What I proposed in last week’s Word for the Week is contrary to the way most churches are being built today, but are any of those ways working? Granted, there are some outstanding churches in our day, but are any of them even remotely like the one we read about in the New Testament? Are any so full...

As we continue considering what the perfect church might look like, we should expect a vision for the perfect church to be as varied as the people who are in it—that’s how it should be. We may wonder how anything could be built with everyone having different ideas about what it should be, yet this...

As we see at the end of Revelation, His city is His bride, His people, the church. Because of the church’s present state, it is easy to see why many would think this is not something to look forward to. However, that is looking through our present, fallen, human vision. True vision takes faith, and...

In Hebrews 12:26-29, we are given a poignant picture of what is happening in the world today: “And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also heaven.’ “This expression, ‘Yet once more,’ denotes the removing of those...

I have had several prophetic experiences where I was caught up in the heavenly realm. Each was unique. From this I have concluded that the geography of heaven is far more diverse than the geography of earth, and it is seemingly endless in its marvels. I have no trouble believing that we can spend...

In a previous study, we considered that only a small fraction of what many consider to be the church is actually the true church. This has been verified with studies which have found that only a small fraction of evangelical church members are even born again. Believing and living a doctrine are...

A vision of the perfect church is likely as varied as the people who occupy it. That’s the way it should be! The Lord made each of us unique, so we should expect each to have a unique perspective on what the perfect church looks like. Since many believe unity is a primary factor for the perfect...

This week we will look at a very radical view of the church. First, there is merit and benefit to any who gather in any form of church out of the desire to know and please Him. One might even get more “martyr points” for joining a dry, seemingly lifeless congregation. However, the model of New...

The ideal church to us may be far different from the ideal church to the Lord as His temple. Idealism can be the worst enemy of revelation. Revelation comes from God; idealism comes from men. The greatest ideals of men fall short of what God does and can even hinder His work. We must pursue His...

Last week we began to address how we might evaluate church bodies for their spiritual conditions. This is necessary to mature as we should. However, we must do this with the Holy Spirit and not with a critical, judgmental attitude, which can be more destructive than constructive. Keep in mind we...