Is Bible Study Really Important?
I am sure many of you can give me reason upon reason for the importance of Bible study. Christians may realize its importance, but are we studying the Bible?
Charles Spurgeon once said, “There is dust enough on some of your Bibles to write “damnation” with your fingers.” *
John MacArthur has said, “I have found that my spiritual growth is directly proportionate to the amount of time and effort I put into the study of Scripture.”**
Here is a lesson I am presenting on Sunday, September 25th. I want to discuss the importance of Bible study from a different perspective and show what Bible study can bring into one’s life.
Be sure to check out the other PowerPoints and outlines here.
Just some thoughts,
*Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon’s Sermons, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983), 33
**John F. MacArthur, Jr., Why Believe the Bible (Glendale, CA: Regal Books, 1980), 95.
“What I Love About the Church” by Steve Tucker, Guest Writer
What an honor to be included on this list of very special people to contribute to this topic.
First, I must be honest. When considering this question, I found myself wandering in answers to the contrasting question, “What I hate about the Church?” It was a struggle. It’s not something I am fond of, but at times I find myself critical of others. Most of these thoughts had to do with problems and frustrations I had with people since we all know that people are what make up the church. People, with all their problems and struggles, pride and prejudices, greed and selfishness, are still the church.
Which is what I find odd when what I truly love about the church are the people.
The church I love meets in a building on Sunday, meets in a restaurant and prays over people. The church I love gets together on ball fields, at campgrounds in the black hills or even across the world wide web. It exists in every place imaginable, in many different forms.
The church I love loves people. They care for one another. They love one another because that is what they are, loved. Despite all the imperfections, love can withstand and conquer all our own hang-ups.
I love the church because: it’s people engaged in some marvelous fellowship at a Sunday potluck. It’s people who have never met sending flowers to someone they have never met because he just lost his dad. It’s people who feed and love people who have absolutely nothing in a third world country. It’s people filled with love from the Spirit of God.
What do I love about the church? The people.
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About Steve Tucker:
Steve lives with his lovely wife Rachel and four energetic kids on a secluded farm in SW Nebraska. He farms wheat, corn, millet and sunflowers. Steve has a wonderful sense of humor which he attributes to the hours spent alone on a tractor. He passes this time by listening to several preachers’ podcasts. He enjoys reading thoughts of his favorite bloggers on several internet sites. Steve is not your typical farmer. He has an inner geekiness and likes to use the latest technology. He serves as the Fire Chief and EMT for his community. In his spare time he trains firefighters for the state of Nebraska.
Steve is also a member of the Ogallala Church of Christ. He loves teaching the Gospel and often helps fill in for preachers in the area. His uniqueness and unorthodox style all contribute to his inability to be normal. His motto is, “Who made that rule?”
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Personal Note:
I thank Steve for taking time to express his love for the church. From the first time I talked to Steve I could he has a large heart for others. Talking with Steve is always encouraging as he will challenge you to think and become an inspiration to others.
Thanks again Steve for taking time.
Chris
“What I Love about the Church” by Katherine Gould, Guest Writer
I love that wherever I am…whatever state, country, or continent I am in or on, I can find…family. I know that I am HOME.
There is an instant connection because of who we are in Christ. What an absolutely beautiful gift!
It is like no other organism I have ever seen on earth, and the amazing thing is that it is not just physical-it is eternal! We can experience the gift on earth, and yet the Church will continue forever and ever because of what Christ promises.
We all look different, but we were all created in God’s image. We have the same Spirit residing in us as a seal that we belong. I love that we come in different shapes, sizes & colors. We have many different backgrounds and each have our own testimony. We have been given different gifts & abilities. Yet…the differences unite us. He has given each of us talents to serve in His Kingdom and commissioned us to use them as we serve God and each other. Then, He tells us that we each have an important place in the Body.
"The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body." ~1 Corinthians 12:12
We have a common bond in Christ and He offers us a special community which cannot be broken. We each have a place in His Kingdom! That is such awesome news!!
"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." ~1 Corinthians 12:28
Because of Him, we all belong.
