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Table of Contents:

Legalism vs. Authentic Faith: A Contrast

Enjoying Life Is Not a Sin

How to Love Your Mother

Exegetically Speaking

Words to Stand You on Your Feet

Living out the Living Word

Following God

Points to Ponder

Jewels from Past Giants

Counselor’s Corner

The Story behind the Song

Church Builders

Advancing the Ministries of the Gospel

Marks of the Master

Book Reviews

News Update

Sermon Helps

Puzzles and ‘Toons

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Legalism vs. Authentic Faith: A Contrast By John Meador Originally published in Pulpit Helps in two parts, May and June 2002. The Gospels record a number of confrontations between Jesus and the Pharisees. These altercations were rooted in the conflict between their “kingdom of legalism” and the true Kingdom of God. As self-proclaimed guardians and keepers of the Law, the Pharisees wrongly believed they had a corner on the Kingdom of God. They were so presumptuous that they added 619 different commandments to the Ten Commandments. In addition, they added 358 prohibitions regarding the Law, including 39 different additions to just the Sabbath law.

From the time Jesus began His earthly ministry, the Pharisees were opposed to Him. In Mark 2:7, they ask, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” In Mark 2:16 you find them criticizing Jesus for eating with the tax-gatherers and sinners. In verse 18 they ask. “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” In verse 24 the Pharisees say, “See here! Why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” In Mark 3 we find the worst of the confrontations, when Jesus comes into the synagogue again. In these verses we will discover the distinctions between the counterfeit and the genuine Kingdom of God. The story of the man with the withered hand in Mark 3:1-6 is, in reality, about legalism. The real story is the conflict between the Pharisees with their legalism and Jesus Christ with the new kingdom

principles. Legalism is all about what is on the outside, while Jesus was concerned about what was on the inside. The Pharisees were about ritual; Jesus cared about relationships. You find those opposite extremes whenever you see conversations between the Pharisees and Jesus, but this is the clearest scriptural example I have found which explains what authentic Christian living is—what we are to be about. Let’s make the contrast clear. First, legalism is unmoved by Scripture and moral reasoning. At the end of chapter 2, Jesus begins to reason with the Pharisees about the Sabbath. Notice, in verse 25, He appeals to them on the basis of Scripture: “Have you never read what David did…?” Then in verse 27, He appeals to them on the basis of moral reasoning: “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Consequently, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Incredibly, they were unmoved by either appeal. Legalism is always like that. These Pharisees exemplified the mindset that says, “When I get my rules all in an order, when I get my thinking all figured out, I’m not going to be moved by anything else, whether it’s Scripture or moral reasoning.” In the case of the man with the withered hand, Jesus found that they have not changed one bit as a result of His words. There’s something symptomatic of spiritual death when we are unmoved by Scripture. I’ve heard people say, “Well, I know that’s what it says, but this is what I really believe.” That’s a dangerous place to be, where you’re not even moved by the Word of God or the moral reasoning of Jesus Christ. Yet that’s where these men were. They were so set in their ways that even the Son of God could not gain a hearing. They were determined, resolute,

and confident that they had all the answers. Legalism is unmoved by Scripture. Second, legalism has its eyes on man and has forgotten about God. Mark 3:2 says, “And they were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath….” I’ve always thought that when you come into a house of worship, you come to look for God. We come to praise the Lord, to lift His name up, to worship Him, and to engage in a relationship with Him. The Pharisees, who were the experts of religion in their day, came not to look at God but man. In their eyes, Jesus was a mere man and they came to watch what He would do. Their purpose in the house of worship had nothing to do with God, but to condemn the One that wasn’t like them. That is what legalism does. Legalism sets up a complex, outward system of laws that is used to judge others. You end up evaluating all others around you instead of looking to God.

There’s a third principle here: legalism is eager to calculate and condemn. Mark 3:2b says, “…in order that they might accuse Him.” The Greek word “accuse” is where we get our English word “categorize.” They were categorizing Jesus, stereotyping Him in a negative way. They were saying, “We have our set of rules about religion, and Jesus doesn’t fit the mold. He’s not keeping the Law in the way we want Him to.” We often do that kind of thing with people, even when we don’t mean to. We categorize them because they don’t look like us, or because they don’t do everything exactly like us. There’s no freedom in legalism. Legalism is calculating and condemning, putting down even God’s Son! Notice another glaring problem: legalism has no answers for serious questions. In verse 4, Jesus reasons with them: “‘Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good

or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?’ But they kept silent.” Make note of this! It’s the first time on record that the Pharisees kept silent. The verb here expresses the thought that they “kept on being silent.” They couldn’t come up with an answer. These men, who added 39 laws to the keeping of the Sabbath and considered themselves the keepers of the Sabbath, couldn’t even answer a question about whether to do good, or to do evil, on the Sabbath! That’s a picture of legalism. Legalism doesn’t think through what’s behind the law, but simply takes the letter of the law and does not discern the spirit of the law! The Pharisees were so busy defending their system that they would not even reason with someone concerning the purpose behind that very law. One final thought on legalism. Legalism condemns its own deceived followers. Verse 6 says, “And the Pharisees

went out and immediately began taking counsel with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.” The very guardians of the Sabbath law were breaking the Sabbath worse than anyone else could possibly have done! They were so worried about all their precious interpretations of Sabbath laws—yet, on the Sabbath, they were plotting to murder the Son of God. That’s how deceptive legalism is. It’s a great paradox, but it’s easier to keep law than it is to maintain a relationship. It is into that legalistic environment that Jesus came. And here, perhaps more than in any other passage of Scripture, we find Jesus demonstrating the principles of authentic Christian living—what believers are to be about. The Pharisees were focused on ritual, while Jesus came talking about relationships. First of all, He shows that we are to love our enemies. Mark 3 says, “…He

entered again into the synagogue….” Jesus knew the Pharisees were waiting on Him everywhere He went, and every time He had something to say. Yet Jesus persevered, even going to the people who hated Him the most. Matthew 5:44 tells us what to do about our enemies: “But I say to you, love your enemies...and pray for those who persecute you.” Do you have any enemies like Jesus did? Jesus didn’t call them His enemies, but they certainly considered Him their enemy. Do you know anybody that constantly criticizes you, condemns you, and accuses you? You can never seem to live up to his or her standards. Is there anybody in your life who hates you with a passion and desires to see you hurt? What do you do with people like that? If you’re letting Christ live through your life, you love them! Why? So Matthew 5:45 can be fulfilled: “...in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven....”

The second principle is in Mark 3:4. Jesus calls the man with the withered hand up in front of them all. “And He said to them, ‘Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?’ But they kept silent.” Put that in principle form and here’s what you’ll find: Kingdom living involves finding and doing what is right. God has given us so many different avenues by which to find right. For instance, the Christian has a moral map called Scripture. The Christian has a moral compass called the conscience, which enables us to know what is right or wrong. Finally, the Christian has a moral guide, called the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes into our lives and He leads us. He shows us what is right and what is wrong. We can know the right thing to do and we can do it. Verse 5 contains an example that illustrates a principle: “And after looking around at them with anger, grieved at their

hardness of heart, He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’” Here we see a picture of Jesus’ anger, and in that that picture we understand that we must be angry over wrong. Some would say you’re not supposed to be angry about anything, but there are many different kinds of anger. When you look at the anger of Jesus Christ, you notice it was never anger in retaliation. Jesus’ anger was always directed toward moral wrong. He exhibited anger when others were hurt as a result of some action. The Pharisees were a classic example of those hurting people by their rigid legalism, and the Bible says that Jesus was angry with them: “…After looking around at them with anger, He was grieved at their hardness of heart.” Anger is what a good man feels in the presence of stark evil. There’s something wrong if stark evil is in our presence and we’re not angry. Ephesians 4 is Paul’s account of what we

are to do with anger. In verse 26 he says: “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.” There’s a difference between being angry and acting angry. Someone said, “Anger against wrong is a sign of moral health.” If we are able to see a horrible crime against another and not be moved, there’s something spiritually unhealthy about our lives. Jesus’ anger burned for the moment, but grief over their hearts was what He carried away. Also, we should show mercy in the face of hostility. Mark 3:5b says: “…He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.” Ministry costs something. It cost Jesus. Verse 6 says that as a direct consequence of what Jesus did in verse 5, the Pharisees began to conspire to put Him to death. Ministry cost Him His life. It will cost us. It may cost us popularity, or how

people receive us at our workplace, or in our family. It’s always right to minister, no matter what it might cost us. There are those in other parts of the world who will tell you that to open their mouths with the name of Jesus Christ is to put a death sentence over their heads. But they do it anyway. Why? Because it is what God wants them to do. They recognize that ministry costs and yet it’s worth it. Finally, authentic kingdom living attracts people in need. Mark 3:7 says, “And Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a great multitude from Galilee followed; and also from Judea, and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude heard of all that He was doing and came to Him.” People walked more than 100 miles just to be in the presence of Jesus.

I look at that and think, “Where has the church erred?” Why neglect the powerful ministry principle here? The power of Christ’s ministry is a pattern for the body of Christ. Today there are churches taking their ministry pattern from everywhere except Jesus Christ. They’re taking it from modern-day business practices or from churches that seem successful. Yet here we have a tremendous example showing that when we minister in authentic Christian living, God draws people from all around. How must we live in order to captivate the hearts of people so that they would go any distance to be near? We must live and teach as Christ did! John Meador is senior pastor of First Baptist

Church of Euless, Texas. Table of Contents

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Enjoying Life Is Not a Sin

By Shea Oakley Intensely enjoying something does not necessarily make it into an idol. If the ability to experience a particular pleasure is God-given, and the way and time it is enjoyed is God-approved, then it is safe to say that a Christian’s enjoyment of it is God-ordained. Unfortunately, throughout 2,000 years of Church history, there have always been a number of baleful voices calling for the demonization of any delight but that which comes from the direct worship of God. In fact, today, some would attack even that most supreme of pleasures, labeling it all “emotionalism.” Is it overstepping to suggest that many of these voices come from people who cannot or will not allow themselves to enjoy the good gifts

God gives us in this life and who envy other’s ability to enjoy them? We are often told by such individuals that Christianity is a religion of self-denial. This is certainly true in the sense that we are called to die to the selfish aspects of our old nature. It is also true that we are called to be self-controlled, not chasing very opportunity for gratification that the world we now live in offers us. What this does not mean is that we are to deny ourselves pleasurable experiences for the mere reason that they are pleasurable. Such an extreme rejection of all such experiences has a name, extreme asceticism, and as the apostle Paul tells us, its practice does nothing to restrain sinful sensuality. In fact such asceticism can easily lead to that particularly satanic sin, spiritual pride. Many ascetics find it quite enjoyable to declare their superiority over anyone who is not an ascetic!

