From the Little Church Down the Street ...

The elders of our local church have a standing account with the Thrift Shop in town. If the proprietor, a Christian lady, sees someone in the store that is in obvious need, she is to offer a bag of clothes or whatever else they might need, and it goes on the account.

This little gift has proven to be a wonderful testimony to the Grace of God. The highest the elders have ever had charged was $10.00 and most of those receiving the gifts only take $2.00 or $3.00 worth. For that amount they can stuff in as much clothing as a paper grocery bag will hold. The store owner lets the recipients know that it is an offering of love from the little church down the street.

As a harried young mother accepted her bag of winter clothes … two small children hanging on to her hands … she was heard to ask, "Why do they do this for me … they don’t even know me."

She was right … the elders probably didn’t know her. But, they loved her … not because they knew her … but because they knew their Master, Jesus Christ.

John described the Christian when he said "We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19)

God is described in Deuteronomy 10:18 as the one "… who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing."

John again, "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." (1 John 4:7)

"We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action." 1 John 3:16-18

Love does not ask how this young mother found herself in a position of great need. It doesn’t tsk-tsk over bad decisions she might have made. It just says … give. From your heart … give. Jesus Christ asked us to mold our lives here on this earth in an image of himself … and that is His image … one of love.

That is what Grace is all about … an unbending and undeserved love for all of us. All of us have made bad decisions … all of us have fallen short … all of us are the most dastardly of sinners. But, the love of God … Grace … trumps it all.

And, to that young mother and all who resemble her, God gives this invitation, "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live." (Isaiah 55: 1-3)

That’s today’s message from the Little Church Down the Street.

Larry Abele – Editorial Team

Christ is Risen! So what? Part 3

Jesus Christ rose from the dead so that he could establish and empower his church, a church with a clear mission and function in this world.

Let me state this clearly. The church was not created in order that we may have another religious organization and it definitely was not created so that the clergy would have a job.

There may be varying opinions about the tasks and functions of the church, but the following represent what would be its three primary priorities.

1. The Church is to bring people into a personal relationship with God by proclaiming the Gospel throughout the world and making disciples of all kinds of people.

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:19-20).

"And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15).

The two ministries of the church, evangelism and discipleship, are Christ's primary mission. "Evangelism" is the ministry of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ that will bring mankind into fellowship with God, while "discipleship" is the training of believers to become disciplined followers of Jesus that understand their blessings and freedom in Christ while responsibly sharing this good news with the rest of the world.

In other words the mission of the church is, a continuation of Christ's earthly ministry (John 14:12). Jesus main purpose of coming into this world was to bring people into fellowship with God, through his life, death and resurrection.

Listen to his words; "For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost" (Matt. 18:11). And in turn, He imparted this same objective to His disciples. He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men" (Matt. 4:19). Can anything be clearer then the words in the gospel of John? “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” (John 20:21 KJV)

Perhaps the statement which best summarizes the mission of Christ and His church, was given as Jesus read from Isaiah's prophecy in Nazareth's synagogue on the Sabbath day. He said, "The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to preach the acceptable year of the LORD" (Luke 4:18-19).

2. The Church is to nurture all believers and prepare them for the work of ministry.

"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ..." (Eph. 4:11-12).

The church should be a fellowship of believers, where God's Word is taught, people are built up spiritually, emotionally and socially. This not only serves to anchor their faith in Christ, but serves to develop good character and prepares them for service to others. According to God's plan, each member of the body of Christ is called to serve in some aspect of ministry (Rom. 12:6, 1 Cor. 12:14-31, 2 Cor. 5:17).

3. The Church is to serve as a community of worshipers that praise God, love one
another and represent the interests of the Kingdom of God in the world, and thereby influence the society for good.

"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden" (Matt. 5:13-14).

Jesus used salt and light as metaphors of the influential characteristics of His church in the world. Historically, salt has always been a commodity used as an antiseptic to withdraw infection. Light, of course, dispels darkness.

Jesus Christ intended his church to let its light shine in the world by loving, caring, and meeting needs of humanity, while upholding the redemptive truths and righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Jesus also told his church, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matt. 5:16).

Paul Weresch

Bad Hermeneutics or Blatant Con-man …

This week-end has been bewildering for many, devastating for many, maddening for many, and indeed, interesting for most. But, it is just one more week-end in the many throughout our history when the predicted end of the world did not happen.

The antics of self professed millionaire prophet, Harold Camping, have many of my friends in the quarry, picking out good throwing rocks … as well they probably should. However, as the last stone is piled upon one head, another will spring up. As long as there are naïve sheep who are willing to listen and follow, there will be false prophets.

Just for a moment, in Christian love, let us put down our rocks and reason together.

Harold Camping claims to have studied the Bible for 70 years. Yet the fact that he has ignored the admonition that, "no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only", Matthew 24:36, proves that either he is a charlatan or has studied with bad hermeneutics ... the process of studying the scripture.

If we are to be good sheep and follow the right voice we must remember that everything we need to know is written for us in the ENTIRE Bible … all we need is the Bible, ourselves and the Holy Spirit to get it right. What Harold Camping and his followers missed is, among others things, three basic rules for studying the Bible …

1. We must study with a humble heart. We must study with the mind set of getting something out of the scripture … not adding our own ego into the scripture. If you are willing to tear the Bible apart and select just scripture that supports your preconceived ideas, the Bible can support any craziness you think up … ala, Harold Camping. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to open our hearts and minds to the wisdom written in those sacred texts.

2. We must look at the scriptures as written literally. When it says in the apostles that Jesus stepped out of the boat and walked on the lake, (Matthew 14:25) we can believe it was Jesus, it was water, and that He walked on top of it. It is literal … not allegoric.

When Jesus turned water into wine, (John 2:4-10) we can believe that it was real water turned into real wine … not an allegoric code that Jesus can take something of little worth and make it greater in value … although Jesus surely can and does do that very thing.

It may be a disappointment to many, but, the Bible is not full of codes … it is full of truths! It is true that allegory is used in the Bible but, it is thus identified. We should look for the naturally obvious, not a hidden code.

3. We should interpret normally. God meant for us to understand the Bible in the vernacular we are used to. For example, if you were to tell me your friend was as big as a barn, I wouldn’t be looking for a guy 60 foot wide, 120 foot long and 40 foot tall ... I would be looking for a really big guy!

When Peter tells us in 2 Peter 3:8 that, "with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day" don’t pull out your calculators and slide rules as did Harold Camping. Just realize that God’s sense of time is infinite unlike ours which is finite. It just means a long, long time only known to God.

As for Harold Camping … stone him if you must, fellow Christian. Or … you might pray for him and his many followers. There are many of our brothers and sisters in Christ who are truly devastated today because they chose to follow the wrong shepherd. They need our attention.

If Mr. Camping is, as he claims, a believer, there is a proper procedure recommended in the Scripture for admonishment. If he is just the charlatan he appears to be … God will not be mocked … it is His job to handle the matter ... not ours. And, I believe, He is capable of it.

Larry Abele - Editorial Team