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We begin this episode on the Presbyterian Church by noting that there are actually nine Presbyterian denominations in the United States. We note three of the largest ones. We talk about the origins of the Presbyterian Church and note that it grew out of the teachings of John Calvin, even though he never founded a distinct denomination. Nevertheless, many of his teachings have been embraced by many Protestant groups. We discuss some of his history and note that he started out  siding with the Protestant Movement within the Catholic Church. He opposed Catholicism and was forced to flee France and take refuge in Switzerland. It was there that he developed what is called Calvinism. We discuss the 5 tenets of that doctrine and note the acronym of it, which is TULIP. We note those who actually established the Presbyterian denomination and when that was done. We move on to the organization of the Presbyterian Church and discuss some of the ways it does not follow what the Bible says. We next note that the modern Presbyterian Church has changed in a number of ways from what it was when established. We look at some of those changes. We next begin a discussion of some of the classic beliefs and doctrines of this denomination, We will complete this discussion in the next episode. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

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We continue our discussion of the Lutheran Church denomination in this episode. We review their belief and teaching that justification is by faith alone. We note what James says in chapter two where he says that faith without works is dead, along with the full context. We also note several other passages that show this Lutheran belief to be in error. We next look at the Lutheran teaching that baptism can be done by sprinkling, pouring or immersion. We note the meaning of the Greek word, baptizo, which is to immerse, dip or plunge. We again note that in several passages, the Bible says that baptism is a burial in water. We next examine the Lutheran teaching that little children are to be baptized. We discuss the fact that there is no example in the New Testament where infants were baptized. We note that only believers and those who could confess and repent were baptized in the New Testament. They also teach and believe that children inherit sin. We talk about the passages in the Bible that say this is not so. We find in the Lutheran Catechism that there are a number of errors  taught concerning the Lord's Supper. We look at those and note the passages that show their teaching to be in error. Concerning the Ten Commandments, the Lutheran Church teaches that they are still in effect. The Bible says there was a change in the law, and it tells us when that change occurred. We discuss the passages that say that. We complete this episode with a discussion of another error the Lutheran teaches concerning  baptism and circumcision. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying, There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

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We continue our study of denominations by next looking at what the Bible says about the Lutheran Church. Of course, the truth is that the Lutheran Church is not mentioned in the Bible. The Lutheran Church was one of the first of the many Protestant churches formed out of the protests against Catholicism during the Reformation Movement. It dates from All Saints Day, October 31, 1517. We discuss what Luther did on that day and why his actions are so important to know. We need to understand that Luther's intention was to identify where the Roman Catholic Church failed to follow the Bible, not to establish the Lutheran Church. We look at Luther's background and what led to him nailing his 95 theses to the door of the church building in Wittenburg, Germany. We discuss the debate he had and the resulting trials and his excommunication from the Catholic Church. We talk about the greatest error he made when he began teaching that men are justified by faith only and what he said about the epistle of James. We discuss this later in this episode. We note that the Lutheran Church claims to follow the Bible as their only standard of authority. but have nine creeds and confessions that they require their members to be loyal to. We quote a number of their writings that show this to be true. We next begin to look at some doctrines, teachings and views of the Lutheran Church. We begin by looking at their teaching that men are justified by faith alone and two places in their writings that this is stated. We discuss several passages in the Bible that show this to be false. We will continue this discussion next week. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying, There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

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We continue our discussion of the Roman Catholic Church's various doctrines that are not found in the New Testament. We begin by discussing Extreme Unction which is anointing a person who is about to die. We next discuss the use of instrumental music which was added in 666AD. We note 15 Catholic doctrines and when they were established. We close out this study by noting that the Catholic Church began after the first century as a result of the apostacy the apostles said would occur, and its organizational structure is foreign to the New Testament pattern. Consequently, it cannot be the Church Jesus built. We move on to the next denomination on our list, which is the Lutheran church. We note when it dates from and why this can be said. We talk about why what Martin Luther did is so important to understand. As a result of his studies, he came to the conclusion that the Catholic Church had many errors in what it did. Consequently, he nailed 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517. We close out this episode by mentioning his greatest objections to what the Catholic Church was doing. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

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We continue our discussion of the Roman Catholic Church denomination by looking at it's primary beliefs and doctrines. We begin by noting that the Catholic Church believes and teaches that the Pope, or universal bishop,  is infallible and has authority over the entire church. We note that the New Testament doesn't say nor teach this. In the New Testament each local congregation had a plurality of elders or bishops. We noted several passages that said that. The Roman Catholic Church requires that all priests, bishops and other clergy must be unmarried. We note that Peter and Philip were both married. Peter being a Bishop and Philip a deacon. We discuss the Catholic Mass and note that in a Mass, they teach that the literal body of Christ is being sacrificed over and over at each Mass. Again, we find the Hebrew writer stating that Jesus was offered only once. We discuss the College of Cardinals that the Catholic Church established in 1059, clearly long after the New Testament was written in which there is no reference to this organization nor the members of it, Cardinals and Archbishops. The Catholic church requires its members to confess their sins to a Catholic priest which is contrary to the New Testament pattern, which we note by looking at several passages. The Second Council of Nicaea introduced the veneration of images and relics. Again we look at some passages that teach against such a practice. The Roman Catholic Church teaches there is such a place as Purgatory where disobedient individuals are sent temporarily after death where they can have their sins purged and effectively given a second chance after death to go to Heaven. We close this episode out with a discussion of the various erroneous  doctrines on baptism the Catholic Church holds. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

