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Arnie, Fred and Glenn continue their discussion of the apostacy or falling away from the New Testament pattern that occurred and, in this episode, continue to look at its history. We reviewed some of the departures we noted last week, in baptism and the Lord's Supper. Some began to worship men and women in the Catholic church, and we note that. Priests in the Catholic church also began hearing people confess their sins to them and we look at what this meant. We also discuss what was added to all the Bibles for a time. There were rules set up regulate what was eaten on certain days and, whether an individual ought to fast and even if priests and nuns could be married. We discuss these. Popes took upon themselves new titles and authorities that we note as well. All of these changes ended up causing a split between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern, Greek Orthodox Church. We complete this episode by beginning to discuss some of the individuals, such as John Wycliff, John Hus, Martin Luther, who began to question the changes that were made which resulted in what is called the Protestant Reformation. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. A transcript of this Buzzsprout episode is provided for your convenience.

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Arnie, Fred and Glenn continue their discussion of the apostacy or falling away that Paul said would occur from the original pattern for Christ's Church. We discussed some of the small changes that began in the early 2nd century in the last episode. Beginning with Constatine, pagans were granted church membership which changed a number of church practices. Constatine had himself sprinkled as baptism on May 22nd in 337AD right before he died. We discuss again the pattern of baptism in the New Testament and examine a number of changes that appeared after the first century. There also appeared a number of changes relating to the Lord's Supper, mainly by the Catholic Church. Several other changes were made including the addition of instrumental music. We discuss a good bit about the original pattern and the words supplied to us by the inspired writers of those words and why it is important to follow what those words say. 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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Fred and Glenn begin this episode noting that Paul predicted that there would be a falling away or apostacy that was a departure from the original gospel soon after the death of the apostles. We note that God has always provided a pattern for His people to follow. Noah was given specific instructions on how to build the ark. We note that Moses was given a pattern for building the tabernacle and those implements in it. We also talk about the pattern for the temple that God gave to David and the fact that David gave that same pattern to Solomon to follow in building the temple in Jerusalem. We then move our discussion to note that the New Testament contains the pattern for Christ's Church as well as the pattern for the Christian's behavior. We then begin to look at the historical record of the apostasy that Paul predicted would begin among the elders or bishops. We talk about the creation of dioceses that occurred in the second century and how this departed from the New Testament pattern. We then look at the changes that were instituted relating to the pattern for the bishops and the resulting hierarchy. We look briefly at Constatine's Edict of Milan that he issued in AD313 and what it did. We next talk about the Council of Nicaea and what it did in AD325. We close out this episode by noting when the first universal Pope or Bishop was named and what the structure of the church of that day resembled. We will begin the next episode talking about Constatine granting pagans church membership. 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 what the Bible says about Christ's Church or men's churches. In this episode, we begin our discussion about the membership of Christ's Church. We begin by noting what Peter said about the saved when he preached the first gospel sermon on Pentecost in Acts chapter 2. We next look at what Jesus said that individuals who heard the gospel were required to do. We return to Acts chapter 2 to note that some of those who heard Peters sermon that were convicted of having Jesus crucified, wanted to know what they must do because of what they did. We talk about his answer. There was an Ethiopian eunuch, a proselyte Jew, who was returning to his home country that Philip was sent by the Holy Spirit to teach. He was reading from Isaiah chapter 53 and invited Philip up into his chariot to learn what it meant. We note what Philip told him and what the eunuch said and did. We next move on to talk about the name Christian and when it was applied to Christ's disciples. We close out this episode by looking at how long Christ's Church and words will last. 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 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.