Manufacturer of pews, benches, stained glass and other custom built church furniture. Includes examples of finished stained glass.

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Modernizing America

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What The Bible Says Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

What The Bible Says Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

What The Bible Says Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

What The Bible Says Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

? Temple Baptist Church - 4-7-2024Hebrews 13:1? Introduction:? A.? Chapter 13 is the “capstone” of the Book of Hebrews.? ? 1.? As all Hebrew Christian Epistles, the Book of Hebrews is a transitional book.? ? 2.? By interpretation, the Book of Hebrews is written to the Jewish believer.? ? 1 Peter 1:1? Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,? 3.? By application, the Book of Hebrews is written to every believer.? B.? It helped the Jewish believers transition:? 1.? From the Old Covenant to the New Covenant? 2.? From Law to Grace? 3.? From Mount Saini to Mount Zion? 4.? From “DO” to “Done”? 5.? From Atonement to Propitiation? 6.? From the Temple to the Local Church? 7.? From the Levitical Priesthood to the Individual Priesthood of the Believer? 8.? From the Mediation of Moses to the Mediation of Christ? 9.? From Individualism to Corporatism.? ? 10.? From Abraham's Bosom to Heaven? C.? Chapter 13 is all about the unity and innerworkings of the local church and the individual responsibilities within the body to each other, to the pastor, and to the church.? ? Paul begins this chapter with the “tie that binds our hearts in Christian love.”? The spiritual “glue” that holds together the individual pieces, believers, into a single piece, the local church.? Hebrews 13:1? Let brotherly love continue.? (Let or let not!? Let means to allow something to take place that would not naturally occur.)? 1.? In order to continue in love, you must start in love.? ? 1 John 4:7-8? Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.? (8)? He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.? 1 John 5:1? Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.? a.? So many profession believers have no real desire to be close to those who possess salvation.? You can tell by their desire to assemble or lack thereof.? You can tell by their distancing or closeness.? b.? They come to church because they feel that they must to be right with God but have no love for the church nor its people.? c.? “Have you started right?” is a question that needs to be answered as eternity hinges on it.? D. Temple Baptist Church cannot have unity, nor can it survive without Christian love permeating its pews.? The Bible says so much about this love that must continue so, let's let God define brotherly love for us.? John 13:34-35? A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.? (35)? By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.? John 15:17? These things I command you, that ye love one another.? Acts 2:1? And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.? Acts 2:46-47? And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,? (47)? Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.? Acts 4:32? And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.? Romans 12:9-10? Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.? (10)? Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;? Galatians 5:13? For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.? 1 Thessalonians 4:9? But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.? 2 Thessalonians 1:3? We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;? 1 Peter 1:22? Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:? 1 Peter 3:8-9? Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:? (9)? Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.? 1 Peter 4:8? And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.? 2 Peter 1:5-8? And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;? (6)? And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;? (7)? And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.? (8)? For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.? 1 John 2:7-10? Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.? (8)? Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.? (9)? He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.? (10)? He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.? E.? Brotherly love is also found in the word? charity.? ? 1 John 4:7-8, 12? ? (3)? Beloved, let us love one another:? (1)? for love is of God; and (8)? He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love ... ? (12)? No man hath seen God at any time.? (2)? ? If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.? 1.? Brotherly love issues from God –? “for love is of God”? 2.? Brotherly love is instilled in the believer by God –? “If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.”? 3.? Brotherly love must be maintained by the believer –? “Beloved, let us love one another:”? F.? Brotherly love must be a universal love, a consistent love, an overlooking love, an equal love of the brethren.? ? 1.? Brotherly love has nothing to do with social status.? 2.? Brotherly love has nothing to do with financial clout.? 3.? Brotherly love has nothing to do with ethnicity.? 4.? Brotherly love has nothing to do with gender.? 5.? Brotherly love has nothing to do with faithfulness.? 6.? Brotherly love is uniform from the pulpit to the pew.? From the pew to the pulpit.? From the back pew to the front pew.? ? G.? 1 Corinthians gives a Biblical definition of Charity or Brotherly Love.? I will not take the time to do a verse by verse exposition of chapter 13 but will give you the gist of it.? Brotherly love is the binding love of the brethren.? It is what holds the local church together.? ? 1.? Charity is longsuffering.? 2.? Charity is kind.? 3.? Charity is unselfish.? 4.? Charity behaves itself.? 5.? Charity is overlooking.? 6.? Charity hates evil but not the sinner.? 7.? Charity loves in truth.? H.? ? Brotherly love? is an unfailing love.? Times change but biblical charity endures.? 1.? In 1 Corinthians, chapter 13, Paul names three remaining gifts: faith, hope and charity.? 1 Corinthians 13:13? And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.? 2.? The greatest of the three remaining gifts is charity: brotherly love.? Our faith and our hope are anchored in the greatest of the three, Charity.? 3.? Over these past 37 years, we have had a multitude of people come THROUGH our church.? We were not what they were looking for!? Our church has endured a lot of things: trials, division, etc.? ? BUT? our church has endured because of its love for Christ and love for one another!? 4.? ? “LET BROTHERLY LOVE CONTINUE!”? ? I do not know what the future holds for Temple Baptist Church, but I do know that our love for Christ and each other will carry us through whatever comes our way.? a)? Let means that brotherly love may or may not continue.? Think about it.? b)? Let means that we, each one of us, has control of brotherly love's continuance.

