Sound Teaching

Sermon Title: Prices We Pay

Anything that is of value costs us something. We must be diligent and focused to obtain the imperishable crown, and all the spiritual and valuable objects in life.

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The difficulty scientists are having developing artificial intelligence with computers is a strong argument for the design of humans, and thus a designer. If scientists can not design AI, how did chance come about with the real thing?

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Dutch pedophiles are launching a political party to push for a cut in the legal age for sexual relations to 12 from 16 and the legalization of child pornography and sex with animals.

The Charity, Freedom and Diversity (NVD) party said on its Web site it would be officially registered Wednesday, proclaiming: “We are going to shake The Hague awake!”

The party said it wanted to cut the legal age for sexual relations to 12 and eventually scrap the limit altogether.

“A ban just makes children curious,” Ad van den Berg, one of the party’s founders, told the Algemeen Dagblad (AD) newspaper.

“We want to make pedophilia the subject of discussion,” he said, adding that the subject had been a taboo since the 1996 Marc Dutroux child abuse scandal in neighboring Belgium. “We have been hushed up. The only way is through parliament.”

The Netherlands already has liberal policies on soft drugs, prostitution, and gay marriage, but the NVD is unlikely to win much support, the AD quoted experts as saying.

“They make out as if they want more rights for children. But their position that children should be allowed sexual contact from age 12 is of course just in their own interest,” anti-pedophile campaigner Ireen van Engelen told the daily.

The party said private possession of child pornography should be allowed although it favors banning the trade of such materials. The broadcast of pornography should be allowed on daytime television, with only violent pornography limited to the late evening, according to the party.

Toddlers should be given sex education and youths aged 16 and up should be allowed to appear in pornographic films and prostitute themselves. Sex with animals should be allowed although abuse of animals should remain illegal, the NVD said.

The party also said everybody should be allowed to go naked in public.

The party’s program also includes ideas for other areas of public policy including legalizing all soft and hard drugs and free train travel for all.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters)

Analysis:

It is a bit difficult to be shocked anymore when presented with examples of ungodliness and immorality in our world. I must confess, however, to being especially appalled at the reading of the preceding article. Pedophilia (sexual activity with children) has long had adherents (from ancient Greece until our day. But it seems pedophiles are becoming more vocal in the pressing of their peculiar agenda to be accepted by society.

One reason why such perverts are emboldened in their agenda to legalize such abominations is that a secular society has no sound foundation upon which to exclude any immoral activity. If God is not the arbiter in the questions regarding good and evil, who is? If men determine what is immoral and what is not, perhaps men will one day determine that pedophilia is wholesome and harmless. Farfetched? Hardly, as we see this is exactly what has been done with regard to homosexuality, abortion and euthanasia.

In the days of Noah we are told, “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). It seems that the world in our day is looking more and more like that ancient world. God destroyed that world by water. One wonders whether God’s longsuffering is nearing its end with us as well! “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10).

Sermon Title: Paul’s Preaching at Lystra

The example of Paul’s preaching at Lystra (Acts 14) shows us that the efficacy of the preaching of the gospel is dependent entirely upon the goodness of the hearts of men.

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Sermon Title: Filled, In Christ

Passages such as Ephesians 1:3 and Romans 8:31-36 teach that we have abundant blessings (“we are more than conquerors”) in Christ Jesus. This lesson examines the fact that we are “Filled” in Christ.

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Every Christian should have the desire to bow down before the Almighty God in reverence, and with frequency, to offer up worship to Him. God has given us this opportunity in the assembly of the saints.

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(Note: For the second week in a row, there is a problem with the file playing double speed using the built in MP3 player [accessed by clicking on the blue arrow].  Please click on the “click here” link if you have trouble with the sound being double speed.  This will download the file, and have it play with your media software.  Again, we are trying to figure out what is causing this intermittent problem.  Please be patient). 

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.

Continue reading “Podcasting” →

The River Oaks News reported in the Thursday, May 25th edition of the paper, the generosity of the Wal-Mart corporation in giving away $28,500 in grants to various non-profit groups. Among the grants given were donations to various area schools, fire departments and police departments, and city governments.

On the back page of the paper there is a picture of Dr. Bob Mullen, an evangelist for the Westworth Village church of Christ, receiving one of the big cardboard checks from Wal-Mart representatives in the amount of $1,000.

We have three questions:

1. As the freewill offering of the saints is the only means by which the church has been authorized to raise funds (cf. 1 Cor. 16), where is the authority for the Westworth Village church of Christ to accept such a donation? (Answer: No such authority exists).
2. As Paul indicated that the transfer of funds from the church in Philippi constituted a fellowship in the gospel of Christ (cf. Phil. 1:3-6), where is the authority for the Westworth Village church of Christ to have spiritual fellowship with a corporation like Wal-Mart? (Answer: Again, no such authority exists).
3. Does the Westworth Village church of Christ care that what they are doing is without authority? (Answer: Apparently not, as it is the continuation of an unscriptural emphasis on the social gospel concept that has characterized that church for many years).

