Church

Next to the family, the church probably has the greatest potential for influencing a society for good. God has not promised that all nations will endure, but He has promised that He will be with the church so powerfully (Matt 28:18-20) and build the church so effectively that even the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matt 16:18). A church that is walking close to God is guaranteed to exert much influence upon a culture.

That assumes however that the church is willing to follow God’s blueprints faithfully. God promised the seven churches of Revelation that when the church is willing to walk as God intended it to walk, she will have enormous authority to wield Christ’s scepter in the earth (Rev. 2:26-27), to open doors that no man can shut (Rev. 3:7-8), and to advance Christ’s cause in the earth (Rev. 2:26). On the other hand, He also told the same churches that neglecting His blueprints would guarantee the church’s irrelevance (Rev. 2:5,16; 3:14-22), the removing of her lampstand (Rev. 2:5) and the resistance of God to her efforts (Rev. 2:16).

A willingness to live by God’s law guarantees greatness (Matt 5:19) and success (Matt 16:18) whereas rejection of God’s blueprints guarantees that the church will be cast out and trampled underfoot of man (Matt 5:13). It is our deep desire to see Reformation brought to the church so she can enter into her blessing.

BaptismBySprinkling

Baptism by Sprinkling

From the forward: “It is worthy to note that the Lord Jesus twice avoided a controversy on the subject of baptism… It is worthy of not also that the Apostle Paul reprimanded a controversy on the issue in the Corinthian Church, and that … nowhere does he treat directly the subject of baptism. This material is written that Presbyterians might be satisfied concerning their own baptism and that they might be able to give to anyone who asks the reason for their mode of baptism.”

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ChurchMembership

Church Membership: Is it Biblical?

Membership is a commitment of the people to each other and it is a commitment of the shepherds to the sheep. May it be seen as a testimony that we are friends (3 John 14) and not strangers (3 John 5). May being “members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19) be seen as a blessing and not a burden.

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KingshipOverWorship

Delighting in God’s Kingship over Worship

Psalm 95 speaks of God as the great God, and the great King above all gods, and it calls upon us to worship Him in specific ways. We must not add to or take away from these directions. It is with humility that we approach the Word to learn about how to worship Him properly.

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DressedUpForChurch

Dressed up for Church?! A Contrarian Rag on Appropriate Clothing.

Christians have great liberty and great freedom in Christ. How does this freedom extend to what we wear to church? Does God care? Is there proper attire for public worship? As with all areas of life, the Bibles is our guide and provides an answer to the culture wars of church fashion. Using the Bible’s blueprints, we can walk the line between legalism and abusing our freedom.

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GloryAndCoverings

Glory and Coverings: A Study of First Corinthians 11:1-16

Most women today do not cover their heads and men often sport long hair in public worship. Does it matter? There are many arguments put forward to support those practices but as this book reveals, they are contrary to Scripture and the practice of the historic church. Nothing less than the Glory of God is at stake when it comes to coverings in worship.

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LeaderDevelopment

Leader Development: A Mentoring Checklist for Sons and Young Men

The task of leadership development can be a daunting one. Many leaders don’t engage in it because they are too busy. But it is leaders who build leaders. Books and teachers can help, but only leaders can pass on their leadership abilities to the next generation. This booklet is a call for dads to be involved in the development of their sons. It is also a resource to help them gauge their progress in their walk with God. There is no higher calling than for fathers to pass on their lives to their children in leadership development.

The spreadsheet mentioned in the booklet is available for download at this link.

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MinisterialEducation

Ministerial Education: The Bible’s Normative Pattern

According to a Barna poll, 80 percent of seminary and Bible school graduates who enter the ministry will leave in the first five years. Perhaps there is a better way to train ministers? Scripture indicates clearly that the church is the forum in which theological education is to take place. We are so accustomed to additional institutions assuming responsibility for various tasks of the church, we may find it difficult to imagine pastors themselves training men for the gospel ministry, but is this not the pattern we discover in Scripture?

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PublicAssembly

Public Assembly: The Biblical Call to Faithful Attendance at Public Worship

To what degree has post modernism infiltrated Christian life? Do we need to gather every Sunday for church? Can others beside ordained clergy administer the sacraments? Read on to see what the Bible has to say.

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InfantBaptism

Seven Biblical Principles That Call For Infant Baptism

Many Protestants today see the baptizing of infants as an invention of the Roman church. But during the Reformation of the 16th Century, when the great Reformers threw off many un-Biblical practices of the Roman church, they continued to baptize infants. Were they duped? Did they lack thoroughness in their reform? Or did they see Biblical merit in including the children of believers in the covenant family of God?This book provides the abiding validity of administering the sacrament of baptism to covenant children.

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SundaySabbath

Sunday as a First-Day Sabbath

The Sabbath is a great gift of God to the church. It was intended for man’s blessing and refreshment. Legalism destroys the blessing by adding man-made rules and regulations designed to make the Sabbath a burden. But lawlessness has destroyed the blessing by making the Sabbath a day just as common as any other. It is our hope to encourage men, women, and children to once again find this day to be a true delight to the soul.

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The Canon of Scripture-Volume I

In this fascinating work on canon, Dr. Phillip Kayser seeks to defend the Protestant canon of 66 books without recourse to extra-Biblical evidence. He begins the book by saying, “The Bible should be the starting point and ending point for all Christian doctrine, including the doctrine of canon.” And he convincingly demonstrates that the Bible does indeed thoroughly address this issue. Volume 1 is a major contribution to canonical studies. It paves the way for volume 2, which will take on all competing views of canon presented by Muslims, Mormons, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Liberals.

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ChurchIncorporation

The Problems With Church Incorporation

Too often church leaders fall prey to the habits and expectations of those around them. Whether it be peers, lawyers, or ill-informed people, bowing to the pressure to incorporate the church leads the body of Christ into ill-advised alliances. In Acts 18 Paul shows the dangers of such fully and thus we have been given ample warning to walk a different path than the synagogues of his time.

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UniversalSuffrage

Universal Suffrage: A History and Analysis of Voting in the Church and Society

Universal suffrage (the belief that every member can vote) in a congregation or in a state is a fairly recent phenomenon. It was not until the 1900′s that there was any significant movement in this direction. Is this an improvement? More importantly, is it Biblical? Scripture definitely shines light on one of the most significant developments of the 20th century.

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