|
May 1999
|
Here is our May cover
I pray that we all
celebrate that Christ our Lord has risen--and he is alive forevermore as our Savior, our
Intercessor and our King, writes Joseph Tkach in this month's Personal.
When we celebrate Jesus' resurrection, we are also reminded of the promise of our own resurrection. When we by faith are united to Christ, then we share in his life, in his death, in his resurrection and in his glory. This is our identity.
When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, our lives become hidden in him, and we are with him--where he was, where he is now, and where he will be in the future. When he appears, we will be with him. We will be united with him in his resurrection, and we will reign with him in his glory. Pages 6 & 7.
How do we approach new
ideas? asks Mike Feazell, director of denominational publications.
In the Bible, we are shown a good example by the members of the Jewish synagogue in the Macedonian town of Berea (Acts 17:10-12).
When Paul presented them with amazing new concepts about the promised Messiah being the man Jesus who was crucified in Jerusalem, the Bereans reacted quite differently from the way the Jews reacted in Thessalonica.
The Bereans did not reject the new teaching. Rather, they studied the Scriptures to see if the new teaching could be confirmed. They listened in order to understand the new teaching, then let the Scriptures guide them in whether to accept it.
It is important to understand that we cannot possibly give a fair hearing to an idea unless we first understand the idea, and we cannot bring a Christian perspective to it unless we first understand it and then review it in light of the Bible. Pages 8 to 11.
Randal Dick shares with us
a letter from an elder in Nigeria, who was released after being wrongly imprisoned for 23
months.
Why do such things happen to Christians? asks elder David Adelana. Why to me? What have I done?
Why does Christ allow such points to be made with impunity over and over again? How can one carry this burden?
Now, with the ordeal over, I can answer these questions with a little more assurance. I can understand at a much deeper level the usual scriptures on this matter of Christian suffering.
The outcome is that I am today a much better person than I could ever have been had I not gone through those harrowing 23 months. Pages 12 & 13.
For the past
couple of years, the church in Australia and New Zealand has consistently called for
members to acknowledge and employ their gifts for the work of ministry and the building up
of the Body of Christ, according to regional director Rod Matthews.
The response to this message can be seen at the individual, congregational and national levels. Pages 14 and 15.
Our daily average
income has fallen well below budget projections.
Daily income for March was only $91,613. Daily income for the year-to-date is $94,672.
Many of you are giving liberally, and we appreciate the sacrifice you make to support the work of your church. Yet, we are doing our best to keep you fully and accurately informed about financial matters of the church. Page 20.
Members of the Belleville and Mount Vernon, Illinois, congregations commemorated the Lord's Supper Friday evening, April 2.
On Saturday a buffet was served between the morning and afternoon church services. Member donations covered the cost.
Sunday morning the resurrection of Christ was commemorated in songs and a sermon by pastor Jim Stokes, The Message of the Cross.
A wooden cross, supplied by Larrie and Kimi Wiggand, was transformed into beauty as each child and member took pre-cut flowers and affixed them to the cross through chicken wire. It was a reminder that our Lord took an emblem of shame and transformed it into a badge of glory.
The service concluded with communion and prayer. Jim Stokes.
TOPEKA, Kansas--On Easter Sunday, April 4, the Topeka congregation shared a Sonrise Service with the Salvation Army church, from whom they rent their meeting hall.
Captain Paul Duskin from the Salvation Army and pastor Randy Hall from the Topeka congregation shared the service.
Afterward, members from both congregations shared in a breakfast sponsored by the Salvation Army.
"The Salvation Army have been gracious hosts throughout the time we have rented from them, and we appreciated the opportunity to celebrate the risen Christ together," Mr. Hall said.
PASADENA--The Pasadena congregation celebrated Christ's resurrection April 4 with a dramatic presentation by the children's church kindergarten through grade 6, coordinated by Pam Morgan; Sonlight Kids Club, a midweek Christian club coordinated by Janet Morrison; and the children's choir coordinated by Carmelita Dizon.
