Articles and Sermons
We invite you to consider these articles and sermons in light of God's word, that you be considered "noble-minded" by Him.
(Acts 17:11)
(Acts 17:11)
Practicing the presence of GodAs I write this the world in in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic. People are worried! None of us have lived through times like these. But we need to remember we are not left alone, God remains with us. In this time of worry and stress we need to take time to practice the presence of God. I mean, realising that God is constantly with us. There is nowhere we can go that God is not there.
0 Comments
The Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic is a source of uncertainty, stress, and worry for billions of people around the globe. Yet even in the face of an international crisis, Christians are afforded special sources of blessings and comfort. Learn more about how not to become overwhelmed with anxiety in this short message from Shahe Gergian. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.” Isa 40:8 These words were spoken by the prophet Isaiah more than 2600 years ago, yet they still are as true as they were then. An important question to answer is, “how does God speak these words?” Can we expect to hear the literal voice of God? There are many people in the world who claim to have a ‘hotline’ to God. That is, they believe god communicates directly to them. The Bible tells us clearly how God spoke to people throughout the ages, a study of its teachings will give us a clear image of how God speaks. “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds...” (Hebrews 1:1,2)
Author - Stuart Crouch As we enter 2020 many of us tend to reflect on what we accomplished in the past year and set plans for the current year. With that in mind, Lets look to the bible for some motivation.
Often in scripture, we are admonished to look to God’s creation for wisdom and even answers to some of life’s dilemmas. The Psalmist David, for example, points to the power and majesty of God when he writes, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). As well, Job specifies how we can learn from the various elements of nature when he advises looking to the beasts, the birds, the fish, and even the earth itself to behold the power of God (Job 12:7-10). Paul carries on this theme when he says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). It is not surprising, then, that in our text in Proverbs 6, the preacher uses another of God’s creations from which we can learn, “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise.” Ants are the most numerous creatures on earth. Ironically, they can be found on every continent except ANT-arctica. God has left a model for all of us that transcends any geographically inhabited boundary. Ants are good teachers when it comes to considering laziness and a lack of discipline in our lives. In Proverbs 6, Solomon uses ants to teach his son a lesson about the sin of laziness. There are at least three ways we can look to the ant for wisdom. If you were to take a poll of the average person, first question: What is Jesus’ last name? The number of those who say “Christ” would be higher than maybe some would think. Unfortunately we would be wrong in this assumption, yet often throughout scripture we find the term “Christ” following the name of Jesus. It’s importance is undeniable, but, what does it mean? What does it teach us? It is a term used nearly 500 times in the New Testament yet never defined.
This is the first of a series of articles entitled "I Am A Member Of The Church Of Christ Because...", based on the excellent book, "Why I Am A Member Of The Church Of Christ" by Leroy Brownlow. Every religious body in the world was founded by someone. Therefore, each religious body was established either according to the promise of scripture or not. This is important because if a religious body was established unscripturally, it can never be scriptural. A. Christ Jesus said that He would build the church.
“The Cup of Blessing” This is the second article on the Lord’s Supper and I would like to take time to concentrate on the cup and the contents.
We noticed in Part 1 that Jesus gave spiritual significance to the bread. He also gave spiritual significance to the next part of the Lord’s supper. Matthew 26:27–28 (27) And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; (28) for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. "This Bread Is My Body" One of the greatest privileges we have as Christians is being able to partake in the Lord’s Supper. When we partake in this sacred meal we partake in a memorial: we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes (I Corinthians 11:26). In partaking in the Lord’s Supper each Sunday we continue a pattern that was given to the first century church (Acts 20:7). We are fulfilling the Lord’s command to worship in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24).
Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper during the Jewish Passover, this has a great significance for us when we study the Lord’s Supper. The Passover is also called the Feast of Unleavened bread (Matthew 26:17). The significance of this is that it determined the items that could be in the house and therefore used during the Lord’s Supper. Life and death is a complicated subject, but one that the Bible does teach us about. The diagram below briefly describes what happens after we die, based on Evangelist Keith Thomson's three part series of sermons. You can listen to part 1, part 2 and part 3 by clicking on the links. If you have further questions, feel free to contact us at armadalecofc@gmail.com.
One of the questions often asked, sometimes as part of an attempt to disprove the existence of God is, "Why does God allow suffering?" The argument usually runs along this line: "If God is all loving and all powerful, how could he allow suffering to occur? If He really did exist, then He would do away with suffering, but since there is suffering, He does not exist."
The problem with this argument is that is makes several assumptions that are faulty: firstly that suffering is necessarily a bad thing; secondly that suffering serves no purpose and thirdly that there is no higher purpose than life on the Earth. |