One of the primary purposes of the church is evangelism. As a matter of fact, that is what the church is elected to do. We have been chosen by God to be His ambassadors to this earth. Everything we do as a church must have as its purpose to reach people with the Gospel of…
There was a man in Boston who was entertaining a famous Chinese scholar. He met his Oriental friend at the train station and rushed him to the subway. As they ran through the subway station, the host panted to his guest, “If we run and catch this next train, we will save three minutes!” To…
There are many great and powerful weapons in the world today. Over the years, man has used the resources God has given us on this planet and has developed powerful weapons of war. However, there is one weapon that is more deadly and powerful than all the nuclear and chemical weapons combined. That weapon is:…
We live in a consumer based society where it is all about what I can get and how much I can get for myself. Unfortunately, this mentality has found its way in the church. We tend to think that the local church is there to serve us. However, this is not how God intended the…
The New International Greek Testament Commentary says, “A ‘faith’ which is purely doctrinal and does not result in pious action (i.e. charity) is a dead sham, totally useless for salvation. True faith reveals itself in pious deeds of love, as the examples of Abraham and Rahab show.”[1] This is one of the most intriguing passages…
Next to worship and evangelism, helping each other to grow in our walk with God is one of the main purposes of the church. An outwardly focused Christian is one who will declare: ‘I will grow together with others.’ Thom Rainer points out the importance of small groups in the local church when he says,…
Mohandas K. Gandhi was the leader of the Indian nationalist movement against British rule and considered the father of his country. He is internationally esteemed for his doctrine of nonviolence to achieve political and social progress. Gandhi says in his autobiography that in his student days he was truly interested in the Bible. Deeply touched…
The first of Thom Rainer’s nine traits of an outward focused Christian. The first trait was: I will move from an ‘I am’ to an ‘I will’ church member. The second trait is ‘I will worship with others.’ There should be a certain level of excitement when it comes to gathering with God’s people…
In James 1:19-27, the writer builds upon his discussion on enduring trials by focusing on what we can do to avoid unnecessary trials in our lives. Most of the trials we face in life come about simply because we live in a sin cursed world. Many trials are simply unavoidable. However, there are those trials…
From the Pastor’s Heart Thom Rainer (President and CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources) recently wrote a book entitled, “I could, I might, I can, I should, I will!” The book focuses on 9 traits of the outwardly focused Christian life. It actually focuses on the attitudes that every church member should have. Too many…
Pastor Chris Noland 