Category: Bulletin Articles

Joe Slater

I expect you’ve seen the title of this article practiced in reverse. as I have: “Use People; Love Things.” Sad, but true. King Solomon observed, “The poor man is hated even by his own neighbor. But the rich has many friends” (Proverbs 14:20). Now, why would a poor man’s neighbors hate him? And why would a rich man have many friends? The poor man doesn’t have much to offer materially, so his neighbors can’t use him. The rich man’s “friends,” however, see opportunity to use him to their advantage. “Many entreat the favor of nobility, and every man is a friend to one who gives gifts” (Proverbs 19:6).

Solomon’s half-brother, Absalom used people to acquire the power he wanted. See how he buttered up the citizens who came to King David with legal issues: “Look, your case is good and right; but there is no deputy of the king to hear you…Oh, that I were made judge in the land, and everyone who has any suit or cause would come to me; then I would give him justice” (2 Samuel 15:3-4). In short order, he conned them into proclaiming him king!

The Pharisees in John 8 used the woman taken in adultery to try to put Jesus into a dilemma. They cared nothing for her soul. All they wanted was to have an excuse to criticize the Lord. By contrast, Jesus loved her and sought her redemption. The “good Samaritan” in Luke 10 loved his neighbor and used his money and other possessions to help him. Love people; use things. The man who had been robbed and beaten could do nothing materially for the Samaritan. But he needed help, and the Samaritan provided it. As Jesus said, “Go and do likewise” (Lk. 10:37).

Via Bulletin Gold

David Bragg

Under the dark shadow cast by COVID-19 during the summer of 2020 more American families opted for vacationing in the great outdoors. With camping and campers on the rise, the National Park Service issued guidelines for safety when encountering a bear the in wild. Their advice .. don’t run (bears will chase you) don’t climb a tree (bears can climb too) don’t push!

NPS officials actually warned campers, “Do NOT push down a slower friend (even if you think the friendship has run its course)” (Kootenai Valley Times, Bonners Ferry, Idaho).

We are all pilgrims on this physical journey through life (1 Peter 1:1). Our goal is to fully realize the eternal life Jesus promised to those who obey and follow Him (John 14:1-4). On this journey we need the support and encouragement of fellow Christians. Satan, however, uses any means possible to keep us from attaining those precious promises, even if it is getting us to turn on each other, “pushing each other to the bears.”

Isn’t it wonderful that the church of the New Testament is infused with love? Love for God. Love for the Son. Love for the Bible. Love for one another (1 John 4:21). As Christians, We need each other to help us get out of this life to live forever.

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By Rob Albright

We all get busy with our daily routine. We have places to go and things to do and people to see everyday. But one of the things we must keep in mind is our passage today. Jesus wants his disciples to be under the rule of God. God’s way for our life must be priority #1. He knows what is best for us. Kingdom means “rule” and in God’s Book, the Bible, we have right ways for our life. We are to seek “his righteousness.” God’s right ways and character must be displayed in all we do. He has taught us things like loving our enemies, and being merciful to others in difficult circumstances, and do what we can in seeking the lost.

Seeking the rule of God for our life means making spiritual matters supreme. It is important to be sure out children know the priority of spiritual matters (Ecc. 12:1). We learn early in life important truths and habits that we continue in all the days of our life. Parents and Bible class teachers work together influencing our children toward making the kingdom of God a priority.

Notice the end of our verse above. This is a promise from the Lord. “All these things” will be added to our life if we place the kingdom (rule) of God first in our life. The material things we need in this life will be supplied for us. God will take care of us.

What we do with our time determines it’s value. If we use Our time wisely for God and His kingdom, it carries great value. So, maybe we just need to stop and ask ourselves, “What is our priority in life?”

Via Bulletin Gold

By Rob Albright

When the women came to the tomb of Jesus, an angel met them and said “He is not here” (Mt. 28:6). Jesus was not in the tomb. It was empty. Even though a large stone was blocking the entrance and even though the tomb was guarded, the fact is, the tomb was empty. So, what happened? Luke states the truth in Acts 2:24 when he said, God raised Him. That message of Jesus’ resurrection must be preached. The resurrection verifies Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God.

This truth was confirmed when Jesus appeared to His disciples (John 20). Paul said that Jesus even appeared to over 500 people and most were alive in 56 AD (1 Cor. 15:6) The resurrection benefits us. It gives us a living hope (1 Peter 1:3) and if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, burial, and resurrections, we shall be in the likeness of His resurrection (Romans 6:1-5).

Via Bulletin Gold “Christ the Lord is risen

By Ron Bartanen

Among the many witty and thought-provoking bits of wisdom that has come my way on the Internet recently was this observation: “The truth is that most of us decide what lies we want to believe.” Prejudices abound in such realms as politics, culture and religion. True objectivity in separating fact from fiction is hard to find. We are universally affected by our backgrounds, friends and environment. A truly subjective seeking after truth in a multitude of areas of life is difficult, if not entirely impossible, to find. The result is a divided society, often resulting in chaos and even war. Life, thereby, becomes a burden upon mankind as each seeks his own way. The natural inclination of man is to seeka way that will harmonize with his own prejudices and preferences. The problem is rooted within our own degenerate hearts, which the Bible describes as deceitful in all things, And desperately wicked” (Jeremiah17:9).

