Almaz Church Orphan Outreach: Healthy Church ~ Healthy Families

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Healthy Church ~ Healthy Families

For 9 years Pastor Sasha has been serving families providing premarital counceling. When Almaz Church first started in 2000 it had only 4 families. Today there are more than 30 married couples. 22 of them were married by pastors in Almaz.

These are the pictures of some of them.

No comments:

One coffee or Latte......or Love offering?

In the next days we will be collecting for the Skripak's van. We are looking for people to spearhead teams...We need as many as possible to start collecting $1 from for the goal of $9000. We can do this! ALL those who are able to help Pastor Sasha's family get their van paid off please start your fund raising..Collection is until May 15 th.. For the address to send the money email Pastor Sasha..We would like at least one person from every state, but more would be great!! You can just start now! The bell has gone off! Lets see how much we can raise...All proceeds will be sent to Dave Daulton at Father's heart Inc to give us the grand total!

We will keep you posted of the amount raised on the thermometer !

Testimony of Sasha & Olya

Sasha and Olya Skrypak were born in the USSR in the 1970's. Sasha’s father was in the military. There were no Christians in his whole family. All the family members were typical Soviet atheists. Sasha grew up in the society that was completely isolated from the Gospel. Since the family was in the military Sasha had to study in the closed school. May be it is hard to believe but for the first time Sasha heard the name of Jesus Christ when he was 15. His uncle shared with him the good news of Jesus. Sasha’s uncle came to know Christ at the end of 80^th when Gorbachev started to transform the society.

It was amazing for the 15year old teenager to learn that God came to the Earth in the image of Jesus. He did it because of His love to His Father and to people who lived in sin and who were enemies to God. Christ never sinned. But He was crucified because the sin of the whole world was laid on Him. Sasha was captivated by the endless love God had for him. Moreover he was overwhelmed with the fact that Jesus resurrected and ascended to His Father in Heaven. It was fantastic to know that God is living with people today as the Holy Spirit. He knows everything about all the people and He is seeking relationships with them. Sasha has never felt God that close to him.

For the next 5 years Sasha was struggling to understand that it is not enough just to believe that Jesus is a Creator of everything living. At the age of 20 Sasha learned from missionaries and servants of the Gospel that it was important to give Him all his life and accept His will. For the first time in his life Sasha learned that he had to accept Christ as his Savior and the Lord of his whole life.

On the 8^th of Jan, 1995 Sasha experienced an amazing inner change that comes with Jesus. He realized he had become a new creature and he could not have the old way of life. His friends did not accept his new identity. But he found so many new friends in the local church in Kyiv. Sasha realized that he wanted not only to give his life to Christ but also commit himself to ministry, to the Great Commission and to the Gospel. He wanted to plant new churches at the areas with no churches at all.

In 1997 Sasha was invited to join the team to plant a new church in Kyiv. At that time the population of Kyiv was 3.500.000. It was incredible. Sasha’s dream came true because he was able to get actively involved into sharing the Gospel and planting church. After the church was established Sasha began his ministry as a deacon and as a home group leader.

At the same time Sasha became a student of a Pastors’ training center. He wanted to grow in the ministry of preaching and to learn more about practical care for people.

In 1999 two most important events for Sasha took place. He married Olya and also he was invited to plant another church in one of the areas of Kyiv. The population of that area was 60.000 and there were only 2 protestant churches. So Sasha together with his young wife, with his home group and with 3 other brothers from the Pastors’ training center started to work hard on planting a church. Many believers from Ukraine and from America supported this endeavor. This is how Sasha became a founder and a pastor of Almaz church in Kyiv.

In 2008 Sasha and Olya faced great changes in their life. God clearly showed them through the Scripture and through the specific circumstances the need to serve the orphans, especially to the orphans with special needs in Ukraine. The number of these kids was more than 132.000. “Almaz” church and its partners combined their efforts to do the ministry started by Sasha and Olya.

For the period of 2008-2009 Sasha and Olya were able to involve more than 300 people from Ukraine, Belarus, USA and China into the practical ministry. A huge amount of humanitarian aid was sent to the needy. More than 15 facilities in the orphanage were remodeled and repaired. It improved the living conditions for children and working conditions for the personnel. Today Sasha, Olya and their church continuo serving the orphans and constantly looking for support and for people who are willing to join teams for short mission trips into Ukraine.

