The Churches Response To Change
1. Churches are central to God’s plan for redemption. God’s plan for the church has not changed, nor will it change. 2. Conditions under within the Church must work are changing. I: Certainty of Change: 1. Not everything changes. 2. Man’s nature never changes, except by the grace of God. 3. Man dies and that does not change. 4. Man must meet God and give an account of things done in the flesh. 5. Change alters the less important. Seldom does change alter the basic human needs. II: Church Changes In Structure: 1. The gospel message does not change, but our method of presentation must keep up with change. a. Here we are to often hampered with tradition. b. We have always done it this way. 2. A church must be true to its basic nature, but that...
The Boat
I owned a little boat a while ago, And sailed the morning sea without a fear, And whither any breeze might fairly blow. I steered my little craft afar or near. Mine was the boat, And mine the air, And mine the sea, Nor mine a care. My boat became my place of mighty toil, I sailed at evening to the fishing ground, Which my all conquering work had found. Mine was the boat, And mine the net, And mine the skill, And power to get. One day there came along that silent shore, While I my net was casting in the sea, A Man who spoke as never man before. I followed Him; new life began in me. Mine was the boat, But His the voice, And His the call, Yet mine the choice. Ah! ’twas a fearful night out on the lake, And all my skill availed not, at the helm, Till Him asleep...
Eternal Embezilment
His claim up on your life. Isaiah 14:12-16, 53:6 The child clutches the new toy and cries at the top of his lungs, “You can’t have it, it’s mine!” A grown-up says a little more calmly, “My life is my own and I live it to suit myself.” Like the rich fool, we can only see that which revolves around our little world. I: Sin Is A Refusal To Accept God’s Will. 1. One may be careful to give God the tithe and then dishonor God in the way the other nine out of ten are used. 2. One may play god by passing the churches total obligations with the tithe. 3. The sinner may refuse God’s way of life and built standards of his own. 4. “If I give and have not love.” 5. “What hast thou that didst not receive?”...
Weat And Tears In The Churches
Revelations 2:4, Matthew 13:24-30 The seven churches of Asia represents the churches of all the church age. As Christ judges these churches, they were a mixed society of good and evil. Six out of Seven he severely condemned, one out of seven he finds no fault, one he finds nothing right. Some churches had lost their first love, some were false in their professions. We find that among the finest of Christians, there are those who love and act like the world. I: The First Churches Had Real Opportunities. 1. The leaders had been with Jesus. 2. The mighty acts of the Son of God, was fresh in their minds. 3. He preached a first-hand experience. 4. These men were well prepared to get a church on the right road! 5. But even these churches were beset with problems of...
Standards of Good News
John 3:16, John 1 4:7-12 Books have known to start wars (Uncle Tom’s Cabin). A few written words may mean peace or trouble (Declaration of Independence). “Take a long look child.” I: “For God So Loved.” 1. “I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” Jeremiah 31:3. 2. The love of man: a. Love those that love them. b. A love for country and liberty. c. Love for their loved ones (King of England). 3. The greatest lover: a. Everlasting love. b. Love stronger than death. c. Love that loves the unlovely. d. Love that triumphs in face of hatred. II: He Loved the Whole World! 1. Every man that hears the invitation welcome. 2. “Why will ye die?” 3. “No pleasure in the death of the wicked.” Ezekiel 18:32....