Celebrate Your Freedom In Christ

By: Min. Angela Lee Price

In this month of outdoor festivities and fireworks, we celebrate freedom and independence. Here on the Jesus Saves Social Network, we celebrate the Christians' freedom in Christ everyday.  Freedom in Christ describes the spiritual liberty, or freedom, we have as followers of Jesus Christ.  Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have been set free from the  power and the penalty of sin.  We have been set free from the obligation to obey God's laws in our own strength. The Bible states, "So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.  And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death"(Romans 8:1-2). 

  

Freedom in Christ affords us the power to obey God out of love rather that obligation.  Freedom in Christ allows us by the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome temptation and those sins that so easily beset us.   Freedom does not give us the right to do whatever we want, disregarding God's laws, but gives us power to keep His commandments.  Romans 6:1-2 states, "Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace?  Of course not!  Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?"

Brothers and sisters, not only do we celebrate freedom in Christ, we celebrate freedom with Christ.  Jesus is alive now at the right hand of the Father making intercessions for us.  Jesus is a friend who sticks closer than a brother!  We live with Christ right now through the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:10-11 states, "And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God.  The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you.  And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you." Isn't that good news!  And when we get to heaven, Jesus has prepared an eternal home for us free from the very presence of sin in our lives (John 3:16). Glory to God!

Brothers and sisters, God has given us freedom to live not only in Christ and with Christ, but for Christ.  Here in the USA, we enjoy tremendous religious freedom. Please don't take it for granted. As the birds sing, and the "Son" shines, take advantage of the freedom you have to share that powerful testimony God has given you, that Scripture He has placed on your heart, that sermon excerpt that in faith will become a rhema word for a weary soul, that upcoming revival, conference or ministry event, that prayer request or praise report, and that birthday greeting or note of encouragement.  Use your freedom to become an instrument of God's drawing and saving power in someone's life. Has Jesus broken every chain that had you bound in sin and shame?  Has Jesus set you free?  We would love to hear what great and marvelous things God is doing in your life today.

We are blessed by your presence here, but we know in faith that the best is yet to come as you celebrate your freedom in Christ. God has given us great opportunities to share our faith.  He has given each of us great and wonderful gifts. Use them to His glory! Tell somebody, everybody, anybody, "I are not ashamed of the gospel. For it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes!" Celebrate your freedom in Christ, and share the good news that Jesus saves!

If you have a passion for Christ and enjoy blogging and witnessing on the internet, join us on the Jesus Saves Social Network and post once daily.  You don't have to re-invent the wheel.  Post whatever you have posted on your website site or elsewhere.  Jesus saves!

Remembering the Charleston Nine

One week has past since Rev. Clementa Pinckney and eight church members at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC were killed in a massacre in a Wednesday night prayer meeting. Thank God, the 21-year-old confessed gunman who committed this heinous act was apprehended quickly. While this nation feels the pain, hurt, and sorrow of this senseless trajedy, we have seen so much hope across this nation as churches have held prayer vigils and rallies in solidarity against racism and for justice and the right of all people, regardless of color, to be treated equally.  And on Monday, South Carolina Governor Haley held a press conference to say that it is time for the Confederate flag, a symbol of hatred and division, to come down from the South Carolina state capitol. Walmart, Sears, and Kmart announced they would ceasing selling merchandise containing the Confedrate flag. It is an important first step toward healing.  I tell you prayer changes things!   Prayer changes things!

It has been inspiring to see the overwhelming outpouring of love and support, the unity of people of various ethnicities connected by faith in almighty God, and to see the thousands rallying peacefully in the streets. It is clear there is much discussion to be had around race and race relations. We ought, as Dr. King said, judge people not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.  Sadly, we still have work to do in realizing Dr. King's dream. The church must renew her commitment to saving souls, preaching and teaching righteousness and living virtuously, filled with the fruit of the Holy Spirit. She must lead the discussion on racial matters as well.
As the three men and six women are eulogized this week, I am trusting God that the Charleston nine, the Mother Emanuel nine, good God-fearing people did not die in vain. May they rest in peace in the arms of Jesus.  Jesus saves!

