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 The Reputation of the Church November 05, 2007 |
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What’s Right With the Church?
by Ed Wood Matthew 16:13-19 John Gardner’s statement about institutions in the twentieth century being caught in the cross fire between uncritical lovers on the one hand and unloving critics on the other is certainly true of the Church. On one hand are those who see nothing right about the Church. On the other hand are those who are blind to the Church’s problems. Full Sermon » 
The Church God Uses
by Timothy Peck Timothy 4:1-8 When your average unchurched person decides to go to church, that person is met with a bewildering array of different choices. There are so many different kinds of churches in our culture today, it can be very confusing trying to sort through them all. Churches come in different sizes. The average church size in America is 95 people each week in worship. Yet half of all church goers in our culture attend a church of over 1000 people. Full Sermon » 
Five Things that a Spirit-Filled Church Does
by John Hamby Acts 3:1-10 Luke has described the early Church by saying, “Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.” (Acts 2:43). In Acts 2, Luke does not give us any indication what those miraculous signs and wonders may have been. But now, when we come to Acts 3, we have an account of at least one of them, the story of the lame man who was healed at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple. Full Sermon » 
What Makes a Church Great?
by Jerry Shirley Acts 4:33 I believe this is a great church! God is doing great things! But there is greater still to come…revival is in progress, but it needs to continue and grow…mercy drops need to give way to showers of blessing! What is a great church? Some like a big church, some a small church. [You have to wonder about the ones who want to stay small, not reaching out!] Some like a country church, some a city church…I’ve been in both. I’m glad we have all types around here and all are welcome! Full Sermon » 
Building a Caring Church
by Gerald Flury Romans 12:9-16 Over the past several months we have focused our attention on what it will take for our church to be the kind of church that Christ wants us to be - a caring, committed, Christ-centered community. Today I would like to summarize those necessary building blocks to achieve this goal by looking at some practical pointers Paul penned in Romans. If we apply and practice these truths individually and corporately, God will be honored, the church will grow - numerically and spiritually, the lost will be saved, and the church will make an impact on our communities. Full Sermon » |
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Something Wrong
There is something wrong when people are leaving the church to find God. Source: Emile Wolfaardt
That We All May Be One…
A three-year-old girl was listening intently to the children’s sermon one Sunday morning at her church. The minister explained that God wants everyone to get along and love each other. He said, "God wants us all to be one." To which the little girl replied, "But I don’t want to be one. I want to be four!"
Love in Action
In her book, Living with Love, Josephine Robertson tells a story: "In 1883, a youthful clergyman, the Rev. Joe Roberts, arrived by stagecoach in a blizzard to minister to the Indians of Wyoming. This great, wild area had been assigned to the Protestant Episcopal Church by President Grant. Soon after Joe Roberts arrived, the son of the chief was shot by a soldier in a brawl, and Chief Washakie vowed to kill the first white man he met. Since this might mean the start of a long, bloody feud, young Roberts decided to take action. Seeking out the tepee, 15 miles away in the mountains, he stood outside and called the chief’s name. When Washakie appeared, Roberts opened his shirt. "I have heard of your vow," he said, "I know that the other white men have families, but I am alone. Kill me instead." The chief was amazed and motioned him into his tent. "How do you have so much courage?" he asked. Joe Roberts told him about Christ, his death, his teachings. They talked for hours. When Joe left, the chief of the Shoshones had renounced his vow to kill and resolved to become a Christian. Washakie had seen love in action. Every group which calls itself Christian would do well to decide what it should do to make love visible in the home, church, community, and world. For unless love becomes visible, it is not love at all." Contributed By : David Slone
A Christian but Not a Disciple
The leading assumption in the American church today – and the Australian one I’ll add – is that you can be a Christian but not a disciple. That has placed a tremendous burden on a mass of Christians who are not disciples. We tell them to come to church, participate in our programs and give money. But we see a church that knows nothing of commitment. We have settled for the marginal, and so we carry this awful burden of trying to motivate people to do what they don’t want to do. We can’t think about church the way we have been. Source: Dallas Willard | Contributed by: Andrew Hamilton
Looking for the Cracks
A reputation once broken may possibly be repaired, but the world will always keep their eyes on the spot where the crack was. Source: Joseph Hall |
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