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Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Top 14 Reasons Why People Love/Hate Metro Praise


I thought in a relatively "calm" time in our church, I would take some time to address the "Top 14 Reasons Why People Love/Hate Metro Praise."  This list is not meant to be entirely thorough or directed towards any persons individually, but just an overview after making our 7th Anniversary this March 2012.

(Note: What I mean by "hate" is "leave or dislike what we do."  Hate does not necessarily mean they totally hate us personally- they just don't like our messages/methods.)

Top 14 Reasons People Hate Metro Praise:

14. A radical, contagious, uncompromising love for God and people.  All disciples are expected to Love God defined as "passionate worship and obeying His commands," and Love People defined as, "helping them in their times of need and preaching the full Gospel to see their soul saved!"

13. Repeating of the same vision and strategy over and over again in every service.

12. Requiring all attendees to join the discipleship process before they can ever become active in any ministry.

11. Bold, loud, Biblical preaching that offends many of the hearers- no sugar coating.

10. Removing, sitting down, and placing in previous classes as discipline those who sin or who live a lukewarm Christian life.

9. Lack of places to hide in spiritual dryness, laziness, apathy, sin, and bitterness.

8. Continual focus on the nations with weeping and extended times of group intercession in the main Sunday service.

7. Personal one-on-one discipleship that holds every believer personally accountable to the standards of Christ and the Bible- no "man pleasing spirit."  Big money givers, senior saints, and the young know-it-alls are all expected to be teachable, humble, hungry for more of God, and servants.

6. Intense worship times with public speaking in tongues, powerful prophecy, and upfront repentance at the altars.

5. Passionate male/female leadership that do not timidly whisper correction but are bold and "in-your-face" to help everyone avoid spiritual shipwreck, at times even like "Jesus with the whip in the temple."

4. Lack of a bribbing Gospel, big productions, "one-man-preaching-show," and soft evangelism.

3. Constant reinforcement both from the pulpit and pew of expectation to street witness, join life groups, and be active in discipleship classes.

2. No compromise or fear of man in correction of sin.  We practice disfellowshipping for believers who continue in sin, slander, and commit unlawful behavior.

1. Metro Praise disciples believe there is no other way to have and be the church, for they call the above actions, "Love for God and People!"

____________________________

Now the Top 14 Reasons Why People Love Metro Praise:

14. A radical, contagious, uncompromising love for God and people.  All disciples are expected to Love God defined as "passionate worship and obeying His commands," and Love People defined as, "helping them in their times of need and preaching the full Gospel to see their soul saved!" 

13. Repeating of the same vision and strategy over and over again in every service.

12. Requiring all attendees to join the discipleship process before they can ever become active in any ministry.

11. Bold, loud, Biblical preaching that offends many of the hearers- no sugar coating.

10. Removing, sitting down, and placing in previous classes as discipline those who sin or who live a lukewarm Christian life.

9. Lack of places to hide in spiritual dryness, laziness, apathy, sin, and bitterness.

8. Continual focus on the nations with weeping and extended times of group intercession in the main Sunday service. 

7. Personal one-on-one discipleship that holds every believer personally accountable to the standards of Christ and the Bible- no "man pleasing spirit."  Big money givers, senior saints, and the young know-it-alls are all expected to be teachable, humble, hungry for more of God, and servants.

6. Intense worship times with public speaking in tongues, powerful prophecy, and upfront repentance at the altars.

5. Passionate male/female leadership that do not timidly whisper correction but are bold and "in-your-face" to help everyone avoid spiritual shipwreck, at times even like "Jesus with the whip in the temple."

4. Lack of a bribbing Gospel, big productions, "one-man-preaching-show," and soft evangelism.
 
3. Constant reinforcement both from the pulpit and pew of expectation to street witness, join life groups, and be active in discipleship classes.

2. No compromise or fear of man in correction of sin.  We practice disfellowshipping for believers who continue in sin, slander, and commit unlawful behavior.

1. Metro Praise disciples believe there is no other way to have and be the church, for they call the above actions, "Love for God and People!"


Watch a Keynote Message on the Heart of Metro Praise, "Discipleship"




Key Verses About Jesus' Love/Hate Ministry

1. Jesus predicted that many people would hate His disciples and their teachings, John 15:18-20!  

18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.   
20 Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master. ’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

2. Jesus promised His teachings would bring division, even to one's family, Matthew 10:32-49!

32 “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. 34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.   
35 For I have come to turn “a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter- in- law against her mother- in- law –36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household. ’  
37 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

3.  Jesus rebuked people who questioned His authority after they got offended and thus didn't do miracles in their towns, Matthew 13:53-58!

53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. 54 Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. 
55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”   
57 And they took offense at him.  
But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” 58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

4. Click here to also listen to Dr. Michael Brown's message on the three most common roles with leaders in the ministry: "Politicians, Professionals, or Prophets!"


5. By the way, none of the these verses or teachings change how much Jesus loves you.  He just loves you enough to tell you the truth, John 14:21!


21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.  



Thursday, March 22, 2012

The Fundamentals



I made this blog to give to the students in my Apologetics class so they could have a reference for the main doctrines of the faith.  Found in Chapter 11, "Disciples Defend the Faith" of our 201 book, click here to read in full.
 


Here are the Fundamentals:

1.     The BibleThe Scriptures, both the Old and New Testament, are verbally inspired by God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct.

A.             Scripture References: 2 Timothy 3:15-17, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, & 2 Peter 1:21.