Remembering the Mother Emanuel Nine

One week has past since Rev. Clementa Pinckney and eight church members at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC were killed in a massacre in a Wednesday night prayer meeting. Thank God, the 21-year-old confessed gunman who committed this heinous act was apprehended quickly. While this nation feels the pain, hurt, and sorrow of this senseless trajedy, we have seen so much hope across this nation as churches have held prayer vigils and rallies in solidarity against racism and for justice and the right of all people, regardless of color, to be treated equally.  And on Monday, South Carolina Governor Haley held a press conference to say that it is time for the Confederate flag, a symbol of hatred and division, to come down from the South Carolina state capitol. Walmart, Sears, and Kmart announced they would ceasing selling merchandise containing the Confedrate flag. It is an important first step toward healing.  I tell you prayer changes things!   Prayer changes things!

It has been inspiring to see the overwhelming outpouring of love and support, the unity of people of various ethnicities connected by faith in almighty God, and to see the thousands rallying peacefully in the streets. It is clear there is much discussion to be had around race and race relations. We ought, as Dr. King said, judge people not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.  Sadly, we still have work to do in realizing Dr. King's dream. The church must renew her commitment to saving souls, preaching and teaching righteousness and living virtuously, filled with the fruit of the Holy Spirit. She must lead the discussion on racial matters as well.
As the three men and six women are eulogized this week, I am trusting God that the Charleston nine, the Mother Emanuel nine, good God-fearing people did not die in vain. May they rest in peace in the arms of Jesus.  Jesus saves!

Happy Father's Day from Jesus Saves Ministries

We celebrate Father's Day first by giving honor to our Heavenly Father who has been better to each of us than we have to ourselves.  Thank you, Lord for being a father to the fatherless and mother to the motherless! 
We celebrate Father's Day with the theme "Real Men Love Jesus." Join with us in honoring the nobility, elegance, and demands of being a father. Fathers throughout history have had great dreams, offered intercessory prayers, guided us, protected us, encouraged us, loved us, taught us to be strong, to use our imagination and improve ourselves and our communities. We thank the Lord for God-fearing fathers, and for the fathers who represent for Jesus with ministry and social network.
We are grateful for fathers who know Jesus and realize that God's grace, full of mercy and justice, is the force that gives all of us life and men the opportunity to be fathers.
Happy Father's Day, fathers from Jesus Saves Ministries,  Louisville!

Sermon Excerpt: Stepping Out With Authentic Praise!

By: Min. Angela Lee Price

The women of St. Stephen East at Dosker Manor here in Louisville, Kentucky culminated Women's Month on Palm Sunday, March 29th waving palm branches in celebration and praise to our triumphant King Jesus Christ. Dosker Manor hosts off-campus services just east of downtown Louisville weekly for St. Stephen Church. This was my very first Palm Sunday invitation and so deeply humbled to bring the morning message, "Stepping Out With Authentic Praise," based on John Chapter 12:1-19. Shout out to Rev. Josie Gilbert, Campus Pastor and team for a job well done. Rev. Dr. Kevin Cosby, Sr. Pastor

Here is an excerpt from the message, "Stepping Out With Authentic Praise!":

It was Palm Sunday; the people with the palm branches shouted, "Hosanna, Hosanna," meaning, "save us, save us."  They were singing praises to Jesus, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Blessed is the King of Israel!”  But not all were stepping out with authentic praise.  Authentic praise happens when we step in the Spirit and put our faith in Jesus Christ.  Authentic praise happens when we think and when we thank.  When I think about his goodness and all that He has done for me, my soul shout, “Hallelujah! Thank God for saving me!!!”
This is a sad thing about these inauthentic people because there is power in authentic praise.  We say all the time there is power is prayer, but praise is potent. Your faith is not complete without your praise. Praise combined with prayer and an attitude of gratitude gives you access to God!  Praise wins battles!  Praise defeats the enemy!  Praise encourages the miraculous!  Praise heals the soul and calms the troubled spirit!Some of those same fickle people, who praised on Sunday shouted, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" at the end of the week. Not all who praised Jesus, praised Him authentically.  Can I tell you who was in the crowd?   There were agitators, perpetrators and instigators in the crowd - those who hated Jesus and attempted to stop his ministry. Also, there were imitators in the crowd -  those who placed their faith in Jesus and sincerely desired to be like Himl  Those were the people with Lazarus and believed Jesus because of his witness.
Let me ask you, "If you had been present on Palm Sunday 2,000 years ago, where would you be standing in the crowd?  Would you have been standing with Lazarus, and the imitators of Christ, with the saved crowd?  The Bible says, "Because of him, many believed on Jesus."  Or, would you be standing among the various spectators and haters, those who refused to believe in Jesus?If you are not where you need to be, then press through the crowd!  Touch the hem of His garment.  He will give you a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. Accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Then, step out with authentic praise! We should be stepping out with authentic praise because Jesus came riding in 1) as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world, 2) to fulfill prophecy, and 3) to give us abundant life through the Holy Spirit.

