The Evolution of Barack Obama.

Does Biblical Truth Evolve ?  This week Barak Obama has done what no sitting president has ever done when he declared his support of homosexual marriage.  Truth is, had he not invoked the scriptures  and cited his Christian faith as the basis for his decision,  I would have seen this announcement as nothing more than him finally telling the truth about his position on homosexual marriage from the very start.

Just four  short years ago when running for president in 2008 in a calculated political move, he told pastor Rick Warren that he could not support homosexual marriage due to his Christian understanding of the sacred and historical institution of marriage as being biblically defined as being between one male and one female.  Then for four solid years he did nothing but advocate for the normalization and acceptance of homosexual relationships.

Now he claims to have evolved on his position concerning homosexual marriage, and unfortunately he again said  that his decision was in part due to his Christian faith.  The problem is God’s word is not evolving on this or any other issue.  The word of God stands unchanging as established truth and is not something which is evolving.  Man’s truth however, and in this case especially Obama’s truth, is evolving.

I understand that the President of the United States is the  commander-in-chief and not the theologian-in –chief (thank God).  Which is why I wish all the more he would refrain from making religious claims about his positions.  At best it is Obama’s very poor understanding of the Gospel of Christ, His redemptive work on behalf of sinful man, and mans responsibility to respond in repentance and faith.  At worst it is nothing more than  playing fast and loose with the word of God to attempt to get it to say what it does not say and agree with what he wants it to say, and that is blasphemous.

I know blasphemy is a serious charge, but to claim that Christ somehow approved of homosexual marriage through his sacrificial death on the cross and proclamation of love for each other is nothing short of taking the Lord’s name and His word in vain.  By misapplying the scriptures, Obama is not just expressing his personal agreement with same-sex marriage, he is in fact making the claim that Jesus’ dying for our sins and likewise issuing a command for us to all love each other, is somehow sanctioning acceptance of same-sex marriage, and that is blasphemous.

As a Christian, rather than the president pointing to the scriptures,  I would have preferred for him to have said, “ in opposition to what Christianity teaches I am going with my own opinion on this one.”  I think the scripture that better describes Obama’s evolutionary path on this matter is better summed up with this verse: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25).  Obama has abandoned the truth of God’s word that he claims to have once clearly understood and has now decided to do what is right in his own eyes. Perhaps when it is politically advantageous he might also be more honest about how he really views the Christian faith and the word of God.

Specifically what Obama said about his Christian evolution was this…  “I, you know, we are both practicing Christians and obviously this position may be considered to put us at odds with the views of others but, you know, when we think about our faith, the thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it’s also the Golden Rule, you know, treat others the way you would want to be treated.”

To quote the golden rule (a phrase the bible itself never uses) and declare that we have a responsibility to …  “treat others the way in which you would want to be treated,” and then subsequently ignore the actions involved in following that rule, which affirms we are to live in such a way that we  love and do no harm to our neighbors, is a tragic exposition of these biblical scriptures.  For indeed Christ repeatedly called for His followers to love their neighbors as they do themselves, and in doing so he said we would fulfill the royal law.But when did loving our neighbors become accepting their lifestyle of sin?

The bible encourages us at many points to openly rebuke each other in love when were sinning, rather than conceal our love by remaining silent (Proverbs 27:5).  James the brother of Jesus tells us that when a friend wanders from the truth, we are to correct them.  He goes on to say that in doing so we are likely to keep them from committing other sins, and may in fact help to save their very lives (James 5:1).  Jesus himself tells us to rebuke a sinning brother, and he does remind us to forgive them when they repent (Luke 17:3).  As Christians we are called to speak the truth in love.

In Romans 13:8-14 and other places, the word of God then states that in doing so (loving our neighbors) we would behave properly toward them, which includes abstaining from sexual immorality.  He says in Romans 13:8-14 in essence that loving our neighbor as ourselves is not committing sins against them, or ourselves.  He also finishes by saying that we are to put on Christ, and make no provisions for the flesh and it sexual lusts.

Romans 13:8–14 (NASB95)  8   Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.  9   For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10   Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. 11   Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. 12   The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.  13   Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14   But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

In one very instructive encounter the religious leaders brought an adulterous women before Christ to have her condemned for her sin of adultery.  Jesus in challenging her accusers to consider their own sins, declared that he did not condemn her according to the law, and neither should they, and he informed her that she was a recipient of the forgiving grace of God.  Yet, we must not ignore that as a result of that grace, she was then instructed by Jesus to go from that place and stop committing her sexual sins.   He said in essence, “I forgive you, now stop sinning.”

