You’re invited!

 

Sunday, April 30

11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

New Salem Lion’s Club Building on Highway 52

Free Will Offering!

Sandwiches, Salads, Hot Foods, Drinks and Desserts

Join us as we remember the passion of Christ this week.

At our Good Friday gathering at 7:00 p.m. on April 14 we invite you to slow down and reflect upon the meaning of Christ’s sacrifice.  Prepare for a thoughtful service.

Saturday is all about fun for the little ones!  Bring them to the annual egg hunt at 2:00 p.m.  If the weather is uncooperative, the hunt will be indoors.

Celebrate the Risen Savior with us Sunday during our regular Sunday School and Worship times at 9:30 and 10:15 a.m.  Bring your family and friends!

We are also partnering with New Salem United Methodist Church (NSUMC) on Highway 52 for two extra services this week.  You’re invited to Open Communion at NSUMC Thursday, 5:30-7:00 p.m. and to Sunrise Service on Easter Sunday at 7:00 a.m., followed by breakfast.

“The ten commandments may seem narrow, but so does every runway on airports around the world.  Yet no passenger wants his pilot to miss the narrow runway and land a few yards off the mark in some field or waterway or row of houses.  The narrow ribbon of pavement is really the broad way that leads to a safe, comfortable landing. So the seemingly rigid Decalogue guides to happy, fulfilled living.”  Leslie Flynn

The narrow ribbon of pavement is really the broad way that leads to a safe, comfortable landing

“Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found.”  Psalm 119:35, NLT

This Sunday, March 12, after worship you’re invited to a free-will offering dinner sponsored by our Sisters of Strength (SOS) group to support our mission teams.  The dinner will be served in the church basement.

On the menu:  baked turkey and dressing, real mashed potatoes and gravy, corns, tossed salad, homemade rolls, and homemade desserts and drinks.

All proceeds will go to our mission teams that are planning on serving in Kentucky with  the Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) this summer and in Costa Rica with the Lighthouse Children’s Ministry this winter.

 

The post title originates from Paul’s pen as the apostle continues to emphasize the importance of the gospel with his words to the church at Corinth.

“To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some” 1 Corinthians 9:22. 

As a self-proclaimed “apostle…born out of due time” (1 Corinthians 15:8, KJV), Paul would have definitely felt the urgency to reach those not within the inner-circle.  He understood that many would not automatically gravitate towards the message of the gospel.  Why?  Because, like himself, they would be more concerned with their centuries of Jewish heritage rather than the simple Good News preached by Christ’s followers.

This reminds me of what is called the “Association Game.”  For instance, if someone asked, “Which month reminds you of the color green?” or, “What do the letters BRMS mean to you?,” how would you answer?  If you thought March for the first question, that would have been correct, at least from my perspective.  But if you thought Benjamin Rush Middle School for the second question that would have been inaccurate from my viewpoint.  Why?  Because when I lived in Illinois for 14 years, BRMS stood for Blue Ridge Middle School.

Paul recognized the necessity for associating and relating to his target audience.  If he was going to be successful in sharing the gospel with his acquaintances, then he would initially need to be successful in sharing and understanding their needs and desires. In other words, Paul would need to know them before they would perceive that they needed to know HIM!

As we continue to March through Mark during our sermon time on Sundays, it has become increasingly evident that the second book in the New Testament was focused on communicating an action-packed story with a hint of punctuated sarcasm.  For example, Jesus responds to the doubtful father with the demon-possessed son, in chapter 9 with “IF you can?  Everything is possible for him who believes.”

“IF you can?  Everything is possible for him who believes.”

This bit of irony was Jesus’ way of telling him that there is no IF in faith!  For the Lord knew that even His apostles were struggling with their confidence in the situation.  In the following chapter we are told that His disciples were reprimanding the children for approaching the Savior.  The result is found in Mark 10:14:

“When Jesus saw this, he was indignant.  He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’”

Jesus then used some association of His own as He became ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE.

 “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will NEVER enter it.” (Mark 10:15)

 This Message of Eternity is exactly why we are supposed to become all things!

“IF I belittle those whom I am called to serve, talk of their weak points in contrast perhaps with what I think of as my strong points; if I adopt a superior attitude, forgetting ‘Who made thee to differ? and what hast thou that thou has not received?’ then I know nothing of Calvary love.

IF I take offense easily, if I am content to continue in a cool unfriendliness, though friendship be possible, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

IF I feel bitterly towards those who condemn me, as it seems to me, unjustly, forgetting that if they knew me as I know myself they would condemn me much more, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”  — Amy Carmichael

⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. — 1 John 4

During our Marching through Mark journey during Sunday sermon time, we have already encountered many of Jesus’ miracles.  The witty story below helps amplify an important theological implication of one of these wondrous happenings: 

“A rabbi, a priest, and a minister are out fishing in the middle of a lake. The priest tells his two colleagues, ‘I left my fishing rod in the car; I’ll be right back.’ He gets out of the boat, walks across the water to the beach, goes to the car, walks back across the lake, and gets into the boat. The rabbi stares at this in amazement. Thirty minutes later, the minister says, ‘I need to get a sandwich.’ He, too, gets out of the boat, walks across the water, finds the nearest eatery, then walks back across the water and gets into the boat. The rabbi is absolutely dumbfounded! The rabbi keeps thinking, ‘My faith is as great as theirs!’ So he speaks up and says, ‘I need to get something to drink; there’s a refreshment stand on the beach.’ He stands up, puts his feet on the water, and SPLASH, he goes straight down under the water. The priest and minister help him back into the boat. He is embarrassed, not to mention wet, but he knows he can do it if the other two can. So, he stands up again, steps out onto the water, and again, SPLASH!  Again, he is dragged out and again decides to try. As he is going down for the third time, the priest turns to the minister and asks, ‘Do you think we should show him where the fence posts are?'” 