B.    Scholarly References:  Dr. James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries www.aomin.org has a great book called, “Sola Scriptura!” and a debate with Shabir Ally (Muslim) over the divinity of the New Testament.

Josh McDowell www.josh.org provides great resources on the infallibility of the Bible in his book “New Evidence That Demands a Verdict”, which I think is a must have for every Christian.


2.     The Trinity:  There is only One True God–revealed in three persons...Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (commonly known as the Trinity).

A.             Scripture References:  Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 43:10-11, Matthew 28:19, & Luke 3:22.

B.    Scholarly References:  Dr. James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries www.aomin.org has a great book called, “The Forgotten Trinity”.


3.     Jesus is God:  As God's Son Jesus was both human and divine.

A.      Scripture References:  John 1:1, 1 Timothy 3:16 (KJV), Philippians 2:9-11, Revelations 7:9-11.

B.             Scholarly References:  Josh McDowell www.josh.org has a great book called, “More Than A Carpenter”.


4.     Fall of Man:  Though originally created good by God, man willingly fell to sin when tempted by Satan–ushering evil and death, both physical and spiritual, into the world.

A.             Scripture References:  Genesis 1:26-27, 2:17, 3:6, & Romans 5:12-19.

B.        Scholarly References:  Any good commentary on the book of Romans is worth having.  Tyndale Press makes an excellent commentary on the book of Romans by F.F. Bruce, which is a very valuable and informative resource on the most theological book in the Bible.


5.     Salvation:  Every person can have restored fellowship with God through 'salvation' by accepting Christ's offer of forgiveness for sin.

A.             Scripture References:  Luke 24:47, John 3:3-16, Romans 10:13-15, & Titus 2:11.

B.             Scholarly References:  Every Christian should own at least one theology book so they can see the basic doctrines of the Bible taught thoroughly throughout Scripture.  Moody Press makes a great beginners book called, “The Great Doctrines of the Bible”, by Williams Evans.


6.     Communion & Baptism:  The Bible teaches two practices that every Christian should participate in— (1) Water Baptism by Immersion after repenting of one's sins and receiving Christ's gift of salvation, and (2) Holy Communion (the Lord's Supper) as a symbolic remembrance of Christ's suffering and death for our salvation.

A.      Scripture References:  Baptism:  Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:16, & Acts 10:47-48.  Holy Communion:  Luke 22:19 & 1 Corinthians 11:25-26.

B.        Scholarly References:  Once again a basic theology book will teach these basic truths in depth.


7.     Final Judgment:  A Final Judgment will take place for those who have rejected Christ. They will be judged for their sin and sent to eternal damnation in a punishing lake of fire along with the Devil and his fallen angels.

Those who have been saved and have their names written in the Lamb’s book of life will be given a resurrected body and will live and dwell with God on the new earth forever.

A.             Scripture References:  Matthew 25:46. Mark 9:43-48, 2 Peter 3:13, & Revelations 19--22.

B.           Scholarly References:  Once again a basic theology book will teach these basic truths in depth.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Support the Gospel // Books for Pakistan!

Let's Change the World Together!
I have recently felt led by God to start sharing the needs of our movement with the rest of world. We have been supporting over 200 churches in 5 different nations for the last 4 years as a single church and we want to share the "load" with any and all who would like to help.  Please click here for a list of our churches.

// Our Part
1. We will be choosing one major need on a weekly/monthly basis
2. We will make a short video/blog to share the need
3. We will give a call to action to the Body of Christ via facebook/online media 

// Your Part
1. Pray for the need
2. Help spread the blog
3. Give whatever and whenever God says

// Details
* All the monies will go directly to the need being focused on
* All gifts will go through our ministry, Metro Praise
* Metro Praise is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization
* You give online right now by clicking this link!
* Need more info, please email info@metropraise.org or call 773.870.9860

// Current Need - Books for Pakistan Unreached People
Dear Brother Joe ,
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ !
We are very glad to share with you about Outreach Evangelistic and Healing meetings in Southern Punjab , There are very simple people and living very poor life .They have not basic needs of life even not purify water to drink . They use water from tanks which filled with canal water ,they have not schools , hospitals and there electricity failure more than 14 hours in a day .There are many groups of Hindus living in mud houses , Mostly Pastors not happy to go there and share words of God with them because of different reasons . we drive 15 hours to that place ( Faqeer wali and its nearby areas ) from Lahore city .Many Hindus accept the Lord Jesus Christ , many healed in His name . We share about Jesus Christ in homes , shops and in streets .
when we coming to home ,we have opportunity to preach in Shaiwal city, One of my friend invite me to preach in his church and there are one Muslim young boy who hearing words of God and he already read the Bible for ask questions to his class mates in School ,Holy Spirit touch him and He accept the Lord Jesus Christ .We request to you please pray for those new believers . We also want distribute books into Metro Praise Pastors, they request me several times for books.
We are thankful for Lord Jesus Christ who gave us resources for those people , we want to print 1000 ( each ) copies of all books and its cost is US $ 1200 .We are praying that God make it possible to support us to print the books .

Hope to hear from you as soon as....  
Blessings .
Your brother in Christ , 
_____________

// Video


// THANK YOU! 

CLICK HERE TO GIVE NOW! 


Note:  Since making the video I have started a online giving site that allows us to track the gifts- "We Pay," link is here.  Metro Praise members please still use the "Metro Praise Website Giving" only for regular giving and general mission funds.  All special projects will go through "We Pay"- thank you!