John 8:1-11(NASB95) The Adulterous Woman  1   But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  2   Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them.  3   The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court,  4   they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. 5   “Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” 6   They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. 7   But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.  8   Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  9   When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. 10   Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?”  11   She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”

A Biblical Perspective on Homosexuality and Homosexual Marriage.

Homosexuality and so called Homosexual Marriage is first and foremost rebellion against the created order.

The fundamental biblical truth upon which evangelical Christians must base any response to homosexuality is this:  God is sovereign, He has created the universe and all of humanity by His own design. and In that creative act He has revealed to us – his intention to clearly establish two distinct but complementary genders or sexes.

From a secular evolutionary standpoint all species of life and gender itself is indeed something which has just simply evolved by random undirected processes. If that is true then I would agree maleness and femaleness are simply evolving stereotypes of a species we happen to call humans. However the biblical worldview states that gender is not an accident it is actually the intentional created design of God.

Genesis 1:27 States that “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; MALE and FEMALE He created them.”

God alone is sovereign, and He has created the universe and all within by His own design and to His own good pleasure. And He has revealed to us His creative intention that his intention was clearly to create and establish two distinct but complementary genders or sexes.  Immediately following the creation of man and woman come the instructive words: “For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. This one flesh union in the original Hebrew is precisely what you think it is. “One flesh” is a description of the physical and sexual union. God designed the sexual union in such a way that men and women naturally fit together (that is genitalia) and that act is likewise the means of procreation by which God purposed for the the populating of the earth and continuation of the human race.

Therefore only during the biological one male / one female sexual relationship do persons become “one flesh” not only in the act of sex, but as a natural result of the reproductive sex act there is procreation which is as we know today, a chromosomal exchange in which the result is the birth of a child.  A child born to a heterosexual union is the perfect representation of two fully becoming one in the flesh.  If God is true and He indeed created male and female sexuality, which includes the unmistakable design of fixed genders, it therefore stands that any other expression of human sexuality is against his creative purposes.

As a biblical Christian I am committed to the understanding that God has woven into his creative purposes for mankind the very understanding of what gender is and how it is to operate.  My biblical Christian worldview is that God has created humans distinctly with maleness and femaleness (gender) and he did so in such a way that the parameters for human sexual relations were within the scope of that design.  If however there is no God and we are here by evolutionary happen chance than I would affirm that gender is just a stereotype that we have assigned to naked apes and human sexuality, and the arrangement we call marriage has no rules.  In that case each person is free to do what is right in his own eyes.

Understand gender is no accident.

The Genesis narratives demonstrates that gender is not an accident –  nor is it inconsequential to the divine design.  Anyone would acknowledge that Adam and Eve (male and females) are naturally fit together for companionship but obviously also for sexual relationship which results in procreation and reproduction.   Our gender, reproductive organs, and natural fittedness is not accidental.  Homosexuals do not fit each other physically or reproductively?   The natural heterosexual act involving the male and female genitalia results in the human reproductive act (procreation) and continuation of the human race.  If homosexuality were to carried out to its fullest extent without interventions – the human race would cease to exist.  Not so with God designed heterosexual sex.  Likewise it is my biblical understanding that God has created and ordained the nuclear family structure which from a biblical point of view is unmistakably a male father, a female mother and their procreated children.  This is not to say that family do not take on many forms and function in many diverse ways. It is to say that God has created and defined the ideal and nuclear family structure as one man, one women, and their procreated children for life.

But some point out that Jesus never spoke against Homosexuality.  

Jesus never spoke on polygamy, bestiality, pedophilia, or other serious sexual sins either that does not mean he approves of them.

Jesus  did reaffirm fixed gender and fixed heterosexual unions as one man and one woman in union for a lifetime.  When asked a question about divorce, Jesus declared that fixed gender and the  marriage covenant were between one man and one woman as an unalterable and sacred union:

Matthew 19:4–6, (NRSV)“Have you not read that the one whom made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Homosexuality is classified as sin in the scriptures – the scriptures are God’s word – Jesus is God.

