Bringing the Church Back to Jesus

I mentioned in the last blog entry that pastors are often the hardest to convince of the teachings of Jesus regarding Israel and the Law of Moses because they’ve been trained in Christian tradition and the interpretations of the New Testament that requires. But perhaps you’re a church leader who has been able to recognize what Jesus and the apostles teach about obeying God’s commands. The purpose of this entry is to make some suggestions about how to do that.

Chances are that your primary church service is on Sunday morning. A good place to start might be to add another service on Saturday. It might be a challenge to convince church leaders who need to approve such a step. I would suggest that you get them a copy of my book, “Following Christ”, and maybe have a group discussion of it.

If you’re able to start a Saturday service, don’t make it Saturday evening. You want it to be during the Sabbath all year ’round. The Sabbath ends at sunset on Saturday, and in the winter that comes pretty early. So you want your service to be in the morning or early afternoon. Over time this service should become the primary service, so plan toward that result.

Another step to take is to be a good example of Torah-observance. As you discover new things in the Torah to observe, integrate them into your lifestyle. If it seems appropriate, mention them to others, either in sermons, conversations, or on social media. There are people who will be likely to follow your example.

Another thing you can do is to preach on passages that affirm following Torah, such as Matthew 5:17-19, Romans 2, I Corinthians 7:17-20, I John 5:2-3, Acts 21:17-24, Psalm 1, Isaiah 56, and Ezekiel 36:24-28. You could also preach on the passages that are misinterpreted, and show how they should be understood.

Over time you can draw attention to the biblical festivals of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles, and possibly Purim and Hanukkah. There are a lot of things that you can do to bring your church back within the scope of following Christ’s example and obeying God’s instructions.