The King's Church Live is our new family night geared to meet the needs of the families of King's Church and the surrounding Jacksonville community.

Led by Pastor Teben Pyles, the worship group Manifold and the King's Players, this once a month family night features contemporary praise and worship, serious drama or a humorous skit, and a special speakers (including some of our own).

If you missed last month's meeting, you missed a great time of worship, a funny but powerful skit, and a special message on "Family" by Brent Daub.

Don't miss this Friday night! Bring your family and friends and join us at 7 PM in the King's Church New Fellowship Hall and enjoy anointed worship, a humorous skit, and an encouraging message from Suelynn Johnson that will lift you up in the faith!

Also, at the close of the meeting stick around for great refreshments and fellowship.

Sunday May 27 is Pentecost Sunday! The King's Church will join with the Church around the globe to celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that took place more than 2000 years ago.

On that dramatic day that actually took place 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus, Peter stood up with 11 other Apostles of the Lamb and answered the question asked by his fellow Israelites, "Brothers, what does this mean?"

Peter's answer to their searching question was to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom. The Apostle proclaimed the good news that the promise God had made to David to seat David's Son on David's throne in Messiah's Day had been fulfilled in the resurrection, ascension, and enthronement of the Jesus of Nazareth. Peter declared that the outpouring of the Spirit which they had seen and heard was the proof of this amazing fact.

Sadly, many Christians today have never heard the actual message Peter preached that first Pentecost Sunday, and many others who have heard of the outpouring of the Spirit have not understand the dynamic relationship between the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and Christ's Kingdom.

Join us this Pentecost Sunday at the King's Church and hear Bishop Kouri's amazing message, "The Gospel Of Peter". Discover for yourself the Gospel preached by Peter and the other apostles and learn how to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, a Kingdom anointing, that will enable you to walk in victory and reign in life.

Worship begins at 10:15. Nursery and Children's Church provided.

The King's Church is located at 7999 Philips Highway, Jacksonville, Florida 32256.

Don't forget the First Coast Apostolic Prayer Meeting Sunday evening, May 27. Please note that this is a Kingdom or governmental prayer meeting.

In his book GOVERNMENTAL PRAYER Noel Woodroffe declares, "Governmental prayer is the clearest expression of the warfare of the apostolic move of God. It expresses the mentality and the irresistible position of people committed to reformation. We call this type of prayer governmental because it truly declares to the principalities and the powers of the camp of the enemy the heart of the apostolic impartation in the Church."

Woodroffe continues, "Governmental Prayer is breakthrough prayer. It is authoritative because it is based on prophetic discernment of His will. It is filled with prophetic utterance and apostolic decrees. It is the spoken Word of God's power filling the earth."

Jesus said to His apostles, "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." In light of this powerful mandate from our great King, we will aggressively attack and dismantle the strongholds of the kingdom of darkness, and we will release Messiah's Kingdom purposes and righteous judgments into Northeast Florida.

Jesus, our great Pattern Apostle, went from one prayer meeting to another working miracles in between. And according to the book of Acts, Peter and his fellow apostles made kingdom or governmental prayer their priority. Just as Jesus commanded, so they spoke to the mountain with the prayer of command saying, "be removed and be cast into the sea." It was the effectiveness of their governmental prayers that enabled them to succeed in their apostolic mission to gather the remnant of Israel and the first fruits of the Gentile nations, establish New Covenant Israel and bring an end to the Old. If we are going to succeed in extending the Kingdom, reforming the Church, and transforming Jacksonville, and Northeast Florida, then Kingdom or governmental prayer must be our priority.

Therefore, the First Coast Apostolic Steering Committee is inviting apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers and church leaders from throughout the Northeast Florida region to join with us for this strategic time of governmental prayer.

The meeting will begin at 7 PM at the King's Church, 7999 Philips Highway, Jacksonville, Florida, 32257.

Join us for a weekend conference on Recovering Kingdom Fatherhood, taught by Dr. Will Thomas, of New Image Christian Counseling

Friday June 15 at 7 PM
Saturday June 16 at 10 AM

Men! Join us June 9th from 8 a.m. - Noon. We'll start with breakfast, then watch the popular movie, Courageous together with discussion afterward. Come hear what it means to be a father and how "honor begins at home."

Why are we doing what we doing?

All this talk of being placed into the family of God, living life together, spending time together, making memories, taking care of each other, growing in the Lord, being honest, building trust, forgiving one another, loving one another can be summed up in one word – Friendship.

God places people into a family where they love one another, where they care for each other, where they enjoy being with each other. God places people into a family of friends.

The Kingdom of God is about friendship

To say that sounds simple. Not simple as in brilliant; Simple as in childish. What a simpleton thing to say. I can imagine later today, you are asked,

“What was church about today?”
“Friendship.”
“No not children’s church but the service?”
“Yeah friendship.”
“Oh. Well I already know about that.”

The fact that this seems simple betrays our misunderstanding of both the Kingdom and genuine friendship.
What is a friend? I don’t know that we can even define it anymore. When we can no longer define a word that we use frequently, the word has suffered decay of meaning. Sadly, many of the important words of scripture have lost their Biblical meaning.

What is love? The Bible speaks of love much differently than our culture uses it. I do not love tacos the same way I love my wife but yet I say the same thing.

The word “friend” has suffered a similar decay of meaning. What does “friend” mean?
And the scripture was fulfilled which said, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. James 2:23

What is the Bible talking about when it speaks of being a Friend of God? What does the word “friend” mean in this passage?

Perhaps Abraham liked hanging out with God. Maybe they worked together for a while and grabbed some pizza after work. Maybe God was a friend of a friend. Perhaps Abraham sent God a friend request on Facebook. Maybe he even liked God’s page. I saw you can “like” God on Facebook. What does that mean? Who set up God’s Facebook page? I know one thing Abraham didn’t do. He didn’t send God an invitation to play an online game. Friends don’t send friends online game invitations.

Most people when pressed would be unable to give an accurate definition of genuine friendship. They may be able to describe some qualities found in a friend but many would simply admit, “I can’t give you a good definition of friendship but I know it when I see it.”

What is the status of friendship in our culture?

We are the most socially connected generation in the history of humanity. With hundreds of online friends posting every detail about their days, we know where others ate lunch. We know what music and sports teams they like. We see a barrage of pictures and posts but do we really know these people? The things we post and read are really not very helpful in really knowing each other. As connected as we are, many people are really lonely. We surround ourselves with more people but have no one to turn to in times of trouble. Sadly, our culture values fame and popularity over most everything else. Our culture is not very good at close friendships. The rise in popularity of social network sites reveals that a massive number of “friends” is no indication of closeness.

While connectivity may be increasing at an enormous rate, the actual number of close friends people have remains the same. The quality of friendships often drops as quantity increases. People report little to no change in feelings of loneliness and depression as the number of “friends” increase. More than ever our relationships are a mile wide and an inch deep. Most people really know very little about a lot of people. It is not necessarily the quantity of our relationships that determine our success but the quality.

Statistics show that most people have no one to call when a serious problem arises. Most of us face our greatest problems alone. But God said that it is not good for us to be alone. We are social creatures. We are built for community. Humanity is built for interdependence and yet our culture values independence. No wonder we feel empty at times. We exchange important covenantal relationships for a mask to trick people into believe that we have it all under control.

We live in a culture of self-reliance. Nearly everything we do or consume reinforces a culture that promotes independence. We are taught early to handle things ourselves. We are told that a person who needs help is weak. This is why most people do not what to bother other people with their problems. When we constantly try to impress others and maintain a positive image at all times we isolate ourselves from real relationships. Many people fear other’s finding out who they really are. So we create hundreds of shallow relationships to fill the void but unfortunately this only seems to increase the problem.

One might expect to see feelings of loneliness decrease when we surround ourselves with more people but in fact the opposite is often true. It is startling to see how loneliness and depression actually increase with greater population density. People most often feel more alone in a crowd. Thousands of people move to big cities chasing the sitcom dream of meaningful friendships and good times but find themselves lonelier than at any other time in their lives.

Studies suggest that the same is true even inside the church. We might think that church is the last place to find loneliness but sadly even in church people report a lack of true friendships and real closeness. This trend increases as the size of the congregation increases. While churches struggle to build an image of Biblical community, people are feeling less and less connected. The modern church model is not working.
Coming to church on Sunday. Sitting in a seat. Listening to a sermon. Going home is not working. Nowhere in the New Testament do we see anyone doing church the way the modern church is doing it. There is no such thing as going it alone. Church is not a theater. Church is not a classroom. Church is a family of friends, the body of Christ.

One of the church’s jobs is to redeem culture’s view of friendship because The Kingdom is about friendship. How can we change the way our culture does friendship if we are conforming to the culture? We are not solving the problem, we are adding to the problem.

The symptoms of a lack of genuine friendship are obvious but the solution is not so clear.
Having friends is not enough. We need the right kind of friendships Where are the books on friendship? Where are the teachings on Biblical friendship? Where can we go to find what real friendship looks like? Don’t tell me. Show me.

The Bible is full of verses, passages, and stories about friendships. We could go to the proverbs and learn some good wisdom about being a good friend. We could turn to passages in the Old Testament and see the friendships between Moses and Aaron, Joshua and Caleb, David and Jonathan.

