GOOD NEWS!

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." (Matthew 7:21)

"If you love Me, keep My commandments." (John 14:15)

"And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him." (Hebrews 5:9)

"But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered". (Romans 6:17)

"Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you; unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures."
(I Corinthians 15:1-4)

"Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life". (Romans 6:4)

The good news is: Jesus has risen from the dead! He Lives!

An Open Invitation is extended for you to study and worship in a local church of Christ.

Jesus said to him, " I am the way, the truth, and the life." John 14-6 (NKJV)

Since GOD does not want anyone to perish but for everyone to come to repentance (2Peter 3:9), an open invitation is offered to anyone in need of assistance by study, discussion or prayer. The Church of Christ believes that the worship from the beginning was simple and dignified. Therefore, every act of the worship service is an attempt to duplicate the New Testament pattern of worship in every way. Since worship is an act of giving reverence and praise to GOD in a way that pleases HIM, everything in the worship service is governed by the Word of GOD. It is believed that this is in harmony with the pattern of worship of the early church and provides a profitable learning environment and experience for each family member. You will be an honored guest!

God's Plan of Salvation....is easy-to-understand and a summary of the teachings of the Bible about how to OBEY THE GOSPEL follows:

“.... we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," and made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Cor 4:2-6)

"I have had one message for Jews and Gentiles alike – the necessity of turning from sin and turning to God, and of faith in our Lord Jesus." (Ac 20:21)

"Yet faith comes from listening to this message of good news – the Good News about Christ."(Rom 10:17)

“This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." (Rom 1:17)

...”I tell you again that unless you repent, you will also perish." (Lu 13:5)

...” if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom 10:9)

“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.”(Jas 5:16)

...” if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.” (1Jo 1:9)

"For the Scriptures say, 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow to me and every tongue will confess allegiance to God.'"(Ro 14:11)

...”and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Ph 2:11)

“Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.”
(Mt 16:16)

“And this is a picture of baptism, which now saves you by the power of Jesus Christ's resurrection. Baptism is not a removal of dirt from your body; it is an appeal to God from a clean conscience.” (1Pe 3:21) also (Acts 2:38 and 8:36)

The purpose of these scriptures is to share the Bible proven way of salvation. Many have been converted by this simple method during their initial encounter with someone or as an adjunct to other methods of teaching. The referenced scriptures illustrate the reasons for the various steps necessary for receiving God's forgiveness.

The Worship Service

Some persons may be reluctant to attend a church the first time without knowing more...in most churches of Christ....The Order of Worship goes something like this....

Announcements

Prayer...In prayer praise, thanksgiving, petitions, and supplications are made to GOD. There are usually several prayers during the worship service. (Opening prayer, after Scripture Reading, During Communion, Dismissal)

Song Service...How should we praise our GOD? One way we should express our praise is through song (Romans 15:9-11, Eph 5:19, Heb 2:12) The song service may seem different from that customarily practiced in many denominations in that the music in the church of Christ is a cappella, that is, without instrumental accompaniment. Following the example set forth in Ephesians 5:19 "...speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord..." The New Testament makes no mention of instrumental music and history testifies that the early church worshiped for hundreds of years without the aid of mechanical instruments. In an effort to restore the worship of the early church and to comply with the New Testament, the church of Christ engages in congregational, a cappella singing.

Scripture Reading

Bible Teaching...Regular instruction from GOD's word is essential to spiritual life and health - we seek to honor GOD by honoring his revealed will. In keeping with the New Testament pattern, the teaching will be conducted by a male member, using God's word and the teacher will do their best to base comments on God's word rather than social or political issues, without the addition of human opinion.

Communion ...some congregations may have this prior to the Bible Teaching....(The Lord's Supper) is open to all. Our Lord died an atoning death for us and left a memorial by which his sacrifice should be remembered. The Lord's Supper will be observed just as we understand it to had been done on the night he introduced it. Matthew 26:26-28 "...and as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, " Take, eat; this is my body" Then he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (also Luke 22:19; 1 Cor 11:23-39) This is the New Testament pattern, which is repeated by every congregation each first day of the week. (see Acts 20-7)

Contribution...a collection for the poor saints and other church work is made at this time, visitors are never under any obligation to participate in this exercise of the membership.

Invitation Song...This is an opportunity for some who desire to become a member of the church. This song is sung at the close of the teaching or service with and invitation for those to come forward to publicly confess or ass for prayers of the congregation. (2 Peter 3:9)

Closing Song and Announcements

Closing Prayer

HELP

I would be happy to answer your Bible questions. If you would like to to enroll in a free Bible correspondence course or submit a question on any Bible subject please contact me via email or submit your Bible question about the Church of Christ .....email: rob@vanstavern.net
US postal mail
%Rob Van Stavern
216 Kilkenny Court
Keller,TX 76248

My promise, for every Bible question, you will be given chapter and verse for every answer!

Helpful Links

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http://www.e-sword.net/

http://www.bible.ca/

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