Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

The Role of the Deacon
Mar 1st, 2006
Main StoriesArt Sadlier
Categories: Printed Newsletter

“Deacon” = Servant (Bullinger “as a waiter on a table”)

All in the body of Christ are to have a servant spirit, but the Deacons are the official servants of the Church. In Acts 6:3 the Apostles (the foundation layers of the Church) laid out the function and purpose of the Deacon.

1. To free up the time of the Pastor (the Apostles were functioning as both Apostles and Pastors) Acts 6:2,4.
2. To function to prevent discord and disunity. Acts 6:1,3.
3. To carry out the business of the church under the authority of the Pastor. Acts 6:3,6.

The function of the Deacon is more than the one item of business in Acts 6, if this were not the case the Deacons would be unnecessary today. Where there is a body of believers who have common goals and purposes, and who hold common property and money, someone must act for the body to prevent chaos and friction. That is the role of the Deacon.

Only men who live supernatural lives by the power of the Holy Spirit can exercise the ministry of a Deacon.

Does the role of the Deacon seem like a put down for the Deacon? Read carefully Matt 20:25-28 and Luke 22:42. The pattern for the Deacon’s submission and humility is Christ Himself.

When the Deacons were appointed in Acts 6, and when they carried out their function, notice the results:

• a. In the Church Acts 6:7
• b. In the lives of the Deacons. Stephen became a great Bible teacher and a martyr. Phillip became an evangelist.
• All Deacons who fulfill their calling are rewarded. 1 Tim 3:13

The humble servant spirit of a Deacon is the Spirit of Christ and God can greatly bless such men. God has no “Plan B” for the offices of both Pastor and Deacon. What a beautiful plan for the Church, men who are equals with differing roles, Lead & Feed – Serve & Unify.

The Blue Robe
Mar 1st, 2006
In The News
Categories: Printed Newsletter

The Blue Robe to be warn by the next High Priest has just been completed and is now on display in Jerusalem.  It is woven of blue wool with 72 golden bells on the hem.  There are intricately woven pomegranates between each of the bells.

The Amazing Office of Deacon
Mar 1st, 2006
Main StoriesArt Sadlier
Categories: Printed Newsletter

Has the Church in recent decades lost the understanding of the office of Deacon?

In 1 Timothy 3, we have the qualifications for Deacons. With the exception of “Apt to Teach” the qualifications for Pastor and Deacon are virtually the same, in spite of some different terminology. Although the Deacon is not required to teach, he must be settled in his knowledge of and commitment to the faith (1 Tim. 3:9). Pastor and Deacon are held to the very same high standard. Add to these qualifications the requirements of Acts 6:3 and the Deacon is to be:

1. Of honest report,
2. Full of the Holy Ghost,
3. Full of Wisdom.

Have we, at times failed to recognize the equality of Pastor and Deacon in Spiritual Qualities and Qualifications? When it comes to Deacons, the attitude of “any old man to get the job done” is a serious violation of God’s Word.

The Role of the Pastor

1. To feed the flock - 1 Peter 5:2A
2. To lead the flock - 1 Pet 5:2B Heb 13:7, 1 Tim 3:5b, 1 Thess 5: 12,13
3. To lead in meekness, and by example.1Pe. 5:3, 2 Tim 2:24,25

Queen of Heaven
Mar 1st, 2006
In The News
Categories: Printed Newsletter

In the American Episcopal Church, the ECUSA’s office of Women’s Ministries recently touted a resource called the “Woman’s Eucharist: A Celebration of the Divine Feminine”, which encourages worship of the so-called “Queen of Heaven”.

Predators in the Pulpit
Mar 1st, 2006
Main StoriesW. Phillip Keller
Categories: Printed Newsletter

In living memory there has never been such a selfish generation as this one. It is sometimes called the “me” generation. Its main preoccupation is self-love in all of its most insidious manifestations. It explains in large measure why we have a society in such chaos and confusion.

Christ called His followers not only to truth as it was found in Himself but also to a way and to a life that was distinctly different and divergent from the corrupt culture of His times. He told them plainly that it would be a constricted calling which few would find palatable or appealing. He stated emphatically that the great majority of men and women would prefer to follow the popular, broad, all-encompassing trends of the times that lead to sure destruction. It was the broad way, the easy way, the enticing way.

Christ made it astonishingly hard for most of His contemporaries to follow Him. The demands made upon those who decided to be His disciples were very lofty. He never promised them ease, luxury, or self-indulgence. His call was to a tough life of enormous self-sacrifice. He warned those who wished to walk with Him that there was a formidable price to pay for such a privilege. The cost would be counted in terms of tribulation, alienation, personal abuse and hatred by their antagonists.

Some pastors, ministers, evangelists, and teachers are so eager to be liked by their congregation, so keen to be popular with their parishioners, so determined to be accepted by their society that they refuse to cry out against its evils as did the prophets of old. They live in abject fear of being despised or rejected of men as was the Master. They will go instead to great lengths to insinuate themselves into society in order to be “one of the good old boys,” hail, well-met, and having achieved a happy rapport with the world around them.

At the very root of all human behavior lies the inescapable, inevitable determination of unshakable self-interest. This powerful force conditions human conduct. It finds common expression in self-advancement, self-love and self-satisfaction. In a word, it is basic selfishness serving one’s own selfish ends.

