Month: September 2007

I may be a sinner, and unworthy of God’s love and mercy, but he still values me, and desires that I serve him acceptably, that I may attain an eternity in His presence.

Sermon Audio: Click Here .

I recently came across an interesting sermon outline by Mark Copeland with the above title. There were five major points in the sermon that I thought were very good, and wanted to share with you in article form.

In Revelation, chapters 2 and 3, the Lord wrote letters to seven different churches, some of which could be categorized as weak, and some as strong. One church in particular serves to make an important point. The church at Sardis, (cf. Revelation 3:1), was admonished by our Lord, “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” A congregation can have a nice building, have many members, can have a lot of “program”, and can run smoothly and still be dead.

The better way of gauging the relative strength of a church is by determining whether the congregation has the characteristics of the church as revealed in the New Testament. There are terms such as “body”, “family”, “temple”, “kingdom”, “bride”, that establish principles which are the foundation of strength among God’s people.

Continue reading “The Measure of a Strong Church” →

The question is asked and answered. Does the pardon of the thief on the cross have a bearing on whether we must be baptized in order to be saved?

Sermon Audio: Click Here .

Every month we get a copy of The Christian Chronicle delivered to our mailing address. It always makes for interesting reading, though it is disconcerting to see how steeped in liberalism many churches have become.

A few weeks ago we wrote an article on the subject of the “social gospel”, noting the fact that the paper was reporting on high school football as a part of the ministry of churches of Christ. I thought the article showed the upper limits of absurdity until I read an article in the October 2007 issue entitled, Churches mix faith, football, by Erik Tryggestad.

Tryggestad reported (favorably) upon various churches that are using football as a means of accomplishing spiritual gains. Note the following examples:

Continue reading “In The News: Churches Mix Faith, Football” →

In Valladolid, Spain, where Christopher Columbus died in 1506, stands a monument commemorating the great discoverer. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the memorial is a statue of a lion destroying one of the Latin words that had been part of Spain’s motto for centuries. Before Columbus made his voyages, the Spaniards thought they had reached the outer limits of earth. Thus their motto was “Ne Plus Ultra,” which means “No More Beyond.” The word being torn away by the lion is “Ne” or “no,” making it read “Plus Ultra.” Columbus had proven that there was indeed “more beyond.”

Source Unknown.

Columbus did not know the half of it. So many today make the same denial with regard to life after death. They live their lives, “under the sun” (cf. Ecclesiastes 1:3), without any reference to God or eternity. But, there is life after death! As the Hebrew writer wrote, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation” (Hebrews 9:27-28). For those saved, there is truly “Plus Ultra”… More Beyond!

In the September 22, 2007 edition of the Muskogee Phoenix, Assistant City Editor Elizabeth Ridenour wrote about the practice of two area churches, one a Methodist church and one an Episcopal church, of feeding area citizens.

“St. Paul’s [Methodist Church] breakfast is a good opportunity for a variety of people to get together at the church.

“It’s a good time to have fellowship,” said Bob Montgomery, who oversees the program.

Green [Emily, kitchen helper] sees the same benefits. People come for the physical, emotional and/or spiritual benefits they can receive, she said.”

Now, we do not wish to be combative with the kitchen help, but those interviewed about the meals did not seem to be overly concerned about any “spiritual” benefits. Note the following quotes:

Continue reading “In The News: Faith Through Food, Fellowship” →

Galatians 4:21-31

In our text, the apostle Paul uses the two wives of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar, as an allegory. His words, “which things are symbolic.”

The two women represent the two covenants. Hagar is the Old Covenant “from Mount Sinai”, and Sarah the New “the Jerusalem above.”

The point of the allegory is to establish that the New Covenant, like Sarah, is to be preferred. Sarah was the mother of Isaac, the child of promise. It was through this lineage that redemption came, not from Hagar and Ishmael.

In the same way redemption is found in the New Covenant, not the Old. The New Covenant of Christ is to be preferred to the Old. We are to cast off the Old, just as the scripture says, “Cast out the bondwoman and her son.” As Paul wrote, “So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.”

Guest Speaker: Keith Greer. There is an eternal principle that remains true in every age. Succinctly stated, God speaks, Man believes, Man obeys, God saves.

While the particulars of God’s message may change, the principle remains. This is certainly true with regard to God ordained worship.

