A Tale of Two Churches

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I was in Indiana last weekend "trying out." That part of Indiana has small churches of Christ all around it.  One of the local families was taking us around the countryside showing us the lay of the land.  They pulled up to this now defunct church building and began telling us about its demise over 80 years earlier. The people directly involved are now dead.  Most of them are buried in the cemetery across the road due west of the church building. What I am sharing below is taken from part of their family history.  (An unpublished manuscript.)  I have not edited it in any way except that I have added current pics of the two buildings of the little churches involved. And a few labeled comments below… 

This is not a great doctrinal treatise but how it was remembered in later years by a nine year old child… 

Bethany Church of Christ

How Liberal Churches Are Like The Federal Government

Today I was considering the course our nation has gone… from being among the richest nation in the world to being basically owned by the Chinese.  Today I was also considering the course of various churches in our community.  They have gone from being Bible based with eternity and godliness being their focus…  to shallow speaking shells whose children are fleeing from them….

And I asked "why?"

Because both entities have made the same mistake. Both thought they were smarter than God and ignored His precepts.  Both have gone down a road that had an “unknown price”  to pay for it.  Both are now finding out the price for their choices.  Such is the way of sin…..

Consider…

"For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order : if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either."   II Thessalonians 3:10

Noah, the Movie

Well.... We went to see “Noah”, the movie...

You can read the truth about Noah in Genesis 6-9.

The producers of the movie chose blasphemy over scripture. Noah is depicted as a demented fellow who can't figure out what God wants from him. He looks like (and his family considers him) to be a madman.

Genesis 6 “13 Then God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. 14 "Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood ; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 "This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 "You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top ; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 "Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven ; everything that is on the earth shall perish.”

Note that his instructions from God were specific and to the point. This torn fellow that cannot figure out what to do is a slander both on a godly man and the God who created him.

In the movie, rather than his sons taking wives on the ark... Shem gets a wife, Noah abandons Ham's prospective wife to be trampled (alienating Ham) and Shem’s wife has twin girls on the ark. This appears to allow for the other two sons to have wives and re-populate the earth (??) Noah, however, thinks his mandate is to murder his granddaughters to cause all of mankind to cease.

The Bible account is VERY, VERY different.

Genesis 6:18 "But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark -you and your sons and your wife, and your sons' wives with you.”

In the movie, Tubal Cain stows away on the ark for the duration with Ham’s help and tries to murder Noah while on the ark.  The fact of the flood and a few of the names are about all the story line has in common with scripture.

You expect Hollywood to ad-lib on a lot of gaps in dialogue etc. This time they chose to turn one of God's all-time favorite righteous people into little more than a madman. When God was speaking to Ezekiel He chose three men as the ultimate examples of righteousness… Noah was one of them. To make Noah into some sort of a murder- crazed psycho is blasphemy.

“even though Noah, Daniel and Job were in its midst, as I live," declares the Lord GOD, "they could not deliver either their son or their daughter. They would deliver only themselves by their righteousness." Ezekiel 14:20

They took what were very clear instructions given to Noah and had him groping around trying to figure it all out on his own. Note Genesis 6:22 “Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.”

They avoided using the word “God” and instead used the word “Creator” and demonstrated a very aggressive agnostic and environmentalist agenda. The movie clearly presents the fact that God destroyed the world because of man… but it seems to be because of physical, environmental pollution. However in scripture, God said it was because of sin.

It was just very, very bad. A Bible believing Christian is going to be angry when he leaves. Far from simply using poetic license… they made a deliberate attempt to undermine what the text actually reveals. They also purposely smeared the integrity of a godly, righteous man.

The only good thing that I can see coming from this movie is providing a Christian the opportunity to correct the slander leveled against one the most treasured stories of scripture.

Hi I am glad you stopped by our blog. These articles are from an emailing that we did several years ago.   Today most of our work is on facebook

You can follow my personal page on Facebook by clicking on this link    ...  

  Jerry Blount 

You can follow the postings on the congregation's page by clicking on this link....   

Las Vegas church of Christ 

If you wish to worship with us....

