all intent and purpose the UN should change 2013 to the year "Remembering the Oppressed".
To be empowered one should wish empowerment.  Simply telling a person they are empowered is meaningless if that person does not wish empowerment.  Saying to the Manyang people in Mindoro in the Philippines they are empowered is fruitless.  The Manyang are happy to live as they do.  The Manyang hunt and gather as they have for thousands of years.  If you wish to empower them they would prefer new bows and arrows to schools, roads, or automobiles.  Everything the Manyang need they make or barter.  They seem to be sufficiently empowered and happy.
Those bringing empowerment should be clear how this will happen, why it needs to happen, and how it will be fostered.  Simply saying "X group needs empowerment" is meaningless.  How will X be empowered?  Will laws be changed or created?  Will X be given opportunities others will not?  Will special programs be created for X?  Why does X need to be empowered in the first place, and what is meant by empowered?  Once X is empowered what shall be done to continue the empowerment of X?
Empowerment is important only so long as the empowerment is directed to a defined goal.  Empowerment will work only so long as those needing it agree to empowerment.  Empowering people is not the same as providing material need.  Empowerment is rooted in access to societal more.  What is wrong today is the presumption that Western societies feel third world societies need, want, or desire Western ethics, morals, or government structures.  That is arrogant, racist, and ignorant.  Again, as an example, the Manyang do not wist access to contraception, democratic constitution, wage equality, or anything a Westerner has to offer.  In fact, the Manyang in many ways have much to offer Western people.  Perhaps the Manyang should empower Westerners to be stewards of nature, appreciate a slower pace of life, and to appreciate what one has before desiring more, more, and more.  Perhaps the Manyang should empower Westerners to end greed and debt.
Jesus in the gospel reading today Luke 4:14-28, Jesus clearly states His empowerment.  Jesus focuses on who will receive empowerment and how He will empower them.  Jesus also states how this empowerment will be fostered.  We are empowered by Jesus in Matthew 25:31-46 to minister exactly as He ministers: feed the hungry, show compassion to the immigrant, clothe the naked, give drink to the thirsty, visit the sick and imprisoned.  That is empowerment that advances empowerment.  

Jan 24, 2013

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

Pastor Daniel Rea

As the God of Abraham, He declares that He is the One who receives the worship of the faith-filled. Abraham had one great thing going for him, he had faith. Out of all the tribes of the earth, Abraham was taken out of them all and claimed as the father of the faith. Like the disciples of Jesus' day and the disciples of our day, Abraham was invited to leave everything and go to a place he did not know of. He knew that the encounter he had with God was so real that he could stake his life on it. His faith passed to his son.

As the God of Isaac, He declares Himself to be the God of revival. Isaac did two great things, and is overlooked quite often. First, he was willing to be sacrificed as a young man (I think was 33, but the evidence in Genesis allows for him to be between 30 and 37 years old). His father, Abraham, was 100 years older than he was. If for any moment Isaac had a change of mind and didn't want to trust his father's encounter with God, who Abraham felt could raise him from the dead, Isaac could have easily overpowered his father. But Isaac, in true Messianic fashion, willingly carried the wood to the hill of the Lord - Moriah was likely to later be named "Golgotha". Then, after the Lamb was provided, Isaac grew up and in his later years was said to have "re-dug the wells of his father" - Isaac was a revivalist. He took what his father had done and brought it back. In God's identifying with Isaac, He is saying that He is the God that is worthy of life-endangering faith and the God of revival of the ancient ways. On to Jacob.

As the God of Jacob, He declares Himself the God who will get down and dirty with man and the God who alters men's lives, giving them a new name. Jacob was a stubborn bloke. He lusted for the blessings. He would get blessed shrewdly or by force, but one way or another, he was going to be blessed. God will wrestle with us, not because we can beat Him, but because He loves to be with His people. When Jesus called His disciples, Mark wrote that He called them "so that they could be with Him." Fellowship, even the uncomfortable kind, is what is on His heart. But He doesn't ever come in contact with us and not change us. It isn't because He is trying to change us necessarily, but in His Presence we cannot help but be changed. When we come out of an encounter or a season in His Presence, we come out the other end with a new identity, rather a new understanding of our eternal identity in Him. We, then, become who we are.

Beyond the individual connections, He shows that He can unite generations. This is one of the centerpieces of His purposes in the earth before His Return - the restoration of the generations. Jesus, referring back to the prophet Malachi's word concerning the mission of Elijah, that is John the Baptist and the final generation, says that the turning of the hearts of the sons to the fathers and the fathers to the sons is "all things" in Matthew chapter seventeen. If just two generations can unite, He can do great things, but He unified three generations in the faith that He is the God of the resurrection.

