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Matthew 16:18-19

RENOVATIONS

26 After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." 27 Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing." 28 Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"

29 Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed." John 20:26-29

The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.

3 To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.  Acts 1:1-3

9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."  

​Acts 1:9-11

 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. They said to one another,

"Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?"

Luke 24:31-32

FOYER

CLASSROOM

WELCOME HOME!

"Why do you seek the living One among the dead?

He is not here, but He has risen.

Luke 24:5-6

The Wow Factor!

So, there you have just a small part of it! Frankly, if  you can't or won't be 'wowed' by any or all of the above, or will not even consider such, then you obviously function in this life on the basis of 'seeing is believing'. If one has absolutely no inclination to examine the abundance of both spiritual and yes, physical evidence right at the fingertips of the heart, mind and soul- you might want to explore the alternate universe of 'what then'.  It is a finite universe versus an ever expanding infinite one- with unlimited horizons far above and beyond. As what can be known about God is evident through the very things that have been created, so there is no excuse.

Romans 1:19-21 ... that which is known about God is evident ...  for God made it evident ... 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 

Walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:6-8). You will see so much more. Vision, is true 20-20, Line of sight has too many obstacles in the way to see much of anything. Be one step ahead of hindsight instead of behind. You don't have to worry about yesterday if you live today for tomorrow with foresight. If and when sight does work for you, it will be only because you've already crossed over to discover it didn't work for you, inasmuch as vision and faith had already been thrown under the bus in a previous life. That, by the way, is a different kind of 'wow!'.

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​Ephesians 1:18-19

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. 

1 Corinthians 2:9-15

But as it is written:

"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him." 

10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 

13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them,because they are spiritually discerned. 

Acts 5:32

And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him."

Acts 2:37-38

37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" 38 Peter said to them, "Repent/change, and each of you be baptized/immersed in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.​

Acts 2:40-42

And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation!" 41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. 

Acts 2:47

And the Lord added  to the church daily those  who were being saved. 

​Wow!

And lastly, one more final 'wow'!

Acts 5:27-30

27 When they had brought them, they stood them before the Council. The high priest questioned them, 28 saying, "We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name (Jesus Christ), and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man's blood upon us." 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men". 

So, who you 'gonna call?'

Acts 2:21

'And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be saved.'

So, think about it. There are those who contend baptism isn't essential or part of God's plan of salvation. They will say, see, scriptures like Acts 2:21 and Joel 2:32 don't even mention baptism. False teachers and preachers will also turn to Mark 16:16, "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned", arguing look, the latter part of the verse doesn't even mention 'baptism'! Thus, it doesn't enter into the salvation equation! O' foolish Galatians! 

The first part of the verse puts baptism into the equation and a word of caution here.  We are talking about God's Word, so let His word (not yours) speak, take a seat and listen. As in, 'he/she who has ears to hear, let him/her hear'. So, like it or not, 'in' it is and in it stays. Take it out if you insist, but let me clear the area first. There's a bomb in the building. Think of Mark 16:16 this way. 'He who has eaten and has digested shall live but he who has not eaten shall die'. Look, the second part doesn't mention 'digested'. Well, if one doesn't eat then 'digestion' is academic, isn't it? It's not going to happen is it? If one doesn't believe then 'baptism' is academic, isn't it? It's not going to happen even if someone gets totally immersed in an ocean a thousand times under. Get it?

Further, 'and' is a conjunction. In grammar, it joins two 'things' together that are not only equal in value but must take place in order for the 'resulting' effect to occur' That effect is, 'shall be saved'.  The majority might not like it and may not teach it- but God does. 

Acts 2:21 (repeating the prophecy of Joel 2:32) 'calling upon the name of the Lord' and and Mark 16:16, 'he who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved' are two ways of saying the same thing. Hence, Ananias says to Paul, "Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name'.  Well, if you still have an argument to make, it's not with me at this point.

Baptism, not essential to salvation?

​Mark 16:16; Acts 2:37-38, 40, 41, 47; Acts 22:16; 1 Peter 3:20-21; (Double-dare you to look these up) Ephesians 4:4-6 (only one faith, only one Lord, only one baptism )... and the beat goes on...

The moment you fall into that trap you end up cornered with your back against two walls, with no way of escape except acceptance of God's truth. Which by the way, the vast majority stubbornly refuse. Put aside man-made doctrine, false narratives, spiritually caustic human agendas and firstly- yourself. So, don't you or don't let others back you into a corner.

Let scripture interpret scripture and prevent yourself from:

a) Backing into one in the first place 

b) Letting others do it to you (cause they're certainly not doing anything for you) or 

c) At least get you out of it.

Wow! 

Scripture interpreting scripture! What a new idea! NOT!

2 Peter 1:20-21 

So, when it comes to 'calling on the name of the Lord', who you 'gonna call' and when are you 'gonna do', what you 'gotta do'?​

However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. 

50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed —  52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 1 Corinthians 15:46-54

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

STAIRWELL

OFFICE

BANKING ON THE LORD

1 Chronicles 29: 9-17

BATHROOMS

With Jesus Christ, it’s not about the past. It’s about the future! Yours, ours and everybody’s. The choices for all tomorrows, are made today. We don’t dwell on or live in the past. Yet, prayerfully, humbly we inquire of it, learn from it and are tutored by its relevance. With confidence in and assurance from the Lord, our spirits, incarnate with hope, expectation, aspiration and inspiration, rests on the enduring threshold of an everlasting future (Genesis 1:26-27).

Every moment of our lives, empowered by God, stands unabated by every mortal breath we take (Genesis 2:7). Thus far, our tent is pitched in the now, abiding in the present, in and by, the grace of Him, in whom we live and move and have our very being. For the while, this very mortal measure of vapor that we are, whispers, reminds and beckons to that part of each of us, which is not long for this life (James 4:13-17).  

The fading shadow (1 Chronicles 29:14-16) of who we really would be without the Son, having no persona, basis or being, in or of ourself (Acts 17:24-31), vanishing into the waning sunset - without the light of the Son. 

"... our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no  hope"

1 Chronicles 29:14

Semblance without substance. Sand in an hourglass. In life, running through but once. As one song put it- ’here we are but dust in the wind’. The song is still with us. The singer is not (Genesis 3:19). Still, as with everybody, this body of flesh will shed like the mortality it is. The spiritual body made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-28), will put on immortality revealing the true essence of being who we really are and continue the journey (1 Corinthians 15:35-57). The question is, where and how will you spend it? A question which must be answered before the sand runs out. Because, when it has run its course, so too, will you have.

Yet, it also need not be lost on us, that the best part of who and what we can be, is ordained for a glory which eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, or the mind imagined, nor has entered into the heart of man, that which God has prepared, for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9).

​​Thus, still and till, here we are, as we are, until we are not. Humbly, we thank you Lord Jesus. The Lord bless us one and all… in our doing.

the churches of Christ Salute You   ​Romans 16:16

Joel 2:32

'And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be saved.'

MAIN WORSHIP AREA

The Wow Factor!

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; 5 and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead? 6 He is not here, but He has risen.  

Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, 7 saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again." 8 And they remembered His words, 9 and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. 11 But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them. 12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened. Luke 24:1-12

While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be to you." 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. 38 And He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." 40 And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.

41 While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement,

He said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" 42 They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; 43 and He took it and ate it before them. 

44 Now He said to them, "These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled."

45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures... 

​Luke 24:36-45

12 "A certain Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing near said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very time I looked up at him. 14 And he said, 'The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear an utterance from His mouth. 15 For you will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard.

16 Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.'   Acts 22:16 

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