CHRISTIAN PROGRESS

Wednsday	Romans 8	Wednesday 7:00
Sunday Class	Revelation 20-21	Sunday 9:30 a.m.
AM Sermon	"A New Season"	Sunday 10:30 a.m.
PM Sermon	"Church Growth" part 2	Sunday 6:00 p.m.

A NEW SEASON

This week we began another new season, the summer of 2009. There are a lot of things you could do during this season and here are some suggestions from Scripture:

Set your mind on things above. Colossians 3:1-2 “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth."

Live according to the Spirit. Romans 8:5-6 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Practice true religion. James 1:27 “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”

Do not neglect to meet together. Hebrews 10:24-25 “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.”

Be steadfast in prayer. Romans 12:10-13 “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.”

Improve your division. 2^nd Timothy 2:15-16 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Spend time in love. 1^st John 4:7-11 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

Bear one another’s burdens. Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

Make disciples. Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

Rejoice in the Lord. Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”

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THE FEW

Throw the masses a bone unless they rise up and squelch the system of greed and avarice. The slaves of the new millennium are the working class of men and women who are controlled by the minute few who dictate the controllable factors of a man's condition. This probably has been more the system of history, but is more disguised today; with terms like pension, social security, retirement, bonuses, insurance, salary, and compensation; we are blindly but slaves of those who would be the greediest of all.

Go to thy place of abode and enjoy your favorite intoxicant, your easy chair with remote controlled entertainment and do not think too deeply of life that is passing before your eyes; the reality of existence. We will give you enough to think that you are doing well in this freedom of democracy; but just enough. A few we will elevate and declare their glory, but to most a silent struggle from day to day.

We will establish oil prices, interest rates, and insurance coverage, and you will pay. You will labor to pay for the freedoms that you think you have.   It will cost you to be born, it will cost you to be sick, and it will cost you to die.

We will allow you to dream but only the select will fulfill their dreams. We will allow you the freedom to object but only to a certain level. We will give you representation but they will be on our payroll and it will be to them to cajole and assure you of your proper place in your land of free. And if you get too agitated we will give you a credit card law and high definition entertainment. There will be an increase for you to pay though.

Come and be a part of this. It is not difficult and you would only come for your own greed. You would enslave yourself to a foreign regime only for the coins he would throw you. This is but greed and the poverty you flee may be more of a freedom of life than the ridicule you will endure in this promised land.

You will never be denied the worship of your God; but we must change his teachings because they are not in our best interest. Men will be permitted to sleep with men and you must not frown upon them. Babies will be squandered because they are not in one's interest. We will make it easy for you to gamble away the coins we give you. See what choices of freedom we have allowed you! You also could win the Powerball; see what dreams we give you!

The intimacy designed for the husband and wife will permeate your very being and will dictate every aspect of your life. We will be a society with sexual driven connotations; everything will be constructed around the idea of sex. Nothing will be frivolous with man's desire for erotic pleasure. Our society is driven by greed and sex.

There will be tax upon tax with fewer and fewer benefits that you will ever see from the proportion of your coins you parlay in the name of government. And on a regular basis some smiling face will tell you he will change this if you will give him a chance, but once there, he too will become the dunce of the few.

There was a Nicodemus in Jesus day and throughout history a stellar man might stand forward for a few days, but if he is in existence today; I do not know him. Even among those close to me, most are blindly walking as slaves of the coins thrown their way; or they have reached a point of hopelessness of the vastness of the wrong around us. What can one person do? I am so small!

"You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." There is a freedom and there is a truth that overrides the apostasy of reality. The way of the world and way of the Lord have always been. The way of the world has always garnered the attention while the way of Christ reflects a narrow way that few choose to follow.

Thus we have two groups of few. The few who dictate the way of the world and the few who follow the narrow way of truth.

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THE NARROW WAY

John 5:28-29 reads "Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment." (ESV) These words of Jesus tell us three things: First, death is not the end. Second, there are two destinations for mankind, and third; our destination is determined by our relationship with Jesus Christ.

In our text today from Mark 9: 42-50 we see some of the attributes of the second destination that we must do everything to avoid. In this reading we see there is an unquenchable fire and it is a place where the worm does not die. We do not know what hell will be like but it will be whatever it turns out to be according to Lagard Smith. Hell will also be an appropriate punishment inflicted by a righteous and holy God.

The Bible does not give us a complete picture of what hell will be like, by any means. A lot of what is mentioned is in figurative language. What we can be certain about hell is that it is a condemnation to an eternity without God, and that in itself is worth avoiding at all cost. 2^nd Thessalonians 1:7-9 is a passage that confirms this; when Jesus comes with His mighty angels, “in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might.”

As we cannot truly imagine how wonderful heaven is going to be, we cannot comprehend how bad hell is. In our text Jesus tells us if our hand, foot, or eyes endanger us to a destiny of hell we should cut them off. It would be better to go through life maimed or blind than risking and eternity in hell. The thought is that anything or anyone that would tempt you or cause you to stray from the narrow way; should be eliminated from our lives. Do not take chances with your eternal destiny.

Many will. One of the most alarming statements of our Lord is found in Matthew 7:13-14; “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Just because something is popular doesn’t make it right. There will be a lot more with a destiny of hell than will enter the hard, narrow, way of heaven. Where are you going?

I personally do not think that we take the destination of hell very serious. We think that a loving, caring, God will be too merciful to send us to a place like hell for eternity. Others will ignore the subject of eternal destiny and the purpose of this lesson is to bring our attention to the reality of our eternal destination. T.S. Elliott made the statement “I had far rather walk, as I do, in daily terror of eternity, than feel that this was only a children’s game in which all the contestants would get equally worthless prizes in the end.”

