I. The Challenge Of corrupted Worship
A. Worship has always been a playground for Satan. Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:3-6); Nadab and Abihu, (Lev. 10: 1-4).
B. God's word identifies four types of worship. Only one of the four are accepted

1. Ignorant   (Acts 17:16-31).
2. Vain   (Matthew 15:8-9).
3. Will   (Colossians 2:23).
4. True   (John 4:24).

C. The sovereignty of God has been displaced by the sovereignty of the consumer.
D. "Christianity" is being marketed, packaged, and sold to a secular consumer. However, to do so is to remove the offense of the cross, the message of the cross is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; it is disturbing, confrontive, and offensive to human pride. See 1 Cor. 1:18-31)!
 E. Compare "user friendly" religion with Ananias & Sapphira's treatment (Acts 5:1-11).
 F. (Acts 10:33) "..We are all here present before God, to hear all things commanded thee of God."

II The Challenge Of The Type Preaching
A. (2 Timothy 4:1-2; Jeremiah 5:31).
B. Much of the preaching one hears today consists of  psychology, felt needs, current events, and pleasant platitudes.
C. Truth is dispensed in such small, watered down, diluted doses it lacks the power to convict sinners.
D. "Longwindedness" has become a greater sin than heresy.
E.  It is not so much what is being said as it is what is not being said.
F. (2 Chronicles 34:14-15) Book of the Lord lost in the house of God.

III The Challenge Of The Woman's Role
A. (1 Corinthians 11; 14; & 1 Timothy 2:11-15).
B. Subjection is not culture but creation.
C. (Galatians 3:28).

 IV The Challenge Of Denominationalism
A. (Matthew 16:18).
B. (Ephesians 4:4; 2:13-17).
C. Whether we are a part of the church that Jesus built can be validated by Scripture.
D. (Matthew 15:13; Psalms 127:1).

V The challenge to the organization of (the church) local.
A. Christ alone is head of church universal-No earthly head or headquarters are authorized nor recognized by Christ (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 1:22-23; Ephesians 5:22-25).

B. The only organization known for collective (church work) is the Local congregation under oversight of a plurality of elders, pastors or bishops (Acts 14:23; Phil. 1:1-2; Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Heb. 13:17).  There must be no organization larger, smaller and none other than the local congregation. That's how Christ designed His church. So called "sponsoring elderships" are an attempt to activate the church universal through one eldership. That leads toward Rome not Jerusalem!

C. Sponsoring elderships is heading toward denominationalism. Violation of autonomy. Surrendered or usurped oversight are wrong, sinful! (Colossians 3:17; 2 John 9-10).

VI. The challenge to the work or function of local churches.
 a. Is it social and recreational? Is it political? Not to all three areas of activity. Some things that are fine for the individual Christian and for the home, have no place in the budget and work of the local churches of Christ. The thee afore mentioned activities fall into that category. "The kingdom of God is not food and drink..."(Romans 14:17). The blood bought body has a mission much too high and holy to get sidetracked into those activities. It was purchased with Christ's blood and its mission is basically spiritual. The church is "the pillar and the ground of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15).

b.  Again, recreation and social activities are a home or individual activity, not that of the local church of Christ. When brethren headed in that direction in the first century the apostle Paul lambasted them, telling then he could not praise them for such, telling them that they had houses to eat in and drink in and should not involved the church as such in those activities (1 Corinthians 11:22)!

VII. The Challenge Of Baptism for the remission of sins, essential to salvation from alien sins! Not only must we now fight denominationalist who speak out against immersion for the forgiveness of alien sins, we have fellow Christians, men who call themselves preachers in local churches of Christ who now deny that baptism is essential to one being saved from alien sins. This leads of course to fellowshipping the sects of so called Christendom and in losing one's identity as a simply New Testament Christian and member of Christ's blood bought church.

A. (Mark 16:16; Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 24:45-47).
B. (Acts 2:38).
C. (Acts 22:16).
D. (Romans 6:1-4; 17-18).
E. (1 Peter 3:20-21)
F. (Galatians 3:26-29)
G. The "New birth" of water and Spirit (John 3:3-5; Titus 3:5)
H.  One is not converted before baptism (Acts 2:38; 3:19; Romans 6:16-18). Baptism is the final act of the "new birth" of the "water and of the Spirit."

Conclusion:
1. Brethren, we live in "perilous times" as Paul once remarked. When men will not endure sound doctrine, many local churches of Christ will go into error and dissolve into just another denomination. We must respect divine authority (Colossians 3:17; 2 John 9-10; Galatians 1:6-9; John 12:48).

2. Some have crept in among us privately. Some very influential men in what some would think of as "high places" are sending out uncertain sounds!
a.  Many are using Romans chapter fourteen as a catch all doctrinal basin to broaden the borders of fellowship. This is especially true of those who are unwilling to take a firm stand against unscriptural marriage, divorce and remarriage and would fellowship those who teach that both the guilty and innocent may remarry contrary to Matthew 19:1-9; 5:32, and who advocate fellowshipping those in such "marriages." Brethren, this is sweeping the nation as well as oversees!  It is corrupting the local churches and filling them with adulterers. The bible teaches that such as persist in such cannot enter heaven, why then should we believe they should be fellowshipped in the local churches of Christ (Galatians 6:16-21; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Revelation 21:8)?

3. What can be done?
 a.  Demand that your preacher teaches the truth.
 b.  Elders - do not allow your pulpit to be used as a platform to propagate error.
 4.  The future of the church?
 a. The firm foundation of God stands (2 Timothy 2:19).
 b. "...Received a kingdom which cannot be shaken.." (Hebrews 12:22, 28).
 c.  It is the glorified chaste bride that Christ will receive unto Himself and present to the Father on that last day. This "glorified bride" of Christ will be made up of individuals, not congregations. Will you be among that throng whom Christ will receive without spot, wrinkle or any such thing (Ephesians 5:22-27)? You can be, it is up to you. It demands that you "fight the good fight of faith in order to lay hold on eternal life" (1 Timothy 3:12; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5), and that we are willing to "earnestly contend for the faith once delivered.." (Jude 3).

Note:  I took part of this outline from a preacher who works with a local church of Christ that is involved in things for which there is no scriptural authority. I then added my points to his outline which condemn many of the very things that he and the elders where he works advocate and support. I added opposition "social functions" as church work. I added opposition to "sponsoring elderships" as church work and a corruption of the organization. The same reason we will not use mechanical instruments of music in our worship assemblies is why we leave off the social and recreational functions as well as the sponsoring eldeships, simply stated, they are without authority in the word of Christ, the apostles doctrine (Acts 2:42; John 16:12-13; Col. 3:17; 2 John 9-11).  Call us for a FREE home bible study class at a place and time mutually agreeable.