In 1 Timothy 6:17 Paul tells us that it is God “…who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” The people in our churches who attack “enjoyment” as some kind of synonym for sin would do well to meditate on this verse before they declare the simple experience of innocent pleasures in life to be tantamount to hedonism. God made His finest creation with the ability to feel delight. This should be no surprise as we are made in the image of a God who Himself takes pleasure in all the good things He has created. There is clearly such a thing as an inordinate love for pleasure, even pleasure that God does not call inherently sinful. This is where the specter of idolatry does rear its head. Some years ago I heard a radio pastor give a sermon on what he called “the lust for bliss.” What he referred to is the fallen human desire to avoid pain and maximize good feelings at any cost. When

we make the enjoyment of anything more important in our lives than loving and obeying our Lord, we make for ourselves an idol. It is no doubt wise to examine our hearts on a regular basis to make sure we have not let some pleasure crowd out and replace our devotion to Jesus Christ. It should also go without saying that any activity that is specifically condemned in the Scripture is never right to enjoy. Even with these caveats, many of us still need to allow ourselves to experience more of what God has made for us to enjoy on this side of Heaven. Whether it is riding a beautiful horse or listening to a good piece of music, a swim in the ocean or reading exquisitely written literature, we (as children of the Creator of all good things) have the privilege to intensely enjoy, these things in the right way. Once God Himself is first in our hearts He bids us to live an abundant life

that embraces the legitimate pleasures He has made for us to enjoy.

© Shea Oakley. All Rights Reserved.

Converted from atheism in 1990, Shea Oakley has written over 350 articles for

electronic and print publications since 2002, including Disciple Magazine (and Pulpit

Helps Magazine), The Christian Herald, The Christian Post, Christian Network and

Crosshome.com. In 2003 he graduated from Alliance Theological Seminary with a

Certificate of Theological Studies. Shea and his wife Kathleen make their home in West

Milford, New Jersey.Table of Contents

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How to Love Your Mother

By Tonya Stoneman Published in Pulpit Helps, May 2003.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, stood by the cross at Calvary and witnessed as history’s greatest tragedy was inflicted upon her Son. “When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’ Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’ From that hour the disciple took her into his own household” (John 19:26-27). John the Beloved lived to be an old man—long enough to take good care of Mary all the days of her life. Even as He hung dying on the cross, Jesus demonstrated His love toward His mother, making provision for her care in His absence. The older a mother gets, the more she needs to know that her children still love her. How can you show love to your mother? 1) Love her verbally. When you tell your mother that you love her, it is important

to be specific. Tell her why and how you love her. Express some of the qualities for which you love her, like the fact that you enjoy the meals she prepares or you appreciate how dependable she is. When you stop and think about all the things your mother does to serve her household, you will find plenty of examples. 2) Love her physically. Your mother was the first person to touch you. Before you were born, she wrapped you in her womb. After you came into the world, she tickled the bottoms of your feet and made you laugh. She kissed your cheeks in the middle of the night and held your little hands when they were soft and tender. She also changed your diapers, tied your shoelaces, combed your hair, and buttoned your shirts. She touched you constantly during all those years when you needed the security of her touch. When her primary duties as a mother

have expired, she will need to know that she is still needed. She will need your touch. 3) Love her patiently. Moms have big jobs. There likely is no corporate responsibility that rivals motherhood when it comes to physical, emotional, and spiritual commitment. It is easy to become impatient with our mothers when they don’t do things the way we want them to. Sometimes they are late to appointments, prepare meals we don’t like, or don’t follow through in the way we expect them to. In these times we must exercise patience. It is important to remember that our mothers aren’t bottomless wells from which we draw each time we have a need. Our mothers have their own schedules and needs. It is unfair to expect them to always align their lives to accommodate ours. 4) Listen to her. Can you remember a time when your mother stopped what she was doing to listen to you pour out your

burdens? Maybe somebody you were dating stood you up, a friend didn’t invite you to a party, or you didn’t make the basketball team. What did your mother do? She put her arm around you and encouraged you. She listened. Sometimes our mothers long for someone to talk to. One of the sweetest ways you can express love toward your mother is to listen to her. A lot of mothers suppress fears, anxieties, frustrations, and inner torments because they don’t want to worry their children. In fact, there are no parents who never have fears, heartaches, or burdens. In her later years, she may face troubles more intense than anything she has helped you overcome in your own life. It is important to keep the door of communication open so that our mothers can express their fears when necessary. 5) Love her gratefully. Think for a moment about all the things that your mother has done for you over the years.

How many meals did she prepare for you while you lived at home? How many boxes of cereal did she buy? You wanted Corn Flakes, so she bought that. You switched to Lucky Charms, so she bought that. She asked you how you liked your eggs—fried, scrambled, or poached. Mothers never bring these things to our attention. They just make their trips to the grocery store and stand in line with their carts full of food because they love us. If we begin to enumerate all the little things that our mothers have done throughout the years, we will realize that we owe them an enormous debt of gratitude. 6) Love her tenderly. A mother sometimes needs acceptance and understanding rather than a lot of advice. Her actions may seem strange, but when you love somebody, you accept her just as she is. Maybe it’s something she can’t help. Maybe she doesn’t understand her own emotions. Don’t judge your mother—just

tenderly love her, and accept that she’s going through a difficult time. The best mark of what kind of kids we are is how we respond to our moms when they are going through hardship. 7) Love her generously. Is anything too good for your mother? When you think about all the things she has done for you, could you ever do enough to repay her? More than likely your mother sacrificed so that you could wear the clothes you wore. When she went to the store to buy herself a dress, she made sure that you had the best she could afford first. What was left over, she spent on herself. Mothers do this every day with their time and energy, canceling appointments or forfeiting opportunities to take their children to sports practice or friends’ houses. How can we be stingy toward our mothers when they have been so unselfish, loving, and generous toward us?

8) Love her forgivingly. Perhaps you do not have a harmonious relationship with your mother. You may be resentful and bitter toward her. Whatever has happened between you, you have a responsibility before God to forgive her. Maybe there is no excuse for her sins; however, when we do not forgive we cannot love. And God tells us to love. If He can forgive us despite our failures, surely we can do the same for our mothers. 9) Love her cheerfully. What comes to your mother’s mind when she thinks about you? Does she smile or frown? Is she encouraged or burdened? The next time you visit your mother, encourage her, laugh with her, and do your best to make her happy. In doing so, you will show her how you genuinely feel toward her. 10) Love her honorably. “Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long upon the earth” (Ex. 20:12). It is

the only one of the 10 Commandments with a built-in promise for blessing. It doesn’t matter what your vocation is in life, how many people know you, or the amount of money you earn. When you live the kind of life that honors your mother, she will be proud of you. How do you love your mother? You love her with all of your heart. You demonstrate your love to her in a way that makes her grateful for every moment of time she invested in you, every penny she sacrificed for you, and every experience she provided that helped you become the person you are. Whoever you are, you owe a great deal to your mother.

In Touch Magazine, May 2002 issue. Used with permission.

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Exegetically Speaking

by Spiros Zodhiates God, the Source of Good James 1:17a From Faith, Love & Hope: An Exposition of the Epistle of James, AMG Publishers, 1997. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17a). After James clears God of all responsibility as far as the desire to do evil in man is concerned, he makes a very significant statement regarding the counterpart of evil—good. He says: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

The words translated “gift” are not the same in Greek. There is a definite distinction between the two Greek words. The first one, dósis, means “the act of giving,” and the second one, dōrēma, the “result of that act, the gift itself.” Dósis comes from the verb dídomi, which in its original sense means “to give, to present,” with the implied idea of giving freely. James wants us here to have a glimpse into the character of God. Before we fix our attention on the gift, he wants us to look at the Giver and know His nature and His action toward us. Why does the sun shine? Because it is its nature to do so. Why does God give and so freely at that? Because it is His nature to do so. There is a legend told of an ancient kingdom whose sovereign had just died, and whose ambassadors were sent to choose a successor from twin infants. They found the little fellows fast asleep, and looking at them

carefully agreed that it was difficult to decide, until they happened to notice one curious small difference between them. As they lay, one infant had his tiny fists closed tight, the other slept with his little hands wide open. Instantly they made their selection of the latter; and sure enough, the legend very properly concludes with the record that, as he grew up in his station, he came to be known as the King with the Open Hand. We could say the same thing of our God. His hand is always open to give. There is, however, a characterization of His giving. It is “good,” James says. The word in the original Greek is agathē. The word “good,” of course, has such a wide meaning that we are likely to misunderstand God’s activity in our lives. What is good giving? The Greek word in early times, when referring to persons, meant “gentle, noble,” with special application to birth and rank. This gives us to understand that God’s

giving is good, is noble, is gentle in its generation, in its origin, in its birth. All things that God created are good in themselves. Good can, however, become evil, as it reaches the hands of sinful man and is misused. That, nevertheless, does not rob it of its goodness of origin. What would we do without a knife at home? It is a most useful instrument. But it can become deadly if it is misused, if instead of peeling potatoes it takes the life of an innocent child. We do not arrest the maker of the knife, or imprison the knife itself, but we punish the user of it who used it in an evil, sinful manner. And sin, as you may know, means nothing more than missing the mark, the goal, its intended use. Thus good, noble giving may prove to be evil when handled wrongly by the recipient. The first trick which Satan used against God was an insinuation against God’s goodness and generosity. “Can it be

possible,” said the serpent in substance, “that your God has shut off a part of the garden from you and commanded that you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” In other words, God could not have created anything that is not for the enjoyment of man, for if that were so, then He could be accused of having created evil. Unfortunately, Eve fell for Satan’s lie, as so many of us do. James in verse 17 gives the answer, a most important theological statement, that God has created nothing that is evil in itself; all of God’s creation is good and noble, but He has at the same time created certain restrictions as to the use of His good giving. Once you get out of those boundaries of God’s prescribed use, you are likely to harm yourself instead of benefiting from God’s giving. I wonder whether there is anything which God made which does not have some useful purpose. I doubt it very much. That is the declaration given by