In the fourth chapter of Luke’s gospel we have recorded the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. None other than the devil himself (vs. 2) took the opportunity of Jesus’ fast in the wilderness to put stumbling blocks before the Son of God.

The second temptation placed before the Lord, to reject the work of redemption for the glory of the world’s kingdoms, brought this response from Jesus, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve” (vs. 8).

Continue reading ““Get Behind Me, Satan!”” →

Sermon Title: Christ – Bringer of Division? Or Peace?

The Bible reveals Jesus to be the Prince of Peace. And yet, in Luke 12 Jesus said He came to earth to bring division. The sermon explains how these seemingly contradictory statements are in fact both true, and that the key revolves around the individuals response to the grace of God extended in Jesus.

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Sermon Title: Why I Should Attend the Worship Assembly

This sermon examines the attitudes which sometimes cause people to neglect assembling to worship God, and what the scriptures teach about our responsibility to assemble.

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Polls have shown that one in five adults in the United States has read “The Da Vinci Code,” and many more are familiar with its themes. George Barna, a pollster in California, says 25 percent of those who had read the book said it helped them achieve personal growth or understanding. “Few people said that reading the book had actually changed any of their beliefs,” he said. “That was only 5 percent. Most people said that it essentially reinforced what they believed coming into the book.”

What they believe is what Mr. Barna calls “pick and choose theology.” It’s a trend that Christian conservatives find scary and maddening, but that liberals tend to embrace as “big tent” inclusiveness.

“Americans by and large consider themselves to be Christian, but when you try to drill down to figure out what they believe, you find that among those who call themselves Christian, 59 percent don’t believe in Satan, 42 percent believe Jesus sinned during his time on Earth, and only 11 percent believe the Bible is the source of absolute moral truth,” said Mr. Barna, a conservative evangelical who regards these as troubling indicators.

Da Vinci Christianity is not so disturbing to Gregory Robbins, an Episcopalian who directs the Anglican Studies program at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver.

“When I talk to groups, they say, tell us about the Dead Sea Scrolls, the discovery of the Gnostic gospels, what went on with Constantine, was there a massive book burning by the church in the fourth century” – all elements woven into the Da Vinci plot, Mr. Robbins said.

He said he emphasizes in his talks that in its first few centuries, Christianity was not monolithic. There were Palestinian Christians, Jewish Christians, Pauline Christians who appealed to gentiles, Gnostic Christians, and Ebionite Christians who saw Jesus as merely a prophet.

Among Christians today, he said: “I have found a willingness to entertain the idea that early Christianity was very diverse. Then they’re able to talk about the diversity that characterizes Christianity in the 20th century.”

Laurie Goodstein
The New York Times
(Partial transcript, edited for space).

Analysis:

The DaVinci Code, a novel which takes potshots at the Catholic church, and also makes outlandish claims about Jesus Christ, has been made into a movie. Many protests are being raised about the movie, as Catholics and Protestants alike take issue with the plot and characters in the movie.

What is interesting is that so much of this controversy revolves around whose lie is the truth! While The Davinci Code certainly attacks the Christian faith, it is mostly attacking a distortion of that faith, as it claims the Catholic church to be the “bad guy” in hiding what “really happened.”

And some people are being taken in by it all. The article above gives the main reason why this is so. People seem to think that you can pick and choose what part of the Christian faith you want to believe, and reject the rest! One man in the article asks, “All these people – the famous Luke, Mark and John – how did they know so much about Jesus’ life?”

Of course, “these people” are the inspired writers of the gospels of our Lord. As Peter said, “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:16).

All scripture is given by God’s inspiration (cf. 2 Timothy 3:16-17). The attempts of some heretics 2,000 years after the fact nothwithstanding, the inspiration and veracity of the New Testament scriptures is beyond dispute.

Title: The Christian Age

We are living in the end times, the last days, also known as the Christian Age. This edition of the Sound Teaching podcast discusses the Christian Age.

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(Note:  For some reason, when you click on the blue arrow just on this post, the MP3 file plays double speed.  The file is fine.  Either right click on the link to save the file to your hard drive, or click on the “click here” link, and use your own software to play the file.  If this happens more often, we will try to figure out what the technical problem is. At this time, this is the only file where this problem is present.)

Title: The Amazing Grace of God

The grace of God is truly amazing. However, the concept of grace is commonly misunderstood even by religious people. In this podcast, Stan Cox plainly reveals what the Bible teaches about Grace.

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Sermon Title: Apologetics

The Christian faith must be defended by Christians. There is credible evidence which can be supplied to answer in the affirmative the following questions: 1) Does God Exist?; 2) Is the Bible Inspired?; 3) Are our Bibles today dependable?; 4) Did the Man Jesus Really Live on Earth?; 5) Is Jesus the Son of God?

(Note: The audio of this lesson came from Stan Cox’s presentation of the material at the Forum Terrace church of Christ on May 12, 2006. The material was also presented by Stan at the West Side church in two parts on Sunday, May 14th).

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