ChoGdevo-Lent2018-Intro-Week1
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Author Archives: David Aukerman
Holiness: A Lenten Devotional
Click here to download this free, electronic Lenten devotional on the topic of holiness.
Twenty Church of God ministers have combined their efforts to create “Holiness: A Lenten Devotional.” The purpose of this project is to provide the Church of God with a high-quality, easy-to-engage set of devotionals for the season of Lent. This project intends to remain focused on God and the scriptures while speaking words of life to the people of the Church of God.
This project explores the concept of holiness from a biblical perspective. Combining theology with practice, daily devotionals from Ash Wednesday (February 14) through Easter Sunday (April 1) cover four major themes:
- God is Holy: theological foundations
- Holy Ground: biblical instances of holiness
- Holy People: our call to live holy lives
- Holy Week: the journey to the cross and empty tomb
Each theme is introduced by additional reflections from professors at the Anderson University School of Theology and Christian Ministry and is accompanied by original artwork from one member of our team.
Unique to this project is a practical reflection on each Sunday during Lent. Instead of a regular devotional on Sundays, you will find pragmatic ideas of how to live out the concepts of holiness that you have considered through the week.
We hope that this resource will help you, your loved ones, and your congregation to draw closer to God, to be holy as God is holy, and to imitate the holiness of Jesus during this upcoming season of Lent.
These daily devotionals are available as a single PDF file (click here to download), and each will be posted daily on this site from February 14 through April 1.
Coming Soon – Holiness: A Lenten Devotional
Twenty Church of God ministers have combined their efforts to create “Holiness: A Lenten Devotional,” a free electronic resource which is available at this link. The purpose of this project is to provide the Church of God with a high-quality, easy-to-engage set of devotionals for the season of Lent. This project intends to remain focused on God and the scriptures while speaking words of life to the people of the Church of God.
This project explores the concept of holiness from a biblical perspective. Combining theology with practice, daily devotionals from Ash Wednesday (February 14) through Easter Sunday (April 1) cover four major themes:
- God is Holy: theological foundations
- Holy Ground: biblical instances of holiness
- Holy People: our call to live holy lives
- Holy Week: the journey to the cross and empty tomb
Each theme is introduced by additional reflections from professors at the Anderson University School of Theology and Christian Ministry and is accompanied by original artwork from one member of our team.
Unique to this project is a practical reflection on each Sunday during Lent. Instead of a regular devotional on Sundays, you will find pragmatic ideas of how to live out the concepts of holiness that you have considered through the week.
We hope that this resource will help you, your loved ones, and your congregation to draw closer to God, to be holy as God is holy, and to imitate the holiness of Jesus during this upcoming season of Lent.
SCOTUS, Sexuality, and Sheep vs. Goats
Download: 2015-07-05_SNS-Evang3_KeepFocus
On July 5, 2015, in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in the United States, Shannon New Spangler preached on Matthew 25:31-46 in her local ministry setting, Harvest Point Church in Lordstown, Ohio.
“This decision … needs to be discussed so we know what our place is.”
“When we say no to loving, to being graceful, to being merciful, we set limits on who is worthy of God’s love, and that’s an indictment not on them, but on us. And God says, when you do this, you are a goat.”
Please listen to this important sermon. (download or play below)
Change in the Church of God
Real, substantive, meaningful change. That’s what we are hoping for, and that’s what we began to see in the Church of God Convention last week in Oklahoma City.
This was the second year in a row that the major CHOG Convention was held outside of our home base in Anderson, Indiana. Attendance was up, excitement was up, unity was up. Mean attitudes or doubting spirits were less present this year, compared to last year when the change was still fresh and not well understood. Continue reading
Church of God Convention 2015
As this year’s convention in Oklahoma City draws to a close, we find ourselves musing on many ideas, topics, and questions that have been raised throughout the week. A few of us have been able to attend this convention; others of us have watched online from home. And as we draw our thoughts together, we hope to share them with each other – and with you – in this space. It has been a rich and thought-provoking week!
Posts about the 2015 Church of God Convention:
Our Contribution to the Kingdom
What is the unique contribution that the Movement makes to the
Kingdom in the world today?
In a recent post, Joe gave us an excellent starting point to the discussion of this second “Why” question, the second of three questions posed by our General Director Jim Lyon about the purpose and mission of the Church of God at this stage in our life together. In this space, I will identify a few strengths of Joe’s argument and then sum up, hopefully, a concise, one-sentence answer to the above question. Continue reading
The “Why” Questions
Our denomination, the Church of God (Anderson), is doing some introspective investigation these days. We have been in existence since the 1880s, and our self-understanding has shifted and changed through the course of time. We now stand “at the crossroads,” as it were. Our leaders, from General Director Jim Lyon on down, are asking three important questions about why we exist as a body of believers.
These are crucial questions, and we hope to contribute our answers to them:
(A) If you could capture in one sentence, “What is the purpose of the Church of God Movement?” what would it be?
- Read “The Purpose of the Church of God” by Jonathan Frymire.
- More coming soon!
(B) What is the unique contribution that the Movement makes to the Kingdom in the world today?
- Read “The Church of God and the Kingdom At Large” by Joe Watkins.
- Read David Aukerman’s response, “Our Contribution to the Kingdom.”
(C) Upon what should the Movement focus going forward?
- Read “Our Focus As We Move Forward” by Shannon New Spangler.
- Read Jael Tang’s response, “Moving Forward.”
A Missionary Church
What does it mean to be the Church of God? What contributions does this group make toward broader Christianity? These and other questions have been on our minds since we began this series on the strands that comprise “the fabric of what it means to be God’s church.” Now, as this series draws to close, we have one last perspective to consider. For God’s church to truly be God’s church, it must be a missionary church.
In recent decades, Christians have written tremendous amounts of material on the meaning of “missions” and “missionary work.” These terms have been interpreted and acted upon differently by various groups over the years. Denominations of all varieties have sent people to foreign countries in order to spread the gospel of Christ. Some groups have practiced door-to-door evangelism in local communities. Short-term missions trips are an implicit prerequisite for understanding the world and, perhaps, for being a “good” Christian. In our own movement, Church of God women have historically raised money and provided tangible goods for missionaries all around the world. Continue reading