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| | | 800 Medical Park Dr.
Birmingham, AL 35235 205-856-5523 Click here for Google Map Sunday at 9:30 AM
Bible classes for all ages Sunday at 10:30 AM
Morning Worship Sunday at 5:00 PM
Evening Worship Wednesday at 7:30 PM
Bible classes for all ages |
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| | | Who We Are
    
The Edward’s Lake church is an assembly of Christians who have joined hearts and hands to work and  worship together in serving the Lord. We have accepted the call of Christ to discipleship (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14), and have turned from our previous lives of self-service to new lives of service to Christ our King. For each of us, this new life began when we believed in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God (John 8:24), repented of our selfish and sinful ways (Acts 3:19), confessed Christ as our Lord (Romans 10:9-10), and were baptized in water for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 2:38). As a result, we were cleansed from the guilt of our sins, and we continue to be cleansed by Christ’s blood as we continue to follow Him (1 John 1:6-9). As a congregation of the Lord’s people, we strive to “encourage one another to love and good works...” (Hebrews 10:24-25). Our fellowship in this church is not contingent upon total agreement on every Bible question, but rather on our willingness to submit to the Bible’s teaching as we come to understand it. In this growth process, we recognize that there will be differences in interpretation and understanding, because of human weakness and different levels of spiritual maturity. However, we are committed to an ongoing effort to attain a complete unity of understanding and practice. Therefore, to respect the consciences of all, we as a group only engage in activities which we can agree are consistent with the Bible’s teaching. This does not limit our individual freedom to serve God in other ways, but serves as a means for the unity of this assembly (Romans 14:1-8; Ephesians 4:1-6). We do not claim to be perfect, nor do we pretend to have all the answers; but we do believe that  God’s word has the answers. It is our aim to glorify God by exalting Christ in our lives and by teaching others as we humbly try to serve Him. Since Christ “is head over all things to the church” (Ephesians 1:22-23), He rules over every aspect of our lives. Because He is our only Head, Lord, and King, we seek to exalt Him by wearing only His name, preaching only His word, following only His teaching, doing only that which He authorizes, and making Him the center of our affection and adoration. Since Jesus said the “seed is the word of the kingdom” (Luke 8:11) and since one of God’s immutable laws is that seed always reproduces after its own kind (Genesis 1:11-12), we are convinced that simple, pure New Testament Christianity can be restored and practiced in our own day and age. If we plant the same “seed” that was planted by Jesus and the apostles, following the New Testament alone, we can reproduce the same simple New Testament Christianity we read about in scripture. Since the Bible is God’s inspired word (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and it provides all things that pertain  to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), we accept the Bible as our only standard and try to follow it as our guide in everything. We place great importance on Bible study. Our’s is an environment in which you and your family can truly learn and grow. Since God condemns any alteration of His word (Galatians 1:6-9; 2 John 9-11), it is our sincere aim to teach what the Bible teaches, and not to go beyond that with doctrines of our own (1 Corinthians 4:6). Our stated purpose is to magnify God by edifying and equipping ourselves for discipleship and evangelism through worship and Bible study. We are convinced that we can be free from the problems of sin, self, ignorance, and error only when we live under the authority of Jesus’ word, which is comprised of the New Testament scriptures (Colossians 3:16). Since Jesus condemned division (1 Corinthians 1:10-13) and every church in New Testament times was independent and autonomous [self-governing], we are not a part of any man-made denomination. We intend to have no denominational name, creed, headquarters, or oversight. We are completely independent of other churches, but we desire a unity of faith with all those everywhere who “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7).  Since Jesus’ mission while on earth was to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10), that is our primary mission as a congregation belonging to Jesus Christ. We are convinced that the church’s purpose is to help people get to heaven rather than to provide for their social and recreational needs. We believe in the power of the gospel to draw men to Christ (Romans 1:16-17), and we appeal to lost souls with nothing other than God’s word.
Jesus said that God is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24). Our goal is to model our worship after the New Testament pattern. In our worship assemblies, we pray to God (Acts 12:5), sing praise (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16), listen to sermons from God’s word (Acts 20:7), remember Christ’s death by eating the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week (1 Corinthians 11:24-26), and contribute a portion of our material prosperity to support the Lord’s work (1 Corinthians 16:1-2). However, you should rest assured that we never solicit money from visitors! In all things we try to maintain the proper reverence and decorum appropriate to honoring God. If your goals and interests are the same as ours, we hope you will become more than just a guest. Come worship with us!