Even Jesus always sent out the disciples in teams. This is why the apostles continued the practice of traveling in pairs because Jesus commanded partners in ministry. Peter and Mark, Paul and Barnabas and later Paul and Luke all modeled the importance of godly partnering. The early church understood the importance of covenantal relationships. They did not do life alone.

Jesus taught on friendship just before his arrest and crucifixion. He could have sat the disciples down and taught them anything he wanted. He could have taught the prosperity gospel, the social gospel, he could have even pulled out His “end times” fold out illustrated prophetic timeline but yet Jesus teaches his disciples friendship. These guys had been together for three years and yet He returns to this basic, this simple, this very important lesson. What did Jesus teach about genuine friendship.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead I have called you friends, for everything that I have learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.

John 15:9-17

Friendship originates with God

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. John 15:9
Love begins with God. The love of the Father toward the Son is perfect love, perfect fellowship, perfect friendship. This is the highest love of all. And with the same kind of love, the deep, tender, unchanging love of God, Jesus loves us. The greatest love is given to us.

Without God we could not love. Sin has made us hostile toward God and positioned us to receive His wrath. But God made a way. God chose us. God extends His friendship toward us while we were enemies. God invites us into fellowship with Him.

The first thing we must acknowledge is that real friendship is Christ centered. Christ is at the center of all genuine friendships. Christ makes a way for us to receive the love of the Father but He also makes it possible for us to love one another.

The epistle of 1 John is one of the most amazing books in the Bible. It was written at a time when most if not all of the other apostles of Christ had been martyred or imprisoned. In fact, all of them were killed for their faith except for John. The epistle was written by John at the end of his life. Surely his words to the young church were treasured and received with great anticipation. They must have thought to themselves that this is the last of the apostles of Jesus, the one who was so close with the Lord. He has lived a full life and has much wisdom and experience. John could have written any measure of instruction to the believers. He could have filled the pages of his letter with great spiritual mysteries or wisdom about godly living but yet one instruction is repeated throughout his letter, “Love one another.” Above all other commands, we are called to love each other, to really love one another. He did this because he understood the heart of Jesus his master and friend.
We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
1 John 1:3

John understood what Jesus was saying the night before His death. John got the message on the importance of friendship. If we don’t get this we miss friendship entirely. John understood that God the Holy Spirit, God the Son and God the Father were in perfect fellowship, the perfect love of covenantal relationship and as we come into the love of Christ we get to partake in this fellowship. As we come into Christ, we are invited into covenantal relationship with God that already exists within God. We do not create new community. We are invited into an existing community, perfect community with God. This is why the world cannot replicate the quality of friendship found in scripture.

We can only experience the true love of friendship because we are in fellowship with God and He is the one who holds me to Him and you to me. Any other devotion or commitment is going to fail. Loving one another is evidence that we are disciples of Christ.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
John 15:9-12

What Jesus is literally saying is that all of you together remain in my love. It is in this love that we remain. It is in this love that we abide or dwell. He didn’t say we just enter through this love or that we visit this love. We don’t just come to this love once. We don’t just come to this love when we feel empty. No, we remain in this love. We live our entire lives out of this place where God loves us and we love others. This is our life. It is in this place He wants us to be, everyday.

Abundant life

How do we remain? We remain in His love by obeying His commands. What is His command? That we love one another.

Joy is another word we have so watered down. We don’t even understand what joy really is. We use joy and happiness interchangeably as synonyms but joy is much more than happiness. Joy is much more than pleasant feelings. Happiness is often dependent upon our circumstances but joy is much deeper. Joy is dependent upon God and not the external circumstances in our life. This joy that is implanted in the soul overflows into every area of our lives. This is why the joy of the Lord is our strength. Because where happiness is fleeting in times of trouble, joy strengthens us when we need it most. Joy is life giving.

Jesus came to give life and abundant life. This is much more than biological life, more than existence. See Christ came to bring Zoe. Full life. Life to its fullest. Life giving life. And this is the type of life we share in Christ. Not just my life in Christ but my life in Christ’s body. This is where genuine friendship comes in. As we are sharing this life in Christ together, we are overflowing with joy, we are overflowing with life. This comes out of Life giving friendships.

Jesus wants us to participate in Life giving friendships.

Our Joy is complete when we abide in Christ, when we receive His love and when we love one another. In these friendships, we experience renewed life together in Christ. In these friendships we are receiving life and giving life and receiving life again. This is sustainable life.

We all need and desire great friendships. Friends help make life enjoyable. People with great friendships report higher levels of joy, happiness and satisfaction in their lives. People without meaningful relationships find it hard to enjoy life, even if they have achieved a measure of success in other areas. Our lives are designed to be shared and enjoyed with other people. The truly wealthy in this world are those who are rich in their friendships, marriage and family. Marriage is about friendship. Family is about friendship. Church is about friendship. The Kingdom is about friendship.

Quantity can never substitute for quality. You do not need more friends you need more from your friends. You can be real friendly with everyone but you cannot be real friends with everyone. It is actually freeing to know that we cannot have deep covenantal friendship with everyone we know. Most of our frustration comes from unrealistic and undefined expectations. We call people friends when they are really acquaintances and we get frustrated when they cannot give us the brotherly love that we need from true friends. We do not need friendships of convenience but of covenant.

These are the friends that last a lifetime. We live in a disposable society where it is easier to buy a new blue-ray player than repair an old DVD player. Our country throws out more furniture, clothes, appliances and food than any other. We used to reuse cloth towels and wash them to be used again but now everyone throws away paper towels after a single use because no one wants to go through the hassle with cleaning a dirty rag? Have our relationships become single use? Are people any different than paper towels? Once they get used up and are dirty, we throw them away for something new. But you see, we cannot just go to the store and buy a great friendship. Great friendships must be built. Great friendships must be maintained.

Lay Down your Life

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15:12-13

We can’t just love as the world loves. We must love as Jesus loves and that requires us to lay down our lives for one another.

No higher expression of love could be given. Life is the most valuable object we possess. When a person is willing to lay down their life it shows the utmost extent of love. We are reminded that this was something Jesus demonstrated. Not just to love in word but to love in deed. Christ’s life was not a common one. It was not just the life of an innocent person but the most valuable of all lives. Christ was the price more valuable than the sum of all creation.

When we ask what is friendship, Jesus does not just give us a definition. Jesus gives us a demonstration. This is friendship. This is the friendship that the Kingdom is founded upon.

This kind of friendship is “say-able” but not “do-able” without the power of the Holy Spirit. Covenantal friendships require devotion and selflessness. Sadly these elements are missing in most of our friendships. What we need is the unconditional love of God to fill our deepest relationships.

Thankfully, most of us will never be in a position where we have to choose between physical life and death for a friend. But daily we are faced with a decision of selfishness or selflessness. Jesus sacrificed a life of comfort for the calling of others. He was willing to give up earthly luxuries, comfort and fame in order to live a life of selflessness for the love of others and the establishment of the Kingdom. We too show our great love for our friends by being selfless and laying down what the world considers the “important” things in life for what God considers important. In the Kingdom of God, people are more important than things.

People are more important than pleasures. People are more important than comforts. Will you lay down your own personal comfort, pleasures, and things to put people first? Will you love your friends with this kind of love?

Would you lay down your reputation? Would you lay down your retirement? Would you lay down a career? Would you lay your ministry? These things are often referred to as our life’s work. These things are our life. Would you lay them down for a friend? This is what is really missing in our communities. Most people are only willing to lay down things of minimal importance.

There is no friendship that costs you nothing.

When we give up our life for a friend, we give up all that we have. This is how Jesus defines Kingdom Friendship. So if we say, “I can’t define friendship but I know it when I see it.” We must honestly ask, “Do we see it?” Do we see this kind of love in our church? Do we see this kind of love in our city? Do we see this kind of love in our world? Then let us not de-value the word friendship. To call what happens on an Internet webpage the same thing as what Christ did for us is an insult to our King. Our friendships are not the same. Lets call it something else. But it is not friendship. Friendship is not done with the click of a mouse. Friendship does not watch people we love throw away their lives. Friendship does not let people we love go to hell without a fight. Friendship is laying down my life for my friend. I will embrace the death of self for the life of my friend I don’t care how I look. I don’t care what people think. I love you.

But that kind of friendship means vulnerability. Yes, real friendship means vulnerability. The deeper the relationship, the greater the potential for hurt. But Jesus says there is no other way. Jesus was not just willing to lay down His life. He actually did it. We too cannot just say we will lay down our lives but must actually do it. That is how Jesus loved his friends.

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:18

I call you friends

You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead I have called you friends, for everything that I have learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other. John 15:14-17

Jesus teaches us something about good friendships. Friendship requires openness and vulnerability. Jesus is explaining that friends are willing to sacrifice for each other, to lay down their lives in love. In order for true friendship to exist, we must be willing to be vulnerable. He also says that there is an openness and honesty that is required of friends. He is not keeping things from them. He is not pretending to be somebody He is not. He is not afraid to reveal everything about himself to His friends. He has made known the secret things to His friends. Let your friends know what you are passionate about, what you enjoy, and what you are concerned about. Your hopes and dreams are not to be kept hidden from real friends.