• Leviticus 18:22: “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.”
• Leviticus 20:13: “If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.”
• Romans 1:26-27;  “For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.”
• 1 Corinthians 6:9-10: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.”
• 1 Timothy 1:9-10 …knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine,

These scriptures are so clear and specific that simply defy evolving understandings.

What is the responsibility of the person who wants to live a Christian life but struggles with an attraction to members of his/her own sex – or struggles with Homosexual urges?

Answer – persons who struggle with homosexual inclinations or predispositions have the same obligation as heterosexual adults.  They have the same obligation as – the would be fornicator, adulterer, pedophile, the rapist, or any other person that struggle with sexual sins.  We are all required to refrain from immoral sexual behavior.

But what if they were born that way?  

The idea that homosexual are born that way is indefensible.  At this time there is no credible scientific proof that persons are born biologically predisposed to homosexuality.  However their is biblical proof we are all born sinful.  In fact we are all born with a biological predisposition to sin.  The biblical understanding of  homosexuality is that it is a sexual immoral practice not unlike, adultery, sex outside of marriage, pedophilia, polygamy, rape, incest, bestiality, and other forms of sexual immorality.  Some say that some of those sexual sins are not consensual – therefore improper.  I would contend that consensual sin – is still sin.  Our calling as Christians is to resist our sinful temptations, not to give in to them.

No where else in our lives of sin do persons make this argument of just accepting their own or others sins, on the basis of them having been born that way.  For the idolater, the alcoholic, the drug addict, the murderer, the thief, the liar, etc. we all sincerely pray for a turning and release from the power of sin over their lives.  Christians don’t turn to any of these people and say hey God made you that way so embrace it.

Fortunately, we have a promise from God  promising that He is faithful, and he will not allow us to be tempted beyond you are able to resist, but with each temptation he provides the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.   Our answer is to find our way out, overcome our sins, to be washed, to be sanctified, and to be justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NASB95) 13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

1 Corinthians 6:9–11 (NASB95) 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

In His Name And For His Sake, Brother Scott Reeder ><>

Further recommended reading…

http://www.bobrussell.org/2012/05/13/president-obama-vs-the-church-on-the-issue-of-gay-marriage/

http://www.dennyburk.com/president-obamas-scriptural-defense-of-gay-marriage/

http://www.albertmohler.com/2012/05/10/evolutions-end-president-obama-calls-for-same-sex-marriage/

http://www.albertmohler.com/2004/01/15/the-case-against-homosexual-marriage/

http://touchstonemag.com/merecomments/2012/05/the-blasphemy-of-barack-obama/

Homesick Is Real Sick

Not long after relocating to Louisville Kentucky to attend bible college, now over ten years ago, I remember calling my pastor one day after class.  I was in tears with the pain of an unbearable sickness.  Not physical sickness but homesickness.  I missed my family, my friends, my former co-workers, my home place and neighbors, and most of all my home church.  When you are separated from those you love the most it hurts tremendously.

Recently one of our newly married young ladies Allie Lyle posted these words in a blog titled Homesick:

“A major thing I miss about “down home”: My church family. I miss my church family, and seeing everyone, and going to church in general.  … I miss the fellowship. I hate that I’ve missed all of the 5th Sunday meals, the baby showers, the wedding showers, seeing the kids go to Children’s Church… all of it.”

Most all of us at some time or another have experienced the pain and desperation of being separated from those we dearly love.  During these times we are away from home, it is funny, as Allie points out, how we so much miss the little things that make home…  well home.

I still often miss the time with family and friends from back home, yet God provides opportunities for them to visit and for us to “go home” and have sweet fellowship a couple times a year and on special occasions.  Then after a short stay and being gone from my Borden family I once again long to be “back home.”  This month many of our family and friends will be visiting both for my Son’s wedding and daughter’s graduation. We will thank the Lord for the time we have together.  During this time in my life I feel so extremely blessed to have my children (and first grandchild) living so close to us.  We see each other and spend time together most every day.  What a blessing and gift from God to be close to family.

Likewise I am thankful to have a church family that loves and cares for each other.  We are a body of Christ that worships and serves God together in sincerity of heart, sharing joys and sorrow, celebrating good times and holding each other up during difficult days.  You know God has given the Christian a really big family and his children are present wherever you go.  They say home is where the heart is and I have come to learn that if my heart is with God and his people, that statement is true.

