Navarre church of Christ

What About Jesus Christ?

History is unmistakably clear—as sure as Aristotle, Julius Caesar, and Hitler lived—Jesus Christ lived. Unlike the Greek who is remembered for his logic, the Roman for his empire, or even the German for his insanity, the Jewish-born Jesus is remembered for His death on an old rugged, bloody cross!

On at least one occasion, Jesus asked His friends two searching questions: "Who do men say that I am?" and "Who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:13,15). The first query was met with a variety of answers—all of which were wrong (vs. 14). The second was answered by Peter who, with apparent boldness, retorted: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (vs. 16). This evaluation of the Nazarene was praised then, and will be forever the only acceptable answer. It is upon this truth that the church of Christ—His Kingdom—is built (vs. 18).

Although absolutely correct, Peter's position was the minority view. It still is, even after nearly 2,000 years. What a tragedy! The sadness of this fact is underscored by the realization that without a proper understanding of Jesus' identity, man is utterly lost (John 8:24). Is Jesus divine? If so, what evidence will establish that fact for modern man?

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Worship In Spirit And In Truth

by Clem Thurman

(Picture left is an interior shot of Jacob's Well at Sychar where the Lord talked with the Samaritan woman.  You can click on it for a larger view.)

"The woman saith unto Him, Sir, I perceive that Thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain; and Ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe Me, the hour cometh, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father. Ye worship that which ye know not: we worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshiper shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be His worshiper. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:19-24).

This conversation which Jesus had with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well forever shows the fallacy which many believe that it doesn't matter how we worship God, "if our heart is right before Him." It is sometimes argued that worship itself is simply a matter of living according to the principles laid down in the Scripture, that there is not a divine "pattern" for the public worship of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Hence (the argument goes), the church is left to choose for itself what it desires in the public worship.

Thus one church will add mechanical instruments of music, or various kinds of special attractions, or any other trappings desired to "get a crowd." It should be noted in the conversation above that Jesus contrasts both the ignorant worship of the Samaritans in their mountain and the nationalistic worship of the Jews in the city of Jerusalem with that of the new worship in His kingdom. Both of the former were exclusive, while the latter is universal in scope, excluding no one who will worship "in spirit and in truth." Let us examine the various items suggested by the Lord and compare with other Scriptures.

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	"Those Folks Are Different!"

by Kevin Cauley

This past week I was having a conversation with a friend who is a member of a denominational church. She mentioned to me that she wanted to come visit us and that she had told her "pastor" that she was going to visit us. Her "pastor" asked who we were and my friend responded, "the church of Christ." The "pastor" said, "Are you sure you want to do that? Those folks are different!"

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Cunningly Devised Fable?

by David King

“For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2 Pet. 1:16).

Skeptics dismiss Christianity as an elaborate hoax. In short, they claim that our religion is a concoction of “cunningly devised fables” that have duped millions of people.

In our opening text, of course, the apostle Peter denies that charge. But upon what basis? How can we be confident that the religion we follow is legitimate, and its claims valid? How can we refute the charges of the skeptics who insist that Christianity is built upon a foundation of fraud and deceit?

Notice the response that Peter himself gives in our text: “(we) were eyewitnesses of His majesty.” Christianity does not require our personal experience to validate its credentials.  Like any other artifact of history, Christianity’s claims rest upon the recorded testimony of those who were there at the beginning. That’s why we have four gospels to tell us the story.  Entire article

"Incredible" Beginning

Andy Diestelkamp

The beginnings of things always intrigue us. We often mark them with great ceremony at the time if we anticipate their importance (weddings, ribbon-cutting, grand openings, signings, etc.). We frequently research beginnings if only later we realize someone’s or something’s importance (the work of historians). It is therefore of no surprise that thinking men and women have often pondered the beginning of the physical universe.

While many are content to not give it any consideration and perhaps assume that because it is here it has always been here, most observe and realize that all physical things have measurable deterioration and, therefore, cannot be eternal but must have had a beginning point.

Essentially, there are two possibilities for how the physical began: 1) It happened by accident, or 2) It happened on purpose. Expressed another way: 1) It happened by random chance, or 2) It happened by design. Stated yet another way: 1) It began spontaneously from ignorant nothingness, or 2) It began intentionally from intelligence.

