OHIO 2011
One of the funnest things I have done in a while was to be a part of training 42 youths to share the Gospel at the annual Child Evangelism Fellowship‘s Christian Youth In Action in Greenfield, OH, This is training for their summer missionaries who will be reaching children with the Gospel through 5-Day Clubs all summer long. If you know a teen or teens who would benefit from learning how to prepare a Bible lesson, teach children how to memorize Bible verses, tell missionary stories and lead songs, then you need to tell them about C.E.F.
A couple of the things that I like best about this ministry are,
- That they speak of sin before they speak of grace. We need to know how much we need Christ before we will ever consider the magnitude of His love displayed at Calvary.
- They are not taught to coerce kids into making a profession but that the Holy Spirit converts people when we faithfully give them the Gospel.
- They are taught to be courteous, loving and have fun with the kids as they share the Gospel with them.
- It is real ministry that teens can do and it makes dramatic improvements in their confidence and Christian character.
My wife and I were the head cooks at the week long training from June 19-25. It was a blast serving them as they were learning to serve Christ. But the most fun I had was in the morning chapel service where I got the opportunity to share God’s Word with them every day. We saw the Lord at work in their hearts and minds as they sat under the preaching of God’s Word. What a blessing as I expounded the principles of Sin, the Gospel, God’s Righteous Judgment and His Amazing Grace to them!
In addition to taking them deeper into the texts of the lessons they will be teaching this summer, I also got to share some Hermeneutical principles with them. I taught them important concepts to help them interpret Scripture accurately.
You can check out the things they were taught about the Gospel in the Chapel Messages by clicking on the links below.
Zacchaeus – Luke 19:1019 (This one also has an extra 20 minutes or so on Having a Personal Devotion Time.)
Mephibosheth – 2 Samuel 9
Noah and the Flood – Genesis 6-9
Philip and the Eunuch – Acts 8:26-40
Saul’s Conversion – Acts 9:1-10
I thought I would make you aware that even in the 21st century the mentality of the dark ages prevails. Since we have just looked at the Reformation and specifically Martin Luther I thought that you might enjoy this article from the New York Times.
That’s right, Plenary Indulgences are back.
It appeared prominently on the Web site of the Diocese of Brooklyn,
which announced that any Catholic could receive an indulgence at any of
six churches on any day, or at dozens more on specific days, by
fulfilling the basic requirements: going to confession, receiving holy
communion, saying a prayer for the pope and achieving “complete
detachment from any inclination to sin.” [New York Times 2-9-09]
The
indulgence is among the less noticed and less disputed traditions to be
restored. But with a thousand-year history and volumes of church law
devoted to its intricacies, it is one of the most complicated to
explain. According to church teaching, even after sinners are absolved
in the confessional and say their Our Fathers or Hail Marys as penance,
they still face punishment after death, in Purgatory, before they can
enter heaven. In exchange for certain prayers, devotions or pilgrimages
in special years, a Catholic can receive an indulgence, which reduces
or erases that punishment instantly, with no formal ceremony or
sacrament.
There are partial indulgences, which reduce purgatorial
time by a certain number of days or years, and plenary indulgences,
which eliminate all of it, until another sin is committed. You can get
one for yourself, or for someone who is dead. You cannot buy one — the
church outlawed the sale of indulgences in 1567 — but charitable
contributions, combined with other acts, can help you earn one. There
is a limit of one plenary indulgence per sinner per day.
So,
all I have to do to get released from purgatory is to donate some cash,
go to confession, take communion, pray for the Pope and achieve,
“complete detachment from any inclination to sin.” that sounds easy
enough, right? I just have one question, “If I achieve complete
detachment from any inclination to sin why do I need one? Make that two
questions, “Is it possible to achieve “complete detachment from any
inclination to sin?
Ephesians 2:1
And you, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once
walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of
disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the
lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the
mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
As an unsaved person we are by nature sinful and children of wrath. What about as a Christian?
1 John 1:8
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is
not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say
that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
1 John 2:1
My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not
sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our
sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
So as
Believers John is telling us that sin is a fact of life and therefore
confession as well. (Though it does not say anything about a priest
here.) But it goes on to say that Jesus is the satisfaction for all of
that sin in 1 John 2. Jesus is the advocate with the Father. He is the
“propitiation” or the satisfaction for sin, all sin!
A desire
to see Christians who take sins seriously is commendable. By offering
them a phony way to deal with it the church is shooting itself in the
foot! Forget the Hail Marys and the Our Fathers and the rosaries an
realize that Jesus has paid the sin debt of everyone who trusts in Him
to do so. If you are believing in something other than the sacrifice of
Christ you are sending yourself to hell, not purgatory. Salvation and
forgiveness is found in none other than Jesus Christ!
Kevin
Take
heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing
this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. –
1 Timothy
4:16
Miscellaneous, Missions | Kevin Hoffman | 
June 29, 2011 10:37 am | 
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