Finally I think every Christian has built within them one more homesickness that cannot be satisfied in this life.  It is a homesickness for Heaven.  How glorious it shall be when one day that eastern sky breaks open and Jesus comes and calls us all to come home.  No more pain and sickness of separation, but only sweet fellowship with God and His children.  May we all long for that day while we thank God for the gift of our present families, friends, homes, and church homes.

In His Name and for His sake, Brother Scott ><>

April 2012 Announcements

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Churches of Christ Disaster Relief – Please Pray, Volunteer, and Give.

The Church of Christ Disaster relief organization Disaster Assistance CoC (http://www.disasterassistancecoc.com) is currently set up and operating at one of our members businesses in the heart of Pekin, Indiana (MJ Auto Sales).

This is about 4 miles from Borden Church of Christ.  They are making a difference by distributing hundreds of meals daily right in some of the hardest hit areas. They are serving both people affected and the disaster relief workers in the field.  They are distributing meals by vehicle, through local churches, and at the mobile kitchen in Pekin.

Director Mike Baumgartner assured me that they plan on staying as long as the need is here and they will need volunteers to step up in the days and weeks ahead.  If you would like to volunteer please contact them to let them know how many volunteers you will send and when you can serve.

These are Church of Christ brethren who serve in the name of the Lord and need our help. They are asking for three things; prayers, volunteers, and funds.  The quickest way to give is online which will help them purchase the food and supplies needed.  If anyone needs to write a check they can make it out to Disaster Assistance CoC and send it directly to us and I will make sure they receive it.

Many people are helping in many ways.  Some of our brethren have already collected and made very generous donations.  I ask the remainder of our KY/IN fellowship churches to please pray, volunteer, and take up a special offering to support this work.   God Bless and thanks for helping us to Love God by Loving People.

Blessings, Brother Scott Reeder ><>

Borden Church of Christ

426 West Water Street

Borden, IN 47106.

Scott Reeder

502-802-1747 – Cell

812-967-2009 - Church 

Where was God during the Tornadoes ?

Where was God during the Tornadoes ?

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

In several small communities surrounding our church yesterday damaging tornadoes touched down and done terrible destruction to homes, businesses, and schools. This violent EF4 supercell traveled some 52 miles with winds up to 175 miles per hour.  The power and destruction was massive in many areas and some tragically lost their lives. Inevitably the question on many minds after such destruction is: Where was God during the tornadoes?

The first thing we must acknowledge is that the storms did not take God by surprise. God is all knowing (omniscient) and all present (omnipresent), therefore nothing occurs without his knowledge. Second, I would remind you of the fact that just because God knows all things does not suggest that he causes all things. The bible affirms to us that God is not the creator or cause of evil, and at the same time he is the author of all that is good. Tornadoes and the destruction they bring are inherently evil, and not good.

Storms, hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, droughts, tornadoes, forest fires, ice storms, blizzards, volcanoes, earthquakes, etc., are all vivid reminders that not only human beings are suffering as a result of the fall, but that all of nature at present in fact suffers from it. In Romans 8 the Apostle Paul is speaking of the process of moving from suffering to Glory. He states that the whole creation is suffering at the present time and that all of creation is subjected to God’s curse. As Christians we endure with an eager hope that one day God will finally free us from death, decay, the devil, and this destruction.

Where was God yesterday when the storms hit? For me and some family members, some church family, and some strangers who pulled in to the church for shelter, he was in the church basement. For many who felt helpless to do anything he was in their prayers for children, parents, friends and loved ones. For one little baby girl, he was in a field.  He could be seen in schools with teachers huddled down with very scared children.  He was with bus drivers assuring the safety of the children.  For others he was with them in homes, closets, basements, cellars, and cars. He was with many people providing protection and giving calm assurance through the raging storm and violent winds.

Today I saw glimpses of God again.  He was on hillsides and rooftops, in treetops, in police cars, firetrucks, and emergency vehicles, on tractors and bulldozers, on line crews and cleanup crews. He showed up with disaster recovery teams, food and water, shelters and supplies, generators and chainsaws. He gave hugs and handshakes, and help loved ones reunite and forget old non-important disputes. He was on my phone, my facebook, my email, from places like Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina all sending up prayers an asking how they could help.

