A preacher is a man who proclaims the irrefutable gospel of Christ (Romans 10:13-21; 1 Corinthians 1:17-31; 1 Cor. 2:1-5; 1 Cor. 3:1-10). And with so many lost souls in the world, a preacher has no time to be using the pulpit to talk about the campaigns of persons running for public office (2 Timothy 2:1-4; Luke 9:60).
And neither should a church open its pulpit for politicians to come and seek votes, because the church is the pillar and ground of the truth and not a place for men to come and talk about Democrats and Republicans (1 Tim. 3:15). So a sound preacher realizes he has the commission to preach the gospel and woe be upon him if he doesn’t (1 Cor. 9:14-18; Acts 20:19-21:27; Ezekiel 3:16-19). In church, you must demand that the preacher proclaim the word of God only, giving book, chapter and verse for his teaching (Titus 2:1; 1 Peter 4:11). You must also demand that the preacher use the word of God in the correct way (2 Cor. 4:1-6). If the preacher goes off on some kind of rambling speech about politics, or someone who is running for public office, demand that he get back to preaching the gospel or be fired (1 Tim. 6:3-5; Romans 16:17; 1 Tim. 1: 3-4). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. Recently, it was said that a large percentage of Americans are changing from the religion of their childhood. Well, that can be a good thing or it can be a bad thing. For example, the Bible teaches that Jesus built one church and the Bible warns of the existence of false doctrine (2 Peter 2:1-2; Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 1:22-23; Eph. 4:4).
Now consider this; if a person is a member of a church that the Lord didn’t establish, that person is in false teaching (Mark 7:7; Matt. 15:13-14; 2 John 7-11). And in order to be saved, one must leave error behind, and that is a good thing. But on the other hand, if that same person is a member of a church where the truth is taught, and he leaves that church after falling victim to false teaching, that is a bad thing (2 Peter 3:14-18; Colossians 2:8). Since it is possible to be wrong and also possible to be right; one shouldn’t leave a church unless that church is proven by the word of God to be in error. Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. The Vatican has announced what they call the creation of several new sins. People, we need to read the Bible! All those things of which the Vatican speaks, has already been given to us in the Bible (2 Peter 1:3).
The commands not to break the law, harm the innocent, or engage in actions which are destructive to human existence, have been plainly taught by Jesus on many occasions. For example, when we are taught to love our neighbor, to do good until all men, and to set a good example before our fellow man, we sum up everything that the Vatican claims to be revealing to us (Romans 13:9-14; 12:17-18; 1 Thessalonians 5:14-15). Once more I warn you to stay away from men and stay with the word of God (Rom. 16:17; 1 Timothy 4:16; 2 Tim. 3:14-17; Matthew 24:35). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. Have you noticed an increase in vandalism, violence, and even killings inside houses of worship. Now I understand that the building isn’t the church because the church is the people and the church can meet inside a person’s house (Romans 16:5).
But the church building was bought and paid for with money from the treasury of the Lord, and in a sense, it should be considered special. For example, I find it interesting that the ground surrounding the burning bush, from which God appeared to Moses, was sacred at the moment, for Moses had to remove his shoes (Exodus 3:5). When giving the law, Mt. Sinai was special (Ex. 19:10-18). The Temple was special and not to be profaned (John 2:13-17; Ezekiel 23:36-39). Yet men today will spray paint the church walls, steal money from the collection plate, use the church computer to view porn, curse, smoke, and get into fights inside the church building. Just last year, there were stories of people going to churches and killing spouses while services was being conducted. No respect for the Lord or His property. Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. Atheists say there is no God, so they mock Christianity and finally die, having done nothing to prepare themselves for the hereafter. But let us play devil’s advocate for a while. Let us assume that the atheist is right and there is no God. Now let us say that a man lives his life according to the teachings of Jesus Christ, doing righteousness and denying wicked deeds. When that man dies and there is no God, what did he miss? How was his life not productive? So what if he never got his freak on, by getting drunk, using drugs, speaking profane words, having sex with different women, etc? Are these things important in order for humans to have a great life, or do these things put men in the dog house?
