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TGOC ANNOUNCES
LESSONS THREE AND FOUR
IN ITS NEWLY REVISED
"WORSHIP SERIES"
We are pleased to announce in this newsletter the availability of the next two lessons in our newly revised Worship Series, for which Ben Bailey serves as the speaker. In his lesson on "Singing," Ben opens by reminding his viewers and/or listeners that the Bible instructs us not to "think beyond what is written" (1 Cor. 4:6) or add to/take away from the Word of God (Rev. 22:18-19). Ben then points out that Christians today are "dead to" the Old Law (Rom. 7:1-10). In Colossians 2:14 and Ephesians 2:14ff. the apostle noted that the Old Law was nailed to the cross, and therefore is no longer applicable to us. Instead, the New Testament is our sole authority regarding how we are to worship God.
That New Testament commands us, "Speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord" (Eph. 5:18-19). Colossians 3:16 teaches us, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." We also are told to "sing with the spirit and with the understanding" (1 Cor. 14:15). Conspicuously missing from the New Testament, of course, is any divine authorization for the use of mechanical instruments of music in worship to God. Instead, Christians are commanded to "make melody in their hearts." The only "instrument of music" approved by the New Testament for worshiping God is the human heart (mind).
In his lesson on "Prayer," Ben opens with Paul's statement in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, "Pray without ceasing." The apostle's admonition was not intended to mean, of course, that everything in life is a prayer. Rather, it means that there ought never to be a time when we cannot pray to our heavenly Father. Prayer should be a vital part of every Christian's daily life. But, as Ben correctly went on to observe, prayer does not "just come naturally to us." Rather, it is something we are taught to do correctly. In Luke 11:1 we read, "One of Christ’s disciples said to Him, 'Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.' " As we study the Scriptures and learn more about God, we learn how to pray properly—which means, among other things, that we must pray with a firm belief in God (Jas. 1:6), with a humble and respectful attitude (Lk. 18:10-14), "with the spirit and the understanding" (1 Cor. 14:15), and in Jesus' name (which means "by His authority"; Jn. 14:6, 14:13-14, and 1 Tim. 2:5). As Ben rightly remarked, prayer is a wonderful spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3) that is reserved solely for Christians (Jn. 9:31 and Jn. 14:6; compare also Ps. 66:18 and Prov. 28:9). It is the means by which Christians thank God for His previous blessings, request His future blessings, and confess past sins in order to ask for forgiveness. Little wonder, then, that Jesus said, "Men always ought to pray and not lose heart" (Lk. 18:1).
Both of these new lessons are now available on our Website, where you will find them in video, audio, and written transcript formats. We invite you to examine them for yourself, and to share them with others.
BIBLE QUIZZES
NOW AVAILABLE FOR
TGOC'S NEW
"GREAT BIBLE LESSONS" SERIES
In the July 8, 2008 edition of this newsletter, we announced our brand-new "Great Bible Lessons" series. In this newsletter, we are happy to announce the first round of online Bible quizzes to accompany the lessons in that series. The new quizzes can be found on our Website at www.thegospelofchrist.com/quiz. We invite you to take some of them to increase and/or reinforce your Bible knowledge.
SPREADING THE
GOSPEL OF CHRIST—FOR FREE!
We very much would like to get our videos into the hands of the program directors who are in charge of cable-television networks in your area. But to make this happen, we need Christians in various locales to "be our eyes, ears, mouths, and legs." It's a very simple process. Usually, in fact, all it takes is a phone call or two—and a quick trip to the local cable company to drop off some samples of our programs (which we will be happy to ship to you; or we can even save you a trip and ship them directly to the program director's office).
In the past, some of TGOC's supporters took it upon themselves to call their local cable networks to see if free time was available for religious programming. More often than not, they discovered that it was—and that the station actually needs good-quality programs to air. As a result, GOSPEL OF CHRIST videos are now airing on more stations in more areas—completely free of charge. [Talk about good stewardship!]
We really could use your help on this project. Would you please contact your local cable network to ask if complimentary time is available for programs like the ones we make available. If free air time is available, all you have to do is provide the "foot in the door" for us. We'll do the rest.
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