Jan 22, 2013

Jesus' Witness To The Poor


Rev. Werner Stradlater
Jesus had a special sense of mission to poor and oppressed people. At the outset of his ministry, sometimes referred to as Jesus' mission statement, Jesus stood up in the synagogue at Nazareth and read from the prophet Isaiah:
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4:18-19)
The biographies of Jesus depict him repeatedly reaching out to those at the bottom of the social pyramid--poor people, women, Samaritans, lepers, children, prostitutes and tax collectors. Jesus was also eager to accept people who were well-placed, but he made clear that all, regardless of social position, needed to repent. For this reason, he invited the rich young man to sell all of his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor. (Matthew 19:16-30,Luke 18:18-30, Mark 10:17-31)
Jesus commanded, "Love your neighbor." When asked to define "neighbor," Jesus expanded the traditional meaning of the word--defining our neighbor as anyone who is in need, including social outcasts: "But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed." (Luke 14:13)
In his portrayal of the day of judgment, Jesus pictured people from all nations gathered before him, separated into "sheep" and "goats." (Matthew 25:31-46) To the "sheep" he says, "Come you blessed of my Father, for I was hungry and you fed me..." In their astonishment they ask, "When did we do that?" And he answers, "When you did it to the lowliest of my brothers (and sisters)." Conversely, to the "goats" he says, "Out of my sight, you who are condemned, for I was hungry and you did not feed me..."
Jesus himself cared for those in need by feeding the hungry. Crowds of four thousand (Mark 8:1-13) and five thousand (Mark 6:30-44) had assembled to listen to Jesus. They soon became hungry. When his disciples suggested that Jesus send the people away to buy food, he responded by saying "I have compassion on these people..." and "you give them something to eat." He proceeded to perform miracles to feed these large crowds of hungry people.
Jesus, teach us to have compassion for the poor.  Help us to have the courage to help in our capacity, whether volunteering at a homeless shelter, donating to a food pantry, or just talking to those we would normally ignore.  Help us to remember that the Lord hears the cry of the poor. Amen.

Jan 21, 2013

Saving The Best For Last

Pastor Daniel Rea

Gospel of John 2:1-11

There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee,
and the mother of Jesus was there.
Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.
When the wine ran short,
the mother of Jesus said to him,
“They have no wine.”
And Jesus said to her,
“Woman, how does your concern affect me?
My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servers,
“Do whatever he tells you.”
Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings,
each holding twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus told the them,
“Fill the jars with water.”
So they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them,
“Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.”
So they took it. 
And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine,
without knowing where it came from
— although the servers who had drawn the water knew —,
the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him,
“Everyone serves good wine first,
and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one;
but you have kept the good wine until now.”
Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee
and so revealed his glory,
and his disciples began to believe in him.



Despite giving us some very interesting details, this story in John is compelling as much from what John doesn’t tell us as from what he does. For example, what has transpired in Jesus’ life so far that gives his mother the idea he has the ability to do something about a wine shortage? Did she expect Jesus to perform a miracle — or as John calls it, a sign — or is she suggesting he run down to the local spirits store and make a purchase? Is she hinting that perhaps this might be a good time for them to leave, so as to remove some of the pressure from the wedding host, or that Jesus should take up an offering from among the wedding guests? Why is there so much water on hand, and what do the purification rites have to do with a wedding? Why does Jesus seem to take exception to his mother’s subtle request that he do something about the situation?

At the wedding, very few people even knew how the miracle was done or who did it. Look at the story carefully and you will find that not even the steward (who was something of a wedding coordinator), nor the servants who toted the water, knew what had happened or why or when. Jesus had a very small audience for his first miracle, didn’t he?

It’s true: John leaves us with more questions than he does answers. But then again, if he gave us all the answers, we preachers wouldn’t have anything to talk about, now would we?

Well, then, what is John’s point? I thought you’d never ask. Everything in this story — all the little details, the things John tells us, as well as the things he doesn’t say, the interesting way in which John frames it — points to Jesus’ glory. It was the first miracle — the first sign — that Jesus performed, and it really doesn’t have that much to do with water and wine. Not really. John tells us that (v. 11), and informs us that this whole thing is done in order to reveal Jesus’ glory. But what does that mean? What is Jesus’ glory?