Now be honest, I know you understand that man would be better off if he didn’t do those things. On the other hand, if atheists are wrong and God does exist, and we die having done nothing to prepare ourselves to meet Him, we are going to be in everlasting trouble! (Psalm 9:17; Matthew 3:7; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Luke 16:19-31). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. I want to speak to high school students, and I want to speak to them about sex.
I know what goes on in schools, because I have been there. I also know what goes on in the minds of the young since I have been young (Ecclesiastes 1:9). One vice that I would like to see gone from among youngsters is the pregnant high school girl. I would also like to never hear about an abortion or an infant, left crying in a trash can or park bench. But, the only way that will happen is though education. And I’m talking about the education young people can get though the study of the word of God (Isaiah 34:16). In order to have a better tomorrow, young people must learn from mistakes of the past. Look at the boy and girl with a baby in high school (talk about cramping one's style) Look at the girl who gave in to her boyfriend’s demands for sex, and afterward he started treating her like dirt and finally dumped her (2 Samuel 13:1-19). And above all, one must realize that God expects man to wait until marriage to have sex (Hebrews 13:4) I know that by saying this many will ridicule. But remember, I have told you the truth, and it is truth that will judge all men on the Judgment Day (Galatians 4:16; John 12:48). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. Churches are to be mixed race—I mean blacks, whites, Asian, Mexican, etc. etc. If people speak the same language and can understand the teaching of the Word, there is no reason for them not to be in the same service (John 6:45; Acts 2:5-11; 1 Corinthians 14:9). God didn’t create different races so they can stay apart, and most certainly not when it concerns worshipping Him (Acts 10:34-35; Isaiah 2:2-3). Therefore, no one is better than another because of race, for God made all men of one blood, meaning the human race (Acts 10:28; Acts 17:24-26).
So the word out is, if you are white, don’t stay away from a sound church because the people are black. If you are black, quit trying to start or continue what is know as “the African American church.” Instead, attempt to make converts from all who will listen to the words of Christ (Matthew 28:18-20). There are people who study the Bible only with their own race and never make an attempt to do so with others. In the Bible there is no black church or white church. Jesus’ body is simply the church, and it is for all who desire to worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:24; 1 Cor. 12:27; Ephesians 2:10-22). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. Some will tolerate going to church on Sunday morning, but they cannot understand why anyone would go to church any other night of the week. For example, we have mid-week Bible class on a Tuesday night at the Mt. Airy church of Christ, and we have met people who just cannot imagine going to church on Tuesday night. Now allow me to consider something here. Are we to understand that Sunday is the only time that men should take interest in learning the Bible? Are we to conclude that the doors of a house of worship are to open only on a Sunday? The Mt. Airy church of Christ offers Bible study during the week as a way to help people learn more from the Bible. And as with anything, the more you put into it, the more you get out. By having our doors open twice a week, we offer a chance for the word to be spoken more than just once a week.
If we open our doors three times a week, we would be offering more than twice a week. Learning about the Bible should never be placed on a one-day-a-week plan. If there is a chance to learn more about the word of God, one should partake of that chance (Isaiah 2:3). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. The Bible is all about being friendly, a good neighbor, and showing no partially (James 2:9; 1 Peter 5:14; Mark 12:31). However, that isn’t the case with men because some will see a person every day and never speak a word. This type of behavior is everywhere and such nonsense ought not exist! (Luke 10:30-32).
Why not make an effort to know the people around you? Why not start this week and speak to a person you have been ignoring? How about introducing yourself to someone who knowsyour face, but not your name? None of us know what the future may bring, and we don’t know when we may need to rely on people we see each day for help (James 4:14). It would be great if those people knew something about us, while coming to our aid. And don’t fool yourself by thinking you will never need help from the people you see and ignore every day. Because when you need help, you will need it then and there. Remember, no one knows what may be. Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. |