James: “Every act of God’s giving is noble in its origin.” That adjective, agathē, describing God’s giving, also implies a blessing, a benefit. The axiom enunciated is that not only is every creation of God noble in itself, but it is beneficial for the recipient, as long as that creation is within the boundary of his enjoyment. Do not forget that God did not merely create things, but He also created laws regulating things both physical and spiritual, things material and immaterial. He made the grass for certain animals and flesh for other animals. Those laws must be obeyed if God’s creation is to benefit from His creation. I want to call your attention further to a very significant observation concerning this word agathē, “good,” characterizing God’s giving. The word has no regular degrees of comparison. There is no “gooder” and “goodest,” as my little daughter used to

say. This might imply that there is no possible improvement on God’s giving. What He gives is the highest and the best, the most profitable for man. The way He gives is also the very best. Do not think for one moment, child of God, that you can ever improve on it. So many times we seem to indicate by our actions and our reception of God’s gifts that we know of better ways in which God could enrich us with His benefits. But James, by virtue of this word he uses, declares that we are mistaken, that we are not capable of improving on God’s manner of giving. Is this not a meaningful lesson and one that should induce complete satisfaction with His dealings with us? After James has spoken of God’s way of giving, he proceeds to tell us something of the gift itself. He says that the result, the gift, the dōrēma that comes from God, is perfect. The word “perfect” in the original Greek is téleion which, as I mentioned in a previous

study, comes from the root word télos, meaning “the end, the purpose, the result, the fulfillment, the completion, the consummation.” That which God gives has a purpose, has a goal. Now remember what James said in verse 4 of this chapter, that we should be made perfect. In other words, all of God’s gifts have as their end the accomplishment of God’s purpose in our lives, and that is perfection. God is not interested so much in what we think of the gifts that reach us, but what they will accomplish in us. I like spaghetti very much, but I have a tendency to put on weight easily, and that is not the best thing for me. But spaghetti is good for a thin person who needs to add a few pounds to his weight. Spaghetti is God’s gift, and for my thin brother it proves the perfect food, but for me it does not. Similarly the perfection of God’s gifts ought to be judged by what they accomplish

in us. Are affliction, illness, adverse circumstances, financial straits, God’s perfect gifts for us, His children? Of course they are, because of the net results that they will produce in us. Is it not wonderful to know that God never makes a mistake in His giving? He gives you just as much money as you need for the perfection of your character, no more and no less. You remember how the Apostle Paul was caught up to the third heaven and heard unutterable things. This was a gift of God. But God, knowing that there might be a little puffing up of Paul’s ego as a result of this, gave him a counterbalancing gift, “a thorn in the flesh.” Paul doubted the goodness of God in the second gift and asked Him to take it away. God, however, answered saying: “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (the same Greek word).

What is a perfect gift, then? That which makes you and me perfect, even as He is perfect; and remember that the Captain of our salvation was made “perfect through sufferings” (Heb. 2:10). We have spoken of God’s giving, that it is good, and of the result, the gift, and its consummation in us, which is perfection. What a debt we owe to God. Everything we touch, or feel, or see, or hear—everything is a gift. We did not make it; we did not buy it; we did not deserve it. So you and I should gratefully say, “Thank You, Lord.”

Spiros Zodhiates (1922-2009) served as president of AMG International for over 40

years, was the founding editor of Pulpit Helps Magazine (Disciple’s predecessor), and authored dozens of exegetical books.

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Words to Stand You on Your Feet by Joe McKeever When to Submit, When to Insist “Be subject to one another in the fear of Christ” (Eph. 5:21). I leaned over to my grandson in church the other day and whispered, “I remember when Brother Ken brought the drum set into the church. Some almost died. Now look.” On the platform was the usual dozen or so musicians—pianist, keyboard, several guitars, two or three drummers, one violin, a couple of horns, and this time, for a special emphasis, a mandolin and banjo. The music was great. What I thought was, “What if we had given in to the critics? What if Dr. Ken Gabrielse—now the dean of the Warren Angell School of Fine Arts at Oklahoma

Baptist University—and I had feared the criticism and buckled?” There are times when church leaders need to pay attention to the criticism, and times to ignore it. Knowing “what time it is” is the hard part. For God’s children, that’s a function of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God is the Great Time-Teller. Note: I am not saying that having more musical instruments in church is necessarily better or godlier than limiting the accompaniment to a piano and organ. But for us at that time, it was a giant step forward. We could have submitted before the fears of the naysayers, but where’s the faith in that? By putting the welfare of the greater church ahead of the criticism of the few, we blessed everyone, including those who griped (which is to say, they managed to get past their complaining and to love the full instrumentation).

A young pastor sat in my office recently to bring me “up to speed” about his ministry. He reminded me that “two and a half years ago I sat in this room with you wondering whether I could pastor a church.” That congregation had dwindled to 16 by the time Dan took the leadership. These days, he says, they’re running 50. “However,” he said, “not a single one of the original 16 have remained. They’ve all left.” That happens. Knowing the background of that church, I assured him that their leaving was not a bad thing. Over the last quarter of a century, I’ve seen a succession of pastors eventually throw up their hands and leave. The building and grounds are attractive and the neighborhood appears prosperous. Originally, I thought that if the right pastor came, that church would do well. What I had not known, however, was the tight control a few people

were exercising on their pastors—a death grip. Pastor Dan has simply loved the people, he said, and he has stayed by the changes that needed to be made. What changes? They reverted to mission status and put themselves under the authority of a larger healthy church in the area. They changed the name of the church in an attempt to shed the old image and dysfunctional reputation. As these and other changes were brought in, the old-timers quietly slipped away. “I’ve tried to honor them,” Dan said. “For one, I bought a plaque of appreciation and took to his house. Bought it out of my own pocket.” Someone who knew that fellow said, “Pastor, you sure go to a lot of trouble to honor a guy who hates you.” I said, “Don’t weep over those who left. It appears they’re the ones who kept the church back all those years. Keep your

focus on the Lord.” Knowing when to pursue a departing church member and when to let them go—that’s a toughie. Only the Holy Spirit can show you. Ask Him. Some years ago a local pastor called to say three of my members had been in his services the day before. “These are your people, Joe,” he said. “I don’t want to take your members.” I said, “My friend, they have been unhappy from the first day I arrived. If they can worship God at your church, I wish them well.” To this day, those three are happily serving the Lord in that church. On those rare occasions we bump into each other in town, we greet each other warmly. It’s all good. Sometimes we submit to the person with a gripe and a complaint; at other times we insist that the course we’re on is right and we will go forward. If there is a set of rules to know when to do either, I’ve never heard of it. This is one of many reasons the

Lord indwells us with the Spirit. We will be needing guidance in situations that do not fit any rule book. When does a pastor submit to the complaints of some in the congregation? Here are just a few of my observations from experience. 1) When the complainers are among your most faithful members. They have earned the right to be heard. A wise leader will listen to them and take their concerns to heart. 2) When the Spirit within him is making it clear that everything is not as it should be. The wise leader will stop and bring in his best advisors and reconsider what is happening. 3) When he’s outvoted. Seriously, if the congregation has shown by an actual vote that the pastor’s plan is not acceptable, he needs to recognize that something is amiss. Either he has a bad plan or has sold it poorly or the congregation is rebelling. In any case, if the pastor proceeds, he’s going to get mighty lonely.

It’s time to regroup with his best counselors and godliest leadership and decide where to go next. Sometimes people rebel because the plan is unacceptable. At other times, they are registering a general unhappiness with either the leadership or the state of affairs within the congregation. A wise leader—a faithful, loving shepherd—is always aware of the mood of the flock. Otherwise, how can he lead them?

Joe McKeever is a retired Southern Baptist pastor from New Orleans, Louisiana. He

blogs regularly at www.joemckeever.com.Table of Contents

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Living out the Living Word by Justin Lonas The Example of Jonah Jonah 4

At last we come to the great “showdown” of this story—when Jonah finally speaks honestly with God and, in spite of his rage and despair, the Lord teaches him graciously yet again who is sovereign and just. Jonah (after taking a rather, shall we say, circuitous route) obeyed God, delivering a fiery warning of coming judgment to the people of Nineveh. To his surprise, they listened and repented, and, “When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it” (3:10). Far from the reaction you might expect after what looks like a “successful” delivery of his prophetic message, Jonah reflected bitterly on Nineveh’s repentance: “But it greatly displeased Jonah and he

became angry” (4:1). In his grief and anger, Jonah cried out to the Lord: “He prayed to the Lord and said, ‘Please Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life’” (4:2-3). Here he reveals his motives for fleeing the Lord in the first place. Because he knew the Lord’s character (the phrase, “compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness,” appears numerous times in the Old Testament), Jonah did not want to obey. He knew that God was sending him to proclaim judgment on Nineveh so the city would have opportunity to repent and be spared His

wrath, and he wanted no part in it. He had wished for judgment, for God’s righteousness and power to be displayed and Israel’s unique enjoyment of His favor to be preserved by a blast from heaven. Instead, the Lord had mercy, protecting idolatrous, uncircumcised pagans from receiving the due reward of their sin at that time. His sinful yet authentic prayer has much to tell us about our own hearts and our own views of God’s ways. That Jonah would rather die than to witness this result is telling—he claims to know the Lord’s nature, but clearly does not understand God on His own terms. How often, if we are frank, do we act as though we have earned His favor by our righteousness, and long for His justice to be done to others who fail to meet our standard? Jonah, in spite of what he has been given just in this small slice of his life recorded here, still failed (as we all so often