First of all, understand that a miracle, or sign, does not have a life of its own. It points to something else, something greater, something more eternal – or certainly longer-lasting – than itself. When Jesus fed the multitudes in the wilderness, it was a wonderful event. Imagine what it might have felt like to have been there. Talk about goose bumps. But when the next mealtime rolled around, the very stomachs Jesus had filled were hungry once again. No more goose bumps; just growling stomachs. When Jesus healed the cripples or the lepers, when he gave sight to the blind, it gave each of the fortunate recipients a new life. And think of those Jesus brought back from death to life, even Lazarus who had been rotting in the grave four days. What joy that brought to these people! To walk again, to see again, to breathe again. Yet, eventually, they all died and their bodies decomposed in the grave. The obvious consequence of Jesus’ miracles was short-lived.

The steward, who comments on the quality of the wine, understands what happened only on the surface level. One minute they’ve run out of wine, the next they have enough to last a couple more weeks, and it’s the best stuff they’ve served yet. There is a deeper meaning here. There has to be a deeper meaning here, and very few who attended the wedding that day understood it.

The last thing Jesus is interested in is helping the bridegroom to save face. It’s for certain he has more important things to do. Then why did Jesus bother? Because every miracle, every sign, pointed to something beyond itself, something that was far greater than just the miracle itself. Each sign Jesus performed gave a glimpse of how it is in the kingdom of heaven where there is not a single limb that is crippled, not an eye that cannot see, not a soul that cannot breathe. The point of every miracle was to show Jesus in his glory, not just to make life better for the one who happened to be in the right spot at the right time to take advantage of his power.

And when it comes time for Jesus to show such glory, such power, he will do it in his time. No check that... he will do it in his Father’s time. And when he finds himself in this ticklish social situation at the Cana wedding, he informs his pushy mama that his hour had not yet come. It’s too early to show his stuff, to reveal his power, at least to the multitudes. He knows that when he does such a thing as a miracle or sign, things happen... eternal things, heavenly things, Godly things. He doesn’t take his power for granted, and he doesn’t want his mother or anyone else to do so either. There will be enough time for him to perform his signs so that everybody can see. But now isn’t that time.

Then he turns right around and does it anyway. It’s almost as if he lets his mother have her way, against his better judgment. As our young folk would say, what’s up with that? Well, let’s keep going...

All that water is there because of the ritual of purification. The Jews had it right: weddings were times of worship. I consider that one of my most important tasks, when asked to officiate a wedding, is to impress on the wedding party and everyone else who attends, that it is first and foremost a service of worship. Some folk, especially those who only attend church when they go to a wedding, tend to forget that... if they ever knew it in the first place.

When the first-century Jews worshiped, first they purified themselves. They prepared. As they entered the synagogue or temple, they dipped their fingers into the water set aside for the purification rite. It didn’t take much. It was more a symbolic gesture than it was hygienic. It only took about a cup of water to purify a hundred men. But John almost goes out of his way to let us know there’s a lot of water here. Six stone jars, he says, each holding two or three measures, a measure being about ten gallons. Let’s do the math: six jars, twenty to thirty gallons each... There could have been as much as a hundred-and-eighty gallons, at minimum a hundred-and-twenty. That’s a lot of water, especially in such an arid part of the world where water is not taken for granted.

If one cup of water could purify one hundred men, imagine how many a hundred-and-eighty gallons would serve! What is John saying? There’s enough water here to purify the world, the whole world! And it is at Jesus’ command.

The point of the story is not that Jesus can take plain drinking water and make it 20 proof. It is that those who once found access to God by means of the ritual of purification now find their way to God through Jesus. He is indeed the way, the truth, and the life. He hasn’t had the opportunity to reveal that just yet. After all, he’s just getting started. His hour has not yet come. This sign is just the beginning. Every story about Jesus that is told in John’s gospel will continue to reveal his glory, his purpose in coming into the world. His hour will indeed come when he will be revealed for who he truly is.

But not now. Not now. And for that reason, it is only his disciples – perhaps as few as three or four – who see what happens. But because they do, they believe in him.

Now, there are at least two clues that pull this idea together. The first has to do with the way John opens the story. He says it was “on the third day.” On the third day in relation to what? He’s not merely offering a timeline, he is using terminology that points to something else, and in this case the something else is the resurrection. Look it up in any of the New Testament gospels, and you will find that any and all references to “the third day” point us to an empty tomb.