Today Sasha and Olya have four wonderful children. Their dream is to have an orphanage on the basis of their church family. The need is not only to take care of their physical needs but also provide care for the kids’ hearts and souls. They dream to unite thousands of believers from different countries and cultures in the ministry given by God. They dream that this ministry will help many kids to be adopted into the Lord’s family and to find a family of loving parents in this earth.

ALMAZ ORPHAN OUTREACH

Why Help Orphans?

Because God directs us to do so in scripture:

"He defends the cause of the fatherless" (Deuteronomy 10:18)

"In you the fatherless find mercy." (Hosea 14:4)

"You are the helpers of the fatherless." (Psalm 10:14)

"It is not the will of your Father that one of these little ones should perish." (Matthew 18:14)

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress." (James 1:27)

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." (Luke 18:16)

"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." (John 14:18)

"Whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." (Matthew 18:5)

"And Jesus took the children in his arms, put his hands on them, and blessed them." (Mark 10:16)

"Remember those…who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." (Hebrews 13:3)

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us…let us not love with word or tongue, but with action and in truth." (I John 3:16-18)

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in." (Matthew 25:35)

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves…defend the rights of the needy." (Proverbs 31:8,9)

"He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me, declares the Lord." (Jeremiah 22:16)

Why does Almaz church serve the orphans?

Reason 1. God adopted us when we were the orphans. Jesus promised: I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. (John.14:18) Blessed the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing ..., just as He chose us in Him ... He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, (Eph.1:3-5) Reason 2. God commands to serve the orphans and we want to obey Him. Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan,... (Isa.1:17) Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God and Father is this: to visit orphans ... (Jas.1:27)

GOD’S HEART for the ORPHAN 40 Day Prayer Guide for Orphan Care

GOD’S HEART for the ORPHAN

40 Day Prayer Guide for Orphan Care

1) Today, pray that the Lord would give you

a personal sense of responsibility for the

next 40 days (and beyond) for praying for

orphans, your pastor, your church, and your

community. Ask Him to break your heart

for the orphans. Ask that He would help

you to see orphans with His eyes and His

heart. Ask Him to use this 40 days of

prayer to change you and your church.

.......................................................................................................................

2) Today, pray for your Pastor to have

guidance and provision as he seeks to

follow the Lord’s commands to care for

the orphans.

.......................................................................................................................

3) Today, ask God that of the 2 billion

Christians in the world, 7% would show

hope to a single orphan, looking after the

child in their distress. Ask the Lord to

convict the church around the world that

if we did this, there would eﬀectively be

no more orphans. Ask the Lord to show

each of His followers that we can each

do something.

.4) Today, ask the Lord to help your

church congregation to feel His

heart for the orphans as seen in

Psalm 68:5–6: “A Father to the

fatherless, a defender of widows, is

God in his holy dwelling. God sets the

lonely in families . . .”

.......................................................................................................................

5) Today, pray for the fatherless in your

community. Ask the Lord to protect them

and to care for them and to defend them

and keep them safe.

.......................................................................................................................

6) Today, ask the Lord to help your

church family to live out Proverbs 31:8:

“Speak up for those who cannot speak

for themselves, for the rights of all who

are destitute.”

.......................................................................................................................

7) Today, thank the Lord in advance for

all that He is going to do to bring glory to

His name in your church and community.

Thank Him for the care He is going to

provide for orphans through your church.

.......................................................................................................................

8) Today, pray for the Lord to raise up

workers for the harvest from your church

and community. Ask Him to call

Christians to go to the “ﬁelds of the

fatherless” to experience the joy of caring

for orphans as we are commanded in

Isaiah 1:16–17 “Give up your wicked ways.

Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the

oppressed. Defend the orphan. Fight for

the rights of widows.”

.......................................................................................................................

9) Today, pray that God would break the

heart of your city’s pastors with the plight

of orphans. Ask that He would convict

them to lead their churches to pray, go,

and love in Jesus’ name.

.......................................................................................................................