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BEFORE YOU DIE

1. Make sure that you have heard and understand the gospel

message.

"So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of God." Romans 10:17 ESV

“Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” Acts 8: 30-31

2. Decide if you believe the gospel message or not.

'Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; but whoever does not believe will be condemned." Mark 16:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 ESV

3. Confess your belief.

"because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." Romans10: 9-10

4. Repent of your sins.

"And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:38

"The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent," Acts 17:30

5. Be baptized.

"So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls." Acts 2:41

"Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." Romans 6:3-4

"for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Galatians 3:26-27

6. Remain faithful.

"When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose," Acts 11:23

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." Hebrews 10: 23-25

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CHURCH MEMBERSHIP

Acts 2:47 closes by saying, “The Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” Those who were being saved, were those who had gladly received Peter’s instructions and had complied with them. These people had repented of their sins and were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. (Acts 2:37) From this statement, we establish that when a person is baptized, they are added to the church.

If one is baptized at Midway, unless otherwise stated, it is assumed he is a member of this local congregation of God’s people. When Christians move into the area, as many have done here; it could be made publicly known that you want to be considered a member of the church that meets at Midway in Sarasota. This procedure is not something that is detailed in the Bible, but it is our custom and a way of doing things in an orderly manner. Just by making the statement to do so, the baptized believer is then recognized a member of the local work.

Placing membership in a local congregation is about commitment. When one makes the statement that they want to be a part of a local work, they are saying they want to work and support the programs of that local congregation. If the congregation has elders, which they should, then they are placing themselves under the oversight and teaching of that specific group of men. Those elders are to be watchful of the new member’s soul, and if he grows careless, it is their duty to teach, encourage and admonish him.

We usually use the invitation time to accept and announce membership. I think it is appropriate to let the elders or leaders of the local congregation be made aware of your desire to work with a local congregation, and allow them to proclaim to the church your desire. Again, we are not instructed to do this in the Bible, so it is not a fixed rule.

An idea that might have Biblical support is the presenting of reference from your previous congregation to the new one. When Apollos went from Ephesus to Achaia, the brothers wrote to the disciples there to receive him. (Acts 18:27) Paul could also be setting precedent when he instructs the church at Rome to accept Phoebe. (Romans 16:1-2) He is essence is giving her a written reference for her new congregation.

From the statement at the close of Acts 2, that the Lord adds to our number after one has met the requirements that those on Pentecost did of hearing, believing, and being baptized for the remission of sins. There is but one baptism and that is immersion for the remission of sins. If a person has not been immersed for the remission of sins then that does not meet the requirements of Scriptural baptism and they should be re-baptized to be in compliance with God’s direction in this matter. One must make a decision to do this and thus infant baptism would also not be Scriptural. If you have any doubts about whether or not you were properly baptized, do not take any chances; address it quickly.

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MIDWAY CHURCH OF CHRIST

The Midway church of Christ has been serving the Sarasota/Bradenton area since October 1964. The congregation has had a building at the corner of Pearl Avenue and US 41 since 1967 which is where they continue to meet. Midway is so called because it is midway between the cities of Sarasota and Bradenton and has members from both areas. Located about a mile north of the airport on Tamiami Trail, the building has a Sarasota address but is in Manatee County.

As is the case with a lot of aging congregations, Midway has a good representation of mature members but also seeks to serve new and potential members who may be seeking a change in their life and are turning to God for answers. The congregation offers a friendly welcome to all who visit and have regularly scheduled Bible studies on Sunday morning at 9:30 and on Wednesday evenings at 7:00. There are other studies through the week including a ladies Bible study on Tuesday mornings at 10:00. Visitors are welcomed at any of the Bible studies and services. The congregation has regular scheduled public worship each Sunday at 10:30 and at 6:00 pm. The Lord’s Supper is available each Sunday. It is the goal of the congregation to help as many as possible to obtain a closer walk with God and to help assure one’s destiny for eternity.

The Midway church emphasizes the study of the Bible in everything that it does. The Bible is considered to be the word of God and this is how God communicates with man today. All of the classes and services will use the Bible as the primary source of instruction and Midway offers free Bible studies on-line, by correspondence, and direct study to anyone wanting to learn more from God’s word.

Midway is served by elders, deacons, and a full-time minister. Gene Britton is the current minister, and has been with Midway since 2004. Britton is from Muscle Shoals, Alabama and came to Midway from a work in Connecticut. Britton is a graduate of Abilene Christian University, Heritage Christian University and Southern Christian University. For more information concerning Midway please call 941 355 6785 or email midwaychurch11@verizon.net. The church would love to serve you in your desire to come back home to God.

We are living in a time when God’s light is so needed. We need strong Christians and strong churches to be the example to the world that is growing further and further away from the Lord’s way. The Midway church of Christ is one of those sources of light in the Bradenton/Sarasota communities and you are invited to come be a part of this exciting movement.

If our society suddenly woke up and begin to live God’s way – just imagine the positive direction we could see around us. It is high time that the people of God in this area, and in this country, and in the whole world moved toward God. It is time for good people everywhere to proclaim enough is enough, and let us get back to the light of truth found in God’s word. Let us truly be a people of God and let us seek to understand and obey His word. As the church of Christ, we do not profess to be a congregation of perfect people. We are a community of believers who love God, respect the Bible, and make an earnest effort to live righteous lives.