Fifteen children presented Christ's Seven Last Words, adapted from A Sunrise Pageant by Ronda Wray, along with other scriptures depicting how Christ's resurrection is important in our lives today.
A cross made of dead grapevines stood center stage and was slowly transformed to life with flowers placed in the cross after each child spoke.
After the dramatic presentation, pastor Bermie Dizon reviewed Christ's first words after he was resurrected, and pastor Eric Shaw spoke of the Joy of the Resurrection.
The 40-member children's choir and youth volunteers sang "He Paid a Debt," composed by Michael North, a member of the Pasadena congregation, "Lord I Lift Your Name On High" and "Celebrate Jesus, Celebrate."
Mark McCulley, worship leader, said: "What a blessing it is to be able to teach our little ones these simple truths at an early age! And how thrilling it is for us to be able to watch them be involved in worship of our risen Lord."
During the service, Oasis Praise Band performed several contemporary Christian songs and were joined by the children for the final two hymns.
Several guests from the community attended the service and enjoyed ice cream afterward with WCG members. Pam Morgan.
WORSHIPING THE RISEN LORD--Children's choir sings at resurrection
service in Pasadena April 4. [Photo by Thomas C. Hanson]
Mike Feazell's article Finding Peace in Christ (April WN) was truly excellent.
It is an article that we Christians in our Worldwide Church of God fellowship need to carefully read and take to heart.
I love the saying: "In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty and in all things charity."
God bless you all and keep up the good work!
Gary W. Cloth
Falls Church, Virginia
Michael Feazell's article Finding Peace in Christ says so much that we as longtime WCG members need to hear.
We have majored in the minors. We had placed great emphasis on a day of worship and not enough on the person we were worshiping.
I thank God we have come to our senses and into the truth at last. My only regret is losing so many wonderful people who could not see the light and are still in bondage.
Diane Zavocki
Kintnersville, Pennsylvania
I appreciate Paul Sniffen's article What on Earth Is God Doing? (March WN).
We need such material, even more than one might expect. Words he used such as "magnitude" and "why bring up the past" and "there is wisdom in using the past as a reminder so as not to repeat it" are particularly vital.
"Transforming experiences are often painful," as he well said, and I'm still in that stage.
Though it takes a while, I can see the goal, to rejoice in God's grace.
Leroy Pletten
Detroit, Michigan
Hosea Bible studies
Hello my mentor [John McKenna], it is me, Harry Loudon, a distance learner from Theology I at Ambassador. I love your Bible studies in the WN. They make Hosea so clear to me.
Harry Loudon
New York
In the article Bread of Heaven on page 24 of the April WN, the material in paragraphs four through seven are a paraphrase (not a direct quote as indicated in the text) of D. Freeman's article in the New Bible Dictionary.
Audiotapes on the book of Galatians, by Dan Rogers, and the WCG worship calendar, by Mike Feazell, have been sent to pastors.
These are the first in an Audio Discipleship Series. Members are encouraged to listen to the tapes. If they are not yet available in your congregation, please ask your pastor.
Pastor General Joseph Tkach said: "I have listened to other cassette tapes, but Dan Rogers' presentation on Galatians is among the best. All our ministers and members will benefit from this study."
Future tapes will include studies on various topics as well as those covering books of the Bible.
Although the tapes are copyrighted by the WCG, they may be copied by congregations for church libraries and for distribution to members. (Please note: This permission does not apply to material produced by PTM or tapes purchased from other sources.)
Following are comments we have received from some district superintendents.
Mike Swagerty: Sacramento, California: After hearing the Galatians tapes, my first thought was, I wish we could have had these four years ago when we began these doctrinal changes.
The book of Galatians mirrors our journey from the old covenant to the new. I have studied many other sources on the book of Galatians, and I felt Dan gave a balanced, middle-of-the-road perspective, with emphasis on areas that pertain to our fellowship.
Ted Johnston, Akron, Ohio: The series brings timely discipleship teachings from WCG ministers, addressing current needs in our fellowship.
Dan Rogers' tapes on the book of Galatians not only show the historical situation that Paul addressed, it shows the amazing relevance of the book to the situation in our fellowship today.
