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"A guide to spiritual growth"
MIDWAY CHURCH OF CHRIST
SARASOTA, FLORIDA
THE TEMPTER’S
SNARE
Sometimes you
wake up in the morning;
And the devil
is there without warning.
You fight him
all the day,
And if you win
he will go away.
But away be
sure he will not stay,
Because he comes
back many a day.
This is a lifetime
of constant struggle,
Sometimes filled
with disappointment, anger, and trouble.
But this life
is rapidly passing by,
With a reward
of heaven after you die.
Where there
will be no tempter's plea,
Only love, peace,
and tranquility.
So my friend,
are you ready to leave,
This tangled
journey of life you have weaved?
Are you at peace
with our God,
Enough so that
on that day you will receive a favorable nod?
The reward he
offers is beyond compare,
And he will
help you avoid the tempter's snare.
The alternative
is to be avoided at all cost,
Because it is
truly a place of all that is lost.
I do look forward
to that day,
When “enter
in good and faithful servant” he will say.
And I will spend
an endless life,
Without trouble,
sin, hurt, death, and strife.
It will be an
endless morning of peace and joy,
And feelings
better than a summer morning as a boy.
So if you are
striving toward that heavenly day,
Let us encourage
one another along the way!
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A NEW DECADE
The
Year 2010 is here. Let us each be more Christ like in this journey. The world needs our example and influence
more than ever. There are a lot of things you could do during this New Year and
here are some suggestions from Scripture:
1. 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. 2nd 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. 1st
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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REPENTANCE
We examined temptation and came to the conclusion that
all are tempted, even our savior when he was on earth in human form. He did not
sin when tempted but we cannot say that. We all have sinned and fallen short
of the glory of God. The result of our sin is death unless we repent. Repentance is a turning away from our sin and turning back to God.
· We
must repent because we have sinned.
· We
must repent because of Godly sorrow.
· We
must confess our sins or acknowledge that we have sinned. Repentance begins with
the statement, “I have sinned.”
· We
must repent and turn away from the sinful habits in our lives. No one says this
will be easy, but with God it can be done.
· We
must be baptized for the remission of our sins.
· If
we are already Christians then prayer is the key element of repentance.
· In
repentance we allow the blood of Jesus to take away our sins.
· We
then arise and walk a new life.
· We
rely on the Lord in this walk.
· We
bring forth fruit that is worthy of our repentance.
Everyone here this morning, who has the ability to determine
right from wrong has sinned. Unless we deal with that sin we will experience
the second death, which is the eternal separation from God’s presence. You
first of all must confess your sins and that is simply acknowledging that you have sinned.
Each one of us needs to regularly examine our lives to
make sure that we have repented and been forgiven of our sins. We need to repent
as individuals because we have sinned. We may need to repent as a church because
we have not been concerned enough about the lost around us. I know we need to
repent as a nation and turn back to God.
I plead with each of us this morning to give serious consideration
to the state of your soul. Is there sin in your life that has not been brought
before the Lord? Your eternal destiny and your relationship with God depends
on this very important matter. “At the time of ignorance God winked at
but now commands all men everywhere to repent.”
Acts 3:19 “Repent ye therefore, and be converted,
that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”
Acts 8:22 “Repent therefore of this thy wickedness,
and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.”
2nd Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow in
keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not
wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
2nd Corinthians 7:10 “Godly sorrow brings
repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”
Acts 26:20 “…I preached that they should repent
and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.”
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January Schedule
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ASCERTAINING BIBLE AUTHORITY |
Wednesday 7:00
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Sunday 9:30 a.m.
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Throught the Bible - Genesis |
Sunday 10:30 a.m.
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Sunday 6:00 p.m.
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LESSON OUTLINE
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
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.
More Photos
LINKS WE LIKE
More Writings
Email Gene Britton
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