From J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com  Sat Mar  1 05:00:04 2008
From: J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com (J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com)
Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2008 06:00:04 EST
Subject: [Biblemat] A) GOD HAS SPOKEN
Message-ID: <cc7.2960c8f0.34fa9134@wmconnect.com>

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  A very good Saturday
morning to each and everyone.  May God bless you and yours.
Here is an article from my recent files:

GOD HAS SPOKEN

     Humanism is a materialistic philosophy that makes man-
kind the product of evolution and fortunate to be sitting at the top of an 
evolutionary pyramid.  It denies the existence
of God and takes away any divine purpose for life and any
hope of life beyond this fleshly existence.  It removes the 
ancient landmarks of morality and ethics and accepts free sexual expression 
and situational ethics.  If one "marches to
a different drummer," is simply means that he was born that
way; and, therefore, he is not to blame for his aberrant behav-
ior.  All of life focuses on human existence, achievement, and
harmony with his environment; for he is his own and only re-
deemer or savior.  According to humanism, mankind is free to
make his own rules, change them to suit his current situation
and see physical and mental gratification in whatever he choo-
ses.  Physical death is the end of all and is therefore the most
formidable event, ending one's existence.

     Theism is belief in God.  In the minds and lives of Christ-
ians, it takes a certain and defined form.  The true and living
God is the source of all life, the Creator of humanity as well
as all other things, both living and dead.  His identity is known because He 
has revealed Himself and His purpose
through the Holy Scriptures.  Evidences such as the things
created, His prophetic utterances, His divine standard of right
and wrong, His revelation of mankind's spiritual and physical
nature, His miraculous confirmation of His truth, and the right-
eousness and harmony of the Scriptures all give assurance
that He is, and Who He is.  Furthermore, the human race is
given purpose and the offer of a hope that  transcends physi-
cal life and the limits of time.  In addition, the restraint of div-
ine law gives discipline to prepare each individual for a time
of reckoning, a day of judgment which holds each person acc-
ountable to a Higher Power for his conduct, based individual-
ly on one's own efforts in response to his Creator.

     Which of these two opposing beliefs do you accept and
live by?  Can you give an answer to those who ask concern-
ing your belief?  We must choose, for we cannot serve both
God and material things (Matt. 6:24).  ----- Gilbert Alexander.   </HTML>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080301/acf14885/attachment-0001.html 

From J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com  Sat Mar  1 05:00:16 2008
From: J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com (J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com)
Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2008 06:00:16 EST
Subject: [Biblemat] S) CHRISTIANITY, THE RELIGION OF PROGRESS  (1)
Message-ID: <d18.22bbefd0.34fa9140@wmconnect.com>

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  Here is a study from my
ancient files.  Use to the glory of God.

CHRISTIANITY, THE RELIGION OF PROGRESS  (1)

     "But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the
things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto
the furtherance of the gospel..." (Phil. 1:12).

     Christianity is the religion of progress.  It moves forward.
It cannot, in the very nature of things, travel in any direction
other than straight ahead.

     The word "furtherance" means "a striking forward, advance."

     It suggests "pioneers cutting a way before an army, and so furthering 
its march."

     The word translated "profiting" in 1 Tim. 4:15 suggests
advance or progress.  The RSV of the New Testament captur-
es more of the flavor and vigor of this word translated further-
ance than the old KJV version.  Its rendition of Phil. 1:12 is: "I
want you to know brethren, tht what has happened unto me
has really served to advance the gospel..."

     Paul was a man who was completely dedicated to one 
cause -- the progress of the gospel, the advance of the cause
of Christ, the growth of Christians in the faith, the enlarging
of the borders of the kingdom of God.

The Progress Of Christianity: -- The progress of Christianity
is one of the more convincing evidences of its divinity.

     What is the story of Christianity?  A penniless carpenter
of Nazareth, without formal education and devoid of political
influence, gathered about him twelve weak and ignorant men,
preached a revolutionary and unpopular gospel, and so arous-
ed the political leaders of His day that He was put to death as
a common criminal.  A short time later these twelve men, transformed into 
Gibraltars of strength, began preaching the
gospel of a resurrected Lord, announcing that the kingdom of
God had been established and that salvation was now avail-
able to all men who would exercise the obedient faith requis-
ite to accepting it.  These twelve men, assisted by those con-
verted by their teaching, preached the gospel to the whole
creation within the space of a few years, and so stirred the
political leaders that they were referred to by them as those
who had "turned the world upside down."

     In spite of the corruption of Romanism and the perversio-
ns of sectarianism, the cause of pure Christianity today is growing more 
rapidly than at any time since the first century.
At long last, the Lord's church is reaching out and again obey-
ing the great commission by preaching the gospel to all nat-
ions.

     How do you account for the remarkable progress of Christ-
ianity in spite of all the hinderances and stumbling blocks that have been 
thrown in its path?

     The answer is, of course, that Christianity is of God -- lives, moves, 
breathes and marches forward by the power of
the living God.  But that is an abstract answer.  Let us seek
to identify the mileposts of progress in the advance of this
mighty spiritual army.

Christianity Looks Ahead!: -- 1. Christianity Is A Forward Look-
ing Religion: -- "And Jesus said unto him, No, man,  having
put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the king-
dom of God" (Lk. 9:62).

     Christianity looks ahead.  It does not ignore the past, but
it refuses to be weighed down by the troubles, hardships and
failures of the past.  Christianity adequately takes care of the
past by washing away the sins of those who are faithful to it
in the blood of the Lamb of God.  It looks back only in the
sense that it looks back to the cross of Christ, and to the 
covenant of Christ sealed by the blood of the cross.  And that
covenant, the New Testament, is both perfect and permanent.
It possesses the wisdom and power to direct the vision of 
Christians to the future.

     Christianity does not ignore the present, but it declines to
allow the problems of the day to stalemate it, and cause it to
slacken its efforts or dissipate its resources.  It takes care of
the present by injecting into the everyday lives of its devot-
ees the problem-solving teachings of Christ.

     Christ and His apostles were constantly appealing to men
to look ahead, and to elevate their forward looks upward.

Christianity Moves Ahead!: -- 2. Christianity Is A Forward Mov-
ing Religion: -- "And He said unto them, Go ye into all the
world, and preach the gospel to every creature..." (Mk.  16:
15).

     Christianity not only looks forward, it move forward.  It
looks where it is going and goes where it is looking.  The 
marching orders of the Captain of the mighty host of spiritual
Israel are always "Go...preach...baptize...teach."  Forward
march, attack the forces of evil, vanquish the foe, march on
and on and on to conquest and victory!

     There is one word that you will never find in the vocabula-
ry of Christianity's matchless leader, Jesus Christ, and that
is the word "retreat."  Christ never orders the soldiers of the
cross to turn back.  It is significant that the armor of the
Christian soldier, described so dramatically by Paul in the 6th
chapter of Ephesians, made no provision for the back.  There
is a good reason fro this omission.  The Christian never turns
his back to the enemy.

     In the long, long ago, God said to Moses, "Speak to My
people, that they go forward."  The Son of God calls upon
spiritual Israel to march forward today.  The word from Jesus
is always, "Advance!"

     Christianity never retreats.  It does not temporize with evil
or compromise with error.  It never makes a truce with its 
adversary.  Christ will never negotiate with Satan, nor will His
generals ever sign a peace treaty with humanity's arch foe.

     That is one reason that the Lord's church is entitled to the
undivided support of the Christian.  It is the only institution on earth that 
always espouses the right, always fights on the
side of justice, always holds the banner of truth.  Human 
institutions hold to some of the truth, but they also endorse
and practice much that is error.  They do much good, but they also do a great 
deal of harm, and the harm they do nullif-
ies the good.

     The church of the Lord Jesus Christ, with God as the 
object of its worship, Christ as its supreme Ruler, the Bible as
its only guidebook, the New Testament as its exclusive autho-
rity in matters spiritual -- the church battles militantly for all
tht is right and against all that is wrong.

     It does not, let it be repeated, temporize with evil.  It does
not choose "the lesser of two evils", or does evil that good
may come.

     What are some things that will help us in the furtherance
of the gospel?  (These will be posted Monday, the Lord will-
ing, JWS).   </HTML>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080301/fdd4ca85/attachment-0001.html 

From harperwest at yahoo.com  Sat Mar  1 12:51:32 2008
From: harperwest at yahoo.com (Steven C. Harper)
Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2008 11:51:32 -0700
Subject: [Biblemat] A> Proverbs for the Church
Message-ID: <000601c87bcd$4501d800$6501a8c0@Steven>

From: TRUTH & REASON, a bulletin of the Glendale church of Christ, Glendale, AZ. 
Editor: Steven Harper 
March 2, 2008
Proverbs for the Church

 

     There is no better book for direct application to the believer's life than the book of Proverbs. It is a book that teaches us about life. There are proverbs contrasting the foolish and the wise, the rich and the poor, the righteous and the wicked, and many more contrasts - along with some very simple but profound sayings. Those proverbs are still just as applicable today as they were when first written, and there are a few I would like us to consider in today's article that have particular application to the church and its members.

    "He who is slothful in his work is a brother to him who is a great destroyer" (Prov. 18:9). In the Lord's church, there is simply no room for laziness, but how much more work would be accomplished if we could simply get all members involved in the work we strive to do! Often, it is a struggle just to get all the members to show up for worship and even more of a struggle to get them to come to Bible classes set up for their own spiritual growth and edification; sadly, it is nearly impossible to get some to take part in the work that must be done.

    And it is not that these same people are remiss in their secular jobs; many, in fact are hard workers who give a lot of their time for their secular jobs and the things of a material, rather than spiritual, nature. It is not that these members are all-around lazy - just lazy in regard to spiritual matters and the work of the local church. It amazes me sometimes how we can find time for so many unimportant things and find no time for the eternal.

    The proverb previously cited is certainly applicable in such cases! One who can never find time to participate in or even support the work done in the local church will soon be part of a church that is falling apart, breaking down, and soon destroyed. Lazy members will destroy a church just as certainly as a false teacher and troublemaker in the church. Oh, it may take a little longer than if someone came in and just wreaked havoc on the church, but it will just as surely be destroyed.

    The cure for laziness is, of course, diligence. But diligence will only come when we realize the importance of the work we should be doing as the Lord's church in this particular location; it will come only when we realize we all should be doing our part (cf. Eph. 4:16); and it will only come when we realize that we will one day have to give an account for the deeds done in the body (2nd Cor. 5:10). Will you be one who contributes to this church's strength and growth, or a reason it is destroyed?

    "The beginning of strife is like releasing water; therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts" (Prov. 17:14). A more expeditious means of destroying a church than laziness is to allow strife to begin, or if it has begun, to allow it to continue. Laziness may destroy a church over a period of years or even decades, but strife can destroy a church in a matter of mere weeks or months. Once even the smallest of disputes is begun and, if left alone, is allowed to grow and be a source of divisiveness and contention, either the contentious ones end up leaving, the dispute is settled, or the church is destroyed.

    The wise writer urges us to stop contention before it starts because it is the best time to stop a quarrel. According to his illustration, once a quarrel is begun, stopping it is like trying to catch water and put it back after the floodgates have been opened. Too often, though, small differences are allowed to grow into serious disputes and then contentions and then outright divisiveness and it is not long before the whole church is affected. Lines will be drawn and sides will be chosen, and fleshly passions will be aroused to the point some members will act in the most ungodly manner towards those they are supposed to love like brothers.

    Effective elders and caring members will see these problems long before they become quarrels and they will seek to resolve them before the quarrel starts, knowing the destructive consequences if left alone. Churches without elders, with ineffective elders, or with apathetic members will simply allow these things to fester until there is an all-out uncivil war between the members and the church is destroyed. Listen well to the words of the inspired wise writer when he tells us, "It is honorable for a man to stop striving, since any fool can start a quarrel" (Prov. 20:3). Strife is a church-killer.

    "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins" (Prov. 10:12). In direct contrast to the hatefulness that causes contentions is the love that brethren should have for one another and which brings peace. Even in situations such as those where there are differences and disputes, it need not turn into quarrels - if both sides have the proper love for one another. Hatred will be the source of increased contentions and animosity, but love seeks the good of others and a peaceful resolution - even if one side or the other [or each] has to make sacrifices.

    Note that the wise writer is not saying love 'covers up' the sin [as in pretending it didn't happen or making sure no one else finds out about it], but he speaks of the willingness to forgive and not hold grudges when a wrong is suffered. Love gives the other the benefit of the doubt and believes it was an honest error and seeks reconciliation. It is not the now-common practice of forgiving when the sinner is unrepentant, but having a willingness to forgive that they might continue their brotherly relationship. In the local church, those who are unwilling to forgive or forget will cause the church to stagnate because they will refuse to move on unless they feel like they have had their 'justice' [which is really revenge]. The one who loves his brother will forgive as God forgave him (Eph. 4:32) and remembers he could be in need of forgiveness some day. Churches who have members who willingly and sincerely love one another will not be perfect - but they will work together in harmony and will be ready to forgive when necessary that the work may continue and souls may be saved.

    "Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed" (Prov. 27:5). Especially in the local church, love must be manifested and demonstrated consistently for it to be an effective part of the church's operation. When members - and especially the leaders - hold back from exercising discipline or rebuke for fear of 'offending' or for fear of appearing 'unloving,' the church will soon be in serious spiritual trouble! As the wise writer says, it is better to openly rebuke one who needs it than to secretly 'love' them by doing nothing. Too many brethren have fallen for the worldly way of thinking that says love means never correcting someone in error, when we should be proving and demonstrating our love for them by rebuking them when they need rebuking.

