church of Christ Christian Ekklesia Podcast

Free To Be Just A Christian

December 28, 2008 – 9:25 pm
Free To Be – Just a Christian All over the world today, there is a vast renewal of interest in studying the Bible. Thousands of people are reading the Bible to find the answers as to where they come from, why they are here on earth, and where they are going after this life is over. Searching the Scriptures with an open and honest heart toward God will enable you to gain knowledge of God’s total plan for all of His people. The Bible is divided into two major parts – the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament tells of the beginnings of the earth, of man, of sin, and of God’s way of salvation in Christ. Abraham was selected to become the father of the Hebrew nation and these people, when they were about seventy in number; they went into Egypt to live. ...

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Hell – Eternal Torment or Complete Annihilation?

November 3, 2008 – 6:56 pm
INTRODUCTION— I grew up in the church. For many years, I believed in the traditional view of Heaven and Hell—that souls are taken from the body immediately following death and are placed in either Heaven or Hell where they will spend eternity in bliss or unending torture. This is what most of the Christian church right now believes. For the last six or seven years, however, I have found countless scriptures that have changed my thinking considerably in this area. It seems to me that nearly the entire Bible teaches that eternal life is only experienced in Heaven, that Hell is a place of complete destruction and annihilation. There are many scripture passages that seem to clearly teach this, but there are others that admittedly seem to teach the traditional view as well. The Bible must never be thought to contradict itself, regardless of what simple meanings may be found in ...

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God Claims Ownership

October 11, 2008 – 8:48 am
You send your son to a university that has an excellent academic reputation. For four years he is an exceptional student. He maintains a 3.9 grade point average. He is involved in the leadership of several campus organizations. He graduates with honors. His academic success presents him with an excellent job opportunity. But there is an unusual requirement. As his father, you must write a cover letter for his job application. The first thing the potential employer will see and read when he receives your son's application is your cover letter. The cover letter is to answer one question: "How do you want me to look at your son?" What would you write in your cover letter? Would you write, "Look at him as the success that he is. You can see his ability and potential by looking at his grade point average, his course grades, and the honors he received. Consider ...

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God Freed Us Slaves

September 12, 2008 – 10:58 pm
May I ask some questions? What is a redeemer? What does redemption mean? Why is redemption wonderful? I. The concept of redemption is found throughout the Bible. A. The Old Testament stresses the concept of redemption. Consider some brief examples. 1. Consider Exodus 21:28-30. a. If your ox gored someone to death, the ox is killed and you are punished. b. If you were warned that the ox was dangerous and the ox killed someone, the ox was killed and you were executed. c. However, if the victim's family accepted a money settlement, you can be redeemed--when you paid the settlement the execution was canceled. 2. Consider Leviticus 25:47-52. a. If poverty was destroying you, you could sell yourself into slavery. b. If you sold yourself into slavery, you could be redeemed ...

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Evil Is Real

September 6, 2008 – 12:43 pm
Christians have an enormous tendency to forget that evil is a real, powerful, every day force or to believe that evil is not a real, powerful, every day force. And you say, David, you have to be kidding. Everyone of us knows that evil is real. We see evil all around us every day. We see evil destroying people every day. I can't believe that you would suggest that any of us don't think evil is real. Would you focus on a specific perspective? To many Christians, evil is the great beast that makes war against us. But the war is mostly mental stuff. That war mostly has to do with minds and emotions. We tend to think of evil is not solid or real. Just change the way people think and it goes away. We tend to see evil as a benign force. It only troubles people if they chase it. ...

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Can I Live Without That

August 18, 2008 – 9:22 pm
Three men got into a heated discussion about which part of the body was the most essential to life. It began when two of the men expressed a difference of opinion about escaping life threatening situations. One said, Nothing is as important as your legs. If you are in a life threatening situation, you have to have your legs to carry you to safety. The other said, That depends on the danger. Many times your hands can eliminate the danger faster than your legs can take you away from the danger. The argument was on. Well, if you want to argue in that way, the ears must hear the danger before the hands can act. That may be true, but the eyes can see the danger much faster than the ears can hear it. The third man jumped into the argument. Both of you are talking about external factors. Internal factors are much more ...

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Family Members Are Unique

July 25, 2008 – 10:50 pm
When you were growing up, how many children were in your family? How many brothers do you have? How many sisters? Could you list all the ways that you and your brothers and sisters were alike? Could you list all the ways that you and your brothers and sisters are different? Sure you can. In fact, in most instances, it would be easier to list all the differences than to list all the ways that you were alike as children. With some brothers or sisters, you would declare that you were completely different--there were no ways in which you were alike. When all of you became adults, did all those differences disappear? Did all of you, as adult brothers and sisters, become exactly alike? As adults, some similar characteristics may have developed, but your differences remained, and always will remain. Each of your brothers and sisters are distinct persons with a personal ...

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Shepherds For God

July 23, 2008 – 3:29 am
There are few texts that show more clearly the importance of leadership in the early church. It’s to the elders Peter specifically writes, and he, who was the chief apostle, doesn’t hesitate to call himself a fellow-elder. He could have worn the title apostle, or friend of Jesus, but he calls himself “elder.” Elderships have a Jewish beginning. There came the time when Moses felt the burdens of leadership too heavy for him to bear by himself. Seventy elders were set apart and granted a share in the Spirit of God (Nu 11:16-30). Father-in-law Jethro gave good advice for Moses to get others to help him lead. From that moment on elders became a permanent feature of Jewish life. We find elders as the friends of the prophets (2 Kgs 6:32; as the advisers of kings (1 Kgs 20:8; 21:11); as the colleagues of the princes in the administration of the ...