Join us as we celebrate Jesus as all that He has done in our lives on the Jesus Saves Social Network!  Let's step out with authentic praise today and every day telling the world, "Jesus saves!" 

Jesus Saves Ministries celebrating 10 years of lifting up Jesus Christ!

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The Dean of African American Preachers, Dr. Gardner Calvin Taylor Goes Home to Be With the Lord

BCNN -The Homegoing of Dr. Gardner Calvin Taylor

The Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC) Inc. mourns the passing and celebrates the life of the Rev. Dr. Gardner Calvin Taylor.
Dr. Taylor, who passed on Sunday, April 5, Resurrection Sunday, was Pastor Emeritus of the Concord Baptist Church of Christ, Brooklyn, New York, President Emeritus of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc., and widely known as “the Prince of Preachers.” He was also one of Time Magazine’s most influential pastors and the dean of the African American prophetic preaching tradition.
PNBC President Dr. James C. Perkins said, “The world has lost a giant of man, who transformed America and the world for the better. How appropriate it is that God called Dr. Taylor home on Resurrection Sunday. In both life and death Dr. Taylor gave a clarion call to the transformative power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Dr. Perry A. Smith, III a longtime friend and former PNBC pastor said, “We’ve lost a legend. One of the world’s greatest preachers, the last of a kind.” Dr. Smith also said that Dr. Taylor was a living embodiment of PNBC’s core principles of Fellowship, Service, Progress, and Peace, but he was that and much more.
Dr. Tyrone S. Pitts, former PNBC General Secretary said, “Dr. Taylor was the greatest preacher of the 21st Century. He was really was one of the people who helped to frame the Civil Rights movement and he was the soul of PNBC. He also was key in helping us to understand and appreciate the transformative and prophetic art of Black preaching.”
Source: BCNN

When Praises Go Up, Blessings Come Down!

In the post "Stepping Out with Authentic Praise," I said praise wins battles and praise defeats the enemy...

Herein is the rest of the story...Praise does more than that because when you praise sometimes you won't have to fight the battle at all! Isn't God good! So while you're at work, why not offer up a sacrifice of praise.  While you're on your lunch break, lift holy hands during Holy week.  Offer up authentic praise, praise that is heart-felt, consistent and genuine.  Hebrews 13: 15-16 state, "Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. 16 And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.…"

In 2 Chronicles 20, the text says beginning at verse 21, "After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: "Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever."

God loves it when you fast, pray, and seek His face, and He loves it when you praise Him. Jehoshaphat takes the people's advice and he orders men to sing to the Lord. When they did that, God set ambushes against the three nations and they turned on each other, and destroyed each other!

This is almost identical to what happened in the war Gideon's army did not have to fight in Judges Chapter 7. God sent 300 men against a vast army of 30,000 Midianites. God confused the enemy with trumpets, torches, and timing! The army prepared for war, processed to the battlefield, and positioned themselves, but they did not fight! And God got the glory! When praises go up, blessings come down!
Share with us how you are stepping out with authentic praise during Holy Week. Log on to jesussavesministries.ning.com and post a comment! 

A Thankful Life!
By:  Maurice Jackson, Kansas City, MO
Consistent with words of thankfulness is a lifestyle that reflects the same.
Our LIVES should exhibit appreciation to our Lord Jesus Christ who is the one who SAVED our LIVES.  We can say 'Thank You, Lord' with our lips while in our living, we actually dismiss Him.  Jesus said in Matthew 15:8 that some come near to me with their words but their hearts or very distant from me.
Jesus also said that IF we love Him, we WILL keep His commandments.  Our conduct and HOLY lifestyle tells our HOLY GOD that we are grateful to be His children.  Our entire Christian existence should be a constant praise and thanks to God!
  

Our natural children make us proud parents when they have followed the precepts and directions that we have given them throughout the years.  And once they have put these things into practice and they become upstanding, productive and respectful citizens, it reflects upon their adherence to the teaching and training they received from us.  This is to the praise of the parents themselves.  The implementation of these precepts demonstrates gratitude towards the source from which they were received.  