Las Vegas church of Christ

709 Dora Celeste

Las Vegas, NM 87701

Our meeting times are

10am Sunday morning for Bible study.

11am Sunday morning for the worship service.

6pm Wednesday evening for Midweek Bible study.

If you wish to contact me...

yakipreacher@gmail.com

Be well 

Jerry Blount

The Family Needs Grandma

“The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers: not given to much wine, teachers of good things: That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed." (Titus 2:3-5)

In this passage, Paul identified the role of Grandma as a key stabilizing factor for a successful home.
This is the last line of defense as mapped out by Paul… Grandma! Today this is compounded by the fact that now, in many cases, Grandma hasn’t known marital success or a “settled life” either. I was born in 1955 and graduated in 1973. I was the product of a happy home, as were both my parents.

The hoary head (gray head) is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.  Proverbs 16:31

 Previous to my generation, divorce was unheard of. When I married, my Grandma started in lecturing me, “In our family, we marry for life!” She was right… She died with the man she had loved all her life. My mother, her daughter, died with the man… (my father) whom she had loved all her life. My father loved my mother till the day she died. With my generation, that presumption has collapsed. There are fewer and fewer of us left.

Note from the following chart that I was not alone. This situation of crumbling marriages and fragmented families has been in a state of decline though out my lifetime.

Christians, Lies, and Forwarding Emails

“But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak , they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”  Matthew 12:36

Have you noticed that “most” of the email forwards turn out to not be true? Is “most” too strong a word?   I have become concerned over the last few years that many of the friends that I call “brother” will lose their salvation over the lies they carelessly forward on the internet.

Otherwise godly, conscientious people seem to feel no responsibility in passing on very damaging things about “this or that.”  For example how many Christians who don’t like our president will pass on every smear that comes their way… “hoping” it is true?

Consider this… A liar makes you into a liar when you blindly hit the forward button.

Then someone considers you trustworthy and thinks that you wouldn’t lie… So they hit their forward button and you  have made them a liar. This time it is because they trusted you!  Then someone trusts them and so on.

An Open Letter to the Boy Scouts of America

From an ex- eagle scout.

To whom it may concern:
I had to think a while before I wrote this letter. As I have gotten older, I have learned not to act rashly. I have now thought through what I must do, but do not wish to do.

I became an eagle scout in the 1970s. My mom hung the picture of our area wide “Eagle court of honor” in her hallway with pride until the day she died. When my sons came of age I encouraged them to becomes scouts. One of them also made it all the way to the coveted rank of eagle.

I had looked forward to my grandsons following the same course… and the privilege of sharing Scouting with them.

One of my fondest memories with my sons was at Philmont scout camp. We camped on the top of a mountain. The next morning we literally walked in the clouds as they rolled along the ground. Together we “touched the sky.”

I and my two sons swore the following oath as a prerequisite to our becoming scouts…(Each in our own generation)

Boy Scout Oath or PromiseOn my honor, I will do my bestTo do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;To help other people at all times;To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.

Let’s see, the final point… the punch line of the oath that we swore, and you still post today has young men swearing to be… “MORALLY STRAIGHT!” How do you define “straight?” Even the homosexuals define “straight” the same way I do. Let’s see they use the words “gay” and “straight.”

You still post this oath… Did I miss something?

When a Nation Boos at its Creator

Did you see the appalling display recently at the democratic convention?  If you didn’t you should.  There have been several attempts to downplay it… but the reality of the world in which we live was rather vividly exposed.

 If you have any respect for Christianity at all, you need to listen to this. HERE's the link...

In a nutshell the Democratic party leaders have long been embarrassed by many things that Christianity has to say. The scriptures have been downplayed and an atheistic amorality has been slowly taking its place for many years. This time around they tried to eliminate the last mention of God in their platform document.  They tried to do it behind the scenes without anyone knowing.
 The same convention that tried to “dump” God also sponsored an Islamic Junah…

One Christian’s thoughts on Chik-fil-a, Sodom & Gomorrah, and The Culture War Currently Underway in the USA.