do) to see that God’s mercy and lovingkindness are His free gifts—that none of us is deserving of anything but His wrath. We love the idea of a just and all-powerful God more than we love God Himself. In his prayer, we also see that God indeed desires that we cast our cares on Him. To paraphrase Calvin’s commentary on this passage, a bad prayer is still a prayer. Jonah is whining and grumbling against the Lord, but he is at least complaining in the right direction. When we do not understand the Lord’s ways, or when we are wrestling with how His plan differs from ours, it is by far the better part to cry out to Him in our anxiety than to attempt to solve things on our own. Jonah’s second choice (to pour out his anger toward God after obedience) is to be preferred to his first choice (to flee from God altogether). As the rest of the chapter shows, God deals patiently with Jonah, not answering him according to his

folly, but orchestrating a chastising illustration to correct him. First, God challenges Jonah: “The Lord said, ‘Do you have good reason to be angry?’” (4:4). One thing is always certain when the Lord begins questioning you—you are about to be disabused of any notions of self-righteousness and are well on your way to humiliation (see Job 38-41). Jonah, it seems, was still not in a position to recognize this, for, after the Lord so quickly answers his prayer by returning this question, Jonah is silent. He doesn’t engage with the Lord, choosing instead to avoid the question and insisting (by his actions) that the Lord see things his way instead: “Then Jonah went out from the city and sat east of it. There he made a shelter for himself and sat under it in the shade until he could see what would happen in the city” (4:5). Knowing that Jonah was still not willing to learn, God played on his pouting to

build to the lesson: “So the Lord God appointed a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah was extremely happy about the plant” (4:6). Even in light of Jonah’s decision to wait out the forty days to “see what would happen in the city,” God provides a comfort for him—showing him the unmerited provision he provides so freely to all of sinful humanity, causing “His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and send[ing] rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matt. 5:45). The stage now set, the Lord finishes the illustration: “But God appointed a worm when dawn came the next day and it attacked the plant and it withered. When the sun came up God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint and begged with all his soul to die, saying, ‘Death is better to me than life’” (4:7-8). The

Lord gave Jonah’s comfort and the Lord took it away. In yet another exercise in missing the point, Jonah wallows in sun-baked agony and reiterates his plea for death. “Then God said to Jonah, ‘Do you have good reason to be angry about the plant?’ And he said, ‘I have good reason to be angry, even to death.’” (4:9). Jonah still bitterly clings to entitlement, writhing with fury at the Lord’s action. Finally, the Lord moves to bring the lesson home to Jonah: “Then the Lord said, ‘You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?’” (4:10-11). Just as Nathan confronted David about his sin with

Bathsheba against Uriah by telling a story, so God acted out a parable for Jonah. Here, He interprets it, and the message is clear—“you cared more for this plant than for those I’ve created of infinitely greater worth who bear My image.” Though they were vile sinners, the people of Nineveh, who lived in ignorance of God’s truth and His ways (the 120,000 figure seems, according to archaeological records, to point to the entire population of the city, not a subset of children or mentally incapacitated people), yet He had mercy on them. The Lord even mentions the city’s livestock as objects of mercy, as a way of pointing out Jonah’s folly in weeping over something as lowly as a plant. If the times and seasons of a gourd vine are appointed by the Lord, how much more the nations? Here ends the story. The book itself offers no interpretation of the events and no further narration about what happened to

Jonah next. What was the message, and did he get it? As we’ve endeavored to show in these few columns, the point of God’s work in this story is to showcase His sovereignty and His mercy, and to prefigure His plan to redeem men from every tribe, tongue, and nation through Christ’s coming sacrifice. As God proclaimed to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion” (Ex. 33:19). Jonah is an excellent case in point, brought to piercing climax in chapter four—all of us have received His unmerited favor simply in remaining alive and able to repent, as God in His infinite holiness owes us nothing. As we’ve also alluded to, it seems that Jonah did finally comprehend the lessons of this story—the very existence of the text (which, given the level of detail and understanding of inner motives, Jonah must have recorded himself) is the best argument

for this. Of course, as Paul wrote of the Israelites, “these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Cor. 10:11). So we would do well to study this story and to prayerfully seek the Lord’s wisdom in applying its truths to our lives as well. If we learn nothing else, let it be that we ought always to listen to and obey the Lord, even (perhaps especially) when to do so grates against our deepest desires. Like Jonah, we too often look on those outside the faith as our enemies, forgetting a) that they have been deceived just as we once were and b) that the Lord’s favor is a gift to both them and us. We ought to grieve with the Lord that blasphemy against His name endures and flourishes in the world, and pray and work fervently to “proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His

marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9). Instead we rush to appoint ourselves judges over the nations, upholding God’s lawful standards and forgetting the Gospel message of His grace and mercy. The world absolutely needs to repent from its evil ways, but we must remember that with repentance comes forgiveness: “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him” (Ps. 103:10-11). To close, it would be difficult to sum up this story better than John Calvin did in his commentary some 450 years ago: “Let us learn by the example of Jonah not to measure God’s judgments by our own wisdom, but to wait until he turns darkness into light. And at the same time, let us learn to obey his commands, to follow his call without any disputing: though heaven and

earth oppose us, though many things occur which may tend to avert us from the right course, let us yet continue in this resolution—that nothing is better for us than to obey God, and to go on in the way which he points out to us.”

Justin Lonas is editor of Disciple Magazine for AMG International in Chattanooga,

Tennessee. Table of Contents

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Following God by Erik Christensen Grace According to the Measure Ephesians 4:7-10

Starting in chapter four, Paul has transitioned his focus for the Ephesian believers from being “in Christ” to now “walk[ing] in a manner worthy of the calling

with which you have been called.” In this first part of chapter four, Paul deals directly with the all-important issues of unity and love. As believers we are to walk in a manner worthy which, according to Paul’s focus, is based first and foremost upon our walk with Christ. As a result, the unity and love we have with one another are preserved. In verse 7, Paul declares: “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” He has declared that we are one, emphasizing the unity of the Body of Christ and our oneness together. Now Paul emphasizes our individuality within the Body of Christ. As believers we do not lose our personalities or the uniqueness of who we are. In fact, we are each given grace according to the “measure”, the weighing out, “of Christ’s gift.” There is a “Body life” experience as we are one in Christ, while at the same time we are unique individuals within the Body.

We are one Body, having one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, and faith, etc. (4:4-6). Our foundation is Christ and the salvation He provides by grace through faith. Paul now takes a step into that grace and speaks on the issue of the grace which the Lord gives in measure on an individual basis regarding Christian living. The context here is verse 12 and following, where Paul writes about apostles, prophets and other “graced”, gifted men, given to the Church. Paul begins to speak on the issue of gifts which are a direct result of grace. God’s grace is clearly salvific—all of us as believers come out of the same well of grace. Yet grace is also transformative, as each individual one of us has a unique experience of Grace. W. Robertson Nicoll, in the Expositor’s Greek Testament, explains as follows: “Each gets the grace which Christ has to give, and each gets it in the

proportion in which the Giver is pleased to bestow it; one having it in larger measure and another in smaller, but each getting it from the same Hand and with the same purpose.” Why this gifting of each individual with a special measure of God’s grace? Contextually, we see that it is for the unity of the Body of Christ and the building up of that Body in love. Does Christ have the authority to give gifts of grace? Paul takes an interesting turn in verses 8 and 9, quoting from Psalm 68 concerning a King’s victory. The key here is that Christ gives gifts because He is the Conquering Victor. The Lord has the right to give gifts of grace because He is victorious. Paul introduces a very vivid description of the ascension of the Lord in victory. After the crucifixion of Christ, the Lord is said to have descended into the “lower parts of the earth.” Clearly the Lord

after his physical death did several things. First of all, He proclaimed victory to those who did not believe in Him and are presently in waiting for the final judgment. Peter tell us in 1 Peter 3:18-20 that the Lord “made proclamation,” meaning to proclaim victory, to the “spirits now in prison.” Many see this prison as the section of Hades where unbelievers are being held awaiting the final judgment. The story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 gives us insight into this. Secondly, the Lord brought those who had believed in the salvation He would provide as the Lamb (and who were waiting for His coming), into the heavens, taking them out of Paradise. Paradise, we think, is the part of Hades that was not a place of suffering—sometimes referred to in Scripture as “Abraham’s bosom”. Thirdly, the Lord, in ascending into heaven passed through the “heavens” making a public display of the “rulers and

authorities,” the satanic forces, having triumphed over them. (Heb. 4:14 and Col. 2:13-15). In referring to this, Paul emphasizes the great victory that the Lord has accomplished through His death on the cross and His right to give gifts of grace to men because of His triumph over death and the satanic forces of evil. As believers each one of us has been given a measure of grace by the Lord. The grace that has been given us is for the purpose of serving the Body of Christ, the church, preserving the unity that we have with one another, and ultimately for the building up of the Body of Christ in love. God’s ways are higher than ours, and His grace to each one of us is sufficient in the midst of our lives. As we follow Him, are we walking in His empowering grace enjoying the fellowship we have with the Lord and with each other?