    When the church withholds discipline and/or rebuke for fear of appearing 'unloving,' we will soon have a church full of sinners and ungodly people who indulge in whatever fleshly desires they wish because they know no one will say anything. Many churches across this country are already there for that very reason! The word 'sin' is not even used anymore except maybe when they speak about why Christ died, and it is never applied to anyone who happens to be in the audience; it's as if Jesus died for someone's sins, but not mine!

    Rebuke is never a easy thing to do, but it is absolutely necessary in the Lord's church if we want it to be the church Christ meant it to be (Eph. 5:27). Rebuke should be a regular part of the teaching and preaching that is done in the church (2nd Tim. 4:2), and it must be done by using the inspired word of God (2nd Tim. 3:16).

    A diligent, caring, loving, and disciplined church will do much good and will lead many to salvation.    -- Steven Harper
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080301/4311f263/attachment.html 

From GLClair at aol.com  Sat Mar  1 19:17:22 2008
From: GLClair at aol.com (GLClair at aol.com)
Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2008 20:17:22 EST
Subject: [Biblemat] HILLIARD BULLETIN for March 2008
Message-ID: <d5b.1fdd28b6.34fb5a22@aol.com>

 
 
HILLIARD  BULLETIN 
Published by the church of Christ 
P.O. Box 96 ? 4840  Cemetery Road 
Hilliard, Ohio  43026 
Phone: (614) 876-408 

ELDERS: 
Owen Gary Brewer ? (614)  832-2569 
John Buchanan ? (614)  893-3277 

Preacher and Editor: Garreth L.  Clair 
Phone: (614) 850-7252 

=========================================================================== 
Volume 10                                            Number 3                 
                           March  2008 
============================================================================ 



ALLIANCE 
The word that heads this article is a  word that means: 
1  a: the state of being  allied: the action of allying   
B: a bond or connection between  families, states, parties, or individuals <a 
closer alliance between  government and industry 
2: an  association to further the common interests of the members;  
specifically:   
A confederation of nations by  treaty 
3: union by relationship in  qualities 
An alliance between people from all walks of life for a common  cause {i.e. 
common good} is exactly what the church of Christ is to mankind today. The 
church of Christ as designed and built by Jesus  Christ is an alliance of 
different people joined together with Christ in a  beneficial effort for everyone. 
That relationship {i.e. alliance] is the church of Christ with its Head, 
Jesus  Christ; 
Colossians  1:12-22, ?12 giving thanks unto the Father, who made  us meet to 
be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in  light; 
13 who delivered  us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the 
kingdom of the Son  of his love; 
14 in whom we have  our redemption, the forgiveness of our  sins: 
15 who is the  image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all  creation; 
16 for in him were  all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, 
things visible and things  invisible, whether thrones or dominions or 
principalities or powers; all things  have been created through him, and unto  him; 
17 and he is  before all things, and in him all things  consist. 
18 And he is the  head of the body, the church: who   
is the beginning,  the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might 
have the  preeminence. 
19 For it was the  good pleasure (of the Father) that in him should all the 
fullness  dwell; 
20 and through him  to reconcile all things unto himself, having made peace 
through the blood of his  cross; through him, (I say), whether things upon the 
earth, or things in the  heavens. 
21 And you, being  in time past alienated and enemies in your mind in your 
evil  works, 
22 yet now hath he  reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to 
present you holy and  without blemish and unreproveable before  him:? 
This concept is seen whenever we put the Divine Plan on  display: 
CONSIDER THIS: 
1.      Man without God?s  assistance is lost and has no hope of ever being 
any  better; 
Jeremiah 10:23, ?O Jehovah, I know that the way of man  is not in himself: it 
is not in man that walks to direct his steps.?  ASV 
2.      God has made provisions  for man to escape the shackles of sin that 
keeps him confined to the beggarly  elements of this world; 
Romans 3:22-26, ?22 even the righteousness of God  through faith in Jesus 
Christ unto all them that believe; for there is no  distinction; 23 for all have 
sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; 24  being justified freely by his 
grace through the redemption that is in Christ  Jesus: 25 whom God set forth 
(to be) a propitiation, through faith, in his  blood, to show his righteousness 
because of the passing over of the sins done  aforetime, in the forbearance 
of God; 26 for the showing, (I say), of his  righteousness at this present 
season: that he might himself be just, and the  justifier of him that hath faith 
in  Jesus.? 
3.      God has provided a  relationship through which everyone who will 
might come into a fellowship with  HIM and with all others who choose to so align 
themselves in this alliance ---  this alliance is called the church of Christ. 
  
Ephesians  2:11-14, ?11 Wherefore remember, that once ye, the  Gentiles in 
the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called  Circumcision, 
in the flesh, made by hands; 12 that ye were at that time separate  from 
Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the  
covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But  now in 
Christ Jesus ye that once were far off are made nigh in the blood of  Christ. 
14 For he is our peace, who made both one, and brake down the middle  wall of 
partition,? ASV 
4.      This great alliance is the church of Christ that came into existence 
as a  result of Christ?s efforts while He was here in the world. For we know 
that He  promised to build his church according to; 
Matthew 16:17-18, ?17 And Jesus answered and said unto him,  blessed art 
thou, Simon Bar-Jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto  thee, but my 
Father who is in heaven. 
18 And I also say  unto thee, that thou art Peter,  
and upon this rock  I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not 
prevail against  it.? 
5.      We know that Jesus successfully established the  church because we 
notice in Acts 2  that the saved were being added to it  daily: 
Acts 2:47, ?praising God, and having favor with  all the people. And the Lord 
added to them day by day those that were saved.?  ASV 
6.      The ultimate hope of those that volunteer to become a  part of the 
church  of Christ seek a home  beyond this present existence, they desire a 
better and eternal dwelling  place. 
Acts 26:6-8, ?6 And now I stand (here) to be judged  for the hope of the 
promise made of God unto our fathers; 7 unto which (promise)  our twelve tribes, 
earnestly serving (God) night and day, hope to attain. And  concerning this 
hope I am accused by the Jews, O king! 8 Why is it judged  incredible with you, 
if God doth raise the dead??  ASV 
Romans 8:24-25, ?24 for in hope were we saved: but  hope that is seen is not 
hope: for who hopeth for that which he seeth? 25 but if  we hope for that 
which we see not, (then) do we with patience wait for it.?  ASV 
7.      Indeed, we today who hope for that eternal home in  Heaven are 
imitators of  
those discussed in  the Book of  
Hebrews, chapter  11. We to, seek a better country, an eternal blessedness 
with  God. 
Hebrews 11:12-16, ?12 wherefore also there sprang of one,  and him as good as 
dead, (so many) as the stars of heaven in multitude, and as  the sand, which 
is by the sea-shore, innumerable. 13 These all died in faith, not  
having received  the promises, but having seen  
them and greeted them from afar, and  having confessed that they were 
strangers and pilgrims on the  earth. 14 For they that say such things make it  
manifest that they are seeking after a country of their own. 15 And if indeed they 
had been mindful of  that (country) from which they went out, they would have 
had opportunity to  return. 16 But now they desire a  better (country), that 
is, a heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed of them, to  be called their God; 
for he hath prepared for them a city.? ASV 
CONCLUSION: 
Everyone can be a part of the church of  Christ if they will come to the 
Lord, Jesus Christ on His terms; Hebrews  5:8-9, ?8 though he was a Son, yet 
learned obedience by the things which  he suffered; 9 and having been made perfect, 
he became unto all them that  obey him the author of eternal salvation;? 

GOSPEL MEETING ? March 23-28 

===================================== 

When in the Columbus, Ohio area visit us for one or  more of the scheduled 
meetings. Visitors are always  welcome. 

SUNDAY: 
9:30 AM for Bible study ? all age  groups 
10:30 AM worship 
6:00 PM worship 

WEDNESDAY: 
Bible study for all ages ? 7:30  PM 

Home Bible study any  time: 
Contact: Garreth Clair at (614) 850-7252   
Email:  _glclair at aol.com_ (mailto:glclair at aol.com)  






**************Ideas to please picky eaters. Watch video on AOL Living.      
(http://living.aol.com/video/how-to-please-your-picky-eater/rachel-campos-duffy/
2050827?NCID=aolcmp00300000002598)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080301/9c0e7b8a/attachment-0001.html 

From mikeal1 at comcast.net  Sat Mar  1 19:46:42 2008
From: mikeal1 at comcast.net (Mike Hughes)
Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2008 19:46:42 -0600
Subject: [Biblemat] New Message Threads on the Bible Matters Forum
Message-ID: <369D6C84-A88F-468E-A7B4-192549768883@comcast.net>

In order to try and get a little more usage out of the new forum  
located at www.network54/forum/602460
I have added the following threads:
Neo - Institutionalism - For discussion of whether a business has the  
right to set up a Gospel Meeting / Lectureship apart from the church.
MDR Discussions - Many have wanted to have discussion concerning all  
facets of Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage. So here is a place for  
that discussion.
Podcasting - We here in Wilmington have two Podcasts going each week.  
One for Bible Questions and Answers and one about once a month for  
sermons. Learn more about Podcasting and ask questions about setting  
up one in your area.
Sermon Ideas - Need help with a Sermon Series or a single lesson you  
are working on. Come to this thread and let others hear about your idea.
I believe a forum site like this can be a big help. Please use it to  
the glory of God. You can also, once you get an account with Network54  
and become apart of the group, can add threads as well.


Mike  Hughes - Minister
Wilmington church of Christ

--

P.O. Box 278
303 N. 1st Street
Wilmington, IL 60481
Web: www.mikealrhughes.com   E-mail: mail at mikealrhughes.com
Mobile: (815) 560-3200                       AIM/iChat ID: im2macmike
Office/Fax: (815) 476-0634                 Wilmington, IL
Podcasts - The Bible Says       				Wilmington Sermons
Owner Bible Matters List					Bible Matters Forum
New forum address - http://www.network54.com/Forum/602460
Join Bible Matters Group for forum at - http://www.network54.com/Group/158452

To get out of difficulty, one must usually go through it! God never  
gives you more than you can bear - so bear it willingly and you will  
rejoice in your rewards!

The contents of this email are personal and private.  Please do not  
forward this communication, in whole or in part, to anyone without my  
express consent.





-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080301/6ff068dc/attachment.html 

From disciple_of_iesus at hotmail.com  Sat Mar  1 23:40:25 2008
From: disciple_of_iesus at hotmail.com (Ethan R. Longhenry)
Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2008 00:40:25 -0500
Subject: [Biblemat] A:> "The Final Inquiry": A Review
Message-ID: <BAY132-DAV16C4B747D11765EEEC0F88B2160@phx.gbl>

Greetings, everyone.

Perhaps you heard about the new movie released on DVD last week entitled 
"The Final Inquiry."  Below is my review of this movie; it is also available 
online at deusvitae.com/faith/responses/inquiry.html

Use it to the glory of God.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

"The Final Inquiry": A Review
Ethan R. Longhenry
Perhaps one of the boldest claims for the legitimacy of Christianity in the 
ancient Roman world came from Tertullian, an elder of the church in Carthage 
around 200 CE. In his Apology he wrote the following:

  Tiberius accordingly, in whose days the Christian name made its entry into 
the world, having himself received intelligence from Palestine of events 
which had clearly shown the truth of Christ's divinity, brought the matter 
before the senate, with his own decision in favour of Christ. The senate, 
because it had not given the approval itself, rejected his proposal. Caesar 
held to his opinion, threatening wrath against all accusers of the 
Christians (Tertullian, Apology, 5).
Tertullian's appeal to Tiberius and his supposed profession of faith has 
caused great controversy ever since. There is no other historical evidence 
that corroborates Tertullian's claim, and knowing the view of Tiberius held 
by Roman historians like Tacitus, surely someone would have jumped upon such 
a thing and made a show of it. It would seem entirely against everything we 
know about Tiberius and his character. On the other hand, the very boldness 
of the claim is quite startling; after all, it would only take a trip to the 
senatorial records in Rome to verify or falsify this claim. What is to be 
believed about this witness of Tertullian?

It would seem that this claim represents the foundation of a movie recently 
released by "FoxFaith", a division of the Fox Corporation, entitled The 
Final Inquiry. The movie begins with the events surrounding the death of 
Jesus on the cross-- the sun turning to darkness (Matthew 27:45) and the 
earthquake that occurred after His death (Matthew 27:51). These events are 
imagined to impact the whole world-- Capri and Germany are covered in 
darkness and shaken as well as Jerusalem. The Roman emperor of the day, 
Tiberius, is not satisfied with the explanations given to him, and he calls 
forth one of his legion commanders in Germany, Titus Valerius Tauros, to 
investigate the events and the claims surrounding Jesus of Nazareth.

Tauros travels to Judea with his German prisoner-companion Brixos who does 
quite well at wielding an axe. Tauros goes around, speaking with various 
people, and ends up falling in love with a young Jewish girl named Tabitha, 
a daughter of a Pharisee who believes in Jesus. Her grave injuries and death 
compel Tauros to seek after Simon Peter in Galilee, who comes down and 
revives her. Tauros sends word back to Tiberius validating the claims 
regarding Jesus of Nazareth, and himself renounces everything to become a 
Christian. Meanwhile, Tiberius receives and believes the report, and leaves 
Capri for Rome to deliver a message to the Senate, proclaiming Christianity 
not just as a legitimate religion but also as the state religion. Tiberius' 
nephew Gaius is present and hears of this, and fearing that he will not gain 
the honors of the emperor as given before, suffocates his uncle so that the 
decree will never be made and becomes emperor himself (also known as 
Caligula).

While some of the dialogue scenes in the movie seem overly scripted and 
mechanistic, the movie overall is made quite well. The movie is quite 
parallel to The Passion of the Christ, and it in fact employs many of the 
same actors (it would seem that both Pilate and Mary are played by the same 
people in both). While the story is engaging, and runs with Tertullian's 
claim, the movie does present many serious disagreements with both the 
Scriptures and history.

