CHURCH INFORMATION
CONTENTS:
Opening the Doors to Yahshua's House
ABOUT US
This church was initially formed to allow us who are of like mind to worship according to our beliefs. We wanted to be able to keep God's Holy Days in accordance with our understanding of the Old Testament rules. We needed the haven of an officially recognized church in order to be allowed to follow these beliefs without interference.
Having formed the church, we then set about outlining our goals and intentions concerning our works as a church and our future as a church. The goals are available separately. The intentions are set forth here.
This church is primarily a "network church". Our hope is that we can provide support, encouragement and knowledge to those who desire them. Membership is voluntary and free. The only requirements are a desire to learn the truth, commitment to obedience to God, and tolerance for others.
This tolerance is primary. The church is based on the Golden Rule. We believe it is not our job to force our beliefs on others, only to live by our beliefs and to share our thoughts and beliefs with others as often as they are sought.
The House of Yahshua was formed to allow us to freely worship according to our faith and conviction and to allow us to serve others. There is no need to promote growth, erect buildings, or seek high attendance. We are a network of individuals, responsible for ourselves and aware of our authority as servants of Yahshua. The House of Yahshua is the glue that binds us as a group but the individual members form the body of the Christ.
Our main goal is to spread out and teach each other to serve fully, as individuals with a common cause; to encourage each other; and to give each other whatever support is needed within our means. We seek liberty from human restraint and the ability to freely serve in Yahshua's church: this requires our church to remain in its simplest possible form, which we intend to do.
Please look around our site, check out the articles and information pages, and let us know what you think. If you have any questions or would like a particular subject addressed, contact us at our e-mail address and we'll be happy to take care of your concerns.
May Yahshua guide you in your search for truth and peace. We hope the House of Yahshua will serve in some way as an encouragement and a help along your way.
Our web master and the person responsible for the literature offered on this site is Ruth Jeffery, who also serves as contact minister for the House of Yahshua.
If you are interested in Bible study in the Orange, Texas, area, please contact Ruth at the number or address below for more information.
To contact us with questions, literature requests, comments, etc., please call
225-226-0960
or e-mail us at:
houseofyahshua@hotmail.com
1. To establish the logic, consistency, justness, mercy, and truth of God's word as revealed in the Old and New Testaments and to freely share this knowledge.
2. To provide emotional support, encouragement, and fellowship to other persons who share our convictions and beliefs.
3. To be prepared and willing to share our convictions and beliefs with anyone who asks or invites conversation about them.
4. To provide Bibles, study materials, and literature to anyone with a need for or interest in such items, according to our judgement and ability.
5. To provide financial support for those who, according to our judgement, have a need which we are able to and wish to supply.
6. To enable our ministry to serve others without concern for expenses. The church shall provide expense money when necessary in order to allow the ministry to fully serve without requiring or accepting payment.
7. To support other groups, individuals, or organizations who share our work in establishing the word of God as true and logical.
OPENING THE DOORS TO YAHSHUA'S HOUSE
"Knock, and it shall be opened to you..."
"If you don't believe in the doctrine of the trinity, you have no part in the kingdom of God."
"If you teach that Yahshua is the one called Yahweh in the Old Testament, you're deceived and not one of God's true worshippers."
"If you don't accept that 'the law' was nailed to the cross, making it unnecessary to obey it any longer, then you're legalistic and aren't one of God's chosen people."
"If you disagree with any doctrine that our church teaches, you are obviously not a true believer in God."
Sound familiar? How many of us at one time or another have heard statements like this and been informed that because we don't accept and believe every part of some church's doctrine, then at best we are not one of God's chosen people, and at worst we're condemned to the fires of hell forever? How often have we seen some supposedly God-fearing, christian person gleefully describe the fiery torment of those who disagree with his beliefs? Who among us hasn't wondered at the arrogance of those who claim to be loving servants of God while at the same time calling down condemnation and predictions of destruction upon those whose system of beliefs differs from theirs?