Amid all this mayhem and madness Christ calls us to be a separate, called-out people who may have to repudiate our roots. He asks that we turn from the wicked ways which have become so grossly appealing to our people and turn instead to seek His enduring love and loyalty.

This is no easy challenge in our contemporary world. For the Master calls us with a ringing call to a lofty life of wholesomeness, holiness, and purity of thought as well as action. He expects us to be different in a deep and distinct dimension of definite separation from our associates. He asks us to be willing to sacrifice sordid social relationships in order to be devoted to His pure purposes even at the cost of isolation.

Only His abundant, spontaneous, overcoming life, manifest in us as individuals can counteract all the despair and defilement around us. It is His presence which dispels the darkness, His power which overpowers the pollution of our generation.

We have found a brand-new center for life, and that center is Christ. It is Him whom we love above all else with unswerving loyalty. It is Him whom we serve in unflinching faith.

The world will call us mad eccentrics. He will call us His own precious people!

Some Christian leaders, who themselves have never come under authority to Christ, complain that to do so is to be bound into legalism. They contend that to be subject to the commands of Christ is to be brought into rigid ritualism of some sort that demeans the individual. They insist that one should be set free from any sort of restraints, even if it abuses Christ and panders to our self-life.

What they fail to realize is that every commandment, law, precept, or principle established by God is for our well-being. His wishes and will are not repressive regulations intended to demean us or diminish our enjoyment of life. Quite the opposite – they are the definitive guidelines which, if we obey them, guarantee our ultimate welfare. They are of divine design to insure us of an abundant life. They release us from bondage to self and to sin. They set us free into the paths of right living. The only proof positive that we truly love Him and are loyal to Him lies in our willingness to come under His control and comply with His commands.

W. Phillip Keller from his book
“Predators in the Pulpit”
Harvest House Publishers.

Monthly Quote for March 2006 - Not Editable
Mar 1st, 2006
Monthly QuoteUnknown
Categories: Not yet categorized

Every morning, lean thine arm awhile pon the window sill of heaven And gaze upon Thy God Then with the vision in thy heart Turn strong to meet the day.

Israel Replaced by the Church?
Mar 1st, 2006
Main StoriesDave Hunt
Categories: Printed Newsletter

President Bush has Christian friends and advisors who tell him that Israel has been replaced by the church and therefore, that Joel 3:2, which pronounces judgment upon those who divide the land, no longer applies. To maintain that idea, hundreds of biblical prophecies that foretell a final restoration of Israel in her land would have to be denied or spiritualized. Consider only one of those prophecies:

“I will do better unto you than at your beginnings; and ye shall know that I am the Lord … I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land … A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you … so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the Lord.”

Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)
Mar 1st, 2006
Main Stories
Categories: Printed Newsletter

Dan Lucarini is a business man who lives with his wife Judy and their three children in Colorado. He has been a worship leader in several Evangelical Churches in the USA. He was also a rock music performer, arranger and composer. The following is a quotation from his book, “Why I left the Contemporary Christian Music Movement”.

I have shown from my experience that CCM’s acceptance into the Church came into being out of our self-indulgence and lusts, that it has been justified by deceptive arguments and that it is fueled by our desire for music that feeds our sinful nature. We have been deceived into believing that we can use any style of music in our Worship Service and that God accepts it. This is false! Our acceptance of this lie has harmed an entire generation of older Christians, has split Churches and is encouraging immorality, self-indulgence and divisive attitudes in the Church.

But the bottom line of all of this boils down to one thing. We have an active enemy called Satan and he wants to erode the effectiveness of the local Church from the inside out. So far, I think he has made excellent progress with music controversies. But I trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to expose this and help us to overcome it. I claim the promise of 1 John 4:4 “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he that is in the world.”

“The Paganization of Worship”

Dr. Jack Wheaton, composer and instrumentalist from his book “Crisis in Christian Music” says:

“Secular, pagan and even occult musical styles have crept into the Church, all dressed up with new Christian lyrics. Old traditional hymns – tried and true – have been thrown on the scrap heap of Church history. This is even more true with the recent influx of Purpose Driven Churches in America. Naively, pastors, music directors and younger members of the congregations have unknowingly embraced musical styles that can have spiritually negative effects on their listeners.”

“The Appeal of Rock Music”

Allan Bloom, a professor at the University of Chicago, in his book “The Closing of the American Mind” writes “Rock music has one appeal only, a barbaric appeal to sexual desire – not love, not Eros, but sexual desire undeveloped and untutored.”

He further states, “today a large proportion of young people between the ages of 10 and 20 live for music. It is their passion; nothing else excites them as it does; they cannot take seriously anything alien to music. When they are in school and with their families, they are longing to plug themselves back into their music. Nothing surrounding them – school, family, church – has anything to do with their music world.”

James MacDonald states “If you are to have any hope of claiming your kids for Christ, you must control who their friends are, control their music and control the internet.”

Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones stated “its noise we make, that’s all. You could be kind and call it music”. In Psalm 40 the two words “horrible pit” literally suggest a “pit of music”.

68% Reject Jesus
Mar 1st, 2006
In The News
Categories: Printed Newsletter

A new Newsweek/Belief Net Poll shows that 68% of those who call themselves Evangelicals and claim to be Born Again now reject Jesus’ words in John 14:6.  The question was, “Can a good person who isn’t of your faith go to heaven or attain Salvation?”  Among Evangelicals 68% said “Yes”.  That is a turning away from the truth, it is called Apostasy, and 68% is a great Apostasy.