Urban Christianz Ministries

Why Go To Church - Want to Know 13 Reasons?

by David Hopkins

It's not necessary to go to church in order to get saved and therefore go to heaven, but going to church still has very important benefits that can help improve your life and keep it in order.

Below are 13 reasons why we should attend church services on a regular basis.

1. Because it is an act of obedience to God and it honors the Lord’s Day. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (Ex. 20:8).

2. Because we need to belong to a community of faith that includes our brothers and sisters in Christ who are trying to live out the gospel just like we are.

3. Because we will benefit from being taught and led in worship by others, rather than always depending on ourselves to read and study the bible.

4. Because we need regular reminders of our standing in Christ, help in acknowledging and confessing our sins, and teaching about God's truth.

Loneliness - A Single's Perspective

By Yevette C. Gooden

Isn’t it amazing that with over six billion people in the world how alone we as individuals can feel?  Loneliness is one of the most frustrating experiences for a single Christian.  The constant change of friends getting married, moving away or even the expectation of a child serves only to isolate us even more.  This mental form of isolation is one of the shrewdest and oldest tricks from the enemy.  This in it self will often thrust us from self-pity to feelings of bitterness and resentment in no time.

So what else is there when you’ve quoted the twenty-third psalms for the one-hundredth time and still feel as though nothing is working?  For years I was afraid to confront this issue in my own life.  I didn’t want to go home because well no one else was there.  Often I would leave work and linger at a coffee house or a bookstore for hours.  Only to finally return home with enough time to eat dinner and go to bed.  Not wanting to be alone in my own home manifested itself in other very subtle ways as well.   I wasn’t interested in completing any internal or external home improvement projects.  I didn’t bother to landscape my backyard, for those in the southwest, which had remained a vacant lot.  I wasn’t willing to make my house into a home, because I didn’t really want to be there.  And because I had moved so far from my family members, I rarely had any visitors.

5 Steps to Passing Life Exams

By Apostle M. Christopher Wilson, Sr

An exam is a test that is given at the end of a class to assess what knowledge was obtained by the student during the duration of the class. Depending on whether or not adequate knowledge was gained the student will pass or fail the test. If the student passes the test he moves on to the next level. If he fails, he must take the class and the exam again, yet he still has the opportunity to pass!

I was recently reminded and enlightened to the idea that life too has exams. Because we live in an intelligent universe created by an intelligent God, there are no accidents or coincidences. Everything that happens has been divinely orchestrated by God for our good. However, because of man’s blurred perception, because of ego, we cannot see the plan of God in the light of being a benefit. Even the translation of the word coincidence has been blurred. A coincidence is a mathematical term that means to coincide; to angles that come together perfectly. So in our life coincidences are nothing short of miracles planned and placed in our life by God to complete and bring perfection to a given purpose. Have you ever noticed that 99% of coincidences presents us with a favorable outcome? Can you say miracle?

Now I want to give you 5 steps to help you pass life’s exam.

Step 1: Let go and let God.

I know this first step may not be as clear, as we would like it to be considering all the things that happen in our lives. However, everything in life has a reason and a cause. In understanding that everything has a reason and a cause, even if we may not understand, it calls for us to learn to let go and let God. By letting go we allow the divine intelligence and the universal purpose of God to be played out in our lives without our interference.

God in Jeremiah 29:11 of the Holy Scriptures of the Message Bible translation says, "I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out--plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.”

The understanding, plans, & ways of God are not like our understanding. By letting go & trusting God, we also let go of ego’s desire to play God. Ego always has a plan of how it could do things better if it was God. God does not need our help, we must trust and know all things are working for our good.

Step 2: Detach from feelings and outcomes.

One of the main reasons we fail many of life’s exams is because we are too emotionally attached to our situation to hear God. Uncontrolled emotions will always be a hindrance to us connecting to source (God). By detaching from the outcome, we are able to view our situation from the viewpoint of a bystander.

As much as we hate to admit it, others always see our situations better than we do. Why? Because they do not have a direct emotional attachment to our situation. This leads me to step 3.