Observe the following passage:
"...And behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.
"Then the Spirit said unto Philip, 'Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.' And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, 'Understandeth thou what thou readest?' And he said, 'How can I, except some man should guide me?' And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
"Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Yahshua. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, 'See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?'
"And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him." (Acts 8:27-31, 35-36, & 38)
This is a very informative passage, and one of its most compelling aspects is not what Philip did, it's what Philip didn't do: He didn't quiz the eunuch about his existing beliefs. He didn't require him to prove a certain level of Scriptural scholarship. Philip didn't condemn the man for his ignorance of Scriptural interpretation. He didn't subject him to an intensive study of church doctrine before baptizing him. He didn't require him to become a member of Philip's assembly and start billing him for tithes. Philip simply offered the eunuch the truth that the eunuch had asked for and then baptized him at his request, trusting that God would then continue guiding this man along His path into greater and greater truth - regardless of his level of knowledge to begin with.
What Philip did then is what Yahshua's assemblies should be doing right now: making themselves available to those who are searching for God's truth, explaining what that truth is when asked, and then offering whatever help is needed to continue that search for the truth. Our job as Yahshua's servants is not to set ourselves apart from those who don't share our beliefs, condemning them for not believing "the truth" (which usually means a particular church doctrine), while setting ourselves above others as God's perfect, chosen, and truth-filled vessels. Our job is merely to open the door to God's truth to every person who seeks it: it is not our task to decide who has entered into that door. Only God can tell who has taken His truth to heart and become one of His beloved sons.
Now, notice also what the eunuch was doing as Philip encountered him: he was studying Scripture. We can clearly see that Philip was sent to instruct this man because he was already in search of the truth. Philip wasn't sent to a man completely ignorant of Scripture and the truth it contained: the very fact that the eunuch was studying and seeking to understand Scripture on his own was an indication that this was a man ready to receive the truth. In like manner, we can know that any person who is reading Scripture, struggling to understand the underlying truth, and whose search has now led them to this web site or to one of our ministers is also a person searching for God's truth - someone who may even now be one of God's chosen, though they might be only babes as far as understanding of the truth is concerned.
As the day of our Lord's coming draws nearer and nearer, we as Yahshua's disciples and messengers must understand our commission. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit..." (Matt. 28:19). This commission is very straightforward and has nothing to do with judging who is one of God's chosen people and who isn't - it has only to do with teaching the truth of God as revealed to us. The task of determining who our God has called and chosen is not ours: it belongs to God alone. Regardless of whether a person believes every part of the House of Yahshua's doctrine or not, if God has chosen that person then he is truly chosen, and our brother even now.
We of the House of Yahshua do not claim to know every nuance of God's truth. We do believe that Yahshua has revealed an awesome amount of His truth to us in order that we might share that truth with everyone possible. It is our belief that every single person who visits our web site or reads our literature or speaks to one of our ministers has the opportunity to become one of God's chosen people. Our door is open always to anyone who seeks God's truth, and if anyone can prove any part of our doctrine to be in error when judged according to Scripture, we will gratefully hear that proof. Our goal is not to teach our doctrine - we seek only to learn and teach God's truth as revealed in Scripture.
Welcome, brothers: join us in our continual search for the truth which leads to everlasting life. Read what we have to offer, speak to our ministers, search the Scriptures for yourself, and prove all that we share with you. If you should find something taught in error and can show us the truth from Scripture, show us so that we might show others. Most importantly, remember this: The state of your salvation is between you and God alone. It is up to you to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12). Our service before God our Father is simply to help you along the way to that salvation. The very fact that you have visited us shows the enormous potential lying before you - seek ye therefore to enter in at the strait and narrow gate, for therein lies the path to life.
Did You Know?
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If you have any comments or questions you'd like answered, please e-mail us at
houseofyahshua@hotmail.com