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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:
Gospel Meeting Sept.
25-30, 2005
Practical
Christianity
Sermon Outlines:
Around the Bend: Measure
Twice, Cut Once! (Dennis Scroggins)
Gospel Meeting Sept. 25-30, 2005
THE
MT. BAKER
CHURCH OF CHRIST
(1860
Mt. Baker Highway, Bellingham, WA)
Invites you to our
GOSPEL
MEETING
with
Evangelist
Dennis
Scroggins
(Lometa, Texas)
Sept.
25–30, 2005
Monday-Friday: 7:00 PM
(Sunday: 9:30 & 10:30 AM, 6:00 PM)
Sunday:
9:30 AM: This man is the Great Power of God
10:30 AM: Noble Hearts
6:00 PM: The Race is not to the Swift
Monday: Recognizing the Tares
Tuesday: No Other Name!
Wednesday: Give Me Strength!
Thursday: The Fear of Hell
Friday: Zeal Without Knowledge: A Spiritual Killer
(From
I-5 take Exit # 255 and go East 4.2 miles)
more information: please call (360) 752-2692
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Practical Christianity
Joe R. Price
Christianity is
practical. It is the practice of a disciple of Jesus to be like the Master
(Lk. 6:40). “Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God” (1 Jno.
3:10). When one practices the truth he is walking in the light, according to
1 John 1:6-7 – he is following Jesus, the light of the world (1 Jno. 1:6-7;
8:12).
Early Christians
practiced their faith by “continuing steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine
and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). It is
inspired Scripture that thoroughly equips Christians for every good work (2
Tim. 3:16-17). The grace of God (by which we are saved and in which we
stand, Eph. 2:5, 8; Rom. 5:2) teaches us to live “soberly, righteously, and
godly in the present age” (Titus 2:11-12). God’s divine power “has given to
us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of
Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Pet. 1:3). Clearly, to practice
the life of a disciple of Christ can and will be accomplished by following
the word of God.
Why then do some
Christians say that living by the Bible just is not practical today? Why do
they say that living the Christian life is boring and unfulfilling, or too
hard?
At the heart of such
thinking is what is in one’s heart: “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he”
(Prov. 23:7). Jesus said, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart
brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings
forth evil things” (Matt. 12:35). Repentance is taking the bad things (sin)
out of one’s heart (Acts 26:20). It is necessary to repent to become a
Christian (to be saved in Christ) and to remain faithful to Christ (Acts
2:38; 8:22-24). Having removed the sin, Christians put good things into
their hearts, such as “whatever things are true, whatever things are noble,
whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are
lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if
there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things” (Phil. 4:8
Unless one has the
devotion of faith to deny self and follow Jesus, this will not happen (Lk.
9:23). Without a strong faith, Christianity easily becomes negative, a
hassle, an inconvenience, a nuisance and a burden. (And, after all, who
wants to practice something like that?!) But in fact, Christianity is not
“like that” – that is the perception and attitude one develops within a
heart that has not implanted within it the word of God (Jas. 1:21).
With God’s word in our
hearts we are equipped to think on what is true, noble, just, pure, lovely,
reputable and virtuous things. This is how faith is built (Rom. 10:17). We
cannot “walk by faith” without “the faith” (word) in our hearts (2 Cor.
5:9).
Christianity is practical
in the home. The Bible teaches how to be a successful husband or wife (Eph.
5:22-33; 1 Pet. 3:1-7). Put God’s word in your heart, practice it and you
will succeed.
Christianity is practical
at school. The Bible teaches about moral courage and other qualities of
faith that will help you do so (2 Pet. 1:5-8). Put God’s word in your heart,
practice it and you will succeed.
Christianity is practical
at work. Christ teaches us the heart we must have to be faithful on the job
(Eph. 6:5-9). To successfully do so, we must put His word in our heart and
practice it on the job.
Christianity is practical
on social occasions. The Bible teaches us to be examples of godliness at all
times (1 Pet. 2:11-12). With God’s word in your heart you will successfully
practice holiness.
There are many other
applications. Christianity is very practical. But, unless and until we put
God’s word in our heart and choose to practice truth (to walk in the light,
to be a disciple of Jesus), being a Christian will be a burden, not a
blessing (Col. 1:10; 3:16-17; Eph. 4:1).
Top
You can find the
complete outline of this sermon at
BIBLE ANSWERS
The Rebellion of Korah (1)
Scripture Reading:
Numbers 16:1-5
Intro.
1. History is full of
those who rebelled against God’s arrangements, Jude 5-11 (v. 11, Korah).
2. Where do we stand?
I. THE REBELLION
OF KORAH (Num. 16).
A. The Complaint was
Against God (rejected the Lord, 16:30; 26:9).
1. God’s established order (16:3, 28). (Rejected divine authority, Num.
12:6-8; 3:10, 5-9.
2. God’s approved leaders (16:3, 12-14, 28-33); cf. 1 Tim. 5:19; Heb.
5:4.