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| | Daily Bible Message Comments | |
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By Nathan Williams on Wednesday, February 25, 2009
 As we continue thinking about the CONFIDENCE we have in our salvation, we realize the confidence comes from the power of God. Most of those who lack this confidence are trusting entirely in themselves and their own obedience. I could pull a bunch of Scriptures out of context and claim my salvation is dependent only upon my faith...but the end of that argument says I must be perfect. Indeed, I must be perfect as Christ said I should be (Matthew 5:48), but it's not going to be by my own doing.
But then my salvation IS dependent upon my obedience to Him. I must be trusting and trying to obey as best I can. I hate it when I mess up. I am genuinely sorry for my si
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| By Nathan Williams on Tuesday, February 24, 2009
 You can have confidence in Christ. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You can KNOW you are in a right relationship with Him. DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE IN CHRIST? Take some time to read through 1 John today, if you can. It seems, after reading 1 John, there is not much of an excuse for a Christian to say, "I don't know if I'm saved or not." John's main message to Christians is you KNOW these things!
1. You know Christ if you keep His commandments. If we walk in the light as He is in the light, the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7).
1 John
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| By Nathan Williams on Thursday, February 12, 2009
 1 Peter 1:1-2
To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
Those who are Christians have been chosen (1) according to the foreknowledge of God, and (2) by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. Today, let us consider a third point in this verse: We are chosen to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood.
&l
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| By Nathan Williams on Wednesday, February 11, 2009
 1 Peter 1:1-2
To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughtout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
Yesterday we discussed being "chosen according to the foreknowledge of God." Today, let's look at the second statement which partains to God's choosing us: "chosen...by the sanctifying work of the Spirit." We are chosen by the sanc
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| By Nathan Williams on Tuesday, February 10, 2009
 The fact that we are chosen by God to be Christians is a completely legitimate and true teaching in Scripture. There are many verses which teach this. However, this teaching has been taken out of context and twisted. Let's examine 1 Peter 1:1-2 for a moment:
To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughtout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
We are c
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| By Nathan Williams on Friday, February 06, 2009
 A Christian is an ALIEN, a foreigner in a country to which he doesn't fully belong. Peter wrote his first letter to "those who reside as aliens" in Asia Minor (1 Peter 1:1). He also said, "Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul." (1 Peter 2:11). We are strangers in this world. We don't fit; we don't belong. Those 'round about us are entrenched in evil and sin. The world is "surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you" (1 Peter 4:4). A Christian is not comfortable in this land be
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| By Nathan Williams on Tuesday, February 03, 2009
 It's difficult to forget the past. In fact, at one level it's impossible. There are things in my past I would love to forget, but they are still back there in the recesses of my memory bank. They come up from time to time to haunt me. There are also things I love to remember about my past, things I hope to remember forever. But there is a principle in the New Testament which tells us to Forget the Past by putting the past behind us. Paul puts it this way in Philippians 3:13-14: "Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on to
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| By Nathan Williams on Monday, February 02, 2009
 Last night my brother, Joel, spoke on his work for the Lord in South Africa. I was asked to make the closing remarks, and I mentioned that I was proud of him and the work he's doing. After we closed our service I felt bad that I had not focused on praising Jesus Christ in my closing remarks. After all, He is the focus of our lives, CERTAINLY the focus of our worship! So I was wondering if my focus was off last night. Did I praise a MAN in place of praising my LORD?
But then I was reading in Philippians this morning, and I ran across this passage:
Philippians 2:25-30
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| By Nathan Williams on Friday, January 30, 2009
 Paul's letter to the Philippians has a lot to say about the mind and attitude of a Christian. In Philippians 1:27 he wrote, "Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel." In chapter 2, Paul continued this theme: "Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose" (
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| By Nathan Williams on Wednesday, January 28, 2009
 What do you want on your tombstone? If you were to write, in a short sentence, what folks would read every time they pass your grave, what would it be? Maybe it would be something simple like, "A good woman." It might be a catchy jingle, a simple poem, or a Scripture.
Take a moment to really think about what kind of message you want to proclaim at your death.
I think Paul gave us a hint at what he wanted for an epitaph in Philippians 1:19-20: "I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that
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