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ight before winter storm, Thor visited North Central West
Virginia a few months ago, I high tailed it to Charleston, South
Carolina to go to one of the largest, and
fastest-growing, American, local-church
assemblies, Seacoast Church (www.seacoast.org). My intent was to meet with the pastoral staff of Seacoast to pick their brains about how they’re doing church, and to worship during one of
Seacoast’s First Wednesday services. What unfolded was three days of church-growth education.
After rolling into town Tuesday, getting
a handle on my surroundings, and then having
a wonderful seafood dinner at a local joint with Rev. Jim and Jane Yohn, I prepared myself for the next day’s hours that would be filled with meetings with the Seacoast staff. I woke up Wednesday excited and salivating while
looking at the plate of church growth education I was about to receive. After a short drive and an even shorter walk through Seacoast’s
parking lot, I found myself seated with
Rev. Yohn, Jeanne Radekopf, Director of
Seacoast School of Worship, and Seacoast Lead Pastor Josh Surratt. Pastor Josh shared a brief history of Seacoast with me, I measured out a great deal of Kingdom history with him, then Pastor Josh quoted a paraphrased version of
Jethro’s words to Moses as recorded in Exodus
bad.” Like everyone who stands at the doorsteps of honesty, I was excited to hear everything we as Kingdom have been doing right for sixteen-
and-a-half years, but to hear that we are trying to run a large local assembly without utilizing every component of the fullness of God’s
blessing among us was a punch of reality to my gut. Pastor Josh’s point was well made: God has blessed Kingdom with over 1200
parishioners with a weekly attendance that
hovers at 700…he wants to use the spiritual gifts of every Christian in the midst and not simply
the gifts of a few. Now it’s time for Kingdom to minister within the very good of our tomorrows.
Jesus once said, “Those who do the will
of My Father in heaven are both my mother,
my brothers, and my sisters.” The Messiah and Pastor Josh are both calling Kingdom to see
among us the greatness of spiritual strength and
the diversity of spiritual gifts, and begin carrying out the will of the Father on a grand scale in our community. This edition of 540 is a picture of the gifts among us and a call for each of us to
engage in God’s next great work. Are you ready to cross the Jordan? There’s no other way to cross into the Promised Land except that we cross together!
Away we go, Pastor Kevin
18. Josh looked at me and said, “What you have done is very good. What you are doing is very
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Ebenezer
Post Sermon Response Times serve as your Personal Ebenezers by Jim Yohn
Historical Background In I Samuel 7:12 we read, “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying ‘Thus far has the Lord helped us.’” The Hebrew word “Ebenezer” means the stone of help. It also refers to Eben-Ezer, the Israelite/Philistine battle site located near the town of Mizpah, about 7.5 miles north of Jerusalem.
view with complete honesty the distinctiveness of its
distinguished by Samuel’s darkly prophetic, commem-
This stone signified the help of commemora-
tion, the help of recollection, and the help of demarcation. In its commemorative role, the stone honors and celebrates a significant Israelite victory over the Philistines.
However, in its recollection role, the stone
functions as a memory aid which links this victory with the prior Israelite failures that occurred at Eben-Ezer. This memory link provides the basis to 6
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current victory. It is here that Samuel’s words “thus far” have import for they connect the Eben-Ezer Philistine victories over the Israelites (see I Samuel 4:1 and 5:1), which included the Philistine capture of the Ark of the Covenant, with the current and decisive Israelite victory over the Philistines.
In its demarcation role, the Ebenezer stone, as
orative sentence –“Thus far has the Lord helped us.” -- signifies the difference between God’s leadership and man’s leadership. In I Samuel 8:4, several verses after Samuel sets up the Ebenezer stone, the elders of Israel demand that Samuel appoint a king to rule Israel, “. . . such as all the other nations have.” Shortly thereafter, Samuel hears perhaps the saddest words in the Old Testament when God says, “. . . it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.”
Kingdom EMC Post Sermon Response Opportunities
of Christ can provide. When a note is “nailed” to the cross, such nailing provides both certainty and clarity – we are certain that the holy power of God is available to help us, and we see with a far-sighted clarity that even death cannot limit God.
Kingdom EMC has determined that a parish-
ioner’s ability to respond personally to God’s still small voice is an important and empowering opportunity for spiritual communion with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These opportunities are Ebenezer opportunities. They are touch stones which help us to honor and celebrate what He has done in our lives, to recall in full honesty that our prior failures do not limit God’s love or His power to deliver, and to delineate His leadership from ours.
