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Past Articles – Messages of encouragement and information |
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There is one job within the church that is simply not a pleasant job. Well, relatively speaking, it’s not a pleasant job. Seriously, how many of us really enjoy paying our bills? It has to be done, and someone has to do it. Just like your home, the church has financial obligations that come in regularly and need paying in a timely manner. Churches can have bad reputations financially as well as people. It is a tremendous responsibility to be charged with handling the financial affairs of the Columbus Avenue church. Dan Smith has risen to the task set before him by our elders as the deacon responsible for finances and budgets. His background in accounting has prepared him for this work. Paying the bills is not Danny’s only responsibility. He has other, equally serious, responsibilities. Each Lord’s Day, we as a congregation present our gifts and offerings to God Almighty. On any given Lord’s Day, our combined gifts and offerings is a sizeable chunk of change. It takes not only a responsible person, but also a person who is highly ethical and does not mind being accountable for his work to handle that kind of money. For those who have requested it, Danny tracks their individual contributions. These have requested he keep track for tax reasons. Not an easy task. Something new that has been added to this area is the budgeting process. Having the financial records of the congregation, Danny will be working closely with the other deacons in sorting through all the church’s financial records in order to prepare the budget. In order to do that, he has to have in place a means of tracking every penny that comes in and goes out through the church. Every penny spent must be categorized in some type of system so that the various deacons can know what they have spent in their area. Not an easy task, but one that Danny is fully capable of implementing. Like the other deacons, Dan has those who work with him. For example, counting the contribution cannot be a "one man show." When one person alone counts, records and deposits the church’s funds, there is the possibility for impropriety. Dan has checks and balances in place to eliminate even the hint of any impropriety in handling the church’s funds. Danny is to be commended for his forethought in removing even the hint of any impropriety in handing the church’s funds. Thanks, Danny! Until next time… 4/9/2000 - Evangelism: Lifeblood of the church It’s that time of year when peoples’ thoughts turn to their gardens. It doesn’t matter whether it is a flower garden or a vegetable garden, now it the time to be preparing for the garden. Preparing the soil and planting the seed is not all there is to gardening. For the garden to be successful, there will be regular attention given to it over its growing season. Jesus spoke a parable about how the seeds grew – as if by themselves: And He was saying, "The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts up and grows – how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself – first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head." (Mk 4:26-28) Plant a seed in a garden spot, and it will grow. Drop it into any soil, and it will try as hard as it can to grow. It’s God’s design for seed. Earlier in that context, Jesus referred to the seed as the word, the gospel, and the soil as the people who hear that word. (Mk 4:10-20) As in the natural world, God’s design is for the seed to be sown and for the seed to produce fruit. When the seed is sown, it will do everything in its power to grow. The quality of the fruit will be determined by the kind of person who receives the word of God, not the quality of the seed. (No one can improve on the word of God!) Sowing seed, the word of God, is the responsibility of the people of God. That means you and me, both. The church can no more hire someone to sow the seed for it than it can hire someone to pray for it or to sing for it. (They’ve all been tried, and failed!) The church – the people of God – exists to sow the word of God. (Lk 19:10; Mt 28:18-20; Mk 16:15,16; Jn 17:18-20) If we, as the church, are not sowing the seed, we are going against the very nature of the church. Remember, it is not God’s will that people perish, but it is His will that everyone come to repentance. (2 Pet 3:9) True repentance is a godly sorrow, not simply regret. (2 Cor 7:10) There can be no godly sorrow without knowledge of God’s will. The only way one can learn God’s will is through hearing the gospel! Like the garden, this process will continue on as long as God keeps His "garden spot" here. In the weeks to come, this space will be dedicated to encouraging each of us to be more involved in sowing the seed of the kingdom, including the many different facets that are inherent it the process. Until next time… 4/16/2000 - Evangelism: A cooperative effort If you heard someone talking about a dog they saw on the way to our services this morning, what images came to mind? Would it be that cute and cuddly fur-ball like the puppy you had as a child? Or was it the vicious animal that mauled a child you heard on the news last evening? Then again it was likely neither of these two dogs. Every one of us will picture some kind of dog when we hear the word "dog." "Personal evangelism." Quickly – what came to your mind? For many of us, one of the first thoughts that leaps into our mind is knocking on doors in order to set up a Bible study. For others of us, it is sitting across the table with someone to teach them the gospel, or perhaps showing them the Jule Miller film series. I can almost guarantee that most people think of being directly involved with teaching the Bible when they think of personal evangelism. Remember the parable of the soils Jesus told? (Mk 4) The seed (God’s word) was cast upon the ground. Depending upon the type of soil where it fell, it