What do you picture when you think of church?Do you think of the rows of wooden pews or the intricate stained-glass windows in the sanctuary? Stacks of Bibles and hymnals? What about a stage or pulpit? Maybe you think of a large auditorium setting if you attend a mega church.? All these details tell us what we see when we look at a building, but they tell us nothing about what a church should biblically look like. Scripture does not give directions about the format of seating or the use of a stage. We find no mention of a required carpet color or use of stained-glass windows. During the early days of the church, there were no chapels or cathedrals with steeples. That is because the Church is not a building.? Believers make up the body of Christ, the Church (1 Corinthians 12:27).? As members of the body of Christ, what we look like stems from our relationship to Jesus and the mission He gave us. He has called us to be a multiplying people, a community that grows and reaches into the lives of others. It is a group of individuals who increasingly look like Him.? C.S. Lewis wrote about the purpose of the church in Mere Christianity. As he explained, “[T]he church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time” (HarperOne, 2001, p. 199).At first, Lewis' statement might surprise us. Constructing buildings, doing missions, and studying the Bible are wastes of time? They are if people are not growing in Christ and making disciples. The body of believers is meant to look increasingly like Jesus and help others become reflections of Christ too. If the church is not doing that, then it is not accomplishing its purpose. It will not look like a biblical church. ? ? But what are the indications that a group of believers are accomplishing this purpose of growing to become more like Christ? ? ? ? Scripture does not have directions about what a church building should look like, but it does have a wealth of information about what it looks like to live as individuals belonging to the Church.Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Will & Deni McIntyre