I hope every member will use the tapes as a guide for personal study and reflection.
Mike Feazell's tapes on our worship calendar provide both a call for grace in our approach as well as a detailed summary of the historical and theological underpinnings of the Christian worship calendar. Anyone who listens carefully and prayerfully to this series will come away with a fresh understanding of this important topic.
Randall Holm, Sedona, Arizona: I found the discipleship tapes on the book of Galatians to be stimulating and provocative just as the apostle Paul intended his message to be.
This series brings fresh understanding to an almost 2,000 year old controversy regarding covenants.
It explodes popular myths and demands that we let go of preconceived notions while letting Paul and the Bible speak timeless truths.
Craig Bacheller, Washington, D.C.: I found Mike Feazell's presentation on worship to be excellent.
It is obvious that Mike wanted to help our members come to full identity in Jesus and his finished work on the cross, while at the same time, respecting the journey from identity in days to identity in Jesus alone.
Steve Botha, New York, New York: Both sets of tapes give listeners a valuable insight into the reasons the WCG has made the changes in its theology and practice.
I would encourage every member of our denomination to listen to these tapes.
FIRST IN NEW SERIES--The first in a series of Audio
Discipleship Class tapes have been sent to pastors. They are
available to be copied for church libraries and for distribution
to members. See your pastor for details. [Photo by Ron Grove]
Personal from Joseph Tkach
Celebrating
Jesus' resurrection
I
pray that we all celebrate that Christ our Lord has risen--and he is alive forevermore as
our Savior, our Intercessor and our King.
In Pasadena, we had an inspiring worship service celebrating the resurrection of our Lord. Children from the congregation read the seven sayings of Jesus on the cross, and pointed out the significance of these sayings for us today.
A children's choir sang, and the entire congregation sang, and short messages celebrated Jesus' resurrection into glory. We all rejoiced in our opportunity to worship the King.
When we celebrate Jesus' resurrection, we are also reminded of the promise of our own resurrection. When we by faith are united to Christ, then we share in his life, in his death, in his resurrection and in his glory. This is our identity.
Notice how often Paul says that we are with Christ:
Rom. 6:4-8: We were crucified with him, died with him, buried with him and united with him in his death.
Rom. 6:5, 8: We will live with him, united with him in his resurrection.
Rom. 8:17: We are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.
Rom. 8:17: If we share in his sufferings, we will also share in his glory.
Gal. 2:20: We have been crucified with Christ, and he lives in us.
Eph. 2:5-6: God made us alive with Christ, God raised us up with Christ, and seated us with him in the heavenly realms.
Col. 2:12: We have been buried with him in baptism.
Col. 2:12-13: God raised us and made us alive with Christ, through faith.
Col. 2:20: We died with Christ to the basic principles of this world.
Col. 3:1: We have been raised with Christ.
Col. 3:3: Our life is now hidden with Christ in God.
Col. 3:4: When Christ appears, we will appear with him in glory.
1 Th. 5:10: He died for us so that we may live together with him.
2 Tim. 2:11: If we died with him, we will also live with him.
2 Tim. 2:12: If we endure, we will also reign with him.
When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, our lives become hidden in him, and we are with him--where he was, where he is now, and where he will be in the future.
When he appears, we will be with him. We will be united with him in his resurrection, and we will reign with him in his glory. We participate with him, share with him in his life, as pictured in the Lord's Supper.
This way of speaking may sound strange today. The scientific worldview trains people to look for things that can be seen and measured with physical instruments, but Paul is speaking of unseen realities, of spiritual truths that are beyond physical investigation. He is saying that there is more to our existence, and more to our identity, than can be seen with the eyes.
Although human eyes could not see us being buried with Christ, the reality is that we were. And human eyes did not see us in the resurrection of Christ, but the reality is that we were resurrected in him. Though our eyes cannot see the future, we know that it is also a reality: we will be resurrected, reigning with Christ, living with Christ forever, sharing in his glory, being served by the angels!