Erik Christensen is senior pastor of

Hoffmantown Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Table of Contents

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Points to Ponder

by David L. Olford The Reality of Resurrection Text: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve…” Thought: The Apostle Paul’s thorough presentation concerning Christ’s resurrection and the resurrection of the believer was prompted by some in Corinth

who denied that there was any resurrection for anyone. The Apostle’s classic presentation concerning the reality of the resurrection proceeds as follows. I. Gospel Declaration of the Resurrection—Affirming Christ’s Resurrection (15:1-11) In 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, the Apostle reminds his readers of the Gospel that he preached in Corinth. This Gospel did not originate with Paul. He received it himself and passed it on to the Corinthians. This emphasizes the truthfulness and the authority of the Gospel. This is the Gospel the Corinthians “received” and the Gospel that saves them, and the Gospel they must hold fast to as the Gospel truth they believe. Paul presents here the core of this Gospel, indicating that the resurrection of Christ is a fundamental aspect of this Gospel. The Scriptures provide the

framework for this Gospel of the death, burial, resurrection and appearances of Jesus. Just as the burial confirms the death (for our sins), the appearances confirm the actual resurrection of Jesus. Verses 5-8 are devoted to various appearances of the resurrected Christ, which confirm the reality of the resurrection. The certainty of the resurrection receives special emphasis by Paul here in the light of the error that Paul is going to address. He then adds personal remarks concerning his own role as one included in the witnesses to the appearances of Jesus (vs. 9-11). Paul’s restatement of the core of the Gospel provides the authoritative basis for believing in Christ’s resurrection. II. Logical Defense of the Resurrection—Explaining the Christian’s Resurrection (15:12-57)

Then, Paul carefully and progressively confronts the error circulating in Corinth and answers questions arising out of his defense of the resurrection. Paul honestly admits that it would be a very serious problem if this error (no resurrection) was true, but the Apostle states emphatically, “but in fact Christ has been raised from the dead” (15:20). He has already given the evidence for this “fact” in his presentation of the core of the Gospel, and Paul wipes away all the possible problems associated with this error by simply affirming that Christ’s resurrection took place, period. But the error at Corinth was not just the denial of Christ’s resurrection. It was the denial of any resurrection of anyone. So, Paul moves on to indicate that Christ was the “firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (15:20). This is part of God’s plan of salvation—all die in Adam and all in Christ

will be made alive. The believer is to be resurrected as well “at [Christ’s] coming” (15:23). Paul’s statement that “the last enemy to be destroyed is death” (15:26) will be celebrated again when he reaches the climax of his defense. After some further discussion, the Apostle answers questions that relate to the resurrection of the believer: “‘How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they have” (15:35). Paul answers these questions carefully giving various descriptions and comparisons to explain the nature of the resurrected body. Glorious, imperishable, immortal, spiritual, and bearing “the image of the man of heaven” are some of the characteristics of this resurrected body (15:42-49). Paul climaxes his presentation with words of celebration and victory (15:50-57). Yes, the believer will have a resurrection body, but it will be transformed

because “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God…” (15:50). There will be an instantaneous transformation for all, whether alive or dead, when the last trumpet sounds. Death is to be totally and finally conquered in conjunction with sin’s effects and the condemnation of the law. This speaks of total victory through Christ’s death and resurrection. And the victory of Christ is a victory given to the Christian as well. III. The Practical Dynamic of the Resurrection (15:57-58) The Christian is to live in the light of the victory of Christ. As we have noted, this is a victory that is given to the believer to experience and enjoy. Paul wants every one of his readers to live with the certainty of resurrection, and the certainty of the complete conquering of the “sting” of death. Paul concludes this passage with a clear word of encouragement and

exhortation. The Christian’s victory due to the resurrection should lead to tstability. The believer is to be “steadfast” and “immovable.” False ideas or teachings, such as the idea that there is no resurrection, should not cause believers to be shaken in their faith. Furthermore, this stability should be matched by abundant ministry. The phrase “always abounding” speaks of a consistent overflow of activity in Christian service. And the call is to be involved in the work “of the Lord,” not just for the Lord. The importance of the last clause cannot be overemphasized, “knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (15:58). It is this “knowing” that makes all the difference. It is the knowledge of victory that leads to stability and abundant ministry. The practical dynamic of the knowledge of the resurrection is that such knowledge is the foundation for Christian belief and service.

Thrust: “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (15:57).

David L. Olford teaches expository preaching at Union University’s Stephen

Olford Center in Memphis, Tennessee. Table of Contents

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Jewels from Past Giants

The Method of Grace—Part 2 of 2 By George Whitefield Editor’s Note: Originally delivered by Whitefield as a sermon, this version was published as a selection in The World’s Great Sermons in 1908. Edited for length and modern spellings.

“They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace;’ when there is no peace” (Jer. 6:14) Further before you can speak peace to your hearts you must not only be troubled for the sins of your life, the sins of your nature, but likewise for the sins of your best duties and performances. When a poor soul is somewhat awakened by the terrors of the Lord, then the poor creature, being born under the covenant of works, flies directly to a covenant of works again. And as Adam and Eve hid themselves among the trees of the garden and sewed fig leaves together to cover their nakedness, so the poor sinner when awakened flies to his duties and to his performances, to hide himself from God, and goes to patch up a righteousness of his own. Says he, “I will be mighty good now—I will reform—I will do all I can; and then

certainly Jesus Christ will have mercy on me.” But before you can speak peace to your heart you must be brought to see that God may damn you for the best prayer you ever put up; you must be brought to see that all your duties—all your righteousness—put them all together, are so far from recommending you to God, are so far from being any motive and inducement to God to have mercy on your poor soul, that He will see them to be filthy rags. God hates them, and cannot accept them, if you bring them to Him in order to recommend you to His favor. My dear friends, what is there in our performance to recommend us unto God? Our persons are in an unjustified state by nature; we deserve to be damned ten thousand times over; and what must our performance be? We can do no good thing by nature: “They that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:8).

You may do things materially good, but you cannot do a thing formally and rightly good; because nature cannot act above itself. It is impossible that a man who is unconverted can act for the glory of God; he cannot do anything in faith, and “whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23). After we are renewed, yet we are renewed but in part, indwelling sin continues in us, there is a mixture of corruption in every one of our duties, so that after we are converted, were Jesus Christ only to accept us according to our works, our works would damn us, for we cannot put up a prayer but it is far from that perfection which the moral law requires. I do not know what you may think, but I can say that I cannot pray but I sin—I cannot preach to you or any others but I sin—I can do nothing without sin; and, as one expresses it, my repentance wants to

be repented of, and my tears to be washed in the precious blood of my dear Redeemer. Our best duties are so many splendid sins. Before you can speak peace to your heart you must not only be sick of your original and actual sin, but you must be made sick of your righteousness, of all your duties and performances. There must be a deep conviction before you can be brought out of your self-righteousness; it is the last idol taken out of our heart. The pride of our heart will not let us submit to the righteousness of Jesus Christ. But if you never felt that you had no righteousness of your own, if you never felt the deficiency of your own righteousness, you cannot come to Jesus Christ. There are a great many now who may say, “Well, we believe all this; but there is a great difference betwixt talking and feeling.” Did you ever feel the want of a dear Redeemer? Did you ever feel the want of

Jesus Christ upon the account of the deficiency of your own righteousness? And can you now say from your heart “Lord, you may justly damn me for the best duties that ever I did perform?” If you are not thus brought out of self, you may speak peace to yourselves, but yet there is no peace. But then, before you can speak peace to your souls, there is one particular sin you must be greatly troubled for, and yet I fear there are few of you think what it is; it is the reigning, the damning sin of the Christian world, and yet the Christian world seldom or never think of it. And pray what is that? It is what most of you think you are not guilty of—and that is, the sin of unbelief. Before you can speak peace to your heart; you must be troubled for the unbelief of your heart. But can it be supposed that any of you are unbelievers here in this churchyard that are born in Scotland, in a reformed

country, that go to church every Sabbath? Can any of you that receive the sacrament once a year—oh, that it were administered oftener!—can it be supposed that you who had tokens for the sacrament, that you who keep up family prayer, that any of you do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? I appeal to your own hearts, if you would not think me uncharitable, if I doubted whether any of you believed in Christ: and yet, I fear upon examination we should find that most of you have not so much faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the devil himself. I am persuaded that the devil believes more of the Bible than most of us do. He believes the divinity of Jesus Christ; that is more than many who call themselves Christians do; nay, he believes and trembles, and that is more than thousands amongst us do. My friends, we mistake a historical faith for a true faith wrought in the heart by the Spirit of God. You fancy you believe

because you believe there is such a book as we call the Bible—because you go to church; all this you may do and have no true faith in Christ. Merely to believe there was such a person as Christ, merely to believe there is a book called the Bible, will do you no good, more than to believe there was such a man as Caesar or Alexander the Great. The Bible is a sacred depository. What thanks have we to give to God for these lively oracles! But yet we may have these and not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. My dear friends, there must be a principle wrought in the heart by the Spirit of the living God. Did I ask you how long it is since you believed in Jesus Christ, I suppose most of you would tell me you believed in Jesus Christ as long as ever you remember—you never did misbelieve. Then, you could not give me a better proof that you never yet believed in Jesus Christ, unless

you were sanctified early, as from the womb; for they that otherwise believe in Christ know there was a time when they did not believe in Jesus Christ. You say you love God with all your heart, soul, and strength. If I were to ask you how long it is since you loved God, you would say, “As long as you can remember;” you never hated God, you know no time when there was enmity in your heart against God. Then, unless you were sanctified very early, you never loved God in your life. My dear friends, I am more particular in this, because it is a most deceitful delusion, whereby so many people are carried away, that they believe already. Therefore it is remarked of Mr. Marshall, giving account of his experiences, that he had been working for life, and he had ranged all his sins under the Ten Commandments, and then, coming to a minister, asked him the reason why he could

not get peace. The minister looked to his catalog. “Away,” says he, “I do not find one word of the sin of unbelief in all your catalog.” It is the peculiar work of the Spirit of God to convince us of our unbelief—that we have got no faith. Says Jesus Christ, “I will send the comforter; and when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin” (John 16:8), of the sin of unbelief because they believe not on Him. Now my dear friends, did God ever show you that you had no faith? Were you ever made to bewail a hard heart of unbelief? Was it ever the language of your heart, “Lord, give me faith; Lord, enable me to lay hold on Thee; Lord, enable me to call Thee my Lord and my God?” Did Jesus Christ ever convince you in this manner? Did he ever convince you of your inability to close with Christ, and make you to cry out to God to give you faith? If not, do not speak peace to your heart. May the Lord awaken

you and give you true, solid peace before you go hence and be no more! Once more, then: before you can speak peace to your heart, you must not only be convinced of your actual and original sin, the sins of your own righteousness, the sin of unbelief but you must be enabled to lay hold upon the perfect righteousness, the all-sufficient righteousness, of the Lord Jesus Christ; you must lay hold by faith on the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and then you shall have peace. “Come,” says Jesus, “unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). This speaks encouragement to all that are weary and heavy laden; but the promise of rest is made to them only upon their coming and believing, and taking Him to be their God and their all. Before we can ever have peace with God we must be justified by faith through our Lord Jesus Christ we must be enabled to apply Christ to

our hearts, we must have Christ brought home to our soul, so as His righteousness may be made our righteousness, so as His merits may be imputed to our souls. My dear friends, were you ever married to Jesus Christ? Did Jesus Christ ever give Himself to you? Did you ever close with Christ by a lively faith, so as to feel Christ in your hearts, so as to hear Him speaking peace to your souls? Did peace ever flow in upon your hearts like a river? Did you ever feel that peace that Christ spoke to His disciples? I pray God He may come and speak peace to you. These things you must experience. I am now talking of the invisible realities of another world, of inward religion of the work of God upon a poor sinner’s heart. I am now talking of a matter of great importance, my dear hearers; you are all concerned in it, your souls are concerned in it, your eternal salvation is concerned in it.

