Recording Ministry

Brother Bart makes four observations concerning what happens when sin is kept silent: (1) It puts others in danger, (2) It grows, (3) It becomes acceptable, and (4) It kills. Shall we heed his advice?

#YOLO is a current twitter trend, especially popular in 2012, that challenges the individual to do something extraordinary since this is the only live we have to live. Given our society and the world at large, being a Christian is becoming a big risk. But this is nothing new to us, as both OT and NT children of God have risked their lives for God's sake. For us today, we only get one life to decide to be in Christ or not. Have you made that risky decision? #YOLO

"Christendom" loves to preach about the Resurrection of Jesus on "Easter Sunday." But there is so much more to Jesus than that one event. Everything comes together cumulatively. It is not just one event here that saved us, or one event there. All are important, which is why Bart decided to spend time on an otherwise neglected event at the end of Jesus' earthly existence: the Ascension. Without it, there would be no salvation. Without it, there would be no Heaven.

Parables, by definition, are a kind of literature that challenges our way of thinking, especially our assumptions. Jesus challenged the greatest religious minds of His day when He told those terse stories about the Kingdom of God, the likes of which we are still struggling with today. But more than this, Jesus Himself was a living parable. No one would have guessed God would have acted in the world in this way, yet He challenged the then-current mindset and did exactly what no one expected. Proof? The cross!

In this lesson (lesson 4 of our 2013 Gospel Meeting), brother Jeff focuses on The Christian life: Present Sanctification. Having been justified in the past, Christians now live a life of sanctification. How do we do that? By incorporating five "musts": (1) We must let go of the past, (2) We must love Jesus and love what Jesus loved, (3) We must look to the right examples, (4) We must learn to hate sin, and (5) We must long for Heaven.