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In this third episode, Arnie, Fred and Glenn continue their discussion of the various characteristics that identify Christ's Church. We begin by looking at the worship His Church engages in. Glenn begins by noting passages that mention singing as a part of that worship. He notes that this singing comes from the heart of the worshipper. Part of the apostle's doctrine mentioned that occurred on Pentecost when the saints first began worshipping was prayers. We briefly look at that. We next note that Paul instructed Timothy to not neglect the reading of scripture and that was included in worship. Gospel preaching was another item of worship on the first day of the week that is recorded in Acts chapter 20. Observance of the Lord's supper is also mentioned there. Paul also gave the same order to the church at Corinth in chapter 16 of first Corinthians about the collection for the saints that he had given to the churches of Galatia. We move on to the mission that Christ gave to His Church. We note that Paul reminded Timothy that Christ's Church is the pillar and ground of the truth and is to teach that truth everywhere, to evangelize. Consequently, this action is designed to also edify or build up the saints. We note that since the collection on the first day of the week is for the saints, benevolence toward needy saints is included in the church's mission. We discuss Paul's specific directions to Timothy concerning this important area. We close out this episode by beginning our discussion of the membership of Christ's Church, the saved. We will have to pick up who constitutes the saved in our next episode. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

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In this episode, Arnie, Fred and Glenn continue to discuss Christ's Church and begin with the fact that Christ ordained or prescribed certain things relating to His Church. First, we note that Christ named His church using a number of terms. Some relate to His ownership, and some relate to certain characteristics of His church. We note that there are some names that relate to the location of local churches or assemblies of the Lord. We take some time to discuss where these names are mentioned in the Bible. We next talk about the organization of these local bodies. We find they are all organized in the same way and are autonomous. Each local church in the New Testament has elders which are also called bishops and pastors. We note that these terms refer to the same individuals and what they do in the local congregation. We also find that Bible tells us about deacons in the local church. We talk about the term deacon and what the Lord gave them to do. We also find the Bible mentioning preachers or evangelists. As with the elders and deacons, we look at the work the evangelists do. We close out this episode with a discussion about the doctrine or teaching we find taught, its completeness and whether anything else is acceptable. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. For your convenience, there is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided.

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In this episode, Arnie, Fred and Glenn begin by briefly tracing the establishment of the Lord's Church. In later episodes we will look at the beginnings of various religious bodies existent today. We begin by noting that Jesus promised to build His Church. We note the meaning of the word "Church" and also point out that it is also called His Kingdom. We move on to discuss the fact that Christ did establish His church as He promised. Our discussion notes that the Bible tells us when it was established and how it was to come into being and we note those passages. The Bible is clear as to the Founder of Christ's Church and we talk about that. Christ's Church has a head that is specified in one passage, and we look at that passage. The basis of the establishment of Christ's Church is also revealed to us in the scriptures. We discuss two of those passages found in Acts. We close out this episode by noting the uniqueness of Christ's Church. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying, There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

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Arnie, Fred and Glenn continue their discussion of suicide and how one's faith defeats it. We begin by noting that Paul had reminded the brethren at Corinth how God had delivered him and those who were with him from a certain death they were threatened with in Asia, illustrating God's faithfulness and ability to do so. Paul continued to discuss with them that we are all subject to death and we don't like that because we desire the eternal body promised us in heaven. He also challenges them to examine themselves whether they are in the faith, which is absolutely important. We note that Paul reminded the Ephesian Christians of when God identified the group that would be His chosen ones and why this is a fact every saint should know. We then look at what Paul told the Philippian brethren what Christ was able to do for them. A fact that they needed to remember as they went through the difficulties of a faithful life. The Colossian Christians were Gentiles and Paul reminded them of their spiritual condition before they obeyed the Lord so they would remember the life that they now enjoyed in Him. We move on to what James had to say about the various temptations we are subject to in this life and the kind of attitude we ought to have toward them. We close out this episode by noting that John says that the Lord knows that we, as Christians still sin from time to time and reassures us that if we confess those sins to Him, He will forgive us. There is never a situation so bad that we can't do this. So, one's faith in the Lord will defeat any thoughts of suicide. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