Kingdom EMC Ebenezer opportunities are
intensely private wherein one converses with God. They are intensely private for nothing can be hidden from Him whose attributes of omniscience and omnipresence mean that He knows the ache in your heart, He knows the cause of that ache, and He was with you when the ache began. It is a healing conversation where diagnosis involves the root and source of your pain plus the spiritual therapy necessary for a full and complete recovery.
The third touchstone is the lighted candle.
Not only does the light help us see the path we are on but the destination to which the path leads. The act of lighting a candle is an act of faith, enabling us to be sure of what we hope for and to be sure of what we do not see. Such faith prompts us to remember the need for the salvation of friends and loved ones, to remember the need for healing relationships, and to commemorate the memories of those who knew us and still loved us.
The fourth touchstone is anointed-with-oil
prayer. Sometimes, the burden we carry is too heavy to bear. Sometimes, the burden we carry leaves us alone, or worse, lonely. Sometimes, a friendly voice or the touch of compassion is necessary to anchor us in the here and now. Sometimes, there is more power where two or three are gathered in the Name of Christ. Thus, to be anointed with oil and receive the prayer help of fellow Christians promotes faith and peace because it is tangible evidence that Christ is present and in His presence lives the love He promised.
The first touchstone is the somber celebration
of Christ’s last supper whereby we remember that His body was given for our healing and His blood was spilled for the remission of our sins. For when we eat the bread and drink from the cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. That is a very powerful “until.”
You Are Invited Kingdom EMC invites all who attend her worship services to respond to the call of God as presented during the sermon. These Ebenezer opportunities,
The second touchstone is the wooden cross.
Here we place written notes to the God of Love, asking Him for help, thanking Him for help, reminding ourselves of the need for help, sealing a decision we have
these four touchstones are provided for you to be used in the privacy of your hearts for communion with the God who controls the universe’s 30 billion trillion stars and who understands your heart.
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by Rev. Kevin Cain
For five weeks after the celebration of the Messiah’s resurrection we have been talking about the hunger for a deepening relationship with the Godhead every genuine Christian should have.
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At some point of every Christian’s life there should be a progressive movement towards, and, ultimately, within the cyclical life of the mature and maturing Christian that is: uninterruptible personal devotion time, empowering intentional discipleship, and active ministry. Now, there’s not much fear to be associated with heading to one’s prayer closet and spending a little quality time with God, nor should there be any trepidation with asking a seasoned Christian friend how to grow in a relationship with Christ. Neither of those poses much of a problem. Where we run into trouble is when we have to take the show of our redeemed heart in Christ on the road, so to speak. When private faith is called to become public witness, now the close-to-the-ground, wide platform upon which the individual is standing is transformed at light speed into the narrowest of tightropes perched precipitously over the falls of Niagara. 540 MAGAZINE | May Edition 2015
The Holy Spirit has secured and nestled spiritual gifts in the hearts of this generation. Still, like the disciples, this generation is sometimes fearful of publicly living out those gifts. The disciples were both figuratively and literally, in and out, of the same boat we find ourselves. Luke 9:10-17 records the well-known Feeding of the Five Thousand miracle. How surprised the disciples must have been when after trying to compassionately send away the thousands in attendance to buy food to eat, to find Ol’ Jesus throwing a hard-breaking slider, saying, “Don’t send them away…YOU FEED THEM.”? I can only imagine the disciples saying, “You feed them?!?! It's not humanly possible for us to pull that off. We have five loaves, two fish, and an impressive Messiah figure here Who can definitely fit the bill, but what makes You possibly believe we should ask the long-awaited Messiah to step to the side so that we can work the miracle instead of You, Jesus?” If Jesus is there and more than qualified to work the miracle, why in the world would the Creator want to manifest His glory through His creation instead of Himself?
Dear friends, the Bridegroom’s bride, is the clearest picture of the presence of Christ the world can ever see in the absence of the Second Person of the Trinity. Jesus was setting a standard among the First Century disciples, so that the 21st Century, Holy Spirit-filled Church would see the necessity of active ministry as one of God’s primary tools for advancing the Gospel visibly. A fully participating, empowered Church of united believers with a diversity of gifts in the power of the same Spirit is the hardest witness to deny. We are a fully fueled vehicle with an engine longing to be fired an running at full capacity. The Scriptures teach that the man with the legion of demons could not be controlled or even chained, and this power was actuated from a demonic motivation. In an even greater way that is holy, when the Church is committed to uninterruptible personal devotion time and active, intentional discipleship, then She becomes empowered for active ministry. When within that flow of unity of the Body and empowerment of Holy Spirit the Bride cannot fail. We no longer stand near the ground on a wide platform, nor are we on a tightrope above Niagara Falls. It isn’t an issue of creation underneath our feet. Our foundation becomes the Creator through Whom and in Whom we owe our existence. With this Divine bedrock no foot of any member of the Church can ever be dashed against a stone.