You ask, but Why here? Why now? Why this community? I cannot fully answer why God allows certain disaster and prevents others and I do not know why it is the case that some lives are spared and at the same time others are not. Scripture does not give us that sort of exacting detail or ability to know such things with that kind of precision. What it does acknowledge in many places, is that it is not based on the fact that some are simply better people than those who escape death and calamity. It is not because some live more righteously or pray more fervently. I hereby acknowledge there are no easy answers for why God allows (not necessarily causes) certain disasters to happen, while at the same time prevents others. But make no mistake – God was in the midst of the Storm.

Furthermore we understand that God sometimes allows difficult times to come upon his children in order that he might be glorified though the circumstances surrounding the tragedy (John 9:3). At other times we truly are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time in a sin cursed destructive world (Luke 13:1–5). Likewise the bible states that God makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 5:45). In the end, we cannot say why God allows certain destructive things to happen and then chooses to prevent others.  Again – He is God and he knows best.

That begs the question:  then if God is a good God why does he permit bad things happen at all?  How do we understand that biblically?  It’s an age old question with no easy answers or explanations.   I have done my best to explain it like this… in order for God to create humans with the capacity and possibility for true love he put within the heart of man “free will”. Free will by default included the possibility for man to make both right and the wrong choices. That meant the possibility for Adam and Eve to disobey God and choose to sin in the first place.

Genesis chapters one and two give us the account of God’s glorious act of creation, in which all that he created was declared to be “good”, and then mankind was said to be “very good”. But in Genesis three we find that the mankind was asked to exercise the the free will which God had given him the capacity for. The capacity to choose by free will was the ability to choose right from wrong, and likewise to choose between good and evil. Prior to the fall, the Lord had declared that the world was a very good place. After Adam and Eve exercised their free will, their choice changed everything from very good to very bad.

Adam and Eve choose to disobey God, they choose sin (Why did God allow Adam and Eve to sin in the first place?). With that single act of sin, mankind and all of creation was cursed and that curse has affected everything. Not only did it bring death to man, but the whole earth is now corrupt. The fall brought death to mankind with age, cancer, accidents, murder, plagues, and disease. But it also cursed the earth. Why do bad things happen to good people? Because we live in a fallen and cursed world that’s why.

Let me assure you of this God hates tornadoes as much or more than you ever will. Death and destruction is not normal and never was His plan from the beginning. And yet under the free will of choice, and under the power of sin, man brought death and tornadoes into existence. Therefore, we live in a world where the ultimate reality is that every person ever born will one day physically die. But death was never God’s plan from the beginning and it is not his plan for all of eternity.

Some will ask “well if God hates death, destruction, and tornadoes, then why doesn’t he do something about it?” The answer is, HE HAS (John 3:16). The bible assures us that God ultimately has defeated death (1 Corinthians 15:26), through the sacrificial death of his son (2 Timothy 1:10).”

In that story about the fallen tower in Luke 13:4-5 Jesus says that those eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell were no worse sinners than others. But then he reminds them, that unless they repent and believe on God, that they too shall perish. What about those who did not make it yesterday? The plain truth, it matters not if they were good or bad people. What matters is if they trusted Christ. If they were Christians, then God was receiving them into glory and they passed from this life to eternal life. If they were not Christians then they are now perishing in an afterlife without the presence of God. Those may not be the most comforting words but they remind us of the most important thing one can know in this life. Where you will go after you die?

Until Christ returns and God redeems all of creation including the winds and the waves, we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies, and we hold fast to the promise that we also who have believed on Christ will be redeemed likewise as God’s own people. Until that time, we along with his whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together as we await his glorious return. (Romans 8:18-23).

In His Name and for His Sake,
Brother Scott Reeder >

How can you help? Of course pray, but then I encourage you to give sacrificially in whatever way God put’s on your heart. Check with your local church for recommendations on how to give.

