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TGOC BEGINS PRODUCING
ITS OWN VIDEO PROGRAMS!
As most readers of our newsletter know, one important aspect of our work here at THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST is the production of Bible-based video programs that are shown on television stations around the country. [We also produce audios of those same programs for airing on radio stations.] In the past, we used a professional studio in another state to produce our programs. Once every few months, we would travel 350 miles to the studio to film the presentations for several weeks into the future. While we certainly appreciated having access to that studio, it was a bit cumbersome (and expensive) having to travel such a great distance so often.
 Now, however, we are proud to announce that we have the in-house capability to produce our own television and radio programs. We recently were able to purchase and borrow equipment that allows us to shoot the videos here at our building, edit them, and prepare them for distribution to television stations on DVD-type media. Furthermore, we also are able to use the audio portions of the programs to produce CDs that can be sent to radio stations. So far, we have been extremely pleased with the end result of both our video and audio productions. Plus, of course, we have saved quite a bit of money on travel and other expenses related to having to use a distant studio to produce our programs.
As you will see in the picture that accompanies this section of our newsletter, on Sunday, August 17, 2008, those of us associated with TGOC presented to the elders of the McLish Avenue Church of Christ in Ardmore, Oklahoma (who oversee TGOC), a framed copy of the DVD containing the first series of programs produced in our new in-house studio. We are always on the look-out for better (yet less-expensive, where possible) ways to "take the whole Gospel to the whole world." We wanted you, the readers of our newsletter, to know that we are succeeding in those efforts.
TAKE A LOOK AT
OUR THIRD-QUARTER STATS!
Now that the third quarter of 2008 is over, we would like to share with the readers of our newsletter some rather intriguing statistics. For example, by the time 2007 had come to an end, our Website had received more than 3,000,000 page-hits. However, in just the first nine months of this year the Website already had received more than that (4,912,344 to be exact—or, an average of more than 18,000 page-hits per day!). [Just so you'll know, we have set a goal for 2008 of 6,650,000 page-hits.]
Plus, in all of 2007 we received a total of 2,515 media requests (for CDs and DVDs) through the Website. However, during the first nine months of this year, we already have received 2266 such requests! Also, during the months of January through September of this year we have sent media into 43 of the 50 states in America, and into 31 different foreign countries (Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Crete, Cuba, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, England, Germany, Ghana, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Liberia, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Russia, Spain, Uruguay, Zambia, and Zimbabwe).
Needless to say, we are overjoyed at these results which are indicative of the success of our efforts to "take the whole Gospel to the whole world." Please join us in this task by sharing the news about our work (including our Website and our newsletter!) with neighbors, family members, or friends. We would appreciate it. And, we think, so would they!
TGOC ANNOUNCES
LESSONS SEVEN AND EIGHT
IN ITS NEWLY REVISED
"WORSHIP SERIES"
We are pleased to announce in this newsletter the availability of the last two lessons in our newly revised Worship Series, for which Ben Bailey serves as the speaker. In Part 1 of his two-part series on "Innovations in Worship," Ben opens with the observation that we are living in an age where we are witnessing a plethora of innovations in worship to God. Ben then asks, "Are these new things acceptable to God?" In light of passages such as Jeremiah 37:17 where King Zedekiah asked, "Is there any word from the Lord?," and Romans 4:3 where Paul asked, "What do the Scriptures say?," Ben's question is quite appropriate.
In this lesson, Ben examines several current innovations in worship, including: (a) drama (acting, performing skits, using puppets, etc.); (b) hand clapping; and (c) praise groups singing during worship. As he does so, he frequently reminds us that we must not "think beyond what is written" within the Scriptures (1 Cor. 4:6), and that passages such as Deuteronomy 4:2 and Revelation 22:18-29 instruct us to neither add to nor take away from God's Word. Furthermore, as Samuel the prophet told the disobedient King Saul in 1 Samuel 15:22, "To obey is better than to sacrifice." Examples within the Bible (such as Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10, and Uzzah in 2 Samuel 6) provide compelling proof of just how seriously God considers deviations from His specific instructions to be.
In the second part of his two-part series on "Innovations in Worship," Ben continues his examination of unauthorized innovations in worship by examining such practices as: (a) dedicating babies; (b) chain prayers in which both men and women participate; (c) singing during the Lord's Supper; (d) special services revolving around secular holidays (such as Easter and Christmas); and (e) "children's church" (a time set aside during the worship during which children go to a class of their own).
Ben reminds his viewers and listeners that whatever we do in the church must have Christ's prior approval since, as we learn from Ephesians 1:20-23, He is the Head of the church. In Matthew 28:18 Jesus said, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth," and in John 12:48 He reminded us that "He who rejects Me and does not receive My words has that which judges him; the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day." This, no doubt, is why Paul asked in Galatians 4:30, "What does the Scripture say?" When it comes to what we do in worship, that question always should be foremost on our minds. In 2 Timothy 1:13 Paul commanded Timothy, "Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus." Do not miss the word "pattern" in that verse because it does not just "imply" that there is a right way and a wrong way (although that certainly would be enough), but instead it actually stresses it! In worship of God, our opinions or desires must never override a "thus saith the Lord."
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.
MORE ONLINE BIBLE QUIZZES
AVAILABLE FOR TGOC'S
"GREAT BIBLE LESSONS" SERIES
In the July 8, 2008 edition of this newsletter we announced the availability of our new "Great Bible Lessons" video and audio series. Then, in our September 16 newsletter, we announced the addition to our Website of the first four online Bible quizzes based upon that series. Today we are pleased to announce the posting on our Website of four more Bible quizzes in the series. We would like to encourage you to take these quizzes ( www.thegospelofchrist.com/quiz) because we think that you not only will enjoy taking them, but also will appreciate the way they challenge you by testing and/or increasing your Bible knowledge. |