  1.. Pilate and the chief priests. The movie would make it seem as if 
Pilate was in league with the chief priests in their attempts to eliminate 
Christianity. While there is no evidence to the contrary, there is also no 
evidence in support of this claim.

  2.. Contrary claims regarding Jesus' death. The movie indicates that the 
chief priests were teaching that neither Lazarus nor Jesus truly died, but 
instead drank poisoned wine that led to death-like appearance for anything 
from a few hours to three days. While one could attempt to say that such was 
the wine offered to Jesus in Matthew 27:54, such a claim was not made 
regarding Jesus' "apparent" death and resurrection in ancient times.

  The movie itself would refute this claim by the witness of the centurion 
who was present at Jesus' death, who indicates that the spear pierced all 
the way to the heart, thus demonstrating Jesus' death (cf. John 19:33-36; 
the text does not indicate how far in the spear went). It would seem that 
the preferred story of the chief priests was that the disciples stole away 
the body (Matthew 28:11-15), and not anything about a poison.

  3.. Judas Iscariot. While the movie is not fully clear about Judas, it 
would appear that some of the characters believe that Judas Iscariot was 
alive, albeit mad, and living in the Field of Blood (Akeldama). While the 
place is the one mentioned in Acts 1:18-19, Judas was quite dead by the time 
that a Roman investigator would have come around.

  4.. Chronology, event confusion. The movie would seem to take place 
somewhere between 35-37, since the historical Tiberius dies in March of 37 
CE, and the events take some time to unfold.

  The movie introduces us to a Stephen who is a believer, and he is executed 
by stoning at the hands of the Jews. The movie would seem to be pointing to 
the Stephen of Acts 6-7, but many details are inconsistent: the Biblical 
Stephen is stoned immediately after his hearing in the Sanhedrin without any 
order of death; in the movie, Stephen is first imprisoned, and then ordered 
to be executed by stoning by Pilate himself.

  Furthermore, while it is true that Stephen's death could have been as late 
as 36 CE, such is the absolute latest date of the event. It could easily 
have happened at any other time between 33-36 CE (presuming Jesus dies in 
30), and therefore out of the range of the events described.

  Meanwhile, Simon Peter is described in the movie as having left Jerusalem 
for Galilee on account of the persecution. This is inconsistent with the 
Biblical evidence, which explicitly excludes the Apostles from those who 
fled after Stephen's death (Acts 8:1). It is true that Peter left Jerusalem 
for Lydda, Joppa, and Caesarea sometime between 36-41 CE (Acts 9:32-10:48), 
but immediately returns to Jerusalem, not Galilee (Acts 11:2). The movie 
also claims that Simon Peter is the singular leader of "the church" in all 
places; this is consistent with the Catholic claims regarding Matthew 16:18, 
but something not indicated by Peter at all in the Biblical text. He claims 
no special leadership, and in terms of authority is always mentioned in the 
context of the other apostles.

  The movie would also put forth Tauros as a believer and a Christian before 
Cornelius heard the word (Acts 10). There is no indication that a Gentile 
was accepted among the brethren before Cornelius, for such had not yet even 
been revealed.

  5.. Tiberius and Gaius. Perhaps the most fantastic claim of the movie is 
found at the end, when Gaius is seen suffocating his uncle in order to 
suppress the acceptance of Christianity.

  It is most likely true that Gaius did suffocate his uncle in March of 37, 
and further that he had pretensions of being a god, but there is no 
indication that he did so because his uncle was going to accept 
Christianity. It is hard to believe such a claim, considering that Claudius 
later will consider the Christians and the Jews to be part of the same 
religion, and the first indications we have of Christianity reaching the 
imperial house comes in the days of Paul and Nero, 25 years later (cf. 
Philippians 4:22). Furthermore, in this the movie departs from Tertullian's 
claim: Tertullian establishes that the decree indeed made it to the Senate, 
while the movie would have the decree burned before it could arrive.

The Final Inquiry makes for a standard movie: a love interest, battle 
scenes, other forms of violence, conspiracies, and the redemptive ending. 
While the movie takes the ancient claim of Tertullian and runs with it, we 
must not be seduced into thinking that the movie accurately represents the 
story. There is no indication that the mighty Roman empire was greatly 
perturbed at the Christian movement until the time of Nero, and especially 
not in 36 CE, when the movement was, to the outsider, barely distinguishable 
from the Judaism from which it came. Let us soberly consider the facts from 
the Scriptures, and not be led astray by such portrayals.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ELDV

Ethan R. Longhenry/ disciple_of_iesus at hotmail.com
Evangelist, church of Christ in Norwalk, Ohio
 (http://www.norwalkchurch.org)
Website: http://www.deusvitae.com
AIM: Deus Vitae / ICQ#: 28317056
MSN Messenger ID: deusvitae at hotmail.com
Yahoo! Messenger ID: discipuliiesus

Subscribe to Good News for Norwalk!
goodnewsfornorwalk-subscribe at norwalkchurch.org


From disciple_of_iesus at hotmail.com  Sat Mar  1 23:50:06 2008
From: disciple_of_iesus at hotmail.com (Ethan R. Longhenry)
Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2008 00:50:06 -0500
Subject: [Biblemat] Good News for Norwalk: Volume III, Number 09: March 02,
	2008
Message-ID: <BAY132-DAV1795DA630D4212326D55DBB2160@phx.gbl>

Good News for Norwalk

For I am not ashamed of the good news, for it is the power of God for 
salvation to everyone who believes. (Romans 1:16)

A publication of the church of Christ in Norwalk, Ohio
Volume III, Number 09: March 02, 2008

------------------------------------------------------------

How to Pray

And it came to pass, as he was praying in a certain place, that when he 
ceased, one of his disciples said unto him,
"Lord, teach us to pray, even as John also taught his disciples."
And he said unto them, "When ye pray, say,
Father, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins; for we ourselves also forgive every one that is 
indebted to us.
And bring us not into temptation"(Luke 11:1-4).

God seeks for His people to communicate with Him (1 Peter 5:7). He does this 
not because He does not know what we need or what we desire; He does so 
because we benefit from making our petitions to Him (Matthew 6:8). 
Nevertheless, many perhaps have difficulties knowing how to pray and for 
what they should be praying.
Let us begin by understanding how God does not want us to pray. Jesus 
indicates in Matthew 6:5-8 that God has no interest in prayers prayed in 
order to appear holy before men; such people "have their reward," since 
people will think of them as "holy" or "religious," and yet the prayer will 
have no value before God. Likewise, God has no interest in meaningless 
prayer: if lips are saying words and there is no meaning behind them, they 
are simply "empty phrases," of no value before God.

Therefore, when we pray to God, we should do so with the attempt to 
meaningfully talk with our Heavenly Father. Even though He is lofty and 
holy, and we are but dust (Isaiah 55:8-9, Genesis 3:19), He desires to have 
association with us (1 John 1:1-4). Through Christ we are able to be adopted 
as God's children and can thus call out to Him, "Abba, Father!" (Romans 
8:14-16). Through His blood we can approach the holy places with boldness 
(Hebrews 10:18-23). Therefore, even though we must always be quite 
respectful of the God of Heaven, we also can know that we can go to God in 
prayer and communicate with Him as a child with his or her father.

Our prayers represent our opportunity to talk with God. Jesus provides an 
idea in the model prayer of Matthew 6:9-13/Luke 11:2-4. It is lamentable 
that the "Lord's Prayer" has become for too many a rote ritual in church 
services, spoken by many without meaning. By considering the different parts 
of the prayer, we can get an idea of the things which we should seek from 
God.

Jesus begins by a declaration of God's holiness: "hallowed be Your name" 
(Matthew 6:9). We must always remember how holy and awesome God is. He then 
continues with a petition for God's own purposes: "Your Kingdom come. Your 
will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (v. 10). As God's servants, we 
should seek to make our purposes His purposes (Galatians 2:20), and it is 
right for us to seek for God's purposes to be accomplished and furthered in 
our world. He then turns to the basic necessities of humans: "Give us this 
day our daily bread" (Matthew 6:11). It is proper for us to ask for the 
basic needs of life (cf. Matthew 6:25-34); we are to ask not in carnal ways, 
to spend on our passions, but with full confidence that if we put His 
Kingdom and righteousness first, God will provide (James 4:3, Matthew 6:33). 
"Forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors" (Matthew 6:12) is a 
plea for our continued forgiveness (1 John 1:9), keeping in mind that 
forgiveness will only come if we forgive others (cf. Matthew 18:21-35). "And 
bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" (Matthew 6:13) is 
not an indication that God actually tempts us, but represents our plea to 
God to help guide our paths so that we may not stumble into sin (James 
1:13-15).

This is not an exhaustive list of things for which we can pray, but we can 
see that our prayers represent opportunities to talk with God about life. 
Prayer does not have to be extremely drawn-out and complex in order to 
fulfill its purpose: Jesus' model prayer is quite simple and involves the 
regular functions of life and living. The prayer also indicates that our 
concerns are not to be for ourselves alone, but also for the advancement of 
God's purposes on the earth.

While some may get hung up on the "hows" of praying, we can see that God's 
greater concern is that His children put the effort into making their 
petitions to Him. God always ought to command our respect, and our prayers 
should not be frivolous, vain, or worldly-minded. On the whole, however, the 
structure of our prayer is of less importance than the purpose and meaning 
that we place within our prayer, and our devotion to our prayer life. God 
enjoins us to "pray without ceasing" in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 and to 
"continue steadfastly in prayer" in Romans 12:12. We can pray as nicely and 
as effectively as possible, but if we are not continually communicating with 
God in prayer, its value will always be diminished. Let us devote ourselves 
to God in prayer, and maintain close association with Him!

Ethan R. Longhenry
evangelist at norwalkchurch.org

------------------------------------------------------------

The church of Christ in Norwalk, Ohio

Thank you for reading the electronic version of our bulletin, Good News for 
Norwalk. If you live in Norwalk or happen to be traveling in the Norwalk 
area, we would
certainly love to have you visit one of our assemblies!

Our location:

386 North Edgewood Drive (just off US 250 just north of Norwalk's city 
limits)
Norwalk, Ohio 44857

Our assemblies:

Sunday morning assembly: 10:30am
Sunday evening assembly: 6:00pm

Our Bible studies:

Sunday morning Bible study: 9:30am
Wednesday evening Bible study: 7:00pm

------------------------------------------------------------

For More Information

If you have any questions or comments about anything you have read here, or 
desire more information, please contact our evangelist, Ethan Longhenry, at 
evangelist at norwalkchurch.org.

Good News for Norwalk is a publication of the church of Christ in Norwalk, 
Ohio, for the promotion of God's truth in our world. For more information 
about the church of Christ in Norwalk, please visit our website at 
norwalkchurch.org.

Ethan R. Longhenry/ disciple_of_iesus at hotmail.com
Evangelist, church of Christ in Norwalk, Ohio
 (http://www.norwalkchurch.org)
Website: http://www.deusvitae.com
AIM: Deus Vitae / ICQ#: 28317056
MSN Messenger ID: deusvitae at hotmail.com
Yahoo! Messenger ID: discipuliiesus

Subscribe to Good News for Norwalk!
goodnewsfornorwalk-subscribe at norwalkchurch.org 


From tssullivan at charter.net  Sun Mar  2 08:45:29 2008
From: tssullivan at charter.net (T. Sean Sullivan)
Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2008 08:45:29 -0600
Subject: [Biblemat] The Messenger Vol 003 Iss 009
Message-ID: <001c01c87c74$1251cb20$6466a8c0@sean1a4c1f786>

      T
     
he Messenger 2008

Published Weekly by Main Street Church of Christ

306 West Main Street, Newbern, TN 38059   731-627-3514

 

Bulletin Editor: T. Sean Sullivan

 

VOLUME 003::ISSUE 009 :: March 2, 2008  

 

ARTICLE ONE:    Christians Are People Prepared for Real Life: Dealing with Guilt

ARTICLE TWO: Philippians: The Epistle of Joy #006

 

Article One:        Christians Are People Prepared for Real Life: Dealing with Guilt

 

Introduction:

There are battles that we face that are not always apparent to others. Those internal conflicts may even be less than understood by our selves. These are battles within our own self. Things of the conscience or mind that seem to hold us back. God has provided for us in every way. Through His word we can be encouraged and strengthened to the point of completion (2 Timothy 3:16-17). When we are troubled the solution is only as far away as these pages (Bible). Let's open our Bibles to consider one particular battle we may face: Guilt.

 

Guilt: Is it a Problem?

Guilt can be positive: There are two ways of guilt that we should know. One is a healthy realization and the other will hinder our service to God. Guilt is the knowledge of ones wrong doing. Guilt is facing the fact that we having taken on the actions of wrong-doing (sin) (Romans 3:23). This type of guilt is brought about in many by "coming to an understanding". This understanding can be provoked by the preaching and teaching of the gospel-think about the reaction to Peter's sermon in Acts 2:37-38; when they were cut to the heart. They felt guilt concerning their sins. This guilt is positive and leads to positive results of change.

Guilt can be a problem. There is the guilt that is like a residue in our mind. Even as a Christian one may constantly remind them self of their past mistakes or allow those mistakes to reside in their minds. We often harbor past mistakes because we as humans tend to rate everything. We can be convinced in our own mind that we have committed sins that are unforgivable. In this we fail to realize that a sin is a sin regardless of its "magnitude".  This means that a "lie" is a sin and "murder" is a sin. With our desire to rate we would consider a lie "small" and murder "big" on a scale of sin. A sin is a sin is a sin and any sin will bar us from Heaven (Rev. 21:27). We need to trust God's forgiveness and not allow our minds to be distracted by our past. If we are unable to let go of our past we will be distracted from our present service.