In Mark 6, the author records the miracle of the feeding of 5,000 that is also recorded in Matthew, Luke, and John. It is the only miracle (other than Jesus’ resurrection) that is recorded in all four gospels.  After this incredible meal, only Luke does not mention the miracle that follows as “Jesus Walks on the Water.” 

Mark is the lone gospel to mention “…for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.”   This was not to dismiss the followers as unbelievers, but as those who were actually somewhat low in their “faith understanding.”

If Jesus had the power to feed the multitudes, then He would also possess the sovereignty to control the wind and the waves .

Basically, Jesus did not need any help as He demonstrated His omnipotence.  He also certainly did not need any fence posts to assist Him with authority over His Creation. The following is taken from a writing entitled “Calmed Wind & Hardened Hearts.”  This should help us connect the New Testament with the Old Testament. 

This is not the first time we’ve heard about hardened hearts in Mark’s gospel. Earlier in a synagogue, Jesus was grieved at the hardness of heart of those who lacked compassion for the man with a withered hand (3:5). We’ve come to expect hardness of heart from the likes of Pharisees and Herodians. But now we learn that insiders like the disciples also have hard hearts. Despite all they’ve seen and heard from Jesus, the disciples still have a long way to go in understanding Him and the nature of His Kingdom mission.

 Mark’s audience, the Romans, just like us today, would have struggled with a hardened heart. Or, another way of saying it is this:

We often relate more to the natural (worldly things) than the supernatural (godly things).  This thought process, this lack of faith, is an indication of a hard heart.

By that definition, my heart, and yours, are often hardened as we search for the fence posts that can help us rationalize God’s indescribable power!

 

A.W. Tozer gives a helpful picture of God’s sovereignty:

Man’s will is free because God is sovereign….Perhaps a homely illustration might help us to understand.

An ocean liner leaves New York bound for Liverpool.  Its destination has been determined by proper authorities.  Nothing can change it.  This is at least a faint picture of sovereignty.

On board the liner are several scores of passengers.  These are not in chains, neither are their activities determined for them by decree.  They are completely free to move about as they will.  They eat, sleep, play, lounge about on the deck, read, talk, altogether as they please; but all the while the great liner is carrying them steadily onward toward a predetermined port.

Both freedom and sovereignty are present here and they do not contradict each other.  So it is, I believe, with man’s freedom and the sovereignty of God.  The mighty liner of God’s sovereign design keeps its steady course over the sea of history.  God moves undisturbed and unhindered toward the fulfillment of those eternal purposes which He purposed in Christ Jesus before the world began.  We do not know all that is included in those purposes, but enough has been disclosed to furnish us with a broad outline of things to come and to give us good hope and firm assurance of future well-being.

Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 16:13 to “Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.”  But we need not fear the future.  God is in control of our ship.

During the initial sixteen weeks of 2017 at Little Flatrock, we will be studying one chapter per week as we march our way through the gospel of Mark.  Last week my sister was visiting and asked me a simple question after attending worship on New Year’s Day: “Why the Book of Mark?”  After explaining my reasoning to her, it became evident that this clarification might be beneficial for others.

To begin with, it is important to note the reason for more than one gospel account.  The four opening books of the New Testament were ALL written because they were intended to grasp the attention of four different targets areas within the population.  Matthew was directed at the Jewish-Thinking mind; Mark was written for an audience that represented those within the Roman Empire; Luke was focusing on the philosophically-inclined; and John was more general in its approach, therefore it is known as the universal gospel.

A brief example of each thought-process would include the following:  Matthew has more Old Testament quotations than the remaining gospels.  The reasoning would be that the hearers, Jews, would be encouraged in their beliefs because of their obvious connections to those scriptures.  Mark is the shortest account of Jesus’ life and is also chock-full of action-packed adventure. This would grab the attention of the cut-and-dried and sometimes explosive lifestyle of the military-bent conquerors from Rome.  Luke has the highest reading-level and includes several areas of scientific expertise.  The reader of these words (Philosophers, Gnostics etc…) would be drawn to the author’s, Luke the Physician’s, sophisticated methodology and his desire to share thought-provoking details.  John was different from the above synoptic (meaning similar) gospels with its usage of a more general and personal approach told by the Apostle John.

The description of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness will give us some clues to their writing styles, as all three of the synoptic gospels record this event.  To begin with, Matthew and Luke utilize, 11 and 13 verses respectively, much more detail for their audiences than the Romans would have thought necessary, as the book of Mark describes the events with only two verses.  In addition, Matthew quotes an additional OT passage while Luke adds, regarding the Devil, “…he left him until an opportune time.”  This was just the kind of detail and mystery that would have captivated his audience.  Mark, on the other hand, did not spend any words upon these scriptures, but did mention “the wild animals,” certainly of interest to this masculine-minded military mind-set, which were completely omitted by his counterparts.

So, why Mark?  The country in which we abide seems to be more similar to this type of a “Think Tank.”  We are increasingly creating a shorter attention span that demands more action and less detail (although Facebook seems to sometimes border on aspects of itemization that resemble voyeurism).  If we are to, as Mark states, “Go into all the world,” we must capitalize on the target-group that God has provided within our grasp.  So, let us march through Mark.

 

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.”

In Micah 6:8, we have the best resolution for 2017 we can find.  We at LFCC pray for you a New Year of walking with God and living out His Word in love.  It will be your best year yet!