"Homeland" Security

[Cris413]

There has been quite a bit of discussion lately regarding our civic duty/responsibility as Christians in the world.

Should we or shouldn't we be involved...and if so....or not....to what degree and to what purpose?

My husband and I recently started watching a series called Homeland Security by Calvary Chapel Pastor Skip Heitzig from Albuquerque NM.

So far....IMHO.... he seems to quite clearly and reasonably take a biblical view of these very questions.

Here's the first study:

Calvary of Albuquerque Webcast - Threat Level - Red?


....and the link to the series if anyone is interested.

Calvary of Albuquerque - Christian Church Services Albuquerque New Mexico


Please notice the dates...the series starts at the bottom and works up

 

[Cris413]

We just finished Fractured Families-Broken Lives and we are really loving this series...I hope someone out there takes a look at some point.

Skip is quickly becoming one of my favorite pastor/teachers.

 

[Jim47]

I doubt there is anyone here who hates this liberal communist agenda our so called lawmakers have then I do, and yes I am quite outspoken

2nd point, Cris I think the world of you, have had utsmost respect for you and hubby for long time, yer great folks

That being said, our worldly affairs are not the concern if the Christian church, Jesus bride


Our jobs as Christians is to witness to the lost and bring them back to Jesus.

I fully believe in the seperation of church and state and hope we can keep that till Our Lord returns, but I doubt it, evil times are upon us.

There is nothing wrong with Christians taking an interest in our government, however I could never do this. I did write my congressmen and told him I would fire him for voting for cap and trade though , Umm, I live in Michigan, the most liberal state in the union, so I doubt that gets far heh?

 

[Cris413]

I doubt there is anyone here who hates this liberal communist agenda our so called lawmakers have then I do, and yes I am quite outspoken

2nd point, Cris I think the world of you, have had utsmost respect for you and hubby for long time, yer great folks

That being said, our worldly affairs are not the concern if the Christian church, Jesus bride


Our jobs as Christians is to witness to the lost and bring them back to Jesus.

I fully believe in the seperation of church and state and hope we can keep that till Our Lord returns, but I doubt it, evil times are upon us.

There is nothing wrong with Christians taking an interest in our government, however I could never do this. I did write my congressmen and told him I would fire him for voting for cap and trade though , Umm, I live in Michigan, the most liberal state in the union, so I doubt that gets far heh?

I understand Jim...but this video series is about "Home" land Security....meaning our homes and lives being subject to God first and foremost.....

example....while it's all well and good to have concerns about our borders and such....our concern should be more so the borders of our homes and God the center of our homes....

....the attack Pastor Skip is addressing....is the enemy's attack on our homes and families....

take a look at the sermon titles........
IOW....what our priorities should be and how we can have peace in not so peaceful times!

an overview:

We live in a country that is on constant guard to preserve the democracy and freedom of its current state. But do we pay as much attention to the security of our souls as we do the security of our nation?

Pastor Skip Heitzig breaks apart the basic components of today's society and looks at the threats that believers face at every level: personally, family, communally, nationally, and globally. This series focuses on what God's word says about each of these levels of society and how we can best follow God's original plan for our lives, our family, and the rest of the world.




...and we think the world of you too...

 

[Jim47]

I guess you know I didn't watch the video huh?

me bad

 

[BustedFlat]

I doubt there is anyone here who hates this liberal communist agenda our so called lawmakers have then I do, and yes I am quite outspoken

2nd point, Cris I think the world of you, have had utsmost respect for you and hubby for long time, yer great folks

That being said, our worldly affairs are not the concern if the Christian church, Jesus bride


Our jobs as Christians is to witness to the lost and bring them back to Jesus.

I fully believe in the seperation of church and state and hope we can keep that till Our Lord returns, but I doubt it, evil times are upon us.

There is nothing wrong with Christians taking an interest in our government, however I could never do this. I did write my congressmen and told him I would fire him for voting for cap and trade though , Umm, I live in Michigan, the most liberal state in the union, so I doubt that gets far heh?

Jim, thanks for the kind words, the respect goes both ways.

If we study up on what was meant by "separation of church and state" reading the papers of the founders one will clearly see there is NO such intent of separation in the Constitution.

The phrase is "Freedom of religion", not "free of religion".

The concept of separating the state from religion was first brought out by the supreme court in 1878 and was enshrined in law in a series of cases from 1945 forward.

When Jefferson talked about separating church from the state it was from the standpoint of keeping the state out of the church, and as a point of fact acknowledged that the experiment would fail with out a moral God fearing society.