The other clue is found in the reaction of the steward. He makes the remark to the bridegroom, “Everyone serves the good wine first,.. But you have kept the good wine until now.” “Until now.” The best is saved for last. He’s merely commenting on the quality of the wine. But John takes his remark and gives it a theological twist. God saves the best for last, and now – after Abraham and Moses, after the law and the prophets – God gives us his very best. And the best is Jesus.

But God’s people don’t take much to God’s best. No one knew that more than Jesus. So, he tells his mother that “his hour” has not yet come. What hour? The hour of his glory when he will be lifted up to the cross. This story, as simple as it appears to be, points to his death on the cross and the resurrection that follows.

You’ve got to hand it to Mary, she’s pretty cool about all this. When Jesus tells her his hour has not yet come, she turns to the servants and says, “Do whatever he tells you.” She’s content to let her son be in charge, to stand back and give him room to do his thing.
           
There’s a message in that, isn’t there? Are we content to let Jesus do his thing in us? What is his thing? After all, turning water into wine, while impressive, is also pretty trivial considering the more important demands facing Jesus. He has people to heal, the hungry to fill, death to conquer. Think of the demands he has yet to face.  Remember the piranha bowl? There’s always somebody wanting yet another bite, and it has to be on their terms. Jesus doesn’t respond to us based on our terms. He always does what his Heavenly Father wants him to do. That is his hour.

Jesus gives us his best, his glory. Are we willing to receive it?

When we come to worship, what are we looking for? Better self-esteem, peace of mind, answers to our problems? You may find it, but that shouldn’t be what you come to church for. If so, all you see is water turned to wine. But if you come to worship and honor God, and to follow Jesus, you see not only the sign but what the sign points to, a way of life that leads to the cross.

So the next time you’re thirsty, find something cool that will slake your thirst. But if you’re longing for that which is eternal, yield yourself fully to Jesus. What he will do is far more than turn water into wine. What you will receive from him will last for eternity. He indeed saves the best for last, doesn’t he?

Lord, may your hour come in us. When you come and ask us to follow you, our prayer is that you will find us responsive to your call because we want to see more than just water made into wine. We want to see you in all your glory.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Jan 20, 2013