Who is the real you? We spend so much time in fantasy and fear that no one knows who the real us is. How can we expect to have deep relationships if we are all just actors? If Shakespeare was right and all the world is a stage then we perform best on Sunday mornings.

In Christ it is not that way. Jesus is saying “I have welcomed you into a state of the most intimate fellowship with myself and the Father.” You don’t have to be afraid of intimacy. You do not have to fear being exposed. Just as Abraham was called the friend of God, now we, the sons and daughters of Abraham receive friendship with God. The wrath of God has been satisfied in Christ and we are friends with God. We can securely rest our identity in who we are in Christ.

God loves you. What a powerful statement. This is not a trite passing comment. “Have a nice Day” This is a profound theological statement. God’s disposition toward you has changed because of what Christ has done. I was an enemy toward God but now I am called friend. Not slave. Not servant but friend. This is a miracle.
So now that the most amazing thing has happened. I do not just get to go to heaven. I am God’s friend. What an exciting thing. I am God’s friend and we are going to change this world. I did not choose God but He chose me. Everything else is possible. He want’s me to bear fruit; to reproduce this love. There is a purpose for this and it is to produce fruit. This is why we know that the modern model of church is not working. The mega church model does not produce fruit, it consolidates it. Each Christian is called to produce fruit as we abide in Christ.
How then do we now live? We love. We love one another.

A simple yet impossible message. This message changes the world. With this message and through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Church bears lasting fruit and advances the Kingdom of God. A church that transforms cities and disciples nations.

If we do not understand this important reality we will miss what God is doing. The Kingdom of God is about friendship. The Kingdom of God advances in fruitfulness changing the world we live in.

If I really wanted to eliminate the Church’s effectiveness in the world I would first get people to marginalize the Holy Spirit. I would then get people focused on themselves. I would have Christians always concerned about their own needs and problems. I would turn Church into a theater where people went for entertainment. I would turn church into a classroom where people would go for education. I would turn people’s attention on themselves and make church a hospital where they could go to get healthy and once they were healthy they would return to their usual lives unconcerned about other people’s hurts. I would convince Christians that the Church is a place you go to get fixed or get what you need. While they are still focused on themselves, I would then make people afraid of real friendship because it sounds like too much of a commitment. It sounds like a lot of work all the while convincing them that they already have a lot of friends. I would do this to eliminate genuine friendships.

And if I wanted to prevent real Kingdom friendships in the church, I would make people think they already had real friendships, genuine friendships when in reality they have a bunch of acquaintances they call friends so they wouldn’t want to even try to go deep with people because they would be so busy with all their “friends” and activities. Then when trouble comes people will begin to feel lonely. This loneliness would cause people to focus even more on themselves and then in their self-pursuit they would be truly alone. Once the church is alone and divided, then they become ineffective and easy to manipulate to whatever the contemporary culture says is popular. Then doctrine gets watered down. Then the church is no longer the church and no longer a threat to change anything.

The sad truth is that we live in a world that encourages selfishness, independence, convenience, isolation and using people rather than loving them. We live in a culture whose by-product is loneliness.
However, there are worse things than feeling alone. Jean-Paul Sarte’s Play “No Exit” focuses on three people who have passed from this life into the afterlife. They are escorted into a finely decorated waiting room where they begin to interact. As the play develops we learn more about these characters and how they came to be where they are. Sarte reveals to us that these damned souls expect medieval torture devices to punish them for eternity for their crimes but no torture devices come. Instead the climax and the conclusion of the play is where these people discover is “Hell is other people.”

People can be monsters. Like cannibals, people consume each other. The creatures designed to glorify God and bring heaven to earth have the capacity to bring hell to each other. No other creature is capable of such torment, such destruction, such oppression and such depravity as humanity. The image bearers of God are killing each other.

There are worse things than feeling alone. The worst thing is being truly alone; alone in this world, alone in eternity, apart from God forever. Apart from God we are monsters.

Let us not trick ourselves, if Christ had not first loved us, if He does not continue to love us we could not love one another. Without Christ we would all be monsters. More than ever, we must acknowledge that friendship is desperately needed. We need God. The thing we need right now is God’s friendship. We know we need it. We crave it so badly. We can only do it through the power of God filling our lives.

Loving people is more valuable than any skill, talent, riches, or wisdom. God calls us to love people. People are more important to God than position or possessions.

This is the kind of love that the church was founded upon and this is the type of love we need today. This is the love that people all over the world long for. The world tries to fill this void of true love with all kinds of pleasure, pursuits, passions and counterfeit relationships. But this kind of love cannot be found anywhere but within the body of Christ.

We do not come to church to take attendance. We do not come to church to be entertained. We do not come to church to get information. We are the Church because we are “in-formation.” We are the Church because we are redeemed to God. We are not redeemed from something but redeemed to something. He has empowered His Church with the Holy Spirit to love one another, to be transformed and to transform the world under the rule of King Jesus.

I want this to be the last week you go to church. Next week do not go to church. Never go to church again. Start being the Church. The Church is not where we go but who we are. Yes we still gather corporately but church does not stop when we walk out of those doors.

The world needs the love of Christ. The Church is called to administer this kind of love as ministers of Christ. Every Christian in this room is a minister of Christ. We minister to our friends and family and the world around us. You are God’s solution to the hurting people in your life. The church extends the Kingdom of God through friendship.
Friendship is the means by which we advance the Kingdom. God extends friendships to enemies using real people. How many of you came into the Kingdom because God used someone else?

How do we advance the Kingdom? Not through the sword. Not through compulsion. Not through manipulation. Not through the political process. Not through clever marketing. Not through persuasion or even logic and reasoning. The power of God works through friendship.

How will the world learn friendship? How will it change? God’s solution to this problem is the Church. As the Church, our mission is to change our culture advance the Kingdom. We need to be concerned about the people, families around us. We like John ought to be concerned about bringing others into the community we have found.

This is why we can say with confidence, “The Kingdom of God is about friendship.”

Enrollment for Spring Semester is closed, but it is still not too early to enroll for our Fall Semester.

Fall Classes will begin September 3, 2012.

However, it is not too early to begin the enrollment process. Any new student interested in enrolling in ATS and working toward one of our four outstanding degrees in Apostolic and Prophetic Studies should go ahead and fill out your enrollment application, pay the one-time $25.00 registration fee, and send us your transcripts. This will enable our Office of Admissions to determine your placement in the proper degree program, award the appropriate scholarship and complete your enrollment process.

For any new student who would like to go ahead and get started before you have fully completed the enrollment process and before the Fall Semester officially begins can go ahead and fill out the application and pay your $25.00 One-Time-Only Registration Fee and also make an initial $100.00 down payment towards one of our core courses. This will enable the Admissions Office to go ahead and create a temporary transcript and get you started in one of our core courses. This will allow you to begin working immediately toward your degree, while you are in the process of submitting any transcripts for any academic work you may have done in other schools which enables us place you in the proper degree level. We will also need your financial information to help us determine the level of scholarship that should be awarded.  If you are applying for Life Learning Credits in order to accelerate your degree program, a Life Learning Survey will have to be completed and turned in to the Admissions Office for evaluation. 

Our Chancellor, Dr. George Kouri recommends that you begin your studies at ATS by enrolling in AM207 "God's Agenda For The 21st Century" or AD300 "Rediscovering The Keys of the Kingdom". Both of these three-hour courses are required for all four of our outstanding degrees. The total tuition costs for either of course is $150 for 3-hours credit towards the Associate's, $300.00 for 3-hours credit towards the Bachelor's, $450.00 for 3-hours credit toward the Master's, and $600.00 for 3-hours credit toward the Doctor's. These prices already include a 50 % discount that is being offered for a limited time. This 50% discount is good throughout the new students entire degree process.

In addition to the 50% discount, all new students will receive a scholarship of 25%, 50%, or 100 %. The amount of the scholarship is depends upon the student's financial situation or need. Interest-free financing is also available to all.

After you have paid the $25.00 Registration Fee, made your initial $100.00 down payment and been enrolled in either of the core courses mentioned above, then our Administration Office can process your transcripts and financial information to determine the appropriate degree track, scholarship level, and determine the payment method for the balance of your tuition, and thus complete your official enrollment in ATS.

To pay your $25.00 Registration Fee and the initial $100.00 payment please go to the Admissions Page (http://www.atsvirtual.org/admissions) and make your payment via PayPal by clicking on the Donate Button on the left hand side of the page. Or you may contact Dr. Marie Howard directly regarding your payment and course enrollment at mhoward@atsvirtual.org or 904 771-5375.

Classes are now being formed for the FALL SEMESTER 2012.

FALL CLASSES BEGIN SEPTEMBER 3, 2012.

However, it is not too early to begin the enrollment process. Enroll now and you will have plenty of time to forward your transcripts to enable us to determine the proper degree program for you, award your scholarship, and arrange your payment method for paying the balance of your tuition. (All ATS students are awarded a scholarship.)

Also, you can take advantage of our current 50% discount on tuition.

