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What Is the Greatest Need in the Church Today
Alan Cairns

Alan G. Cairns (1940–2020). Born on August 12, 1940, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Alan Cairns was a Northern Irish pastor, author, and radio Bible teacher who dedicated his life to the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster. Joining the denomination as a teenager, he became a close associate of Ian Paisley and was called to ministry, pastoring churches in Dunmurry and Ballymoney, County Antrim. In 1973, he launched “Let the Bible Speak,” a radio ministry that, by 2020, reached the UK, Ireland, North America, India, Africa, Nepal, Iran, and Afghanistan. In 1980, he moved to the United States to pastor Faith Free Presbyterian Church in Greenville, South Carolina, serving for 25 years until retiring as Pastor Emeritus in 2007. Cairns founded Geneva Reformed Seminary in Greenville and previously taught theology at Whitefield College of the Bible in Northern Ireland. Known for his Christ-centered expository preaching, he authored a bestselling Dictionary of Theological Terms and recorded thousands of sermons, notably on the Apostle Paul and the life of Christ, available on SermonAudio, where he was the platform’s first preacher. Married to Joan, with a son, Frank, he returned to Northern Ireland in retirement and died on November 5, 2020, in Coleraine after an illness. Cairns said, “The Bible is God’s infallible Word, and its truth must be proclaimed without compromise.”
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The greatest need of the Church today is to truly understand, believe, and live by the Gospel of Jesus Christ as revealed in Scripture. This involves taking the Gospel seriously, not conforming it to modern culture but confronting culture with the unedited truth of the Gospel. Emphasizing the importance of grasping the biblical doctrine of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone as a motivating force in personal and corporate church life. Additionally, there is a crucial need for the church to prioritize and practice fervent, scriptural prayer as commanded in the Bible.
Sermon Transcription
The greatest need of the Church today is what it has always been. Times change, but men don't. The greatest need of the Church today is to know Christ as he's revealed in the Gospel, to know that Gospel, believe that Gospel, and live according to that Gospel. Now that's simple. In words, it has a profound effect upon life. What I'm saying is that the need of the Church of Jesus Christ is to take seriously the Gospel we pretend or profess to believe. And I'm not saying all profession is a pretense. Some people only pretend to believe it. Some people profess to believe it with truth. You know where you come in there. But we've got to take the Gospel that we pretend or profess to believe, take it seriously, take it according to its own terms as revealed in the Scripture, live by it, and proclaim it. There are too many churches and too many Christians who are wanting to cut away at the Gospel, edit the Gospel to bring it into line with modern so-called culture, whereas what they ought to be doing is be willing to confront the culture, the people of today, in the lifestyle they're living, with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us know the Gospel. Let us apply the Gospel. Particularly, I would say it's very, very important that we would get back to where our reforming forefathers were and grasp the full import of the biblical doctrine of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. If we understand that, and that becomes the motivating power of our lives, it would make a world of difference personally and also to the corporate life of the church. So broadly, I would say, get back to the Gospel. In some specific terms, one great need of the church is to learn the biblical art of prayer. That which the Bible speaks about constantly, it commands it, it calls for it, attaches great promises to it, we all pay lip service to it, and yet, how few churches really give themselves to prayer. How few churches really have a prayer meeting where the church, as in Acts 12, meets to pray. These are the needs. Now, if these needs are met, that will mean that we have a church that's once again unashamed to be separated from the world and separated unto Christ. Ultimately, that is the great need of the church.
What Is the Greatest Need in the Church Today
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Alan G. Cairns (1940–2020). Born on August 12, 1940, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Alan Cairns was a Northern Irish pastor, author, and radio Bible teacher who dedicated his life to the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster. Joining the denomination as a teenager, he became a close associate of Ian Paisley and was called to ministry, pastoring churches in Dunmurry and Ballymoney, County Antrim. In 1973, he launched “Let the Bible Speak,” a radio ministry that, by 2020, reached the UK, Ireland, North America, India, Africa, Nepal, Iran, and Afghanistan. In 1980, he moved to the United States to pastor Faith Free Presbyterian Church in Greenville, South Carolina, serving for 25 years until retiring as Pastor Emeritus in 2007. Cairns founded Geneva Reformed Seminary in Greenville and previously taught theology at Whitefield College of the Bible in Northern Ireland. Known for his Christ-centered expository preaching, he authored a bestselling Dictionary of Theological Terms and recorded thousands of sermons, notably on the Apostle Paul and the life of Christ, available on SermonAudio, where he was the platform’s first preacher. Married to Joan, with a son, Frank, he returned to Northern Ireland in retirement and died on November 5, 2020, in Coleraine after an illness. Cairns said, “The Bible is God’s infallible Word, and its truth must be proclaimed without compromise.”