Over the last month we have seen in dramatic terms how intolerant evil is of good.  One man spoke of his faith in the Bible as the Word of God, and the traditional God given definition of marriage.  There were immediate calls for boycotts etc. against the entire company because of one man’s faith in God.
Here is his initial statement, the "Chick fil a Anti Gay Statement":

“I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say ‘we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage’ and I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about.”

Have you noticed how “intolerant” and vicious the “tolerance” movement is?  Have you noticed the vicious attacks that Christians regularly endure simply because they are Christians?  The fact is that the war between light and darkness has been going on since the Garden of Eden.

We have been an incredibly “blessed” nation as we have purposely submitted ourselves as a people to the God of heaven.  “In God we trust” has actually been the underpinnings of our society.

So… how does a “blessed” people become a “cursed” people?  Clearly if we embrace same sex marriage as we have already embraced infanticide we are one step further down the path to Sodom.

Sometimes we overlook the obvious.  This process of “blessed” to “cursed” has occurred many times in the history of the world. Israel was a “blessed” nation that became “cursed” multiple times.

Sodom was a “blessed” community as well. Consider Lot’s assessment…

America's First Contact with Islam

A nation whose single greatest influence was Christianity
makes “first contact” with the lands of Islam…
 

In practice America’s first contact with the lands of Islam came through their trading of slaves among other things while in the colonial stage.   The Islamic warriors could not hold the interior of Africa largely due to the geography of the interior.  Over time the interior of Africa became viewed as a virtually inexhaustible supply of slaves for the Islamic countries.   The slave markets buzzed and routes were established going east (to Arabia, Persia etc.) and west (to the Americas) on a huge scale.

 
Britain’s massive naval presence in the Mediterranean (and elsewhere) protected America for the most part from becoming slaves… though white slaves were highly prized especially in the harems.  Most of Islam’s white slaves were imported from the Islamic frontiers bordering Russia.

That all changed with the declaration of independence.  America was no longer under the protection of the British flag.  The Barbary States along the northern coast of Africa, Tripoli (AKA Libya) in particular began capturing and selling American ships back to the US on a massive scale.  This tribute money from “unbelievers” to avoid enslavement eventually reached the unbelievable sum of 20% of the entire US budget.

It appears that 10 of the first 11 Americans seized died in slavery. It took awhile for the Americans to take the threat seriously.  (It sounds a lot like today…)
 In 1787 alone eleven American vessels were plundered and 121 sailors were taken hostage. They demanded one million dollars in ransom from the fledgling democracy.  [source]

From Conception to Birth in the Womb, Visualized

Today’s offering is going to be very unique in our mailings.  I am simply going to give you a link to a secular video artist’s presentation of the growth of the human body. 

I have no idea of the man’s religious beliefs or his stand on abortion. He presents an incredible animation based on cat scans etc. No gross stuff, only the beauty of God’s creative work inside the womb...

Sin: Shooting at the Wrong Target

Have you noticed that almost everyone has something that they focus on in their life?  If we do not pursue something… depression sets in.   Have you also noticed that some will spend their lives pursuing a goal that ultimately isn’t worth having once they achieve it?

God offers you a better way of life.  The Bible helps us to direct our lives in such as way as to gain what is worth pursuing and avoid what should be left alone.

In the New Testament the normal word for sin is harmatia (it’s verb form is harmartano).  It means literally “to miss the mark.” It is a archer’s term. Here is the problem… if you shoot at the wrong bulls eye, you just may hit it.