And we as children of God, in the very same manner, conduct our lives to the honor and praise of our Heavenly Father,  showing our gratitude through obedience to Him.

  

The Word tells us in Ephesians 5:1 to be imitators of God as dear children!

Notice that is says "DEAR" children.  Now some offspring don't quite turn out to be DEAR children because of their constant disobedience.  Though, as parents, we still absolutely love them unconditionally,  they may not always follow in the way we presented to them and often take an opposite path.  It is our hope that they eventually turn toward the right path.

Conversely, as DEAR children, we are to imitate our Heavenly Father and reflect His holiness in our thoughts, behaviors and character.  Consistent with words of thankfulness is a lifestyle that reflects the same.  Obedience to The Father should be our gratitudinal priority.

Share with us how you are stepping out with authentic praise during Holy Week. Log on to jesussavesministries.ning.com and post a comment! 

Family Matters Blog Series Pt. 6: Family Ministry Shift Conclusion

For the past six weeks, we have been looking at one strategy for introducing children to the gospel and keeping them involved in church, family ministry. Today we conclude the "family" matter.  I hope this blog series was a blessing to you and has presented you with an option for your ministry, church, or family. Family ministry equips parents to become the primary disciple-makers of their children.  Proponents believe the 21^st century church is failing congregations by not partnering with parents to equip them to share in ministry to the next generation.  The goal is to accurately pass on the gospel to the next generation through the family.  There are at least four types of family ministry strategies, family based ministry, family equipping ministry, family intergrated ministry, and the traditional programmatic, segregated approach.  Although young adults are highly educated, they are largely “unchurched,” and rarely to they read the Bible or meet with others to study the Bible.  Approximately 70 percent of young adults agree that the American church is irrelevant, and only 24 percent attend church weekly.  This means that the church must disciple young adults differently, parents and mentors must be involved with the church in the discipleship process, and the church must prepare to disciple a more ethnically diverse congregation.  Recent research found that Millennials are very close to their parents and thrive on relationships. Family ministry as a long range plan, and not a quick fix, might be the answer.

 

Related Posts:

Family Matters Blog Series Pt. 5: Strengths & Weaknesses of Family Ministry Models

Family Matters Blog Series Pt. 4: Active Churches In Family Ministry

Family Matters Part 3:  Contemporary Approaches & Leading Voices in Family Ministry

Family Matters Part 2:  Biblical Basis for Family Ministry

Family Matters Part 1:  The Historical Roots of Family Ministry

Introduction:  Blog Series, Family Matters, The Family Ministry Shift

 Bibliography

Baucham, Voddie Jr. (2007).  Family Driven Faith, Doing What It Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk With God, Wheaton:  Crossway
Floyd, Ronnie  When the Bible Meets Life Sampler, biblestudiesforlife.com
Haynes, Brian (2009).  Shift, What It Takes to Finally Reach Families Today, Loveland:  Group Publishing, Inc.
The Holy Bible, (1984).  New International Version.  Grand Rapids:  Zondervan Publishing

Jones, Timothy Paul (2011).  Family Ministry Field Guild, How Your Church Can Equip Parents to Make Disciples, Indianapolis, Wesleyan Publishing House.
Mercadante, F. (2008). The Millennial Generation, Postmodernism, and the Changing Face of Catholic Youth Ministry.
Rainer, T. S. (2011). The Millennials, Connecting to America's Largest Generation. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group.
Stinson, Randy and Jones, Timothy Paul (20 Trained in the Fear of God, Family Ministry in Theological, Historical, and Practical Perspective
Younts Jones, Christine,  A Blueprint for Family Ministry,  Retrieved December 5, 2013 from Childrensministry.com: http://childrensministry.com/articles/a-
blueprint-for-family-ministry

SURPRISE!!! Thanks for Birthday Greetings, Surprise Birthday Bash!