Update on 03/06/2012: I have received so many calls from so many willing and caring folks who want to send goods and supplies.  Yet after talking to many organizations who have served as collection sites.  For the past several days I have been working trying to connect people who want to donate – with receiving and collection sites.  However, over and over again many of  the receivers are stating the same thing; we are full, we have no more room.  we have more than enough stuff, NO MORE CLOTHING.  There are warehouses, churches, community buildings, school gyms, and firehouses that are now full of clothing and supplies awaiting distribution.  This is an absolute blessing for it speaks to the kindness and generosity of people from literally all over this country.  It is certainly a better problem than not enough coming in.  I also understand people often want to give in the most tangible way possible.  But we also want to give in the most responsible way.  According to many disaster relief specialists in times like this the most responsible and effective way to give, really is to give financially.  To give financially through organizations that are already on the ground, already meeting needs, and have tremendous resources to get the most help to the largest number of people.  This is why I have listed several organizations below that I trust and have encouraged our people to give directly to and through.  Many of these relief organizations also have a place for volunteers sign up on their web sites.  It’s not to say there are not other great relief organizations, but these are just a few that I know are currently working in the immediate area and that I trust to handle donations with integrity and put them to the best use.

Churches of Christ Disaster Assistance Team

Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Relief 

American Red Cross – Local Donations

Salvation Army – Local Donations 

Be Courageous

Recently we have been talking a lot about courage and what it means to be a courageous leader. I think one of the best definitions that I have come across is by Ambrose Redmoon “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.”

Courage in leadership is not always being 100% right. One of the men in our small group with a military perspective said that after taking wise counsel from others, and then examining various aspects of a situation. the courageous leader takes decisive action. Another one said that it is sometimes defined by taking action without all the knowledge pertaining to a certain task or situation, like entering a burning building to battle a fire.

Each and every day Christians are confronted with opportunities to either show courage or to shrink back in many of life’s decisions. In our jobs, in our families, with our friends, and wherever God places us, we must be willing to do that which is not always comfortable, convenient, or popular. We must be committed to do what is right and biblical. Real courage is remaining faithful to that which is true regardless of public opinion or trends.

Likewise, courage is often best defined in terms of actions actually taken. It is great to consider what one should do in a particular circumstance, or what the right thing is to do in a fearful situation, and even being able to give the right answers to those questions. It is certainly another thing to actually act in a way that displays courage and to do that what God has told us to do.

A few questions to ask yourself…
What would you do right now (you know it’s the right thing to do) if you were not afraid to do it ?
What are you afraid of ?
What specifically has God already spoke to you about, that you should be doing right now, and you just need to have the courage to trust and obey him ?

Courageously,
Brother Scott >

Courageous Small Groups.

You can sign-up via the church website www.bordencc.org, on the board located in the fellowship hall, or call the church office and leave a message (812-967-2009). Everyone is welcome to join any one of the groups and we encourage you to invite a friend. This is a four week study. Workbooks for the small group study are optional (but recommended) and will be available to purchase at $5 per person from your facilitator.

Group One Perry & Kristi Hunter
Begin Date: Sunday February 19th
Sundays 5pm Rotating from home to home
646 Mulberry Lane Sellersburg IN 47172

Group Two Nick & Misti Ray
Begin Date: Sunday February 19th
Sundays 5pm Meeting at the Ray’s
22622 Martinsburg Road Borden IN 47106

Group Three Jim & Anita McKinley
Begin Date: Monday February 20th
Mondays 7pm Home of Cliff & Lori Wilson
8435 S Voyles Road Pekin IN 47165

Group Four Scott & Lisa Reeder
Begin Date: Wednesday February 22nd
Wednesdays 7pm Meeting at the Reeder’s
13233 Sunnybrook Drive Memphis IN 47143

Group Five Ray Weatherford
Begin Date: Wednesday February 22nd
Wednesdays 7pm Meeting at the Church
426 West Water Street Borden IN 47106

Group Six Les & Janet Wright
Begin Date: Thursday February 23rd
Thursdays 7pm Meeting at the Wright’s
2104 Trainer Road Borden IN 47106

WEB SIGN-UP

Name(required)

Select a Small Group(required) Hunter Home - Sundays 5pm Ray Home - Sundays 5pm Wilson Home - Mondays 7pm Reeder Home - Wednesdays 7pm Church - Wednesdays 7pm Wright Home - Thursdays 7pm

Comments or Questions

Sweetheart Dinner & Movie – February 12th 5pm

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

SMALL GROUPS MEETING SCHEDULE

Group One Perry & Kristi Hunter
Sundays 5pm Rotating from home to home

Group Two Nick & Misti Ray
Sundays 5pm Meeting at the Ray’s

Group Three Jim & Anita McKinley
Mondays 7pm Home of Cliff & Lori Wilson

Group Four Scott & Lisa Reeder
Wednesdays 7pm Meeting at the Reeder’s

Group Five Ray Weatherford
Wednesdays 7pm Meeting at the Church

Group Six Les & Janet Wright
Thursdays 7pm Meeting at the Wright’s

Making Disciples – A Transition to Small Groups

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Recently the leadership of Borden Church of Christ have been meeting to evaluate the programs and methods currently being used in this local body of Christ to accomplish the task of reaching people and making disciples.