 

Positive Examples of Escaping Guilt

The apostle Peter was aggressively zealous. Many times this aggressive nature got him into trouble. Matthew 16:21-23 After Peter statement Jesus said, "Get behind Me Satan, you are an offense to Me." I don't know about you but I would have some serious guilt if Jesus said that of me. John 18:10-11 Peter drew a sword and struck a servant of the High Priest. Not only an improper attitude toward the necessity of Jesus' death but also the improper action of striking the servant. Another thing that Peter did that he should feel guilt about. He gave in to fear and denied the Lord (Luke 22:54-62). Can you imagine seeing Jesus look at you over and over again in your memories? He could have allowed his life to be overshadowed with a cloud of guilt but he would not allow those things to haunt him. He moved on and served the Lord all of his days. We know this because we have His work recorded in the early part of Acts and his epistles. 1 Peter 5:6-11 "Words of faith and trust". 

The apostle Paul also had many mistakes in his past. Acts 26:10-11, in his own words he tried to destroy the cause of Christ. Did Paul allow those mistakes to distract him and clog his mind? No, look at Philippians 3:12-14-"Forgetting those things which are behind". Paul trusted God's forgiveness. Paul realized and admitted his past sins (1 Timothy 1:15) but he also realized God's forgiveness (1 Timothy 1:16 "obtained mercy"). 

 

How Can I Overcome Guilt?

The same advice fits each battle that we will discuss. Turn to God: More prayer (1 Peter 5:7 "casting all you cares on Him for He cares for you". More study: consider Paul's description of the purpose of God's word in 1 Timothy 1:5 "The purpose of the commandment is love": From a pure heart; from a good conscience; from a sincere faith. The word of God, when studied and applied can bring us to a pure heart, good conscience, and a sincerity of faith.

Trust God. Trust His gospel (Romans 1:16) and His promise to forgive and remember our sins no more (Hebrews 10:16-17). 

 

Conclusion:

We cannot be at our full effectiveness if we are dwelling on our past mistakes. God has promised to forget them as He forgives them. We must do the best we can do today and plan for better tomorrow. Are you guilty of sin? You can take care of that right-seek God's forgiveness now. ~tss

 

 

Article Two:  Philippians: The Epistle of Joy #006

 

Learning Contentment

Phil 4:9-13

 

Introduction:

Perhaps one of the most noticeably absent character traits today is contentment. So many have knowingly or unknowingly have forgotten the important things in life in order to pursue just "things" (material, temporal).           The amount of input the advertisers have on our lives is remarkable. 

There are so many different avenues of advertising today. The main idea of most of today's marketing is: "new is better, do not be content with yesterday's products". The feverish pursuit of more material "things" can swallow a person whole.

We can all learn a lesson in contentment. Notice the word "learn". It goes against our nature, you might say to train, ourselves to be satisfied. But we must (Philippians 4:9-13). I want us to examine some of the things that a Christian should use in order to learn to be satisfied.

 

Real Perspective of Life

 

One of the greatest blessing as a Christian is the knowledge God has shared with us (Psalm 119:98-100). With this gift from God we know the answers to the "greatest questions of life": Is there a God? How did we get here? Is there life after death?           How do we prepare for that life? This knowledge gives us an edge that helps us gain a proper perspective on life. 

We are taught through God's delivered world that this life is uncertain (James 4:13-15 "like a vapor").        If we put all our eggs in on basket then we will miss out. So many put all there youthful vigorous years into the pursuit of money, if they are able to live can only give God what is left near the end.(Ecclesiastes 12:1-7). 

We also learn judgment although is certain. Life is short, prepare for that which is ahead (Hebrews 9:27). Don't trust in uncertain riches of this life (1 Timothy 6:17-19) rather lay up treasures in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-21). 

We have instruction in salvation and preparation for the judgment that is real. God has provided the way (John 3:16). Jesus showed us the way of salvation-doing God's will (Matthew 7:21-23). The apostles carried out the message of hope through Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38-39). We can obey and be prepared for Judgment (2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-9). 

It is the knowledge that God has delivered to us that enable us to have this perspective of truly needful things and with them we are content.

 

Opening Our Eyes To What We Really Have.

Once-in-a-while I take time to think about everything that I have; so that I don't take for granted my blessings.  Also so I don't fall into a trap of thinking that I don't have much. 

We could soon forget all that we are truly blessed with: the offering of the Son of God who died for your sins (Romans 5:8-10) and that through His death we have the freedom from sin. We could forget that through His life we have an example to follow to lead us to salvation (1 Peter 2:21-23). We could forget that through, and in, Christ we have all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3). We truly have "the best of both worlds" that which is here-as we emulate Christ; that which is to come, where we will receive His everlasting promises. 

Simply understanding that we have been blessed richly will teach us to be content. A Christian should need relatively little in addition to their spiritual blessings in order to be content.

 

Trusting In God

God's providence is way too underrated these days. We are now sixty years away from the last true nation-wide hardship-called "The Great Depression". This was a time when many literally did not know where there next meal was coming from. Today people have more then enough and constantly think that they need more. We have left very little room for God's providence. If we put God first we will not always have the material things of this world; but we will always have what we need. God knows our needs and He will meet them (Matthew 6:25-33). We must trust in God's promise to take care of us and live in such a way as it is expected. 

 

Conclusion:

The sooner that we learn contentment the better off we will be. We will have a better out-look on life. We will be better prepared to face the judgment. Contentment can be had by a Christian at all times because it is something gained   from beyond the bank balance and paycheck-it is our perspective.

One of the greatest joys of life is to be content: it is like having everything you want whenever you want it because you have learned to control you "wanter reflex". Let's learn to be content. ~tss        

 

 

                                    



 

 

If you are enjoying The Messenger and you know someone else who would like to receive it. Please forward it to them or send me their email address and I will add it to the list.   

Sean

 

 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080302/be9a8299/attachment-0001.html 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 2886 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080302/be9a8299/attachment-0001.jpe 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 9535 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080302/be9a8299/attachment-0001.gif 

From richardthetford at msn.com  Sun Mar  2 19:20:33 2008
From: richardthetford at msn.com (Richard Thetford)
Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2008 18:20:33 -0700
Subject: [Biblemat] Walking in the Light (3/2/08)
Message-ID: <BAY122-DAV1657B9B6C24BDFBDC05B24B0170@phx.gbl>

 



Walking in the Light

"For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light."
"The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the
simple." 

"But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with
one another...."
(Psalm 36:9; 119:130; 1 John 1:7a)

March 2, 2008

www.thetfordcountry.com <http://www.thetfordcountry.com/> 

 

---

 

INFORMATION: My WEB Site  <http://www.thetfordcountry.com/>
www.thetfordcountry.com has just been updated to include the articles and
sermons listed below. All the sermons posted each week to my web site are in
.pdf format.  The PowerPoint charts are also included with ALL the sermons
that are posted to the web site. To access the sermons page, visit the site
and click on "Richard's Page" and then click on "sermons." Please visit the
"Reference Works" links page for updated links to various Bible study
resources. If you are a newcomer to the area or wanting information
concerning the San Juan church of Christ here in Montrose, Colorado, then
click on the San Juan church of Christ Web Site at
<http://www.sanjuanchurchofchrist.org/> www.sanjuanchurchofchrist.org. Thank
you for visiting my web site and as always, your comments are welcome. 

                                                  

If you know of someone that would like to receive the "Walking in the Light"
electronic bulletin each week, please send an e-mail message to
<mailto:Richard at Thetfordcountry.com> Richard at Thetfordcountry.com  with their
name and e-mail address and I will add them to the list.

 

---

 

CONTENTS:

"A Welfare Religion" (Richard Thetford)

"Repentance" (Richard Thetford)

SENTENCE SERMONS

 

---

A WELFARE RELIGION

Richard Thetford

 

When I speak of the word "welfare", I'm not talking about our condition of
health but rather as Webster defines: "receiving aid because of poverty,
etc." Sadly, there are many individuals that receive welfare aid from the
government that become so content in receiving it, that they no longer look
for a job, even though they are able to work and get off of welfare aid. By
doing this, they rob those that are truly in need of welfare aid. There
seems to be many Christians today that are living a "welfare religion" when
in fact they are able and should be working!

 

The Blessings of God

Christians love to receive all the blessings that were promised by God. Paul
wrote in Ephesians 1:3: that God "hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ:". Yes, we have all these spiritual
blessings but we must also do our part in the kingdom, which is to obey
Jesus in all things (Heb 5:9; Matt 7:21). While some Christians want the
blessings, they are not willing to do the work that they are assigned to do
in God's kingdom. In obedience to Christ we are commanded to work. Faith
without works is dead (Jam 2:17). We are going to be held accountable based
upon our works. In Revelation 2:23 it says: "And I will kill her children
with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the
reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your
works."

 

 

Handouts or Workouts?

As Christians, we need to constantly examine ourselves to make sure we are
not living a "welfare religion" when it comes to serving God. We must ensure
that we are not always taking, taking, but that we are giving also. Paul
stated in 1 Corinthians 15:58 that we should be "stedfast, unmoveable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your
labour is not in vain in the Lord." This verse clearly shows that the child
of God will  abound and labour in God's work. We should be working out daily
in God's kingdom, and not be looking for all the handouts. 

 

I developed these thoughts around a poem that a sister in Christ, Ellen
Kyle, wrote sometime ago entitled "Welfare Religion".

 

WELFARE RELIGION

When God gave a way of salvation, He gave from the love in His heart,

But it is a gift that will never be mine if I don't do my part.

Do I sit and demand all the blessings that God has promised to me,

Then complain when I'm told that I must work if any blessings I see?

Do I always expect 100% of everything God has to give,

And then continue doing MY will, and not in God's way try to live?

Do I say "let the preacher's sermons give me the faith I need,"

And then say that God's asking too much if for faith I must study & read?

Do I constantly ask God for handouts, yet never do my part,

Do I pray, "God please take care of me," but never yield my heart?

Do I say "let others do God's work," I don't want to serve,

And then complain when ever I think, I don't have what I deserve?

Lord help me to honestly look at myself and see what I should do,

Help me stop asking for handouts, and go to work for you.

Help me not let my religion, a welfare religion be,

Remind me you sent your Son to die, the rest is up to me.

---Ellen Kyle

 

The Rest Is Up To Us

In John 3:16, John wrote: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life." God certainly did His part, giving His only Son to die on
the cross so that we can have forgiveness of sins. Now the rest is up to us.
May we all determine in our hearts not to get caught up in a "welfare
religion", always taking and never giving. Let's be workers for the Lord,
knowing that we will be held accountable for our deeds, whether good or bad
(1 Corinthians 5:10).

 

---

REPENTANCE

Richard Thetford

 

Before we can be saved we must first repent. Repentance is a "turn around".
It is when we determine to turn our lives around and stop serving Satan and
the lust of the world and be determined to follow the teaching of God. To
learn exactly what repentance is we can turn to Matthew 21:28-29. Jesus
shows us an example of repentance in the two sons. "But what think ye? A
certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work
to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he
repented, and went." Before we can ever serve God and be acceptable in His
sight we must repent of our old life style and determine within ourselves to
serve God. Until this happens we will never be able to enjoy the spiritual
blessings in Christ because our heart was never truly converted to want to
serve Him. When we repent then we will demonstrate our repentance by
"bringing forth fruits worthy of repentance" (Matt 3:8). In other words,
when we are sincere in serving God, then our actions and life will reflect
it. Won't you be determined to repent and serve God (Acts 2:38)?

 

---

SENTENCE SERMONS

 

"Tact is the ability to close your mouth before somebody else wants to!"

"The trouble with blowing one's own horn is that it doesn't leave any wind
for climbing."

"Some Christians are like gold tried in fire. What about you?"

"Bad habits are like a comfortable bed; easy to get into, but hard to get
out of."

"By the way some people talk, one would infer that they really enjoy poor
health."

"The Devil is an artist. He paints sin in very attractive colors."

"Only he can truly teach who is him self teachable."

"The abundant life too often is smothered in the abundance of things."

"Anger is the wind that blows out the light of reason."

"No power on earth or under the earth can make a man do wrong without his
consent."

 

 

---

SERMON

 

The Existence of God (with PowerPoint Charts)

 

Sermons can viewed at my web site:  <http://www.thetfordcountry.com/>
www.thetfordcountry.com

 

---



Meets at:

1414 Hawk Parkway, Unit C
Montrose, CO   81401
(970) 249-8116

 <http://www.sanjuanchurchofchrist.org/> www.sanjuanchurchofchrist.org

 

ASSEMBLY SCHEDULE

SUNDAY
Bible Study....................10:00 A.M.
Worship.........................11:00 A.M.
WEDNESDAY
Bible Study......................6:30 P.M.