10) Today, ask the Father to set the

lonely in families. Pray speciﬁcally for

families in your community who may be

in the process of adopting an orphan.

Ask for God’s provision for all of their

needs: physical, emotional, and spiritual.

.......................................................................................................................

11) Today, pray speciﬁcally for any

orphans you may know by name. Pray

for their health and safety. Pray for

their shelter. Pray that they will be

brought into loving families who will

provide for their education.

12) Today, pray that God, the Defender

of the orphan, will rise up and secure

justice for the oppressed.

.......................................................................................................................

13) Today, ask the Lord to lead the

lawmakers in every nation to protect and

provide for orphans.

.......................................................................................................................

14) Today, pray that your whole

congregation will believe and be

convicted by Proverbs 22:9: “A

generous man will himself be blessed,

for he shares his food with the poor.”

Ask for the Lord’s blessings on those

who share their food with orphans.

.......................................................................................................................

15) Today, pray for yourself as a church

member. Ask the Lord to lead you on,

that you might walk in obedience. Ask

God to show you how to encourage your

church family or youth to care for the

needs of orphans.

.......................................................................................................................

16) Today, pray that because of God’s

mercy, He will provide caregivers and

counselors for children who have been

abused.

.......................................................................................................................

17) Today, ask for forgiveness for

Christians around the world who forget

the orphans and forget to heed

1 John 3:17: “If anyone has material

possessions and sees his brother in

need but has no pity on him, how can

the love of God be in him?”

.......................................................................................................................

18) Today, ask the Lord to raise up

respite care providers to support and

give relief to the caregivers caring for

orphans who are waiting to have families

adopt them.

.......................................................................................................................

19) Today, pray for your Pastor. Ask

God to provide him with resources,

encouragement, courage, and a strong

prayer team to support him as he seeks

to live out James 1:27: “Pure and lasting

religion in the sight of God our Father

means that we must care for orphans

and widows in their troubles, and refuse

to let the world corrupt us.”

..20) Today, pray that the Christians in

your village, town, city, and country

would believe and live out the truth

of Proverbs 14:31: “He who oppresses

the poor shows contempt for their

Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy

honors God.”

.......................................................................................................................

21) Today, pray for government leaders in

your country. Ask the Lord to burden

their hearts for the orphans. Ask that

they would feel compelled to protect and

provide for orphans.

.......................................................................................................................

22) Today, pray for families who have

members living with HIV and AIDS.

Pray for the children orphaned by this

disease. Ask God to provide treatment,

care, and support through the church.

.......................................................................................................................

23) Today, ask the Lord to strengthen the

faith and resolve of Christians working in

orphan ministries.

.......................................................................................................................

24) Today, pray for any church staﬀ

members and leaders. Ask for the

Lord’s hand of blessing on their lives.

Lift up the health and safety of them

and their families. Ask also that the

Lord would break their hearts for the

orphans in your community.

.......................................................................................................................

25) Today, pray for God’s provision for

your church’s orphan care ministry. Ask

Him to provide people and prayers and

money and food and supplies to give the

orphans all the care they need.

.......................................................................................................................

26) Today, pray for children who are not

yet orphans but may only have one

parent who may be sick or dying. Pray

for the health and safety of their parent.

Pray for God’s provision. Pray for

protection for the children in these

households.

.......................................................................................................................

27) Today, ask God to care for childheaded households. Pray that the Lord

will provide for their needs. Pray that an

adult would come alongside them and

adopt them. Ask the Lord to protect them

from abuse.

............28) Today, pray for families who are

taking care of their grandchildren or

nieces or nephews in addition to their

own children. Ask the Lord to bless

them for their sacriﬁce and to provide

enough food, clothes, education, and

shelter for all of their children.

.......................................................................................................................

29) Today, pray for mothers or fathers

who might be having trouble caring for

their children and feel they need to give

them up or abandon them. Ask God to

help them ﬁnd support. Ask the Lord to

meet their needs and give them the

resources to be able to take care of

their children.

.......................................................................................................................

30) Today, ask God to protect

children aﬀected by war and violent

conﬂicts. Pray that the Lord will

protect their vulnerable hearts and

keep them safe. Pray that a church will

reach out to them.

