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Functions of the church - General

Evangelism and the Church

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  • James Visscher

What is the task of the local church in regard to evangelism? The author looks at three aspects of church life: worship, fellowship, and witnessing.

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What is the Church Good for Anyway?

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  • James Visscher

What is the calling and task of the church? This author maintains that it is threefold: to worship the Lord, to equip the saints, and to witness to the world.

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For Growth

  • Basic
  • J. Van Amstel

This article considers the topic of [[congregational upbuilding]]. It explains both the human and divine dimensions to this upbuilding.

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Marks of a Healthy Church: Introduction Marks of a Healthy Church 1

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  • David P. Murray

What characterizes a healthy church? In this article David Murray identifies and describes six marks of a healthy church: divinity, veracity, purity, charity, equity, and diversity.

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What is the Church For?

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  • Donald M. Macdonald

What is the church for? The author looks at this question and answers it by stating that the church is for God, the church is for the world and the church is for people. The church should help people to have a Christian mind, a Christian lifestyle, support them for living the Christian life, and give them opportunities to serve.

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Pentecost and the Spirit-Filled Church

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  • Daryl Kats

What does it mean to be a Spirit-filled church? The author looks at Acts 2:42-47 to see that a church filled with the Spirit is a learning church, a loving church, a worshiping church and evangelistic church.

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The Mission of the Church: Be a Church!

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  • Shane Lems

What is the church called to do? Taking its cue from 1 Corinthians 1:2, this article explains that the church is called by God to call upon God, to preach the gospel, to be saints, and to comprise all peoples.

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Watchmen are Looking Ahead The function of the watchman in the church

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  • J. H. Kuiper

What is the function of the watchman in the church? This article looks at the function of safeguarding the church.

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Watch Over Zion

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  • J. H. Kuiper

In the church we should guard what is important and precious to us. We should be watching out for the attacks of Satan. But how do we do that?

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First Steps in Leading toward Change

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  • Chuck Lawless

Church evaluation is done to help the church bring needed change within. This article explains ten steps you need to take to conduct an evaluation of the church.

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Is Your Church a Praying Church?

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  • Chuck Lawless

Prayer is the life of the church. Is your church a praying church? How do you know if you are in a praying church? Here are ten questions to help you discern how your church is doing.

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Seven Habits of a Healthy Church

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  • Casey Hough

How do you know if you are in a healthy church? Here are seven signs of a healthy church, based on the New Testament letters.

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Seven Theological Issues Confronting the Local Church

  • Basic
  • Jason K. Allen

What are the challenges facing the local church today? This article identifes seven such challenges, of a theological nature.

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How Not to Be a Heretic

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  • Le Ann Trees

This article offers three things that can help keep you on God’s Scripture-obeying path: knowing church history, knowing your church's beliefs, and knowing your church's doctrinal positions.

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The Church's Chief End

  • Basic
  • Peter Barnes

What exactly is the mission of the church? This article suggests there are three aspects: the church exists to glorify God, build up the saints, and evangelize the world.

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The Gathering of the Church

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  • Steven R. Key

Christ promised to gather his church. This article explains that the gathering of the church in this earth points to the separation of believers from unbelievers.

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What's the Purpose of ... the Church?

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  • Tim Challies

The church does not exist for evangelism nor for discipleship. What then is the purpose of the church? This article explains.

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Why Do Christians Meet?

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  • Michael D. Rasmussen

The Old Testament prophesied a time when nations will be part of the kingdom of God. This paper explores how 1 Corinthians and other New Testament examples present these prophecies as fulfilled in local church gatherings today, including worship. Since the purpose of church gatherings is to praise and to edify, this has implications for the church in reaching to those outside the church.

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The Church and Politics

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  • Larry E. Wilson

How do we remain in the world, but not of the world? How do we witness to the world, while also keeping our church pure from serious sin? Should the church as a whole engage in politics? This article is about the ministry of the church.

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Is the Church on Her Way Out?

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  • Cornelis Pronk

Has the church lost her influence in public life? What is the place of the church in a secularized society? This article shows that the impact of secularism is that it has privatized faith. Is there hope for the church? The article engages with this question…

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The Ministry of the Church

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  • Donald C. Macaskill

The nature of the ministry of the church is spiritual. This article explains this by looking at the call of the church to preach the gospel and the call and responsibility of every member towards the church.

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The Church and Covenant Theology

  • Semi-Technical
  • Morton H. Smith

What is the nature of the church and the mission of the church? This study attempts to survey the Bible's teaching on the nature of the church. It is placed within the context of the scriptural theme of the covenants.

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"Refresh the Hearts of the Saints": A Unique Pauline Context?

  • Technical
  • Andrew D. Clarke

The apostle Paul uses the phrase "refresh the heart" some four times. This article wants to look at the use of the verb "anapauō" (with various meanings) in particular where it is combined with "pneuma" ("spirit") or "splanchna" ("bosom") in ancient Greek literary and non-literary sources. It concludes that Paul's use of the complete phrase (1 Corinthians 16:18, 2 Corinthians 7:13, Philemon 7, and Philemon 20) may have been a unique usage.

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Evangelicals, Catholics, and Orthodox together: Is the Church the Extension of the Incarnation?

  • Semi-Technical
  • Mark R. Saucy

What is the nature of the relationship between Christ and the church? What is the role of the church in salvation? In this article the author reflects on the significance of the image used for the church as the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12:27 for our understanding of the functions of the church as prophet, priest, and king.

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The wheels of God’s justice grind slowly, but when they come they do grind finely. Anonymous
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