Lord willing, this coming Saturday will be our annual singing. Brethren from many congregations have been invited, as have members of the local community. But what is the value in having a singing? Let’s take a closer look at this as we prepare for our coming event.

I think James put it best when he wrote, “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms,” (5:13). The idea of singing is to voice what we know to be true. The Corinthian brethren were told, “What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding,” (I Cor. 14:15).

It is a glorious time when children of God gather to blend voices together in praise. The Proverb writer stated, “By transgression an evil man is snared, but the righteous sings and rejoices,” (29:6). Saints praise God to acknowledge the greatness of the Creator. There is no lack of things to be grateful for in song. When there is joy in the heart, our lips will flow with songs of praise.

Even though our opening text mentioned that the cheerful sing, those who are facing difficulties in life can find strength and comfort in singing too. Paul and Silas, after they were beaten and cast into prison, prayed and sang hymns to God (Acts 16:25). Even at midnight, the other prisoners heard them singing. These servants of the Lord were unashamed of praising in song and you can be sure it helped them through this very difficult time in their lives.

We are specifically told what kind of singing our Father is pleased with. We know that singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs is acceptable (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs can also help us teach and admonish each other. Coming together to sing praises is far from a waste of time. All who can attend our singing will leave strengthened. We hope to see you there.

Chuck

Everything has been confirmed! We will have a Bible booth in the Newburgh farmers market July 1^st from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and in the county fair July 17-22. We will have cards for people to sign up for our Bible course, leave a Bible question for our TV and radio program and to set up a face to face Bible study. We will have other free Bible study materials and Bibles for those who need one.

Here is a sample of four questions that will be on one of our quiz boards (we have two boards). When they push the right button the green light will come on.

#1. James 2:24, reveals that man is saved…

1. By faith only
2. Not by faith only
3. Not by faith

#2. We read in I Peter 3:21…

1. Accept Jesus into your heart
2. Pray the sinners prayer and thou shalt be saved
3. Baptism does also now save us

#3. We read in I John 3:4 that sin…

1. Is inherited
2. Is transgression of law
3. Does not bring forth death

#4.  In Matthew 16:16, Jesus said He was going to build…

1. A denominational church
2. Many different religious sects
3. His church

The purpose of these efforts is to promote Bible discussions. We are simply wanting to encourage personal Bible study. We will have cards that lists the times of our TV and radio program and our website for them to check out. We pray that doors in the local community will open as we spread the word.

                                                                                            Chuck 

Do not forget that Jesus was a worker

We should never forget that Jesus lived a perfect, righteous life and then endured a terrible death save the souls of mankind (Heb. 4:15; Rom. 5:6-11). This is why we are admonished to follow His example (I Pet. 2:21). But let us not forget that when Jesus walked on this earth, He was constantly working.

Consider this example from Matthew 11:1: “Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.”  The next verse says that when John was in prison, he heard about the works of Christ (verse 2). This indicates how far the impact of Christ’s work spread. What else do we know about how much the Lord accomplished? “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain all the books that would be written,” (John 21:25).

Many claim to be Christians – do they desire to be workers like Christ? If we sing the hymn “I want to be a worker for the Lord” can we also say, “I am a worker for the Lord, just like the Lord”?  This is a good aspiration to have, but it is not easily accomplished.

It is true that Jesus spent time healing people, which we cannot do. And yes, Jesus performed many miracles that we simply cannot do. However, our Savior did many things which we can do like praying long and often, encouraging and sympathizing, and preaching and teaching. We all need to be increasing in these things as time goes by.

Perhaps Jesus knew that He only had about 3 ½ years on the earth to do these things, so He did as much as He could in a short period. Whether this is true or not, it makes no difference. None of us know how much time we have. If we are earnest about our service and we do not know how much time we have, then we should be even more encouraged to work while we can! Live like Jesus lived, and work like Jesus worked!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Chuck