Category: Bulletin Articles

Joe Slater
 
“The simple believes every word, but the prudent considers well his steps” (Proverbs 14:15). Sometimes the caller ID on my phone says, “scam likely.” Sad to say, hucksters by the boatload are more than happy to promise you the moon as they steal your identity, drain your bank account, and leave you wondering, “What happened?”
 
How many Nigerian oil barons need me to help them transfer a few million dollars to the US? Their emails promise that I’ll get a nice fat cut of the loot; all I have to do is give them my personal information (bank account number, routing number, social security number) and they’ll take care of the rest! The tragedy is that of the millions of emails the crooks send, a small handful will fall for the scam. Only when they discover their bank balance is zero do they realize they’ve been conned.
 
Heartbreaking as it is when gullible people lose their money, losing one’s soul to a spiritual con artist is worse. Jesus warned His disciples to “beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15). We rightly commend the example of the noble Bereans who didn’t blindly believe whatever someone told them. Rather, “they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11).
 
Prudence requires us to consider well our steps. Just because someone said something doesn’t make it so – not even if it’s someone we like and have come to trust! Before
you believe and act upon what you’ve been told, investigate! Verify! Don’t be a simpleton!

Joe Slater
 
Can you imagine how frustrated Jesus must have felt when the very people who ought to have recognized and welcomed Him stubbornly refused? Nevertheless, He continued offering salvation to those humble enough to accept it.
 
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29). This beautiful invitation has three imperatives.
 
The first is “come.” While He was on earth in the flesh people could physically come to Him, but even then (as now) coming to Jesus required faith and obedience. Those who bore heavy burdens of sin and trials found rest in Him. That is still the case.
 
Then Jesus said, “Take.” Take My yoke upon you. A yoke is an instrument of service such as oxen would wear to pull a plow or cart. Yes, we must serve our Savior. But whereas an ox yoke might gall and chafe the animal’s neck or shoulder, Jesus’ yoke is “easy” (v. 30). Serving Him brings delight in contrast to the crushing misery of sin.
  
Finally, Jesus said, “Learn.” We cannot know how to serve Him and enjoy rest unless we learn from Him. We learn from what He taught as we read through the gospels. In the same way we learn from what He did as we observe His mercy, His obedience, His power, His faith, His suffering, His anger, His patience (and you can extend that list indefinitely).
 
Come. Take. Learn. Those three simple steps form a good summary of what discipleship involves. His invitation is for you. Will you accept it? 

Edd Sterchi
 
I personally do not understand why some church
members only come on Sunday mornings. After all, we
worship the same God on Sunday evening as we do on
Sunday morning. We study from the same Bible on
Wednesday evenings as we do during all other service
times. Maybe if those folks could see just who benefits
from everyone coming to every service, they would
desire to come more often. Let’s take a look at who
benefits when members come to every service.
 
* God benefits. We come here to honor and worship
Him. The more that we are here, the better our singing
of praises to God and the more glory is given to Him. I
realize that God doesn’t need us, but imagine how
disappointed He must be when we decide not to come
to a service in His honor.
 
* The church benefits. When we gather together,
encouragement and edification takes place. The more
that are here, the better the fellowship and the greater
the opportunities for showing our love and concern for
one another. When we choose not to come, the church
suffers.
 
* Your family benefits. Coming to services is a family
activity that can always be done together. The more of
your family that are here, the better the influence and
the closer your family will become. When we opt not to
come, our family loses.
 
* You benefit. By bringing yourself, you are putting yourself in a position to increase your spirituality. The more that you are here, the greater the opportunity for you to grow and mature in Christ and find areas of greater service. When you don’t come, you are harming yourself.
 
“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Heb. 10:24-25)
 

By Joe Slater (Bulletin Digest)

Imagine that one of the apostles of Christ entered a time
machine and transported himself to Justin, Texas, in
December, 2019. When he realized it was the first day
of the week, he would surely want to gather with fellow-
Christians to worship the Lord and build one another
up. Not knowing his way around town, he might enter a
business and ask, “Where do the Christians meet?”

Aside from a bewildered look, what answer do you
think he would receive? Very likely the person would
say, “That depends on what kind you’re looking for!
The so-and-so church meets over there, and the such
and-such church over here. The something-or-other
church gathers on the other side of town,” and on and
on it would go. Perhaps the person would offer the
apostle a crash course in navigating the internet so he
could consider at least eight different churches with
Justin addresses.

Our poor apostle would be both confused and
disappointed! You see, in the first century there were no
denominations. Jesus began His church, and people
who heard and obeyed the gospel were added to it by
the Lord (Acts 2:47). On occasion, when division reared
its ugly head, the apostles stopped it in its tracks (see,
for example, 1 Corinthians 1:10-13).

Biblically, every seed produces fruit after its kind. Corn
produces corn; wheat produces wheat. The gospel is like
seed planted in the human heart (Luke 8:11). When the
pure seed is planted into receptive hearts, it brings forth
Christians (Acts 11:26). Human opinions and traditions
cause division when they conflict with God’s word or are
bound upon others as requirements.

Let us be Christians – nothing more, nothing less, nothing
else!

By Dalton Key

God seeks rule over more than just our bodies; He desires our hearts and minds as well. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).