Christ is the firstfruits, and in him everyone will be made alive (1 Cor. 15:22). Christ is the forerunner, the proof that the promise will be fulfilled for each of us who are united to him.
The resurrection is indeed wonderful news for each of us--a central plank of the gospel message itself. If there is no future life, if there is no reward in store for our troubles, then our faith is fraudulent, our message is a mistake. But it is not a mistake--Christ indeed has risen. He is reigning in glory, and he will come again, and we will be with him in glory.
But notice in the verses above that there is a price that must be paid. We must be with Christ in his sufferings, too. We must endure in order to reign.
Paul put it this way: "I want to know Christ ... and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead" (Phil. 3:10-11).
Press on toward the goal, Paul exhorts (vs. 14-15). "Our citizenship is in heaven," he reminds us. "And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who ... will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!" (vs. 20-21).
My friends, I also love you. Press onward, knowing that our reward is being prepared for us in heaven! When the Lord Jesus returns, we will rise to be with him forever--in glory we can only begin to imagine. Stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!
I hope you have by now been able to view the Spring video in your congregation. As I explain in the video, our goal is to use the gifts God provides to ensure the spiritual health and vitality of the Worldwide Church of God.
Only a spiritually healthy church has the strength to spread the gospel, and only a church focused resolutely on the gospel can be growing in spiritual health.
Personal from Joseph Tkach
Celebrating Jesus's resurrection
Jesus commands, "Go and make disciples ... and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:19-20). Disciples of Jesus are followers of Jesus, people who have made a decisive commitment to learn from him and be like him.
That is why teaching and learning play such vital roles in the church. Leaders are entrusted to teach the church what Jesus taught and how it applies to us all, so that we might become increasingly more apt and faithful disciples of Jesus.
Evangelism comes naturally from a body of faithful, devoted, committed and worshiping disciples. Being the people God has called us to be--brothers and sisters of Jesus, led and motivated by his love--is the primary way the good news is spread.
It is far more effective for people to come to know and see Jesus at work in his people than it is to merely hear a message from a relative stranger with no concrete demonstration of its real power to bring the joy and peace of God. That is why we continue to emphasize the need for Christ's love among us even in our difference over such things as forms of worship.
I had an inspiring visit to the Paris, Sherman, Dallas and Big Sandy, Texas, churches in April, where I was able to talk about some of these things. I was delighted to find so many of our brothers and sisters who are pressing onward together.
Pressing on requires us to have patience, but it is difficult to be patient in the "fast lane, instant food, expressway" society in which we live. But let's remember that God's Spirit grants us patience when we draw closer to him.
I know that our brethren want to love God and work together for the kingdom. Let's pray earnestly for one another. The devil would like for us to believe that we are defeated, but he is only a liar.
God has given us the victory, and we do not have to feel like all is lost. Jesus is risen! He is on his throne, and he loves us as much today as he ever has. He will do his work in us.
Let us stand together with him, and trust him to lead us into knowing God more, loving God more and loving one another more.
Our true reward lies beyond the present moment, but we can experience more and more the blessings of the kingdom even now, as we commit to be Jesus' disciples and walk in his love for the Father and for one another.
Questions & Answers About Worship Days
Question: If my congregation doesn't want to meet on Sunday, how can I bring it into the new covenant? And what should I do about members who insist on trying to convince others that it is a sin not to keep the Israelite festivals?
Answer: Pastors definitely need to be leading their congregations into the new covenant. But we cannot agree that the new covenant amounts to embracing a particular set of worship days.
Congregations do need to be educated about traditional Christian worship days, so that they can better understand the history of those days and how they have been used by Christians.
As our members understand the truth about Christian festivals, they will be better able to respect other Christians, and they will become more comfortable with days we formerly condemned, whether or not they choose to celebrate on them.
We also want pastors to provide worship services on, or in connection with, traditional Christian festivals for all who choose to celebrate them. Still, as we have explained many times, pastors are not to abandon those who wish to meet on the Israelite festivals.
That is because we believe 1) the Bible teaches us that days do not define the Christian, and that 2) we can better serve people's spiritual needs in the context of what they are used to and comfortable with when it comes to culturally conditioned matters that are not sinful.