By God’s leading we have tried to spiritually and systematically look to what we are investing in and advocating as a church. We have labored to make an objective determination as to whether the things we are doing are first biblical and second working. If they are not, we asked, why not? In the case where something appears to be working, then we ask how can we improve on it and perhaps even duplicate that effort and success in other areas of ministry in the life of the church.

At this time the leadership has made a unanimous decision to transition our Sunday and Wednesday evening meetings to small group discipleship classes (normally 6-10 persons) that will be developed and offered to our people throughout the course of a week. This could mean people are still meeting on a Sunday or Wednesday evenings, but it is just as likely they will get together on a Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday evening, or perhaps on a Saturday morning.

This will of course be all new to us, so we ask for your patience during the coming year as we work to build an effective strategy. Certainly we do not have it all figured out and in the coming year we will try some things that may work and some that may not. Instead of getting discouraged we will reevaluate, modify, and try something different if needed. Of course as things progress we will be working out more specifically who will lead/facilitate each group, what types of small studies and groups we will offer to our people, and finally we will work with groups on where and at what time each group will meet.

Please know this morning we are actively planning to offer our first series of small group gatherings beginning the week of February 19. It is our prayer to have one available for most every day of the week at various times during the week. Watch for more info in the weeks ahead.

What is expected of you and your family – in a word – participation. Get involved, examine what is available, commit to a group, show up, participate, worship, fellowship, invite others, pray, be a good disciple and help us make strong disciples for the glory of God.

Love God, Love People, Make Disciples.
Brother Scott Reeder

Why does Borden Church of Christ exist?

What is our purpose?

ANSWER: We exist to bring glory to God by fulfilling the mission of God and edifying (that is building up) the body of Christ. Love God, Love People, Make Disciples.

The mission of God’s church is clear. We are directed to go into the all the world preaching the gospel, making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them the word of God (Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:18-20). Going, preaching, baptizing, and teaching are all actions in support of the primary task which is to “make disciples”.

How will we accomplish that mission? How are we going to do it?
ANSWER- We will develop and then support appropriate / effective programs that are purposed to reach and then disciple people.

What is the The role of church leadership in this mission?
“The specific mission of church leadership – is to develop and offer appropriate and effective programs through which persons will hear the gospel and then once they accept Christ, we are to engage them in ways that they will have the ability to spiritually mature – to grow as Christians.”

One of the great challenges of making disciples for Christ is fine tuning our efforts, methods, programs, and ultimately our hearts to following the Holy Spirits lead in accomplishing this great task. When we properly follow the spirits leading he gives us direction and discernment as to how we are to accomplish the things which God has prepared for us beforehand, that we might work and walk in them (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Every church is faced with examining what they are doing, and with God’s help determine what has and has not worked in the past, what is and is not currently working in the present, and what will and will not work in the future. Sometimes we reinvent an old method or program and it finds new life, at other times we try to revitalize it, only to realize, that something which once worked very well, no longer has the same effectiveness. At other times we try something completely new and find that it is ineffective, therefore is must be adjusted, modified, or even abandoned. Finally at other times we trust God to show us a new way and he blesses it with great success in reaching and making disciples.

More thoughts on the philosophy of a small group strategy.

Something we find in the bible – is the unmistakable reality that in the early church, Christians lived in close relationship with each other. They shared their experiences, meals, homes, joys, sorrows, prayers, blessings, hardships, and ultimately their lives together. They interacted intimately on a daily basis as they worshiped, praised God, and lived their lives in communion with each other through Christ (Acts 2:42-46).

The clear outcome of this kind of commitment was that God tremendously blessed them and added to their numbers daily those who were being saved and discipled as Kingdom citizens (Acts 2:47).

As we look to the recent trend of discipleship groups (often referred to as small /cell/house groups) in the life of the modern church. We find that this type of gathering fosters precisely the kind of community we find in the bible, specifically when we examine the ministries of Christ, the disciples, and the early church.

