Bible Article - The Gospel of Fellowship (Brett Holand)


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Click Here for the Latest Edition of the Charlottesville Beacon Sign up for our Email Newsletter Thoughts To Ponder A Man’s heart has only enough life in it to pursue one object fully. Tell me to what you pay attention, and I will tell you who you are. A Friendly Discussion on Mormonism Held at the North Charlottesville church of Christ on January 13, 2008 Why Do We Need the Book of Mormon? LDS Representatives Elder Batty, Elder Limb and Elder Comstock First Speech Audio First Speech Handout Response by Larry Rouse Response Audio Response PowerPoint Response Handout The LDS Doctrine of Eternal Progression (The Nature of God) LDS Representatives Elder Limb, Elder Batty and Elder Comstock 2nd Speech Audio 2nd Speech Handout Response by Larry Rouse Response Audio Response PowerPoint Response Handout Dangers Facing the "Non-Traditional" Christian Is all of life worship? ----------------------------- Should the Lord's Supper be eaten as a common meal? ----------------------------- Are churches of Christ the modern day Pharisees? ----------------------------- Should we clap, wave hands and encourage "spontaneous worship"? ----------------------------- Do we have a wrong hermeneutic? ----------------------------- Have we rejected the true grace of God? ----------------------------- Should we include other "believers" into our fellowship? ----------------------------- How can we resolve differences without dividing? Planning to Visit Us? What to Expect Current Class Information Assembly Times Sunday Bible Classes (10:00 am) AM Worship (11:00 am) PM Worship (3:00 pm) Thursday Bible Classes (7:35 pm) Location Piedmont Family YMCA 442 Westfield Road Charlottesville, VA 22901 Click Here for Specific Directions Evangelists Larry Rouse 3124 Ridgefield Road Charlottesville, VA 22911 Cell: (434) 227-6919 Home: (434) 973-5774 Mark Larson 1617 Brandywine Drive Charlottesville, VA 22901 Cell: 817-403-8763 Home: (434) 295-7842 Contact Us Enter your comment here. Or write us: Charlottesville church of Christ 3445 Seminole Trail #132 Charlottesville, VA 22911 Or directly e-mail us at: larryrouse@cvillechurch.com *Jesus Versus Muhammad Sermon Series* *by Mark Larson Outlines, PowerPoint, and Audio* Glenn Allen Meeting Outlines, PowerPoint and Audio You will need the following viewers to view many of the files on this site. Click here to download Adobe Acrobat Reader Click here to download Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer
	The Gospel of Fellowship by Brett Hogland In ancient Rome, citizens remained loyal so long as the rulers gave them "bread and circuses". Once offered, they could not be stopped. Each new entertainment had to be more elaborate than the last, in order to maintain the loyalty of the mob. For many years, missionaries in China wooed converts by offers of rice. So long as the rice was distributed, converts were plentiful. When the missionaries decided to end the handouts, they found the churches empty again. The deserters were afterwards called "Rice Christians". The only reliable convert is one whose heart is changed, who is free of enticements to his belly. When Christ commissioned the apostles to save men by the gospel, His instructions contained nothing in the way of enticements to the flesh. The Gospel of Christ appeals to the spirit of man, to his heart, to his inner emotional yearnings. The Gospel satisfies the most important need of man, … the salvation of his soul (See Rom.1:16-17). However, many modern churches believe they must compete with the allurements of the world by offering entertainment, banquets, etc. They call this "fellowship", and the place for it is called a "fellowship hall" (which may double as a gymnasium). The New Testament never uses the word "fellowship" in this way. KOINONIA, the Greek word, refers to sharing in the preaching of the Gospel (Phil.1:5), sharing in the hope of salvation (1John 1:2-3), or some other spiritual sharing. The Apostle Paul condemned some who abused the Lord’s Supper, by turning it into a meal (1 Cor.11:22, 34). He also taught, "the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom.14:17). Churches enticing members with "bread and circuses" might suddenly find their houses empty, if they offered only the appeal of preaching. They may already have many "Rice Christians". We still believe in the basic appeal of the Gospel of Christ, and seek only those converts whose hearts, rather than their bellies, are drawn to Christ. Where do you stand? Other Articles Are We Secularizing Our Children? Love Finds a Way Should We Argue About the Bible? Dial-A-Bible-Study (Recorded Messages) (434) 975-7373 Free Bible Study Materials Call Anytime!