Simply Gospel

May my steps be worship. May my thoughts be praise.

  • On Church Unity

    In Acts 2:41, the Jerusalem congregation began with about 3,000 members. It was a daunting undertaking, but they allowed the Lord to direct them. That direction led to further growth (Acts 2:47). Furthermore, several nationalities were represented in this group (Acts 2:9-11). This, of course, meant their were several cultural and social diversities along with linguistic differences. Despite this, Acts 4:32 says they were of “one heart” and of “one soul.” Six Contributors to Unity If we are to be this New Testament church, we are to be unified. To gain this same unity, we should emulate these qualities to… Continue reading

  • A Life of Prayer

    We need to be a people of prayer. We often become concerned about pattern and format of our prayers, the frequency we should pray with, and what is appropriate to pray for. I Timothy 2:1-2, Paul lays out various elements that could be included in our prayer life. Despite our concerns, we sometimes avoid prayer, and it may be because we know we are not what we should be. “Prayer keeps us from sin, but sin keeps us from prayer.” The Test of Prayer In the New Testament, prayer can be used to measure our spirituality. Paul’s prayers were largely… Continue reading

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  • The Other Commissions

    A couple of lessons ago, we drew a contrast between defending our faith and sharing our faith. We are usually prepared to go one the defensive regarding our faith and practices, but we sometimes fall short on being able to simply share our faith. This lesson will expound on this concept some more as we continue to grow in our ability to reach out to others with God’s word. Our evangelic efforts are mostly rooted in Matthew 28:18-20 – a directive given to go out and bring people to Christ. Evangelism is one of our main tasks, but, in this… Continue reading

  • The Importance of Sound Doctrine

    The first century church gives a pattern that we should follow as New Testament Christians. Acts 2:42 points out the basic outline for our worship services and what the source of that pattern is – teachings of the apostles. This pattern was consistently held to by these Christians, and it is a pattern we should hold to today. The Importance of Doctrine God places an emphasis on following His statues. We have to be rooted in the truth of His word if we are to be an effective people, pleasing in His sight.  II Timothy 3:14-15 refers to the church… Continue reading

  • Extreme Faith

    Many products today are geared toward the “extreme” generation. It carries a particular approach to life, but, in religion, we don’t necessarily want to be extremists. This lesson will focus on three points on which the Bible seems to expect us to be extremists on despite the atmosphere of the religious world. Three Extreme Areas The Identity of Christ. We want to water down Christ’s identity today. Perhaps He was a good man or a well-received prophet. However, Jesus did not leave room to doubt who He claimed He was. Therefore, we are forced to either take His claims and… Continue reading

  • More On Kindness

    Did you know that when you are nice to a sales associate/wait staff/service representative about a problem you are having, chances are you will get a better solution to said problem? It’s true: kindness begets kindness! People are more likely to go out of their way to help you if you are nice to them first. Think about this next time something is wrong with your food order. If you are kind in your encounter with the wait staff, how much more will he or she be willing to help you? On the other hand, you may get a free… Continue reading

  • You Go To THAT Congregation

    It never ceases to amaze me that, within the church, one can so easily be judged based on the congregation he or she belongs to. Now, before you read to much further, it seems to me that this is a problem pretty specific to the church of Christ, so if you are unfamiliar with the phenomenon I am describing, then you may move along. There is nothing to see here. Let me use myself as an example. In recent months I have chosen to fellowship with the South Boone Church of Christ in central Indiana. This is a church I… Continue reading

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  • Be Nice & Help

    I am feeling very long-winded tonight. It must be because I haven’t posted in over a week. This post will hopefully be more valuable than the last two… Anyways, at work a couple of days ago, I noticed a couple of our great third grade teachers trying to control what seemed to be a disproportionally large number of children. (As it turns out, the whole third grade was having one presentation but 2 of the 6 teachers were away at a meeting. The meeting had not concluded before the end of the presentation, so there were two teachers taking on… Continue reading

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  • Doing Good

    So a man approached me at a gas station close to the school I work at the other day. He was pretty-big, African American, wearing baggy clothes, and he mumbled when he talked. He was asking people for a ride to a Lowe’s hardware store that was about a mile away. Pretty much reflexively, I found a reason to not give him a ride. On my way home, I found myself thinking about James 4:17. “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” Of course, this dovetails right into Matthew… Continue reading

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