The church

The Two Greatest Dangers in the Church Today

[394 words] In my opinion, the two greatest dangers in the Lord’s church today are that of ignorance and inactivity. Proper knowledge and actions are absolutely essential for a congregation to please the Lord. Consider that… …if a church does not have any biblical knowledge or any activity, then it is dead (or near-dead, anyway).…

The Source Matters

How much would you pay for a baseball? Not a baseball made of gold—one made of leather with red stitching just like any other baseball. You can get a whole bag of baseballs from a place like Wal-Mart for about $20. So what is the maximum you would pay for a baseball? What if I…

Members Who Weaken The Church

The strength of the church lies in her supernatural elements, her sure foundation, her divine cornerstone, and her resilient spirit. The weakness of the church lies in her human elements. The church is weak in proportion as her membership is weak, uninformed, insincere, or derelict in the performance of duty. NON-ATTENDING MEMBERS: They are found…

To Whose Church Do You Belong?

A woman approached a business man and asked for a donation to help build a church building. He agreed to give a sizable donation if they would put a sign over the door saying, “This is a church of Christ.” “But”, the Woman replied, “this is not a church of Christ!” So the business man…

We Need Each Other!

[264 words] There is an indelible and universal truth as it pertains to the church. We need each other. In fact, the Bible is adamantly clear that without the contribution of each member, the church does not properly function. Thus is the substance of Paul’s discussion in 1 Corinthians 12. The church in Corinth struggled…

Why Go to Church?

A churchgoer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. “I’ve gone for 30 years now,” he wrote, “and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one…

God’s Plan Revealed

God had a planned the church before the creation of the world (Ephesians 3:10-11). But it was not made known until “the dispensation of the fullness of times” (1:9). The “dispensation of the fullness of times” is a statement filled with meaning. Jesus was sent into the world by the Father “in the fullness of…

Greetings

When you think of your home congregation, what are some words you would use to describe it? Active, warm, loving, sincere, giving, evangelistic or cold, dead, apathetic, stuck in a rut, cliquish. Part of how your home congregation can be described is directly related to your role in that same congregation. If you are consistently…

The Severest Sin of Christians

The severest sin of Christians is a numbing lack of concern, an anesthetized attitude of “I don’t care. I’m in the fold. Why should I concern myself? I have a fire insurance policy against hell.” When Gideon was through thinning out his frightened and indifferent soldiers, he discovered that only one out of one hundred…

The Importance of Family

Picture this Scene. A little baby boy is born in a hospital and everyone is so excited. However, when it comes time to take him home, the parents say, “we think he should stay here with you.” While such would never happen to a child born into a loving or even semi-loving family, the question…

Unity

God’s word is truth (John 17:17) and when we are all grounded in the truth of God’s word unity will be the result (Ephesians 4:1-15). Truth does not cause division because truth is constant. Division comes when someone blows the winds of false doctrine and topples Christians who are not grounded in truth. They are…

Do Not Wait For The Kingdom

A few weeks ago a couple of nice gentlemen associated with a religious denomination knocked at my door. After introducing themselves, they got to the point they wanted to discuss: the kingdom of Christ. They insisted that the kingdom would soon be established. It was a beautiful, sunny Saturday morning, and I had plans for…

Lest We Think God Doesn’t Care About How We Worship

[531 words] Worship is vital to the church. Reading the New Testament, we find the church coming together for worship each Lord’s day (Acts 20:7) and Christians being encouraged not to fall into a habit of being absent (Hebrews 10:25). We find that worship was regulated and that God, through the inspired writers, gave five…

How Long Do You Want This Church To Be Here?

[219 words] When we build our church buildings how long do we want them to last?  Would we be OK with a contractor that only made a structure good for fifteen years? Would we be satisfied if need to do it all over again in thirty years? If the place is crumbling a few years…

Restoring New Testament Christianity

“Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” Mark 16:15-16. Not too far up the road, a stone ruin stands with trees growing through it. A plaque proclaims that in 1823 President James Monroe…

A Caring Church

[290 words] The title phrase is one commonly heard when describing particular congregations. But what does it mean to be a caring church? Is this church a caring church? Let’s find out. A Caring Church is a Sharing Church. A caring church is thankful Christ has shared with them and thus is willing to share…

No Title, Please

Some folks may view the Church of Christ as trying to be different just for the sake of being different. The reason for being different is that the Church of Christ is trying to follow the Bible. We even desire to follow the Bible by calling Bible things by Bible names. There is not a…

Is the Church Broken?

You hear comments in Bible classes that amount to what’s wrong with the church, what we’re doing wrong, what we’re not doing, and what it’s doing to us, our children, and the world. You read people’s minds through their social media rants, raves, and ramblings, and the bottom line message is that the church is…

Those That Are Sick Of Our Church

You hear people make the statements; “I want Jesus but not the church,” “Jesus is my personal savior but I’m not into organized religion,” and “I find my spirituality in nature, not in a pew with other people.” It’s an emphasis that while Jesus is desirable, his church is not. Can you have one without…

Why Did They Leave The Church?