 

Evangelist
Richard Thetford

(970) 626-5558

E-Mail:  <mailto:Richard at Thetfordcountry.com> Richard at Thetfordcountry.com

Web Site:  <http://www.thetfordcountry.com/> www.thetfordcountry.com

 

---

 

RICHARD THETFORD

1491 Canyon Drive

Ridgway, CO  81432

(970) 626-5558

E-Mail:  <mailto:Richard at Thetfordcountry.com> Richard at Thetfordcountry.com

Web Site:  <http://www.thetfordcountry.com> www.thetfordcountry.com

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080302/09387e76/attachment-0001.html 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 2950 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080302/09387e76/attachment-0001.jpe 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 14927 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080302/09387e76/attachment-0003.gif 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 154 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080302/09387e76/attachment-0004.gif 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 8264 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080302/09387e76/attachment-0005.gif 

From tssullivan at charter.net  Sun Mar  2 20:15:10 2008
From: tssullivan at charter.net (T. Sean Sullivan)
Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2008 20:15:10 -0600
Subject: [Biblemat] Precious Thoughts #2502
Message-ID: <003b01c87cd4$68730ae0$6466a8c0@sean1a4c1f786>

>From the Pen of Brian V. Sullivan

Bancroft, Ontario, CANADA

Precious Thoughts

Daily Bible Study For Daily Living 

(Psalm139:17) 

  


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------





Series: Vignettes From John's Gospel

Issue: # 2502

Text: John 1:1, First Part

  None of the other gospels reaches back into eternity to introduce the One that we know as Jesus the Christ, like John does. What makes this even more exceptional is that John is not one of the "synoptic" writers (writers that provide general coverage of the life of Christ or the ministry of Christ from beginning to end as do Matthew, Mark, and Luke). In his entire life account, John gives us insight into less than thirty days of the life of Christ (John 1-12) and even then devotes a lot of attention to the final week of Christ (John 13-21).  Most unique to John's gospel is the fact that he reaches into eternity to draw our attention to "the Word", and then quickly brings "the Word" into this earthen realm. He does not leave us long to guess who or what "the Word" might be. At John 1:14, he writes: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (NKJV). 

  Most people are familiar with this verse because of various arguments that have been made by representatives of religious groups who do not accept the Deity of Christ. We may have something to say about that later, but for the present consider the important statements of this verse. Let's begin with the verse itself: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1, NKJV) "In the beginning" sounds a lot like the first words of the Book of Genesis. This expression helps us realize that in the proverbial "which came first scenario" (God or the created world) the answer is "God" (cf. Hebrews 11:3; John 1:3). Also important to note here is that "in the beginning WAS the Word". We are speaking about Someone who was already existent in eternity before He came to this world. That helps us appreciate even more what He was trying to impress upon His fellow-Jews in the flesh that "I am from above" (see John 8:23, et al). The second portion of this verse declares: "and the Word was WITH God". To be WITH someone suggests active association and communion. It also suggests personal presence on the part of the One who is with and the One that He is with.  We would understand that the reference is to the Word being with the Father in eternity (that too harmonizes with passages like John 8:17-18 where Jesus speaks of the requirement of the Law for two or more witnesses and then proceeds to set forth the witness of Himself and His Father).  More to follow..



  Precious Thoughts is a daily Bible study message written by Brian V. Sullivan of Bancroft, Ontario 
















-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080302/441c4683/attachment-0001.html 

From J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com  Mon Mar  3 06:04:16 2008
From: J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com (J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com)
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2008 07:04:16 EST
Subject: [Biblemat] A) IF YOU WERE TO DIE TODAY, WOULD YOU GO TO HEAVEN?
Message-ID: <bc8.24671db1.34fd4340@wmconnect.com>

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  A very good Monday
morning to each and everyone.  May God bless you and yours.
Here is an article from my recent files:

IF YOU WERE TO DIE TODAY, WOULD YOU GO TO HEAVEN?

     If you were to die today do you know for certain, without
a doubt, that you would go to heaven and be witht he Lord
forever?  Jesus says, "But seek first the kingdom of God and
His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you"
(Matt. 6:33).  Our number one priority in this life must be to go to heaven.  
Nothing is as important as this.  We cannot
afford to miss heaven.

     Our Lord tells us in "Matt. 7:13,14 that only a few people
will go to Heaven, but the vast majority will be eternally lost
in the burning fires of Hell.  This is not a pleasant thought.  But all of us 
will make the choice as to where we will spend
eternity.  The only way, to even grasp how long eternity will
be, is to think that after we have been in Heaven or Hell a bill-
ion years, eternity will have just begun.

     Our soul is the most precious thing we possess.  "For what profit is it 
to a man if he gains the whole world and loses
his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his
soul? (Matt. 16:26).  Our soul is worth more than the whole
world put together.  If we lose our soul, we lose all.

     Jesus wants us to pay attention to what He is trying to tell
us.  He says in Matt. 13:41-43, "The Son of Man will send out
His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom (the chur-
ch, that's us) all things that offend, and those who practice
lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be 
wailing and gnashing of teeth.  Then the right-
eous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father
He who has ears to hear, let him hear."  Our Lord is trying to
warn us if we will only listen.  He has already paid the awful
price for our salvation and He doesn't want to see it wasted.

     For a child of God, sin in our life will keep us out of Heaven.  Because 
of unrepented sins, our name will be taken
out of God's Book of Life.   "God shall take away his part from the Book of 
Life and from the holy city" (Rev. 22:19).  
Has your name been take out of the Book of Life?  If it has
then this is a very serious matter.  "And anyone not found 
written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev.
20:15).  God wants to forgive us.  As a Christian, how do we
get our name put back into the Book of Life?  "If we confess
our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 Jno. 1:9).  Jesus has
promised, "Be faithful until death and I will give yu the crown
of life" (Rev. 2:10).

     If you are not a Christian, how do you get your name into
God Book of Life, so you can be saved and go to heaven?
Our Lord says in Lk. 13:3, "Except you repent you will like-
wise perish."  Jesus also says, "Whoever confesses Me be-
fore men, him I will confess before My Father who is in Heav-
en" (Matt. 10:32).  Our Lord then tells us, "He who believes
and is baptized will be saved" (Mk. 16:16).  If a person misses
Heaven, he will only have himself to blame.  -- Ron Boatwright
via The Jackson Drive Reporter, March 2, 2008.   </HTML>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080303/68c6992d/attachment-0001.html 

From J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com  Mon Mar  3 06:04:28 2008
From: J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com (J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com)
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2008 07:04:28 EST
Subject: [Biblemat] S) CHRISTIANITY, THE RELIGION OF PROGRESS (2)
Message-ID: <c59.27bf2c21.34fd434c@wmconnect.com>

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  Here is the second install-
ment of this particular study, taken from my ancient files.  Use to
the glory of God.

CHRISTIANITY, THE RELIGION OF PROGRESS  (2)

Truth Is The Vehicle of Progress: -- 1. We Must Understand
That Truth And Not Error Is The Vehicle Of Real Progress: --
It is knowledge of and loyalty to the Word of God that will lead us safely 
and rapidly forward in the cause of Christ.

     Since Christianity is the religion of progress because it is
forward looking and forward moving, the New Testament is in
every way adequate to guide the church onward and upward.
Not all forward movement, of course, can be looked upon as
real progress.  The Holy Spirit warns against a superficial un-
lawful progress:  "Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not
in the teaching of Christ hath not God.  He that abideth in the
teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son" (2 Jno.
9, ARV).

     Christ is a progressive leader.  We are to follow in His steps.  When we 
follow in the footsteps of Jesus, we are not
only on safe ground, but we must move forward because the
Captain of our salvation is ever on the march.  We are not,
however, to try to get ahead of our Leader.  To do that is to
be lead astray and to expose su to the fiery darts of the evil
one.  "Run not before Him whatever betide."

     To follow in the footsteps of Jesus is to walk in the doctri-
ne of Christ and His apostles as preserved in the New Testa-
ment.  That is an adequate and sufficient standard for succ-
ess.

     Religious institutions established by men often move for-
ward but, unfortunately, they advance, not on the sure ground of the Word of 
God, but on the quicksand of human
opinion and human tradition.

     Zeal does not always guarantee the kind of progress with
which God is pleased.  That it is possible to be very zealous
and yet be on the wrong road is clearly taught by Paul's state-
ment in Rom. 10:1,2: "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer
to God for Israel is that they might be saved.  For I bear them
record that they have a zeal for God, but not according to 
knowledge."  (Verse 3 goes on to tell us: "For they being ignorant of God's 
righteousness, and seeking to establish
their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteous-
ness of God.").

     Denominationalism has much zeal, but it is not based upon the knowledge 
of the Word of God, and its unenlighten-ed zeal will eventually lead to its 
destruction.

Faith Is The Energizing Force Of Progress: -- 2. We Must Move Forward With 
Unlimited Faith In The Promises Of God: -
It is the shield of faith that protects us against the fiery darts
of the evil one and enables us to move forward.  Faith is the
only adequate basis for Christian Progress  (Faith comes by
hearing the Word of God, Rom. 10:17, JWS).

     "Now the just shall live by faith: But if any man draw back,
My soul shall have no pleasure in him.  But we are not of them who draw back 
unto perdition; but of them that believe
to the saving of the soul" (Heb. 10:38,39).  The people who
move forward are people of faith.  Those who are afflicted
with the spiritually fatal disease of unbelief draw back unto
perdition.  Paul says, "we are justified by faith", and he means that 
obedient faith in Christ saves us from our past
sins.  The Holy Spirit repeatedly testifies, "The just shall live
by faith."  Faith gives us spiritual life, and living faith sustains
that life.

     Faith makes it possible to grow in the grace and knowled-
ge of Christ, to defeat temptation, to endure trials and afflict-
ions, to overcomr the world and to be faithful unto death that
we may have a crown of life.  Faith builds; unbelief destroys.
Faith marches forward.  Unbelief sits still and, sitting still, draws back 
unto perdition.  One of the greatest needs of the
church of our day is a Scriptural understanding of the mean-
ing of faith in Christ.  We must believe in Christ not only as
our Savior from sin, but as our Deliverer for the power of the
temptor, our Counsellor and Guide in all the affairs of life, our
Captain on the field of spiritual warfare, our Model in conduct
and our Leader in the advancement of the kingdom.

     We must understand that it is the mission of the church to
save the world.  We must throw overboard the defeatist attit-
ude that the problems of the world are too enormous for the
church of the Lord to solve.

     Unbelief would have us look back to our mistakes and de-
feats and say, "We had better call a halt.  We have not been
able to do what we have tried to do in the past; hence, it
would be better to be a little more practical and not try to do
so much."  That is the philosophy of Satan and he shouts
with joy when we succumb to its hellish suggestions.

     Would it not be better to analyze the cause of our failure
and go ahead with determination to correct our mistakes and
do greater things for God?

     We have failed in some respects in the past, but because
we have not used the talents we have.  We have fallen short,
not because there is no power in prayer, but because we have not availed 
ourselves of the privilege of prayer.  We have missed the mark, not because faith 
is incapable of winn-
ing the victory, but because unbelief has dulled our spiritual
perception, blurred our understanding of Scriptural principles
and stunted our growth.  We have failed to attain our goals,
not because we have lacked implicit confidence in the God
who called us forth to battle.

Enlightened Zeal Is Essential To Progress: -- 3. We Must Move Forward With 
Renewed Zeal, Enthusiasm And Determin-
ation: -- "But it is good to be zealously affected always in a 
good thing..." (Gal. 4:18).

     If zeal that  is not based upon knowledge is dangerous and fatal, zeal 
that is rooted and grounded in knowledge is both safe and productive of sound 
progress.

     The Word of God does not frown upon zeal.  It does not
restrict zeal, it merely keeps zeal in the right path.  It directs
our zeal into the proper channels.

     Unfortunately many have allowed the fact that denominat-
ional zeal is headed in the wrong direction to lead them to be-
lieve that zeal itself is undesirable.  It is not the zeal of denom-
inationalism that is wrong; it is denominationalism itself that
is sinful.  To zealously support sectarianism is to be zealous-
ly affected in a wrong cause.  It is to be zealous in promoting
the cause of religious division.  It is the cause that is wrong,
not the zeal.

     Paul affirms that it is good to be zealously affected always
in a good thing.  That  means that it is always right to be zeal-
ous in the Lord's Work.  When we are zealous in the cause of
Christ, we are exercising ourselves in behalf of that which is
eternally worthwhile.  One of the principle elements of zeal is
enthusiasm.  There is ample reason to be enthusiastic about
Christianity.  The religion of Jesus Christ is the means by which man is 
bound back to God.  The gospel of Christ is the 
Word of reconciliation -- it is the instrumentality through which men are 
reconciled to their Creator and Spiritual Father
in heaven.

     Not only that, but Christianity is that which provides the
more abundant life here and eternal life hereafter.  Christian-
ity is that system which will solve all the problems of the world and it is 
the only thing that will.  If only Christians will
study the Bible and come to a full appreciation of the invaluab-
le worth of Christianity, they will acquire the enthusiasm that
will energize them to unbounded zeal and determination.  In
Rom. 12:11 Paul says, "Not slothful in business; fervent in
spirit; serving the Lord."  Christianity is something to be ex-
cited about.   ------- Bonds Stocks in The Preceptor, Vol.1, No.
4, Feb. 1952.   </HTML>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080303/ecac52cb/attachment-0001.html 

From kerux at bellsouth.net  Mon Mar  3 10:26:40 2008
From: kerux at bellsouth.net (Kent Heaton)
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2008 11:26:40 -0500
Subject: [Biblemat] A>Near Death Experiences (Kent Heaton)
Message-ID: <015801c87d4b$5f99e700$0101a8c0@D2381J91>

Near Death Experiences

(Kent Heaton)

 

A near death experience is exactly that - an experience that brings a person near death. One of the confusing issues surrounding a near death experience is the misunderstanding of the meaning of death. Testimonies are countless that describe those who "die" on the operating table, car or plane crash, heart attacks, murders, etc.; describing seeing a brilliant light and experience an ecstatic love highlighted by seeing God face to face. The question at hand is not whether or not a person sees the things he or she relates upon awakening from but whether what happened to them is death as described by God in His word.

Life began for man when "The Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being" (Genesis 2:7). When the Lord destroyed the world with a flood, He said He would "destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish" (Genesis 6:17). Job declared his life was from the Lord (Job 12:10; 27:3; 33:4).

