Tag: local church
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Thoughts About Calling a New Pastor from Beyond the Local Church Walls; Conflict Prevention and Seeking the Local Church’s Good
Speaking about calling a new pastor from outside the congregation is very difficult to do in an expository way. “Outside hire” is a foreign concept to the New Testament and early church. The typical procedure was to appoint people from within a congregation who aspire to be pastors (cf. 1 Timothy 3:1). While it is…
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What is a Local Church?
There is a great need for spiritual awakening. There are many churches and preachers. There are good, healthy churches and preachers. Yet, with all the churches and preachers preaching, the movement of the Holy Spirit seems often lacking. I know, the Holy Spirit moves where He wants to move, and we cannot see where He…
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A Kingdom of Power, Not Words
Paul has been instructing the congregation about how it should view him and its pastors and how the pastors (elders) of the local church should view the congregation. The pericope in view, here, is transitional. Paul is transitioning from the place of the pastor to the immorality of the local church. Before he begins addressing…
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On Destroying the Local Church
Paul has made clear the responsibility of the church elders (pastors). They are to build upon the foundation of Christ, not using any other material but the Gospel to build up the body of Christ. Each pastor is responsible to work hard at preaching and teaching in a way that is faithful to the explicit…
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Loyalty: A Four Letter Word
Do you desire loyalty in life? I do. I don’t know if, today in America, we experience any significant degree of brotherhood or sisterhood for the most part. This morning, the text leads us to consider Christian loyalty. Last week, we took time to basically define the church—the bride of Christ. This week, we read…
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The Forgotten Mission of the Local Church Meeting
Merry Christmas! This week we will celebrate the biggest holiday in America. People have shopped for presents, told stories about the babe in the manger, watched movies about the Grinch, and many are hearing again from Luke, chapter two, at church this morning. The story of Christ’s birth is miraculous. It is amazing. The whole…
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Carry On Local Church, The Gospel Didn’t Stop With You.
It is a true statement of most churches, genuine or not, I have been in. They were planted by a missionary or by a local group of people. They talk about evangelism. They talk about sharing the good news of Christ with the community, but that is where the evangelistic work of most local churches…
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Contemplating the Local Church
I’ve been thinking lately upon the existence of the local church. Specifically within Southern Baptist polity, the local church has autonomy and can, for the most part, conduct ministry as it sees fit within its community. This seems to do wonders, especially when it comes to reaching out to audiences who are engulfed in…