Some of the courses being offered during the FALL of 2012 are: AD250 The Non-Negotiables of Apostolic Christianity,  AD300 Recovering The Keys of the Kingdom, AD310 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, Understanding Times & Seasons, AD501 Messiah's Day,  AD700 Gospel of the King & The Transformation of Nations,  AM120 Spiritual Authority, AM190 Spiritual Formation For Ministry,  AM200 Conflict Management and Resolution In Church Life, AM207 God's Agenda For The 21st Century, AM250 The Work of Apostles and Apostolic Companies in the 21st Century,  AM350 Prophetic Models For Apostolic Reformation, AM410 Impreccatory Psalms, Praying the Justice Prayers of the Church, CIV101 Apostolic Architecture and Kingdom Dominion,  NT461 Last Days According to Jesus and the Prophets of Israel, NT463 Revelation of John,  NT464 Eschatology of the Apostle Paul, and EM400 Native Religions, Indigenous Peoples, and Christian Mission.

All of these courses are required for all four of our degrees (Associate's, Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral) in Apostolic And Prophetic Studies.

In addition to these outstanding courses, ATS will also offer a new course entitled, Signs And Wonders, which will be taught by Dr. Jim Bradshaw, the Dean of the School of Ministry and Applied theology.

To review ATS degree programs and course requirements go to http://www.atsvirtual.org/areas-of-study.

To preview Current Course descriptions go to http://www.atsvirtual.org/current-courses.

To read about the registration and enrollment process go to: http://www.atsvirtual.org/admissions.

Enroll today and take advantage of our special discounted tuition prices, scholarships, and financing! For details on our amazing "Stimulus Package" click here.

Please note: Beginning in February of 2011, ATS moved from an open format to a semester based format for all of our online courses. This was done to enable our teachers and faculty overseers to oversee the courses and monitor the work of our degree students to assure the integrity of our degrees. ATS degree students may still enjoy the benefit of working online at their own pace. But all degree students will be assigned a faculty adviser.

In addition to our online courses ATS also has a Commuter Campus in Jacksonville, Florida. For information regarding the courses being offered this Fall please write to the Dean of Admissions at mhoward@atsvirtual.org or phone 904-771-5375

 
 Illustrations: 1) Jesus' crucifixion  2) His triumphant resurrection  3) His ascension

Experience for yourself the life changing power and glory of Christ's death and resurrection!

You are invited to join Bishop George Kouri and the members of the King's Church for our Good Friday and Easter Sunday Services and discover,

"WHAT HAPPENED FROM THE CROSS TO THE THRONE."

Most people understand Jesus of Nazareth died on a cross at the hands of the Romans. But what happened to His spirit and soul after His body was laid in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea? The Scriptures tell us that Jesus descended into hell. What actually happened during the three days and three nights in which He was in hell?  Also, what happened after Jesus was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven? Where is Christ and what is He doing now?

In his inspiring message, "From The Cross To The Throne" Bishop Kouri answers these and many other questions as he shares what the Scriptures actually reveal about Christ's death, His descent into hell, His resurrection, His ascension and His enthronement on the throne of King David at the right hand of God in heaven:

Bishop Kouri will deal with the amazing events of Good Friday and Easter and the Mystery of Redemption in two powerful messages:

7:00 PM Good Friday, Part 1-Jesus' Death on the Cross, Descent into Hell, and Three Days And Three Nights of Suffering

10:15 AM Easter Sunday, Part 2- Jesus' Conquest of Satan, Death, and Hell, 40 Days of Resurrection Appearances, His Ascension and Enthronement on David's Throne as He Receives His Kingdom

Everyone is welcome! Join us for great praise, charismatic worship, and for the ministry of God's Word.

The King's Church is located at 7999 Philips Highway. The Phone Number is 904.638.6936.

Friday Evening 7 PM: The Launch of the "King's Church Live"

Brent Daub, a powerful Bible teacher, popular conference speaker, and minister, will be the featured speaker to kick off "The King's Church Live". The King's Church Live is a new family night and ministry outreach for the King's Church and for the Jacksonville area.

Headed by Teben Pyles, this special once-a-month "family night" will feature a variety of special activities, ministry opportunities, and events, including serious drama, humorous skits, contemporary praise and worship, special speakers, games, roller skating, line-dancing and movies.

Starting at 7 PM on April 27, the King's Church Live will be held every 4th Friday night in the Church's soon to be refurbished all purpose room and conference center.

(An attorney at law, Brent Daub heads his own law firm in Southern California and ministers with his father as part of an apostolic outreach in the region. He also serves as Dean of the School of Kingdom Civilization for ATS.)

Saturday Morning at 9 AM: An Apostolic Dialog and Panel Discussion

On Saturday Morning from 9-12 Brent will join his dad, popular Bible Teacher and Conference Speaker Apostle Mike Daub, and Bishop George Kouri as part of a specially selected panel for an apostolic and prophetic dialog about the state of the 21st century church and the present world condition.

Apostle Daub is a member of the General Apostolic Council of Apostolic Ministries and Churches International (AMCI), an Ambassador-at-Large for the Communion of Apostolic Churches (CAC), and the Academic Dean of the Apostles Theological Seminary (ATS). Bishop George Kouri is the Pastor of the King's Church, the Presiding Apostle of AMCI and the CAC, and the Chancellor of ATS.

Sunday Morning at 10:15: The King's Church Special Worship and Ordination Service

Following praise and charismatic worship, Apostle Mike Daub will be the guest speaker for the Sunday morning service. As a part of this very unusual Lord's Day gathering, Apostle Daub will be joined by Brent, Bishop Kouri, and several other apostles and ordained ministers for a special Apostolic Ministries and Churches International ordination service.

Don't miss this powerful apostolic and prophetic weekend! Mark your calendar and make plans now to join us!

Today, the Lord's Church is standing on the threshold of a great breakthrough move of God worldwide that will enable us to take cities and transform nations.

In Joshua Chapter 1 God speaks to Joshua and commands him to rise up, together with the generation born in the wilderness, cross over the Jordan and take the land. In 1 Corinthians 10:11 the Apostle Paul tells us that all these things happened as an example or pattern for us. Joshua and the children of Israel speak to us of Jesus and His Church. The land of Canaan speaks to us today of the world with it's cities and nations. According to the New Testament Jesus of Nazareth is the greater Joshua, who is leading His Church in the conquest of the Devil's kingdom to possess cities and nations and fill all things with the glory of God.

One of the central themes of Holy Scripture is that the glory of God will fill the whole earth. According to Paul this is the purpose of the present reign of King Jesus. The Apostle Paul declares in Ephesians 4;10 that Jesus Christ ascended to fill all things. And the way He is going to do it is through His Church.

From Genesis to Revelation every promise of God is for increase. In fact the blessing of God upon Abraham and his seed is a thousandfold blessing of increase. Increase for our personal lives, increase for our families, increase for our businesses and careers, increase for our ministries and increase for our work together as a Kingdom of until we literally outnumber the wicked and possess the gates of our enemies.

Our heavenly Father's will for each one of us as believers is for more...it is for abundance in every area of our lives. His will for us His Church corporately, as the body of His Kingdom purpose, is for us to possess cities and nations, transform economies and cultures, and fill the whole earth with His glory.

Today, the Lord Jesus is pouring out his Spirit upon a Joshua generation of believer's born in the wilderness of the Church's immaturity to enable us to cross the Jordan, possess the land (i.e. cities and nations), and fill all things with the goodness and glory of God.

Now what happens when God is preparing us to leave the wilderness of the Church's immaturity, cross over and take the land of promise?

What does He do? What does He require of us? Three Things...

To listen to Part 1 of this message click here.

To listen to Part 1 of this message click here.

"Possessing the Land God Has Promised You and Receiving Your Kingdom Inheritance" is a message about faith in action.

I want to take you into a truth that is vital for each of us to understand and embrace for our lives.

We live in a time of tremendous skepticism...a time when we don't trust anyone...especially leaders. Our political leaders have let us down. Corporate CEO's and business leaders have betrayed us. And ministers of the gospel and church leaders with their immorality,  pride and carnality have undermined our confidence in leadership.

Part of the reason we don't trust leaders is we don't trust ourselves. We have trouble believing that God can actually change the human heart and purify our lives. As a result Satan attacks us again and again both us leaders and as believers.

Satan challenges us, "How can God use you...look at your weaknesses and your faults. Look at your failures and mistakes."

We all experience these attacks so that when it comes to the things of God we can't imagine God using us...or anybody else. If a person is a leader he must be a crook. Something must be wrong. God could not use him or us.

This mistrust of leaders and of ourselves results in an attitude or belief that says: "If something is the will of God...if this is God...then God must be the one to supernaturally cause it to happen without any help from us."

In fact we tend to think that, "If something is the will of God than no one can keep it from happening."

This attitude or belief is really an arrogant triumphalism.

"If something is the will of God, then a church, a ministry, a plan, or a project will succeed regardless of what you and I do. If it is God it will all just work out."

Yet nothing could be farther from the truth. And yet we continuously judge each other and the work of god by this false belief, "If it is God...it will succeed...automatically...regardless of what you and I do."

Oh how I wish that were true...but it is not! It is a false triumphalism. It is based upon fatalism and leads to passivity in the Christian life. It has nothing to do with true faith.  It takes the human factor...human responsibility out of the work of God's Kingdom. The balance to the Biblical doctrine of the sovereignty of God is the freedom of the human will and human responsibility. Once God does the work of regeneration in our lives He has something for us to do. As sons  and daughters of His Kingdom we have an important part to play in God's Kingdom.