We have no evidence that Paul, for example, ever demanded that the Jewish Christians, whose history and habits were to celebrate the Israelite festivals, stop doing so. We know only that he said that they put no such demands on the gentiles, and that they accept the gentiles as full members of the household of God without the festivals and other customs.
We believe it is wrong to demand, in the name of religion, that people put away things that are not sin. We have put away the legalism and judgmentalism associated with the Israelite festivals, but there is no need for the church to demand that all its members completely abandon festivals that have become a part of their personal history.
People who insist on making the festivals a matter of legal requirement to belong to the body of Christ should be dealt with the way Paul instructed, as division-makers. But those of us whose faith is in Christ and who celebrate the Israelite festivals, and who respect the views of fellow believers who don't celebrate them, are every bit as Christian as those of us who celebrate Easter and Christmas.
By J. Michael Feazell
Last month we looked at two important values that guide church policy regarding days of worship: 1) All our members are important and 2) Jesus tells us to love one another.
These two values have led us to a policy that allows each congregation to develop, according to its unique needs, its own annual calendar of worship days within denominational guidelines.
Therefore, a congregation's worship calendar may include any combination of the festivals of Leviticus 23 and traditional Christian festivals.
It may also include Saturday, or Sunday, or both, as a day of weekly worship.
We have adopted this policy for at least three reasons. One is that we hold the values mentioned above. A second is that our church has a 60-year history of carefully observing the seventh-day Sabbath as well as a version of the annual festivals of Leviticus 23.
A third is that we have recently come to see that we were wrong in our condemnation of worship on Sunday and on traditional Christian festivals, and many members have found joy in worshiping at those times.
Following Paul's instruction about how to handle differences in matters of forms of worship, we teach our members not to despise or condemn one another about the days they choose to devote to God in worship (Romans 14-15).
At the same time, and equally important, members are taught not to cause division in the body by insisting that their position is the only right one. Members who persist in trying to warn or convince others that a certain set of worship days are the "true biblical days," "God's days" or the "only right days," are likely to cause division.
After a couple of warnings, Paul says, those causing division are to be removed from the fellowship (Romans 16:17-18; Titus 3:10). Christians must pursue unity and the love of Christ in their diversity, not tolerance for division.
It is important for all of us to think through carefully what we do so that we might understand why we make the choices we make. In the Worldwide Church of God, we believe the Bible should be our guide into all matters of doctrine and practice. That belief is a vital aspect of our denominational heritage.
A positive aspect of our heritage as a church is that we take the Bible seriously. We have always believed that the Bible is the standard of truth and that all our doctrines must be consistent with the message of Scripture.
We strive to be honest with the Scriptures, regardless of where that might lead us. We take a stand to believe the Bible, even in the face of strong opposition, and we are committed to change when we can see from the Bible that we have been wrong.
It was precisely that commitment to Bible truth that prompted the doctrinal changes in the church over the last decade. When church leaders came to see that certain doctrines were based on misunderstandings of the Bible, there was no choice but to change those doctrines.
There was a huge price to pay in members becoming disillusioned and leaving the church. Many members were not prepared to have doctrines changed, regardless of the biblical evidence and explanations.
They could not conceive of the possibility that the church could have been wrong about such things, and preferred to reject the new teachings rather than face the pain of admitting their church had been doctrinally deficient.
How do we approach new ideas? In the Bible, we are shown a good example by the members of the Jewish synagogue in the Macedonian town of Berea (Acts 17:10-12).
When Paul presented them with amazing new concepts about the promised Messiah being the man Jesus who was crucified in Jerusalem, the Bereans reacted quite differently from the way the Jews reacted in Thessalonica.
The Bereans did not reject the new teaching. Rather, they studied the Scriptures to see if the new teaching could be confirmed. They listened in order to understand the new teaching, then let the Scriptures guide them in whether to accept it.
The Bereans took quite a different approach from the one the Thessalonians took (Acts 17:1-9). Indeed, the common human approach to new ideas is to reject them immediately and then refuse to listen to any efforts to explain them.
