This year’s Youth Lectureship is titled “Spread Your Wings” and will be held on Friday, March 26, and Saturday, March 27. Speakers and topics include:

• Ken Leach–”Finding the Right Nest: Finding My Place in the Church”; Friday, March 26 at 7PM
• Sam Matthews–”The Early Bird Gets the Worm: Choosing a Career & Giving to God”; Saturday, March 27 at 10AM
• Derek Long–”Birds of a Feather Flock Together: Christian Friendships”; Saturday, March 27 at 11AM
• Ken Leach–”Soaring Above the Clouds: A Word To Youth”; Saturday, March 27 at 2:15PM

Download the 2010 Youth Lectureship Flyer to hand out to your friends, family, co-workers, classmates and neighbors. Ken Leach will also be speaking Sunday morning and evening on “How To Get Along With People.”

This audio for the Sunday morning sermon:

• Pattern Churches by Jason Cheney

Churches choose from any number of different identities for themselves. They can be the “reverent church;” the “traditional church;” or the “friendly church.” However, to please God, they must above all be known as “pattern churches.”

The audio recordings of the lessons from the Youth Lectureship 2009:

• Chris Nicholson: Encouragement to Parents (part 1)
• Chris Nicholson: Encouragement to Parents (part 2)
• Chris Nicholson: When to speak up and when to stay silent
• Ryan Sollars: A young person’s place in the church
• Derek Long: Young leaders in the Bible
• Chris Nicholson: Maintaining your faith
• Chris Nicholson: Peer pressure
• Chris Nicholson: Faithful kids–the parents’ role
• Chris Nicholson: Faithful kids–the church’s role

This year’s Youth Lectureship is titled “Young Christians in a Nutshell” and runs from Friday, March 27, through Saturday, March 28. Speakers and topics include:

• Chris Nicholson–”Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t: when to speak up and when to stay silent”; Friday, March 27 at 7PM
• Ryan Sollars–”The nut shouldn’t fall far from the tree: a young person’s place in the church”; Saturday, March 28 at 10AM
• Derek Long–”From a small acorn a mighty oak is grown: young leaders in the Bible”; Saturday, March 28 at 11AM
• Chris Nicholson–”Not cracking under pressure: maintaining your faith”; Saturday, March 28 at 2:15PM

Download the 2009 Youth Lectureship Flyer to hand out to your friends, family, co-workers, classmates and neighbors. Also on Wednesday and Thursday nights (March 25 & 26) at 7PM, Chris Nicholson will give lessons on how parents can encourage their children.

Through the years, Premillennialists have differed on many points. However, they all agree on one major theme. They all deny that the establishment of the church fulfilled the kingdom prophecies of the Old Testament. This denial of the fulfillment of the kingdom prophecies has in turn spawned the myriad of complex false doctrines held by all varieties of Premillennialists.

It is important to recognize that Old Testament prophecies harmonize. They do not contradict one another. We must accept the New Testament interpretation of prophecy. We must not interpret prophecies, which are not directly interpreted in the New Testament, so as to contradict any New Testament teaching.

Premillennialists teach that Christ came to earth the first time for the express purpose of setting up an earthly kingdom in Jerusalem to reign on David’s throne. They claim that when the Jews did » Continue reading “Is the Church the Fulfillment of the Premillennial Kingdom?”

Millions of dollars are being spent to build/support student centers, church lodges, swimming pools, fishing ponds, youth retreats, homes for unwed mothers, hospitals, recreation youth centers, gymnasiums; sponsoring talent shows, youth banquets, boy scout troops; or support colleges and other institutions for various reasons from the church treasuries.

Are such things really the work of the church? Where is the Biblical authority for supporting such works? Surely the Lord’s church needs to be hard at work, but at God’s work, not man’s. What is the work of the church?

The apostle Paul revealed the work of the church in writing to the Ephesian brethren: » Continue reading “What Is The Work Of The Church?”

As we continue to explore the avenues of Christian worship, we come to the act of giving. Along with praying, the Lord’s Supper, reading and preaching the Word of God, and singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, giving is an act of worship. It is God’s will that Christians return a portion of that which He has given to each and every one of us as a free will offering. God has always asked His people to freely give of their means in the form of an offering:

Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution. — Exodus 25:2 NAS

The responsibility of giving is still required of God’s people. Paul told the Christians at Corinth: » Continue reading “How Should The Church Raise Money?”

The church of the New Testament assembled on the first day of the week (Sunday) to worship as Luke records, “And on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul {began} talking to them, intending to depart the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight” (Acts 20:7 NAS). The Lord’s church met for worship on Sundays for some very special reasons.

First, churches met on Sunday because some very important events happened on that day: » Continue reading “Why Did New Testament Churches Worship On Sunday?”

The local churches of the New Testament were independent and autonomous, i.e., self-governing. They were not dependent upon a hierarchy, a denominational headquarters, or a “mother” church. Each church was responsible for its own leadership, its own business, its own discipline, and its own affairs.

When Paul and Barnabas visited the newly established churches of their first missionary journey, they appointed elders for them in every church. “And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed” (Acts 14:23 NAS). When Paul called for the elders of the church in Ephesus (Acts 20:17), he urged them to “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has » Continue reading “How Is The New Testament Church Governed?”

In prophesying of the establishment of the church, Isaiah said, “Now it will come about that in the last days, the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it” (Isa 2:2 NAS). The last statement in this verse indicates two very important things about membership in the church. First, citizenship in the kingdom would be available to all races and nationalities. This would be in obvious contrast to the exclusively nationalistic religion of the Jews of the Old Testament. Second, the statement implies that citizenship in the kingdom of God, which is the church (Matt. 16:13-18; Col. 1:13), would be greatly desired.

The very next verse in the second chapter of Isaiah reads: » Continue reading “How Does One Enter The Church?”