Therefore, what I want you to see in this message is that if God has a sovereign will for an individual believer, a ministry, a church, or a movement, we can resist His will and miss it. We saw in my message the Kadesh Crisis that even though God has a will or a plan for our lives, like the children of Israel at Kadesh Barnea, we can fall into unbelief or disobedience and delay or abort the fulfillment of God's plan altogether.

The will of God requires faith on our part, and real faith acts...it obeys God's will and works together with God to release His supernatural power and His Kingdom purpose into the world!

Well in Joshua 1, God gives Joshua and the children of Israel a great promise. God promises that he is going to give Joshua and the children of Israel the land of Canaan as their Kingdom inheritance. But He fails to tell them that it is already occupied:

• "I am giving you the land...and oh by the way, it is full of giants."
• "I am giving you the land...but there are seven nations bigger and greater than you already living there."
• "And there are 31 kings in the land, and the kings have armies, and their cities have walls around them...and they want to keep their cities...thank you very much."

If you and I don't get this, we will miss out on what God is doing in our lives individually and corporately.

Yes, God gave them the land, but without the obedience of faith...without acting and doing their part...the land would only be theirs in promise not in possession.

I want to talk to you today about possessing the land of promise.

This message is the third in my series on "Receiving Our Kingdom Inheritance".  In my previous message, "The Kadesh Crisis", we saw a generation of Israelites who refused to believe and obey God, and as a result missed out on their Kingdom purpose. In today's message we see a generation, who under Joshua's leadership, believes, obeys, and possesses the land of promise.

In this message I am talking about what it is going to take for us to receive our Kingdom inheritance, the cities and nations of the world or the blessings of Abraham. The Apostle Paul tells us that all these things were written as an example for us. Therefore, it is important as we look at Joshua and the generation that actually possessed the promised land that we understand that the land of Canaan is not shadow or type of heaven. The land of Canaan does not speak to us of heaven or of going to heaven when we die, but rather it speaks to us of the conquest of the kingdoms of the world, possessing cities and nations and filling the whole earth with the glory of the sons and daughters of the kingdom of God.

If you and I are going to possess what God has promised us, there are three things we need to see!

To watch this message click here.

In this relevant teaching Pastor Sandra Kouri explains the ramifications of the royal law of Messiah's Kingdom for the 21st century, and reveals the strategic impact that obeying this command can have our our personal lives, marriages, families, the church and world today.

To listen to Part 1 of her message click here.

To listen to Part 2 click here.

 
 Illustrations: 1) Jesus' crucifixion  2) His triumphant resurrection  3) His ascension

Experience for yourself the life changing power and glory of Christ's death and resurrection!

You are invited to join Bishop George Kouri and the members of the King's Church for our Good Friday and Easter Sunday Services and discover,

"WHAT HAPPENED FROM THE CROSS TO THE THRONE."

Most people understand Jesus of Nazareth died on a cross at the hands of the Romans. But what happened to His spirit and soul after His body was laid in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea? The Scriptures tell us that Jesus descended into hell. What actually happened during the three days and three nights in which He was in hell?  Also, what happened after Jesus was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven? Where is Christ and what is He doing now?

In his inspiring message, "From The Cross To The Throne" Bishop Kouri answers these and many other questions as he shares what the Scriptures actually reveal about Christ's death, His descent into hell, His resurrection, His ascension and His enthronement on the throne of King David at the right hand of God in heaven:

Bishop Kouri will deal with the amazing events of Good Friday and Easter and the Mystery of Redemption in two powerful messages:

7:00 PM Good Friday, Part 1-Jesus' Death on the Cross, Descent into Hell, and Three Days And Three Nights of Suffering

10:15 AM Easter Sunday, Part 2- Jesus' Conquest of Satan, Death, and Hell, 40 Days of Resurrection Appearances, His Ascension and Enthronement on David's Throne as He Receives His Kingdom

Everyone is welcome! Join us for great praise, charismatic worship, and for the ministry of God's Word.

The King's Church is located at 7999 Philips Highway. The Phone Number is 904.638.6936.

Friday Evening 7 PM: The Launch of the "King's Church Live"

Brent Daub, a powerful Bible teacher, popular conference speaker, and minister, will be the featured speaker to kick off "The King's Church Live". The King's Church Live is a new family night and ministry outreach for the King's Church and for the Jacksonville area.

Headed by Teben Pyles, this special once-a-month "family night" will feature a variety of special activities, ministry opportunities, and events, including serious drama, humorous skits, contemporary praise and worship, special speakers, games, roller skating, line-dancing and movies.

Starting at 7 PM on April 27, the King's Church Live will be held every 4th Friday night in the Church's soon to be refurbished all purpose room and conference center.

(An attorney at law, Brent Daub heads his own law firm in Southern California and ministers with his father as part of an apostolic outreach in the region. He also serves as Dean of the School of Kingdom Civilization for ATS.)

Saturday Morning at 9 AM: An Apostolic Dialog and Panel Discussion

On Saturday Morning from 9-12 Brent will join his dad, popular Bible Teacher and Conference Speaker Apostle Mike Daub, and Bishop George Kouri as part of a specially selected panel for an apostolic and prophetic dialog about the state of the 21st century church and the present world condition.

Apostle Daub is a member of the General Apostolic Council of Apostolic Ministries and Churches International (AMCI), an Ambassador-at-Large for the Communion of Apostolic Churches (CAC), and the Academic Dean of the Apostles Theological Seminary (ATS). Bishop George Kouri is the Pastor of the King's Church, the Presiding Apostle of AMCI and the CAC, and the Chancellor of ATS.

Sunday Morning at 10:15: The King's Church Special Worship and Ordination Service

Following praise and charismatic worship, Apostle Mike Daub will be the guest speaker for the Sunday morning service. As a part of this very unusual Lord's Day gathering, Apostle Daub will be joined by Brent, Bishop Kouri, and several other apostles and ordained ministers for a special Apostolic Ministries and Churches International ordination service.

Don't miss this powerful apostolic and prophetic weekend! Mark your calendar and make plans now to join us!

In a recent planning meeting of the Apostles Theological Seminary Senior Leadership Team a strategic decision was made to continue to offer a special ATS STIMULUS PACKAGE for the Fall Semester of 2012. 

This decision came out of  a practical discussion about the struggle many ministers and ministerial candidates are having in the today's economy. To encourage fivefold ministers and ministerial candidates to move forward with their ministerial training this package includes:

1) DISCOUNTING TUITION COSTS BY 50% on all four of our outstanding degrees (Associate's, Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral).

The tuition for the Associate's degree has been reduced from $100.00 a credit hour to $50.00, the Bachelor's Degree from $200.00 a credit hour to $100.00, the Master's Degree from $300.00 a credit hour to $150.00, and the Doctoral Degree from $400.00 a credit hour to $200.00.

For students enrolling for the Spring Semester this discount will apply throughout the students entire degree program. 

For those who do not want credit towards a degree the cost for auditing our courses is regularly $150.00. But with the present 50% discount, the cost for auditing has been reduced to $75.00 a course.  Also, for a limited time only the regular one-time only $50.00 registration fee has been reduced to $25.00.

2) In addition to the 50% discount we are also GRANTING SCHOLARSHIPS to every student accepted into ATS.

These scholarships range from the 100% Chancellor's Scholarship which covers the full tuition (granted to deserving students) to a 50% or 25% scholarship applied to the already reduced tuition costs as described in the paragraph above (the amount of the scholarship awarded will depend upon the student's financial situation or need).

Students must apply for scholarships through the Admissions Office and supply appropriate financial information upon request.

3) Finally, in addition to the 50% discount and scholarships, our NO-INTEREST FINANCING program completes the ATS STIMULUS PACKAGE and makes it possible for anyone desiring to do so to earn an Associate's, Bachelor's, Master's, or Doctoral Degree degree in Apostolic & Prophetic Studies for as little as $100.00 a month.

Prospective students may contact the Office of Admissions at mhoward@atsvirtual.org. or 904-771-5375 regarding questions concerning ATS degree programs, course availability, tuition, scholarships, and interest-free payment programs.

Would you like to understand the "times & seasons" of the Kingdom of God, as it was revealed to the prophets of Old Covenant Israel and understood by Jesus and the original apostles of the Lamb?

Would you like to be able to rightly divide the Scriptures and understand and where Christ's Church is in the unfolding of Messiah's Kingdom and His purpose for the nations?

Our new course AD310, The Revelation of Jesus Christ: Understanding the Times & Seasons of the Kingdom of Heaven is an in depth course that deals with the critically important prophecy Jesus gave to John the apostle to give to the 7 churches of Asia Minor about certain things He had prophesied years earlier in the Temple during the last week of His public ministry. Almost 40 years have passed, the disciples' generation had almost passed away. According to Jesus Himself, certain very specific "eschatological" or "end-time" things, i.e. the abomination of desolation, the great tribulation, the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple had to happen soon in order to fulfill His prophecy about the end of the Old Covenant Administration, the dawning of Messiah's day, and the times of the gentiles (nations).