either thrived or died. In growing a crop, there is so much more involved than simply sowing or planting the seed. Paul spoke about the different roles he and Apollos filled in their work with the Corinthians. (1 Cor 3:6) While we are not told the specifics of how each was involved, we know that Paul is talking about different facets of the work – just like growing a crop. Personal evangelism is so much more than knocking on doors to set up a Bible study, or even sitting down with the Bible to teach someone. Evangelism is a cooperative effort among many people. For instance, consider all the people involved in this scenario. You work with someone who has shown some interest in learning about God. (You’re #1.) Not having taught anyone personally, you enlist the help of someone else. (They’re #2.) The student has children, so you take someone alone with you to watch them during the study so you can sit quietly with the teacher. (That’s #3.) You have children of your own, so you get someone to watch them. (That’s #4.) You want them to know some members of the church so you invite them to a picnic on Saturday. (That’s #5, #6, #7, and so on.) Get the picture? Each one of these is actively involved in personal evangelism. And we haven’t counted the people you have asked to pray for this person’s soul. That’s even more involved. Personal evangelism is quite a cooperative effort. There are many people actively involved in effectively teaching the gospel. Until next time… 4/23/2000 - Evangelism: I am involved Evangelism is a cooperative effort accomplished through the combined actions of many people. It is not "the preacher’s work" – though he is involved in evangelism. It is not "the elders’ work" – though they are involved in it also. Nor is it "the Bible class teacher’s work" – though each of them is actively involved as well. Whose work is it then? Evangelism is the church’s work. (Mt 28:18-20) We are all involved in it. Each and every child of God has the responsibility to be involved in evangelism in one way or another. How are you involving yourself? Every one of us knows many who stand outside of the fellowship of God because of their sin. Regardless of the specific sin one may be involved with that sin separates them from God. (Isa 59:1,2; Jms 2:10,11) God has done all He can to bring them to salvation. He has provided the atoning sacrifice – Jesus! Making known God’s work and encouraging people to accept God’s gift of grace falls to the people of God. Because I am a Christian, I am involved in this great work. How are you being involved at this time? Are you carrying the names of those whom you know who are outside of God’s fellowship before the throne of God? Remember when Jesus told Peter that Satan had demanded to sift him like wheat? Jesus’ encouragement to Peter was, I have prayed for you. (Lk 22:31,32) Satan is busy sifting many people right now. Are you praying for them to resist his sifting and respond to God’s grace? Are you praying that they will respond to the good news as it is found in the Bible? Praying is just one way we can be involved in evangelism. This weekend many people are remembering the resurrection of Jesus. With their thoughts turning towards that capstone event in the salvation of mankind, are you seeking an opportunity to point them to the gospel, to the accounts of conversion in the book of Acts, to salvation the way we find it presented and accepted in the Scriptures? When Paul visited the city of Philippi, God presented at least three occasions to furthering the gospel: a riverside, a demon possessed slave girl, and an earthquake. Lydia responded at the riverside; they were imprisoned because of the slave girl; and the jailer responded at the earthquake. He was involved. So are we. What will you be doing? Until next time… 4/30/2000 - Evangelism: Overcoming procrastination Rumor has it that a new service group was going to begin right here in Anderson. It was to be called the "Procrastinators Anonymous." But they never got around to starting it. We laugh at silly little items like that, but there is an underlying truth in it that applies to our being involved in evangelism (not matter what the capacity). Sometimes it is simply easier to put off until later something that we know we should do, but don’t really want to do. Some people might call that the "Scarlet O’Hara Philosophy" – "There’s always tomorrow." Consider that thought for a moment, especially in light of our work to bring God’s light to this world. Is there "always tomorrow?" Many children went to the National Zoo in Washington last Monday. One of them did not go home. He, and several others, just happened to be standing between other two groups of children who got into a scuffle. That scuffle ended with shots being fired. He was shot in the head and declared brain-dead at the hospital. Is there always tomorrow? In Peoria, IL, scaffolding fell away from a bridge during reconstruction. Three men died in the accident. Is there always tomorrow? This week’s papers carried the obituaries of many people. Some were aged; some were not so aged; some were quite young. Is there always tomorrow? James wrote, Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. (Jms 4:14) Very few of us are privileged to know the time of our death. If we are so privileged, it ought to make some eternal decisions exceedingly simple to make. Jesus is coming for His church. (1 Thes 4:13-18) Some living at that time will not have obeyed the gospel yet. (2 Thes 1:7-9) Is there always tomorrow? When opportunities to teach the gospel come up, or to help someone else teach, or to be part of the support structure for those who teach, don’t walk down the road of procrastination. We are not promised any tomorrows. But we know who holds the future in His hands. Walk with Him through however many tomorrows He may give you, doing your best to meet each opportunity as He would want you to. Until next time… |
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