Are These the Days of Ezekiel?: Introduction

I have titled this new series Are These the Days of Ezekiel? because in the past few years there has been a movement with in the church to reach the unchurched that resembles the days in which the prophet Ezekiel ministered. This movement is known as the emerging church movement.

This movement in a brief summary general emphasizes the following features:

1. A flexible approach to and continual reexamination of theology which causes them to see faith as a journey rather than a destination, and to accept differences in beliefs and morals.

2. A belief in creating communities built out of the creativity of those who are a part of each local body.

3. A holistic view of the role of the church in society. This can mean anything from a higher degree of emphasis on social action, building relationships with the surrounding community, or Christian outreach.

4. Creative approaches to worship and spiritual reflection. This can involve everything from the use of contemporary music and films to liturgy, as well as more ancient customs and more eclectic spirituality with a goal of making the church more appealing to postmodern people.

5. Use of the Internet as a dominant medium of communication through various blogs, websites and online videos. Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerging_Church

This series will focus on four texts from the Book of Ezekiel. I will be doing exposition on the following texts from Ezekiel in this series: Ezekiel 6:1-14-- Idolatrous Worship Denounced; Ezekiel 13:1-23-- False Prophets Condemned; Ezekiel 14:1-11-- Idolatrous Elders Condemned; and Ezekiel 34:1-10-- Prophecy against the Shepherds of Israel. I may in fact do something with Ezekiel's vision in chapter 10 of the glory of the Lord departing the temple as well.

The whole point of this series is to "ascribe to the Lord the glory that is due to His name; worship the Lord in holy array" (Psalm 29:2).