Naturally, the result is not to understand the new idea, and therefore not to be in any real position to know whether the idea is foolish or sound.
Yet, strangely, most people are comfortable with that approach to things that are new to them.
When the Worldwide Church of God was presented with new teaching regarding doctrines, especially new teaching about the Trinity and about the Sabbath and holy days, members reacted in various ways. Some listened carefully in order to understand, then studied the Scriptures to see if the new teaching could be confirmed.
Others listened, but not in order to understand. Rather, they listened in order to find ways the new teaching was different from the old so they could reject it on the basis of it being different.
Still others listened in order to find ways the new teaching was like that of non-WCG Christians so they could reject it on the basis of it being like the teaching of non-WCG Christians.
In either case, the actual merits or non-merits of the new teaching itself were irrelevant; the only thing that mattered was whether it was different from what we currently taught, or whether it was like the teachings of people we did not respect.
When our doctrines were changed, some members did not listen to or study the new teachings at all.
Some listened only to the opinions of friends, relatives or others. Some of these accepted the new teachings, while others rejected them--again, not on the basis of a personal, Berean-style study, but simply on the basis of accepting the opinion of a person they respected.
That person, though respected, may or may not have actually given the new teaching a proper study either.
And some of those who did not listen to the new teachings at all simply rejected them because they were new.
A few of these told us they were actually afraid to study the new teachings because they feared the presentations would be such cleverly devised deceptions that they would be deceived and led into perdition.
So they chose not to allow themselves to learn what the explanations and rationale were for the new teachings, but simply to reject them because they were, indeed, different from what we had taught before.
No doubt there were many, many more variations of responses to the new teachings. And many members rejected the new teachings at first, but eventually studied them for themselves.
It is important to understand that all the above reactions are normal. But it is also important to understand that we cannot possibly give a fair hearing to an idea unless we first understand the rationale behind the idea, and we cannot bring a Christian perspective to it unless we first understand it and then review it in light of the Bible.
Our church today is learning how to respect one another's differences in regard to days of worship. It is learning how to love one another as Jesus commanded (John 13:34) and, in that love, how to have unity in diversity--that is, diversity in some matters of form, but a fiercely held unity in matters of the substance of the Christian faith.
Still, some congregations have found themselves divided over the weekly day of worship and the choice of annual festivals. Some attitudes have tended to become far less than loving on both sides, with certain vocal members of each side believing they have the "true days" in their hip pocket.
It is this spirit of condemnation and accusation, expressing itself perhaps more often in subtle, destructive, behind-the-scenes ways than it usually dares to do openly, that the apostle Paul says has no place in the body of Christ.
In some ways, the real issue that divides church members is not worship days at all, but a lack of the love of Christ.
"Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness," the apostle John wrote (1 John 2:9).
"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice," Paul admonishes (Ephesians 4:31).
"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you" (verse 32).
Paul's words in Philippians 3:2-3 regarding the Judaizers who demanded that gentile Christians submit themselves to circumcision, and thereby to the whole law (Gal. 5:3), are instructive for us today.
Paul wrote: "Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh."
With Paul, the church today must say, in effect: "Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those who glory in days. For it is we who have entered the true rest of Christ, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, who put no confidence in mere forms and rituals."
These words, though strong, are not too strong. Those who argue that no person is a true and faithful Christian who does not set aside a Sabbath day according to the commandment wreaks havoc with the gospel.
Any doctrine that argues that a day of worship is the sign of a Christian attacks the very foundation of the saving work of Christ.
It sets up an external criterion for salvation and in doing so undermines the total sufficiency of Christ as the beginning and end of our salvation.
In other words, the Bible teaches that our salvation depends solely and entirely on God, and not on us--not even on whether or not we worship on a certain day.
The Bible teaches that the true and real Sabbath Rest has appeared, the Son of God in whom alone we are able to find the eternal rest of God of which the weekly Sabbath was a mere shadow (Matthew 11:28-30). We enter that rest by believing in Christ (Hebrews 4:3).