I do pray and long for the day that everyone truly feels that they DO belong…that we will value and appreciate the individual gifts God has given each member of the Body, as we continue to love and encourage each other through this journey of life and faith. We are not only called to seek and love the lost, but to take care of the needs of our spiritual family, too. We are asked to love as Christ loves us, serve, forgive, and bear each others burdens. We cannot say we do not need another member of the Body, because He has placed each of us here for a special purpose.
We are rooted in Christ, who IS love…therefore we are to love each other. That is who the Church is…an extension of Christ. We are the Church wherever we go! Each family member plays a vital role in the functioning of Christ’s Church, and should have every opportunity to fulfill God’s mission for His Kingdom.
Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. ~Ephesians 4:15-16
We were made to live in community. To love, to share, to cry, laugh, mourn, rejoice…to celebrate the mountaintops and trek through the valleys…together. The same passage in 1 Corinthians 12 tells us that "when one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it." That’s what families do.
When we gather together, I honestly don’t see the differences in our color or language…neither does God, because our Father transcends all of that and calls us His children. I only see my brothers and sisters in Christ…the sons and daughters of a King…my family.
The Church is something I have known and been a part of my entire life. It has always been a safe place I can call home & I cannot imagine my life without the Church. It is something I have been connected to since birth, and those connections continue to be found all around the world.
I love that people I have never met in person have lifted me up in prayer while supporting & encouraging me, because we are part of the same Body and share that special bond in Christ. I love how "strangers" can become instant brothers and sisters who are very dear to my heart.
I love worshiping with my brothers & sisters here in China while knowing that the rest of my family will soon be gathering all over the world to also praise our Father. I love my family. I love the Church!!
Christ loves the Church, has redeemed His Church, calls us His own, gives us a new name & a place to belong. He offers us an eternal family and I look forward to the day when we will all gather together at our eternal home in heaven! Don’t you?!
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About Katherine Gould:
Katherine Gould feels blessed to have been involved in some type of youth ministry, campus ministry and/or mission work over the past 13 years. Our Father has led her on quite an adventure of faith, and currently that adventure has taken her to Beijing, China where she has been called to share the Good News with the beautiful people of China.
She is originally from Texas and cannot consume enough guacamole and Tex-Mex food, but has also gotten really good at using chopsticks to eat the amazing, authentic Chinese food! She also loves music, watching football, baseball & NASCAR; and being outdoors.
She is an alumni of both Lubbock Christian University (B.A., Family Studies, 2002) and Abilene Christian University (M.A., Christian Ministry, 2009). You can read more about her China musings at http://chinakat.theobloggers.com and you can find her twittering at http://www.twitter.com/ChinaKat79
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Personal Note:
Katherine’s desire to see people obey the gospel is clearly seen in her writings and her words. Her desire is authentic and a glowing example. I appreciate her taking time and writing the article above for the Preacher’s Pen. Thanks!
Just some thoughts,
Chris
“What I Love about the Church” by Carl Feril, Guest Writer
What I Love About the Church
by Carl Feril
When asked to write about my reasons for loving the church, it is honestly a topic too large for a single blog post. I am sure that we could spend long hours examining the Biblical foundation for the church. We might discuss topics like the price that our Father paid in offering his Son to purchase her, the vital connection between Jesus, the head and his purified body, yet somehow I think what is exposed through a very cursory reading of the books of Ephesians and Colossians will say far more than I could ever express. Allow me to express my personal sentiments, all with a Biblical foundation but perhaps expressed in a manner that might be just a little distinct from the eloquence that we read through the pen of the apostle known to us as Paul.
As we begin, let me say just a few things about myself. I didn’t grow up in a church-going family. We were the kids that parents worried their children might play with on the block. My exposure to things Biblical came through the path of the beautiful daughter of an elder. He would not allow me to date her unless I went to “church” with them. I went, but not because of a growing interest in things “spiritual”. I was infatuated with her, much to her family’s chagrin.
