When people hear the word “church,” they will likely have many different ideas about what a church should look like, how it should be organized, and what it should be doing. However, we need to understand the description of the church that is given in the New Testament. This is how we can find the Lord’s church today.
So what is the church? Let us notice four points.Continue Reading
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This week we’re going to be talking about some “pastors” who are responding to abortion now being illegal in their state by driving women across state lines in order to obtain an abortion. Why would a “pastor” do this? And why do abortion advocates see that as the only “choice”? We will consider these questions in this episode.Continue Reading
As we look at the religious landscape around us, we see a myriad of churches that exist. How did all of these churches come to be? That is certainly a study in itself. For our purposes here, we want to answer this question: How many churches did Jesus build?Continue Reading
This week we wrapped up Season 5 of the Plain Bible Teaching Podcast. The theme of this season was the church. You can listen to the audio from all of the episodes on this page. You can also click on the link for each episode to see the show notes and download the audio files if you’d like.
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“Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you” (Romans 16:16).
Paul referred to the congregations with which he was associated as “churches of Christ.” Many brethren, in an effort to follow the New Testament pattern, have also used this to identify local churches. However, some brethren have quit using this designation, choosing instead to identify themselves as “The Church in ___” or merely placing a sign in front of their building that says, “Christians Meet Here.” Of course, many more in the denominational world use other names to identify their churches (Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, etc.). Our desire must be to please Christ and serve Him faithfully. So let us consider this question: Why were those local churches in the first century called “churches of Christ,” and what bearing does this have on us today?
Article: Why Were They Called “churches of Christ”?
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“Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you” (Romans 16:16).
Paul referred to the congregations with which he was associated as “churches of Christ.” Many brethren, in an effort to follow the New Testament pattern, have also used this to identify local churches. However, some brethren have quit using this designation, choosing instead to identify themselves as “The Church in ___” or merely placing a sign in front of their building that says, “Christians Meet Here.” Of course, many more in the denominational world use other names to identify their churches (Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, etc.).
Our desire must be to please Christ and serve Him faithfully. So let us consider this question: Why were those local churches in the first century called “churches of Christ” and what bearing does this have on us today?
Continue Reading
In the past, more emphasis was placed upon one’s denominational affiliation. But for many today, this is less important. This shift in mindset has given rise to the number of “non-denominational” churches we see in the religious world.
For years, faithful brethren have rightly condemned denominationalism. So is the trend toward non-denominationalism a good thing? Maybe not. Why not? Simply being non-denominational is not good enough.
The church in Sardis was a dead church, though they had a reputation that they were alive. Jesus said to them, “I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead” (Revelation 3:1). This shows us that a church can seem to be good in the eyes of men, but in the eyes of the Lord, their status is completely different. In the eyes of many, “non-denominational” churches look appealing. But like the church in Sardis, many of these churches simply do not measure up to the Lord’s standard.
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Peter issued this challenge to all Christians: “But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence” (1 Peter 3:15). However, many Christians feel unprepared to do this; therefore, many conversations that could potentially lead people to the truth never get started.
This book will help equip all Christians to start engaging in spiritual conversations with those around them by providing simple answers to some basic Bible questions. Being ready to give an answer does not mean having an answer to every possible question at the drop of a hat. Instead, it means being able to give a ready answer to questions that are fundamental to our faith that can open the door to further discussions and studies with those who are interested. By studying the material in this book and becoming familiar with the Scriptures cited in each answer, Christians will be better prepared and have more confidence when they discuss their faith with others.
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