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We continue our study of denominations by looking at the Roman Catholic Church, it's origin, organization, authority and doctrine. We find it impossible to locate a specific date as the beginning of the Roman Catholic Church or a specific founder of it. We do know that the Roman Catholic Church is the result of a general departure from the divine pattern of organization, doctrine, worship, and work given by Jesus Christ through His apostles as contained in the New Testament. This departure began soon after the death of the last apostle. The New Testament revealed that such a departure would occur and we discuss the passages the apostles wrote  predicting it. So, the Roman Catholic Church is an apostate church  which has some doctrines that are over 1800 years old and some that are not even a century old. We note the first Pope and what the Catholic Catechism says about that. We discuss the organization of the Catholic Church and the members of that organization. We look at it's basic authority according to it's Catechism of Christian Doctrine on page 44 and other locations in that document. We again note that the Bible teaches that the New Testament is the complete and  final revelation of God. We discuss those Bible passages that say so. We will begin the next episode by looking at the primary beliefs and doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. Take about 30 - minutes to listen in on our conversations. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

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In this episode, we  begin our study about denominations and what the Bible says about them. In past studies, we have talked about the Church Jesus built, the Church of Christ. We noted that Jesus only built one Church. We discussed local churches of Christ in the Bible and the fact that they followed the New Testament pattern established by the apostles and the importance of following that pattern today. We find that today there are over 40,000 denominations claiming to be following the Lord, who actually teach different doctrine than found in the Bible. We note in this study that the Bible predicted this departure. Jesus noted the narrow way and the broad way that exists and the fact that few would follow the narrow way which leads to life. Jesus warns about false prophets who would come. Paul tells the elders from Ephesus that there would be those among them who would draw away disciples to follow them. Paul warned the Christians in Corinth about the divisions that had developed among them and told them not to allow that. To the churches in Galatia Paul said he was amazed that they had so soon turned away from the Lord. We note that Jesus said He is the only way anyone can come to the Father and He tells us in His word how that can be done. The Bible contains all of the words the Lord intends for us to have and the only guidance we are to follow. In the coming episodes we will look at various denominations, when they were established, who established them when that can be determined and some of the error that they teach. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

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We begin this episode by noting that Paul told the brethren in Galatia that we are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. This includes all faithful people, those in the first century, and even those who came before Christ. It is His shed blood that cleanses us from sin. This, of course ultimately included the Gentiles who were previously separated from God by the law of Moses. We note what Paul told the Gentile Christians in Ephesus about this. We look at what Jesus said about anyone being able to come to God, how that can be accomplished. We point out that a number of the tenets of pre-millennialism are not found in the Bible. Many are based on highly figurative passages and others that are taken out of context, We also look at what the Bible says about anti-Christs and what that really means. Peter mentions that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night and what will occur at that time. We discuss that. We next look at what Jesus said about the resurrection and note that He only mentions one resurrection of the just and unjust. We look at passages that connect this with the judgment of all. We note what Paul said to the brethren in Corinth concerning the resurrection and how specific he was in what he wrote to them. Paul also wrote to the Thessalonians who were concerned about their brethren who had died. We look at what he wrote to them. Peter had said that God is not willing that any should be lost, We close out this episode by looking at the passages that tell us what we must do to be saved. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

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We begin this episode by noting that there are as many theories about what happens in the so called End Times as you could count. Most all of them are false doctrine or false teaching. We note what some of them consist of. We first note some facts about a kingdom and note that the Bible reveals that Jesus has a kingdom. Jesus Himself noted to Peter that He would build His church and give Peter the keys to  the the kingdom of heaven. We note passages that refer to Jesus kingdom and show that Jesus church is also called His kingdom. We look at passages that tell us when Jesus kingdom and church were established and when certain people were added to it. We note Paul's discussion of resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15 and how that relates to the Lord's kingdom and His rule over it. We note some of the things Premillennialists teach concerning the kingdom and church that are contrary to what the Bible says. We complete this episode with a discussion of where Christians are called the Israel of God and the household of God and what one must do to be included in this household. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

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We continue our discussion of the gospel by looking at what Paul and Silas taught the jailor in Philippi. We see that he asked them what he must do to be saved and again the answer included baptism. We next talk about the 12 disciples Paul talked to in Ephesus. He found out from them that they had been baptized with John's baptism. Listen to the episode to find out why what Paul told them is important to us today. We go back over each occasion that the apostles taught the gospel to someone. We note the one thing each of them was told to do which was common to all and again, why we need to pay attention to this today. We talk about the connection between baptism and the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Paul wrote to the Thessalonian brethren about the coming judgment and what the gospel had to do with it. We look at that and what Peter said about that judgment as well. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.