3. God’s blessings of service (16:8-10; cf. 1:47-53; 3:5-10; 4:4-20);
Psa. 84:10.
B. The Sin of Gainsaying (Jude 8-11; Tit. 1:9-11).
1. Spoke against Moses & Aaron (16:3, 28).
2. Driven by envy – Psa. 106:16.
3. Pride & selfish ambition – 16:3, 10 (Heb. 5:4); Num. 4:4-20 (Matt.
20:26; Jno. 13:12-17).
4. Not content with God’s way…wanted the priesthood (16:10).
C. The Sin of Factiousness, Psa. 106:17 (Gal. 5:20);
1. Selfish ambitions (“factions” ASV), Num. 16:7; Warning, Phil. 2:3-4.
2. Dissensions (“divisions” ASV), 16:11; 1 Cor. 1:10; 3:3 (same word)
(Tit. 3:9-11).
3. Heresies (“parties”), 16:16; cf. 1 Cor. 11:19 (1 Cor. 1:11-12 (3:3).
D. The Influence of Factiousness, 16:2, 41-50 (1 Cor. 5:6; 2 Tim. 2:16-17;
2 Jno. 10-11).
E. God Punishes the Factious, Psa. 106:16-18 (Prov. 6:19); Gal. 5:20-21;
Jude 11.
Conclusion
1. A warning for us, 1
Cor. 10:10.
2. Factiousness promotes opinions & will of men, not “the doctrine which
you learned” – Rom. 6:17.
3. Isa. 55:8-9, 11 – Man’s ways are not God’s. Humbly accept His ways &
follow His word.
Top
You can find the
complete outline of this sermon at
BIBLE ANSWERS
The Rebellion of Korah (2)
Scripture Reading:
Jude 16-23
Intro.
1. 1 Sam. 15:22-23:
Rebellion is a companion of stubbornness that rejects the “word of the Lord”
for “a better way.”
2. Like Korah’s rebellion against God, the selfish ambition of factiousness
offers “liberty” but causes spiritual & eternal destruction, 2 Pet. 2:18-19.
3. Num. 16:40: The children of Israel were to remember what happened &
obediently respect the word of God, Num. 26:10 (Korah and company became a
sign).
I. LESSONS FROM THE
REBELLION.
A. God Means what He
Says: God’s Arrangements Stand & must be Respected, Rom. 11:33-36; 2 Tim.
1:13; Col. 3:17.
B. It is a Sin to Complain against God’s Arrangements, (16:41); Phil.
2:14; Col. 2:14-16.
1. Murmuring against Bible authority, 1 Cor. 14:37 (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
2. Murmuring against God-approved leadership (Acts 20:28); 1 Tim.
5:19-20; 1 Ths. 5:12-13, 14.
3. Murmuring against sound preaching, 2 Tim. 4:2-4 (cf. Paul’s
opponents, 2 Cor. 10:1, 10-11…). Real reason: Envy & strife, Phil. 1:15-16,
12-14, 17-18.
C. How to Deal with a Factious, Gainsaying Person (Tit. 1:9); Titus
3:9-11; Rom. 16:17; Num. 16:4-7, 16-19; 16:41.
D. God Shows Mercy to Sinners in Christ, Num. 16:21-24, 44-50 (cf. Rom.
10:21).
1. Atonement for sinners, Rom. 5:11.
2. God judges & punishes sinners; offers mercy to repentant.
E. We Must Come Before God in Holiness – 16:36-40, 5 (Lev. 10:1-3).
1. LOM priests (Exo. 19:22); LOM high priest (Exo. 28:35-38).
2. Christians, 1 Pet. 2:5; Rom. 12:1; 2 Cor. 7:1.
Conclusion
Jude 16-23: Rebellious
will be destroyed, the humble will be saved (and help save others).
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Around the Bend: Measure Twice, Cut Once!
Dennis Scroggins
Folks in the country just
have to do their own carpentry work sometimes. One rule that my Daddy taught
me was always to “measure twice, but make one cut.” This may not sound like
wisdom, but if you don’t have the money to buy that next piece of wood,
because you could hardly afford the piece you are cutting, you tend to
approach that costly piece of wood with more respect. Yes, it is true that
you will tend to be more careful when you cut a board that cost you twenty
five dollars a foot, versus a piece of plywood that cost you twenty five
cents a foot.
Paul wrote to Timothy in
2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
We see how
ashamed the workman will be if he gets in a hurry and makes his cuts
(rightly dividing) before he measures. Of course, you can see how much the
word of God means to you by how carefully you will make that cut, or make
that application.
Jesus talked about
building a house, and made reference to the kind of foundation one builds on
(Matt. 7:24-27). Do you see that you might in fact have the correct
foundation and still not make the correct cuts, because you are not
measuring with the correct standard? Or worse, you are haphazard in how you
are measuring, because you have decided that the material is not that
important, or costly. Jesus paid it all that we might rightly divide the
word of truth. How precious is God’s word to you? Is it like an expensive
piece of wood, or is it just cheap plywood to you?
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