The Changing Denominations: A Change of Unity
The emphasis of the “community church” is now on reaching the people of the community as they are and where they are — and leaving them as they were and where they were even after they became members. Some “community churches” have taken this to the extreme by stating, “First and foremost, God loves you […]
Identifying the Church: The Proper Worship
Human beings are instinctively worshiping creatures (Psalm 42:1), and the fact of the matter is that men are going to worship something or someone. Unfortunately, it may be the sun, a cow, a golden idol or oneself. So in considering the identifying marks of the Lord’s church, we must examine what and how people must […]
Managing Multiple Priorities
Even in the simplest life, there are still many things to be done. Those who would grow strong spiritually must learn to work energetically and productively without being eaten up by the time pressure that characterizes so many of our lifestyles. We must discover how to manage multiple priorities without sacrificing our highest priority: the […]
Long-Winded or Short-Spirited?
Within the last week I have had several different church members to tell me about “long-winded” preachers. One was telling about a preacher who had been too “long-winded” in a recent meeting. Another was declaring to me how a certain preacher was “ruining” a congregation because he was too “long-winded.” Now when a preacher is […]
Looking Forward to Bible Study
Kids like to go to Bible class. They come into the building and head straight for their classrooms. When they come out they can’t wait to show Mom and Dad what they did. I’ve seen considerable disappointment on some little faces, and at times even tears, when on Sunday evenings they march off to class, […]
“They That Received His Word …”
“… were baptized and there was added unto them in that day about 3,000 souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:41-42). The first gospel sermon concluded with Peter’s exhortation, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation” and the response was “then they […]
Popping the Question #1
In the matter of personal evangelism, we are often reluctant to do the one thing that most needs to be done: come right out and ask people to study with us. It is interesting to note how easily and naturally the apostle Paul found people to teach the gospel, even in unfamiliar surroundings (Acts 27:16-17; […]
Faces Surrounding Calvary: Pontius Pilate
In A.D. 26, Pontius Pilate was appointed as procurator of Judea. Philo describes Pilate as a harsh, spiteful and brutal man. Jesus, after being found guilty by the Sanhedrin, was led to Pilate. Luke records the charges as sedition and declaring Himself to be a king: “We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding […]
Joy in Christ: Learn Contentment
Contrary to popular belief, the grass is not greener on the other side. The lie that Satan has always sought to convince us of is that if we only had some- thing that we do not presently have, we would be completely content. This began all the way back in the garden. Genesis 3:4-5 says, […]
The Golden Text of the Bible: The Greatest Tragedy Is Perishing
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God has not made it difficult for us to respond to Him. In the previous article, we saw that God wants us to believe. Belief will cause […]