The prophet Isaiah wrote, "Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils" (2:22). Daniel told Belshazzar that God held his breath in His hand and owns all his ways (Daniel 5:23). On Mars Hill in Athens, Paul reminded the Athenians the Lord God is not "served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things" (Acts 17:25). Understanding who gives life helps us to understanding death.

Death comes upon all men as Romans 5:12 declares and cemeteries fill the landscape testify. It was man's rebellion that caused the Lord to remove him from the "tree of life" in the Garden of Eden and thus death is imposed upon all (Genesis 3:22). James describes death as the "body without the spirit" (James 2:26). When a person dies, the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7). After death, there is no return. 

There are a few instances recorded in scripture of those who died and were raised from the dead (1 Kings 17:17-23; 2 Kings 4:32-37; 13:21; Matthew 27:52; Luke 7:11-15; 8:49-55; John 11:43,44; Acts 9:37-40; 20:9-12; Hebrews 11:35). This is called "resurrection" and defined in Greek as a "standing up again." A near death experience is not a resurrection. When a person dies and the breath of life is taken from man returning to God, they are dead. The only way a person can return from that state is by a miraculous intervention by God - resurrection. 

What people experience today is only a near death event and not death itself. To die and live again is resurrection and the last miracle of resurrection happened as recorded in the New Testament. Since miracles ceased 1900 years ago, no one can raise another from the dead nor can one who dies (spirit returns to God who gave it) return. The phenomenon experienced by individuals today can only be described as an experience that took them near death but life remained in the body. God measures death when the spirit returns to Him - not by a man-made machine. With all his wisdom, man is still limited.  God however is unlimited. The Bible explains the difference between death and near death.



Kent Heaton
207 NE Fourth Avenue
Trenton, Florida 32693
(H) 352-463-6916 (O) 3793
(C) 352-283-3889
www.trentonchurchofchrist.com
www.northfloridabiblecamp.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080303/3702248e/attachment.html 

From mail at mikealrhughes.com  Mon Mar  3 19:22:29 2008
From: mail at mikealrhughes.com (Mike Hughes)
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2008 19:22:29 -0600
Subject: [Biblemat] New Threads on Forum - www.network54/forum/602460
Message-ID: <38DCFA34-9FDF-4BCB-B09D-06D3CAB9B7EB@mikealrhughes.com>

Hi all several new threads have been placed on the New Bible Matters  
Forum located at www.network54/forum/602460.
Among them are:
Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage
Neo-Institutionalism
Podcast
A question concerning the Lord Supper.

Go there and join in on the discussions. If you need help creating an  
account let me know. Or if you wish me to create you an account I will  
need the user name you wish to use and the email address you want  
listed.


Mike  Hughes - Minister
Wilmington church of Christ

--

P.O. Box 278
303 N. 1st Street
Wilmington, IL 60481
Web: www.mikealrhughes.com   E-mail: mail at mikealrhughes.com
Mobile: (815) 560-3200                       AIM/iChat ID: im2macmike
Office/Fax: (815) 476-0634                 Wilmington, IL
Podcasts - The Bible Says       				Wilmington Sermons
Owner Bible Matters List					Bible Matters Forum
New forum address - http://www.network54.com/Forum/602460
Join Bible Matters Group for forum at - http://www.network54.com/Group/158452

To get out of difficulty, one must usually go through it! God never  
gives you more than you can bear - so bear it willingly and you will  
rejoice in your rewards!

The contents of this email are personal and private.  Please do not  
forward this communication, in whole or in part, to anyone without my  
express consent.





-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080303/ed86592f/attachment.html 

From J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com  Tue Mar  4 07:41:05 2008
From: J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com (J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com)
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2008 08:41:05 EST
Subject: [Biblemat] A) HOPE -- ANCHOR FOR THE SOUL
Message-ID: <bf8.258cead1.34feab71@wmconnect.com>

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  A very good Tuesday
morning to each and everyone.  May God bless you and yours.
Here is an article from my files:

HOPE -- ANCHOR FOR THE SOUL

     I am a passionate student of U.S. History and could hardly
contain my excitement when I stepped aboard the USS Lexing-
ton -- the gigantic aircraft carrier docked in Corpus Christi
Bay.  The Lexington (dubbed the "Gray Ghost" by Tokyo Rose due to premature 
broadcasts that the giant carrier had
been sunk) served our nation well fromWWII to Vietnam before being 
decommissioned.

     The Lexington and other naval vessels of times past have
given way to a more modern fleet of ships -- larger and more
capable of meeting the needs of today's military.  The USS
Dwight D. Eisenhower, for example, is one of the largest ships in the world 
-- from keel to mast, it is the size of a 22
story building.  Here flight deck comprises 4.5 acres; she 
weighs 95,000 tons, and carries a crew of 6,000 (that's 18,000
meals per day).  She is a floating city!

     The Eisenhower also has two anchors.  Each anchor weighs 60,000 pounds, 
is attached to a chain weighing 665,
000 pounds, and each individual link in the chain weighs 365
pounds.  Now that's an anchor!

     But every vessel, large or small, has one.  And why?  It is
the anchor that keeps the ship where it needs to be.  Quest-
ion:  What keeps YOU where you need to be?

     The Bible warns time and again abut the danger of drift-
ing.  "For this reason we must pay much closer attention to
waht we have heard, lest we drift away from it" (Heb. 2:1).
That is why it is essential tht we set our anchor firm and deep.  "This hope 
we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope
both sure and steadfast..." (Heb. 6:19).  

     HOPE: -- Is there anything that anchors our hearts in days
filled with so much despair and despondency?  Life is hard
and some days it just gets harder.  All of which means, with-
out hope you're not going to make it.  "I would have despair-
ed unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the
Lord in the land of the living" (Psa. 27:13).  That's hope!  "In
the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have over-
come the world" (Jno. 16:33).  That's hope!  "Whatever was
written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that
through perseverance and the encouragement of the Script-
ures we might have hope" (Rom. 15:4)  Hope again!

     "How do people make it when they are not Christians?"
The answer is: they don't.  They deny it, fake it, use artificial
means to escape it -- alcoholism, workaholism, recreational
pursuits -- anything to keep them busy and fill the void in their lives.  The 
one thing non-believers cannot do is face the
tragedies of life with a calm, quiet, confident hope.  Only God's child can 
do that.  ("But I do not want yu to be ignorant
brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you
sorrow as others who have no hope." 1 Thes. 4:13).

     "This hope we have..."  It is something possessed by Christians.  We 
have been born again to a living hope (1 Pet.
1:3) because we have a living Savior.  As William Gaither states, "Because He 
lives, I can face tomorrow, Because He
lives, all fear is gone; Because I know -- I know -- He holds
the future, And life is worth the living just because He lives."

     Someone reading these words may be feeling that hope is
lost.  It isn't.  Circumstances may be bleak, but if you will em-
brace the livng Lord, you will find hope.  Anchor deep in the 
hope of Jesus.     -------- Wilson Adams in Biblical Insights, 
Vol. 7, No. 8, Aug. 2007.   </HTML>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080304/7668280c/attachment-0001.html 

From lovelace.bob at gmail.com  Tue Mar  4 09:56:28 2008
From: lovelace.bob at gmail.com (Bob Lovelace)
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2008 08:56:28 -0700
Subject: [Biblemat] Vindication Based Upon One's Righteousness,
	Integrity (Bob W. Lovelace)
Message-ID: <3f3d53410803040756h73a2ce6aj8b90a5aae4534429@mail.gmail.com>

The Truth In Print Vol 14 Issue 2, March 2008
A Publication of the Valley church of Christ
2375 W. 8th Street, Yuma, AZ 85364 (928-782-5058)

Website Address ~ http://yumavalleychurchofchrist.com* *



*Vindication Based Upon One's Righteousness, Integrity*



*Introduction: *

   Dear reader, this article is linked with a prior article, May 2007 titled
"The Way of Integrity, Psalms 119." You may wish read that article having
read this one should you desire to learn more about integrity from the
Bible.  It can be found in our Article Directory, or simply under the "I"
alphabetical file with this heading. At any rate that prior study from Ps.
119 defined the word "blameless" as meaning complete, having integrity (Ps.
119:1) . This study will be a continuation of integrity as defined from
Psalms 119 as well as other Psalms.



   The afore mentioned study included the following outline definition of
Integrity:



I. The Way Of Integrity, Ps. 119:1-8.

      1. To Walk In the Law Of the Lord, vs. 1.

      2. To Observe His Testimonies, vs. 2.

      3. To Seek Him With All The Heart, vs. 2.

      4. To Do No Unrighteousness, vs. 3.

      5. To Have No Reason To Be Ashamed, vs.

          6.

      6. To Pray With Uprightness Of Heart, vs. 7.

      7. The Desire To Learn His Judgments, vs.

           7.

           a. That certainly connects to having no

                reason to be ashamed.

      8. The Resolve To Keep God's Statutes, vs.

          8.

(See  http://yumavalleychurchofchrist.com/articles/integrityps119.htm  )

* *

*I. Pleading For Protection Against the Wicked, Ps. 119:121-128. *

A. "I have done justice and righteousness; Do not leave me to my oppressors"
(Ps. 119:121). His integrity was the basis for crying out for God's
protection. He considered "all" of God's precepts to be right; he hated
"every" false way (Ps. 119:128).



*II. One's Hope For Deliverance, Ps. 119:129-136. *

A. His hope of redemption from  man's oppression (outward) is based upon not
letting any iniquity have inward dominion over him in answer to his prayer,
Ps. 119:134, 133.

B. His grief concerning the conduct of those who persecuted him was because
they did not keep God's law, and not just over  his own mistreatment.



*III. Asking God For Vindication, Psalms 7.*

A. Concerned reader this is a short Psalm of only 17 verses. Why not read
this Psalm as you consider the below points? David expresses his innocence
with, "The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my
righteousness, and according to mine integrity *that is* in me" (Ps. 7:8).

1. This is important to understanding vindication: David asked God for His
righteous vindication because God tries the hearts and knows the inner man,
thus His vindication is always just, Ps. 7:9-11.

2. Whoever "Cush" was (see the heading) it appears that he had charged David
with wicked actions.  The design of David is to deny the false charges
against him altogether, Ps. 7:3-4.

3. God is a just judge and angry with the wicked every day, Ps. 7:11. Verses
12-16 state the path of self destruction when one will not repent, thus they
are filled with their own ways.

This "path" is a familiar topic throughout the book. David understood how
evil hunts the violent man to recompense him for his deeds (cp. Ps.
140:9-11). Like Haman in Esther who hung on his own gallows he'd built for
Mordecai (Esther 7).

4. As for the upright Solomon said, "The integrity of the upright shall
guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them" (Pr.
11:3).

5. Integrity always involves thanksgivings and praise (Ps. 17:7). This
praise is understood in the sense of, "I know that the LORD will maintain
the cause of the afflicted, *and* the right of the poor. Surely the
righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy
presence" (Ps. 140:12-13).



*IV. Who Is Fit For Communion With God, Ps. 15. *

   This Psalm only has five verses. Why not read it? It says only those who
walk in integrity, and work righteousness, and speak the truth are fit for
communion with God. Notice the important points made concerning not
slandering, not doing evil to another, not taking up a reproach against
another, not taking bribes, etc. We are taught to keep promises even to our
own loss.  Also notice that God requires that we not respect a reprobate!



*V. What Preserves When In Distress, Ps. 25:20-21. *

    Here integrity and uprightness preserves (keeps, protects, maintains)
one when in distress (Ps. 25:20-21). Our "plan" at such times is
understanding and keeping God's word. Part of this plan is knowing that
integrity will preserve the faithful: "Discretion shall preserve thee,
understanding shall keep thee" (Pr. 2:11). Also, God can "maintain" us even
when we are not aware of His providence at work.

3. Ps.25:3 states that the those who are treacherous without cause will be
ashamed. Since none who wait for the Lord with integrity will be ashamed,
there is no reason for any of the faithful to give in to anxiety.

* *

*VI. The "I Haves" of Integrity, Ps. 26.*

    Ps. 26:1 continues with this theme, integrity, as mentioned in 25:21.
Look at the "I haves" of integrity in this list:

1. I have walked in my integrity, 26:1.

2. I have trusted in the Lord, 26:1.

3. Confidence is expressed in "I shall not slip," 26:1.

4. I ask God to examine and test my heart, Ps. 26:2. Compare the points in
Ps. 7 above.

5. I state that God's lovingkindness is before my eyes, Ps. 26:3.

6. I have walked in Your truth, Ps. 26:3.

7. I have not sat with idolaters, Ps. 26:4.

8. I will not go in with hypocrites, Ps. 26:4.

9. I have hated the assembly of evil doers, Ps. 26:5.

10. I will not sit with the wicked, Ps. 26:5.

11. I know innocence is necessary for worship, Ps. 26:6. Acceptable praise
and worship of God is dependent upon "all" of these mentioned, Ps. 26:7-12.
**



*VII. David's Integrity, Ps. 101.*



   David's life and work of old must not be forgotten. This Psalm explains
how David led Israel with integrity. Notice the repetition of points from
the lesson:



1. He had a desire to sing of God's mercy and justice, vs. 1.

2. His behavior would be "perfect" or blameless which is the way of
integrity, vs. 2.

3. He would hate the work of those who fall away, vs. 3.

4. He would rid himself of a perverse heart and not know wickedness, vs. 4.

5. He would destroy the slanderers and the arrogant look and proud heart he
would not endure, vs. 5.

6. His eyes would be on the faithful and they would dwell with him and serve
him, vs. 6.

7. The one who works deceit would not dwell in his house or continue in his
presence, vs. 7.

8. Daily he would destroy the wicked and cut off the evil doers from among
God's people, vs. 8.



   Dear reader the repetition of these good encouragements concerning
integrity as the basis for one's vindication is necessary. Repetition is
needed lest we deny by our actions what we claim with our mouths, i.e. the
right to God's righteous vindication.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To learn more call, visit or visit our website at:

http://yumavalleychurchofchrist.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080304/8d7d603a/attachment-0001.html 

From mail at mikealrhughes.com  Tue Mar  4 12:35:31 2008
From: mail at mikealrhughes.com (Mike Hughes)
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2008 12:35:31 -0600
Subject: [Biblemat] Discussions on Bible Matters Forum
Message-ID: <856D404D-2BA4-4D46-951C-13B23C4B6354@mikealrhughes.com>

Hi everyone. Well the new location for the Forum is working well.  
There are two good discussions going on.
One discussions is on the matter of the Truth Magazine lectureship.  
What some call the issue of collectivities or as some put it Ne0- 
Institutionalism.  We need more participants on the discussion. I  
remember one of the things mentioned by Mike Willis was this was an  
issue or as some believe a non issue that would be best discussed on  
the Internet and not magazines. I will say I don't agree with that  
assessment. So now here is a forum for that discussion.
No. 2 - There was a question ask to me Sunday Evening namely - When  
the Lord's Supper is passed and there is one who the church has  
withdrawn from partakes is it wrong for us to partake in that setting?  
Does it violate 1 Corinthians 5 and Paul's admonition?

