Tag Archives: church

WHAT KIND OF “ROCK” IS PETER?

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WHAT KIND OF “ROCK” IS PETER? Jack Cottrell – February 2018 QUESTION: Does Matthew 16:18 say that the Apostle Peter is the ROCK on which the church is built? Does this support the Roman Catholic teaching that Peter was the first Pope? ANSWER: The text in question is included here, in Matthew 16:15-18: “15 He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ 16 Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ 17 And Jesus said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to … Continue reading →

GOD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AND GOD IN THE NEW TESTAMENT: WHY ARE THEY SO DIFFERENT?

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GOD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AND GOD IN THE NEW TESTAMENT: WHY ARE THEY SO DIFFERENT? QUESTION. It seems that in the Old Testament God tends to be more legalistic and harsh, while the New Testament is more about the coming of Christ and the gospel of God’s love and grace. How do we explain this difference between the two? I know that the same God is acting in both testaments, but why this difference? ANSWER. I will make three main points. ONE. One of the most important truths about God (one that is often missed) is that there are … Continue reading →

THE DOCTRINAL FOUNDATIONS OF CBS

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THE DOCTRINAL FOUNDATIONS OF CBS (CBC&S; CCU) — JACK COTTRELL, 1993 [While cleaning out my office and files after being recently “retired” from my professorship at CCU, I came across the following. It is a presentation I gave at a gathering of the faculty and students at “the school on the hill” 23 years ago, in August of 1993. (I don’t remember the nature of the gathering.) I thought it might be of some interest now in September 2016, in view of what has taken place “on the hill” within the past year.] My missionary friend Greg Waddell reports that … Continue reading →

Saved by Grace #12 — LIVING BY GRACE

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Long ago I saw this comic strip: (Panel 1) – The boss bawls out his employee. (2) The employee goes home and hollers at his wife. (3) The wife yells at Junior. (4) Junior screams at the dog. (5) The dog growls at the goldfish. The scolding stops with the poor goldfish. Here are two separate scenes of a little girl playing with her doll. Scene 1: The girl says to her doll, “You bad doll! You spilled your milk again! You’re no good for anything! Can’t you ever do anything right? Take that!” – as she slaps the doll … Continue reading →

Homosexuality and the Biblical World View

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HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE BIBLICAL WORLD VIEW © Jack Cottrell – July 17, 2015 [NOTE: I preached this as a sermon at First Church of Christ, Greendale IN, on July 19, 2015. There I gave it the title, “The Sermon I Don’t Want To Preach.” That title was literally true, since I would actually have preferred to preach on something else. But recent events in our country’s history have led me to conclude that we as a church need to know what the Bible says about gay marriage, and about homosexuality as such. That is the rationale for this message.] It … Continue reading →

MAY WOMEN PREACH IF THE ELDERS AUTHORIZE IT?

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It seems that more and more folks in the Restoration Movement (and elsewhere) are finding themselves comfortable with “women preachers,” or women teaching Christian doctrine to Christian men. An example (one among many) is the recent article in Christian Standard by Brian Mavis, “Women Preaching” (April 2013, pp. 53-54). Two Christian college professors of preaching are quoted as defending the practice. A professor from Ozark Christian College says the key issue is the difference between the act of preaching, and the role of preacher. The act of preaching (he says) is just proclaiming and teaching the gospel, but the role … Continue reading →