Sound Teaching

Acts 4 and 5 reveals the response of the apostles as they suffered persecution at the hand of the Jewish leaders. Rather than stop preaching at the command of the Sanhedrin, they continued to share the gospel, counting themselves fortunate to be found worthy to suffer for His name’s sake. This response should be echoed in Christians today.

Audio

The gospel of Matthew begins with a genealogy of Jesus. This history of Jesus’ ancestors serves a very important purpose. Any individual who would claim to be the Christ would be taken seriously only if he could prove to the Jew that his lineage was in accord with the prophecies concerning the coming “Son of David.”

In both Matthew 1 and Luke 3, the lists supplied show Jesus to be a son of Abraham, a son of Isaac (the son of promise, through whom all nations of the earth would be blessed), a son of Judah (the tribe from whom the Kings came), and the son of David.

In all, according to the record of Matthew, 42 generations spanned the time from Abraham until the day that the Christ was born into the world.

The word “Christ” is an important one. Jesus was the “annointed of God,” the Messiah come into the world. Matthew later recorded these angelic words, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins” (vs. 21). Jesus, the son of Abraham, the son of David, Savior of the world.

As I am writing this short article, the Texas Rangers are 10 runs ahead, and about to secure their second straight trip to the World Series. A good portion of the Fort Worth/Dallas area is giddy with the pleasure of witnessing such a momentous event.

Those last few words are written a bit “tongue-in-cheek.” While it is certainly exciting, our society goes a bit far in describing an annual sporting event as “momentous.” And yet, such hyperbole will be the norm for the next couple of weeks, as the Texas Rangers try to join the Dallas Mavericks as champions this year.

There is nothing wrong with the excitement of the moment, and me and my boys were jumping up and down as the Rangers were building their early lead. But, I long for Christians to have the “first love” (cf. Revelation 2:4) that is shown by so many fanatical followers of sports in our nation.

How do you feel about God? Perhaps we should feel as the Psalmist did, as recorded in Psalm 42:1-2, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?”

In a recent article at the Science News website (sciencenews.org), writer Daniel Strain noted the following:

In Germany’s Eider River, spiders not only swim with the fishes, they kind of breathe like them, too.

Eurasian diving bell spiders (Argyroneta aquatica) survive entirely underwater by living in large air bubbles, which the crawlers trap in silken webs. A new study shows that these bubbles work like a “physical gill,” drawing oxygen in from the water to match much of the spider’s consumption. Researchers from Australia and Germany report their findings in the July Journal of Experimental Biology .

Everywhere around us is the evidence of design. This is one example among millions we could use to illustrate the same basic point. This universe, earth, and the life on it are all too complex to be the product of chance. As the Psalmist put it:

Continue reading “In the News: The Eurasian Diving Bell Spider” →

Invitation delivered by: Justin Carrell

Justin discusses why the tradition of offering an invitation at the end of our Wednesday Bible Study is a beneficial one.

Audio

The metaphor of a door is used often in scripture. It references opportunity, the need for action, the desire of the Lord, and the way to salvation. The sermon discusses four of these points.

Audio

Powerpoint Slides

The Lesson consists of six different points establishing what it takes, both regarding the petition of prayer itself, as well as the character of the supplicant, to make prayer successful. Reference is made to James 5:16.

Audio

Powerpoint Slides

Invitation delivered by: Darren Johnson

Darren discusses the fact that Christians should consider heaven to be our home, and celebrate the hope we have after this life is over.

Audio: Click Here .

This sermon consists primarily of the reading of scripture, chiefly in reference to the scheme of redemption. The passages that were chosen were chosen based upon their ability to inspire and uplift men.

Sermon Audio: Click Here .

The denominational “Pastor system” is unscriptural and indefensible. This sermon discusses the office of Pastor, and distinguishes between what the scriptures teach and the practice of men.

Audio

Powerpoint Slides

Alexander Campbell believed that as Christians in his generation sought to restore the ancient order of the Christian faith, it would lead to a golden age of God’s blessings in the world at large. The title of his paper, The Millennial Harbinger represented this sentiment.

In the Prospectus issue of the Harbinger, Campbell wrote:

THIS work shall be devoted to the destruction of Sectarianism, Infidelity, and Antichristian doctrine and practice. It shall have for its object the developement, and introduction of that political and religious order of society called THE MILLENNIUM, which will be the consummation of that ultimate amelioration of society proposed in the Christian Scriptures.

Some postulate that it was Campbell’s disillusionment at the lack of progress toward his goal that led him to adopt the innovation of the Missionary Society.

Campbell was misguided in his views. The restoration of the ancient order has no great impact upon society in general, any more than the establishment of the Lord’s kingdom 2,000 years ago led to virtue in the Roman world. What is accomplished, as the sincere gospel is preached to the world at large, is the salvation of good and honest souls. Social change is fine, but the Lord’s focus was never on the here and now, it has always been on eternity. And, that should be the primary focus and directed efforts of His disciples as well.

Invitation delivered by: Justin Carrell

In this short talk, Justin discusses the benefit of fasting as a tool to growing our faith.

Audio: Click Here .

This letter the Lord wrote to the church at Ephesus was the first of seven written to churches in Asia. At the time of this writing, Ephesus was a large city — the most important seaport in Asia Minor.

Each of these letters follow the same pattern, and are found in chapters 2 and 3.

The Lord first commended the church at Ephesus for its work. The church was apparently diligent, steadfast, fruitful, and contended earnestly for the faith (Jude 3). They “hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans” as did the Lord.

However, something was missing. He admonished them for having “left your first love.” Though there was still the form of faithfulness in Ephesus, some zeal or vigor was missing. That lack of passion for Jesus was the reason for this censure.

The Lord called them to repentance, and here as elsewhere indicated that their salvation hung in the balance. This clearly indicates the fallacy of those who hold the doctrine of “once saved always saved.”

Here, those who “overcome” and receive the tree of life are the faithful and zealous. This is a wonderful lesson for us today!

A couple of Wednesday nights ago, in our lesson discussing the discipline of meditation, I admitted to the fact that poetry holds little appeal to me. My tastes run to the prosaic, (some may say uncouth).

However, I did note that a well formed paragraph can inspire me, and I thought I would share a few with you. For example, the wonderful expression of our victory in Christ, from the pen of the apostle Paul:

“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created things, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39).

Continue reading “Inspiring Prose” →

Authority is inherent in Jesus Christ because he is our Creater, Redeemer, and the Heir of all things. As such, we must submit to His will.

Sermon Powerpoint: Click Here .

Sermon Audio: Click Here .