Posts Tagged ‘church’
What If the Lord’s Church Was up to You?
by Terry Wane Benton What if a local church of Christ in your area was totally up to you? What if the Lord was counting on you to make sure there is a sound, biblical and encouraging church that existed and continued to hold up the truth of the gospel? If it weakens or dies,…
Read MoreMeasuring Acceptability
by Whit Sasser In II Corinthians 8:12 we read, “For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.” This principle of God’s word is to be respected, as well as all others. Sadly, there seem to be many areas…
Read MoreFeeling Wanted and Needed
by Terry Wane Benton We were very young (24) when we first started preaching full time or “living of the gospel” (I Corinthians 9:7-14). God providentially put us in the right place (Berney Points in Birmingham, AL) for this early training ground. We needed to feel wanted and needed in this first attempt, and the…
Read MoreU.S. Church Membership Declines to Under 50%
Source: Jeffrey M. Jones, “U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time,” Gallup News, 29 March 2021. “47% of Americans said they belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque, down from 50% in 2018 and 70% in 1999.” “The decline in church membership is primarily a function of the increasing number of Americans who express no…
Read MoreLove It or Leave It
by Ed Harrell Vanguard Vol 3, No 21, November 11, 1977 It is difficult to keep one’s thinking truly un-denominational. Proud, carnal attitudes constantly make their way into spiritual affairs. The sources of jealousy and strife today are the same carnal attitudes that plagued the Corinthian church (I Corinthians 3:1-5). I think few people have…
Read MoreInto What Were You Baptized?
by Floyd Chappelear Sentry Magazine, March 2000 Which came first? Admission into the church universal or the local church? To some, baptism is an ordinance of the church (that is, the local church). From that perspective, one is baptized into the local church. The truth of the matter is, however, that one is baptized into…
Read MoreWorking with the Smaller Groups
by Mike Davis Since 1975, God has blessed me to work “full time” with His children and to seek and save the lost. During these several years, God has permitted me to speak the gospel to large crowds (the most was over 200 at one time), and to speak the gospel in several states other…
Read MoreWe Are Not a Religious Non-Denomination
by Terry Campbell Sentry Magazine, September 2001 “Denominationalism” denotes a group of people devoted to a specific religious belief system who assemble under the name of a person, or concept, as their focus within a formal organizational environment governed by those of prominence that hold to that belief system. They have creeds and by-laws that…
Read MoreReligion that Lives in the Past
Author Unknown Sentry Magazine, December 2001 (Editor’s note: I would love to give credit to the author of this excellent piece but there was no name attached to the article. There may have been one on the envelope but when it was detached from the article it became impossible to give proper credit. I wish…
Read MoreIdentifying a New Testament Church
by Steve Dewhirst Sentry Magazine, December 2002 Traditionally, we gospel preachers have spoken of “identifying the New Testament church” in an effort to distinguish it from the sects roundabout. But in so doing, we have sometimes obscured the true nature of the body of Christ. We begin to preach about the church Jesus said He…
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