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Arnie, Fred and Glenn continue the discussion about suicide and what the Bible says about it. We begin by looking at more passages in the Old Testament that relate to one's faith and how that defeats suicide. David is the first faithful individual we look at and he questions why he is cast down and disquieted when he has hope in God. Solomon first discusses the trust he has in God and then asks the question of why would one die before his time? Next Isaiah tells God's people not to be dismayed and they should not be disquieted because He is with them. We look at what Jeremiah recorded that God said to His people while they were in captivity where He reminded them that His thoughts of them were for peace and not evil in order to keep them from being discouraged. God's people need to remember that God always has their best interest at heart. We move to the New Testament and look first at Jesus' emphasis on his disciples being faithful in keeping His words. We note that Jesus reminded His people that they would always experience difficulties in this life, but to maintain their faith in His ability to help them weather the storms of life. We next look at what Paul said about the danger of being conformed to the world, to the way it looks at things, its philosophy. He notes the need for the faithful Christian to transform his thinking and follow more closely the Lord's words. We close this episode out by looking at our relationship with the Lord as the kings He made us and our reign with Him. And finally, a short discussion about our bodies being the temple of the Holy Spirit and what that means to the faithful Christian. Leading a faithful life serving the Lord defeats any possibility of suicide. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

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Arnie and Fred begin this episode by looking at what the Bible says about suicide. We note that everyone faces some kind of discouragement from time to time. If we consider it to be unfixable, our thinking may lead us to hopelessness and despair and ultimately to harmful behaviors and even to suicide. The Bible records a number of people who resorted to this. We begin by noting 5 individuals. The first is Abimelech who was engaged in battle and became disabled. The Bible record of this is in Judges chapter 9. We talk about that situation. King Saul was battling the Philistines and was wounded by their archers according to 1 Samuel 31. We look at that record. Next, we note that David's son, Absalum engaged in a rebellion against his father who was the king. We talk about what happened to his advisor Ahithophel as well as himself according to the Bible record. The last of the Old Testament individuals we look at are about a hundred years later. Those involved are Baasha, who was king of Israel for a short period, Zimri who was commander of half the kings chariot company and Omri who was appointed commander of the Army. We discuss this at length. The last individual we note is Judas Iscariot who most are familiar with. Nevertheless, we review his suicide. With that background, we begin a discussion of how faith can defeat suicide. This will be the primary focus of the remaining episodes on suicide. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

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In this final episode, Arnie and Glenn discuss that John sent his disciples to Jesus while he was in prison for their benefit. The miracles that Jesus performed and the fact that the poor heard the gospel provided them the evidence that Jesus was the Messiah. A couple of passages were next noted that showed how John closed out the Old Testament period of prophesy. It was also mentioned that there was a lot of violence that occurred whenever the kingdom was discussed. The fact that John saw the kingdom at hand but was never in it was looked at next. John's imprisonment and death close out this episode. John had criticized Herod for taking his brother Phillip's wife who because of it wanted him dead. Arnie and Glenn discuss at length what led to his death at the hands of Herod the Tetrarch. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

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Arnie and Glenn begin this episode with a discussion of the preeminence of Christ because John was asked a number of times if he was the Christ, the Messiah. Glenn notes an interesting fact in the context of Colossians 3:18 which tells us of the preeminence of Christ. A discussion of this context ensues. We next note the problem of few receiving Christ even though John pointed to Him as the Messiah and His message was God given. We next talk about the fact that eternal life demands that one believes and obeys the Son. The meaning of the word believe as used in the Bible is explored. John the Baptizer provided testimony of Jesus to the religious elitists but by and large they rejected it. We discuss the other things they rejected concerning Jesus as well. Take about 30 -minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bibe handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.