You may be all at peace, but perhaps the devil has lulled you asleep into a carnal lethargy and security, and will endeavor to keep you there till he gets you to hell, and there you will be awakened; but it will be dreadful to be awakened and find yourselves so fearfully mistaken when the great gulf is fixed, when you will be calling to all eternity for a drop of water to cool your tongue and shall not obtain it.

George Whitefield (1714-1770) was an Anglican minister and evangelist best known

for his open-air preaching. It was said that he could be heard unamplified by crowds of

up to 20,000. His preaching in the British American colonies during the 1730s and 40s

helped spark the Great Awakening, one of the most profound evangelical movements

of history. He continued to preach and serve in churches in both Britain and the colonies

until his death. Table of Contents

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Counselor’s Corner by James Rudy Gray Choosing a Christian Counselor

Counseling is a word full of many meanings. There are hundreds of counseling theories and at least 250 types of psychology. People spend both time and money seeking help for the issues that affect them. Christian counseling or Biblical counseling also has a variety of meanings. The sheer number of options, theories, and ministries can be very confusing. If you need counseling, how do you choose a Christian counselor? Making a good choice can seem difficult. Begin with someone who knows Christ as Savior and believes God’s Word. Next, find someone who has training in counseling. For example, my professional credential as a counselor is

with the National Board for Certified Counselors. I am an NCC (National certified counselor). States license people as counselors as well. An LPC is a licensed professional counselor. There are several other designations or specialties for counselors. LPC is a credential issued by the state (government) and an NCC is a credential issued by NBCC (the counseling profession). Both require essentially the same preparation and maintenance in order to stay current. In the case of an NCC, with which I am familiar, a master’s degree in counseling from a regionally accredited institution, 3,000 hours of counseling experience, and 100 hours of supervision over a period of two years after earning a master’s degree are required. In addition, an NCC must complete 100 hours of continuing education every 5 years in order to maintain their certification.

Both an LPC and NCC are secular credentials. That does not mean the credential is evil, but neither does it mean it is Christian. I believe a committed Christian with a growing faith and a recognized credential in counseling is the best choice when making a decision on selecting a counselor. There are other criteria as well. The personality of the counselor and the counselee may not work well. Any given counselor’s approach to counseling may not fit a counselee’s needs. For example, a counselor whose style is brief solution-focused therapy may not fit a counselee who needs to stay in the counseling process longer. There are numerous Christian counseling organizations, and some offer their own credentials for counselors. There are several Christian professional organizations a Christian counselor could join: American Association of Christian

Counselors (the largest in the world), American Association of Pastoral Counselors, Evangelical Pastoral Counselors, the Christian Association for Psychological Studies, the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors, and others. There are Christian counselors who attempt to integrate the best in psychology with the Word of God. Larry Crabb coined the phrase, “spoiling the Egyptians” which means taking what is valuable and using it. Other Christians abhor integrating Christianity with psychology. The best approach, I believe, is to find a counselor with strong professional credentials and an even stronger commitment to the authority of Scripture. Most Christians will likely turn to a pastor first when they need counsel. Pastors often have had one or more courses in counseling as part of their seminary training.

They feel confident to handle some situations but inadequate in others. Wise pastors will refer a counselee to someone with more experience and training when the need calls for it. It is not a sign of weakness to be involved in counseling. In fact, it may be a mark of strength. Counseling sessions do not imply that a person is broken and a counselor can fix them. It does indicate someone needs help and a Bible-believing, trained counselor can be God’s tool for helping a person see themselves clearer while develop better perspectives toward life. A significant outcome of Christian counseling is change. To be able to deal more effectively with personal issues and to walk more completely as a child of God are hallmarks of Christian counseling.

James Rudy Gray is certified as a professional counselor by the National

Board for Certified Counselors, and is a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He serves as the editor of The Baptist Courier, the official

newspaper of the South Carolina Baptist Convention. Table of Contents

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The Story behind the Song

by Lindsay Terry He Looks out of a Different Window Song: “People Need the Lord” “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:17). Both Greg Nelson and Phill McHugh grew up in the Midwest: Greg is from Bismarck, North Dakota, and Phill from Aberdeen, South Dakota. As a team they

have written scores of songs, some of which have already become standards and will be sung by Christians around the world until the Lord returns. Greg said of Phill, his co-writer, the master poet, “He is a songwriter who has that certain something that you can’t put your hand on—a gift from God. Wishing and hoping for his ability is fruitless. You can hone it, but you can’t own it completely, apart from God’s endowment. He looks out of a different window.” Greg was born in 1948 into the home of musical parents, Corliss and Irene Nelson. Greg learned piano and theory from his mother. By age twenty-one Greg was conductor of the Bismarck Civic Orchestra, a position he maintained for several years. Phill, born in 1951, to Frank and Beatrice McHugh, had very little formal music training outside of a few piano lessons. As a college-age young man, he became involved with the culture of the late

1960s, traveling and performing in clubs of various kinds. Phill said, “All of this affected me a great deal and drove me to look for answers. I began to read the Bible on my own, which started a process that led to my conversion.” In an interview in 1989, Greg told me that he and Phill, at that point, had written more than fifty songs together. Greg and Phill gave me the story behind what is unquestionably their most popular song to date. “We were trying to write a song one day and spent most of the morning talking about ideas. We decided, about lunchtime, to go to a restaurant near my office in Nashville. After we were seated, a waitress came to our table, and as she approached us she smiled. Yet it seemed that her eyes were so empty. She was trying to convey a cheery attitude, but her face seemed to say

something else. She took our order and walked away. “We looked at each other, and one of us said, ‘She needs the Lord.’ We then began looking around the restaurant at all of the people. They, too, seemed to have emptiness in their faces. We sensed a real heaviness in our hearts as we watched them. “Suddenly we realized that all of those people needed the Lord. Just as quickly, we both thought, ‘we need to write that—people need the Lord.’ We finished our meal and went back to my office and sat down to write what was in our hearts. The pictures from the restaurant that remained in our minds, coupled with the realization that millions of people around the world are also groping for some ray of light, gave rise to ‘People Need the Lord.’ “God has His own timing, and He orchestrates all things under His control.

Consequently, it was three years before the song was recorded. We had tried to interest several people in the song, but they just didn’t ‘get it’. Finally, the song was presented to Steve Green—he ‘got it’.” Phill agrees that it is the most often used of all of their songs. I remember that I heard it sung by two teenagers on New Providence Island, about 150 miles off the Florida coast, in a small church made up mostly of Haitians. As Amy and Tina stood to sing the song that often seems to missionaries to be the most meaningful song ever written, I remember that I had never “really” heard that song until that occasion—as I looked into the faces of those poor, needy people. The element that makes the song meaningful to almost every Christian who hears it is the infectious melody that carries its lyrics, driving the heart cry of lost humanity right into our very souls.

I hope you “get it”! You and I don’t have to go to a foreign land, to Africa, Asia, South America, or China, to find people who are without Christ. We need only to go across the aisle at work, at school, at the office, or across the driveway to the house next door.

© 2008 by Lindsay Terry. Used by permission.

Lindsay Terry has been a song historian for more than 40 years, and has written widely

on the background of great hymns and worship songs including the books I Could

Sing of Your Love Forever (2008), from which this piece is excerpted, and The

Sacrifice of Praise (2002). Table of Contents

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Church Builders

by Bernard R. DeRemer Jonathan Dickinson: Colonial Church Leader

Jonathan Dickinson (1688-1747) was born in Hatfield, Mass. He studied theology at the Collegiate School of Connecticut (later renamed Yale University), graduating in 1706. Three years later, he was ordained as minister of the Congregational Church in Elizabethtown, New Jersey. After serving various churches in New Jersey, he led his congregation to separate formally from the established Church of England (concerned about growing pressures on dissenters from the church hierarchy). In 1717, the church entered the Presbyterian Church Philadelphia Synod.

Dickinson remained in that body for the rest of his life. He was twice elected moderator of his synod and became a “dynamic and aggressive leader of his denomination.” Dickinson was a strong supporter of Presbyterianism, earning a reputation as a leading defender of Calvinism in America, and doing for the Middle Colonies much of what Jonathan Edwards was doing for the church in New England. Dickinson did much “to encourage revival in the Presbyterian Church during the time of George Whitefield’s preaching in the period of the Great Awakening,” welcoming the revivals while opposing excesses of emotion. During this time, he also helped to organize the New York Synod of his denomination, serving as its first moderator. David Brainerd and the cause of Indian missions found a warm friend in Dickinson. A thoroughgoing Calvinist, he

had little patience with any other theological position. He “did much to effect harmony between the factions in the Presbyterian Church which resulted from controversy on the revivals (the “Old Siders” and “New Siders”), and was largely influential in restoring unity…after the short schism.” Dickinson, long interested in starting a new college to serve the Middle Colonies as Yale and Harvard served New England, applied for a charter to open the College of New Jersey along with a small group of other pastors and lay leaders. The governor at the time, Lewis Morris, was an Anglican who opposed the Great Awakening, and he rejected the application. Following Morris’ death in 1746, they reapplied to the acting governor who granted the charter for what became Princeton University. Dickinson became the college’s first president, hosting the tiny student body for classes in the parsonage of his church in Elizabethtown.

He served only briefly, however, dying in 1747 of complications from smallpox. As an avid public theologian, Dickinson also wrote widely. His books, many of which were very influential to the Church in early America, include: Display of God’s Special Grace, Familiar Letters Upon Subjects in Religion, Vindication of God’s Saving Free Grace, and True Scripture Doctrine Concerning Some Important Points in Christian Faith (an able discussion of the five points of Calvinism). “…Well done thou good and faithful servant…” (Matt. 25:21). Bernard R. DeRemer chronicled the lives of dozens of heroes of the faith in more than a decade of writing for Pulpit Helps Magazine.

He continues to serve in this capacity as a volunteer contributor to Disciple. He lives in

West Liberty, Ohio.

