Category: Church
Subject: Church
Podcast: A Mark of the True Church
Podcast Number 30
An examination of the Bible text reveals how different the Lord’s church is from the denominations today. If a congregation of Christians follows the pattern of the New Testament, then and only then it can be known as the true church of Christ.
To listen to this Podcast, click here .
To subscribe to the podcast feed, click here .
Sermon: The Church Belongs to Christ
The church belongs to Jesus Christ. He built it, He is its foundation, the chief cornerstone, it’s Head. He purchased it with His own blood. As such, the church owes its allegiance to Him, and should submit to His authority.
Sermon PowerPoint: Click Here .
Sermon Audio: Click Here .
In The News: Choosing My Religion
An article in the Tuesday, August 15th issue of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram carried the above title, with the subtitle: “Shopping around for a family church—when the parents aren’t regular attendees—can be intimidating, but experts say it’s never too late to start keeping the faith.” The author of the article, Gaile Robinson, related a cub scout field trip that sent herself and her son to a Catholic mission, with a group of other little boys. The site of a larger than life cross with the Christ figure upon it, with the crown of thorns complete with painted blood, led to an awed silence among the boys, but caused her son to ask, “Whoa, what happened to that guy?”
Podcasting
No matter how far you are behind the loop, podcasting is pretty easy to understand. The name is derived from Apple’s ubiquitous iPod series of personal music players, a name that has come to stand for the concept as well as the product, like Kleenex or Xerox, and like Walkman used to be.
The idea is that a podcaster makes a recording, or a show, and distributes it to people to play on their MP3 players. Listeners can fast forward, rewind and replay to their heart’s content. Think of it as TiVo for your iPod.
It’s easier than it sounds. “All you need is a PC and a microphone,” says Maffin. “You can pick up something suitable at an electronics store for $15 and the software is free.”
Producers (or podcasters) create their show on a personal computer, using a microphone for their voice. They can use easily acquired software to edit in music, effects and other recorded sounds as required…
…”There are literally thousands of podcasts on a variety of subjects,” says Willi Powell, strategic development manager for Apple Canada and a confessed podcast fan.
“Of course, it all starts with music, but you can find everything from news to religion to home improvement.”…
Jerry Langdon
Toronto Star Online (thestar.com)
Analysis:
We have started a podcast on the soundteaching.org site, and are offering a new edition of the podcast each Friday afternoon. While much of the material at the site the members have already seen (bulletin articles and sermons), these podcasts are unique to the site itself. So, they will benefit the brethren here.
Sermon: The Measure of a Strong Church
Sermon Title: The Measure of a Strong Church
Five scriptural characteristics or Measures of a strong, vital local congregation.
Sermon PowerPoint: Click Here.
Sermon Audio: Click Here.
Congregational Goals
The new year is upon us, and it is a good time to establish some resolutions and goals for this congregation as we enter the year 2006.
While I know that such resolutions are somewhat arbitrary, given that there is nothing special in the date of January 1st itself, nevertheless it is as good a time as any to evaluate our progress in the work of our Lord, and to encourage in each of us a more zealous effort in the future.
In the past year we have had several long time members move away for retirement or to begin working with other congregations. While we are proud, for example, of the preaching efforts of brother Kris Braddock, his and Courtney’s association with the brethren here is missed, as are all who have left our number and moved to other places.
Church and Kingdom
Though many fail to see it, the date the Lord’s church was established is significant. It is significant because all of truth is significant. It seems the height of arrogance for man to take God’s revelation, and seek to place value on the constituent parts. While some of God’s word is “milk” and some is “meat”, nothing of God’s revelation should be considered unimportant.
This can be clearly seen by Paul’s treatment of those who taught error on the subject of circumcision. Some taught that the Gentile had to be circumcised (a Jewish covenant) as a part of their Christian profession. Continue reading “Church and Kingdom”
The Establishment of the Church
Religious people differ on the date of the church’s establishment. To some it matters little, being simply a theological question with little practical value. Such a point of view is short-sighted, as misconceptions regarding this question have contributed to false theories regarding the kingdom of God. Continue reading “The Establishment of the Church”
Can One Be Saved Out of the Church?
Numerous passages of scripture reveal Jesus Christ to have authority in the church. Authority, or “headship” is shown in such passages as Colossians 1:18, “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence”; and Ephesians 1:22-23, “And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Continue reading “Can One Be Saved Out of the Church?”
What Is The Church?
Because of the proliferation of denominations, there is much confusion regarding the nature of the church. Error serves to confuse, but truth enlightens. By turning to the word of God we are able to alleviate any misunderstandings about that blood bought institution (cf. Acts 20:28). Continue reading “What Is The Church?”
An Interesting Exchange
Note: The following email exchange is in response to an article posted on the Soundteaching website. The lady, who we will call “Alice” (not her real name) continues to respond. We will continue to try to teach her. This exchange serves to establish that our web presence is helping to spread the gospel.
Hi Stan,
I just read your message on belonging to a church to be saved. I must in all consciousness tell you that you are wrong. The ONLY requirement to being saved is calling and believing on the name of Jesus. The body of Christ is the church weather you are in a physical church or not. The disabled lady who cannot go to church…is she condemned? The Pharisees went to church but were condemned for their legalism. The thief on the cross didn’t go to church but he called upon Christ and Christ said He would be with him in paradise. At that moment he was part of the body weather he was in a physical church or not. I love church and I love going to church but going is not a prerequisite to be saved…ONLY believing on Jesus. With your message you condemn so many people to the sin of guilt or of not being good enough to go to heaven because they don’t go to church. I agree that the church is great for keeping people accountable to the rest of the body…it is important but NOT a requirement for salvation.
Thank you for your time,
“Alice”
“Alice”,
I truly appreciate your reading messages from our site, and would encourage you to go and read the article you refer to again, as you seem to misunderstand what I have written.
