GOD CONTINUES TO WORK at International Bible Baptist Church - Riverside (IBBC-Riverside), my home church fellowship for the past two and a half years. The year of 2018 began with God making it possible for us to buy and renovate our own church building. By His grace we have been able to expand to two services each Sunday.
And as part of our commitment to soul winning, evangelism, and missionary ministries - Pastor Sergio has reorganized our Sunday School Classes to be more effective in training our people to be ready to meet the challenges of those endeavors.
Last Sunday was our inaugural day to kick off these new Sunday School ministries. Danny Garcia and I were asked to lead the Seniors Class and taking a lead from many successful sports coaches, it seemed right to go "back to the basics." Why back to the basics? Because like all successful teams we want to be so grounded in the basic teachings of our Christian faith - that no question will throw us, or confuse us, when God gives us an opportunity to share His Word with the world.
An effective Christian life and the way we view the Bible, God's Written Word, must have a solid foundation. And that solid foundation is built around our personal and corporate Statement of Faith, aka, Statement of Beliefs. For that is what we believe - and our beliefs should reflect those our church fellowship teaches. If not, back to the Bible (Acts 17:11).
Since we are beginning this new journey in our IBBC-Riverside Sunday School classes, it seems appropriate to take time to discuss our Statement of Faith, what we believe and what we teach, to make sure we are all on the same page. In other words, the Basics. That was my initial goal for this new Seniors Sunday School Class.
When we meet people and tell them about our church fellowship, often they will ask, "What does your church believe and teach?" What will we tell them? Can you and I tell them what we believe and teach at IBBC-Riverside - and support those beliefs from Scripture?
In 1627 German Lutheran theologian, Rupertus Meldenius, wrote in a tract on Christian unity, “In essentials unity - in non-essentials liberty - in all things charity.“ That should define our Christian walk.
We all should be able to acknowledge that there are Essential Christian Doctrines which define our salvation and which cannot be compromised. Any person or church which denies any of these Essential Christian Doctrines, needs to rethink that position and do as the apostle Paul teaches us in Acts 17:11 - test that teaching against Scripture, the full 66 books of God's Word.
And there are many Non-Essential Christian Teachings which are important for us to understand how they relate to our Christian faith - which are interesting to discuss - and which are helpful in making us more mature believers and witnesses. They DO NOT define nor affect our salvation. Yet, agreeing or disagreeing on such teachings should lead each of us, individually and corporately, into a deeper study of God's Word as we test the teacher and the teaching - against Scripture (Acts 17:11). Let us all be good Bereans - as we study God's Word to make us more effective in sharing His Word with the world (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8, Mark 16:15).
I have taken my class leader notes and put them into a short video so that I can share our new IBBC-Riverside Sunday School adventure with all my Friends. I pray you will find this useful in your evangelism efforts. All comments and suggestions are welcomed - whether we agree or agree to disagree, let's have a dialogue about God's Word and His message of eternal life for all who will, "By grace, through faith" believe and receive Him as Lord and Savior.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
And as part of our commitment to soul winning, evangelism, and missionary ministries - Pastor Sergio has reorganized our Sunday School Classes to be more effective in training our people to be ready to meet the challenges of those endeavors.
Last Sunday was our inaugural day to kick off these new Sunday School ministries. Danny Garcia and I were asked to lead the Seniors Class and taking a lead from many successful sports coaches, it seemed right to go "back to the basics." Why back to the basics? Because like all successful teams we want to be so grounded in the basic teachings of our Christian faith - that no question will throw us, or confuse us, when God gives us an opportunity to share His Word with the world.
An effective Christian life and the way we view the Bible, God's Written Word, must have a solid foundation. And that solid foundation is built around our personal and corporate Statement of Faith, aka, Statement of Beliefs. For that is what we believe - and our beliefs should reflect those our church fellowship teaches. If not, back to the Bible (Acts 17:11).
Since we are beginning this new journey in our IBBC-Riverside Sunday School classes, it seems appropriate to take time to discuss our Statement of Faith, what we believe and what we teach, to make sure we are all on the same page. In other words, the Basics. That was my initial goal for this new Seniors Sunday School Class.
When we meet people and tell them about our church fellowship, often they will ask, "What does your church believe and teach?" What will we tell them? Can you and I tell them what we believe and teach at IBBC-Riverside - and support those beliefs from Scripture?
In 1627 German Lutheran theologian, Rupertus Meldenius, wrote in a tract on Christian unity, “In essentials unity - in non-essentials liberty - in all things charity.“ That should define our Christian walk.
We all should be able to acknowledge that there are Essential Christian Doctrines which define our salvation and which cannot be compromised. Any person or church which denies any of these Essential Christian Doctrines, needs to rethink that position and do as the apostle Paul teaches us in Acts 17:11 - test that teaching against Scripture, the full 66 books of God's Word.
And there are many Non-Essential Christian Teachings which are important for us to understand how they relate to our Christian faith - which are interesting to discuss - and which are helpful in making us more mature believers and witnesses. They DO NOT define nor affect our salvation. Yet, agreeing or disagreeing on such teachings should lead each of us, individually and corporately, into a deeper study of God's Word as we test the teacher and the teaching - against Scripture (Acts 17:11). Let us all be good Bereans - as we study God's Word to make us more effective in sharing His Word with the world (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8, Mark 16:15).
I have taken my class leader notes and put them into a short video so that I can share our new IBBC-Riverside Sunday School adventure with all my Friends. I pray you will find this useful in your evangelism efforts. All comments and suggestions are welcomed - whether we agree or agree to disagree, let's have a dialogue about God's Word and His message of eternal life for all who will, "By grace, through faith" believe and receive Him as Lord and Savior.
"Essential And Non-Essential Christian Doctrines" IBBC-Riverside Sunday School - November 18, 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12I5SQD5dw4
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
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