Tag-Archive for ◊ church life ◊

29 Feb 2024 1 Corinthians (Program #1)

1 Corinthians (Program #1) – Introduction (1)

Every detail of the Bible is under the sovereign arrangement of God. Not only the words themselves have God as their source even the arrangement of the Bible is significant.

Romans for example gives us a full and complete sketch of both the Christians life and the church life. Then immediately following Romans we  1 Corinthians. What we have is the illustration of the same church life in the Christians life. What Romans reveals 1 Corinthians illustrates.

As we begin the life study of 1 Corinthians, a book that on the surface seems to be mainly focus on the problems of this 1st century gentile church in the city of Corinth but actually we will come to appreciate there is a very positive message in this book that is critical in God’s economy.

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18 Feb 2024 Romans (Program #60)

Romans (Program #60) – The Practice of the Body Life

The testimony of Christ and the testimony of oneness is not a matter of eating and drinking, but it’s really a matter of taking Christ, taking care of Christ and enjoying Christ as the life-giving Spirit, who is our righteousness, who is our peace and who is our joy.

We are coming back again to the later chapters in Romans where we really see a marvelous display of the Body life with the Church life. Is a picture we are going to see today of the practical expression of the Church it was at the time of the Apostles really applicable to us today?

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05 Oct 2023 Romans (Program #30)

Romans (Program #30) – Transformation in Receiving the Believers

If we receive the believers, according to the Word, we will be those who are absolutely beside ourselves with the joy of the Holy Spirit. God’s blessing is commanded upon those who receive the believers in such a way.

One of the most intimate and revealing passages of the New Testament is found in the final chapters of Romans. The apostle Paul opened his heart revealing the real practice of the Body life.

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04 Oct 2023 Romans (Program #29)

Romans (Program #29) – Transformation in Receiving the Believers (1)

Our eternal salvation is by faith through faith.  Once we have been born of God, we can never be unborn and lose our status as regenerated ones.  But there is a matter of reward and/or discipline.

The book of Romans has been called the fifth gospel or the gospel of God.  At its consummation, it beautifully depicts the tender and intimate church life that satisfy both God and man.

The book of Romans as we have been seeing, is divided into 5 basic sections of justification, sanctification, glorification plus selection and then one other.  If we look just casually, it may not seen to fit that this final section concludes with several non doctrinal chapters dealing with the church life.

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01 Oct 2023 Romans (Program #26)

Romans (Program #26) – Transformation in Practicing the Body Life (1)

Our life study of Romans today brings to to chapter 12, a wonderful marvelous chapter in the book of Romans.  The early portions of Romans present us many great spiritual terms; justification, sanctification, glorification to name just a few.  We have seen deeper meanings of these items in the previous programs.  But the presentation that will take place today will begin to show how the process of life that we experience really has a goal related to our practice of life.

The process of life is sanctification and this is actually the process of our being saved in Christ’s life.  He sanctifies us wholly.  This means He adds Himself in His holy nature into our spirit, into our soul, and into our body.  This is the process of life.  more…

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06 Sep 2023 Romans (Program #1)

Romans (Program #1) – A Foreword

Our God is a God of newness and we enjoy Him and apply Him for this new start in the Life-Study series.

Historically, Romans has been presented and studied as one of the great books of Christian doctrine and theology. Certainly we will recognize it in this way and touch these bulwarks of the truth in the weeks ahead, but that will not be our primary emphasis in this Life-Study of Romans. Although we in no way intend to minimize the significance of Romans as a basic book of doctrine and theology – more…

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19 Jul 2023 Acts (Program #24)

Acts (Program #24) – The Propagation in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria through the Ministry of Peter’s Company (19)

The real Gospel preaching is preaching from the Word of God with Christ, His person and His work as the center, and always paying attention to the leading of the Spirit by remaining in fellowship with Him moment by moment.

The book of Acts relates many marvelous stories of the experiences of the first-century believers. These stories can entertain but more important, they are a pattern, an example to us that we see from the church life as the Lord initiated it on the earth. One such story is that of the Ethiopian eunuch, and how Philip happened upon him and lead him to a full and meaningful salvation. We will pick up that story and all its meanings for us on today’s life study of the Bible.

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06 Jul 2023 Acts (Program #11)

Acts (Program #11) – The Propagation in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria through the Ministry of Peter’s Company (7)

It may seem strange to us today, there was a time when the Church was a new thing on the earth. Acts chapter 2 records the initiation of the Church and the lives of the believers at the beginning of the Church age. Stay with us today for an insightful view into the early life of the Church which may shed light on our own current practice of the Church life on today’s life study of the Bible.

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19 Jun 2023 Genesis (Program #95)

Genesis (Program #95) – Being Transformed (4)

Our life study of Genesis today brings us once again to chapter 35.   Chapter 35 means that we are going to remain today at Bethel, the House of God.  During the message today, Witness Lee again will use the term “church life”.  We’ve had it in the past, and this is in reference to the place or condition that we as believers need to be to experience God in a full way.   What is meant by this term “church life” and how it differs from just Christians “going to church”?

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03 Jun 2023 John (Program #30)

John (Program #30) – Life’s Issue and Multiplication (2)

We need to praise the Lord for the redeeming aspect of His death.  We need to praise thee Lord for the Satan destroying aspect of His death and we need to praise Him for the life-releasing aspect of His wonderful death on the cross.

We’ve seen thus far from John chapter 3 to John chapter 11 is a long section showing us how Christ as the divine eternal life of God meets the need of every man’s case.  We went through all those cases in a marvelous way.  Then when we come to John chapter 12, we see the issue of life.  What is the issue of Christ as life meeting the need of every man’s case?  The issue of life is a house of feasting.  This house of feasting is a miniature of what our church life should be…

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