“ARE GOSPEL MEETINGS OUT OF DATE?”
“From single pills providing a day’s nutrition to bubblegum that serves you a three-course dinner, bite-sized food replacements have been present in fiction for a long time.” Fast food has been around for a long time. McDonald’s opened in 1948 in San Bernadino, CA. Enter the “golden arches” in 1952. Well, the rest, as they say, is history. Has church become “fast food”?
Now with technology folks have their Bibles on Smart Phones, view services through streaming, keep up with each other’s lives by Facebook, and communicate by text all the while multitasking. Has this improved our world? Fewer folks attend any church services, with the millennials (those born between 1980-1990) leading the way. Unrest in our nation seems to have reached epic proportions, crime sprees are prevalent, and abuse seems to be on the rise. Is it time for the “gospel meeting?”
We need gospel meetings! Good news meeting! Why?
Because of the message that will be preached! A message of salvation. Paul wrote, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain” (1 Cor. 15:1-2). “A message of hope! “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost” (Rom. 15:13). Aren’t you tired of the news? Don’t be moved away from the hope of the gospel (Col. 1:23). A message of peace. “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:7). Think of a week with a message of salvation, hope and peace in the midst of a world of hate.
Because of the mutuality that will be produced! Paul wrote, “That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me” (Rom. 1:12). Mutual faith? Yes! Aren’t you tired of being around those folks everyday who simply reject God, Christ and the Bible and have no respect for righteousness? When we come together it produces this mutual faith that builds us up. When we are together, it makes each of stronger in the faith because we see that we are not alone in our fight against Satan (Eph. 6:10-18).
Because of the motivation that will be provided! Gospel efforts provide us with the motivation to go into all the world and preach the gospel (Mt. 28:19-20). Do we miss opportunities? Bro. Dan Jenkins, preacher for the Palm Beach Lakes church of Christ in reference to John 4 wrote this, “How fitting were the words of Jesus, ‘Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest.’ The disciples had ‘droopy-itus.’ They could not see the opportunities around them. There were souls all around them, lost souls, but they could not see them.” Their eyes were droopy! Are ours? Do we see the motivation a gospel meeting provides?
Their eyes were droopy! Are ours? Do we see the motivation a gospel meeting provides?
Larry