.......................................................................................................................

31) Today, pray for families in countries all

over the world who have room in their

homes and hearts for a fatherless child.

Ask that the Lord would speak to them

even now, leading them to consider

adoption or foster care.

32) Today, pray that every member of

your church would remember and

acknowledge and praise the Lord that

before the world was made, He loved

us and chose us, and that His

unchanging plan has always been to

adopt us into His own family by bringing

us to Himself through Jesus Christ and

that this gave Him great pleasure.

(Ephesians 1:3–5)

.......................................................................................................................

33) Today, ask the Lord to help your

church be an example of the Lord’s love

for orphans as written in Psalm 10:17–18:

“The helpless put their trust in You. You

are the defender of orphans Lord, You

know the hopes of the helpless. Surely

You will listen to their cries and comfort

them. You will bring justice to the

orphans and the oppressed, so people

can no longer terrify them.”

.......................................................................................................................

34) Today, pray for yourself and the

other prayer team members. Ask the

Lord for strength. Ask Him to help you

not grow weary in battling for the

orphans on your knees.

..............35) Today, ask the Lord to encourage and

strengthen your church. Caring for

orphans and changing attitudes and

beliefs and actions is tough work and the

enemy is bound to attack. Ask for

protection for your pastor, his family, their

health, and their ministry. Ask for God’s

hand of blessing on their lives.

.......................................................................................................................

36) Today, ask the Lord to release

and speed any care supplies to

refugee camps where many orphans

live and need even the most basic

necessities. Ask Him to cut through

any governmental regulations or

corrupt leaders to miraculously get

the supplies delivered to where they

are needed most.

.......................................................................................................................

37) Today, pray for families who are in the

adoption process. Pray that God will

provide the funds and help them with all

the necessary details.

.......................................................................................................................

38) Today, pray for street children.

These children live under bushes and in

dumps and sewage pipes. They may eat

meals out of trash cans. Many people

walk by them without seeing them or

view them as pests. Ask God to open

the churches’ eyes to help them see the

orphans all around them. Ask the Lord

to provide food and shelter for the

street children.

.......................................................................................................................

39) Today, pray for the health of

orphans around the world. Ask the

Lord to provide medications and

treatment for the simple things that are

unnecessarily killing children like unclean

drinking water, malaria, dysentery, AIDS,

and malnutrition.

.......................................................................................................................

40) Today, thank the Lord for the past

40 days of prayer for orphans. Ask Him

to bring more prayer warriors into the

battle. Ask Him to help you to continue

praying diligently. Ask Him to continue

to give you His love for the orphans.

Ask Him to continue to challenge the

hearts of your congregation that “He

who is kind to the poor lends to the

LORD, and He will reward him for what

he has done.” Proverbs 19:17.

.responsibility for the

next 40 days (and beyond) for praying for

orphans, your pastor, your church, and your

community. Ask Him to break your heart

for the orphans. Ask that He would help

you to see orphans with His eyes and His

heart. Ask Him to use this 40 days of

prayer to change you and your church.

.......................................................................................................................

2) Today, pray for your Pastor to have

guidance and provision as he seeks to

follow the Lord’s commands to care for

the orphans.

.......................................................................................................................

3) Today, ask God that of the 2 billion

Christians in the world, 7% would show

hope to a single orphan, looking after the

child in their distress. Ask the Lord to

convict the church around the world that

if we did this, there would eﬀectively be

no more orphans. Ask the Lord to show

each of His followers that we can each

do something.

.4) Today, ask the Lord to help your

church congregation to feel His

heart for the orphans as seen in

Psalm 68:5–6: “A Father to the

fatherless, a defender of widows, is

God in his holy dwelling. God sets the

lonely in families . . .”

.......................................................................................................................

5) Today, pray for the fatherless in your

community. Ask the Lord to protect them

and to care for them and to defend them

and keep them safe.

.......................................................................................................................

6) Today, ask the Lord to help your

church family to live out Proverbs 31:8:

“Speak up for those who cannot speak

for themselves, for the rights of all who

are destitute.”

.......................................................................................................................

