What Will Destroy a Congregation

Text: 2 Corinthians 12:20-21 When Paul wrote the first letter to the Corinthians, there were many problems he needed to address. When he wrote the second letter, they had definitely made some improvements. However, there were still issues that threatened the health of the church. Toward the end of the second letter, he described some […]

Hindrances to Evangelism

Text: 1 Corinthians 3:6 Generally speaking, Christians recognize the importance of evangelism. Yet there are certain obstacles (real or perceived) that hinder our efforts. Like Paul described in our text, we are simply to be engaged in the work and leave the increase to God. Some things are out of our control, but we need to focus […]

Mark and Avoid

Text: Romans 16:17-18 At the close of his letter to Rome, Paul told the brethren to “mark” and “avoid” certain people. Why would he tell them to do this? What was this to accomplish? And what about the one being marked? In this lesson, we will seek to answer these questions from the word of God. Reasons […]

Understanding Romans 14

Text: Romans 14:1-9 Romans 14 teaches the need to accept and not judge those with whom we differ on matters of opinion. Some have tried to expand the scope of this chapter to include matters of faith. But on matters of faith, we are not to tolerate departures from the faith (Jude 3; Galatians 1:6-9; 2:3-5). […]

Things Which the Lord Hates

Text: Proverbs 6:16-19 The book of Proverbs contains wisdom to guide us in this life. It shows us the way that is right and warns us about the way that is wrong. In our text, the wise man warned about things which the Lord hates. We should heed this warning. What the Lord Hates Haughty eyes (v. […]

The Problem with Division

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:10 The first of many problems that Paul addressed in his first letter to Corinth was the problem of division. There were factions within the church. Paul appealed for them to have unity. He did so by explaining what is the problem with division. When We Are Divided, We Are… Not Complete Complete – “perfectly joined […]

The Problem with Denominations

Text: Matthew 16:18 In the first century, there were no denominations – only the Lord’s church. But today, there are thousands of denominations. Is this a problem? Many say “no” – they have been taught to join the church of their choice because one church is as good as another. Yet the Bible says that […]