BUILDING ON BEDROCK

In our examination of the New Testmaent model for local churches, we turn from the power and authority of Christ to His character. The first and primary aspect of that is God's Agape Love. May we all reflect it to each other and our neighbors!

In this series we've already seen how Christ should be manifested in local churches in POWER: basically, Holy Spirit giftings. With this episode, we complete how He should be manifested in AUTHORITY: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Shepherds and Teachers. The final way He should be seen in us, CHARACTER, will start next. As always, I hope this is a blessing!

Keeping in mind that all these authoritative ministries are TEAMS and not individuals, we consider the role of "shepherds" in the local churches. While they are related to teachers, and often the same office, our tranditons have clouded the true functions of these offices. May God steer us away from trends and traditions to open our hearts to his truth!

Outside of Jesus Himself, we have only one example of Evangelist in the New Testament: Philip, who started out in Acts 6 as a deacon. As always, I hope this episode is a blessing, an encouragement...and a push in the rith direction.

Almost everybody who reads the title of this episode will think he or she knows what I say in it, and most of them will be wrong. It's a controversial subject, and what I say won't really support any of the more vocal positions. Whether you agree or disagree, I hop it'll be a blessing and an encouragement!

This episode is based on 2 Cor. 12:12 which mentions "the signs of an apostle". I believe both cessationists and charismaniacs abuse this verse. The important words are "among you", and I seek to understand the verse that way. And there ARE warnings about "false signs". Let's always seek for balance in our Christian walk!

We now turn to Ephesians 4:11 and consider the list of ministries that God gave to the church. This is a controversial topic, but I believe this perspective will help the believers in the days to come. As always, I hope it's a blessing!

With the pouring out of God's Holy Spirit on all His people, the nature of prophecy changed. Now it is to be evaluated by the other believers. The last section of First Corinthians chapter 14 teach about this subject. As always, I hope this is an encouragement and a blessing!

Like they used to say on the radio and TV shows: "Keep those cards & letters comin'!" Here we examine the next few verses in First Corinthians 14 about what should happen when Christians get together. I'm looking forward to hearing from you about it, even if you disagree. but, as alwasy, I do hope it's a blessing.

Continuing in First Corinthians 14, we examine verses 15 through 19. I'm not trying to take doctrinal sides in this, but to examine everything in the passage, regardless of denominational positions. Please remember that I'm seeking and sharing what I'm convinced is Truth, not Trends nor traditions. As always, I hope it's a blessing.