? Temple Baptist Church - 2-14-2024John 13:33-35? Introduction:? A.? Let me set the backdrop for these verses.? In verse 33:? 1.? Our Lord has finished the work that the Father gave Him to do on earth and now is ready to be offered for the sin or the world.? When I read this, my mind goes to the Apostle Paul as he writes to young Timothy:? 2 Timothy 4:6-7? For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.? (7)? I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:? 2.? The work of His disciples now commences as they cannot go with Him and put their hand to the plough.? The Lord is preparing His disciples to do the work of the Gospel, knowing that local assemblies that would develop into churches, called out assemblies.? B.? The Lord would not leave them “comfortless” as the blessed Holy Spirit would come in all His fulness to indwell and impower the believers.? The work of the Lord is going to go on as He promised.? C. In the Law, God gave 613 Commandments to Israel.? These were moral, civil, and ceremonial laws.? Moral laws for behavior within, Civil laws for behavior outward, and Ceremonial for behavior upward.? These cover every aspect of life as man is a trichotomy: three in one.? D.? For the local church to both be functional and have unity, it needed one more commandment: “That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”? E.? Satan does his best to destroy the unity and work of the local churches.? Persecution makes the church stronger.? I call this the enemy from without.? Division destroys the unity and work of the local church.? I call this the enemy from within.? The greatest enemy of the local church often sits upon its pews!? F.? This commandment was not just one more commandment to burden the churches.? It was given as a blessing to the church.? 1 Peter 3:8-9? Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:? (9)? Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.? G.? There are three important aspects of this Law found in our text that are important and need to be properly explored.? 1.? The Charge of the Commandment.? “That ye love one another.”? a.? The charge was new.? Under the Law, commandments were given to regulate the lives of individuals and they were good laws, but something constantly plagued the Old Testament people.? Division and thus disunity.? That was the reason for Moses to mediate.? We have no “Moses” in our day, so the charge given to Moses is now given to the members of the local church.? b.? The charge is a commandment.? Our Lord did not say to love one another as much as suits.? The charge is “to love one another.”? ? c.? I find here the importance of being commanded to love one another.? People are self-centered by nature and the humanistic philosophy of this world is fueling the problem.? “What I do in my business.”? “Mind your own business.” And other catchphrases are often used to disassociate with someone that you do not like or disagree with.? ? d.? Instead, God wants us to “associate” with each other.? Not out of necessity but in love.? The song “Blessed Be The Tie” says that the “Tie”? that binds our hearts is Christian love.? 2.? The Example of the Commandment.? “As I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”? a.? The example is given because love means different things to different people.? Love is an umbrella under which all love resides, both good love and evil love.? b.? The greatest example of love ever known is the “love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”? Romans 8:35-39? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?? (36)? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.? (37)? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.? (38)? For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,? (39)? Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.? c.? Though not proud of myself, I often say that the Lord loves me when I am glad, when I am sad, when I am mad, and when I am bad!? The love of God never grows nor diminishes.? His love is consistent and constant!? The greatness of God's love is found in His descension and propitiation.? John 15:13? Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 2 Corinthians 8:9? For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.? d.? I often hear profession believers say, “I love you, but I don't like you!”? This tells me that they do not love as Christ loved!? 3.? The Result of the Commandment. “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”? In the Greek, all means all and that's all all means!? “shall all men know.”? “All men” here is used to include men, ladies, and children.? a.? “All men” If we love each as Christ loves us, all men/women/children in the church will both see and know that love.? One of the things that I try to teach our church is to love everyone within the church with an equal love.? I want you to know that I love you all and like you all too.? We are not perfect people, and our love is not perfect, but it does need to be expressed!? I am not afraid or embarrassed to say, “I love you!”? c.? “All men”? This includes those who are seeking a local church to attend.? We shake hands and fellowship every service.? If we are sick, we say, “Unclean!”? If we are not unclean or sick, we try to shake hands with everyone in the local church which includes visitors.? We endeavor to keep love and peace here at Temple.? Over the years, we have seen some come and go because of division on their behalf.? When new people come to Temple and bring division into the church, they will either get right or get out!? I will warn them and if they persist, I will tell them to leave as they are walking disorderly.? 2 Thessalonians 3:6? Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.? d.? “All men”? This includes and the multitude of people who surround the local church.? ? 1.? It has been my misfortune to run across church people in public places who certainly do not portray the love of God in Christ Jesus.? They hear our bitterness, complaints, and talk about others.? ? 2.? Stores are often public places where disgruntled church members express their dislike and often disdain for others within the local church.? This damages the testimony of the believer, the local church, and Christ Jesus Himself!? 1 John 4:20-21? If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?? (21)? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.