Between Cathy and some young engineering interns from Freed-Hardeman in Warren, MI, being patient with me, understanding that my questions were not typical Sunday morning Bible Class questions, and God’s longsuffering nature with a teen walking in darkness, I became a Christian and soon was preaching. I became a Christian in a very conservative church group and was soon steered toward the Bear Valley School of Preaching in Denver, CO. There I met my future wife, Janet, who would exemplify all that is right about the body of Christ to me.
Over the course of the next 40 years, I’ve been the pulpit minister for 4 different churches and served alongside two changing elderships for 27 years. I’ve been treated with tolerance, respect, patience, and kindness when I’ve been unworthy of all of those mercies. As a result, I’ve come to love the church because of my experiences serving among them.
I love the church because it is made up of the confused and bewildered. Over the years we’ve studied more strange topics than I even knew existed. We done textual studies and attempted to apply both the specifics and the general statements of New and Old Testament writers in a culture that was clueless about what we were doing. We’ve tried to apply women praying with veils, long hair on men, holy kisses in the assembly and “church cooperation” or lack of it, to suburban Denver, Colorado cowboys, and Kansas farmers. We tried to see how it fit, what God was saying, and always “knew we were right”. We were not dishonest with the text but often we were bewildered by the context, implications and cultural implications of not only the first century group but our own culture. We have had more in common with the Corinthian church than we knew as they struggled through the issues of what meat market delicacies could be purchased and consumed from which city market.
I love the church because it is made up of people who make a mess of their lives, both before and after coming to know God. Some of us came out of real darkness, not growing up with many limits beyond who was the biggest and toughest making the rules. We didn’t grow up knowing God had a standard, the reflection of his own nature, which he expected us all to strive toward. As a result, some of us were pretty battered and tattered before ever being introduced to the Christ. We brought broken relationships, multiple scars, children from transient dalliances, and both physical and emotional addictions into the church. All of those who “never missed a Sunday” had their own sinful willfulness that they carried around with them. As a therapist dealing with church members from across the United States, I have worked with and prayed for elders who had affairs, one who was a cross-dresser, others who mistreated their families and some who were gluttons. I’ve seen Christians walk away from their families for years before recognizing they had to return to God and his family. That the church is made up of such people, struggling to follow God in a corrupted culture and broken society, is an inspiration to me – offering hope that perhaps, I too, might find grace to help in the time of need.
I love the church because it is ever changing, recognizing that it is never perfect. I know we all get stuck at times. But we aren’t, for the most part, fussing over the same issues we were 40 years ago. Churches that don’t change are headed for the disaster of being ostracized and inept in their communities. No one thought the Amish to be odd or different in 1860 when everyone wore beards, made their own clothing, and drove buggies. They could have discussions about how God was touching their lives and the issues of the day that were shared by every other person in their community. Move ahead 150 years and they no longer have any impact beyond slowing traffic and being the object of jokes. We can’t arbitrarily pick a year, say 1971 (when I became a Christian) and decide we won’t change from that date. “Jesus Freaks”, the Viet Nam War, LSD, and the Holy Spirit indwelling the individual through the word only or personally were the issues of the day in the church. We wouldn’t be touching many lives if we did most of our lessons around those topics in my community.
Finally, I love the church because God loves her. This is really the issue. I try to do the things God does. If he can be forgiving, tolerant, and merciful to a messed up, confused, and struggling group of disciples who try, fail, then try again, so can I. If he can love me, I can love them. We aren’t any different. I don’t get a free pass with my favorite sins, while holding others accountable for their favorites. The grip that alcohol has on me still, even with 40 years of sobriety, reminds me that sin is not easily abandoned. While I haven’t had the drink, it isn’t because I haven’t wanted it. I haven’t been as successful with others of my sins. My arrogance is an all too familiar figure, my desire to slant the truth to improve my appearance or position still crops up from time to time. I work each day to deal with my explosive temper, doing much better at least in not hitting others, but failing to curb my tongue which can flail the skin from my brothers just as quickly. My brothers and sisters have their own struggles. Some have sins of sexual natures, both hetero and homo sexual. Some fail in regard to pornography, or gluttony, greed or stinginess. There are those who struggle being forgiving, others who are self willed or rebellious. God still loves them. He offers forgiveness to all who are his. I won’t give myself permission to do any less.