On the other hand, you can aim at things that are worthwhile… i.e. You can aim high but still fall short of what you are aiming for. Hitting the wrong mark or missing the right mark pretty much have the same effect.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” ( Romans 3: 23)

Here is the nature of what the Bible calls sin… We shoot at what we should not have or do not pursue what we should have.  James explains this situation to us graphically…

The Certified Gospel

Today’s article was written by Connie Adams as an editorial to a paper he helped to publish more than 20 years ago (1982).  It is long but I think you’ll find it to be an informative defense of scripture as God’s word…

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The Certified Gospel

by Connie Adams

"But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man" (Gal. 1:11). In this statement, Paul placed the gospel he preached in contrast to the perverted gospel which some had brought to the churches of Galatia (Verse 7). He further showed that perverted gospels were appeals to men rather than to God and that those who preached such perversions negated their claim to bathe servants of Christ (verse 10). In these declarations, Paul gave his assurance that his gospel was genuine. He had received it by divine revelations. The further context of Galatians 1 shows that he did not confer with those chosen to be apostles before him in order to determine what he ought to believe and preach. After his conversion he went away into Arabia. Even when he did meet with the apostles later in his service to Christ, they "added nothing" to him. He received his gospel by divine revelation even as the others.

Do You Wish to be Blessed by God?

Have you noticed the dilemma of figuring out how to have a relationship with God?  The Bible has many things to say along these lines.  Often times people just get lost in the shuffle.  Occasionally in scripture a prophet just stops and gives you a principled summary.  Would you like a principled summary about “How to live with God” absent all the technical discussions? Would you like to find a passage of scripture that just unlocks the point in clear terms that anyone can understand?

The first Psalm is one such passage.  It is obviously an Old Testament passage rather than a New Testament one but here the two testaments agree.  The author is not trying to tell you how to establish a relationship with God, that subject is dealt with elsewhere.  (See Jesus' comments in Mark 15:15-16 for example) The Psalmist is simply describing how to have an ongoing relationship with our Creator. Today we would say that once you become a Christian (a Jew in OT times) then this is how to live.

Let’s allow him to lead us through the principles of a blessed life before our God.
 

Psalm 1: 1.  Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

Have you noticed that oftentimes the first step in accomplishing good is to avoid evil?  Paul describes how that all of us (Paul included) were born good.  We do not always stay that way.

A Church Satisfied With Being a Church

Have you noticed that nowadays churches seem to be about everything but being churches? Let’s see …

We have so called churches with gymnasiums, swimming pools, restaurants, bowling alleys, day care, schools, gift shops, etc. in them.

We have churches preoccupied with teaching everything from yoga to belly dancing. Here in Wichita we had a fellow trying to start a church inside of a strip club… with other local preachers trying to justify said behavior.

Where Did Church Buildings Come From?

In recent years I have continued to run into folks that have believed it was somehow more spiritual to worship God at home alone, or in small groups etc. Each time it seems the persons are coming from a different direction but to the same conclusion that the practice of gathering together in a public building as a congregation of God’s people was somehow inferior to a private, or hidden worship.

They are generally pursuing intimacy and fear losing it.

By way of contrast I have also continued to run into folks that believe that the building was “nothing” and therefore you can do anything with said building that you wish. They have thereby wrapped Jesus’ name around everything from country music shows to strip dancing. Yes… here in Wichita a group recently tried to mingle the worship of God with a strip club!

Locally we are trying to raise enough for a down payment and to find financing to buy our first building… so we have been discussing every aspect of this question for the last year.

Here is some of the rationale often given to dismiss church buildings;

• Organized religion is corrupt. (No one can deny that some, if not most, of it is!)
• Constantine founded modern Christianity in the 300’s AD. (Not true…)
• Church buildings were not used until after Constantine’s edict of Milan in 313AD. (this is a blatant misrepresentation of history!)
• In the first century the church was composed of “house churches.” (Some were in homes… only some… not all or even most.)
• If a local church owns a building, then its work ends up centering on the building rather than saving souls etc. (This can and often does happen. This argument is like saying ‘since some marriages fall apart we should do away with marriage.’ Simply put, it is clearly an over-reaction.)

Merry Christmas, Merry X-Mas, Christian Confusion & The Whole Nine Yards

Well, this year is a lot like most years.  Some are desperately trying to “put Christ back in Christmas”.  Some are trying to kick Christ out of everything to do with our civilization.  Some are so mixed up they don’t know which way to jump.

Sometimes I must confess I am the latter. Here’s my dilemma...  As a Christian, I am absolutely compelled to stand up for my Lord and Christianity in general.  However, what most people consider to be “Christianity” is not truly Christianity.  Ironically, those wishing to attack Christianity, often end up attacking Catholicism or some other denominational variant instead.
  