In modern parlance it is the debate between “Big Bang” and “Intelligent Design” or “evolution vs. creation.” While some have attempted to harmonize the general theory of evolution and creation theory, at its core such an attempt is futile.  Entire article

People Don't Want a Friendly Church...

As you read the title you were probably questioning it. Is it true people don’t want a friendly church? If they don’t want a friendly church, why are we always talking about being friendly? If they don’t want a friendly church, what DO they want?

I don’t remember where I heard the quote but I believe it is true: “People don’t want a friendly church. They want a friend.”

What does this mean? Do people not want a friendly church? Yes, they do, but that is only the beginning — what they are really looking for is a friend. If you are looking for a friend you usually begin with someone who is friendly, not someone who ignores you or is rude to you.

But the fact that someone is friendly doesn’t necessarily mean they will be your friend. Being friendly doesn’t require the sustained effort that being a friend does. It is one thing to be friendly for the 4-5 hours a week that we spend together “at church.” It is quite another to be a friend at not only those times, but at other times during the week. “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Prov. 18:24) Friends spend time together — that’s what builds their friendship. They may work together, they will certainly worship together, and they may go out to eat, have a picnic, put on a fish fry, play games, or just sit and talk.  Entire article

Obscene Movies & TV

Few things frighten me any more than the passing comments I hear brothers and sisters in the Lord make about movies and TV programs they've permitted themselves to see. Just when I believe there may be a deepening spirituality among the Lord's people in our day, someone who is thought to be a part of the real strength of his or her congregation tells me what they rented at the video store last weekend or what they watched on TV last night -- and I find it difficult to be optimistic at all about where we are headed as a people. When it comes to telltale signs of spiritual shakiness, there are none more disturbing than the problem we have with obscene movies and TV programs.

How Bad Is It? It is an obvious fact that pop entertainment has gone from bad to worse in the matter of obscenity (as well as violence and secular philosophy, which are, of course, no less a problem). In regular broadcast television, not to mention cable TV or the movies, the language has grown increasingly profane and vulgar, producers are daily pushing the limits on nudity and sexual content, homosexuality has come out of the closet and onto the tube, and the "moral" values that are promoted are farther and farther away from anything the serious Christian can identify with. What is being pumped into our living rooms has changed for the worse so noticeably that even one secular writer previewed a recent TV season with an article entitled, "The Family Hour Fades to Black."

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The Best Is Yet To Be

"If, in this life only, we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable!" Paul's soaring defense of the resurrection of Christ, and our own future resurrection, is summed up in these words of 1 Corinthians 15:18. It would be difficult to read that piece of inspired writing without understanding that there is something more than this life especially for those in Christ. But viewed from the standpoint of even a partial list of the blessings promised here, in this life, to the Christian, these words fairly crackle with meaning.

Consider that we are promised all the necessary things of this life if we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). Remember also the promise of peace that surpasses understanding (Philippians 4:6, 7), and consider the promise that God makes all things work together for the good of those that love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). And these are only some of the high points. Yet if it is in this life only that we expect blessings from being in Christ, "we are of all men most miserable." What a statement! And the only way to understand it is to compare, if we can, the blessings of this life with the life to come. We must remember that we may also expect with these promises persecutions (Mark 10:30) and chastening (Hebrews 12:5-11). Here we must always be vigilant against temptations and sin and the true disciple of Christ will always feel the tension between himself and the temptations of the world. We are warned not to love the world or the things in it (1 John 2:15-17), that we should set our affections on things which are above, the yet invisible, the yet future glory, not on things of this world or of this life, for all these things will pass away. But after these things....!!

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Dinosaurs: Fact vs. Imagination

“Millions of years ago when dinosaurs ruled the earth” is how evolutionists present dinosaurs in books and movies to the general public and there has been a high level interest in dinosaurs for well over 150 years. Hundreds of books and dozens of movies have been produced on this subject. These books and movies usually present the characteristics of dinosaurs as though the facts about them were established with absolute accuracy. The reality of dinosaurs is actually quite different.

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