To join in on these discussions go to: www.network54/Forum/602460
Click on Create account if you don't have one. Or if you have a  
Network54 account go to log in.
Now be warned you have to be a part of the Bible Matters Group on  
Network54 to be able to post.
There should be a place for you to join the group. I will have to  
approve you for the group. Now what I need to know for that is your  
name, location, email address. If you are currently on Bible Matters  
list I need to know the user name you are using there just in case  
they are not the same.  This forum is only open at present to those on  
the Bible Matter List. I may open it up to others at a later date  
since we don't have a storage limitation there.

So Join in the discussions.








Mike  Hughes - Minister
Wilmington church of Christ

--

P.O. Box 278
303 N. 1st Street
Wilmington, IL 60481
Web: www.mikealrhughes.com   E-mail: mail at mikealrhughes.com
Mobile: (815) 560-3200                       AIM/iChat ID: im2macmike
Office/Fax: (815) 476-0634                 Wilmington, IL
Podcasts - The Bible Says       				Wilmington Sermons
Owner Bible Matters List					Bible Matters Forum
New forum address - http://www.network54.com/Forum/602460
Join Bible Matters Group for forum at - http://www.network54.com/Group/158452

To get out of difficulty, one must usually go through it! God never  
gives you more than you can bear - so bear it willingly and you will  
rejoice in your rewards!

The contents of this email are personal and private.  Please do not  
forward this communication, in whole or in part, to anyone without my  
express consent.





-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080304/e91c94f5/attachment.html 

From Churchmousejd at wmconnect.com  Tue Mar  4 11:13:29 2008
From: Churchmousejd at wmconnect.com (Churchmousejd at wmconnect.com)
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2008 12:13:29 EST
Subject: [Biblemat] "ILLUSTRATIONS & OBSERVATIONS"
Message-ID: <c78.29e2bb60.34fedd39@wmconnect.com>

BEING INCOGNITO
A lad who was from a good Christian family was preparing to leave for 
college. Before leaving, his father took him aside to give him some advice. Son he 
said,  "You have always been taught Christian values, but when you get to campus 
there will be those who do not believe as you do. So, in order to avoid being 
ridiculed about your beliefs, perhaps you shouldn't tell anyone you are a 
Christian." 
After a year the son returned home for a brief visit. His father asked if he 
had any problems concerning what they had discussed. "Not at all dad, when 
they went to the bars, so did I. I cursed just as much as they did, played poker 
and did everything they did. And you know what, dad? They never once suspected 
I was a Christian!" 
This story, while humorous, illustrates an all too common problem among those 
professing to be Christians. I have witnessed actions and speech unbecoming 
to a child of God; some of it from preachers and elders! We should live our 
lives in such a way that leaves no doubt we are Christians. A child of God should 
always conduct himself in a godly manner, even when he is alone. Even your 
inner thoughts must reflect God's word. After all, God sees you all the time. 
Don't put God to shame by your conduct. And just as important, always conduct 
yourself in such a way that you will have nothing to fear or be ashamed of when 
you stand before Him in judgment. 
 J.D. Williams 
   </HTML>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080304/d09ca6a6/attachment.html 

From jwquinn at sbcglobal.net  Tue Mar  4 11:44:21 2008
From: jwquinn at sbcglobal.net (Jon W. Quinn)
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2008 11:44:21 -0600
Subject: [Biblemat] Expository Files 15.3  March, 2008 Available
Message-ID: <ADEOIPIDBEJAHDNEBCJLMEEKDAAA.jwquinn@sbcglobal.net>

In our 15th year of publication (1994-2008)

Expository Files - February 2008

**Our 171st monthly issue**

Expository Files is a monthly electronic journal dedicated to Biblical
studies. It is edited by Warren E Berkley and Jon W. Quinn. This effort
began with the January, 1994 issue and continues to this day. In addition to
the four or so expository articles by different writers in each issue, there
are special topical studies. In addition, each issue begins and ends with
editorials by the editors. We have expository material from every book in
the Bible, though there are still portions that are much more lightly
covered
than others.

Thanks to our writers and our readers for making Expository Files such a
success!

----------------------------------------------------------

Expository Files 15.3; March 2008
Co-edited by Warren E. Berkley and Jon W. Quinn

----------------------------------------------------------
This month's issue contains:

Who Me?
Front Page 15.3 March, 2008
By Warren E. Berkley

"The Day" In Matt. 6:34
Matthew 6:34
By Warren E. Berkley

Jesus Wept
Luke 19:4
By George Slover

"How are the Dead Raised?"
1 Corinthians 15:36-58
By Jon W. Quinn

Praise Jehovah!
Psalm 135.1-6
By Wayne S. Walker

A Word to Preachers and Teachers
Topical Article
By David Posey

Plan of Salvation
By Jon W. Quinn

The First Epistle of John
Final Page 15.3 March, 2008
By Jon W. Quinn

----------------------------------------------------------

EF can be found at the following places:

http://www.bible.ca/ef/
Every issue - 1994 to present; every article; html; arranged by book; topic
and/or issue;
Search engine

http://expositoryfiles.homestead.com/index.html
2004-2006 in html by issue; 1994-2003 in zipped self executable format for
IBM

http://www.geocities.com/w_berkley/
EF in PDF by issue; Sept 2003 to present

=====
Jon W. Quinn
jwquinn at sbcglobal.net
Bradley Church of Christ
Bradley, IL 60915


From terrywbenton at bellsouth.net  Tue Mar  4 12:48:09 2008
From: terrywbenton at bellsouth.net (Terry W. Benton)
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2008 12:48:09 -0600
Subject: [Biblemat] A Promise of Great Value
Message-ID: <982F702B049F4722ACE76533C40AC2D5@TerryPC>

Have you thought about these matters?

Sunday AM Lesson:  "Exceeding Great and Precious Promises 3": "I'll Be With You Always" - Here is the exceeding great and precious promise that has empowered men to stand up for truth when the congregation has been leavened with sin and would not stand with the man, even though secretly many knew he was right.  Jeremiah was such a man, but he believed this precious promise.  This promise empowered Daniel, Isaiah, Joshua, the apostles and many great men and women of faith listed in Hebrews 11.  It is the promise that everything will work out fine for those who love the Lord enough to step out on the water and into the storm with eyes focused on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.  There comes a time in every Christian's life when this promise will anchor his heart through some rough storm of trial, both of a physical and spiritual nature.  To the kings of Israel and Judah God had said, "I am with you when you are with Me".  Are you with God?  Are you living by faith in this exceeding great and precious promise?  Is there a Goliath you can handle more confidently if you believed this promise like David did?  Think about this promise the next time you are challenged to handle an issue that needs to be handled.  The Lord is not with those who do wrong, nor with those who will not stand up to wrong and do the right thing.  The issue is, do you trust the Lord on this valuable promise?





Sunday PM Leson: "How To Listen In Church" - If you develope bad listening habits, it will work to callouse your heart. The continued practice of being "dull of hearing" will work against you.  You cannot afford to deceive yourself into thinking that because you are sitting in the pew and can hear some sounds vibrating your eardrums coming from the direction of the man in the pulpit, that you are safe.  You may be in real danger.  Your interest level and the constant self-reflection and the respect you have for the word of God, prepare your heart-soil for good listening skills.  But, bad listening skills create habits that will send your soul to hell in self-deception. This is why Jesus emphasized , "take heed HOW your hear".  What can we do to make the hour count for our eternal benifit?  How can we LISTEN in such a way to make it benefit our souls?  Come to the site below and LISTEN very carefully, with self-examination.

Go to: http://www.pinelanechurchofchrist.com/?PageID=2201&IsNav=true

Download the audio and the powerpoint for viewing.  Then, take just a moment to pass this information along to someone else in your address book. You never know when the seed will fall into a good heart.  Any effort is far better than no effort.  So, while we forward things around, why not forward this?  It can do no harm, and it can do much good.

Terry W. Benton

terrywbenton at bellsouth.net


 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080304/200baa3e/attachment-0001.html 

From mikeal1 at comcast.net  Tue Mar  4 19:52:46 2008
From: mikeal1 at comcast.net (Mike Hughes)
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2008 19:52:46 -0600
Subject: [Biblemat] Forum Information
Message-ID: <238DD6B5-1DCB-4AEB-9E73-83B511D934DC@comcast.net>

Ok, I received a message from Mike Richards stating he couldn't get to  
the group page to be able to apply to the group. I was able to add him  
manually. So to allievate the problem I have created a locked message  
about how to use the Bible Matters Forum. In that message I give you  
this link - http://www.network54.com/Group/158452. Once you have  
created an account go to that link to apply for group membership. I  
know some think this is a lot of hoops to jump through but in our day  
of internet security this is an added security measure to protect you  
identity and our Forum from being over taken by some we might not wish  
on the forum. Without the group anyone with a Network54 account can  
post to our Forum. From what I understand there are over 10,000  
members to Network54. Right now we have 23 of our 258 members on this  
list in the Forum. I will try and get the Welcome letter for the list  
rewritten where I might be able to go and put you on the forum myself  
where you will not have to "jump through the hoops" yourself. Now with  
that in mind if you wish me to add you to the forum then do this -  
write me an email at - mail at mikealrhughes.com In the subject tell me  
what you want your user name to be. I will set up the account for you  
and add you manually to the group so you can post.
I want everyone that is currently on the list that wants to, be able  
to post and enter into the discussions. I am a firm believer in the  
fact that the only thing that will suffer from good logical Biblical  
discussion is error. Truth will come out strong.
I have had people that have wanted to have discussion on Bible Matters  
List. I couldn't allow full blown discussion like with other lists  
because one the storage space limit and two I know I don't like my  
inbox clogged with a lot of email on some subjects I might not be  
interested in. With this forum layout that problem is solved. Although  
you can see and respond to all posts in the threads the only ones you  
will receive in your inbox are those you choose to by checking the box  
when you respond.  Now here is a copy of the thread I placed on the  
Forum about how to use the Forum.

> In order to post you have to be logged in using your Network54 User  
> name and password. If you don't have one your first step is to  
> create an account. Once you do that you will need to go to http://www.network54.com/Group/158452 
>  and apply for the membership to the group. Once you try to join I  
> will receive a message there your joining needs to be activated or  
> approved. Once I approve you will be able to join in on the  
> discussions. You will have to supply me with your name and email  
> before I will approve. You don't have to use your actual name on the  
> Forum. I just need to know to approve you to the group.
> Once all that has been accomplished. IF that sounds to hard email me  
> at: mail<at>mikealrhughes<dot>com and I will do all of this for you  
> if you will let me know the user name you wish to use.
> Again once that is done. Log in to your account. click on one of the  
> threads like you did to read this. Then when you see a message in  
> the thread you wish to respond to click at the bottom of the message  
> where it says respond to this message.
> It will bring up a writing area for you to post in. You don't have  
> to enter a message title. Your email address is optional. Now if you  
> wish to receive an email when someone responds to your post be sure  
> to check the box at the bottom that says- Also send responses to my  
> email address.
> You can post pictures to your messages, you can create a signature  
> for yourself if you wish as well. You will notice I have a signature  
> to my messages that is the Guamanian phrase for Have a good day!  
> Remember that from when I was stationed there in the 70's.
> That should get you going. Oh, You can start your own threads by  
> being at the index of messages and clicking on Post Now. That will  
> start a new thread that you can give whatever Message Title you  
> wish. Try to keep responses to others post within the same thread  
> please.
>
> One more thing, I will lock this thread where no responses can be  
> made to this thread.
>
> Macmike,
> Forum Owner
>
> Hafa Adai!




Mike  Hughes - Minister
Wilmington church of Christ

--

P.O. Box 278
303 N. 1st Street
Wilmington, IL 60481
Web: www.mikealrhughes.com   E-mail: mail at mikealrhughes.com
Mobile: (815) 560-3200                       AIM/iChat ID: im2macmike
Office/Fax: (815) 476-0634                 Wilmington, IL
Podcasts - The Bible Says       				Wilmington Sermons
Owner Bible Matters List					Bible Matters Forum
New forum address - http://www.network54.com/Forum/602460
Join Bible Matters Group for forum at - http://www.network54.com/Group/158452

To get out of difficulty, one must usually go through it! God never  
gives you more than you can bear - so bear it willingly and you will  
rejoice in your rewards!

The contents of this email are personal and private.  Please do not  
forward this communication, in whole or in part, to anyone without my  
express consent.