References: Who Was Who in Church History, by Elgin S. Moyer, excerpts used by permission of Moody Publishers; Wikipedia, “Jonathan Dickinson (New Jersey)”.

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Advancing the Ministries of the Gospel Foolish Wisdom: Media Evangelism By AMG International Staff

“We preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Cor. 1:23-25). As we at AMG partner with you to fulfill our mission to evangelize and make

disciples around the world, a lot of what we do must look very strange to those outside the Body of Christ. Of course, some of our ministries among the impoverished and outcast are appreciated even by non-believers, but even then, many would rather that we dropped the “religious reasons” for doing good humanitarian things. No, the work of the Gospel to which we have been called will always be “foolishness” and “a stumbling block” to the world. We know, however, that “the foolishness of God is wiser than men,” and so, with your help, we continue in obedience to Him. The world calls us foolish for expecting Muslim villagers in Indonesia to turn to follow Christ because a young man comes to town proclaiming God’s Word, but we see that happening all the time through AMG-trained church planters there. They call us foolish for expecting a young girl

living in the streets of Guatemala City, Kampala, or Manila to be made whole through Christ and grow up to be a leader among her people, but we often hear stories of this through our childcare ministries. The Gospel through Media As the world sees what we do, nothing looks sillier than media evangelism. It is foolishness to expect a short Gospel message placed in a newspaper, magazine, website, or billboard to catch someone’s eye and prompt them to correspond with a Christian to learn the truth and follow Jesus, yet this is precisely what we see happening all over the world through media evangelism. At AMG, we have always used the media technologies available to us to proclaim the Good News as widely as possible, whether through advertisements, through publishing Bibles, books, and

Gospel tracts, or through radio. Each of these methods is focused on getting the Gospel of Christ to those who might never normally approach a Christian and who might otherwise never hear it, including many in countries that prohibit or restrict public Christian ministry activity. Why do we continue pursuing such foolish work, spreading the scandalous message of Christ crucified in print, on the web, and over the airwaves? First, because, like the Apostle Paul, we desire to “do all things for the sake of the Gospel,” exploring many ways to proclaim it, so that God through us might “by all means save some” (Rom. 9:22-23). Second, we do it because it works and it does so very cost-effectively. We continually see men, women, and children reached with the truth and lives transformed by Christ through this ministry.

Sometimes that fruit is shown very quickly; at other times, we may never know the impact a simple Gospel ad or broadcast may have for the Kingdom of God. Recently, we received a powerful testimony from Nikos Papaioannou, a Greek-American who encountered Christ through AMG’s newspaper evangelism shortly after coming to America as a young man in the 1960s. “Reading [AMG’s ad column in New York’s Greek newspaper], a great revolution started in me. This little message of the Gospel stirred my soul and instantly caused me such guilt in my conscience and such anxiety that I could not rest. “All week I could not find peace and serenity in my soul until the newspaper came again. This time with great joy I found and read again the [column]…and wrote to request a free New Testament. In a week’s time the New Testament arrived and I started reading it eagerly. As I was reading,

the Evil One came to tempt me. I needed help, so I prayed, saying, “My God, show me how [these mysteries] are so.” “When I got up next morning I remembered that I had left my N.T. under the tree. During the night, there had been a big storm and the rain had destroyed the newspaper and a magazine I had also left outside. But here is the great miracle—the New Testament was not affected at all. Not even a drop on it! I gave my heart to Christ and He became my Savior, blessed forever.” As Nikos’ testimony shows, God will use any means necessary to bring those He calls to repentance and faith. Will you join with us in running after foolishness for Christ’s sake? Advertising space, web hosting, printing correspondence materials, and maintaining field staff for these efforts do have significant costs. Your gifts make the work of media evangelism possible—we proclaim the Gospel on your behalf,

using what you provide to touch lives in many nations. Through this “folly”, God’s power is displayed through lives transformed by Christ!

To learn more about AMG’s media evangelism around the world and how you

can partner with us, please visit www.amginternational.org or call 1-800-

251-7206.

Advancing the Ministries of the Gospel (AMG) International is a non-

denominational, international missions agency based in Chattanooga, Tenn. AMG’s

distinctive has always been its reliance on national workers to carry the Gospel in their

own cultures. Today, they operate ministries in over 30 countries around the world

through partnership with national believers. Table of Contents

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Marks of the Master

by the Old Scot The Beauty of Death Originally published in Pulpit Helps, November 2009. Each autumn, there’s a blaze on the hillsides. No, not fire, but flame-tinged trees, glorious with color in the bright sun. How those masses of bright leaves make our hearts sing with the joy of living! Yet those vivid hues of red and orange and yellow are evidences not of life, but of death. The leaves—which seemingly only yesterday were busy factories, converting the energy of sunlight into food for the tree—have shut down. Gone is all the green chlorophyll which worked its everyday magic. Gone is the rich tree sap, returned

with its stored food to the branches and main trunk, to sustain life beneath the woody barricades of bark during the cold and dark of winter. What triggers this great change? Some combination of shorter days and colder temperatures informs the parent broadleaf tree that it is time to make ready for freezing temperatures. The tree responds by sending a mysterious message to each of its thousands of leaves. This command not only causes each leaf to empty itself; it also calls for the formation of a special layer of barrier cells at the stem end of each leaf. This layer of cells acts as a pre-formed “scab” for the connecting twig. When the leaf tears loose and falls, the wound will not “bleed,” because the barrier cells will act as a cap. And with the passing of the season of life and purpose for each leaf, a marvel is revealed: gorgeous hues of amber, orange,

or crimson, which in many cases were present from the leaves’ earliest days, but were masked by the green of the chlorophyll. In some types of trees, however, red pigment is created in the leaves by the action of the sun on the plant sugars, as a part of the shutting-down process. But in every case, the appearance of the showy color signals the approach of death. God created each leaf to make its contribution to the good of the tree, and during its life everything else was subordinated to that task. Only at its death does its true beauty appear—and how like that is to the life of many a child of God! Christians on earth wear the many workday hues of ordinary life. They stub their toes, they catch colds, they grow weary; their feet hurt (and sometimes their heads); they get cranky, they make mistakes; sometimes they feel useless and unimportant; and they get old. Yet all the

while, a transformation is going on inside, which will in its own time burst forth into a glorious individual made in the image of its Maker and Redeemer. The Apostle Paul long ago set forth all there is to know, here below, about the spiritual body which is to come: “But someone will say, ‘How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?’ Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as He pleases...” (1 Cor. 15:35-38). While we can see merely with our physical eyes, we can no more comprehend this than the tree can know that someday spring will again bring blue skies and warm sunny days. We simply know that death is a doorway through which we must pass, in

order to come to that better life awaiting us, in the presence of our God and Savior. And that is what faith is all about.

The Old Scot (Ted Kyle) served as managing editor for Pulpit Helps magazine

(Disciple’s predecessor publication) from 1993-2008. He was always fascinated by the natural world, and readily saw God’s

hand in every detail. Ted went to be with His Creator and Savior in April 2013.

Sources: Ingenious Kingdom, Henry and Rebecca Northen; Encyclopedia Britannica.

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Book Review—April 2014

Fallen: A Theology of Sin, Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson, editors, 2013, Crossway, Wheaton, Ill., ISBN

9781433522123, 291 pages, $19.99, softcover. Perhaps the hardest task of evangelism in the modern West is not in calling men and women to turn to Christ but rather drawing them to recognize their own sinfulness. The Gospel is only good news if we see the depth of our depravity and, thus, our need for forgiveness. Fallen winsomely rises to this task, giving Christians the resources to discuss sin biblically and thoughtfully. Part of the Theology in Community series, Fallen brings together accomplished writers and thinkers, including D. A. Carson and Douglas J. Moo, to shed light on this key (yet too often neglected) area of Scriptural teaching. Over 11 chapters, the contributors explore what God’s Word teaches about our

sin and its consequences and also address contemporary application. Carson opens the volume with the rationale for its writing, speaking to the universal nature of sin and the pressing urgency for Churches to understand it well and teach on it thoroughly. Paul R. House devotes two chapters to unpacking the Old Testament understanding of sin, first from the Mosaic Law, and then from the histories, prophets, and poetic books. Robert W. Yarborough adds a chapter on the understanding of sin (and its critical impact on how we understand the Gospel) in the New Testament, and Moo’s contribution focuses specifically on the subject in Paul’s letters. Christopher Morgan gives a thorough overview of the way man’s sinfulness is threaded through the entire biblical narrative, and Gerald Bray traces the ways theologians have wrestled with and defined

sin through two thousand years of Church history. John W. Mahony considers how to bring these biblical and theological insights to bear on the contemporary world and fit today’s twisted morality into these historical categories. Sydney H.T. Page gives a philosophical explanation of sin, teasing out the responsibilities of Satan and man in bringing evil into the world and the role of sin in coherent theodicy. David B. Calhoun’s chapter on the distinction between sin and temptation offers a personal application of this theology for spiritual growth. Bryan Chappell closes the book with a ringing portrait of the beauty of the Gospel expressed in God’s call for (and miraculous acceptance of) our repentance from sin. This academic but engaging work is prophetically timely, as our world (and, too

often, the Church) continually seeks to assuage its guilt by defining down sin. Fallen brings mankind’s depravity to the fore, showing clearly our great need for a Great Savior. It should prove to be an excellent resource for pastors and Bible teachers to equip their churches and students to address the most pressing problems of today’s world with biblical accuracy and Gospel compassion. Justin Lonas Target: Pastors/Teachers Type: Theology/Hamartiology Take: Highly Recommended

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News Update—April 2014 David Cameron Urged to Raise Blasphemy Law Concerns with Pakistan Pakistani Christians in Britain have pleaded with Prime Minister David Cameron to do more for victims of Pakistan’s stringent blasphemy laws. Wilson Chowdhry, chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association, raised his concerns during a meeting with the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street. The call is timely as this week an appeal hearing against the death sentence of Christian mother Asia Bibi for blasphemy was delayed by the Pakistani courts for the third time. Mr Chowdhry said the Prime Minister had indicated he would raise the issue of the blasphemy laws with Pakistan’s President Mamnoon Hussein during a forthcoming visit.

