Resources
Bible Interpretation - Simplified
The Bible Interpretation Course is comprehensive, but this simplified version is easy to digest for younger people and new converts. There are special principles for following the Book of Revelation.
You can incorporate the principles for Revelation with excellent benefit in the rest of your reading and study of the Bible with excellent benefit.
Be blessed.
Biblical Interpretation Course
We freely share our various ministry concepts and associated resources to promote the growth and health of congregations locally and worldwide and enabling them to have more effective outreaches.
We encourage people to download all resources for the use of their local ministries and to translate them into local language(s). When a resource is translated, ensure that you use the most reliable Bible translation in that language for Bible references and citations.
If someone uses a Resource and translates it to another language, we request that they share it back to us so we may distribute it more widely.
We request that you would cite MATTHEW 25:34-40 Ministries or this website as the site where you obtained the original.
Christian Responsibilities in Promoting Social Harmony & Justice
Commitment
Commitment is a verse study of every verse about commit, committing, or commitment throughout the Bible.
Read and study through these verses and ask yourself, "Am I totally committed to Christ?"
After you have done this, study the Nepal Christian Fellowship Baptism Promise.
Causes of Straying Sheep
A relationship with God starts at a basic level where He is the Good Shepherd and we are His sheep. It is the foundation of intimacy with God. Easy to achieve, but hard to maintain. Why?
This resource provides some answers.
This is important because as we grow spiritually, we must maintain the basic attitudes we had previously developed.
On Friendship
Friendship is a high level of relationship outside of the family. Often our friendships transcend relationships with siblings or even a parent and others in the family.
True friendship goes beyond acquaintances and way beyond friendships established on social media. Unfortunately, many people (especially those who depend excessively on social media) do not understand what friendship is all about. Friendship does much to fulfill the needs and desires of our friends above and beyond any obligation.
We should desire to be a Friend of God.
Biblical Prayer Principles
We freely share our various ministry concepts and associated resources to promote the growth and health of congregations locally and worldwide and enabling them to have more effective outreaches.
We encourage people to download all resources for the use of their local ministries and to translate them into local language(s). When a resource is translated, ensure that you use the most reliable Bible translation in that language for Bible references and citations.
If someone uses a Resource and translates it to another language, we request that they share it back to us so we may distribute it more widely.
We request that you would cite MATTHEW 25:34-40 Ministries or this website as the site where you obtained the original.
Time Management Course
This course was originally developed as a secular course for an engineering laboratory. Time Management had been taught before, but by vendors of daily planners and schedulers. People complained that the courses did not really answer the problems and issues people encountered on a daily basis, so the original course was developed by an engineer who was also a part-time instructor in the Training Office and a volunteer pastor at the church where he attended. This course started getting very high marks by the people taking the course. It was based on Biblical principles from the beginning. Later, Church@Work members asked that the Bible principles be made more visible.
On Creation
On Creation is a brief apologetic comparison between science and the Bible on explaining the origins of the Universe.
The science reported is up to date through 2012.
The Design of Deoxyribonucleic Acid
The Design of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) is discussed in lay terms to help everyone see through some of the falsehood of evolutionary thought.
Most of our science texts present the Theory of Evolution as a fact when the fact is that the Evolution cannot withstand the scrutiny of the Scientific Method. Understanding the design of DNA and the little we know about how it plays a role in life helps us to logically poke holes into arguments against the plain facts of the Bible. Design is a function of intelligence, not evolution.
The Speed of Light
This resource is a short summary of good facts to know in conjunction with the Speed of Light Course. It is a useful handout. It is also useful when discussing the implications of the speed of light with skeptics.
Restore Life
Restore Life is a guided set of lessons helping people to get in touch with their spiritual life from God. The lessons can lead them out of substance abuse, depression, etc. into a purposeful life in Christ.
Read more
About Restore Life
Restore Life was formulated from years of work with substance abuse deliverance ministries (The Most Excellent Way, Celebrate Recovery, Christian AA, Genesis Process, etc.) - all based on Bible principles at some level. There was agreement among our co-workers that deliverance was great, but the transformed life we all desired that led to purposeful service to Christ seldom occurred. Several co-workers in this area got together to create "Restore" Ministry to transition people from Most Excellent Way meetings into active service in The Church. Restore contained some principles of "beyond deliverance" ministry.
