When Church Hurts

The body of Christ was instituted by our Lord and saviour.  It is vitally important that we are attached to the body of Christ in order to function as a body of believers as God ordained.  
Just like a human body has individual parts that work together, the church is comprised of individuals that should be functioning together as a whole body, not as separate limbs so to speak.  

The enemy will do all that he can to cause hurt and offence, thereby erroneously convincing individuals that they are better off going it alone and separate from the body.  However, once we understand God’s perspective on being part of His body, we have a better understanding of the great importance of being securely attached to the body.

Healing and deliverance was very evident throughout the scriptures and Jesus Christ often brought such relief to multitudes on a regular basis.  The disciple also went about healing and delivering others and set many people free. 
The church has also been empowered to bring healing and deliverance to many, but unfortuanately, it  is regarded as something only for the "healing evangelist" or "deliverance ministry". 
The truth is every born-again believer has been spiritually equipped through the power of the Holy Spirit to operate in this world as God’s representative which beside spreading the gospel message also includes healing and deliverance.

Forgiveness is often a very misunderstood topic amongst believers,  and yet it has the potential to free us from the pain of our past and heal us of the effects of situations that have harmed us.
We all need to forgive others at some stage in our lives, however unforgivessness has the potential to keep us in bondage to our pasts and can greatly hinder us from moving forward in our lives and most importantly moving onwards and upwards with God.
Allow God to speak to you in this episode about how powerful forgiveness is and free yourself for whatever the enemy has thrown at you by using others against you.

The spiritual realm is real and churches that do not understand the reality of demons are vulnerable to the schemes of the emeny.  This lesson explores the various ways satan uses to attack the church.  God has given us power and authority over the forces of darkness, but we have to enforce it. 

Taking a look at spiritual abuse from a different perspective.  When leaders are abused those by they are serving.   We will explore a few biblical examples in the Old and New Testament of this and how God views things when those He has placed in leadership are treated wrongly by those they are leading.

A look at research on the sexual exploitation of adults by clergy.  
How do other professional organisations deal with the sexual exploitation of clients by the professional that is coming to them for a professional service?
We will be exploring the best way for the church to view such situations and how to handle it from a biblical perspective.

A look at the very serious issue of sexual exploitation of leaders.  How does God view things when a leader uses their position to take sexual advantage of others.

This lesson looks at some more examples of things that may be indicators of an abusive church environment.  We will also examine scriptures that are sometimes taken out of context to control, dominate and manipulate congregants and cause tremendous hurt and harm.

An exploration of false leaders in the end times.  The scriptures are noticeably clear that false leaders will infiltrate the church during the end times.  Knowing what the word of God says about false leaders will enable a greater awareness of what to look out for and how to avoid them. This is extremely important because titles and positions are not endorsements for ungoldy behaviour. 

A look at what the bible has to say about the characteristic of false leaders in the Old Testament and how God dealt with them. There were numerous false leaders in the Old Testament which caused great problems for God’s people and many who followed them suffered severe consequences as they were led astray.