“Mr Cameron’s promised efforts on behalf of the victims of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws is welcome news,” said Mr Chowdhry. “However, against this we must not underestimate the deeply entrenched support for the blasphemy laws.... We look forward to hearing what response Mr Cameron receives.” Pakistan is one of the harshest places on earth for Christians, with churches and Christian neighborhoods the victim of bombings and mob attacks. Christian girls are often abducted and forced to convert to Islam and marry their abductors. Many Pakistani Christians work in the lowest paid jobs because of their faith.

Christian Today Baptist Church Leaders Spark Revitalization Movement in Response to Decline

Southern Baptist church leaders are coming together to organize a revitalization movement in response to the large numbers of Baptist congregations that are closing their doors. Joshua Hedger, director of the Center for Church Planting at Midwestern Seminary told the Christian Post, “Churches are closing in large part because they have either become disconnected from culture and/or disconnected from scripture. When this happens, life leaves the church.” In recent years, 800 to 1,000 Baptist churches close on an annual basis, and the revitalization campaign will move to stop the crisis. The movement not only opens new churches, but also breathes new life into older congregations by changing the leadership.

The revitalization process can come in many forms. “In some cases, a simple change in leadership and culture takes place. Some fully shut down and allow a

new church to take over their facilities, assets, and people. Others find themselves anywhere between those two extremes,” Hedger said. Some churches also must deal with past issues including “problems caused by members who embodied the works of the flesh” said Dr. Rodney Harrison, a former revitalization pastor. Harrison explained that this part of the procedure can be more painful due to churches not addressing these issues previously.

Christian Headlines Judge Orders Ohio to Recognize Out-of-State Homosexual “Marriages” U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Black ruled that Ohio must recognize same-sex marriages performed outside of state limits, despite a 2004 citizen vote defining marriage as between one man and one

woman. The judge was appointed to make the decision by President Barack Obama. The ruling, which was decided Monday, means that homosexual couples married outside Ohio will be considered legally married, though the state has not legalized such “marriages”, reports Christian News. The ruling does not require the state of Ohio to permit homosexual “marriages”. Black’s ruling said, “Ohio’s marriage recognition bans are facially unconstitutional and unenforceable under any circumstances. The record before this court...is staggeringly devoid of any legitimate justification for the state’s ongoing arbitrary discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.” “When a state effectively terminates the marriage of a same-sex couple married in another jurisdiction by refusing to recognize the marriage, that state unlawfully intrudes into the realm of private marital,

family, and intimate relations specifically protected by the Supreme Court.” Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is planning an appeal to the ruling on account of the public’s 2004 vote against expanding the definition of marriage in the state. Governor John Kasich is in support of the appeal according to spokesman Rob Nichols.

Christian Headlines Pastor Banned from Feeding Homeless because He Lacks Permit Every other Saturday Rick Wood delivers hundreds of hot dogs and bottles of water to homeless people in need. But the people who rely on Wood’s generosity may soon be left empty-handed. Wood, who is a pastor at the Lord’s House of Prayer in Oneonta, Ala., has been feeding the homeless for the past six years without a glitch. But, last month, the city told

Wood that he had to halt his mission because it had passed an ordinance that regulates food trucks, Think Progress reported. Though the ordinance pertains specifically to retailers, the city said that it still applies to Wood and that he has to obtain a $500 permit in order to continue helping the homeless. But Wood has vowed to continue his service, like many other advocates who have faced similar bureaucratic measures. Last December, Churches on the Street—a mobile ministry in St. Louis—was ordered to stop serving hot food to the homeless until it secured a permit, an expense that would cost the small-scale operation $150 to $300 annually, the Riverfront Times reported. And last summer, members of Love Wins Ministries, an organization that feeds breakfast to anyone in need on weekends in Raleigh, N.C., when no soup kitchens are

open, were threatened with arrests if they didn’t cease their service.

Huffington Post Rwandan Genocide Remembered after 20 Years April marks the 20th anniversary of the horrifying Rwandan genocide. Over 800,000 Rwandan civilians were killed, and the country still feels the effects of the terror today. Civil war between the Hutu-led government and the Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front, the majority of the country’s population. After the death of President Juvénal Habyarimana on April 6 1994, Hutus broke out in riots, the beginning of 100 days of genocide reports Christian Today. Samaritan’s Purse Vice President of programs and government relations Ken Isaacs travelled to Rwanda during the

genocide to give aid to survivors and spoke of his experience. “Death is always a horrible thing, but death perpetuated by the unbridled darkness in the heart of man is something beyond horrible; it’s dark and evil. I’ve never seen anything compared to that kind of atrocity, and I hope to never again.” Samaritan’s Purse ran the refugee camps in Tanzania and Rutare during the genocide, giving survivors medical attention, food and water. The organization also reopened the Kigali hospital after its medical personnel were either killed or evacuated. Louis Muvunyi, Bishop of Kigali said that the nation is still struggling to improve its education, healthcare and poverty level with the assistance of Samaritan’s Purse. “There is hope: for the future, for survivors, for victims and for the perpetrators,” Muvunyi said.

Christian Headlines Table of Contents

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Sermon Helps

from www.sermonhall.com Sermon Outlines What Every Mother Wants Her Children to Know Genesis 2:16-17; 3:6 Intro.: Our roles in life, as men and women, fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters are dictated by two factors: 1) our federal disobedience in Adam and Eve, and 2) our daily disobedience in our daily lives! Man cannot change this; not with all his resources over all time; nor can society, race, nationality, law, education, family or wealth! Foundational Inquiry: If Eve could tell us, what would she want all of her children to know?

I. God’s Commandments Are Not Just for Hearing, but for Obeying! II. God’s Commandments May Not Make Sense to Man, but They Don’t Have to! III. God’s Commandments, When Disobeyed, Carry Grave Consequences! Application: Were Eve here now, she would try to convince you she made a horrible mistake. She would try to demonstrate that, every day, Satan is doing to you just what he did to her—he’s singing the same old song: “Indeed, has God said, ’You shall not...?’” (Gen. 3:1). Mothers take note: Satan, like wolves in the pasture, isn’t after the mature sheep, those who fight back and wear “the full armor of God,” he’s after your little lambs, those who depend on you to know better and to teach them!

J. A. Gillmartin Christian Relationships Philippians 1

Intro.: Many years ago in Korea, I saw a woman place a paper in a crack in the wall. It was a prayer to Buddha. The woman was sincere but there was no personal relationship. Later I saw a Christian praying. I saw no written paper or heard no spoken prayer, but I could understand there was a relationship between the person praying and God. Personal relationships make the Christian faith unique. I. Christian Believers Enjoy Unique Relationships with One Another A. They have fellowship in the Gospel (v. 7). 1. In the common source of their salvation (v. 2). 2. In joyous prayer for one another (vv. 3- 4). 3. In love for one another (vv. 5-8).

B. They have fellowship in their activities. 1. In growth in sincere spiritual state (vv. 9- 10). 2. In growth in understanding life (vv. 11- 18). II. Christian Believers Enjoy a Unique Relationship with God A. The basis of all blessings is in God. 1. Grace and peace (v. 2). 2. Love (v. 8). 3. Fruits (v. 11). B. The basis of all security is in God. 1. God begins the work of salvation (v. 6). 2. God will complete the work of salvation (v. 6). 3. God uses personal relationships (vv. 12- 19). Conc.: God is offering you a personal relationship. This was the desire of Paul

(Phil. 3:10) and the promise of Jesus (Rev. 3:20). Will you enter into this personal relationship and let fellowship deepen?

R. G. Witty Illustrations What Do You Want Your Child To Be? “And all your sons will be taught of the Lord; and the well being of your sons will be great” (Is. 54:13). Every parent should have a dream for his or her children. Here are three things to consider. You announce what you want your child to be by what you teach him. It is not the church’s responsibility to teach your children. It is yours as a mother and father. One man had been in a non-Sunday School congregation. When asked why, he said, “We did not object to classes. What we were afraid of was that parents would quit teaching at home.” Was he right?

You announce what you want your child to be by the example you set. It is amazing how some parents put the ball games, camping trips, and fishing trips above attending worship, and then are amazed that their children leave the church. Someone wrote, “What you are thunders so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.” You announce what you want your child to be by the plans you make for him. Your children know if something is really important to you. Have you been saying from the time they started school, “Now make good grades so that someday you can go to college.” They know how important that is to you. Have you encouraged them to be a preacher, a missionary, Bible school teacher, elder, etc.? By your plans, you have told them what you think is important.

Anonymous

Not Eatin’, Just Holdin’ Johnny asked his mother, “Can I have some cookies, Mom?” Looking at the clock, she replied, “Not now! It is too close to dinner!” About ten minutes later, Mother entered the kitchen. There was Johnny up on the counter with his arm in the cookie jar clear up to his elbow. “I thought I just told you, ‘No cookies till dinner!’” Johnny’s mother fumed. “Well, Mom, I’m not eaten’ no cookies! I’m just holdin’ some!” Each of us has some point of vulnerability. It may be a problem with alcohol, or sensuous lusts, or a desire to gamble even to the point of cheating. We often compound our problems by putting ourselves into untenable positions and precipitous situations. Johnny would have had a much easier time if he had avoided the cookie jar. We would not fail so often if

we avoided places where we would be subject to temptations. Let us cease giving the flesh easy opportunities!

Anonymous

Bulletin Inserts On Family The family altar would alter many a family. If your children look up to you, you’ve made a success of life’s biggest job. In “wedding” the “we” comes before the “I”. A mother’'s love is the nearest thing on earth to God’'s love.

These four anonymous The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.”

Theodore M. Hesburgh

A little explained, a little endured, a little forgiven, and the quarrel is cured. Just about the time a mother thinks her work is done—she becomes a grandmother!

These two via the Old Union Reminder

The main problem in our society is that people are expected to raise children in their spare time.

The Book of Living Quotations It is a wise parent who knows his own child.

Shakespeare Hear, my son, your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching;

Proverbs 1:8 Table of Contents

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Puzzles and ‘Toons

Church ‘Toons by Joe McKeever

Answers to last issue’s puzzles:

Father Abraham and Hidden Wisdom By Mark Oshman

Originally published in Pulpit Helps, April 1998

On Following Pages

Table of Contents