Month: October 2024

#44- Our Destiny

52 Reasons to Love the Church

By Kathy Pollard

Neal preached a lesson recently in which he mentioned that three times in Revelation Christ says “I will show you”:

  • what’s happening in Heaven (4:1)
  • how He sees the dark forces of the world (17:1)
  • the church’s destiny (21:9)

Imagine how comforting those pictures would’ve been for the persecuted Christians. As bad as things were, nothing could stand against the victorious Christ. As marginalized as they felt, they could look forward to a celebration as the honored bride of Christ.

While things aren’t as horrible for us as they were for them, it’s still encouraging to be reminded of the true picture: God reigns and we belong to Him!

Neal shared six things (alliterated, of course) from Revelation 21:1-9 that the church still has to look forward to:

  • relationship
  • relief
  • renewal
  • refreshing
  • residence
  • refuge

See if you can find them in the text below!

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” 

Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

#43- Growth Reports

52 Reasons to Love the Church

By Kathy Pollard

We’re currently studying the book of Acts in our Sunday morning Bible class. Chris Young is doing a great job teaching and he recently pointed out that there are multiple “growth reports” throughout the book. That sent me on a little quest to find them all, and just reading them one after the other was thrilling!

  • Acts 2:41- “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.”
  • Acts 4:4- “But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.”
  • Acts 5:14- “And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.”
  • Acts 6:1- “Now is these days when the disciples were increasing in number…”
  • Acts 6:7- “And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.”
  • Acts 14:1- “Now in Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.”
  • Acts 14:21-22- “When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith.”
  • Acts 16:5- “So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.”
  • Acts 17:3-4- “Explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, ‘This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you is the Christ.’ And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.”
  • Acts 17:12- “Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.”
  • Acts 17:34- “But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.”
  • Acts 18:8- “Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.”

These growth reports are exciting (and I probably missed some), but what’s even more exciting is the fact that it’s all still going on!

People still care. Peter, Stephen, Paul…these men and others cared more about the gospel than they did about their own personal safety. They were courageous enough to tell others about Jesus. They prayed for boldness and then acted on it (Acts 4:1-3, 13,29). Still today there are men and women who love souls enough to share the Truth with them. I could name names and I know you could, too.

People are still receptive. Think of conversions like Paul and Crispus. They were both ‘all in’ with what they already believed and practiced, yet their hearts were open and they became disciples of Christ. Amazing! 2000 years later we are still hearing “growth reports” because people are still searching. I could share recent conversion stories that are surprising because of the person’s religious background or current occupation and I know you could, too.

The Word of God is still powerful. God chose His disciples to be the conduit for getting the saving message to the world. They were imperfect humans but that didn’t matter because they only had to “speak the word of God” (Acts 4:31). The power is in the Word and that’s why conversion and transformation take place (Heb. 4:12). There’s nothing like the aha moment when the Truth is shared with someone who hears or understands it for the first time. It’s amazing to watch the Word go to work on tender hearts. I could share stories and I know you could, too.

Rejoice in the growth reports!

The book of Acts appropriately closes with these words:

“Proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.”

(Acts 28:31)

#42-The Bible is the Emphasis

52 Reasons to Love the Church

By Kathy Pollard

To paraphrase a quote I ran across recently, if you want a Bible church, then you must read the Bible, preach the Bible, and teach the Bible. It makes sense that the Lord’s church would emphasize His Word (John 12:48). The Bible really does underlay every area of the church, as God intended:

  • Bible classes. How wonderful to come together a couple of times a week for the sole purpose of Bible study! All ages have opportunities to grow their knowledge (2 Pet. 3:18).
  • Sermons. Every Sunday morning and Sunday night, the gospel is proclaimed in worship (Rom. 10:15). Bible-centered preaching exhorts and convicts (2 Tim. 4:2)!
  • Devotionals. These happen all the time (before class on Wednesday night, during youth activities, etc.) and help us keep our minds on things above (Col. 3:1-2).
  • Vacation Bible School, Bible camps, Bible Bowls, Lads to Leaders and more. I couldn’t begin to name all the annual events and programs that are for the sole purpose of growing the faith of our youth in fun, engaging ways.
  • Church leadership, acts of worship, plan of salvation, discipleship…Every aspect of the organization of the church and life therein is based on the pattern and commands found in God’s Word (1 Cor. 3:11).

This habit of continually referring to the Bible trains us to discern between truth and error (1 Tim. 2:4). Following the pattern of the Word keeps Jesus (and not men) in His rightful role as Head of the church (Eph. 1:22-23). Emphasizing the Bible is good and right and essential.

Thank God for Bible-based churches!

“I am writing these things to you so that...you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.”

(1 Tim. 3:14-15)

“Continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise in salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

(2 Tim. 3:14-15)

#41- Young People

52 Reasons to Love the Church

By Kathy Pollard

What’s not to love about young people? From children all the way up through college aged, many of them are joyful, enthusiastic, hard workers, servants, and VERY evangelistic. But there are a couple of qualities about young people that I especially appreciate:

They’re not afraid to ask questions. In class or in person, young people like to ask questions. They want answers so they can figure things out, and they expect those answers to come straight from the Bible. They ask about worship, baptism, women’s role, the second coming, angels, relationships, and Bible translations. And if they’re not satisfied with the answers, they’ll tell you so. If something doesn’t make sense to them, they’ll keep at it until it does. As a result, they are building their faith and their understanding of Scripture. Shouldn’t we all be so fearless and persistent? If we don’t really get why we do what we do, shouldn’t we be humble enough to ask questions and dig for answers (2 Tim. 3:17)? Shouldn’t it bother us if we don’t know enough to defend our faith (1 Pet. 3:15)? Spending time with young people challenges me to keep growing in my knowledge of God’s Word!

They love to be together. It really matters to them. There aren’t many things more beautiful than young people getting together to sing, sitting together in worship, or supporting each other. They act happy when they see one another. They don’t roll their eyes when another ‘youth activity’ is planned because they enjoy spending time with each other. They see togetherness as essential to their happiness.I remember feeling that way when I was young. Shame on me for the times when I forget that God wants His people to love being together (Heb. 10:24-25; Rom. 12:10).

I thank God for the energy, personality, and fun our young people bring to the church family table. And I’m eternally grateful for their inspiring examples of no-nonsense learning and close-knit community.

Some great girls getting together for Bible study! (photo credit: Shedona Gutierrez)