months…I look to the fields and see now.” Or, even, Jesus speaking of a widow placing a mite to a visually lazy band of merry men, “Did you see that? Did you see who gave more than anything?” God doesn’t have an agenda. The only agenda God has is the reconciliation of creation, the edification of the Church, and the sending of said Church into the fields of harvest. Brothers and sisters in Christ, there is no other option. We must minister. “You feed them!” The cycle of Christian maturity is completed when one third of the circle is filled with uninterruptible personal devotion time, the second third with empowering intentional discipleship, and the final third with active ministry. Christian consummation is to be seen no other way. We are the visibility of the Messiah to this world.
“You feed them!”
We, then, through the advocacy of Christ, and in the power of Holy Spirit, minister the will of the Father to a Church that always should be being built, and to a world that is lost at varying degrees which, regardless of degrees, always results in eternal death.
But, to whom do we minister? Very simply stated, “Look around you.” Who has God placed right in front of you? Everyone has someone, so the question is not, “Who?” The question properly asked by every Christian is, “Am I surrendered to seeing who is right in front of me?” Get alone with God and ask Holy Spirit, “Am I conscious? Am I aware? Am I noticing Your movement? Am I listening for Your voice?” Too often we develop a list of targets and try to check them off, or, in some instances, take them out. This is improper. God wants us to stop and pay attention. Whether it’s Jesus contrastingly saying, “You look to the fields and see 540 MAGAZINE | May Edition 2015
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M ARY M AGDALENE ave you ever felt totally rejected? Ever felt like you're under constant attack from the enemy? Ever felt like your life was totally hopeless? Ever felt like giving up? The Lord stands ready to heal you completely and send you into ministry. Mary Magdalene was possessed by seven demons. Then she experienced the transformational power of Jesus. "After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with Him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, 12
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the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means," Luke 8: 1--3, NIV.
Mary Magdalene was possessed by evil. We don't know what she went through, but we know from the Gospels people who are possessed by evil spirits may struggle with self-mutilation, cutting; sexual immorality; worshipping false gods; violence. Note Mark 5: 1—5.
Where do you need the healing power of Jesus Christ right now? No matter what you're going through, Jesus stands ready/willing/able to give you spiritual healing and send you into ministry.
After Jesus healed Mary Magdalene, she followed Him very faithfully: Mary was with Jesus during His preaching, teaching, healing, leadership ministry; Mary was with Him when Jesus was suffering on the cross. We find it difficult to watch, The Passion of the Christ. Mary Magdalene was there. She saw Him die on the cross. Mary was there when Joseph and Nicodemus took Jesus' body down from the cross; Mary was with Jesus when they laid His body in the tomb; Mary was there early in the morning on that first Easter Sunday. Mary Magdalene was the first person to see the resurrected Jesus. Not Simon Peter. Not John. Not James. Not Andrew. Mary. Study John 20: 10—18. “Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary [Magdalene] stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put Him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. “Woman,” He said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking He was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward Him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that He had said these things to her,” John 20: 1—18, NIV. Mary was the first person to be commissioned to spread the Gospel. She had been possessed by seven demons; now she is an eye-witness to Jesus' resurrection and a teacher of God's good news. You will experience radical transformation when Jesus gives you spiritual healing and when you spend serious time in His holy Presence. Worship Him. Follow Him. Stay with Him. Abide in Him. Stay in His Word. Fulfill your ministry.
Note carefully: Mary spent about three years following Jesus and serving Him before she began her ministry of spreading the Good News. If Jesus can heal Mary Magdalene and use her in ministry, He can do the same for you. From Matthew Henry: "It was [Mary Magdalene] out of whom He had cast seven devils; much was forgiven her, and much was given her, and done for her, and she loved much; and this honour Christ did for her, that she was the first that saw Him after His resurrection. The closer we cleave to Christ, the sooner we may expect to see Him, and the more to see of Him," Matthew Henry's Commentary. Abide in Him. Serve Him. Live your life by the Word of God, for the people of God . . .