A prophecy about the judgment of God and His Christ that fell upon apostate Israel, the harlot city of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD, the Book of Revelation is arguably the most important book in the entire Canon of the New Testament for truly understanding how Christ and His administration of the Kingdom of heaven actually works today in the judgment of governments and nations.

B. B. Warfield, the great Princeton Theologian, once declared, "the Book of Revelation scarcely advances beyond the teaching of Jesus' given on the Mount of Olives the last week of His public ministry."

Taught by ATS Chancellor, Dr. George Kouri, AD310 deals thoroughly with the outline or chronological order of Kingdom events prophesied by Israel's prophets and also by Jesus of Nazareth, events that absolutely had to take place in John's day in order to fulfill prophecy, bring an end to the Old Covenant administration of the Kingdom of heaven, fully establish Messiah's administration of the Kingdom of heaven, and inaugurate the times of the gentiles (the judgment of the nations).

While AD310 will of necessity deal with the technical matters, i.e. the dating, authorship, and the literary style of the Book of Revelation, the principle focus of AD310 will be on the proper interpretation of the prophetic symbols used by Jesus and also on the importance of understanding the outline or chronological order of prophetic events taught by Jesus throughout the last week of His earthly ministry. This same exact outline or chronology is followed by Jesus in the Book of Revelation, and it is the interpretive key to properly interpreting the prophecy given by Jesus in the Book of Revelation.

Online classes will begin Tuesday, September 11, and will continue to the end of the Fall Semester December 31, 2012. Please note that enrollment in this Fall Semester course ends September 3, 2012.

Chancellor Kouri will also offer this course live at our Jacksonville, Florida Campus on Tuesday evenings at 7-9 PM beginning on September 11 and continuing every Tuesday evening throughout December of 2012 . Our Jacksonville Campus is located at the King's Church 7999 Philips Highway.

SPECIAL ATS OFFER: Those who enroll in this special online course will receive a 50% discount on the regular ATS application fee, and also a 50% scholarship on this course and all other courses taken at the Apostles Theological Seminary while an active student.

All ATS courses are three credit hours. The Associate's level courses regularly $100 per credit hour for a limited time have been reduced to $50.00 per credit hour. Bachelor's level courses regularly $200 per credit hour for a limited time have been reduced to $100.00 per credit hour . Master's level courses regularly $300.00 per credit hour for a limited time have been reduced to $150.00 per credit hour, and Doctoral level courses regularly $400.00 per credit hour for a limited time have been reduced to $200.00 per credit hour.

For anyone not desiring credit towards a degree, access to ATS classes and online materials is now available for a limited time with a $75.00 audit fee per course (the regular audit fee is $150). Also for a limited time only, the ATS one-time only application fee is $25.00 (the regular one-time application fee is $50). No application fee is necessary for those who audit classes.

FREE FINANCING is also available with $100 per month payments.

Register at http://www.atsvirtual.org/ or call Dr. Marie Howard at 904-771-5375 for more information.

Rediscover the revelation of the mysteries of Christ and His Kingdom that Jesus called "the keys of the kingdom" that He revealed to the apostles during the forty days He appeared to His disciples after His resurrection and before His ascension.

While this critically important revelation is preserved for us today in the Canon of the New Testament, it is largely overlooked or ignored by most of the modern church. Rediscovering and practicing these Kingdom keys will lead to an authentic apostolic reformation of the Lord's Church in the 21st Century.

Dr. Jim Bradshaw is the Dean of the School of Ministry for ATS and is offering "Rediscovering the Keys of the Kingdom" online for the Fall Semester, starting September 10 and ending December 31, 2012.

Please note that enrollment for the Fall Semester ends September 10, 2012.

SPECIAL ATS OFFER: Those who enroll in this special online course will receive a 50% discount on the regular ATS application fee, and also a 50% scholarship on this course and all other courses taken at the Apostles Theological Seminary while an active student.

All ATS courses are three credit hours. The Associate's level courses regularly $100 per credit hour for a limited time have been reduced to $50.00 per credit hour. Bachelor's level courses regularly $200 per credit hour for a limited time have been reduced to $100.00 per credit hour . Master's level courses regularly $300.00 per credit hour for a limited time have been reduced to $150.00 per credit hour, and Doctoral level courses regularly $400.00 per credit hour for a limited time have been reduced to $200.00 per credit hour.

For anyone not desiring credit towards a degree, access to ATS classes and online materials is now available for a limited time with a $75.00 audit fee per course (the regular audit fee is $150). Also for a limited time only, the ATS one-time only application fee is $25.00 (the regular one-time application fee is $50). No application fee is necessary for those who audit classes.

FREE FINANCING is also available with $100 per month payments.

Register at http://www.atsvirtual.org/ or call Dr. Marie Howard at 904-771-5375 for more information.

"The 21st Century will be an apostolic century."

"The Lord's Church will be revived, the foundations of Messiah's Kingdom will be restored, the Church will be reformed and function as One, Holy, Apostolic Church! As a result the nations shall come to the light of the Church's rising."

Thus Apostle George Kouri introduces his new course "God's Agenda For The 21st Century". In this powerful and provocative course George Kouri deals with what it is going to take for a true apostolic reformation of the Lord's Church...i.e. what it is going to take to recover 1) the Authentic Gospel of the King's dominion that was preached by the original apostles, 2) valid initiation into Messiah's Kingdom that was practiced by the original apostles, 3) the apostles' paradigm of Church as Holy Nation, and 4) the apostles' governmental structure or order for the Church ( the fellowship or communion of the Apostles and Elder Government)?

This new course will utilize Dr. Kouri's teaching notes, videos of his teaching at ATS JAX, and Chat Room Discussion.

"GOD'S AGENDA..." for the Fall Semester 2012 will begin online September 10 and will continue until the Fall Semester and will end on December 31.

Enrollment for the Fall Semester ends September 3, 2012.

Don't let finances keep you from taking this critically important course!

SPECIAL ATS OFFER: Those who enroll in this special online course will receive a 50% discount on the regular ATS application fee, and also a 50% scholarship on this course and all other courses taken at the Apostles Theological Seminary while an active student.

All ATS courses are three credit hours. The Associate's level courses regularly $100 per credit hour for a limited time have been reduced to $50.00 per credit hour. Bachelor's level courses regularly $200 per credit hour for a limited time have been reduced to $100.00 per credit hour . Master's level courses regularly $300.00 per credit hour for a limited time have been reduced to $150.00 per credit hour, and Doctoral level courses regularly $400.00 per credit hour for a limited time have been reduced to $200.00 per credit hour.

For anyone not desiring credit towards a degree, access to ATS classes and online materials is now available for a limited time with a $75.00 audit fee per course (the regular audit fee is $150). Also for a limited time only, the ATS one-time only application fee is $25.00 (the regular one-time application fee is $50). No application fee is necessary for those who audit classes.

FREE FINANCING is also available with $100 per month payments.

Register at http://www.atsvirtual.org/ or call Dr. Marie Howard at 904-771-5375 for more information.

The Apostles Theological Seminary...comes to your location with its new intensive class program*...

The following outstanding courses are now available to be taught by a member of our proven faculty right in your own local church or ministry location.


These special intensives will require a schedule of 8 hours in-class time from Friday evening through Saturday afternoon. (The ATS instructor will travel to your location to give hands-on teaching of the course material.)

1. AM 207, God's Agenda for the 21st Century...Dr. Kouri

Discover what God is doing today to revive, restore, and reform the Lord's Church and advance Christ's Kingdom.

2. AM 120, Spiritual Authority...Dr. Bradshaw

Discover this powerful principle of Christ and His Kingdom that is essential for overcoming Satan's kingdom in the 21st Century. A principle that applies not only to the life and ministry of each individual believer, but also to the Church and its mandate to disciple the nations and fill the earth with the glory of God.

3. AD 300, Rediscovering the Keys of the Kingdom...Dr. Kouri or Dr. Bradshaw

Discover the amazing revelation entrusted by Jesus to the original apostles, the revelation of Christ and His Kingdom that is absolutely essential for an apostolic reformation today.

4. AM 190, Spiritual Formation for Ministry...Dr. Bradshaw

Discover the spiritual formation of Jesus and other great servants of God both in the bible and church history and what that formation means for your own life and ministry.

5. AD 250, The Non-Negotiables of Apostolic Christianity...Dr. Kouri

Discover the authentic doctrine of Christ and the Apostles that is the foundation of the Church's faith! This doctrine was the basis of the early church's unity, and will be the basis of a true apostolic reformation of Christ's Church today.

*Note that the intensive class schedule also allows for work to be done before and after the Friday and Saturday sessions. This work is to be completed by those desiring to receive credit towards one of our four outstanding degrees (Associate's, Bachelor's, Master's, or Doctoral) within the whatever current semester of ATS is appropriate.

Those who register for credit will have access to the online materials for each of the courses.

SPECIAL FALL INTENSIVE OFFER: Those who enroll in any of these special intensives will receive a 50% discount on the regular ATS application fee, and also a 50% scholarship on these and all other courses taken at Apostles Theological Seminary while an active student.

