Simply Being The Church And Doing Our Work

By: Gary L. Hutchens

​   Who are we?  What are we?  What are we doing?  Here at Sunny Slope we repeatedly emphasize, at the risk of sounding redundant, that we are determined to simply be the church that everybody reads about in the Bible, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.

​   We are the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23).  Recognizing our Lord to be our only Head, we wear His name collectively, “churches of Christ” (Rom. 16:16), and individually, “Christians” (Acts 11:26), thus giving Christ full honor (Col. 1:18).
   We understand that we have no doctrine of our own devising.  God’s word is our only authority as to what we should believe and teach and practice (2 Tim. 3:15-17).  Only as we remain faithful to this identity can we be assured of being pleasing to God (2 Jn. 1:9).
   Our purpose, bottom line, is to glorify God (Matt. 5:16).  Our basic work is to teach the gospel of Christ (Matt. 28:19-20; Mk. 16:15-16).  Jesus Christ is man’s only Savior (Acts 4:12), and only through Him can a person come to God for salvation (Jn. 14:6).  The gospel is the message of salvation through Christ (Rom. 1:16; 2 Thess. 2:13-14).
   As the Lord’s church we should be single-minded in our determination to teach God’s word relentlessly.  Get that mindset- we need to teach God’s word relentlessly!  That is exactly what we strive to do here at Sunny Slope.  Our Bible classes focus on teaching the Bible.  Our preaching strongly emphasizes the study and authority of scripture.
   The primary aim of our work is to teach the saving message of the gospel.  In addition to that done during our regular worship and Bible study assemblies, we are heavily engaged in teaching through various outreach efforts: We mail the House To House, Heart To Heart publication to 2800 addresses around the church building on a monthly basis.  Our radio program “Search The Scriptures” is broadcast on KCRO AM 660 five times daily in Omaha and is simulcast on FM in Lincoln.  It is also broadcast in Council Bluffs on KLNG AM 1560 and simulcast on FM twice daily.  We sponsor the television program “In Search Of The Lord‘s Way” on Cox channel 13 at 8:00 am every Sunday.
   This year we began podcasting all of our sermons and radio programs for free to anyone who would like to subscribe.  We also distribute thousands of CD’s of our sermons every year.  Our website www.churchofchrist.com is viewed and used around the world on a daily basis.  Our jail ministry is huge, extending across the nation, with hundreds of inmates having been baptized over the years.  Hundreds of people from around the world enroll in Bible correspondence courses each year through our various outreach efforts.  In addition, we are continually involved in helping support many mission works both in this country and around the world.
   None of this is to our glory.  All of this simply speaks to who we are, what we are and what we are doing.  We are simply being the church here in this area and doing our work as such.  May God guide and bless us in His will always, and to Him be all the glory.
   Are you involved in any of these works?  If not, you are needed.  Please speak to one of the elders about how you can become involved…