Birdwell Lane
Church of Christ
Big Spring, TX


Weekly Thoughts - March 2007
<----   February 2007    --    April 2007   ---->
04 - "6 SIGNS A CONGREGATION IS ALIVE"
11 - "THANK YOU"
18 - "TRUTH IS NON-NEGOTIABLE"
25 - "IS IT TO MY GLORY OR MY SHAME?"
 
 
March 4, 2007
"6 SIGNS A CONGREGATION IS ALIVE"

      A few days ago I received a bulletin with an article titled “7 Signs a Congregation is Dying”. It was a good article, but I thought perhaps it would be good to center on some of the ways that we can know that a congregation is alive.
  1. An alive church is a devoted church, comprised of devoted members. We are familiar with Acts 2:42. An alive church is comprised of alive, devoted, committed, steadfast members. If the church is not composed of these, nothing will prevail. NO program, no plan that can be conceived will cause growth.
  2. An alive church is a hungry church. Christ pronounced a blessing on those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, and the church of Acts 2 continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine. How many times have we seen, or been a part of a church that “majored in minors”, that spent all their time on first principles. We need a good dose of Hebrews 6:1-3 in order to remain alive.
  3. An alive church is a church that enjoys fellowship with other Christians, other members of the church family. That fellowship is more than than merely “foyer talk”. It is sharing joys, hurts, love, physical goods. The church of Acts 2-5 saw that no one had need, but shared their individual goods as anyone had need.
  4. An alive church is a teaching church. Acts 8:4 tells us of the church, a persecuted church. When they were scattered they went everywhere teaching the Word. Persecution could not put them down, they still taught Christ individually. They went from house to house to share the good news of salvation.
  5. An alive church is a communing church. Acts 2 tells us that they continued steadfastly in the breaking of bread. There are many quibbles concerning the term “breaking the bread”. Some contend that this is a common meal, others that it is the Lord’s Supper. The same word is used for both in the New Testament. As I see it, the church, the Christians, were so in love with the Lord, and so wanted to remember His sacrifice and His second coming that they continued in this feast to commemorate those great events.
  6. An alive church is a praying church. They continued in prayers. Prayers must be the beginning of planning, the beginning of devotion. It need not be a formal prayer. We need to learn to say both “Our Father” and My Father”. Prayers can be both public and private. We must continue steadfastly, be devoted to prayer.
      Perhaps there are other characteristics of a living, dynamic congregation that you can name. Feel free to add to the list, and may God help us to grow as we live and serve Him.

See ya Sunday,
Ralph

 
 
March 11, 2007
"THANK YOU"

      Thanks go out to all who stayed and made last weekend a success. Nearly sixty of you spent the afternoon in fellowship and study following our morning worship service. Charlie and Bruce did a great job of going over the Back to the Bible Evangelism Materials.
      Following a sandwich lunch we settled in for 2 1/2 hours of learning how to use the materials, mark our Bibles, and conduct a study. Along with Charlie and Bruce, Jose our brother from El Paso did a great job of teaching, preaching and conducting the seminar. What they taught us is a simple way of holding a home Bible study in a relaxed atmosphere. Now it will be upon our shoulders to put the training into action. Who knows, it may be that we were brought into the Kingdom for just such a time as this.
      One thing I do know is that all the teaching and training we receive is of no avail if WE do not put it into action. Knowing how to do it and getting out and doing it are two different things. Should each of the sixty who stayed Sunday afternoon go out and teach just one person look at what a difference it would make. Not only could we grow but we could perhaps multiply. Solomon said, "where there is no vision my people die." I hope that a seed was planted in the heart of each person who stayed that will grow into a vision of fields ready to be harvested. The apostle Paul told us that a little leaven will leaven the whole loaf. Now we just need to go out and sow the seed of the Word that we might produce bread to the Lord's glory.
      Remember Day Light Savings Time will go into effect Sunday morning at 2:00 a.m. Be sure to turn your clocks FORWARD one hour before retiring for the night.
      Read Matthew chapter 13 and discover again the power of just one going forth to sow the Word.

See ya Sunday,
Ralph

 
 
March 18, 2007
"TRUTH IS NON-NEGOTIABLE"