7) Today, thank the Lord in advance for

all that He is going to do to bring glory to

His name in your church and community.

Thank Him for the care He is going to

provide for orphans through your church.

.......................................................................................................................

8) Today, pray for the Lord to raise up

workers for the harvest from your church

and community. Ask Him to call

Christians to go to the “ﬁelds of the

fatherless” to experience the joy of caring

for orphans as we are commanded in

Isaiah 1:16–17 “Give up your wicked ways.

Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the

oppressed. Defend the orphan. Fight for

the rights of widows.”

.......................................................................................................................

9) Today, pray that God would break the

heart of your city’s pastors with the plight

of orphans. Ask that He would convict

them to lead their churches to pray, go,

and love in Jesus’ name.

.......................................................................................................................

10) Today, ask the Father to set the

lonely in families. Pray speciﬁcally for

families in your community who may be

in the process of adopting an orphan.

Ask for God’s provision for all of their

needs: physical, emotional, and spiritual.

.......................................................................................................................

11) Today, pray speciﬁcally for any

orphans you may know by name. Pray

for their health and safety. Pray for

their shelter. Pray that they will be

brought into loving families who will

provide for their education.

12) Today, pray that God, the Defender

of the orphan, will rise up and secure

justice for the oppressed.

.......................................................................................................................

13) Today, ask the Lord to lead the

lawmakers in every nation to protect and

provide for orphans.

.......................................................................................................................

14) Today, pray that your whole

congregation will believe and be

convicted by Proverbs 22:9: “A

generous man will himself be blessed,

for he shares his food with the poor.”

Ask for the Lord’s blessings on those

who share their food with orphans.

.......................................................................................................................

15) Today, pray for yourself as a church

member. Ask the Lord to lead you on,

that you might walk in obedience. Ask

God to show you how to encourage your

church family or youth to care for the

needs of orphans.

.......................................................................................................................

16) Today, pray that because of God’s

mercy, He will provide caregivers and

counselors for children who have been

abused.

.......................................................................................................................

17) Today, ask for forgiveness for

Christians around the world who forget

the orphans and forget to heed

1 John 3:17: “If anyone has material

possessions and sees his brother in

need but has no pity on him, how can

the love of God be in him?”

.......................................................................................................................

18) Today, ask the Lord to raise up

respite care providers to support and

give relief to the caregivers caring for

orphans who are waiting to have families

adopt them.

.......................................................................................................................

19) Today, pray for your Pastor. Ask

God to provide him with resources,

encouragement, courage, and a strong

prayer team to support him as he seeks

to live out James 1:27: “Pure and lasting

religion in the sight of God our Father

means that we must care for orphans

and widows in their troubles, and refuse

to let the world corrupt us.”

..20) Today, pray that the Christians in

your village, town, city, and country

would believe and live out the truth

of Proverbs 14:31: “He who oppresses

the poor shows contempt for their

Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy

honors God.”

.......................................................................................................................

21) Today, pray for government leaders in

your country. Ask the Lord to burden

their hearts for the orphans. Ask that

they would feel compelled to protect and

provide for orphans.

.......................................................................................................................

22) Today, pray for families who have

members living with HIV and AIDS.

Pray for the children orphaned by this

disease. Ask God to provide treatment,

care, and support through the church.

.......................................................................................................................

23) Today, ask the Lord to strengthen the

faith and resolve of Christians working in

orphan ministries.

.......................................................................................................................

24) Today, pray for any church staﬀ

members and leaders. Ask for the

Lord’s hand of blessing on their lives.

Lift up the health and safety of them

and their families. Ask also that the

Lord would break their hearts for the

orphans in your community.

.......................................................................................................................

25) Today, pray for God’s provision for

your church’s orphan care ministry. Ask

Him to provide people and prayers and

money and food and supplies to give the

orphans all the care they need.

.......................................................................................................................

26) Today, pray for children who are not

yet orphans but may only have one

parent who may be sick or dying. Pray

for the health and safety of their parent.

Pray for God’s provision. Pray for

protection for the children in these

households.

.......................................................................................................................

27) Today, ask God to care for childheaded households. Pray that the Lord

will provide for their needs. Pray that an

adult would come alongside them and

adopt them. Ask the Lord to protect them

from abuse.