(Note: This is a two part sermon. This evening sermon covers the last 7 slides of the presentation).

Sermon PowerPoint: Click Here .

Sermon Audio: Click Here .

Guest Speaker: Keith Greer. There is an eternal principle that remains true in every age. Succinctly stated, God speaks, Man believes, Man obeys, God saves.

While the particulars of God’s message may change, the principle remains. This is certainly true with regard to God’s plan of salvation for mankind.

(Note: This is a two part sermon. The morning sermon covers the first 8 slides of the presentation).

Sermon PowerPoint: Click Here .

Sermon Audio: Click Here .

In his second epistle, Peter (1:12-15) emphasizes the need to stir up the brethren by reminding them of things they knew. There is the same need today to remind the brethren of things known, to equip and strengthen them in the faith.

Sermon PowerPoint: Click Here .

Sermon Audio: Click Here .

Becoming a child of God is described as being “born again.” It is the beginning of a new life, not the end. As such, the Bible continually admonishes the Christian to continue steadfastly in his life for Christ.

Sermon PowerPoint: Click Here .

Sermon Audio: Click Here .

Two decades after a nude photo scandal helped cost a Miss America her title, Americans may be adopting a more ho-hum attitude toward people who bare it all for the cameras.

Some experts say the Internet and more explicit TV are fostering a more relaxed response by Americans to public displays of bare flesh, even if many people profess to be more conservative.

Take, for example, the muted reaction to nude photos of 18-year-old Vanessa Hudgens, the star of Walt Disney Co.’s squeaky clean “High School Musical” franchise,

One day after the photos surfaced on the Web last Thursday, Hudgens issued an apology and family friendly Walt Disney Co. said it would continue negotiating her appearance in the third installment of the hugely popular series, one of the most popular programs in U.S. cable TV history.

While some expressed outrage, many fans pledged support on her MySpace page …

… Some lashed out at her critics.

“Quit moaning and if you have any kind of decent filtering on the computer, kids aren’t going to see it,” wrote one poster on a media blog Web site …

… It’s a far cry from the scandal in 1984 when Vanessa Williams, the first black woman named as Miss America, resigned after nude photos surfaced of her and another female model.
“I do think that general attitudes about nudity are becoming more relaxed, but these changes take time, which is why there’s still mixed responses,” said Paul Levinson, communication and media professor at Fordham University.

“We as a society are finally growing up and it’s a healthy thing,” he said.

Sex and nudity are also more prevalent on television, especially cable stations. Last week’s opening episode of the HBO drama “Tell Me You Love Me,” contained at least half-a-dozen sex acts.

Sue Zeidler, Reuters

Analysis:

Two peculiar things about this story. First, there is no outrage being heard about the 18 year old’s sexual relationship with her boyfriend. While some are upset that she took a nude photo of herself that, without her consent, became public; no one is condemning her for taking nude photographs of herself for her boyfriend, or maintaining a sexual relationship with him. Such has become so commonplace in our time that it no longer even raises questions in the mind of most.

Continue reading “In The News: Revealing Photos Are Becoming Passe?” →

On the front page of the September 2007 edition of the Christian Chronicle newspaper, under the heading “Faith and Football” was a picture of high school football players, kneeling with their coaches in prayer, with the following caption beneath:

“Assistant head coach Ken Robinson leads Greater Atlanta Christian School’s varsity team in prayer at a camp at Georgia Tech. The Spartans, who have a 120-39 record since 1994, have advanced to the state playoffs 12 straight seasons. The team made it to the state quarterfinals last year, finishing 11-2.”

The Christian Chronicle calls itself: “An International Newspaper for Churches of Christ.” You may ask yourself, what does football have to do with Churches of Christ? Good question! The answer, of course, is nothing at all. But, that has not stopped those who wish to change the mission of the Lord’s church from securing the spiritual welfare of men, to securing their social welfare. This is the mistake of the social gospel concept. It trivializes the purpose of the Lord’s church.

Continue reading “In The News: Faith and Football” →

Committment and self-examination are important in successfully applying the truth of God’s word successfully in our lives.

Sermon PowerPoint: Click Here .

Sermon Audio: Click Here .

The phrase “hold fast” is used numerous times in the New Testament, teaching us the necessity to be steadfast in our pursuit of God’s Word, and the hope of Heaven.

Sermon PowerPoint: Click Here .

Sermon Audio: Click Here .