-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080304/36dbb3cb/attachment.html 

From disciple_of_iesus at hotmail.com  Tue Mar  4 20:26:55 2008
From: disciple_of_iesus at hotmail.com (Ethan R. Longhenry)
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2008 21:26:55 -0500
Subject: [Biblemat] S:> The Spiritual Life
Message-ID: <BAY132-DAV1656D6FAE1EF3159B86103B2110@phx.gbl>

http://www.deusvitae.com/faith/outlines/index.html

                     The Spiritual Life

I. Introduction
   A. How should a Christian be defined?  
      1. Seems like a simple question
      2. What makes one a "Christian"?
   B. We could talk about one who believes and is baptized 
      (Mark 16:16)
      1. A Christian most certainly needs to believe and to be 
         baptized
      2. But there are many who profess Jesus, were baptized, but 
         are not part of the saved (Matthew 7:21-23, 
         2 Thessalonians 1:6-9)
      3. Many "Christians" would be indistinguishable from people 
         of the world!
   C. People are defined by their fruit (Matthew 7:16-20)
      1. We recognize that people are defined less by what they say 
         and more by what they do
      2. What is the fruit that would define the Christian?
   D. Too often, Christians define themselves, or are defined by 
      others, by what they don't do
      1. When we get to what fruit Christians show, it is often 
         defined by what is not done
      2. Christians don't drink, don't swear, don't lie, don't 
         commit sexual immorality, etc.
      3. Such is not a problem-- Christians should avoid all such 
         evil (Galatians 5:19-21)
      4. Nevertheless, there remains a gaping hole: things not done 
         does not provide any idea as to what should be done
   E. What Christians don't do is only half the equation-- what are 
      Christians to do?
      1. Christians are not just to be people "against" things-- 
         they also should be "for" something!
      2. What should Christians be "for"?
   F. Paul provides an idea of the fruit that the Christian should 
      bear in Galatians 5:17-18, 22-24
      1. Christians should "walk by the Spirit"
      2. They should manifest the fruit of the Spirit
      3. Indeed, Christians should be living the "spiritual" life!
   G. Let us consider the spiritual life

II. The Scriptures
   A. The Scriptures often speak of the need of living such a life
   B. Galatians 5:17-18, 22-24 as mentioned
   C. Romans 12
   D. Colossians 3:1-3, 12-15
   E. All such passages mention the need to life a spiritual life
      1. "from above," not below
      2. Marked not by worldly values but the values of Christ in 
         His Kingdom
   F. What further can we say about the spiritual life?
III. The Primacy of Love
   A. The first notable aspect is the primacy of love in the 
      spiritual life
   B. Colossians 3:14 indicates as much
      1. First manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit 
         (Galatians 5:22)
      2. An entire chapter devoted to it (1 Corinthians 13)
   C. Understandable why love so critical
      1. God as love (1 John 4)
      2. Reason for sending Jesus to die for sin (John 3:16)
      3. Pre-eminent virtue
   D. Romans 13:9 indeed!
   E. Love, as seeking the best for the one beloved, governs all 
      other virtues
      1. Should govern our perspective toward others and thus our 
         conduct toward them
      2. Other virtues flow through love

IV. Virtues Interrelated
   A. While love is primary, all the virtues in reality interrelated
   B. Galatians 5:22: singular fruit of the Spirit
      1. While we may speak of the "fruits" of the Spirit, Paul 
         keeps it in the singular
      2. Reason is clear-- it's quite hard to separate them!
   C. How can one be patient without exercising self-control?
   D. How can one be kind and not be compassionate?
   E. How can one be gentle and not peaceful?
   F. Too often, certain virtues elevated beyond others
      1. Tunnel vision often applies!
      2. Sometimes certain virtues get elevated above others
      3. While it is understandable, in reality, all virtues must 
         be exhibited
   G. We cannot just play our strengths!
      1. We all may be better able to manifest certain virtues more 
         than others
      2. All, however, are necessary for the spiritual life
      3. We must strive diligently to manifest all aspects of the 
         fruit of the Spirit

V. The Character of the Christian
   A. For the Christian to live the spiritual life, he or she must 
      be marked by certain characteristics and perspectives
      1. Without certain greater aspects, trying to do what Christ 
         would have one do is quite difficult!
      2. If we are not like Christ in mind and character, we cannot 
         be like Him in action (1 Corinthians 11:1, 1 John 2:6)!
   B. Humility quite essential
      1. Humility relates mostly to one's perspective about oneself 
         before God and others
      2. If one recognizes that one is no better than his peers, 
         and quite inferior to God, one is then in a position to 
         accept what God says to do and do it!
      3. One also realizes that one has no inherent advantage over 
         his fellow man, and will  be better able to serve and help 
         him!
      4. Hence, Matthew 18:1-4
   C. A sacrificial spirit
      1. One must also be willing to "suffer loss"!
      2. Romans 12:1
      3. While we should "suffer loss" for God.
      4. .we often do so by "suffering loss" toward our fellow man!
      5. Yes, it could be negative (Matthew 5:38-48, Luke 6:27-36)
      6. But it also should be positive! (Galatians 2:10, 6:10)
      7. If we are unwilling to suffer loss, it will be hard for 
         us to be as Christ!

VI. Christlikeness
   A. In short, the spiritual life is defined by Christlikeness
   B. Christ our ultimate Example
      1. 1 Corinthians 11:1
      2. Philippians 2:5-11
      3. Hebrews 12:2
      4. 1 John 2:6
   C. If we desire to seek to see how each attribute is perfectly 
      lived, let us look to Jesus
   D. If we desire to see the balanced life of virtue, let us look 
      to Jesus
   E. If we desire to see what we should be, let us look to Jesus

VII. Conclusion
   A. Christians should be equally marked, if not more marked, by 
      what they do than what they do not do!
      1. James 4:17
      2. If we live the life we ought, we will be seen more for 
         what we do than what we don't do!
   B. Love is primary, and the virtues that should mark the 
      Christian are interrelated
   C. Christians must be humble and sacrificial to accomplish God's 
      purposes
   D. In short, Christians must be Christlike, being as Christ before 
      fellow men
   E. That is the purpose of us living the Christian life-- to 
      glorify God, to point to Him, and to show the love of Christ 
      to all people
      1. Matthew 5:13-16
      2. The way to promote Christ's Kingdom is to live an 
         honorable life as its ambassador (Philippians 3:20)!
   F. Let us live the spiritual life!
   G. Invitation/songbook

Ethan R. Longhenry/ disciple_of_iesus at hotmail.com
Evangelist, church of Christ in Norwalk, Ohio
 (http://www.norwalkchurch.org)
Website: http://www.deusvitae.com
AIM: Deus Vitae / ICQ#: 28317056
MSN Messenger ID: deusvitae at hotmail.com
Yahoo! Messenger ID: discipuliiesus

Subscribe to Good News for Norwalk!
goodnewsfornorwalk-subscribe at norwalkchurch.org

From J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com  Wed Mar  5 03:48:45 2008
From: J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com (J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com)
Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2008 04:48:45 EST
Subject: [Biblemat] A) DOES YOUR RELIGION HAVE SUBSTANCE?
Message-ID: <d3f.2585e554.34ffc67d@wmconnect.com>

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  A very good Wednesday
morning to each and everyone.  May God bless you and yours.
Here is an article from my recent files:

DOES YOUR RELIGION HAVE SUBSTANCE?

     I am a snacker.  Like hordes of other folks who also believe that chips 
and salsa are one of the basic food groups.
I like to snack on something as I relax by reading or watching
television.  Snacking, however, has an unfortunate conseque-
nce -- weight gain!  In search of healthy foods on which to
snack, I have tried rice cakes.  Rice cakes are enexpensive,
attractive looking, a good source of fiber and low in calories,
but eating them is like eating air; there is no substance to
them!  Those rice cakes remind me of the religion of some; it
looks good at first glance, but there is not much substance to
it!

     Jesus taught that verbal claims to allegiance unaccompan-
ied by obedience are useless.  He said, "But why do you call
Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?" (Lk.
6:46).  The word "Lord" is one which indicates a person who
possesses the authority to command.  Jesus asked why some were calling Him 
"Lord" as though recognizing His auth-
ority and yet not obeying Him.  Such religion may "sound"
good, but it lacks substance.  We can demonstrate that Jesus
is our Lord by letting Him rule in our hearts and others will
know of His rule by the way we life.

     Many people advertise their love for Jesus Christ on the
bumper of their car or various other places.  They like to talk
about "loving Jesus Christ" and to the casual observer they
appear pious, but they actually pay little attention to what Jesus had to 
say.  Jesus affirmed that there is no love with-
out obedience.  He said, "If you love Me, keep My command-
ments...He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is
he who loves Me" (Jno. 14:15,21a).  Religion which consists
only of verbal claims "to love the Lord" without determined
obedience to His Word certainly lacks substance.

     Sometimes people surround themselves with religious items such as 
crosses, pictures of Jesus or Bible verses on
plaques.  Observing these exhibitions of supposed religious
fervor, one may think that such people are interested in spirit-
ual things, but this is frequently not the case.  Often their be-
havior indicates that such items are merely window-dressing.
Their religion is purely external, having little to do with the
heart, nor has it affected their lives in any concrete way.  It is
superficial and lacks substance.

     Verbal claims to love Jesus Christ and even the surround-
ing of oneself with religious symbols mean little if we ignore
what Jesus commands through His inspired writers.  Jesus
said, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter
the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the Will of My Father Who is in 
heaven" (Matt. 7:21).  It is imperative that we
investigate the Scriptures to determine the Will of our heaven-
ly Father.  Any "religion" which does not leave the stamp of
Jesus' teaching on our life through obedience to the Father's
Will is not worth much.  Does your religion have any substance?   ------- 
Allen Dvorak via Gospel Power, Vol. 15, No. 8, Feb. 24, 2008.   </HTML>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080305/fe07945f/attachment-0001.html 

From J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com  Wed Mar  5 03:48:54 2008
From: J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com (J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com)
Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2008 04:48:54 EST
Subject: [Biblemat] S) THE SPIRITUAL DANGERS OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS  (1)
Message-ID: <c70.27f7b10c.34ffc686@wmconnect.com>

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  Here is the first part of a
study found in my files.  Use to the glory of God.

THE SPIRITUAL DANGERS OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS  (1)

Believing Fathers, With The Mother, Have The Responsibility
Of Rearing Children "in the nurture and admonition of the
Lord" (Eph. 6:4; Titus 2:4,5; Prov. 23:22-26).  Our teaching and example can 
help our children get to heaven, protecting
them from "this present evil world" (Gal. 1:4), where dangers
abound.

     This includes protecting them from worldly dangers they
face when away from us seven hours a day, five days a week,
in public schools.  "My son, observe the commandment of
your father and do not forsake the teaching of your mother...
For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light; and
reproofs for discipline are the way of life" (Prov. 6:20,23).

     Beyond this brief survey, consult these challenging reads:
The Harsh Truth About Public Schools (Bruce N. Shortt) and
Public Education Against America: The Hidden Agenda (Mar-
lin Maddoux).  Some Christians choose homeschooling to pro-
tect their children from anti-Biblical dangers in public educat-
ion.  For the case of homeschooling, consult Public Schools,
Public Menace: How Public Schools Lie To Parents And Betray Our Children 
(Joel Turtel).

     Yet, I believe vigilant Christians can responsibly "discern
good from evil" (Heb. 5:14) and send their children to many
public schools.  Moses had the best secular education of 
pagan Egypt (Acts 7:22).  Yet, this worldly education did not
destroy his faith, instilled from his mother Jocabed (Exo 2:9,
10), rather, it gave occasion to freely affirm his faith in the God of truth 
(Heb. 11:23-29).  On the other hand, private schooling in a more conservative 
and Biblically honoring envi-
ronment is often a good choice for parents, especially Florida
College (www.floridacollege.edu), for college education.

     Moral issues in public education simply reflect issues in our culture, 
which has always had sinful problems.  We must
live as salt and light, not retreating but engaged, in order to
positively influence it (Matt. 5:13-16).  We must recognize that
there fine Christians teaching in the public schools who are
making a possitive difference.  David Holder, a gospel preach-
er in Fort Worth, Texas, served on a local public school board
My wife Debbi and I served a year on the local city/county
parental advisory committee for public schools. We can teach
our children to be positive examples.  For example, our daugh-
ter Rachel, who graduated from public high school this year,
was awarded "In the Name of Jesus Scholarship" by The Com-
munity Foundation of Southern Indiana for community service and academic 
achievement.  It can be done.

Serious Dangers In Public Schools: -- 1. Anti-Biblical World-
views: -- Parents must be vigilant and counteract potential
evil influences on our children.  On my daughter's high school reading list, 
I found Ayn Rands's The Fountainhead,
which promotes "the virtue of selfishness" in being true to
your creativity, the permissibility of sex outside of marriage,
and liberal divorce and remarriage.  Ms. Rand was an atheist.
She wrote elsewhere that self-worship in self-actualization is
man's highest purpose, which is a worldview totally contrary
to the Bible.  I objected to the English teacher that this book
was included; he was very receptive and said it would either
ot be included next year or would have a synopsis of each
book for parents to screen for suitable reading material for
their child.  Parents can be involved and have an influence.

     2. Political Correctness Of Relativism: -- This is multi-cult-
ural inclusiveness that a multitude of viewpoints are equally
valid and we must avoid the word "wrong" in describing the
beliefs and actions of others.  Some students have been cen-
sured for giving reports on Jesus or the Bible, while other
world religions are allowed.  This teaches all truth is relative
to man's definition and there are no divine absolutes of right
and wrong -- only subjective guidelines.  (More will be posted
on this subject tomorrow, the Lord wil