We offer to God our bodies as living sacrifices, conjoined with, or perhaps more accurately, resulting from, the renewing of our minds. This inward affection for God is referred to by Christ as “the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:38). Heaven’s message has ever sought to operate on the heart of man. Peter’s inspired message on Pentecost “cut to the heart” of those who heard it (Acts 2:37). The word of God, “sharper than any two-edged sword,” pierces “even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul” (Psalm 19:7). Without a sincere change of heart, outward expressions of obedience are both hollow and ineffective. We are “set free from sin” and become “servants of righteousness” after obeying God’s teaching “from the heart” (Romans 6:17-18).


A new birth results in a new life, but the new birth itself concerns the spirit. “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). We “have purified our souls in obeying the truth” (1 Peter 1:22). Conversion, to be genuine, must include the whole man. While our behavior must manifest fruits of repentance, while we must live right and do right, we must first freely offer to the Lord our hearts, souls, and minds. Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Ours is more than merely a regimented religion of doing; it is one of being and becoming. “These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone” (Matthew 23:23). The only way God makes a Christian is from the inside out.

By Joe Slater

“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he
who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the
wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:35, NASB).

Note carefully that “believe” and “obey” are treated
here as equals. Peter uses the same two words in 1
Peter 2:6 – “Therefore to you who believe, He (Jesus)
is precious; but to those who are disobedient, ‘The
stone which the builders rejected has become the chief
cornerstone.’ The faith that pleases God is the faith
that obeys.

Also note that John did not say God’s wrath will abide
on the disobedient at some future point. He said it
“abides” on him (present tense, now). Of course
eternal destruction will be the final manifestation of
God’s wrath; but unless we are following Jesus, God is
highly displeased with us right now. We must remedy
that situation without delay!

If there were but one good reason to follow Jesus, that
would be enough. John the Immerse. however, gave
his disciples at least seven reasons in John 3:27- 36.
Those reasons are still valid. Are you following Jesus?

By Joe Slater

As John the immerser sought to calm his fretful
disciples, he told them, “He whom God has sent (i.e.
Jesus) speaks the words of God, for God does not give
the Spirit by measure” (John 3:34). What better reason
would anyone need for following Jesus?


Our Lord Himself stressed that He spoke God’s words:
“My doctrine is not mine, but His who sent Me” (John
7:16). Later He reaffirmed, “…all things that I heard
from My Father I have made known to you” (John
15:15).

Many prophets preceding Jesus spoke the words of
God; but Jesus was superior to them all. He out-ranked
them. He spoke not only what He was told by
inspiration, but what He had seen and heard. And He
possessed the Spirit without measure.

Beyond any shadow of doubt, the old prophets were
inspired by the Holy Spirit. Ezekiel, for example, says
over and over, “The word of the Lord came to me,
saying…” This shows that Ezekiel’s inspiration was
not continuous; from day to day and time to time, as the
need arose, God gave Ezekiel His words

Jesus, however, received the Holy Spirit at His baptism, as
witnessed by John who saw the Spirit descending like a
dove. Jesus had the Spirit to the fullest extent, like no other
before or since. We can know and be assured that Jesus
spoke the words of God, and that we are safe in following
Him.

By Joe Slater

John the immerser told his disciples, “He who has
received His (Jesus’) testimony has certified that God is
true” (John 3:33). John may well have been referring to
himself as one who had received Jesus’ testimony,
thereby certifying that God is true. But the general
principle remains that when we follow Jesus, believing
what He said and obeying what He taught, we certify
that God is true.

“Certify” literally means to set one’s seal upon
something to verify that it is authentic. Today we use a
Notary Public to insure that the signatures on a
document are valid rather than forgeries.

Of course God is true (authentic, correct) whether we
respond to Him in the right way or not. But when we
believe and obey Jesus we are, in effect, casting our
vote for God.

The apostle John wrote, “he who does not believe God
has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the
testimony that God has given of His Son” (1 John 5:10).
Now obviously, God is not a liar! But see the
implication of John’s words. To “make” God a liar is to
consider Him so, or to imply that He is such.

Those who reject the teaching of Jesus are, in effect,
calling God a liar! Who would want to be guilty of such a
thing?

Yet multitudes, by reason of their failure to believe and
obey Christ, are implying that God is a liar, whether they
mean to do so or not.
Are you certifying that God is true by your faith and
obedience?

By Joe Slater

“And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies;
and no one receives His testimony” (John 3:32).

So said John the immerser to his disciples. John had
plainly pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God, the
Messiah; yet many of his disciples didn’t understand.
John lamented, “No one receives His (Jesus’)
testimony.” John used “no one” as a figure of speech for
emphasis; there were a few who received Jesus (John
1:11-12), but the vast majority rejected Him, including
some of John’s own disciples.

If you want someone to guide you to your destination,
wouldn’t it be best to follow someone who has been
where you want to go? We want to go to Heaven. Jesus
came from there. He knows the way. In fact, He IS the
way! (John 14:6).

Since Jesus came from Heaven, He gives to us a more
complete understanding of God than anyone before or
after Him. Now, to be clear, the prophets (including
John) were inspired by God. They spoke truthfully what
God’s Spirit told them or showed them in dreams and
visions. Jesus, however, testified of what He had
actually seen and heard. The point is not that the
prophets were bad, but that Jesus is better!

Jesus saw and heard directly. He had co-existed with the
Father and the Holy Spirit from eternity, so He was
uniquely qualified to help us understand what God is like
and what He requires of us. As John 1:18 says, “No one
has seen God at any time. The only begotten of the Father,
He has declared Him.”

Jesus is supremely qualified to tell us about God and lead
us to Heaven. Follow Jesus! He’s been there!