Articles of Faith

Article I—Of Faith in the Holy Trinity
There is one living and true God, everlasting, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the maker and preserver of all things, both visible and invisible. And in unity of this Godhead there are three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Article II—Of the Word, or Son of God, Who Was Made Very Man
The Son, Jesus the Christ, who is the Word of the Father, the very and eternal God, of one substance with the Father, took man's nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin; so that two whole and perfect natures, that is to say, the Godhead and Manhood, were joined together in one person, never to be divided; whereof is one Christ, very God and very Man, who truly suffered, was crucified, died, and buried, to reconcile his Father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for actual sins of men.
Article III—Of the Resurrection of Christ
Christ did truly rise again from the dead, and took again his body, with all things appertaining to the perfection of man's nature, wherewith he ascended into heaven, and there sits until he return to judge all men at the last day.
Article IV—Of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one substance, majesty, and glory with the Father and the Son, very and eternal God.
Article V—Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation
The Holy Scriptures contains all things necessary to salvation; so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man that it should be believed as an article of faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the Holy Scripture we do understand those canonical books of the Old and New Testament of whose authority was never any doubt in the church. The names of the canonical books are:
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, The First Book of Samuel, The Second Book of Samuel, The First Book of Kings, The Second Book of Kings, The First Book of Chronicles, The Second Book of Chronicles, The Book of Ezra, The Book of Nehemiah, The Book of Esther, The Book of Job, The Psalms, The Proverbs, Ecclesiastes or the Preacher, Cantica or Songs of Solomon, Four Prophets the Greater, Twelve Prophets the Less.
All the books of the New Testament, as they are commonly received, we do receive and account canonical.
Article VI—Of the Old Testament
The Old Testament is not contrary to the New; for both in the Old and New Testament everlasting life is offered to mankind by Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and man, being both God and Man. Wherefore they are not to be heard who feign that the old fathers did look only for transitory promises. Although the law given from God by Moses as touching ceremonies and rites doth not bind Christians, nor ought the civil precepts thereof of necessity be received in any commonwealth; yet notwithstanding, no Christian whatsoever is free from the obedience of the commandments which are called moral.
Article VII—Of Original or Birth Sin
Original sin is the corruption of the nature of every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam, whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and of his own nature inclined to evil, and that continually.
Article VIII—Of Free Will
The condition of man after the fall of Adam is such that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and works, to faith, and calling upon God; wherefore we have no power to do good works, pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good will, and working with us, when we have that good will.  All people are immeasurably free to accept Jesus the Lord as savior, and likewise are free not to accept the Lord.  God makes no measure of force for decision but gives freedom for all to choose, and also gives freedom to choose good over evil.
Article IX—Of the Justification of Man
We are accounted righteous before God only for the merit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, by faith, and not for our own works or deserving. Wherefore, that we are justified by faith, only, is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort.
Article X—Of Good Works
Although good works, which are the fruits of faith, and follow after justification, cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God's judgment; yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and spring out of a true and lively faith, insomuch that by them a lively faith may be as evidently known as a tree is discerned by its fruit.
Article XI—Of Works of Supererogation
Voluntary works—besides, over and above God's commandments—which they call works of supererogation, cannot be taught without arrogancy and impiety. For by them men do declare that they do not only render unto God as much as they are bound to do, but that they do more for his sake than of bounden duty is required; whereas Christ saith plainly: When you have done all that is commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants.
Article XII—Of Sin After Justification
Not every sin willingly committed after justification is the sin against the Holy Ghost, and unpardonable. Wherefore, the grant of repentance is not to be denied to such as fall into sin after justification. After we have received the Holy Ghost, we may depart from grace given, and fall into sin, and, by the grace of God, rise again and amend our lives. And therefore they are to be condemned who say they can no more sin as long as they live here; or deny the place of forgiveness to such as truly repent.
The thought of "Once saved, eternally saved" is repugnant to scripture and is disproven in the Epistles of the Apostle Paul.  One ought to always remember that salvation is to fostered every day by being mindful of ones thoughts, speech, and actions.  Our salvation and forgiveness of sins was purchased by the Lord Jesus on Calvary by his blood.  One must reconcile with those sinned against and with the church in public confession before celebrating Communion (the Lord's Supper) to be pardoned and capable of receiving the gifts of God which are given freely by the church and its ministers, and thus be forgiven by the Lord Jesus.  This is scriptural sound doctrine and is the basis of reconciliation preached first by the prophets, then by the Lord Jesus, and finally by His apostles.
Article XIII—Of the Church
The visible church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men in which the pure Word of God is preached, and the Sacraments duly administered according to Christ's ordinance, in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same.
Article XIV—Of Purgatory
The Roman Catholic doctrine concerning purgatory, pardon, worshiping, and adoration, as well of images as of relics, and also invocation of saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warrant of Scripture, but repugnant to the Word of God.  All who are saved are "saints" and none are given higher merit in God's kingdom apart from the twelve Apostles.  This is testified to by the Lord Jesus and by the Book of Revelation.
Article XV—Of Speaking in the Congregation in Such a Tongue as the People Understand
It is a thing plainly repugnant to the Word of God, and the custom of the primitive church, to have public prayer in the church, or to minister the sacraments, in a tongue not understood by the people.
Article XVI—Of the Sacraments
Sacraments ordained of Christ are not only badges or tokens of Christian men's profession, but rather they are certain signs of grace, and God's good will toward us, by which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm, our faith in him.
There are two Sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord in the Gospel; that is to say, Baptism and the Supper of the Lord.