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by Daniel Strosnider
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or more than a decade, Kingdom has been actively engaged with high school kids and athletics. Athletes' EDGE, formally known as FCA, has a strong connection with Morgantown High School athletes and will continue to build on that relationship. We, as a staff at Kingdom EMC, are also moving forward and planning to expand this athletic based outreach to all of Monongalia County in the coming years. God has a great plan for this ministry and continues to provide for our programs. With the continuing growth and development of this ministry, we will need even more support.
His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins, He put light into a dark world. We all can carry that light because of Jesus' sacrifice and gain any power we have from Him. As we start a new chapter this fall for Athletes' EDGE, my prayer is that each athlete that is ministered to will embrace the light of Christ that lives in each of them and say "Yes" to salvation and be set on fire to live for Jesus Christ.
Our Bible study lessons will start the last
Thursday in August and we will continue to meet every Thursday into November. Each study will consist of a short video clip, scripture, and application. Athletes' EDGE will meet in the new chapel at Kingdom EMC at 5:30 in the evening. Our staff is in place and eager to start a new season. Our main goal is to always
The purpose of The Athletes' EDGE is to
provide kids with a sit down meal where they can enjoy
engage student athletes with the gospel and to move
the fellowship of each other and, more importantly, be
them toward Spiritual Maturity through the EDGE
offered an opportunity to gain a relationship with Jesus
Discipleship Programs in order to create champions for
Christ. We want to provide everyone with a chance to
Jesus Christ. Athletes' EDGE is a great evangelism
see what we are all about, so on Saturday June 27th at
opportunity to reach our community and, by reaching
6:00 pm we will be hosting a fundraiser dinner at
the community, we hope to see more families and
Kingdom EMC. Not only can you come out and
athletes become involved in weekly corporate worship.
enjoy Holy Smoke famous BBQ cooked by Kevin Cain
As athletes become a part of our congregation, they will
and me, but you can see the great work God is doing
have great opportunities to grow in their faith through
through this ministry. Any donation that is given will be
fellowship at retreats and small group meetings. As
strictly used for the ministry and is greatly appreciated.
these student athletes become more committed in their walk with Christ, they will be able to go deeper and
These kids are pulled in so many different
live closer to Christ through discipleship with focus on
directions and the world is constantly changing, but
prayer, fasting, scripture study, worship, and ministry.
God's Word will always remain the same. God has
We want to make disciples that will not only go and
called me to share His word with young people all over
minister, but ultimately make more disciples.
Mon County and let His light shine out for all to see. Come join us on June 27th and experience how God is
In 2 Corinthians, Paul repeats something God
changing athletes' lives.
spoke that remains true to this day: God is the one who said, "Let there be light in the darkness". He has made that light shine in our hearts, so we could know the glory of God; the same glory that was seen on Jesus' face. When God became flesh by sending
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TWO MISSION TRIP OPPORTUNITIES Peru
Wheelwright
September 13-19 Wheelwright, KY Building a playground for children in impoverished former coal mining community $800 pp
OR November 6-14 Huaycan, Peru Work on Peru Hope Office & Huaycan Community Outreach Center, in addition to a clean water project and delivery of Christmas gifts to local children $2,250 pp Passport Required
If you are interested in joining a mission experience or have questions contact Pastor Alan Hulley at alanhulley@comcast.net
Serving changes everything. Lead the way. 16
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Here am I. Send me! by Rev. Alan M. Hulley Last July, I had the privilege of leading a team of 12 people from Kingdom EMC on a short-term mission trip to Tecate, a Mexican border town about an hour south of San Diego. During our time in Tecate, we worked, played, and laughed alongside the “Big Family” at San Juan Bosco Orphanage. It’s impossible to capture the movement of the Lord among the group in mere words, but I know one thing for sure; if you were to ask anyone who stepped out of his/her comfort zone and ended up at an orphanage in Mexico, you’ll be sure to hear him/her say, at least once, that it was a life changing experience. I began serving the Lord through short-term missions 12 years ago with World Servants, an organization that mobilizes followers of Christ to serve with communities around the world. World Servants works closely with local leaders in each community to make sure that the work and ministry being done is that which the locals deem relevant and necessary. This long-term involvement with local leaders has allowed World Servants to build close, intimate relationships based on openness and trust. I can honestly say that the work being done by World Servants is that which is welcomed in each and every community worldwide and is evidenced by the smiles and handshakes upon arrival and the long hugs and tears that occur when it’s time to leave. There’s a strange phenomenon that occurs during a short-term mission trip. Almost always we plan on being a blessing to those we are going to serve, and the good news is, we are! We bring much needed resources, building materials, and strong backs that make light the work and allow an extraordinary amount of construction and ministry to get accomplished in a short period of time. But during this time of sweating and