STIRRINGS AT BETHESDA
A Weekly Publication of
Bethesda Baptist Church
November 10, 2014
Upcoming Activities
1. Bethesda Academy, Monday, 6:30 p.m.
2. BUSINESS MEETING, Wednesday, 7:00 p.m.
3. Sunday School, Sunday, 9:15 a.m.
4. Worship Service, Sunday, 10:30 a.m.
5. Discipleship Training, Sunday, 5 p.m.
Operation Christmas Child
Next Sunday is your last opportunity to contribute gifts for Operation Christmas Child. A week from today, November 17, we will meet at the church at 6:30 p.m. for our packing party. There is a sign up sheet in the foyer so you can specify what type of food you would like to bring to that fellowship (soup, salad, or dessert).
Business Meeting
Our monthly business meeting is this Wednesday at 7 p.m. Everyone is invited and encourage to attend. Please join us and help us discern God’s will concerning the business matters facing our church.
Whatever parallel exists between baptism and circumcision as here stated by Paul argues for faith before baptism and for baptism as the sign and seal of the faith already had before baptism.
A. T. Robertson (on Romans 4:9-12)
Church Phone Directory
The revised church directory was distributed yesterday. More copies are available if you did not pick one up.
And, yes, we already have a correction! Bobby’s home telephone number was incorrect. This was my error. Sorry, Bobby!
Please update your copy with the correct number:
Bobby Henson – 636-486-2160 (H)
The Bethesda Academy
Tonight (Monday) is our final Academy meeting for the fall. We will conclude our study of the book of Revelation and look forward to a new study next spring.
So baptism is unmeaning without a prior and real remission of sin. Being really saved, we may picture symbolically that salvation in a memorial. Otherwise it would be like Bunker Hill Monument without a previous battle to commemorate.
B. H. Carroll
Thanksgiving Fellowship Dinner
Our annual Thanksgiving fellowship is scheduled for Sunday, November 23 following the morning worship service. If you have not added this date to your calendar, please do so. These times of fellowship are very precious to believers!
The church will provide the meat for the dinner. We are asking each family to bring a couple of side dishes, a dessert, and a drink to share.
Pastor’s Postscript
A few days ago, I was sitting in a McDonald’s drinking a soda and doing some Bible translation work in preparation for an upcoming sermon. A gentleman whom I did not know saw my Greek Bible opened and asked me if I was studying the Bible. When I said yes, he then went into a 5 minute diatribe to which I could merely listen. He congratulated me for studying my Bible because he said most people don’t. He then said that he has really studied the Bible over the years and, in doing so, his study convinced him to leave The Baptist Church. He told me he became a Pentecostal until further study taught him they were wrong too. So, he switched again and is now a member of the only TRUE church of Christ. Yep, he is a member of the Church of Christ! Not being able to get a word in edge-wise, I continued to listen as he claimed they are the only true church because they are the Church of Christ. In other words, his studying the Bible has proven to him that the only true church is the church which is named the Church of Christ! He finally excused himself saying he had a friend to meet and, with that, our conversation ended.
I wanted to ask him for the reasons he left the Baptists (by the way, there is no The Baptist Church) but never had the opportunity. He did mention predestination and, for a brief moment, I thought that was the issue. Surprisingly, though, he said he believes in predestination so I assume whatever Baptist church he had been in did not or he simply didn’t get the message there. So I will never know for certain why he left Baptists.
It is a true shame, though, that an individual hooks up with a denomination (or church) simply because they call themselves the Church of Christ. I wonder if we changed our name to The Bethesda Baptist Church of Christ if that would draw more people?
Of course, I am not serious. Joining a church is an important decision and should be a careful matter of prayer. One should examine the beliefs of the congregation to see if they are consistent with your understanding of the Bible. Forget the name of the group. In God’s kingdom, the name of any local church or even a denomination (e.g., Southern Baptist Convention) is non-consequential.
Looking for a church? Do your homework and pray to the Lord. But by all means, a believer should always be a member of a local church.
May God bless you this week!