Those five commonly called sacraments, that is to say, confirmation, penance, orders, matrimony, and extreme unction, are not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel; being such as have partly grown out of the corrupt following of the apostles, and partly are states of life allowed in the Scriptures, but yet have not the like nature of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, because they have not any visible sign or ceremony ordained of God.
The Sacraments were not ordained of Christ to be gazed upon, or to be carried about; but that we should duly use them. And in such only as worthily receive the same, they have a wholesome effect or operation; but they that receive them unworthily, purchase to themselves condemnation, as St. Paul saith.
Article XVII—Of Baptism
Baptism is not only a sign of profession and mark of difference whereby Christians are distinguished from others that are not baptized; but it is also a sign of regeneration or the new birth. The Baptism of young children is to be retained in the Church.
Article XVIII—Of the Lord's Supper
The Supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that Christians ought to have among themselves one to another, but rather is a sacrament of our redemption by Christ's death; insomuch that, to such as rightly, worthily, and with faith receive the same, the bread which we break is a partaking of the body of Christ; and likewise the cup of blessing is a partaking of the blood of Christ as a memorial.  The bread and wine are symbolically the body and blood of the Lord.
Transubstantiation, or the change of the substance of bread and wine in the Supper of our Lord, cannot be proved by Holy Writ, but is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthrows the nature of a sacrament, and hath given occasion to many superstitions.
The body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten in the Supper, only after a heavenly and spiritual symbol. And the mean whereby the body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper is faith.
The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshiped.
Article XIX—Of Both Kinds
The cup of the Lord is not to be denied to the lay people; for both the parts of the Lord's Supper, by Christ's ordinance and commandment, ought to be administered to all Christians alike.
Article XX—Of the One Oblation of Christ, Finished upon the Cross
The offering of Christ, once made, is that perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual; and there is none other satisfaction for sin but that alone. Wherefore the sacrifice of masses, in the which it is commonly said that the priest doth offer Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remission of pain or guilt, is a blasphemous fable and dangerous deceit.
Article XXI—Of the Marriage of Ministers
The ministers of Christ are not commanded by God's law either to vow the estate of single life, or to abstain from marriage; therefore it is lawful for them, as for all other Christians, to marry at their own discretion, as they shall judge the same to serve best to godliness.
Article XXII—Of the Rites and Ceremonies of Churches
It is not necessary that rites and ceremonies should in all individual church congregations be the same, or exactly alike; for they have been always different, and may be changed according to the diversity of communities, times, and men's manners, so that nothing be ordained against God's Word. Whosoever, through his private judgment, willingly and purposely doth openly break the rites and ceremonies of the church to which he belongs, which are not repugnant to the Word of God, and are ordained and approved by common authority of pastors, deacons, and lay elders, ought to be rebuked openly, that others may fear to do the like, as one that offendeth against the common order of the church, and woundeth the consciences of weak brethren.
Every particular church may ordain, change, or abolish rites and ceremonies, so that all things may be done to edification of the lay faithful.
Article XXIII—Of the Rulers of the United States of America
The President, the Congress, the general assemblies, the governors, and the councils of state, as the delegates of the people, are the rulers of the United States of America, according to the division of power made to them by the Constitution of the United States and by the constitutions of their respective states. And the said states are a sovereign and independent nation, and ought not to be subject to any foreign jurisdiction.  Our church shall make every effort not to impede on the sovereignty of the state as we expect not to be impeded in our faithful duties by the state. 
Article XXIV—Of Christian Men's Goods
The riches and goods of Christians are not common as touching the right, title, and possession of the same, as some do falsely boast. Notwithstanding, every man ought, of such things as he possesseth, liberally to give alms to the poor, according to his ability.
Article XXV—Of a Christian Man's Oath
As we confess that vain and rash swearing is forbidden Christian men by our Lord Jesus Christ and James his apostle, so we judge that the Christian religion doth not prohibit, but that a man may swear when the magistrate requireth, in a cause of faith and charity, so it be done according to the prophet's teaching, in justice, judgment, and truth.
Article XXVI Of Sanctification
Sanctification is that renewal of our fallen nature by the Holy Ghost, received through faith in Jesus Christ, whose blood of atonement cleanseth from all sin; whereby we are not only delivered from the guilt of sin, but are washed from its pollution, saved from its power, and are enabled, through grace, to love God with all our hearts and to walk in his holy commandments blameless.
Article XXVII Of the Duty of Christians to the Civil Authority
It is the duty of all Christians, and especially of all Christian ministers, to observe and obey the laws and commands of the governing or supreme authority of the country of which they are citizens or subjects or in which they reside, and to use all laudable means to encourage and enjoin obedience to the powers that be when Scriptures and Commands of God are not contradicted.

Jan 19, 2013

Mission Statement

God has called this ministry to witness the Kingdom of God through service to others, preaching the Gospel, and witnessing to the blessings Christ has given to each of us.  We take seriously our call to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned.  We seek to do justice, love mercy and to walk humbly with God (Micah 3:8).   We pray we shall be of service to our community and a blessing to those in need.

Time For Change

Dear Friends,

We are facing a very exciting and a big change in the ministry.  Daniel Rea is being ordained as a Christian minister, and shall be taking over Miyazaki Ministries and converting it into a Christian ministry.  Our mission as a Buddhist ministry in Dallas has served its purpose and I shall be returning to Japan.

I wish to thank all who have supported the ministry with all the kindness we have received the past eight years.  It is our hope you shall continue to support Rev. Rea and the ministry.  May peace be unto you all.

Katsuo Morita

Jan 8, 2013

2013

In facing a new year with new challenges and new opportunities let us make a resolution to be present - in this moment.  To be really present with those we love and to be mindful of the moment.  That each moment is truly a present and wonderful moment.

Nothing is real, and nothing is not real. Things just are. That’s why you try to be in the moment. Because you might as well be somewhere. And all evidence seems to point to the fact that being here, now, is where all the good things happen.