Churches of Christ -- Sermons; Sermons, American -- 20th century
I was very glad indeed to hear that splendid report given by Brother
Gregory. I wish we could have more frequent reports from those who are
being assisted in their work by the Chapel Avenue congregation. Let us
remember that the gospel is being proclaimed today at half a dozen, or
maybe a dozen, different places by preachers supported, at least in
part, by the congregation here. To me, that is a very encouraging
thought.
I want to talk to you this morning upon the topic, “Congregational
Objectives and Activities.” The work of the church may be outlined in
several different ways, but the most practical outline that I have been
able to develop is one based upon the _objectives_ of the church. In
other words, what is the purpose of the church? What is the work that it
should do, and how can it best do that work? I have listed on the board
six or seven expressions according to which the scriptural objectives of
the church may be classified: evangelistic, devotional, instructional,
watching or looking after the members individually, practical training,
beneficent, and incidental—some other activities which are incidental to
these main objectives. These are Scriptural objectives. They are
authorized by the word of God, and I believe that this outline covers
everything which God intends for the church to do. Someone told me I had
omitted recreational and social objectives. Well, I left those out on
purpose, because I do not believe that they are authorized by the Bible.
Hence, as far as I’m able to know, this list is complete.
Now I want to talk about one or two of these items at this time.
Continuing the effort to give some practical lessons, I’m laying aside
rhetoric or any other technical requirements for a good sermon which
might stand in the way of practical effectiveness.
By the term evangelistic, of course, we mean preaching the gospel to the
entire world. The Scriptural authority for that is found at many places
in the Bible. For instance, the great commission as reported by Mark
16:15: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel unto every creature.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not
shall be damned.” This commandment is very comprehensive. It says “Go
into all the world” and the world includes the people who live here at
Chapel Avenue, those who live next door to you, even those who are in
the house with you. It includes the people of this city, and then, of
course, people in other cities and other states throughout the entire
world. Therefore, we shall discuss this subject of evangelization under
two headings: local and missionary.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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