The 13 colonies were founded by men and women escaping a regime that had taken over the church and dictated that all had to adhere to the whims of the King in all regards, including worship. Their whole reason for being was to be able to worship as their faith guided, not as the government dictated. That phrase and concept was taken, turned upside down and enshrined by the atheists using a liberal court to achieve their goal of separating the society from God.

It is imperative that Christians take an interest in all that effect us and our families. Our witness to the world is not what we say but what we do. That includes insisting that whoever we vote and campaign for supports things like respect for life of every human, as David says, "For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb.(Psa 139:13 NASB )".

 

[Auntie]

Jim, thanks for the kind words, the respect goes both ways.

If we study up on what was meant by "separation of church and state" reading the papers of the founders one will clearly see there is NO such intent of separation in the Constitution.

The phrase is "Freedom of religion", not "free of religion".

The concept of separating the state from religion was first brought out by the supreme court in 1878 and was enshrined in law in a series of cases from 1945 forward.

When Jefferson talked about separating church from the state it was from the standpoint of keeping the state out of the church, and as a point of fact acknowledged that the experiment would fail with out a moral God fearing society.

The 13 colonies were founded by men and women escaping a regime that had taken over the church and dictated that all had to adhere to the whims of the King in all regards, including worship. Their whole reason for being was to be able to worship as their faith guided, not as the government dictated. That phrase and concept was taken, turned upside down and enshrined by the atheists using a liberal court to achieve their goal of separating the society from God.

It is imperative that Christians take an interest in all that effect us and our families. Our witness to the world is not what we say but what we do. That includes insisting that whoever we vote and campaign for supports things like respect for life of every human, as David says, "For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb.(Psa 139:13 NASB )".

Excellent post, thank you.

 

[ReformedChapin]

I listened to the sermon on 1 Chronicles 12:32. While he gave several valid points of "spiritual warfare" and by that he seems to define it on the attack of the culture on Christianity. He used a verse that has no contemporary application but instead is a piece of Redemptive History.

As far as content wise. Yes, it is good to understand our our times. But its something that all Christians through history have had to deal with. The early church had also fought with heresy from Gnosticism and Pelagianism now we are dealing with Liberalism and Inclusivism. I'm sorry to say but what else is new? Scripturally several times states we live in a fallen world and while we live here in this world for a time we are citizens of the world above.

Next I will address the points I did like. First is the fact that I agree we should be protecting your families. I agree that this world is in a fallen state and they are confused. I agree that a large portion of the Church or Christianity is confused as well worrying about their salvation common problem with their arminanism.

Finally, I don't understand why we are getting a sermon on being involved politically ( I think). He ended by stating we should focus on things that have an internal impact so there was a little mix of messages there. Again what does this mean? Shouldn't we focus more on theological issues? Let people get involved in politics based on their theological conscience? I see here too much focus on what we need to do and not what God is doing and has done. God is the driving force of the universe.

my 2 cents.

 

[Cris413]

Thanks for your input RC...and you're right this is nothing new....there is nothing new under the sun....and the Bible isn't new either yet we keep reading and studying it...

Again...thanks for watching and commenting and I hope you watch the rest...the teaching you watched is basically an intro to the study series which so far I found to be quite encouraging and convicting in a few places...

...such as....it's all right to be civically aware but there is much more to our civic responsibilities than simply voting and writing our Congressmen...

...and as Christians we can and should make a difference in our youth....I think it is in either the third or fourth teaching...he notes that there are 1.7 million teens living on the streets....

...again...this isn't a new problem...but it is certainly one that shouldn't be ignored by the church and many do fine jobs ministering to the needs of the homeless and helpless...and we can always do more...

starting in our own homes to raise up children in the way they should go and extending that love to their friends and in youth centered programs....Big Brothers and Big Sisters and such...

Anyway...the series...IMHO....(and I haven't watched them all yet) seems to be more so encouraging us to be about recognizing the attack on our homes and society...buidling better God centered foundations for our families and encouraging us to reach out into the community was well....as Christians.


....it's all well and good to speak out against what we see happening in our country politically and socially...and we should be saying....hey...look at what's happening....but we should also be about stepping up doing....as my hubby mentioned....it's not always what we say that has impact...but more so what we "do" and I for one....consider all Pastors should be encouraging such things from the pulpit....to be doers of the word...and not just hearers....and often times....that starts right in our own homes.

And while many already have those hearts, mindsets and committments to serve the Lord and put feet to faith...it's always good to keep up the encouragement....