Know Your Bible
VOL. 14 May 1, 2016 NO. 7
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE
GOSPEL MEETING
Is Here!
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
WHAT DOES THIS GOSPEL MEETING MEAN TO YOU?
Each of us should have already asked ourselves the question, What does this gospel meeting mean to me? Will I receive benefit from attending each service or is my time better spent elsewhere? Will my faith and my relationship with the Lord be strengthened or will teaching from the revealed and inspired word of God have no effect on me? Do I already have all the knowledge of the Bible that I need to be pleasing to Him, or could I possibly learn or be reminded of a spiritual principle that could make a difference in my eternal salvation? Could I help and encourage others by attending the meetings or would my presence have no value to anyone? These are serious questions we all need to ask ourselves, even though we know the answers if we tell ourselves the truth.
This series of lessons from the Bible has two purposes, the same two goals that every effort made to teach and preach the word in the New Testament has.
First, to evangelize, to proclaim the gospel to lost people. Paul writes, “I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first, and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith’” (Romans 1:14-17).
The second purpose or goal is to edify, to exhort and build up members to greater knowledge and service. “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25).
If the gospel meeting this week means something to us, it will cause us to act in certain ways:
1) Pray. Hopefully, we have been praying daily for this meeting in our private prayers at home. Now we need to continue to pray for our speakers; for our visitors and invitees to have open hearts as they hear the word of God preached; for any weak members who need strength; and for members who have left their service to the Lord, that they would penitently return to Him.
2) Prepare. Yes, I know the meeting starts today, but there are still some preparations we can make to help our collective efforts to save souls. Continue to invite family, friends, and neighbors to the services. Encourage other members who may not normally attend nightly services of our meetings to be there this time. Be present early to meet and greet our visitors, and so you do not disturb the services once they have begun. Make all visitors feel warmly welcome. They are souls!
3) Be present. Clear your calendar now so that you can attend every service. When you invite a visitor, nothing makes a worse impression on them than if you stay home on the night he/she attends. In a gospel meeting, your presence is always edifying, while your absence is always demoralizing. Empty seats truly have an effect on all who attend — affecting the morale of the members and the impact of the message on visitors. Let us determine today to be present at every service.
4) Participate. Remember, you are coming to worship the God of heaven! Again, arrive early to welcome visitors and invite them to come back after the service. Sing every song in a spirited, enthusiastic manner with grace in your heart. Reverently give attention to the prayers being offered, and say amen at the closing if you want to. Give close attention to the lesson and turn in your Bible to read the verses cited. Let members and visitors know you are truly interested in hearing and learning God’s word.
This meeting is going to be a wonderful spiritual time for many. It will be extremely beneficial to those who truly want to grow from these nights of studying God’s word together. Don’t you want to be one of those? You and I will be stronger, more knowledgeable, and better serving Christians if we pray for the events of the week, prepare for each night, be present for every meeting, and participate in the worship services.
—Danny Johnson
Page 1
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
BE READY TO GET TO WORK!
Do you have a complaint? Is there something about the local congregation that needs to be changed or improved? Is there a specific matter that is being neglected? Do you know about a particular item that needs special attention? Good! We need every Christian to be perceptive to the needs of the church. We want you to be attentive to the things that cry out for improvement. We're glad that you care enough to be looking carefully at the work that we're trying to do together.
But now, we need to warn you -- be ready to get to work!!! If you are inclined to point out the problems -- and that's good -- then you must also be ready to get involved in whatever it takes to solve them. Once you've voiced your sincere concerns, be prepared to roll up your sleeves and tackle the work that will be required. We have little patience with a brother or sister who only wants to complain, grumble, and gripe. Sadly, in too many congregations these folks outnumber the real workers.
In Acts 6 we read of a problem in the Jerusalem church. It did not take long for some brethren to point it out -- "there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration." Observe carefully how the apostles dealt with the situation: "Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them and said . . . brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report . . . whom we may appoint over this business . . . and the saying pleased the whole multitude and they chose . . . whom they set before the apostles . . ."
At least two things deserve notice here:
1) The apostles turned the problem right back to the complainers and got them involved in working out a solution. We ought to imitate this …… method. Anyone who feels the need to complain should know in advance that they are going to be put to work in resolving the problem. If you're not willing to do that, then please just keep quiet!
2) The Christians in Jerusalem are to be commended for the fact that they accepted the role assigned to them. They followed the instructions of the apostles, got busy, solved the problem, and quit complaining!
Let's all learn from their fine example.
—Greg Gwin
Page 2
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Know Your Bible" is e-mailed weekly by the church of Christ which meets at 112 Roberts Avenue in Wise, Virginia. If you know of others who might benefit from the articles contained in this bulletin, we would be glad to have you submit their e-mail addresses and we will include them in next week's mailing. If you are receiving this bulletin and do not wish to continue to do so, please e-mail us with your desire to be removed from the mailing list and we will remove your address promptly. Continue to the bottom of this page and further instructions will be given as to how you may contact us.
--- E.R. Hall, Jr.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
Sunday
Bible Classes ……….....….…............ 10:00 AM
Morning Worship ……..…….….…...... 11:00 AM
Evening Worship …………...……........ 6:00 PM
Wednesday
Bible Classes …………..………........... 7:00 PM
"THOUGHT FOR THE DAY"
Radio Program
Monday - Friday
WDXC 102.3 FM .....................…........ 10:20 AM
"WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS..."
Television Program
Sunday
Comcast Cable - Heritage TV - Digital Channel 266 ............ 6:00 AM & 2:00 PM
Wednesday
Comcast Cable - Heritage TV - Digital Channel 266 ............ 2:00 PM
World Wide Web: www.wisechurch.com
INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING THIS E-MAIL BULLETIN:
UNSUBSCRIBE: Reply to wisechurch@comcast.net and put UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.
SUBSCRIBE FRIENDS: Reply to wisechurch@comcast.net and put SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.