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When we look at other religions and cultures of the world, we recognize that they worship their god. For Christians, we know that their worship, whether image-worship or spirit-worship, is idolatrous because they are not worshiping the one true and living Holy God. Is their a difference in the worship aside from the object being worshiped? What is at the heart of idolatry?
The great church in Philippi began, not through clever planning and brilliant strategy, but because of “failed” plans by a missionary team. They had planned to take the Gospel into Asia, but the Holy Spirit would not allow them to go there, and sent them instead to the city of Philippi where they were severely beaten and thrown into prison. Surely this could not be God’s will for them! Yet out of that hardship came a beautiful church. Are you learning to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading, even when His plans don’t make sense?
Jesus left us with a great commission. We are to take His message into all the world. But He didn’t expect us to attempt it in our own strength and abilities. He promised us another Helper who would guarantee our success. Listen as we uncover this incredible promise Jesus still offers to every follower who asks to receive.
If we only had hours to live, we would make sure our last instructions for our loved ones were the most important. That was the case for Jesus, as well. Join us as we take a look at some of the final instructions Jesus left with His loved ones.
No one has to teach little children to pull a toy out of another child’s hand and say, “Mine!” We’re all born with that selfish nature in us. And even as adults, we struggle with the same problem. God blesses us with so many things — not only material things, but salvation too — and our tendency is to hold on tightly to those blessings and say, “These are mine!” But the truth is, God blesses us, not only for our benefit, but so we can invest those blessings into the lives of others for His glory. When a church learns to start releasing God’s blessings into the mission of Christ, it will unleash His power and see lives impacted for all eternity!
There are many issues in the church that have caused heated debate and division over the years. Surprisingly, most churches don’t argue over major doctrinal issues, but over far less important matters like what type of music is right or wrong, which instruments are acceptable in the church and which ones are worldly, whether suits and ties are more pleasing to God than casual clothes, etc., etc. If we don’t learn to put these issues into their proper categories, we will end up confusing tradition with truth, and we will be guilty of exactly what Jesus warned us about — trading in the commands of God for the traditions of men!
Over the centuries, false doctrine has made its way into the church in many forms, and today there are millions of people being taught things that are absolutely untrue. Many people are told to pray to Mary, that she was sinless, that she is a co-savior with Christ, and even that she rose from the dead and ascended to heaven! How is it possible that churches can teach such things when there is not one verse in the entire Bible to verify these false claims? How did such lies make their way into the church, and what should our response be?
When Jesus died on the cross, He opened the way for every believer to have direct access to God through Him. This new relationship was one of the foundational doctrines of the early church, but in 312 A.D. Emperor Constantine of Rome forced a system of lies into the church that completely distorted this biblical truth. Pastors were no longer seen as “Shepherds,” but were renamed Priests and wore visually intimidating robes to elevate themselves above the common man. Church members were falsely told that they now had to go through a Priest in order to reach God, and this began the corruption of the church which continues to this very day!
Ask someone to show you their church and they’ll point to the building where they meet on Sundays. But is that really a church? It is amazing to see just how far our understanding of church has drifted from the Book of Acts. If you had asked any follower of Christ in those days to show you their church, they would have called the other believers together, pointed to them and said, “Here is our church.” Today we think church is a place we go, but we couldn’t be more wrong! Once we regain a correct understanding of what the church really is, it will radically change how we see our role in it.
Most of us who were raised in Christian circles will spend our entire life involved in the church to one degree or another. But what do we really know about the history of the church? Who started it, and why do we even bother being part of a 2,000-year-old organization, anyway? How has the church survived that long when most other organizations, and even entire nations, have long since failed and vanished from the face of the earth? Why are people willing to give their lives for the church, and exactly how big of a commitment should we be willing to make?
For far too long Christians have believed that if we could just get the people “out there” to come to our church, then we have accomplished the mission of the church. The more people who show up on Sunday, the more we think we’re winning. Nothing could be further from the truth! In this powerful message, Reggie McNeal shows us that we’re using the wrong scorecard, and reminds us that the church is not the destination, but rather the “connector” to get people where God really wants them to go.
Too often we think that sharing the Gospel means nervously giving a cold, rehearsed presentation to people who don’t know Christ. However, the message we are called to share is not a script that we memorize… the message is our lives! The Bible calls us to be “living letters” that others can read. As we live consistently for Christ each day, those around us will see how the Gospel has transformed us, and then our words will have credibility as we speak about our Savior. Today’s message gives some practical advice for doing just that.