Flavil Yeakley, Jr. wrote a book entitled “Why They Left: Listening to Those Who Have Left Churches of Christ.” Yeakley does a good job compiling his findings. He digs deep into various reasons as to why people have left the church literally and figuratively. He explores doctrinal differences, neglect, instrumental music issues, the role of…

Reclining, Whining, or Shining?

It seems to me that there are three kinds of church members. Let’s briefly examine each and, as we do so, please honestly examine your part in the church and see which you are: There are those who recline. They just sit back and watch everything going on around them. They are never more involved…

Members Who Weaken The Church

The strength of the church lies in her supernatural elements, her sure foundation, her divine cornerstone, and her resilient spirit. The weakness of the church lies in her human elements. The church is weak in proportion as her membership is weak, uninformed, insincere, or derelict in the performance of duty. NON-ATTENDING MEMBERS: They are found…

To Whose Church Do You Belong?

A woman approached a business man and asked for a donation to help build a church building. He agreed to give a sizable donation if they would put a sign over the door saying, “This is a church of Christ.” “But”, the Woman replied, “this is not a church of Christ!” So the business man…

The Names for God’s Church Define Its Work and Purpose

The NT church is unique in that her name depicts the intended purpose of its members. The Bible teaches God intended to save those who are added to the church (Acts 2:47). When God adds the saved to the church they make a commitment to do God’s work on the earth. Let us see how…

Parking on Someone Else’s Nickel

In the old days, cities regulated downtown parking with meters. You park, drop in a nickel or dime and get some time on the meter. Then you’d go into the store and be sure to be back before the meter ran out of time. However, occasionally, you could find a spot with time left on…

Maintaining the Connection

Summertime is in full swing, and with it the tendency for families to drift from closeness within the church because of family travel and activities. Here are a few suggestions to help maintain that connec- tion. I will use the term “home church” for convenience and lack of a better one. Resolve that you will…

We Need Each Other!

  [264 words] There is an indelible and universal truth as it pertains to the church. We need each other. In fact, the Bible is adamantly clear that without the contribution of each member, the church does not properly function. Thus is the substance of Paul’s discussion in 1 Corinthians 12. The church in Corinth…

Cityslickers and Rednecks In the Same Pew

The church is made up of people who are different. In the New Testament people from all kinds of backgrounds were converted and became members of the same congregation. Paul said what mattered is that they were Christians. In Christ he said there is “neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor…

This Really Happened!

On Sunday, March 25, 1979 a family placed membership at one of the churches of Christ in Arkansas. This isn’t significant news at all. In fact, we probably visualize three or four people walking down the aisle at the singing of the invitation song, sitting down on the front row, putting their names on a…

It Will Die

Take a leaf from a branch, lay it carefully aside and watch. Slowly the color fades, the leaf goes limp, curls up and dies. Take a fish out of water, lay it carefully on the ground and watch. Frantically it twists, struggles, gradually weakens, quivers and dies. Take a Christian away from the fellowship and…

Bring Those Babies to Church

My heart goes out to the parents of small children. l know first hand the kind of problems they face (and my wife knows even better). Training up a toddler in the way he should go is a constant job, a continuous battle, a seven-day-a-week task, not to mention an awesome responsibility. After six days…

Needs of a Newcomer

What Are the Needs of a Newcomer? In the early church, we see that Christians were concerned with supplying each other’s needs (Acts 2:44-45, 4:34-35). Paul reminded the church at Rome of their obligation to care for “the needs of the saints” (Rom. 12:13). Elsewhere, we are reminded of specific needs like monetary support (2…

When the Church Works Together

When the church works together… – There will be less bickering and more forgiveness (Philippians 4:2). – There will be less criticism and more encouragement (Hebrews 10:24). – There will be less excuses and more evangelism (Acts 2:46, 47). – There will be less selfishness and more selflessness (Philippians 2:3,4). – There will be less…

You Finish The Story…

Once there was a congregation in which every member was just like you. Each one cooperated and supported every program just like you have been doing. Everyone worked as hard and attended the same services and gospel meetings that you did. The elders, deacons, and preacher were all interested in the church to the same…

Don’t Have Anything to Do in the Church?

If you feel this way, then… l. Mail a card to the sick members. 2. Read and study your Bible diligently every day. 3.Visit all the aged, ill and shut-ins, and bereaved of the congregation. 4. Tell your neighbors about Christ and invite them to church services. 5. Visit new members and newcomers and welcome…

“Will Your Children Go to Heaven?”

Church leaders all over the nation are concerned about the drop-out rate of young people. And well they should be. It is a tragic thing to see these precious boys and girls, who are so thrilled with Bible study as little people, grow cold and uninterested in the Lord’s work as they grow older. Lately,…

Why does the church of Christ Exist?

Some churches exist for wrong reasons. The church of Christ exists to do one thing. This content is for Trial, Annual, and Lifetime Members only! Please log in or register to use our free church bulletin resources, or start an Annual Membership and get bulletin articles weekly by email, our exclusive Preaching Ideas newsletter, access…

How to Keep People in the Church

What can be done to stop the churning? Well, it may be tempting for a congregation to compromise their convictions to attract people. But, this is certainly not the answer. This content is for Trial, Annual, and Lifetime Members only! Please log in or register to use our free church bulletin resources, or start an…
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