What are the values of the Ezekiel Network?
God is revitalising His church, and we are called to serve that vision
Northern Irish politics are divided and tribal, while our culture is confused and distorted by social media-induced bubbles of self-reinforcing extremes.
Christianity may appear to be waning, and some churches are too often silent on the big issues of the day.
Many young people today feel unsafe and anxious. In a world of changing and contested values, they are often exposed to an extreme online world that both affects and reflects culture, painting a distorted caricature of happiness. Protecting and guiding young people, helping them in a troubled world to navigate to mature and healthy conclusions, is a key Christian priority.
There is also a growing hunger among young people to find God in the midst of confusion and darkness. The Church needs to help meet that need.
EZEKIEL 37: 1-5
The Valley of Dry Bones
1 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.
Let's start building a better future
God wants to restore dried-up, disconnected Christians across the island of Ireland.
He will empower His people to speak into a confused, fragmented society and a dysfunctional political system.
It is time for God’s people to find their voice, a voice of truth and hope, advancing God’s Kingdom as one connected family.
Our Values
Jesus expressed the key truths of Christianity with simplicity and clarity, so that anyone could understand them, and yet also with profound depth and mystery, so that great thinkers never finish pondering them! The core beliefs of Christianity are very clear, e.g. the Nicene creed, which all the main denominations accept. So beware 'new' versions of the truths of Christ! All we do here is suggest a few themes that seem especially relevant today, but the eternal truths of Christianity are unalterable and do not need improvement.
Jesus Following
CS Lewis wrote: A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell... Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God.
The resurrection of Jesus is widely regarded as one of the best attested events in history.
A Christian is one who follows Jesus, believing him to be the Son of God.
Holy Spirit Dependent
We are loved and led by the Holy Spirit, our ever-present God, comforter, counsellor, fruit-bearer and gift-giver, without whom we can do nothing.
Gal 5:22-23 says 'the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
1 Cor 12:7-10 lists the gifts of the Spirit as word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, tongues and interpretation of tongues.
Acts 1:8 Jesus said 'you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you'
Loving the Father
We love God because he first loved us.
John 3:16 says 'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.'
Rom 5:8 says 'But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.'
Loving our creator, in whose image we have been made, is not only obedient to the highest Christian commandment, but also a natural response to His amazing mercy and sacrifice.
Contending Prayer
Spirit-led prayer is power-packed and changes impossible circumstances. Jesus modelled this out. In Jn 5:19 he described his approach as 'only doing what he sees his Father doing'. Jesus did amazing miracles, and prayer was key.
Ezekiel contended in prayer in his vision of the dry bones, in response to prophetic revelation (see Ezek 37)
The prophet Elijah contended in prayer to bring rain to Israel after 3 and a half years, battling through until a cloud as small as a man's hand appeared. (1 Kings 18:41-44)
James 5:17 encourages us to pray like Elijah, especially regarding healing.
Engage, not assimilate
We live in a fallen world, and one that is increasingly multi-polar, with online bubbles reinforcing weird notions.
Every era has challenges, some subtle, but all costly. Many early Christians were martyred for their faith (see Acts 6-7 re Stephen's death), and that still happens in some parts of the world, often where the gospel advances most rapidly!
If we always adapt and fit in with contemporary thinking, we are unlikely to be faithful to the gospel.
Jesus gave this stern warning in Mark 8:38: 'If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.'
Advocacy
Jesus was frequently found on the side of the downtrodden, the outcast, and the poor. (As a small child he was actually a refugee, when Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt.)
Jesus healed lepers, cast out demons, protected an adulterous woman from death, and made the hated Samaritan the hero of a parable. He loved those others hated.
It is sometimes said 'evil prevails when good men fail to act.'
As Christians, we are called to act for those who are weak.
Gender
Gen 1:27 tells us 'Male and female He created them'. It is therefore clear that gender is determined by God, evidenced biologically, and is not a human choice.
To allow children to change their gender is not only usurping the place of the creator, but is also condemning far too many kids to unnecessary confusion. Social contagion is a sad result, and other remedies are needed.
Life Begins Pre-birth
Most of us appreciate that human consciousness exists pre-birth. But for Christians, there is a more fundamental question: When does God consider life to have begun?
One clue is found in Luke 1:39-44, which tells us that John the Baptist (in the sixth month of gestation) leapt for joy at the presence of the newly-conceived Jesus. This supports the idea that personhood is from conception. God's is the only view that matters (to a Christian).
Celibacy and Chastity
In Luke 9:23 Jesus said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." This sounds tough, but actually following Jesus's way of life leads to abundant life, while hedonism leads to misery, sooner or later.
Chastity & celibacy are actually affirmed in scripture, and God designed sex to be within marriage, between one man and one woman (Matt 19:3-12). These are important truths, and worth defending.
We need your consent to load the translations
We use a third-party service to translate the website content that may collect data about your activity. Please review the details and accept the service to view the translations.