Grace, Gracism, Spiritual Gifts and CrossWalk

July 26
Thanks to all who participated in Sunday School discussion this morning on Spiritual Gifts in the church. We have talked about this subject for a couple of weeks and are now ready to apply what we have learned to our class.

• The church began in AD 30 - it's unique characteristic is the Holy Spirit which lives within believers
• The church is the organization which is designed to carry out the work that Jesus commanded: "Go ye into all the world...
• Each member of the church has gifts/talents that are God-given to be used to enable the church to carry out it's mission.
• We are to use our gifts in humility and always to honor God.

Now----and we should begin this discussion next Sunday. How do we apply what the Bible says about the church and gifts of individual members to our Judea and Samaria and all the world? How do we relate to our community of Knightdale? Do people in our 15 minute driving distance from Knightdale feel comfortable when they visit our class? Are we careful in discerning their needs? What should we be doing that we are not now doing to reach our community?

I'll share the statistics on our community next Sunday.

Importance of the Church July 5, 2009

For some reason, my thoughts today have centered on the church - even though this is Independence Day weekend. In particular, I have been thinking of Bethlehem Baptist and what God has planned for us. Perhaps that is why an email from Chuck Swindoll caught my eye. He references a sermon by Dr. Jay Kesler entitled, "Why I Believe in the Local Church." There were five points in the sermon. As you read, substitute Bethlehem for The church:

1. The church is the only institution dealing with the ultimate issues. Death. Judgment. Relationships. Purpose. Lasting priorities. Meaning in life. Identity. Heaven and Hell.
   
2. The church provides perspective that gives dignity to mankind. We live in a day in which man has become a means rather than an end. This creates a desperate sense of inner worthlessness. The church counteracts this insidious message.
3. The church provides a moral and ethical compass in the midst of relativism. Like a swamp of murky, slimy water, our society has either rethought, resisted, or completely rejected absolutes. Not the church! It still stands on the timeless bedrock of Scripture.
4. The church is the only place to find true community, healing, compassion, and love. It is here people care. Really care. Not because of status or money. But because the Spirit of God is at work, weaving together the lives within the Body.
5. The church (like no other institution) has provided motivation for the most lasting, unselfish, essential, courageous ministries on earth. Not Schools. Hospitals. Halfway houses. Orphanages. or Leprosariums. Curches.

The Holy Spirit is the glue that makes churches diffeent from all other institutions.