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"...Shepherd the flock of God which is among
you, serving as overseers..." (1 Peter 5:2)
Elders
Morris Bass, Rick Holt , Joe
Price |
"...let them serve as deacons,
being found blameless..." (1 Tim. 3:10)
Deacons
Aaron Bass, Rich Brooks, Mike Finn
John Hague, Dan Head |
"And take...the sword of
the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17)
In this issue:
The Scriptures Refute Calvin's TULIP
-Chart by Tom O'Neal
Why Are You What You Are Religiously?
Sermon Outlines:
Noteworthy News:
Modernization
The Scriptures Refute Calvin's TULIP
-Chart by Tom O'Neal
The
Scriptures Refute Calvin’s TULIP
Total
Inherited Depravity
Ezek. 18:20; Zech. 12:1; Rom. 14:12;
II Cor. 5:10; John 5:28-29
Unconditional
Election
Eph. 1:3-6; Rom. 8:29-30; Acts 10:34-35
Limited
Atonement
Jno. 3:16; Heb. 2:9; I Tim. 2:3-6; II Pet. 3:9
Irresistible
Grace
Gospel Saves - Rom. 1:15-17; I Cor. 4:15; 15:1-4; Jas. 1:18-21; I
Pet. 1:23-25
One may resist - II Th. 1:7-9; 2:13-14
Perseverance
of the Saints
Jno. 15:1-7; I Cor. 9:24; 10:12; Gal. 5:4; Heb. 3:12-14
Top
Why Are You What You Are Religiously?
Joe R. Price
Some people never give a
thought to God or His will in their lives. Like the ancient Gentiles, they
refuse to have God in their knowledge (Rom. 1:28). There are many other
people, though, who do profess to live spiritual lives and to be believers
in and followers of Jesus Christ. Yet, these same people are divided into
hundreds and hundreds of different religious doctrines and practices. How
can this be? This sort of division surely does NOT have God’s approval
(Jno. 17:20-21; Eph. 4:3-4).
Some people are what they
are religiously because their parents practiced the same thing. Parents
should have influence over their children, and parents will likely be among
the first people to influence a child in religious matters. When one of my
sons was seven he had a dispute with a classmate over which church is
correct; the Mormon Church or the church of Christ. Although they were not
able to form mature reasons for faith at that age, they defended what they
had seen and heard from their parents. Your children will learn and live
what they see in you, including your faith.
There comes a time when
every child must honestly test the accuracy of the religious teaching his
parents has given him. There comes a day when one must do more than say, “I
am what I am religiously because that is what my parents are.”
That occasion of evaluation
will reveal the person’s heart. By using the New Testament,
self-examination will expose things that must be corrected; sin to be
repented of, error to be renounced and truth to be obeyed (Rom. 1:16-17;
3:23; Acts 2:38).
Isn’t it time that everyone
who claims to be following Jesus test themselves by the same standard of
truth (the gospel, the faith, the New Testament of Jesus Christ, Mk.
16:15-16; 2 Cor. 13:5; Jude 3)? Better to please Jesus and be saved than to
please parents at the expense of truth and forever lose one’s soul (Lk.
14:25-33).
Matthew 10:28 warns us to
not fear man, but God. In verses 32-33 Jesus assures us that when we
confess Him before men, he will confess us before His Father. But, if we
deny Jesus before men, we will not be confessed before the Father. We will
be lost. Is it not a coincidence that Jesus continues by saying that
obeying His gospel will often bring us into disagreement with our family and
friends (Matt. 10:34-39). Here then, is the application of confessing Jesus
before men: To be what Jesus wants us to be religiously may mean renouncing
what we have been in the past, what we are now, what our parents taught us
to be, or what our children now are. If we are unwilling to put Jesus first
and be what He commands us to be, we fail to confess Him before others. We
disobey Matthew 10:32.
So, who was
right, my seven year old son or his Mormon friend? The New Testament
settles the matter. It teaches Christ built one church, the church of
Christ, not the LDS Church (Matt. 16:18; Rom. 16:16; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:4).
Today, both my son and his first grade friend are old enough to examine
God’s word for themselves, believe it and obey it. I pray both of them
confess Christ and not follow men (Acts 5:29; Matt. 10:32).
Top
You can find the
complete outline of this sermon at
BIBLE ANSWERS
"Whom the Lord Loves, He Corrects"
Scripture Reading:
Hebrews 12:1-7
1. Parents discipline out of love
& so does God, Prov. 3:11-12; Heb. 12:5-11 (Deut. 8:5-6).
2. How does God discipline us?
a. Nation of Israel, Jer. 18:1-11.
b. For our salvation, Rev. 3:19.
I.
THROUGH HIS WORD, 2
Tim. 4:2 (Psa. 94:12-15).
A.
Scriptures Reprove Us of our Sin – 2 Tim. 3:16 (Heb. 4:12); 1 Tim. 4:6-8.