The San Diego Downtown Fellowship of Churches and Ministries (DF) became the source of spiritual resources for working with the homeless population at the Connections Housing shelter and needed a program to deal with people dealing with substance abuse. Christian AA and Celebrate Recovery were tried, but didn't meet the shelter needs - the shelter had a transient population, but the programs were created for on-going meetings. The Celebrate Recovery Meeting folded for lack of participation and lack of volunteers; a new approach was needed to address the need of the shelter population. DF went to prayer.
In a couple of weeks, we were inspired to take the principles of Restore plus some of the recovery/deliverance principles and reorganized them into a sequence of 8 lessons. A few more lessons were added to address problems specific to the spiritual trauma suffered by the homeless population. The result was named "Restore Life" to complement several other DF programs at Connections Housing which all had "life" in their name.
Restore Life in Use
Restore Life now has a menu of 18 modules, each of which can be taught/discussed in about 90 minutes. After prayer, a brief discussion with the attendees can determine where the greatest needs are and which module is the best match. PowerPoint slides contain the Bible verses and lesson points, which allow more in-depth discussions. Following successes in ministry at the city shelter, Restore Life has been successfully used in a variety of other ministry venues (with veterans, other homeless populations, substance abuse ministries, etc.). Some Restore Life users have extracted module principles and notes to allow them to use the program without a computer/PowerPoint facility; others have put it on a smartphone to lead discussions in small groups. Th Restore Life approach has proven wonderfully successful. Success examples:
- Men and women have been brought to faith in Christ despite past bad/abusive church experiences or ultra-religious parents.
- Substance abuse problems have been resolved (through Christ) such that temptations to relapse have been dispelled.
- Depression and severe anxieties have been dispelled so wonderfully that prescribed medications were declared no longer necessary by overseeing doctors. (One woman had been having a history of anxiety attacks resembling heart attacks and was taking medications to control them. After 8 weeks, she was diagnosed as having been over-medicated. In 12 weeks, the doctor took her off the medications altogether. In subsequent years, she has not had any relapses. Several other people have been released from medical regimes each year.)
- Marriages and families have been reconciled and restored.
- Chronically homeless people have been delivered from traumatic stress.
- Veterans have had (severe) post-traumatic stress issues resolved.
The focus on a personal relationship with Christ is critical - HE is the healer.
Qualifications for Candidates for Public Office
When looking over a slate of candidates, we desire to choose from those who are good candidates. The challenge is complicated by the fact that EVERY candidate is inherently flawed by a sin nature. (And all of us are flawed in our selection process by our sin nature.) We need to follow Biblical guidance.
Suggested Process for Preparing for Service
The suggested process for preparing for service provides prayer attitudes which better prepare our hearts and mind for preaching and teaching others. This version is in MS Word form which may be edited or translated for local purposes. (An identical version is provided in PDF form.)
Everything in our ministries should be initiated, planned, covered, and finished in prayer. This resource focuses on the preparations.
We suggest that every ministry we do should be covered in prayer. We suggest that certain helpers should be appointed to pray while the ministry is in process. The prayer points should include:
The presenter of the message be controlled by the Spirit.
The listeners be anointed to receive the message and be enabled to apply it to their lives.
That all who have participated in the service hear and do the actions the Spirit is commanding.
We suggest that all services of worship or action should be finished in prayer that, as a minimum, thanks and praises our Lord for the hearing and asks for HIS enabling to accomplish all HE has called us to do.
This resource is valuable in preparing people who are inexperienced in preparing and presenting messages or leading a worship service.
When translating this resource, we request that you provide a copy of the translation so that we may share it more broadly.
MT25 General Community Code of Ethics
The MATTHEW 25:34-40 General Community Code of Ethics is the same content as the Community Code of Ethics except in page (linear) form. It is based on the Hobo Code of Ethics of 1889 settled at the Hobo Convention of 1889 at St. Louis, MO. The COTS Ministry has added Tips for Spiritual Well Being.
In addition, the Admired Attributes, a resource develop as part of the Master Pastor Ministry, has been appended.
This form is sometimes used in training for congregations and neighborhood community groups.