We have several opportunities for people to learn more about our wonderful Lord through His Word.
- Sunday morning Discipleship Hour--we meet at 9:00 AM with classes for all ages during the fall, winter and spring months. There are typically 3 Bible studies offered for adults taught by both Pastor Jeff and various lay people.
- Thursday Evening Bible Study--we meet at 7:00 PM during the school year. Pastor Jeff teaches an in-depth Bible study. We learn much about current events and how they fit into the Lord's prophetic plan for this world and the next. Pastor Jeff is currently teaching on the book of Revelation.
- Men's Bible Study--the men are meeting on Monday evenings at 7:00pm to participate in a Bible study led by Roger Elliott. All are welcome.
The Power of Just One Lie (A New Year's Message)
In looking back over this past year, I was struck by how just a few well-placed lies have so dramatically reshaped our entire world. As a case in point, it seems as if no one knows the real truth about our recent national health care law…even its authors and supporters. We may never know the truth. This issue dominated much of the media last year and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
It is hard to be lied to or deceived about anything. Would you agree? And yet it happens all the time. Original sin started with a series of lies about death and our place in the world, namely that we wouldn’t die because we would be “like god” (Genesis 3:4-5). Those lies continue today and people STILL believe them. People are quick to forget the cemeteries in their neighborhoods that are daily reminders of those lies from long ago.
The problem with lies is that we often don’t know they are lies. One of my favorite questions regarding this issue is to ask a group of people, “If you are deceived about this issue raise your hand?” The problem, of course, with my question is that we don’t know we are deceived….often until it is too late to do much about it. That was the case in the Garden of Eden for Adam and Eve and the current case with our new health care law. In the end, it is the case for all of life’s issues. We often don’t know the real facts about an important issue until it is too late and we are left with regret and personal disaster.
Let me give you another example of just one lie shaping our world today. People are being told they don’t need a Savior for their sins. Sadly, some people are led to believe this lie even in their churches. The Gallup polls have demonstrated over and over that 70-80% or more of the American public believe “good people go to Heaven”. Of course, if that lie was true then the Christian Faith is a lie and our Lord Jesus Christ died on the Cross for nothing, as the Apostle Paul reminds us in Galatians 2:21.
As we move closer to our Lord’s return, you see the power of just one lie growing and growing and growing with the multiplication of our media saturated culture. The Apostle Paul spoke of this period of time in II Thessalonians 2:11-12 and said the world would be deluded about God and His truth just before the Lord’s return. You see it happening now as these powerful delusions and lies are sweeping the world. Just one lie published in the media on Monday by some unknown source can be believed as truth
by half the world by Friday. People are so easily led astray by the latest information or supposed “truth” they heard from their last source. People are like sheep without a shepherd, wandering from sound bite to sound bite and never really sure what to do. Everywhere we turn today we see wolves running every aspect of our lives, even in our churches, as our Lord Jesus warned (Matthew 10:16).
My hope for our lives in this New Year would be for us to be people rooted and grounded in the truth about every issue we face each day. We need to be people rooted and grounded in the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the truth (John 14:6). We need to be very careful when we hear something from any source as to its’ truthfulness. The world is filled with lies, gossip and hear say about every subject under the sun. As the Lord’s people, we need to test everything we say, do, think or believe through the lens of the Bible. Is that issue truth according to the Bible? We also need to take our time and not believe everything we see or hear from any source…including people we think we know and trust. I have always encouraged each of you to test and examine everything I preach and teach against the Bible and feel free to share your questions about it with myself and Session. That makes for a healthy church environment.
Next time you vote for a candidate, spend money on a ministry or a product, hear some report about your neighbor, friend or someone at work, in your family or at church, it would be wise to check it out. Is it true? Do your homework, ask questions, talk to wise people and take the time to prayerfully examine the issue before voting, believing or acting in anyway. This added time to seek the truth, in a world of image and confusion, may save you and others from a life changing disaster.
As we step into a New Year together, may we all know the truth and be free in the Lord Jesus forever (John 8:32). Here’s to knowing the truth and living it out each day.
In looking back over this past year, I was struck by how just a few well-placed lies have so dramatically reshaped our entire world. As a case in point, it seems as if no one knows the real truth about our recent national health care law…even its authors and supporters. We may never know the truth. This issue dominated much of the media last year and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
It is hard to be lied to or deceived about anything. Would you agree? And yet it happens all the time. Original sin started with a series of lies about death and our place in the world, namely that we wouldn’t die because we would be “like god” (Genesis 3:4-5). Those lies continue today and people STILL believe them. People are quick to forget the cemeteries in their neighborhoods that are daily reminders of those lies from long ago.
The problem with lies is that we often don’t know they are lies. One of my favorite questions regarding this issue is to ask a group of people, “If you are deceived about this issue raise your hand?” The problem, of course, with my question is that we don’t know we are deceived….often until it is too late to do much about it. That was the case in the Garden of Eden for Adam and Eve and the current case with our new health care law. In the end, it is the case for all of life’s issues. We often don’t know the real facts about an important issue until it is too late and we are left with regret and personal disaster.
Let me give you another example of just one lie shaping our world today. People are being told they don’t need a Savior for their sins. Sadly, some people are led to believe this lie even in their churches. The Gallup polls have demonstrated over and over that 70-80% or more of the American public believe “good people go to Heaven”. Of course, if that lie was true then the Christian Faith is a lie and our Lord Jesus Christ died on the Cross for nothing, as the Apostle Paul reminds us in Galatians 2:21.
As we move closer to our Lord’s return, you see the power of just one lie growing and growing and growing with the multiplication of our media saturated culture. The Apostle Paul spoke of this period of time in II Thessalonians 2:11-12 and said the world would be deluded about God and His truth just before the Lord’s return. You see it happening now as these powerful delusions and lies are sweeping the world. Just one lie published in the media on Monday by some unknown source can be believed as truth
by half the world by Friday. People are so easily led astray by the latest information or supposed “truth” they heard from their last source. People are like sheep without a shepherd, wandering from sound bite to sound bite and never really sure what to do. Everywhere we turn today we see wolves running every aspect of our lives, even in our churches, as our Lord Jesus warned (Matthew 10:16).
My hope for our lives in this New Year would be for us to be people rooted and grounded in the truth about every issue we face each day. We need to be people rooted and grounded in the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the truth (John 14:6). We need to be very careful when we hear something from any source as to its’ truthfulness. The world is filled with lies, gossip and hear say about every subject under the sun. As the Lord’s people, we need to test everything we say, do, think or believe through the lens of the Bible. Is that issue truth according to the Bible? We also need to take our time and not believe everything we see or hear from any source…including people we think we know and trust. I have always encouraged each of you to test and examine everything I preach and teach against the Bible and feel free to share your questions about it with myself and Session. That makes for a healthy church environment.
Next time you vote for a candidate, spend money on a ministry or a product, hear some report about your neighbor, friend or someone at work, in your family or at church, it would be wise to check it out. Is it true? Do your homework, ask questions, talk to wise people and take the time to prayerfully examine the issue before voting, believing or acting in anyway. This added time to seek the truth, in a world of image and confusion, may save you and others from a life changing disaster.
As we step into a New Year together, may we all know the truth and be free in the Lord Jesus forever (John 8:32). Here’s to knowing the truth and living it out each day.