Archive for the ‘New Testament Church’ Category

Let us pray.

The Lord’s Prayer (Matt 6:9-13) is one of the best known portions of the Sermon on the Mount. Many of us first learned it at our mothers’ knees, and prayed it every evening before we went to sleep. The Didache, a guide to early church practice, instructs believers to pray it three times a day. Faithful Catholics repeat it many times a day as a component of the Rosary.

In light of this widespread personal use of the prayer, I was surprised, when studying the prayer in its context, to realize that our Lord intends it first of all, not for private devotion, but for believers gathered together in corporate prayer. This insight warns us against two unhealthy tendencies in modern evangelical circles. One is a neglect to use the prayer at all. The other is an increasing neglect of gathering for corporate prayer.
Continue reading Let us pray….

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I Believe in the Holy Local Church

Every week, in thousands of church buildings around the world, and for hundreds of years, Christians have confessed, “I believe in the holy catholic (that is, universal) church.” That confession is true, but it is only part of the truth. It’s just as important that we recognize the role of the local church in God’s program. Here is a brief paper that discusses this important teaching.

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