At Least They Come On Sunday Morning
Carl B. Garner (Originally appeared in the February 13, 1994 Bulletin) Over seven years ago, in the first meetings I had with brothers Moore and Worthy as their new preacher, we discussed the needs of this church so that my preaching would be most effective. In those meetings we discussed where we wanted to be in the next ten years, and who would be most helpful in reaching those goals. It was not long before we realized that there were…
How We Got the Bible
Scott Nedland This will be a very simple explanation on how the Bible came from God to us. The Bible claims to be the thoughts and Words of God (2 Peter 1:20-21). We believe the Bible is given by verbal plenary inspiration, which means every Word in the Bible was selected by God. (1 Thessalonians 2:13). Many times the human authors indicate they received Words from God (Jeremiah 1:1ff; Matthew 4:4; Mark 13:11). We are told that Jesus has all…
How do I Pick a Preacher?
I am looking for a preacher. How do I pick a preacher? The honest answer is you should not on your own pick a preacher. That is the problem almost all religions face: looking for a man or woman that they like and then, they will follow after them. God tells us: For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for…
Why Should I Come to Your Bible Study?
According to Guinness World Records: “The best-selling book of all time is the Christian Bible. It is impossible to know exactly how many copies have been printed in the roughly 1500 years since its contents were standardized, but research conducted by the British and Foreign Bible Society in 2021 suggests that the total number probably lies between 5 and 7 billion copies” (https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com) That is a lot of Bibles, but according to Guinness World Records it is only an estimate…
Should I Have My Baby Baptized?
That is a good question considering so many religious groups (Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, etc.) have practiced infant baptism for a long time. What I did was check my Bible to see whether these things are so (Acts 17:11). I did not find any examples of anyone baptizing their babies in the entire Bible. There are no examples in the Old Testament of infant baptism nor are there any examples in the New Testament of infant baptism. Some think the Philippian…
Zeal
And the disciples of His, they remembered that it was written, “The zeal for the house of Yours, it has consumed Me.” (John 2:17) EWT The word zeal is defined by Webster as an “eager desire or interest; fervor.” Some words that could be used to describe zeal are: Fervor, passion, intensity, commitment, dedication, and enthusiasm. Opposites of zeal are apathy and indifference. The Book of John gives us evidence that Jesus is indeed the promised Christ and is the…
Eternal Life
At some point, everyone wonders what is beyond this current existence. There are moments in our lives which change the way we think about life and the frailty of it. For some it’s an event that occurs in their own life. For others, it’s something that has happened to a loved one. “That was a close one,” or “that could have been me” cross our mind and we wonder about the afterlife. King David had many encounters with death. During…
Deity of Jesus
Jesus has been depicted as a mythical character, a spiritual guru, a visionary, and a charismatic leader who broke off from the Jewish system to create a new sect. The identity and deity of Jesus has been challenged since the first century. During early Christianity, a teaching was permeating itself in the church. They denied the incarnation of Christ (deity of Jesus) and His resurrection. In a sense, they would elevate their own knowledge at the expense of Christ. They…
Confession of Christ
Confession is one of those words that has been redefined and altered since the first century. Religious leaders and organizations have since created the “confession of faith” which is generally a public (often extensive) statement, written or oral, of their doctrinal beliefs. If that is the case, the “confession of faith” for a Christian should be the inspired New Testament. However, a confession is represented differently in the Bible. A confession is not simply a statement regarding your beliefs of…
Belief or Faith in Christ
“Believe” and “faith” are both translated from a single Greek word in the New Testament. The Bible translators use these interchangeably. It is used to refer to: our belief in Christ – our faith (Lk 17:5, 1John 5:4), to the believers of Christ – the faithful (1Tim. 1:12, 2Tim. 2:2), the belief system of Christ – the faith (Eph. 4:13, Col. 1:13). This may be confusing at times but the key component of it all is Christ. We shall discuss…
The Bible
“The B-I B-L-E, that’s the book for me, I stand alone with the Word of God the B-I-B-L-E.” This is a line from a popular children’s song that helps teach about the importance of the Bible and that it is, in fact, the Word of God. This teaching is not just for children but for every human being on the face of the earth. God has given His word for all people to know. But what is it about the…
Baptism
One of the most confusing subjects to most people is the subject of baptism. The Bible is very clear as to what baptism is. The word “baptize” is not translated in most Bibles. The word is instead transliterated, or an English letter is used in place of the original Greek letter. If the word baptize were to be translated the word “immersed” would be the best English word used. To test this, you can take passages with the word “baptize”…