............28) Today, pray for families who are

taking care of their grandchildren or

nieces or nephews in addition to their

own children. Ask the Lord to bless

them for their sacriﬁce and to provide

enough food, clothes, education, and

shelter for all of their children.

.......................................................................................................................

29) Today, pray for mothers or fathers

who might be having trouble caring for

their children and feel they need to give

them up or abandon them. Ask God to

help them ﬁnd support. Ask the Lord to

meet their needs and give them the

resources to be able to take care of

their children.

.......................................................................................................................

30) Today, ask God to protect

children aﬀected by war and violent

conﬂicts. Pray that the Lord will

protect their vulnerable hearts and

keep them safe. Pray that a church will

reach out to them.

.......................................................................................................................

31) Today, pray for families in countries all

over the world who have room in their

homes and hearts for a fatherless child.

Ask that the Lord would speak to them

even now, leading them to consider

adoption or foster care.

32) Today, pray that every member of

your church would remember and

acknowledge and praise the Lord that

before the world was made, He loved

us and chose us, and that His

unchanging plan has always been to

adopt us into His own family by bringing

us to Himself through Jesus Christ and

that this gave Him great pleasure.

(Ephesians 1:3–5)

.......................................................................................................................

33) Today, ask the Lord to help your

church be an example of the Lord’s love

for orphans as written in Psalm 10:17–18:

“The helpless put their trust in You. You

are the defender of orphans Lord, You

know the hopes of the helpless. Surely

You will listen to their cries and comfort

them. You will bring justice to the

orphans and the oppressed, so people

can no longer terrify them.”

.......................................................................................................................

34) Today, pray for yourself and the

other prayer team members. Ask the

Lord for strength. Ask Him to help you

not grow weary in battling for the

orphans on your knees.

..............35) Today, ask the Lord to encourage and

strengthen your church. Caring for

orphans and changing attitudes and

beliefs and actions is tough work and the

enemy is bound to attack. Ask for

protection for your pastor, his family, their

health, and their ministry. Ask for God’s

hand of blessing on their lives.

.......................................................................................................................

36) Today, ask the Lord to release

and speed any care supplies to

refugee camps where many orphans

live and need even the most basic

necessities. Ask Him to cut through

any governmental regulations or

corrupt leaders to miraculously get

the supplies delivered to where they

are needed most.

.......................................................................................................................

37) Today, pray for families who are in the

adoption process. Pray that God will

provide the funds and help them with all

the necessary details.

.......................................................................................................................

38) Today, pray for street children.

These children live under bushes and in

dumps and sewage pipes. They may eat

meals out of trash cans. Many people

walk by them without seeing them or

view them as pests. Ask God to open

the churches’ eyes to help them see the

orphans all around them. Ask the Lord

to provide food and shelter for the

street children.

.......................................................................................................................

39) Today, pray for the health of

orphans around the world. Ask the

Lord to provide medications and

treatment for the simple things that are

unnecessarily killing children like unclean

drinking water, malaria, dysentery, AIDS,

and malnutrition.

.......................................................................................................................

40) Today, thank the Lord for the past

40 days of prayer for orphans. Ask Him

to bring more prayer warriors into the

battle. Ask Him to help you to continue

praying diligently. Ask Him to continue

to give you His love for the orphans.

Ask Him to continue to challenge the

hearts of your congregation that “He

who is kind to the poor lends to the

LORD, and He will reward him for what

he has done.” Proverbs 19:17.

Churches that don't support Orphan Ministry..Hard to believe

Q. My church says there are no such children as orphans. We don't give to orphans. Do you? If so, may I have scripture for that please. If you do help orphans, where does the money for this come from, the church or individuals in the church.

It really does not matter what "your church" or any man says about "orphans." The real question is, do "orphans" exist? The answer is clearly yes. The KJV renders

James 1:27 (KJV)

"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."

(NASB)

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

The word "fatherless" in this passage is the Greek word for orphan.According to Robertson's Word Pictures: The fatherless and widows (orfanouv kai chrav). "The natural objects of charity in the community" (Ropes). (orfanov) is old word for bereft of father or mother or both. In N.T. only here and Joh 14:18. Note order (orphans before widows).