Each course is three credit hours. AM 207 and AM 120 are Associate's level courses at $100 per credit hour (before scholarship) and the AD 300 are Bachelor's level courses at $200 per credit hour (before scholarship). For those not desiring to work on a degree, access to ATS classes and online materials are also available for a $150 audit fee per course. The application fee is $50 (before discount). No application fee is necessary for those who audit classes.

FREE FINANCING is also available with $100 per month payments.

Call Dr. Marie Howard at 904-771-5375 to schedule a course and weekend date at your church or place of ministry for any of the courses listed.

For more information about ATS see our Website: http://www.atsvirtual.org/

"Possessing the Land God Has Promised You and Receiving Your Kingdom Inheritance" is a message about faith in action.

I want to take you into a truth that is vital for each of us to understand and embrace for our lives.

We live in a time of tremendous skepticism...a time when we don't trust anyone...especially leaders. Our political leaders have let us down. Corporate CEO's and business leaders have betrayed us. And ministers of the gospel and church leaders with their immorality,  pride and carnality have undermined our confidence in leadership.

Part of the reason we don't trust leaders is we don't trust ourselves. We have trouble believing that God can actually change the human heart and purify our lives. As a result Satan attacks us again and again both us leaders and as believers.

Satan challenges us, "How can God use you...look at your weaknesses and your faults. Look at your failures and mistakes."

We all experience these attacks so that when it comes to the things of God we can't imagine God using us...or anybody else. If a person is a leader he must be a crook. Something must be wrong. God could not use him or us.

This mistrust of leaders and of ourselves results in an attitude or belief that says: "If something is the will of God...if this is God...then God must be the one to supernaturally cause it to happen without any help from us."

In fact we tend to think that, "If something is the will of God than no one can keep it from happening."

This attitude or belief is really an arrogant triumphalism.

"If something is the will of God, then a church, a ministry, a plan, or a project will succeed regardless of what you and I do. If it is God it will all just work out."

Yet nothing could be farther from the truth. And yet we continuously judge each other and the work of god by this false belief, "If it is God...it will succeed...automatically...regardless of what you and I do."

Oh how I wish that were true...but it is not! It is a false triumphalism. It is based upon fatalism and leads to passivity in the Christian life. It has nothing to do with true faith.  It takes the human factor...human responsibility out of the work of God's Kingdom. The balance to the Biblical doctrine of the sovereignty of God is the freedom of the human will and human responsibility. Once God does the work of regeneration in our lives He has something for us to do. As sons  and daughters of His Kingdom we have an important part to play in God's Kingdom.

Therefore, what I want you to see in this message is that if God has a sovereign will for an individual believer, a ministry, a church, or a movement, we can resist His will and miss it. We saw in my message the Kadesh Crisis that even though God has a will or a plan for our lives, like the children of Israel at Kadesh Barnea, we can fall into unbelief or disobedience and delay or abort the fulfillment of God's plan altogether.

The will of God requires faith on our part, and real faith acts...it obeys God's will and works together with God to release His supernatural power and His Kingdom purpose into the world!

Well in Joshua 1, God gives Joshua and the children of Israel a great promise. God promises that he is going to give Joshua and the children of Israel the land of Canaan as their Kingdom inheritance. But He fails to tell them that it is already occupied:

• "I am giving you the land...and oh by the way, it is full of giants."
• "I am giving you the land...but there are seven nations bigger and greater than you already living there."
• "And there are 31 kings in the land, and the kings have armies, and their cities have walls around them...and they want to keep their cities...thank you very much."

If you and I don't get this, we will miss out on what God is doing in our lives individually and corporately.

Yes, God gave them the land, but without the obedience of faith...without acting and doing their part...the land would only be theirs in promise not in possession.

I want to talk to you today about possessing the land of promise.

This message is the third in my series on "Receiving Our Kingdom Inheritance".  In my previous message, "The Kadesh Crisis", we saw a generation of Israelites who refused to believe and obey God, and as a result missed out on their Kingdom purpose. In today's message we see a generation, who under Joshua's leadership, believes, obeys, and possesses the land of promise.

In this message I am talking about what it is going to take for us to receive our Kingdom inheritance, the cities and nations of the world or the blessings of Abraham. The Apostle Paul tells us that all these things were written as an example for us. Therefore, it is important as we look at Joshua and the generation that actually possessed the promised land that we understand that the land of Canaan is not shadow or type of heaven. The land of Canaan does not speak to us of heaven or of going to heaven when we die, but rather it speaks to us of the conquest of the kingdoms of the world, possessing cities and nations and filling the whole earth with the glory of the sons and daughters of the kingdom of God.

If you and I are going to possess what God has promised us, there are three things we need to see!

To watch this message click here.

God had redeemed Israel!

He had brought 3 million people out of Egypt, trained and prepared them in the wilderness of Mt. Sinai to go into the land of Canaan and conquer the nations that dwelt in the land.

Finally, after months of structuring and organizing them into a Holy nation, the army of God, they come right up to the moment of crisis...the time to go in and take the land.

The Book of Deuteronomy is the account of Moses speaking to a new generation.

He recites what happened forty years previously. In Deuteronomy 1:6-8 Moses is speaking about something that happened forty years before. Forty years before God said to the Children of Israel "You have camped around Mt. Sinai long enough. It is time for you to go in now."

So the Children of Israel started off and very dramatically Deuteronomy 1:19 says, "And we came to Kadesh Barnea."

And Deuteronomy 1 gives the account of how the Children of Israel rebelled against God because of their unbelief and refused to go into the land and fulfill God's purpose for them as a nation.

There is a special timing in God.

And I believe that God is saying to us and to His Church worldwide, "You have been camped around your ecclesiastical mountains and denominational divisions long enough. It is time for you to move on. I have set the land (i.e. the nations of the world) before you, go in and possess the nations."

Today the Lord's Church is standing on the border of our Kadesh Barnea. This is our hour of crisis. It is important for us to learn the lessons of Kadesh Barnea.

Israel didn't go in...they didn't make it. They failed to fulfill God's kingdom purpose for their lives.

In "THE KADESH CRISIS" we are looking at WHY Israel didn't make it.

If we are going to learn the tragic lessons of Kadesh Barnea and succeed in fulfilling God's Kingdom purpose for our lives in the 21st Century, there are five things we must understand.

To watch Part 1 click here.

To watch Part 2 click here.

According to 2 Chronicles 16:9, the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth searching for the person whose heart is completely His. He does this so that He may strongly support them!

Think of it...ALL THE RESOURCES OF HEAVEN ARE AVAILABLE TO SUPPORT the person whose HEART IS FULLY COMMITTED TO THE LORD!

This verse of Scripture is in the story of King Asa.

The story of Asa is a story of victory and defeat. In Asa's life are certain principles that enable us to see why the prophet says what he says in 2 Chronicles 16:9. We see some characteristics, some strengths, that need to be in our lives today.

It is easy to say in some vague or nebulous way, "I am committed to the Lord."

But if we expect the Lord to fully support what He has called us to do individually and corporately, then you and I need to see these principles, these characteristics, these strengths incorporated or established in our own lives.

If you want to walk in the blessing of the Lord...

If you want God to fully support your life...your marriage...your family...your business or career...your ministry with all the resources of heaven...

Four things that it is going to take?

To watch this message click here.

"I call this teaching, Kingdom Economics 101: God's Strategy For Funding The Work Of The Kingdom And Releasing Financial Prosperity Upon  His Kids."

Many Christians today struggle financially simply because they do not understand the Kingdom principle of  tithing or the principle of partnering with the Lord in the work of the ministry of the Word by giving offerings over and above the tithe.

In this amazing revelatory teaching Bishop George Kouri explains the teaching of the New Testament that Jesus the Messiah is a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, and therefore in the same way that Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, Abraham's kids should pay tithes to Christ today. This is the God ordained means for believers to release their faith and activate the full blessings of Messiah's Kingdom upon every area of their lives and finances.  

Bishop Kouri also carefully explains the teaching of the Apostle Paul found in Philippians 4 concerning the Kingdom principle of partnering with His ministers by giving offerings over and above the tithe into the ministry of the Word of God.  According to the great Apostle, God keeps a record or account in heaven of our giving in order that we might profit financially from our giving and increase our financial income. You can not out give God! He will not be in our debt to you. Instead, He wants you to profit financially from your giving into His work.

If you are tired of not being able to pay your bills or never having enough, then it is time for you to learn God's strategy for funding His work and for financially prospering His kids.

To watch this faith-inspiring and practical message click here.

Most Christians are familiar with the Lord's Prayer. This is the pattern prayer that Jesus taught His apostles in response to their cry, "Lord, teach us to pray."

We know God has put it in the hearts of men to pray. He has placed a deep spiritual hunger in our hearts for an intimate and satisfying personal relationship with the heavenly Father.  And all of us as Christians need to know how to pray more effectively!

In her warm and dynamic teaching style, Sandra Kouri takes the simple prayer outline that Jesus gave to His apostles and reveals to us Kingdom secrets and provides a simple pattern of prayer that can guide those who are inexperienced in prayer or confused about how to pray, what to pray for, how long to pray, and for whom to pray.

To watch Part 1 of this message click here.

To watch Part 2 of this message click here.

Preaching from Luke's Gospel Chapter 7,  Dr. Jim Bradshaw makes this incident in the ministry of Jesus come alive, as he explains to us the vulnerability of true worship.