pushing aching muscles to an unfamiliar fatigue is something often unexpected: the softening of our hearts by the Holy Spirit. As we serve, the Spirit stirs and we begin to understand that maybe, just maybe, we are the actual recipients of the blessing. We begin to realize that once we are outside of our comfortable lives, the Lord has room to work in us and through us. We recognize that we have something to offer the Kingdom of God after all. We learn about ourselves and about others that we barely knew when the trip began, and we see just how needed and privileged we are as the “sent ones” of Christ. Often, this kind of understanding only comes when we look beyond ourselves and focus a little of our time and attention on others. This year, I invite you to join me, September 13-19, as I lead a team from Kingdom to Wheelwright, Kentucky. While in Wheelwright, we will be building a playground for the
children of this greatly impoverished former coal mining community to enjoy. This is sure to be an amazing experience because we will be working with members of the Wheelwright community to make their hometown a little brighter for future generations. If you’re not able to serve with us in Kentucky, then you may want to consider traveling November 6-14 to Huaycan, Peru. While in Peru, we will be continuing the work that has already begun on the Peru Hope Office and Huaycan Community Outreach Center. This center will serve as the office for a local ministry called Peru Hope and will also double as a vital place for community development that seeks to improve the standard of living for children and families in Huaycan by providing a safe place for community gatherings and life-skills training. As if this isn’t enough, we may also have the opportunity to provide assistance with a clean water project in a neighboring community, as well as, helping to deliver Christmas gifts to local children. If you’re interested in either one or both of these mission opportunities, grab an information sheet, and if the Spirit is leading you to step out in faith, then please feel free to sign up on the sheet in the Living Room. Please know that you are free to contact me any time at alanhulley@comcast.net for questions or concerns. Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” ~ Isaiah 6:8 540 MAGAZINE | May Edition 2015
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was raised in Church and had always participated in regular Sunday worship. However, I was almost 41 years old before a guest minister in my regular church, at the time, challenged the congregation to make spiritual growth a New Year’s Resolution. This challenge resonated with me, not because I was in the depths of despair nor in the middle of an extreme crisis, but because my relationship with Jesus Christ had been limited to meeting with him on Sunday morning, and I wondered if there was more. At that time, one of the main changes I made in my life was that I started regularly reading my Bible. Once I started reading daily, I realized that even though I had been in Church my entire life, I had NEVER had a pastor encourage me to read the Bible regularly. I also realized that while I was very familiar with lots of scriptures, there were lots of other scriptures with which I wasn’t familiar or even aware. Regular reading and studying the Bible literally changed my life. Understanding scripture made me aware that I wasn’t living my life, or making decisions, consistent with God’s word, a word that I wasn’t even fully aware existed before 2006. The further I went into seeking a relationship with God, the more God worked in my life to better align my marriage (which wasn’t bad), my profession (which was fine) and all other aspects of my life (which was going ok) with His word, blessing me more than I ever thought possible - making my marriage, my profession and other aspects of my life even better. Because of these changes in our lives, my husband and I left the church we had attended for 28 years - the church where we had been married, the church where our children had been dedicated, and we made the decision to start attending Kingdom. That decision has now been almost five years ago. What was different about Kingdom and why we made this change was that Kingdom is about God’s entire word, not just selected scriptures from here or there. Kingdom focuses on difficult areas where hard choices need to be made, not just the “feel good” scriptures that we all know. Kingdom has encouraged me to go deeper in my relationship with Jesus Christ and taught me how to grow through prayer, fasting, scripture study, worship and ministry. For me, Sunday morning is no longer a social hour, but a deep desire to “Save, Build and Send.” Additionally, as I grew deeper in my relationship with Jesus Christ, I
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found myself feeling like the Pharisee who stood by himself in the temple and prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people – robbers, evildoers, adulterers ….” (Luke 18:11) While I was so grateful for my spiritual growth and God’s presence with me at all times, I suddenly became very aware of everyone else’s sins. As God was aligning me with His word, I participated in a Bible study that radically changed my life. This study revealed to me that my new “enhanced” awareness of others’ sins was not for comparison to make me feel better, but was God showing me that these people are my burden to carry. So the next time I became aware of such a situation, it wasn’t “oh look at that sinner” but it was now “what am I going to do about it.” Where Kingdom needs to go is to stay focused on the five principals: prayer, scripture study, fasting, worship and ministry. While this has been Kingdom’s message for the majority of the five years we have been attending here, I believe there are still many individuals who have not adopted these principles into their daily lives nor grasped the necessity to practice these disciplines to live a spirit-filled