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<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=140 style=" border-bottom: 20px solid #CCCC00;" BGCOLOR="#000099" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <B><IMG SRC="198d03b0.jpg" border=0 width="720" height="59" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="1460a0b0.gif" border=0 width="10" height="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><B>Fundamental   <IMG SRC="1460a0b0.gif" border=0 width="10" height="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><B>Independent   <IMG SRC="1460a0b0.gif" border=0 width="10" height="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><B>KJV   <IMG SRC="1460a0b0.gif" border=0 width="10" height="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC00" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><B>Separated   <IMG SRC="1460a0b0.gif" border=0 width="10" height="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> Soul Winning   <IMG SRC="1460a0b0.gif" border=0 width="10" height="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> Local Church   <IMG SRC="1460a0b0.gif" border=0 width="10" height="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> Baptist</B></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=180 BGCOLOR="#000099" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <B><IMG SRC="159415b0.gif" border=0 width="65" height="91" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B> </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#BFBF00" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Web Site Title"><B>HOME</B></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="archives.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Newsletter Archives"><B>TABLE OF CONTENTS</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="contact_us.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><B>CONTACT US</B></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=340 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Newsletter Archives</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>July - August  2008</B></div> <div> <B>Volume 130</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>WHAT KIND OF "CHURCH" WOULD I HAVE TO BE CRAZY TO EVEN CONSIDER JOINING?</B></div> <div> <B>Matthew 16:18</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my </B><B>church;</B><B> and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>In the gospel of Matthew chapter 16 we find the eight questions and eight answers of the Lord Jesus Christ.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>This chapter could be effortlessly outlined like this:</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I. </B><B>The Denial Of Foolish Desires. (verses 1-4)</B></div> <div> <B>II. </B><B>The Danger Of False Doctrines. (verses 5-12)</B></div> <div> <B>III.</B><B> The Declaration Of A Fervent Disciple. (verses 13-20)</B></div> <div> <B>IV.</B><B> The Demands Of A Faithful Devotion. (verses 21-28)</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>It is while the Apostle Matthew is dealing (under the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit) with "The Declaration Of A Fervent Disciple" that a person reads one of the most important scriptures in all of the "written voice of God". (verse 18) This is the first mention of the word "CHURCH" in all of the Bible.</B></div> <div> <B>Friend, you and I are loony when we consider a church that is not Biblically built on the Christ!</B></div> <div> <B>There are three characteristics of a "church" a Christian would have to be insane to consider joining:</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I. THE KIND WHERE PREACHING IS NOT THE ATTRACTION.</B></div> <div> <B>A "church" that a believer has to be out of their mind to entertain the thought of joining is the type where preaching is not the pull. (Titus 1:3) If the sacred desk is not the epicenter of the church all you have is an ecclesiastical country club. 3,000 people were not saved at Pentecost because of a "rock band", "coffee shop", or "praise team"! (Please read Acts 2:14 & Acts 2:47) The kind where preaching is not the attraction!</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>II. THE KIND WHERE PRAISING IS NOT THE ATMOSPHERE.</B></div> <div> <B>A "church" that a believer has to be out of their mind to entertain the thought of joining is the type where praising is not the ambiance. (Psalm 22:22) If funeral homes feel like physical death, the church of the living God should never feel like religious death. Since one day the redeemed are going to "shout it out" around the throne they might as well "shout it out" around the pew. (Rev. 5:12) The kind where praising is not the atmosphere!</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>III. THE KIND WHERE PROPAGATING THE GOSPEL IS NOT THE AGENDA.</B></div> <div> <B>A "church" that a believer has to be out of their mind to entertain the thought of joining is the type where propagating is not program. (Mark 16:15) There is no greater crime than for a church to sit on a parcel of property and after 12 months not have one persons name that they had put into the "Lamb's Book of Life." If Jesus wept over a lost city, then He must also weep over an indifferent church that does nothing to reach its lost asphalt jungle. (Luke 19:41) The kind where propagating the gospel is not the agenda!</B></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>