Using the subtle differences in the Gospel accounts as the backdrop, Dr. Bradshaw contrasts the self-righteous and unbelieving attitude of Simon the Pharisee with the humble, believing attitude of the sinful woman who broke the alabaster box of perfume and poured herself out in worship, washing the feet of Jesus with her tears, anointing them with costly perfume, wiping them with her hair.

Somehow this sinful woman had heard something in the Spirit. She prepared herself and came to Simon's house to worship Jesus. By the revelation of the Holy Spirit she recognized Him as the Messiah, the incarnate Son of God, and poured herself out at His feet in costly worship.

Sadly, even as this amazing woman is pouring herself out in worship, Simon is thinking critically about Jesus.  "If He really were a prophet, He would knew what kind of woman this is." Simon wanted to believe in Jesus or  he probably would not have invited Jesus to his house. But his traditions, his religious baggage was getting in the way.  All of us want to worship. We were made to worship. The problem is that we worship the wrong things or we worship in thee wrong way. Our baggage gets in the way of our worship.

To watch this powerful and provocative message click here.

Romans 11 is the Apostle Paul's amazing commentary on the vision of the prophets of Israel and the prophecy of Jesus of Nazareth in Luke 21:24 about Messiah's Day and the times of the Gentiles or the nations.

King David, Isaiah and all the prophets of Israel prophesied that in Messiah's Day all nations would be converted and learn Christ, including the Arab nations. The result would be that in Messiah's Day the nations would beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks and there would be peace on earth. Referring to this wonderful Messianic vision, Jesus prophesied in Luke 21:24 that Jerusalem, which would shortly be destroyed by the armies of Rome, would continue to be trampled under foot of the Gentiles until the vision of the prophets concerning Messiah's day and the times of the Gentiles had been fulfilled (i.e. until the nations had been converted and learned Christ).

We know that Luke's Gospel was written by Doctor Luke, who was Paul's traveling companion and an active member of his apostolic company. The Apostle Paul and Luke must have enjoyed discussing Jesus' prophecy at some point in their labor together. Brother Kouri explains, "the apostle to the Gentile nations understood the vision of the prophets concerning Messiah's Day and the salvation of the nations. He also understood by the revelation of the Holy Spirit Jesus' prophecy that 'Jerusalem would be trampled under foot' until the prophets' vision for the Gentile nations 'is fulfilled'.  Therefore, the great apostle to the Gentiles declares in Romans 11:25 that once the 'fulness of the Gentiles' has been converted and 'come into' Messiah's Kingdom that 'the partial hardness' keeping the rest of the Jewish people from being saved would be removed and the 'fullness of the Jewish people' will be converted and come into the Kingdom!"

Bishop goes on to explain that "according to the Apostle Paul, the future salvation of the Jewish people will not be because they see Him coming from heaven bodily, as postponement preachers mistakenly proclaim. Instead, according to Paul, it will be because the Jewish people are provoked to jealousy as they see the blessings of the kingdom coming upon the Gentile nations, including the Arabs. In fact according to the prophets of Israel, Jesus, and Paul the key to peace in the Middle East and to the future conversion of the Jewish people will be the future conversion of the Arab Nations.

He closes this powerful and provocative apostolic message by unveiling a surprising and very apostolic or Kingdom scenario for the future of the nations, a Messianic vision of hope for the world, that contrasts greatly with the popular, but mistaken, "dooms-day" scenario proclaimed by postponement theologians and preachers.

To watch the video of this powerful Kingdom message click here.

(This message is Part 4 of "Paul, the Fulness of the Gentiles, the Arabs, and the Fulness of the Jews." And this four part message is part of the larger series, "Jesus and the Times of the gentiles from Luke 21:24. All of these messages may be viewed in their entirety on our Video page.)

The Shepherds saw a BABE in a manger.

The WISE MEN, arriving later, also saw a YOUNG CHILD.

But the ONE who emerged from MARY'S WOMB that cold winter-night in Bethlehem of Judea was MORE than what was discernible with human eyes.

He was God in human flesh!

It is as much a MARVEL today…as it was 2,000 years ago…

God the father SO APPROVED of the ONE born that night in Bethlehem that He bid His ANGELS to WORSHIP TOGETHER…EVEN THOUGH the SECOND PERSON of the TRINITY…WORE a MENIAL GARB OF SWADDLING CLOTHES and had been LAID on a BED OF HAY!

We can only approach the high and holy subject of Christ's INCARNATION with WONDER & AWE.

Think of it…

In Jesus of Nazareth…God was born…lived in this world…died on a cross…rose again from the dead…ascended to heaven…and was enthroned at the RIGHT HAND of God…as the GOD-MAN…becoming the OBJECT of LASTING WONDER and WORSHIP to all creation.

The QUESTION THIS MORNING is: "HOW is it possible that this ONE PERSON…could be INFINITE and FINITE…DIVINE and HUMAN…OMNIPOTENT and VULNERABLE?"

It TRANSCENDS all human understanding that TWO WILLS…TWO NATURES…and TWO MEMORIES can CONSTITUTE ONE PERSON who is GOD in the FLESH.

We cannot explain HOW BOTH NATURES…in ALL THEIR ATTRIBUTES…can grow together and UNITE in ONE WHOLE BEING…ACTING IN PERFECT CONCERT IN ONE PERSON.

It is a GREAT MYSTERY…THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS…

YET…God DECLARES IT IS SO!

In the INCARNATION…(the TAKING ON OF HUMAN NATURE & FORM) God ESTABLISHED a PERSONAL UNION between Himself and a human spirit…soul…and body…so that Jesus of Nazareth is FULLY GOD and FULLY MAN…

THE QUESTION FOR US THIS CHRISTMAS MORNING IS: "WHY DID GOD DO THIS?"

WHAT NECESSITATED THE INCARNATION…i.e. the INVASION of JESUS CHRIST…the GOD-MAN…i.e. the SON of DAVID…the SON of GOD…into the REALM of our HUMAN EXISTENCE?

ALSO...WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE...WHAT DID GOD ACCOMPLISH BY HIS INCARNATION?

AND WHAT are the BENEFITS OF THE INCARNATION?

To watch this faith-inspiring message click here.

Joseph was an ordinary guy, and God catches him up in His purpose and stretches him like crazy. God uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.

Joseph, a carpenter, falls in love with Mary and is working toward being able to marry her. Suddenly he finds out that Mary is pregnant. Talk about stretching a guy!

Everything was wonderful until all of a sudden God breaks in upon Joseph's life and scrambles it. All the dreams, all the hopes, and all the plans that Joseph and mary had made are changed.

As his life is coming apart at the seams an angel suddenly appears to Joseph and says, "Do not be afraid!"

The greatest challenge you will face in your life each day will be whether or not you are willing to do God's will. The greatest challenge you will face will be the fear of the consequences, the cost, the price you have to pay to do God's will.

As Joseph faced the hard facts about Mary's pregnancy and heard Gabriel say, "Do not be afraid", he realized that what was happening had significance far beyond his own life. He realized that the challenge that was before him was about the will and purpose of God. But Joseph heard the angel of the Lord say, "Fear not Joseph, Mary is pregnant by the Holy Spirit of God."

God uses ordinary people like you and me to do extraordinary things!

Our comfort in the midst what God is doing in our lives is to hear the Lord say, "Fear not. Do not be afraid to accomplish My purpose in your life." If you and I are going to overcome fear and walk in the miracle of the purpose and will of God for our lives, we must understand three things!

To watch this faith-inspiring message and discover for yourself how to overcome fear and walk in the fullness of God's purpose for your life click here.

Next to Jesus, Mary is the most important person in the Christmas story!

But WHY did God choose Mary to be the mother of His only begotten Son? WHAT was it about this young Jewish girl, a virgin, that caused God to pick her?

Here is a woman who LIVED the miracle of Christmas! Not only giving birth to the Son of God, Mary lived the miracle of Christmas every day for the rest of her entire life.

Mary NOT ONLY CARRIED Jesus in her womb and GAVE BIRTH to the only begotten Son of God…

• She also NURTURED him as a child.
• She HONORED His obedience to His Heavenly Father while He was still a child…
• She FOLLOWED Him as her Lord… SERVED Him…and TRUSTED Him to meet the needs of those around Him.
• She WATCHED as He suffered on Calgary's cross, and EXPERIENCED the pain and agony of watching her oldest Son die for the sins of the whole world…
• She was there at His RESURRECTION…
• She also PARTICIPATED in the joy of Pentecost, RECEIVING the infilling of the Holy Spirit and SPEAKING in tongues just as the apostles and all His other disciples.
• Mary was an outstanding LEADER in the early apostolic Church!

WHAT can we LEARN from Mary today that will ENABLE you and me to LIVE like she lived…

Not just experiencing a MOMENTARY MIRACLE, but living a MIRACULOUS LIFE every day of our lives?

WHAT WAS IT ABOUT MARY'S CHARACTER...WHAT WAS HER SPECIAL ATTRIBUTE THAT CAUSED GOD TO CHOOSE HER?

Discover for yourself the THREE THINGS THAT MARY DID, that if you and I will do them, WILL ENABLE us to live miraculously every day of our life. To watch click here.