OceanSide church of Christ
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THE STATE OF THE CHURCH
ADDRESS
Victor M.
Eskew
INTRODUCTION
A.
The history of the “State of
the Union” Address by the President of the
1.
First address was given by
George Washington on January 8, 1790.
2.
It is given to a joint
session of Congress, to both House and Senate.
3.
Originally it was called
“The President’s Annual Message to Congress.”
4.
It is usually given
annually, but it does not have to be.
5.
It is normally delivered
orally, but it can be a written message to Congress (i.e., Jimmy Carter,
1981).
6.
Prior to 1934, the message
was given in December. Since then
it has been delivered in January, except for six times when it was delivered in
February.
7.
The purpose of the speech is
to review the previous year and to outline the President’s legislative proposals
for the upcoming year.
8.
Congress must invite the
President to it chambers to give this address.
B.
This Sunday marks the
beginning of my second year at the
1.
If we were to look at the
divine side of the church, it would be perfect.
2.
We, however, want to look at
it from the human side. We want to
look at both the negatives and the positives.
3.
In this lesson, we will look
only at the negatives and what we can do to address these
issues.
I. PAST
PROBLEMS HINDER PRESENT POTENTIAL
A.
The difficulties this
congregation has faced over the past four years fall into two broad
categories.
1.
Congregational.
2.
Personal.
B.
The problems have had
several ramifications for
1.
The loss of
members.
2.
Internal
strife.
3.
Bad
attitudes.
4.
Hiding of
talents.
5.
Black eye in the
community.
C.
Repentance, forgiveness,
reconciliation, healing, and recovery are needed.
1.
As long as strife and
division continue, Paul declares that we are carnal (I Cor.
3:3).
For ye are yet
carnal: for whereas there is among
you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as
men?
2.
Too, these problems, unless
resolved, will continue to damage us on the inside (Gal.
5:15).
But if ye bite
and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of
another.
3.
Paul’s prescription in
Ephesians 4:31-32 goes a long way in healing rifts between
brethren.
Let all
bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away
from you, with all malice: and be
ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for
Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
II. THE CONTRIBUTION
IS LOWER THAN THE BUDGET
A.
Our budget is set at the
beginning of the year. It basically
does three things:
1.
It seeks to cover all known
expenses for the year.
2.
It anticipates costs that
could arise in the upcoming year.
3.
It establishes pools of
money for things we would like to accomplish as a congregation of the Lord’s
people.
B.
The church by means of
giving is called upon to assist in meeting these three tasks (II Cor.
9:6-7).
But this I say,
He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth
bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not
grudgingly, or of necessity: for
God loveth a cheerful giver.
C.
We have not been meeting our
budget for 2008.
1.
There are several reasons
for this.
a.
The loss of some members.
b.
Personal struggles some of our members are facing.
c.
The economy.
d.
A failure to give to our full potential.
2.
Four options exist in order for us to correct this
situation:
a.
We give more.
b.
We hope the unexpected expenses do not happen.
c.
We do not engage in some works that we might want to
do.
d.
We cut some of our present expenses that are fixed
costs.
III. HEART
PROBLEMS
A.
The spiritual heart is that
which governs or controls our actions (Prov. 23:7).
For as a man
thinketh in his heart, so is he…
a.
When people do not attend
the worship services, it has something to do with their
heart.
b.
When people do not study
their Bible, it has to do with the heart.
c.
When people to not put the
kingdom first, it is a heart issue.
B.
There are many things that
can plague the heart: ignorance,
discouragement, unbelief, stubbornness, and hardness to mention a few (Heb.
3:12).
Take heed,
brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing
from the living God.
C.
It is for this reason that
the Bible instructs us to “keep” our hearts with great effort (Prov.
4:23).
Keep thy heart
with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
D.
This begins by getting our
minds into the Word of God. The
Word of God transforms our lives as our minds are renewed by it
(
1.
Ignorance is replaced with knowledge (Ps. 19:7;
119:104).
2.
Discouragement is replaced with strength (Ps. 19:8;
119:28).
3.
Unbelief is replaced with faith (I Thess. 2:13).
4.
Stubbornness is replaced with humility (Ps.
78:7-8).
5.
Hardness is replaced with tenderness (Prov.
1:22-23).
CONCLUSION
A.
This morning we have
examined
B.
Two words of encouragement
about the negatives.
1.
Many churches face similar
problems.
2. With the right attitudes and right actions problems can be overcome and conquered.