      Today's buzz word in religious circles is change. Our brotherhood is filled with calls for change. Old methods are ineffective in our Space Age world, we are told. Depression-era terminology will not get it in our computer-age nomenclature. "Change or die" is the cry.
      One of the tributes to the God-given nature of the Christian faith is its adaptability. Paul expressed it well, when he said, "I have become all things to all men that I might by all means save some" (1 Cor. 9:22). Many of our methods and customs are indeed traditional and cultural. We must never be married to methods, customs and human traditions. There is always the danger that we will begin to canonize them as a part of "the faith."
      However, there are basic biblical doctrines that are non-negotiable. They remain unchanged, for all people in every culture and age. Study and leaving will not alter them. There will never be the discovery of some "new truth" to change them. What are they? Consider these truths that are non-negotiable.
  1. GOD IS SOVEREIGN. He is the final word. He changes not. No one will topple Him.
  2. JESUS CHRIST IS SAVIOR AND LORD. He is God's only begotten Son. He visited this planet in human flesh to rescue God's offspring from spiritual death. God has given Him all authority and power. His cross is the only hope of the world.
  3. GOD'S WORD IS INFALLIBLE. The Bible is God's singular recorded revelation of Himself and His will. It is infallible, unerring, indestructible, all-sufficient and perpetually relevant. It was given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:14-17).
  4. THE CHURCH IS GOD'S SAVED FAMILY. The church is the fulfillment of God's eternal purpose. Saved people stand as a living testimony to God's amazing grace. God is glorified in the church by Christ Jesus.
  5. THE NEW BIRTH IS GOD'S PLAN OF SALVATION. Every saved person is saved the same way; by being born again of water and the Spirit (John 3:1-5; Acts 2:38; 22:16). God has only one plan of salvation: by grace through faith. A person's faith response that consummates the new birth is repentance, confession - commitment, and immersion into the death of Christ for the forgiveness of sins.
  6. CORPORATE WORSHIP OF GOD IS THROUGH FIVE GIFTS OR AVENUES. "God" is the only acceptable object, "in the spirit" is the only acceptable attitude and "in the truth" is the only acceptable pattern of worship. Communion through the Lord's supper, praying, singing, prayer, Bible study and free-will giving by His redeemed offspring.
  7. THE FUNCTIONING ROLES IN THE BODY OF CHRIST ARE CONGREGATIONAL. The roles are unchangeable. They are: servants-shepherds as overseers, deacons, preachers of the Word, teachers as instructors and members who live and labor in unity in a congregational context.
      The fundamentals of the faith will never change. They are biblical. They are simple and easily grasped. No one should desire to change them. No one should attempt to change them. Like the convictions of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego before Nebuchadnezzar, these are non-negotiable.

See ya Sunday,
Ralph

 
 
March 25, 2007
"IS IT TO MY GLORY OR MY SHAME?"

      There is a passage in the New Testament which continually plagues me. It is my glory and my shame. It is my peace and my inner turmoil. It makes me happy and it makes me sad. It is my source of pride but also it humbles me. It's a passage that dispels my grief but it can also promote it. It is found in Mark 1:17, "Come after me and I will make you fishers of men." Jesus had just encountered the forty days of temptations in the wilderness and now was about to begin his formal ministry. And it is most interesting that He does it with the enlistment of people... ordinary men and women of usual ability... common individuals like you and I... but people through whom Jesus changed the world! By this act, (and many other similar to it), Jesus was illustrating one of the basic axioms of God's redemptive plan... that God works through people! He worked through Silas, Peter, Paul and Timothy and many, many others to accomplish His will... just as He will work through YOU and I today! Let's consider what Jesus would have us to understand in our text. In this passage we will see the concern, competence and call of Jesus and how it relates to us.
      His first concern, obviously, was with lost humanity. In Luke 19:10 Jesus said, "He came to seek and save the lost." His first concern in this statement was with fallen, sinful humanity who had been sold into the poverty and bondage of sin. The Lord's plans for you flows into His plan for all mankind because Jesus first loves the lost.
      But not only was Jesus concerned about the lost, but He was also concerned about His enlisted lost-seekers. All of us have a tendency to overemphasize a task and under-emphasize our ability to complete it and the disciples were no different. So Jesus did a very interesting thing to convince them that the task could be accomplished. Luke tells us in his version of the story that before Jesus issued the call He first sent Peter out to fish. Peter had already come in from fishing all night and had caught nothing, but out of respect for the Master went out anyway. Whenever the nets were cast out the water began to swirl and suddenly Peter was calling for help from near-by ships because his ship was sinking from the immense catch. It seems that Jesus was saying... "I've proved that I can help you do your job, now come help me do mine." Jesus' concern for Peter and the others was so great that He took time to demonstrate and convince them of their potential. He was saying, "It can be done with my help."
      But this passage also emphasizes the Lord's competence. Often I consider what has transpired in my life and I lament that I have not led more people to Jesus Christ. Sometimes we become overly concerned over our own talent and our own short-comings, and we need to consider again what Jesus said... Follow me and I WILL MAKE YOU to become fishers of men." We so often fail because we are not allowing the Lord to make us and mold us into personal evangelists. We will not become successful soul-winners until we allow the Lord to have His way with us. Jesus is teaching that HE is competent enough to make us fishers of men.
      Thirdly, Jesus here emphasizes the nature of His call. He says it this way "FOLLOW ME." The pre-requisite of stewardship is son-ship and son-ship is only possible through total surrender to the will of Jesus Christ. He cannot make us to become anything until we decide to follow Him.
      May we so understand the concern, competence and call of Jesus that we may learn to share the burden of the lost with Him and become effective "fishers of men" in Big Spring.

See ya Sunday,
Ralph

 
 

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