With Christmas in mind, let’s pick one example of confusion: The nativity scenes. . .

In recent years, there has been a full court press against the public display of nativity scenes.  Those attacks are intended to drive Christianity from the public spectrum.  Ironically anyone who has a respect for the Bible, is going to be loathe to defend the nativity scenes (regardless of the motives of those attacking them!). These same Christians (myself included) may aggressively wish to defend the fact that Christianity played a huge role in developing our culture, and it’s eventual success. 


Why can’t I defend the nativity scenes?   Let me count the ways. . .
1)  Angels over the manger. The angels appeared to the shepherds in the field.  Luke 2:8ff. The angels spoke to the shepherds.  Then, “When the angels had gone away from them into heaven,”  (Luke 2:15)  the shepherds went to the manger and saw it all. Were the angels around all this? You bet. Do I have a right to place them at the manger when the Word of God doesn’t say they were there?

2)  The three wise men.  How many wise men? The bible doesn’t say.  Many of the oldest traditions hold that there were 12.  (not three). It is thought that tradition has eventually settled on three wise men because of the three gifts.

Will Your Kids Go To Heaven?

Do you want to have a successful Christian home?

"You will know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:16)

Do you want your kids to go to heaven?
Do you want your family/marriage/home to be solid?
If you answered yes….. The next question in front of you is:
“Should you choose a liberal or conservative church?” 

Which path gives you the best hope of building a strong family that will lead to your children choosing to be Christians? Today it is common for kids to be raised in a church only to hit teenage years and turn away from the “faith of their fathers!”  Many do not realize that it doesn’t have to be that way… and it is not that way among us.

Our families stay together and our kids become Christians.… Want to know more?

Can a Christian Join AARP and Thereby Pay for the Homosexual Agenda?

"Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;" (Ephesians 5: 11)

Today’s mailing is going to be a little different subject matter than normal.  Many of our subscribers from outside the USA won’t be interested in this particular E-mailing.  The principle of joining organizations may be of interest, but AARP is more of a "USA question" about Bible application… sorry.

I keep getting questions about whether a Christian can join AARP with their very liberal social agenda.  Many Christians have been infuriated by their ultra-liberal lobbying efforts on social issues but believe that they simply “must” join because of the insurance programs, travel discounts, etc.

The American Family Association has started recommending to followers to cancel their memberships.  Here is a link to one such story.  

Lessons Learned From a Visit to a Country Graveyar

The Poca Hollow cemetery 

"It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, because that is the end of every man, and the living takes {it} to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for when a face is sad a heart may be happy. The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, while the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure." (Ecclesiastes 7:2-4)

 I visited the Poca Hollow cemetery last month.  My first trip to this hidden little graveyard nestled in the boot heel of Missouri was some thirty years ago, in 1980.  My wife’s clan is from there.  This cemetery overlooks an almost forgotten civil war battlefield. The locals point to the valley where the Yankees came through, then point to some of the old buildings (over their shoulder, behind the picture) that still have civil war bullets in them.  The anonymity is fair enough… except for the family this cemetery is almost forgotten as well.   You don’t just accidentally go there… you have to know where it is and choose to visit it.

Today Poca Hollow is a peaceful place.  As you thoughtfully stroll among the stones, contemplating the human lives represented by each grave, numerous Biblical passages cannot help but come to mind.  The first scripture is obvious….

“For, "ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF, BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER." And this is the word which was preached to you.” (I Peter 1:24-25)

What Denomination Are You?

“If {anyone suffers} as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.” (I Peter 4:16)

We are simply Christians: no more, no less. That’s what Jesus wants us to be.  Wouldn’t you agree?  Have you noticed that churches seem to have a hard time deciding to be content to be just churches? Christians need to be content to be Christians and churches need to be content to be churches.  What does the Bible actually teach us?

Most are unaware that the modern series of divisions that we call denominationalism is actually addressed (in principle) by the Bible.  “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.”  (I Corinthians 1:10)