Words cannot express my heartfelt gratitude to all who posted Birthday greetings on my Facebook wall. I feel so blessed, loved, and appreciated. I want to thank my husband, Bill for the awesome surprise birthday party, my family and all who dined with us on Monday, March 16th. Oh yes, I was so surprised to see all the friends, radio staff, and church members, and family on Monday evening.  I thought we'd just go out for a quiet dinner at a nice restaurant.  Instead, the restaurant, complete with servers, came to us!  And no, it was not quiet! We had awesome weather, a delicious meal, catered by Donald's Catering, and great guests for the occasion. Once I got over the shock, I had a blast.  There is a Happy Birthday song (Stevie Wonder style) video.  Hopefully, I can get it posted. Thank you and may God bless you, each and everyone who said a kind word, extended a courtesy, gift, or $3.16 contribution (put the decimal where ever you like) to Jesus Saves Ministries.



Find more photos like this on Jesus Saves Ministries

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Family Matters Blog Series Pt. 5: Strengths & Weaknesses of Family Ministry

By: Min. Angela Lee Price

I began on February 14th, entitled "Family Matters:  The Family Ministry Shift," based on my research paper from December 2013 written for the Master of Theology program at Campbellsville University.  Next week, we conclude the family matter.  This post, though, I want to talk about the strengths and weaknesses of family ministry models.  

A strength of family ministry models is in recent research that rate parents number one as most influential in the lives of their children.  Contrary to previously held notions about the “generation gap” and parents not being able to relate to their children, surprisingly, Millennials rank parental influence number one on their list of influences.  Millennials are very close to their parents and thrive on relationships.  Not only have “helicopter parents” hovered over their children and given Millennials special attention and sheltering, they have created great relationships with their teens and young adults.  Churches can capitalize on these strong family bonds by tweaking children and youth ministries to equip, train and involve parents.  Churches need to see parents as the primary spiritual educators of their youth and take more definitive steps to equip parents to disciple their young adults.  Frank Mercadante , in the article, “The Millennial Generation, Postmodernism and the Changing Face of Catholic Youth Ministry,” states,  “It means working together to better evangelize the entire parish community. It means not doing youth ministry in an adolescent vacuum. Instead of building disciple-making youth ministries, we need to work collaboratively to grow a disciple-making parish community.”  (Mercadante, 2008, p. 8)  His point is that the whole church, and not the

 youth or young adult ministries, must make discipling youth a priority.  While speaking for the Catholic faith, his statement holds great validity for Protestant Evangelicals as well.

Theories differ on how one arrives at a fully discipled church.  Intergenerational groups eliminate ministry divisions that exist with current ministry models, and this model lends itself to a unified and relational disciple-making experience.  However, Mercadante expresses the cautionary sentiment held by many pastors and experts, “It would be a mistake to take this observation to an extreme by slashing all youth gatherings and only offering intergenerational activities. Young people want and need to be gathered with one another. It’s not about switching out the youth ministry menu as much as expanding it by adding some intergenerational variety (Mercadante, 2008, p.7).

One of the major drawbacks for family ministry is that it is a very slow process.  It has the greatest opportunity for success in churches that don’t see it as a quick fix to getting youth in church, or to increasing their membership and baptism totals.  There are a lot of barriers to overcome in shifting successfully to this new paradigm, and the shift may not be fully realized in our lifetime.  To the extent the family ministry proponents don’t view themselves as the “fixers” of the marriage problem, churches implementing family ministries will be much better off.  Families are broken, but in some communities, the problem is compounded by addictions, crime, poverty, chronic illnesses, and a whole host of environmental, and generational woes. 

A recent study conducted by Timothy Paul Jones and the Gheen Center for Christian Family Ministry revealed that well over 90 percent of parents rejected the notion that professional ministers were the people primarily responsible for their children’s spiritual development. When asked if parents should disciple their children, not one parent disagreed.  In fact, more than 90 percent wanted to answer their children’s biblical and theological questions.  However, one out of every five parents admitted to never engaging in prayer, Bible reading, and worship in their households (Jones, p. 98-99).  Breaking generational habits, or curses is going to require fasting and prayer.  Churches must lead the way in repentance, confessing that previously held notions of how to do ministry have been detrimental to the the Kingdom of God, the health of the church, family.

Next Week:  Part 6:  Family Ministry Conclusion

Related Posts:

Family Matters Blog Series Pt. 4: Active Churches In Family Ministry

Family Matters Part 3:  Contemporary Approaches & Leading Voices in Family Ministry

Family Matters Part 2:  Biblical Basis for Family Ministry
Family Matters Part 1:  The Historical Roots of Family Ministry
Introduction:  Blog Series, Family Matters, The Family Ministry Shift