The Household of God
When one examines the church, they can learn a lot from looking at the terms used to describe it. One of them is “house.” In the Bible, “house,” as expected, is used to designate families (Luke 1:27; Acts 10:2; Hebrews 11:7). However, the church is referred to as the “house of God” which equates the […]
Point the Way
How can we help new converts? One suggestion is that we point the way. At the end of the day, there is ultimately nothing we can do to force people to grow in Christ (1 Peter 2:2). So whether we offer a 4-week training class for a growing Christian, a 13-week training class for a […]
Guidelines for Effective Teachers
One of the most important parts of any congregation is its Bible classes. It is in Bible classes that children and older students have the best opportunities to learn the deeper truths of the scriptures. A congregation with a sound Bible class program will be much stronger in faith and much more effective in edifying […]
How Close a Friend are You to Jesus?
A lot of people consider themselves friends of Jesus. A friend is usually thought of someone who knows someone else and has some kind of mutual bond. What does a true friend of Jesus do? There are several characteristics that will help us. First, a true friend keeps His commandments (Luke 17:10; John 15:13-14; 14:15; […]
Is the Church of Christ a Cult? #2
In our previous article, we discussed the definition and characteristic of cults. From this examination, we saw that the Lord’s church, properly followed in the New Testament, cannot truly be a cult. Having established that fact, we are going to see why people join cults and what we can do to help someone who is […]
Is the Church of Christ a Cult? #1
The mere mention of the word “cult” conjures up dreadful images in our mind. Most people would probably think of Joseph Smith, Mary Baker Eddy or Charles Russell. In the United States attention to cults increased during the early 1970s when groups began aggressively recruiting young people and others became centers of controversy. Since that […]
The Vineyard of the Lord
In two parables of Jesus, the parable of the laborers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16), and the parable of the two sons (Matthew 21:28-31), one point among many is that the kingdom of heaven is a place for work, not idleness. As we do our work in the vineyard of the Lord, we demonstrate God’s […]
Whatever Happened to Hamble Hills?
Much of my childhood memory is tied up with churches of Christ. I remember attending worship services as a small child. My grandmother and I would walk to the little white country church building (we lived only a few hundred yards from it). We would get there 30 minutes beforehand. My grandmother loved to talk […]
The Lord’s Church vs. Denominations
There are several significant differences between the Lord’s church, as revealed in the New Testament, and religious denominations. We are going to examine four of them. First, they differ in their nature. The Lord’s church contains only those who are saved by God’s direction (Acts 2:47). It contains those who have been “called out” of […]
Five Ways to Stay Small
God wants a congregation to grow because it is winning the lost to Christ and helping them to reach others. Most churches start small. The problem is that some stay small. The even bigger problem is that sometimes that smallness is due to distorted thinking (although often well intentioned). What does that thinking look and […]