Why do I love the church? I love her because she is home, and one day will be perfected by the God who saves her. I can’t do anything else. Can you?
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About Carl Feril:
Carl Feril preaches for the St. John, KS church. Carl and his wife, Janet, have lived in Stafford County for the past 27 years. The Feril’s, along with their ministry team partners, Tom and Pam Turner, work in a joint ministry to challenge growth and spiritual development for disciples in all stages of their walk before God. Carl works as the session co-director for the Silver Maple Family Camp each year as well as serving on the board of directors for the Black Hills Bible Camp where he collaborates with the college students from 11pm until 2 am each night about the future of God’s kingdom in the near future.
In addition to his preaching ministry in St John, Carl is a Clinically Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. He works with preschool through high school students and their families in two school districts in Stafford county one day per week each. He also sees families in private practice in two private offices. Working with families and individuals in various stages of discipleship has opened his eyes to exciting opportunities and inspires new hope for the future of God’s body until He returns to glorify us.
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Personal Note:
First, thanks to Carl not only his this article and his willingness to writes it, but for his personal struggles expressed in this article. Having met Carl earlier this year, I was (and still am) encouraged by this words and thoughts. He and Janet do great work in Kansas as well as with a family camp and they are to be commended. Thanks again Carl for expressing your love for the church.
Thanks,
Chris
“What I Love about the Church…” by Brad Palmore, Guest Writer
What I Love About the Church
by Brad Palmore
I want to be completely and totally honest with you. If you’re not prepared for that type of discussion, please stop reading now. My feelings won’t be hurt in the least. You see, the truth is that I have a really hard time coming up with something to say when I ask myself why I love the church. My experience with church, both as an individual and as a minister, has been filled with stress, power struggles, narrow-mindedness, and similar negative experiences. I’ve been called a “hired mercenary” by people wielding inappropriate levels of power. I’ve been called ungrateful when trying to request fair compensation. I’ve had an elder tell me he was ‘pi$$ed off’ by our use of lower case letters on a web site. My 80 hour work weeks have been met with ridicule over working ‘one day a week’. I could go on ad nauseum…
So why do I still work in ministry? Two words: reconciliation and redemption. In no other environment are these two concepts as powerful as they are in the church. Of course, ultimate redemption and reconciliation come through our individual relationships with Christ, but each scenario I’ve described above, and countless more, are opportunities to mirror that redemption and reconciliation that we’ve received and share it with others. I believe it is within the scenarios of reconciliation of self to self, person to person, person to group, and person to God and the redemptive acts that follow that the true power and glory of the indwelling Spirit of God can be seen.
In my tenure in ministry, I’ve seen people ready to kill each other over petty differences become co-laborers for the Kingdom. I’ve witnessed timid people with no place in the Body of Christ become empowered leaders of service. I’ve watched as marriages that were crumbling were turned over to God and celebrated as those relationships made a complete turn around. I’ve walked along side people trapped by depression and addictions as they discover freedom in Christ.
Witnessing just one redemptive act of reconciliation is worth dozens of bad experiences. If we look close enough, we will see God working out his plan of redemption among our people. In no other place can we find this. And that is why I love the church.
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About Brad Palmore:
After careers in the U.S. Army and in retail management, Brad and his wife, Lisa, entered full time ministry where they have served for the last ten years with their three teenage boys. With a background in leadership, a Bachelor’s of Ministry degree from Harding University, and a Master’s of Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation from Abilene Christian University, Brad’s focus in ministry is on organizational, leadership, and individual development.
Brad also functions as a mediation and negotiation trainer and teaches conflict management systems design; identity, conflict, and culture; and dispute resolution and the legal system through ACU’s Center for Conflict Resolution. You can read more of Brad’s ramblings at http://bradpalmore.com
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Personal Note:
First, thanks to Brad for taking time to write the guest post above. I also appreciate Brad’s open thoughts as he expressed some concerns he has, but also the positive nature of God as He works out His plan of redemption.
Thanks Brad for challenging our thinking.
Thanks again,
Chris
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