In our world, where personal gain and the mighty dollar seem to govern the affairs of many, it takes courage to want to get back to living the way God originally intended: loving God, loving our neighbours, loving sacrificially & with mercy.
But it takes more than courage. We need God's help. Each one of us is naturally trapped in the sins of greed, self-interest, pride, and lack of faith in God. How can we be free to live as God wants us to?
Well, the Bible tells us that approximately 2000BC God had said to Abraham:
"I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:2-3).
The result of this blessing was to be 'shalom', a peace and freedom which would permeate every aspect of life. To fulfill this blessing, God finally sent His Son Jesus to inaugurate the Kingdom of God and to be the world's Saviour and Lord. Jesus announced His mission with these words:
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour" (Luke 4:18-19).
The mission of Jesus was to set people FREE: free from oppressive powers and structures, free from bondage to their sins, free from sickness and poverty, and free from the fear of death and fear on the Day of Judgement, so that they could live in love and the fullness of life which God had always intended for people. This is the Gospel!
(Scenes from "The Passion of the Christ" by Mel Gibson, to the song "This Man" by Jeremy Camp)
Because Jesus was 100% faithful to God in His life, because He died on the cross for our sins, because He rose again from the dead, and because He gives the Holy Spirit to all who turn from their sins and believe in Him, everyone who follows Jesus can be free to live the life God wants them to live. Hallelujah!!
God exalted Jesus Christ to be the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings, and He has been given all authority in heaven and earth. And whilst Jesus was still on earth He said to His followers:
"I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18)
Today, Jesus is still growing communities of people all over the world who will experience the promises and blessings God gave to Abraham. Jesus wants there to be genuine Christian community, a church, right where you live!
We have seen over the last 2000 years how Jesus has been building His church so that people can have abundant life, and also how people sometimes try to manipulate it for their own purposes. We have seen the Christian church at its best and also at its worst. The International Family of Christian Communities is committed to world's best practice in helping people achieve abundant life. This website seeks to outline in simple terms what we believe to be the best practices and principles of a genuine Christian community and how to help people live an abundant life as Jesus had in mind (click here for background information). We trust that you will agree with its contents, and we are open to any critique that will help keep us in line with what Jesus actually has in mind for His church! Please feel free to use and copy whatever you like from this website to help your life, your church, or even start a new church!
Jesus wants us all to experience abundant life, and we trust that the contents of these pages will really help you experience it! We love Jesus very much, and we hope you fall in love with Him, too!
