THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH

      Jesus Christ established His church long before anyone ever heard of Catholic, Baptist, Pentecostal, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian or Jehovah's Witnesses. Today there are hundreds (thousands) of kinds of churches in existence. Men on men’s teaching founded these churches. Our Lord Himself established the New Testament church almost two thousand years ago.

      Jesus promised the New Testament church: "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:18)  Acts 2 gives the…

JESUS BUILT HIS CHURCH    

          If you have read your Bible you have read about the church of Christ. The church of Christ exists anywhere people follow the Bible and the Bible only. (Acts 2:38-47) Jesus promised to build His church. “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?…

"I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH"

One of the most profound statements in the Bible is Matthew 16:18. "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." Not many things are as misunderstood as the church. The church in the Bible was never a physical building, nor was it a denomination. The church in the Bible was always people saved by the blood of Jesus.

     The church in the Bible is made up of saved people. The…

“Seeking to Understand” Luke 15:11-32

Introduction

In Proverbs 4:7 we find these words: “Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.”

This verse attests to the fact that wisdom is important and should be the first thing that we get. However, wisdom without understanding is pointless. This is so because understanding is a lens which brings the facts into crisp focus. What good is it to have the wisdom to solve a problem…

Judge Not What exactly did Jesus mean, when He said: “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven… For with the same measure that you use, … Read More →

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Romans 8:26 (ESV)  “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”

     Have you ever felt like this? So overwhelmed or sad or depressed, that you don’t even know where to begin your prayer? The Spirit of our Lord knows our hearts and can understand our despair, without us even uttering a word. But sometimes we can neglect…

In Acts 16:14 Luke records:

“A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.”

   This language is sometimes understood to support the Calvinistic doctrine of the direct operation of the Holy Spirit.  It is affirmed that man, because he is born…

It is not uncommon today to hear older Christians who have already reared their children comment somberly in the presence of young prospective parents, “I certainly wouldn’t want to be bringing up children in times like these.”  It may be innocently done, but it is not helpful. These already anxious young people do not have a choice of times in which to rear children. For them, it is now or never.

Candidly, from the short term perspective, these are certainly not the best…

One of the things that constantly impresses me about the study of the Old Testament is the imagery that God has preserved to grant his children understanding in the relationship that we share.  I have always thought on judgment day, that the presence of the Lord would be such an awesome sight, that no one would be capable of standing to offer an excuse for any rebellious mishap in their life.  If standing in the presence of the Lord would be possible, then the Lord would simply reveal the countless opportunities…

Wash Your Nets !

     Luke 5:1-11 records an incident in the life of Jesus which occurred on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  Most people remember this as the time when Jesus’ apostles caught so many fish, that their ships nearly sank.

     There is another, rather incidental, detail in the story.  In verse 2 Luke says that Simon and the others were washing their nets.  What is significant about this?  Simply that they had…