life. There is no substitute for these basic principles, and there is no other way to get there. While it seems like a simple message, and it isn’t complicated, it is so important and imperative that it’s worthy of repeating over and over again. I don’t want people to fall into the same trap that I was in, thinking that I knew the Bible because I went to church every Sunday, when really I knew a very small portion. Once I started reading regularly, I realized that it was impossible for me to live a Godly life when I didn’t know all God’s instructions. As Kingdom grows, I think it is extremely important to continue to be aware that Church pews across the country are filled with people who haven’t experienced a salvation change. Prior to 2006, I was one of them. I believe that Kingdom continues to face the difficult challenges of meeting people at all different stages of spiritual growth. While I appreciate the sermons on worship, ministry and sending, there are lots of other people who need a different message. Therefore, I believe as a congregation (within Kingdom) it is time to be accountable and to hold each other accountable. All of us need to step out of our comfort zones and be willing to share our stories, participate in small groups and be willingly to be paired with another person or family for a mentoring period. Remember that those sins we see in others are our burdens too. One person can’t meet everyone at his/her stage of spiritual growth, but as a congregation, we can. I know that God has been preparing me for such a time as this, and I’m excited to see where God takes us from here. by Cindy Scott
magine it is the turn of the 19th century and you are part of the largest movement this country has known. It is “The Restoration Movement”, a Christian movement that began on the US frontier during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century. The pioneers of this movement were seeking to reform the church from within and sought "the unification of all Christians in a single body patterned after the church of the New Testament." (Please go online and read about it). Like “The Restoration Movement” that developed from several independent strands of religious revival, I can see the same happening here at KEMC. Interesting to me is that this began in KY, PA, and WV back then and I believe is happening again. The first, led by Barton W. Stone, began at Cane Ridge, KY, and identified as "Christians". The second began in western PA and VA (now WV) and was led by Thomas Campbell and his son, Alexander Campbell, Both groups sought to restore the whole Christian church on the pattern set forth in the New Testament, and both believed that creeds kept Christianity divided. In 1832 they joined in fellowship with a handshake. Among other things, they were united in the belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; both groups promoted a return to the purposes of the 1stcentury churches as described in the New Testament. The Restoration Movement has been characterized by several key principles: Christianity should not be divided; Christ intended the creation of one church. Thus, the church ‘should stress only what all Christians hold in common and should suppress all divisive doctrines and practices'. A number of slogans have been used in the Restoration Movement; two of my favorites are "We are Christians only, but not the only Christians." and "In essentials, unity; in opinions, liberty; in all things love." They focused more on holy and righteous living than on the forms and structures of the early church. This movement had so much impact that by 1832, 22,000 members were associated and by 1906: 1,142,359. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said, "Upon this rock I will build my church." This "rock" upon which the Lord promised to construct His church was His own deity, or the FACT that He (Jesus) was the Christ, the son of God. Upon this firm foundation Jesus promised to erect a spiritual
Kingdom with Himself as the "chief cornerstone." Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, and others abandoned their formal denominations with hopes of establishing a church based solely on the New Testament. With their belief in Jesus as the only model and the Bible as the only sacred book, they endeavored to re-establish Christ's church as it had been during the time of the apostles after the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. So I see Kingdom launching a 2nd restoration. Next would be where do I see Kingdom needing to go? Bluntly speaking to hell! Matthew 16: 18 “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Gates do not march at people; people must march towards those gates. I see us going beyond relevant, going fully into truth. Storming said gates and rescuing lost souls. Jesus already told us the gates cannot overcome. How you may ask is God going to do this? By Faith, that is us displaying that faith; Hebrews 11: 6 -and without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek him. 16- Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 12: 28- therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. 36- You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37- For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” 38- And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” 39- But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved. I also believe that God is going to do this through Kingdom by raising up our young men to be mighty warriors of the faith, and our young ladies to be the beauty that would be intended when the Bride wears white. They will be the jewels in our crown. So, In conclusion I invite you in to a prayer I said years ago that went like this. Dear Father, instead of me begging you to bless what I am doing, would you please let me in on what you are Blessing? If you do so buckle up and enjoy the ride. by Brent Wilmoth
540 MAGAZINE | May Edition 2015
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540 MAGAZINE | May Edition 2015