Certainly children who have been abandoned by their parents for whatever reason are "bereft of father or mother or both," as Robertson asserts. Kittles Theological Dictionary Of The New Testament states that the Greek word for orphan can also be used to refer to those who are "abandoned", "left", "deprived," "destitute." (KTDOTNT, volume V,p.487)

The only other place in which the Greek word for "orphan" is used in the New Testament is very interesting. In John 14:18 Jesus says that he will not leave his disciples as "orphans." Here He is hinting at the defenselessness of orphans. The disciples were not capable of caring for themselves (in a spiritual sense). They were not "literally" orphans, they were simply going to be defenseless without God's assistance.

Therefore, I believe that the Scriptures mandate that we concern ourselves with those in our society who are the most "defenseless" of all, those precious children who have been abandoned by their parents due to death, or whatever cause. It is only the legalistic traditions of men (Mark 7:8) who split hairs over the meaning of words (2 Tim. 2:14) that would keep a true Christian from practicing "pure and undefiled religion."

There is an interesting passage to be found in the Gospel of Mark that addresses this question:

Mark 7:5-13

5 The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?"

6 And He said to them, "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.

7 'BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'

8 "Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men."

9 He was also saying to them, "You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.

10 "For Moses said, 'HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER'; and, 'HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER, IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH';

11 but you say, 'If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),'

12 you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother;

13 thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that."

I myself have adopted two orphans and have raised them as my own children. I believe this is pleasing to God, and I believe it is in complete harmony with the teaching of the Scriptures. Many individuals at the Mt. Vernon church contribute to the needs of both children and widows who are in need. I believe that Galatians 6:10 speaks to this subject:

Gal. 6:10

"So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith."

Perhaps the question should be turned around to you. Have you fulfilled the teachings of these passages, or have you simply found an escape from your responsibility through the constant "wrangling over words" (2 Tim. 2:1-4)? The question is not intended to be an accusation, just food for thought. I certainly do not know you, and it is not my place to judge you. I am not doing that at all. I'm simply asking.

You also asked:

2. If you do help orphans, where does the money for this come from, the church or individuals in the church.

The answer is both. I suspect that what you are driving at is whether or not we believe in paying for benevolence out of the church treasury. We do. I believe the above verses apply. I also believe that the strong can help the weak, that the church may help others in financial distress .

Acts 11:28-30

28 One of them named Agabus stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius.

29 And in the proportion that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea.

30 And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders.

Romans 15:25-29

25 but now, I am going to Jerusalem serving the saints.

26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.

27 Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things.

28 Therefore, when I have finished this, and have put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will go on by way of you to Spain.

29 I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

There is only on God, Jesus who resurrected from the dead.

Resurrection appearances

The resurrection of Jesus Christ was the beginning of Christianity. If Christ had not been resurrected and seen by many people (more than 500), Christianity would not exist today. Jesus made twelve appearances after his resurrection:

1. His first appearance was to Mary Magdalene, on that early Sunday morning. (Mark 16:9; John 20:10-18).
2. Jesus appeared to the women returning from the tomb. (Matthew 28:9-10).
3. Jesus appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. (Luke 24:13-32; Mark 16:12-13).
4. He appeared to Peter in Jerusalem. (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5).
5. He appeared to his disciples and other followers, and also a second time to the two men from Emmaus, in a locked room in Jerusalem. The apostle Thomas wasn't there at that time. (Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-23).
6. A week later, Jesus again appeared to his disciples behind locked doors, and this time Thomas was present. (John 20:24-29).
7. Jesus appeared to seven of his disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. (John 21:1-24).
8. Jesus was seen by 500 believers at one time. (1 Corinthians 15:6).
9. He appeared to James. (1 Corinthians 15:7).
10. He appeared to eleven disciples on a mountain in Galilee. (Matt. 28:18-20).
11. He walked with his disciples along the road to Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, and then ascended into Heaven. (Luke 24:50-53).
12. He was seen by Paul on the road to Damascus. (Acts 9:3-6; 1 Corinthians 15:8).

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Healthy Church ~ Healthy Families

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