Possibilities in Prayer

By Minister Anthony Bullock

Prostrateology is the theological term for the doctrine of prayer. Prayer is the oldest form of worship and is universal to all types of religions and believers. Even atheists rely on prayer in some form or another to make it from day to day. Man has always marveled at how things happen in life and how to change those things that have not yet happened. The answer for the Christian has always been prayer to God, Jehovah, in the name of His son Jesus. Read on to see why you need prayer in your life:

Resisting Temptation

How do you really resist temptation?  What are some ways you can get out of a bad situation or avoid becoming involved in something that you really don't want to be doing in the first place?  Read on to find some helpful tips and hints so that you'll be ready the next time you face temptation:

How do you really resist temptation?  The first part is easy - you have to want to.  Temptation will always defeat you if you really don't want to resist it in the first place.  If you really think nothing is wrong with over-drinking, indulging in drugs or having sex before marriage, then you won't stop.  So, check your attitude - do you really want to resist or are you happy with your life just the way it is?  Okay - ready to resist?  Here's what you do:

1.  Identify Things That Tempt You.

The Cross - What Does it Mean?

Want to know what the Cross really means?  Watch this informative video presentation to see for yourself:

Find more digital presentations here:  myDigiTracts.

What Happens After You Accept Christ As Your Savior?

What should you do after you accept Jesus as your Savior?  What this informative video presentation for some clear answers:

Find more digital presentations here:  myDigiTracts.

Rock The Culture Cartoon

This is a cartoon that I find pretty interesting.  It updates weekly and gives politcal and Christian commentary on world events.  Check it out:

Here is the website, if you want to review their archives: http://www.radicallyreal.com/amok/rocktheculture.html

Overcoming Struggles With School

By Violet T. Barry

I struggle with institutionalized learning. I realized that I have a short attention span when it comes to subject matters that I feel do not equip me with practical everyday knowledge that can promote revolution in my community. It’s not surprising that I have been struggling with whether or not I am college material. Even though I graduated from high school 11 years ago at the top 10% of my graduating class as an honors magnet student, it meant very little to me because it was during some of the darkest years in my teenage life. In a matter of fact, I was rarely present at school during my high school years.

I had planned on dropping out of high school during my 9th grade year. It had gotten to the point where I did not sleep at night and was on my toes trying to be prepared for what I might have to go through in the late night hours. The top graduating students of my class stepped in and took a special liking to me after I told them off about how stuck up and arrogant I thought they were. They started meeting me in the evenings at a private library and giving me my homework assignments and project information. I would only show up to do my presentations and take major exams. Everything else was turned in, on my behalf, through one of them.

What Does it Mean to Be 'Strong?' Part II

Since then, I have discovered that strength has nothing to do with the values our society and, in particular, my family hold dear. We see strong individuals as those who are 'in charge'. Those who do it 'their' way. Those who do whatever it takes to get to the top. Those who don't mind being manipulative, deceptive or dishonest as a means to an end. Those who can speak the loudest. Those who can win the most arguments. Those who are the most persuasive or glib of tongue. Those who have the most money. Those who drive the nicest cars. Those who have a legion of people to follow their orders and cater to their needs. Those who are surrounded by an 'entourage.' Those whose faces appear before us on the news or on the radio. Those who control the U.S. Congress or have attained the office of the presidency of the United States. Oftentimes, we respect what a person has, not the person himself. And, if a person has enough, we are more than happy to turn their negative or unpleasant character into positives. I can give a lot of examples here, but I won't. Just think of someone who you might otherwise not respect who holds a higher office or whom you perceive to have more 'power' than you. Can you think of any negative quality you have deemed positive simply because it is associated with this person? Like coldness or abruptness? Like self-centeredness or self-absorption? Like vanity or insensitivity? Like greed or over-developed ambition? If this person possesses these qualities and has so much, you figure, those must be the qualities to have.

The bible does not define strength the way we do. Paul was happy with his weaknesses because he realized that through those weaknesses, God's strength was made perfect. The bible says to be strong yes, but in the Lord. Not of our own strengths and ego.

Who is really strong? Is it the man who is the loudest and can bully others because he is bigger than most other men? Is it the woman who has made millions and uses that wealth to intimidate or impress other people?