Women as “Pastors” in the Church (09.08.22)

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Plain Bible Teaching Podcast

This week we’re talking about women in leadership roles in the church. Can a woman fill any role in the church? Religious people have different opinions on this, but what does the New Testament teach? We’re going to consider that today.Continue Reading

Remember the Lawgiver

Moses and the Ten Commandments

After delivering the Israelites from Pharaoh and their bondage in Egypt, God gave them the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17). These commandments served as a foundation for the rest of the law.

Yet in a sense, this foundation also had a foundation. The Ten Commandments provided the basis for the law, but the only reason the law mattered was because of the one who gave the law. So who was the lawgiver? That was God. They needed to understand this in order to appreciate the importance of the laws that were given. They were reminded of this in the “preface” to the Ten Commandments:

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Exodus 20:2).

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The Church as a Self-Edifying Body

Legos

When we read through the New Testament, we find the church being described in several different ways. In the passage below, the church is depicted as a self-edifying body.

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:11-16).

In these verses, Paul indicated that when the church functions according to God’s design, it causes itself to grow and be built up. What does this mean? How did God design the church to do this? How are we to act in order to help accomplish this?

Let us consider these questions as we learn how the church is a self-edifying body.Continue Reading

The Vanity of Our Efforts Without God

Home Construction

Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; for He gives to His beloved even in his sleep” (Psalm 127:1-2).

The psalm was written by Solomon – king of Israel and builder of the temple. He understood the need to rely upon God in building God’s house, in protecting the city, and in his labor.
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Elders in Every Church: Conclusion

Elders in Every Church

Our goal must be to “retain the standard of sound words” found in the New Testament (2 Timothy 1:13). Part of retaining the standard is having elders to oversee the local congregation. To have this, we must develop, identify, appoint, and then work with the elders in our respective local churches. May God bless us as we seek to follow His pattern in this regard.
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Elders in Every Church (Part 5): Appointing and Working with Elders

Elders in Every Church (Part 5): Appointing and Working with Elders

Once men have developed to the point that they are qualified to be elders, what comes next? Elders must be appointed. After this, the congregation must work under their oversight. How does this work? And what about a congregation without qualified men to serve as elders? Let us consider these questions in this final lesson.
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Elders in Every Church (Part 4): Other Qualifications for Elders

Elders in Every Church (Part 4): Other Qualifications for Elders

In addition to an elder being a mature man who exemplifies the life of a Christian, there are certain qualifications on top of the character qualifications we discussed in the previous two lessons. In this lesson, we will notice the qualifications that pertain to his family, his ability, as well as other miscellaneous qualifications.
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