How many on the BB are members of a local church with which they have a major doctrinal difference? I am not talking about the color of the carpet or Mrs. Johnson's cream of mushroom green bean casserole at every pot luck. I mean differences in eschatology, soteriology, pneumatology, etc. For instance, let us say you are an amillennialist but you go to a church that is premillennial, or you believe in unconditional election but your church teaches conditional election. Maybe you disagree...

And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: [he made] the stars also.

The added words are by the translators, not being in the Hebrew text.

The NRSV - "God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars."

This thread seeks to enhance believer discernment by exploring how it is put into practice by the assembly.

Paul said:
Do not treat prophecies with contempt, but test all things. Hold fast to what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5)

This is often (imo) ignored by the vast majority of the assembly

Rather than post a sermon and testing its validity because that would be far too long, I picked a popular song. One the greater part of the BB folks have heard and...

GEN 3:14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Some have suggested God Loves everyone.Others believe God has a special saving love for His elect.

We know God is good...

When did the idea of a half-hour sermon every week come into being? Would the assembly be OK without a sermon? Let's say each week you had a testimony or two, some scripture readings from the saints, an open prayer so that anyone with a need from the saints could come to the mic.

Regardless of denomination, we have settled in to a pretty cookie cutter assembly. A few songs, a token prayer or two, a half hour sermon, closing song, closing prayer.

Are our assemblies effective for the...

I have been to plenty of churches in the last few years that are the religious version of "Put'n on the Hits". The whole nine yards.
- Torn jeans and t shirts
- Smoke machines
- Elaborate backdrops and props
- Auditorium blacked out
- Sound systems that blow your head off
- Performers doing all sorts of gyrations with the microphone, raising hands, raising cane

While I shouldn't judge, some of this starts veering toward over the top, and I question what exactly is going on, worship or a...

I Timothy 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. (KJV)

II Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (KJV)

Based upon these and other passages, can we conclude that anyone who dies and goes out into a Christless eternity does so...

I think for the Church of Christ, it is that our tribe tends to do a lot of deep study and discussing concepts, but often without a lot of practical application. If not careful, we intellectualize our faith. I wish we paid more attention to directly addressing the current moral crises in our culture: abortion, divorce, drugs, adultery, LGBTQRSTUVWXYZ, pornography, and covetousness.

Another issue for the CoC is the advent of contemporary Christian music (CCM). Not that CCM is a bad thing...

Another interesting part of the Baptist church that I am curious about. This hits home to me personally because it is about my mother.

My mother degree'd in Bible at Abilene Christian in the early 60s. She was a believer (and a baptized believer). She taught Sunday school for years. She headed up a jail ministry for years, bringing numerous women to the Lord. She hosted home Bible studies with my dad, again bringing people to the Lord.

That all would change around 1982. She had an affair...

...or are they just called something else? I have always been curious of this, as Paul and Peter both go into pretty thorough detail of this official position in a church. I know some churches call them bishops, shepherds, pastors, and overseers. I was just curious about the Baptist way on this particular issue.