We are very glad to have visitors with us today. I will not undertake to name those who are present from other places, lest I omit one. But we want all of you to realize that you have a very hearty welcome. We’re always glad to have you worship with us.
I was very glad indeed to hear that splendid report given by Brother Gregory. I wish we could have more frequent reports from those who are being assisted in their work by the Chapel Avenue congregation. Let us remember that the gospel is being proclaimed today at half a dozen, or maybe a dozen, different places by preachers supported, at least in part, by the congregation here. To me, that is a very encouraging thought.
I want to talk to you this morning upon the topic, “Congregational Objectives and Activities.” The work of the church may be outlined in several different ways, but the most practical outline that I have been able to develop is one based upon the objectives of the church. In other words, what is the purpose of the church? What is the work that it should do, and how can it best do that work? I have listed on the board six or seven expressions according to which the scriptural objectives of the church may be classified: evangelistic, devotional, instructional, watching or looking after the members individually, practical training, beneficent, and incidental—some other activities which are incidental to these main objectives. These are Scriptural objectives. They are authorized by the word of God, and I believe that this outline covers everything which God intends for the church to do. Someone told me I had omitted recreational and social objectives. Well, I left those out on purpose, because I do not believe that they are authorized by the Bible. Hence, as far as I’m able to know, this list is complete.
Now I want to talk about one or two of these items at this time. Continuing the effort to give some practical lessons, I’m laying aside rhetoric or any other technical requirements for a good sermon which might stand in the way of practical effectiveness.
By the term evangelistic, of course, we mean preaching the gospel to the entire world. The Scriptural authority for that is found at many places in the Bible. For instance, the great commission as reported by Mark 16:15: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel unto every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be damned.” This commandment is very comprehensive. It says “Go into all the world” and the world includes the people who live here at Chapel Avenue, those who live next door to you, even those who are in the house with you. It includes the people of this city, and then, of course, people in other cities and other states throughout the entire world. Therefore, we shall discuss this subject of evangelization under two headings: local and missionary.
God has given us a charge to keep as a congregation. He has charged us to preach the gospel unto the people of this community, as well as the people of other communities. Now the question is: “How can we do it?” There’s the command; it’s a general one. God charges us to preach the gospel unto the people who live in East Nashville, and as little as you may have thought about it, there are many thousands of people right here within a few blocks of our building who do not know about the church in the New Testament—who do not believe and study the Bible and are not acquainted with the distinguishing characteristics of the New Testament church.
I
Preaching on Lord’s Days
Our problem is to get the truth unto these people. What means and what methods shall we use in carrying out this charge which God has given us? One method we use is that of preaching on the Lord’s day; Sunday sermons serve an evangelistic purpose to some extent. Some of the lessons are designed for the purpose of reaching those who are on the outside, and, of course, when that is the case, a special effort should be made to get the outsiders here to hear the lessons. These regular Lord’s day meetings, then, and the lessons which are presented morning and evening can be made to serve the purpose of evangelizing this community.
But we could not confine all the lessons to that type of thinking, for to do so would be to neglect some other important matters. Even if we did make all the lessons of an evangelistic nature that would not suffice to solve this problem, for that means alone will not reach all the unsaved, even of our own community. Too many of them are at home at this hour, or worshiping at some other place where the full gospel is not presented.