God’s answer to man’s predicament is a person-His own Son, Who declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Through Jesus, God has reconciled believers to Himself, through the crucifixion of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:18-21), uniting us with Him who is the embodiment of truth. While our minds and hearts seek to feed us an assortment of lies, in Christ we are afforded the totality of truth, as He declared to His disciples: “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32). (continued on inside of bulletin)

That truth affects every facet of the believer’s worldview and conduct. We open our hearts to Satan’s lies if our hearts are not guarded by this truth, as Paul declared of those who did not love the truth, “For this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12). The choice is ours.

(Via Bulletin Gold)

By Ron Thomas

 

None of them can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to Goda ransom for him (For the redemption of their life is costly, And ii faileth for ever), (Psalm 49:7-8, ASV) We live on this earth with the prospect of making our lives pleasant and easier than the generation before us. We know that we don’t always achieve what we set out to accomplish, but it does not stop us from trying. In this trying there is hope of success.

None of this is new to us. Unfortunately, as we set about to do this, we come nearer to the end of our individual lives before we accomplish it or think that we do. We then think about how we have lived our lives and wonder if we were (are) a blessing, a help, or a hindrance to others in the way we have lived. More than that, we think about our lives and wonder about the Lord’s response to the way we lived. “Have I done enough to be pleasing to the Lord?” and Will He receive me into His kingdom?” eternal Some of us are fortunate to have accumulated some means, some wealth. “Surely, if the Lord was not with me, I would not have what He gave me we think.

We transfer that thinking to “It must be the case the Lord is pleased with me, for how else can my wealth be explained?” never thinking it might be from the world (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4) this of god The passage in Psalm 49 is a reminder that no matter what a person accumulates, there is no wealth available to a person that is satisfactory in redeeming (purchasing) a person from the throngs of Hell.

Equally important on this theme is: no matter how gracious a person is, how charitable to others a person is, without the Lord Jesus directing their life in faithful obedience to His will, all is lost, even one’s soul.

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By Greg Gwin

At your weakest moment, that’s when Satan will tempt you to sin. Our adversary is no fool. He’s not going to waste time and effort by working against your strengths. He will attack you when you are the weakest and where you are most vulnerable. Here’s an example: Someone has had harsh words to say about you. They have assumed the worst. impugned your motives, jumped to false conclusions, spread rumor and innuendo about you. How will you react? You are angry. hurt, insulted, disgusted. The strong temptation is to strike back, to get even, to put this person “in his place”. But. you must not submit to the temptation.

God’s word says. “Never pay back evil for evil to anyone… Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:17,21), It’s hard to follow this instruction at the moment, because you are weak and vulnerable. But this course of action is best- the Lord says so, and our Own experience bears this out.

During such times of weakness and vulnerability, we should pray as David did, “Set a guard, 0 Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice deeds of wickedness with men who do iniquity; and do not let me eat of their delicacies” (Ps. 141:3,4). We’ve been warned that Satan has many “devices” (2 Cor. 2:11). Chief among these is his ability to detect our weaknesses and attack us there. Please realize that you must work hardest during your weakest moments, because that is when Satan is at work against you.

Via..Bulletin Digest

Joseph D. Chase

It really is up to you! You can see the myriad of problems that plague us in this world and worry about them. You can complain about them, You could curse them or many other actions. However, there is only one way that we, God’s family, ought to respond to these troubles…

God has given us the opportunity to shine our lights before men and so glorify the God of heaven (Matthew 5:16). I can decide to work for the Lord and right wrongs that I see, lift up the broken and hurting. I can become a part of God’s solution for a lost and dying world…”Go out and make disciples..”, visit the poor, the widowed, the orphan (James 1:27), offer a simple cup of cool water in the name of our Lord Jesus. When we do the Lord’s work it makes the world a better place. We bless and are blessed when we view problems as opportunities.

It won’t be easy, but I assure you it will be worthwhile.

Via Bulletin Gold

C.S. Lewis was born in Belfast, Ireland in 1898 and became a prolific Irish writer and scholar. He is best known for his ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ fantasy series and his pro-Christian texts, especially his collection of radio talks that were published under the title “Mere Christianity Following his graduation from Oxford he was given a teaching position at Magdalen College where he formed friendships with other intellectuals. It was through conversations with this group that he was re-introduced to Christianity.

He would become famous for his work as an apologist, explaining his beliefs through logic and philosophy. Lewis defines four types of love derived from these Greek terms: Agape is the highest form of love unconditional and all encompassing, the love of God Eros is romantic loving, a bond common to the celebration Valentine’s Day Storge is affection and familial love, such as the deep bond for a child Philia represents the love of friends and intertwined relationships Lewis said, “Agape is all giving, not getting…Giving money is only one way of showing charity; to give time and toil is far better and (for most of us) harder.”

Paul said, Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

(special thanks to Biography.com Editors)

Grand Blanc church of Christ

A churchgoer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. “1’ve gone for 30 years now, ” he wrote, “and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So, I think l’m wasting my time and the preachers are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.”

This started a controversy in the “Letters to the Editor column, to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:

I’ve been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals but I do know this: They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!”

Via Bulletin Digest