A Standard Greeting from the Churches of Christ
[Editors Note:Below is a typical greeting you will hear from those of the Churches of Christ. It represents a pattern approach to the Word of God and how the Church approaches those it is reaching out to help grow.]
We wish to extend the warmest of welcomes to all of our friends, neighbors, and family members, who have chosen to join us this Lord’s Day (Revelation 1:10) as we seek to worship the Lord in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24). We want you to know that we consider ourselves blessed and privileged to have you with us as our honored and welcome guests. Subsequently, we would like to make you aware of a few things that might be new to you if you are not familiar with the worship assemblies of the churches of Christ as found in Scripture (Romans 16:16).
First and foremost, we fully believe and accept without exception, exemption, or hesitation, that the Holy Bible is the full and absolute truth of almighty God (Psalm 19:7-11; John 17:17); that it’s every word is divinely-inspired (Matthew 4:4; 2 Timothy 3:16-4:4); and that it is never, therefore, a matter of one’s own interpretation (2 Peter 1:20-21).
The Bible is what the Churches of Christ strive to follow.
Because we believe the Bible is the word of God, we also believe that it contains everything we need to know, in order to know and to please Him completely (Romans 10:17; Hebrews 11:6; 2 Peter 1:3; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). Therefore, you will find that every single aspect of our worship service is very humbly and carefully carried out in faithful accordance with that same, exact, Biblical pattern of sound words (2 Timothy 1:13) which the Lord’s church has followed ever since its establishment in the first century A.D. (Acts 2:37-47, 20:7; 1 Corinthians 1:21, 16:1-2; Ephesians 5:17-21). The same holds true for the sermon as well. We will not waste your time nor belittle your efforts to be here with us by preaching to you pointless human wisdom, empty human philosophy, or the vain worship causing commandments of men (1 Corinthians 2:4-5; Colossians 2:6-10; Mark 7:5-13). Instead – and just like every other aspect of our worship service – the sermon will be fully and faithfully referenced and built upon the pure, “black and white,” “book chapter, and verse” truth, of almighty God Himself.
We are truly grateful that you have chosen to be our honored guest this morning. As such, please understand that we do not expect you to place any money in the collection plate as it passes by. That is a privilege reserved for members only (1 Cor. 16:1-2). However, if you would like to have a personal Bible study to further examine what you experience here, or to answer any of your other Bible questions, please indicate that on your visitor’s card before placing it in the collection plate instead. We are here to serve the Lord, by serving you! God bless!