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Understanding Christian-to-Christian Sensitivity

July 16, 2008 – 9:32 pm
In this society, as we struggle in our relationships, there is a loud heart cry that few people hear. This heart cry comes from many wives, many husbands, many parents, many children, and many Christians. What is this heart cry that few people hear? You don't have to have my feelings. You don't have to have my needs. But please respect my feelings and my needs. If you ignore my feelings and my needs, you ignore me. If you are blind my feelings and my needs, you are blind to me. If you laugh at my feelings and my needs, you laugh at me. If you ridicule my feelings and my needs, you ridicule me. If you trash my feelings and my needs, you trash me. I. Let me share with you a simple but true illustration. A. A wife must make a decision that troubles her. 1. She approaches her husband in this way: Honey, I ...

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Jesus Focus On The Price

July 5, 2008 – 9:16 am
What is the "price" we Christians must pay to be Christians? Jesus indicated in many ways that the "price" existed. The fact that a "price" exists should not surprise us. If his sacrificial life and death on a cross was his "price" for becoming our Savior, it should not surprise us that there would be a "price" for belonging to him as Savior. But what is the "price" that Jesus had in mind? The New Testament repeatedly emphasizes that (1) we are saved by grace through faith; (2) we are not saved on the basis of human deeds; (3) we cannot earn our salvation; and (4) we cannot place God in debt to us. All that being true, what is this "price"? Tonight let Jesus give us some important insights into the "price" by studying Luke 14. I encourage you to take your Bibles and follow with me as we study. I. Understanding the ...

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Insights From Ephesians Part Six

July 4, 2008 – 10:07 am
First, we want to put ourselves in the frame of mind Paul was in when he wrote our text today. To do that, play a game of "Let's Pretend" with me. Pretend that you have a close friend you admire and respect. This person is a close friend because he cared about you. In his care for you when he first met you, he went "way out on a limb" to help you. He literally put himself in a situation that he could be hurt because he helped you. Continue to pretend with me. After he leaves you, your close friend does get into trouble because he helped some people just like you. The trouble is so serious that he winds up in jail. In fact, you are convinced that one of the reasons he is in trouble is because he helped you. And there is nothing you can do to help ...

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Insights From Ephesians Part Five

June 17, 2008 – 11:03 am
I hope you have had at least one of those moments when you "see" something you never saw before. What you "see" is not new.  It has always been there for you to "see." Yet, for some reason (or a number of reasons), you never noticed it before.  Once you "see" it, it is so obvious that you are forced to evaluate yourself. "Why didn't I see that a long time ago? It is not new! It has always been there! How could I have not noticed it until now?" Much of the time this "seeing" has to do with learning.  Maybe a person's focus was so given to something else that the "something else" is all he or she saw--he or she was so focused on one thing that he or she failed to see anything else. Often this "seeing" is inconvenient. Once he or she "sees" the obvious, he or ...

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I’m Confused What Do You Want

June 8, 2008 – 6:07 am
People always have had problems with relationships. Relationships have confused every past generation. Relationships confuse us. That confusion becomes more evident every year. People experience difficulty when they try to get along with other people. More know how to argue and fight with others than they know how to enjoy others. Many people have a lot of acquaintances but few friends. In no relationship is it more obvious that relationship skills are declining than it is in marriage. Troubled marriages outnumber stable marriages. Grieving marriages outnumber joyful marriages. Marriages in conflict outnumber marriages that cooperate. Marriages that show contempt outnumber marriages that express respect. More marriages fall to separation or divorce than rise to genuine contentment. In talking with people whose troubled relationship causes them sorrow and anxiety, I hear this statement. "I am just so confused. I really tried to make things right. I tried to make him (or her) happy. ...

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Don’t Blame God for Satan’s Work

May 30, 2008 – 11:40 pm
What form of injustice irritates you more quickly than any other form of injustice? Call it a pet peeve, or a major frustration, or an insult, but whatever you call it, this form of injustice instantly angers you. It is unfair; it is a deceptive distortion; and it certainly is undeserved. We all probably know more than one form of injustice that really irritates us. One of mine is being blamed and held accountable for something that I did not do. It is your fault! You are the one who caused this! Not only did I not do it, but I was in no way involved in it. But you knew about it--this could not have happened without your knowing about it. And if you knew about it, you are responsible. I did not know it would happen. Well, I am sure that you could have stopped it if you wanted to. ...

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The Moment Of Decision

May 28, 2008 – 9:47 pm
Life is a sequence of inevitable moments. An inevitable moment is a specific point in time that must come. Inevitable moments are unavoidable; they must happen. The question is never, Will the moment come? The question always is,  When will this moment come? We know that life's major transitions always involve an inevitable moment. The moment when we must leave our childhood circumstances and begin an adult life is an inevitable moment. The moment when academic education ends and career begins is an inevitable moment. Death is an inevitable moment. However, inevitable moments are not confined to major transitions. Inevitable moments constantly occur in our lives. Perhaps the most common form of inevitable moments is decision. Making a decision of importance and consequence always involves an inevitable moment. You are in your twenties. You have been in a serious dating relationship for three years. You became friends. You learned about each other's lives and ...

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