When small groups of Christians intentionally gather together they find a very unique and intimate way of working and learning together. All the while they often experience God driven numerical and spiritual growth as they become better disciples of Christ.

Honestly we are prone to see this practice as a more recent trend in church life, while in many ways I contend this practice is simply returning to the kind of gatherings that actually took place among the early church. Meetings were more relational. They encouraged participation through sharing, questions, and discussion (1 Corinthians 14:26, Colossians 3:16–17). The desired outcome was indeed that of reaching people and the building up of the body of Christ as they sought to edify the Lord and his people (Ephesians 4:11–16).

JESUS IS BETTER THAN OUR STUFF

In the sermon on the mount Jesus tells the disciples not to lay up their treasures on earth to be destroyed by moths, rust, or to be stolen by thieves, but rather lay them up in heaven, and where their treasure is found is where their hearts will be also (Matthew 6:19–21). He goes on to tell them not to worry about what they will eat, drink, or wear, because their lives are more than food, and their bodies more than clothing. He points to reality that the birds are fed by the same God that clothes the flowers in all their splendor. His summary advice, “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” ( Matthew 6:25–33).

Jesus himself had no possessions or even a place for which to lay his head (Matthew 8:20). He issued a spiritual test to a rich young man to sell all he had, give the money to the poor and follow Christ. The young man failed the test and went away sad. Though not impossible, he said it would be hard for a man with great possession to enter into heaven. His brother James taught that God had often chosen the poor in this world to be those who were rich in faith, and said they would be the heirs of the kingdom of God (James 2:5).

After the time of Christ, the apostles would live according to his teachings and under persecution many would sell homes, land, and material goods in order to share with those who were in need (Acts 2:45, 4:32–37). Paul said that leaders in the Christian faith are to be free from sorid gain and free from the love of money which is called greed (1 Timothy 3:3,8, Titus 1:7, 1 Peter 5:2). Finally the apostle Paul pointed to the latter times before Christ’s return, and predicted that God’s people would turn from loving God and become lovers of money, greedy, hoarding wealth up for themselves (1 Timothy 6:10, 2 Timothy 3:2).

One could easily conclude that the best thing for a faithful follower of Christ to do is to avoid any dealings with money or possessions. But is this what Christ is really calling us to? I don’t think so. Though I would affirm the prominence of spiritual wealth in the Christian life, the bible likewise speaks at times of the blessings of material wealth.

In the Old Testament God blessed many of his followers with great wealth and possessions. Abram was very rich in livestock, as well as precious metals like silver and Gold. (Genesis 13:2). His son Isaac was also blessed of the LORD and given a great wealth of land, possessions, and livestock (Genesis 26:12–14). King Solomon said that, the God who gives his people great wealth and possessions, also gives them the power to enjoy them. At the same time each person is to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil. That is a true gift of God (Ecclesiastes 5:19).

Likewise in the New Testament we are not led to believe that money or possessions are inherently evil, but rather the love of money and the constant craving to get rich is what is to be shunned. Those who have been blessed by God with material wealth should never despise that blessing, they are to receive it with joy, but must also heed the warnings that come with the blessing of great wealth. Mark’s gospel reminds us it would be of no profit to a man if he were to gain all the possessions of the world, and in the process forfeited our very own soul (Mark 8:36–38).

So is it wrong to be constantly increasing our possessions and buying and acquiring more stuff? I would encourage us to evaluate our attitudes and thoughts concerning material goods by asking ourselves some questions. First we must ask ourselves, if we own the things that God has allowed us to acquire and possess, or if they own us? For example, many people own homes, but when we live beyond our ability to pay for our home, it ends up owning us. Instead of being a place to enjoy, raise a family, and find rest, it becomes a burden on the family and permits the owner no rest.

Whether it is homes, cars, trucks, boats, campers, a timeshare at the beach, membership at the golf club, the hunting club, some seasons tickets at the sports arena, computers, phones, technology, or a wallet full of maxed out credit cards, we must not allow our possessions to possess us. Remember owning stuff is not the problem, just like having money is not. Rather it is the attitude of our hearts and the ultimate value we place on our stuff, that can become a problem. In the end we must honestly ask and answer the question; does our love for stuff take the place of our love for God? Ultimately Jesus is far better than our stuff.