19 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on...
Honor: We need to be people of honor and regather with honor. For further readings on this subject See John Piper's sermon on "Limits of Submission to Man" 1 Peter 2 2 8They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 9But you are a...
Effective Churches Find Balance If the Bible is true, it will critique every culture and every person through the lens of the gospel. That means that everyone will be annoyed by something it says. If the church is straddling the same line in this orthodoxical balancing...
A tale of one people and two cities (Gilead/Jerusalem) and the story that takes them to be one church in Christ. There may be some burdens you've carried that you need to let go of, some battles you still need to fight, in order to claim the...
Where did my church go? When we ask, "where did my So. Baptist church go?" We also have to ask historically, which one are we talking about? When we ask this question we typically have a specific time in mind and it’s usually skewed to a...
All of us have needs and wants. Needs are things that we cannot live without. Wants are things we would like to have. What are some of your needs? What are some of your wants? There are many things we need and want. But sometimes,...
NOTE: The following is a copyrighted excerpt from the entry “Church Government” in the Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization(ed. George T. Kurian; Blackwell), authored by Andreas Köstenberger. At the heart of Congregationalism is the belief that local congregations are to govern their own affairs. This stands in contrast...
Here is a great study on Elders and Deacons led by John MacArthur The Call to Lead the Church--Elders, Part 1 Read the other 9 parts here at Grace To You Ministries INTRODUCTION The character and effectiveness of any church is directly related to the quality of its leadership....
Grudem's Systematic Theology A look at the strengths and weakness of all of them and what to do to An In-depth at church govt. and all their pros and cons for each. Follow along with the lecture here: Audio Link Chapter 47: Church Government (Pt. 1 of 3) Chapter 47:...
By: Paul Nunez Suggested flow: Read the passage together Facilitator read the sermon summary Ask the broad questions and insert specific questions as they fit with the flow of discussion Close with prayer for one another I- Sermon Summary (Ephesians 1:1-5; Revelation 2:1-7) Big Idea: Christ calls his...
A couple good links on the growing Elder movement among SBC churches specifically relating to greater commitment to biblical innerancy and the sufficiency of Scripture in the last decade post "church-growth movement". www.billcraig.org http://www.bpnews.net/17638/elders-in-baptist-churches-conference-examines-the-idea https://www.9marks.org/article/what-members-are-asking-about-elders/ The below is an article by Frank Page regarding Page Patterson in SBC Life...
We closed our series out in Hebrews with chapter 13. This book and chapter have given us an excellent lead in to our next book Ephesians as we will see reinforcing statements like love others, serve in oneness, affirming plural eldership, not giving up your faith, remaining...
Let's look at a biblical context for it: Barnabas and Saul Sent Off 13 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger,[a] Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.2 While they were worshiping the...
I’m convinced that plural-elder-led congregationalism is a healthier alternative to four polities that are very common among Free Church evangelicals. Now we are going to take months of seminars and small groups and Sunday teachings to go over this. Our deacons began reading up on...
THABITI ANYABWILE lays out a great process on how to leave your church well. As a pastor I have left numerous churches to continue to pursue God's calling and I have seen hundreds come into and leave churches over the years. I hope this article...