B. Scriptures Correct us & Teach Righteous Living, 2 Ti. 3:16-17 (Tit.
2:11-12; Eph. 4:12).
II.
THROUGH LOCAL CHURCH DISCIPLINE.
A.
Designed to Save the Unrepentant Sinner, 1 Cor. 5:1-5, 9-13 (Matt.
18:16-17).
B. Designed to Shame & Warn the Sinner, 2 Ths. 3:14-15.
III.
THROUGH TIMES OF SUFFERING,
cf. Heb. 5:7-8.
A.
Suffering Due to Our Own Sin – cf. 2 Sam. 7:14 (Psa. 89:30-33); Amos 4:6-12.
B. Suffering Due to the Sins of Others – Heb. 5:7-8 (1 Pet. 2:21-23);
Heb. 12:2.
C. Suffering Due to the Calamities of Life (cf. Job), Job 2:9; 1:20-22;
2:10; 2 Cor. 12:7-10; 4:16-18.
IV.
THROUGH MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF TRIALS.
A.
Hostility from Sinners, Heb. 12:3-7 (1 Pet. 4:16); Matt. 5:10-12; Heb.
5:7-8.
B. The Trials of Life Test our Faith, Jas. 1:2-4, 12 (Prov. 24:10); 1
Pet. 1:6-9; Rom. 5:3-5.
Top
You can find the
complete outline of this sermon at
BIBLE ANSWERS
The Resurrection of the Dead
Scripture Reading:
1 Cor. 15:50-58
“If a man dies, shall he live
again?” (Job 14:14)
I. ALL
THE DEAD WILL BE RAISED,
Jno. 5:28 (Rev. 20:13); just & unjust – Acts 24:15.
II. THE
LAST DAY.
A. All at
Same Time (“hour”) – Jno. 5:28; 6:39-40, 54; 12:48.
III.
BODILY RESURRECTION, 1
Cor. 15:35-49.
A. Body
of God’s Choosing, 15:38-49.
B. What Will Happen, 1 Cor. 15:50-54 (Rev. 20:13-14.
C. How this Affects Us, 1 Cor. 15:55-58.
IV.
JUDGMENT OF ALL, Rev.
20:10-15.
A. All
Will Honor Christ – Phil. 2:9-11; Rom. 14:10-12.
B. Christ Will Judge All According to Our Lives – Rev. 22:12; 2 Cor.
5:10.
V.
KINGDOM WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE FATHER,
1 Cor. 15:23-28.
A. Jesus
Will Come at “the End” & Destroy Death (Resurrection), 15:23-24.
B. Jesus Will Not Come to Establish a Kingdom, 15:24-25 (Rev. 1:9).
C. Jesus Will Not Come Back to Live & Reign on the Earth (Rev. 20:1-6).
VI. WHAT
ABOUT CHRISTIANS WHO DIE BEFORE JESUS COMES?
1 Ths. 4:13-18
A. Our
Knowledge of Future Events gives us Hope & Joy, 2 Cor. 4:14.
VII. THE
HEAVENS & THE EARTH WILL BE DESTROYED,
2 Pet. 3:10-12.
Conclusion: Phil. 3:20-21; Rev. 22:12, 20
Top
NOTEWORTHY NEWS
(Current events in the
light of Scripture)
Modernization
Joe R. Price
In an effort to modernize the
U.S. military, on Friday the Pentagon announced military base closures and
realignments. “Our current arrangements, designed for the Cold War, must
give way to the new demands of the war against extremism and other evolving
21st century challenges,” (Defense Secretary, jrp) Rumsfeld said in a
statement.” (Pentagon Wants 33 Major Military Bases Closed,
FoxNews.com, 13May05)
From all appearances, some
brethren want to “modernize” churches of Christ. They apparently do not
think the church of the first century is equipped for fighting the forces of
darkness in the 21st century (2 Cor. 10:3-5). Thus, we hear of the need to
be progressive and relevant in today’s world. (When did the gospel stop
being relevant? -Rom. 1:16-17)
We are not opposing the use of
modern technology as tools to better communicate and teach the gospel. Nor
should we be offended by scriptural methods being used to accomplish
the Lord’s work.
The modernization of which we
speak describes Bible preaching on authority, the worship, work and
organization of the local church and on religious error as boring, negative,
irrelevant and old-fashioned. Calls for “positive preaching” that warms the
emotions without challenging the listeners to search the Scriptures daily to
verify truth and reject sin and error typify today’s modernization of
churches of Christ. Then, there are some who say “church of Christ” itself
is outdated; they just use “the church meets here” or some similar
“less-offensive” term. Well, which church meets here, Christ’s or
man’s (Rom. 16:16; 1 Pet. 4:11)?
The church is relevant; it
does not need modernization (Jno. 14:6; Mk. 16:15; He. 4:12). We must walk
in the “old paths” of truth to find rest for our souls (Jer. 6:16; 2
Cor. 13:5; Matt. 7:13-14; 11:28).
Top
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