To declare that the weekly Sabbath day is still binding on God's people is unwittingly to declare that Messiah has not come, that he has not fulfilled all things, that he has not become the true rest of his people and that faith in his shed blood and resurrection is not sufficient for our salvation.
It is to declare that there is no new covenant, and that the old covenant is still in force.
It is to declare that one needs the law to be saved, and that without the law one cannot be saved. We will take a close look at what the Bible says on this topic in part 3 of this series.
Now, of course, as we all know, Sabbatarians (whether seventh-day or first-day) do not set out to deny the sufficiency of Christ for salvation.
They are usually appalled when they hear fellow believers assess their doctrine as I just have. Their goal, as they understand it, is to obey God, to keep his law, to do what they believe God commands them to do.
Yet, that is precisely where the subtle danger lies in the doctrine of sabbatarianism. It indeed appears to be a doctrine of faithfulness to God, but by declaring that the law is still in effect, and that the law is still binding on Christians, it denies the biblical message about the practical and spiritual effect of the gospel and God's gift of his Son, the Messiah.
It undercuts the gospel and amounts to the same heresy as that of the Galatian and Colossian Judaizers--that one cannot truly enter the kingdom of the God, or be counted among the people of God, without the law.
In short, Sabbatarian doctrine teaches that something more than mere faith in Christ is needed, specifically, the keeping of the weekly Sabbath day.
Paul addressed the heresy of the Judaizers in his letter to the Galatians. The Worldwide Church of God is different from the Galatians in certain key ways, and like them in certain key ways. Yet the principles remain the same.
We are not like the Galatians in that we are not a church into which law-pushing Jewish converts have come to demand that we begin to practice circumcision and observe the Sabbaths and the purity laws.
Instead, we are a church that has been, from its inception, observing the Sabbaths and certain of the purity laws. Consequently, the warnings for us are not about rejecting the teaching of newly arrived law-pushing heretics, but rather about rejecting the teaching of long-standing members, who in spite of the light of Christ shining on us, demand that we continue observing the Sabbaths and purity laws.
It is important to notice that Paul did not demand that the Jewish converts stop following the customs of their ancestors. But he demanded forcefully that they not teach or encourage the gentile converts to take them up.
For that reason, the Worldwide Church of God has not demanded that its members stop following the church's traditional customs.
However, the church, following Paul, does demand that no one be taught or encouraged that it is better or superior to continue in them (the Sabbaths and the purity laws).
It is one thing to continue to meet on them; it is quite another to think they have any merit for righteousness or any spiritual superiority.
People who persist in teaching or leading others into that heresy are to be removed from fellowship (Romans 16:17-18; Titus 3:9-11).
By the same token, if any think that traditional Christian days have merit for righteousness in and of themselves, they likewise are grossly mistaken.
Traditional Christian festivals do have, however, the value of solidarity with God's faithful children down through the centuries. To observe them is to recognize that the body of Christ is indeed vastly larger than the Worldwide Church of God, and that God has, indeed, been at work in that body for the past nearly 2,000 years.
It is no use to say, "I know all kinds of so-called Christians, even in my own family, who keep those days and go to church on Sunday, but are no more Christian than a gnat's eyelash."
That may be true. You may know of many such so-called Christians. But that has nothing to do with the value of the Lord's Day or Christian festivals for actual Christians.
We could just as easily make the same argument for people who worship on Saturday. The lack of commitment to Christ on the part of some or even many who keep a certain day has nothing whatever to do with the choice of days; it has only to do with the fact that there are people who are uncommitted.
We cannot judge all people who meet on a certain day by the conduct or attitudes of those whose weaknesses we may happen to know about.
Many in our church would rather meet on Saturday because that is the day on which they are used to meeting.
Again, Paul did not demand that the Jewish converts stop their customs. But if we choose to meet on Saturday, we must be clear in our own minds and hearts that our former reasons for meeting on Saturday were based on an incorrect interpretation of Scripture.
You see, when we started out as Sabbatarians it was to try to be faithful to God with what we understood, or thought we understood, which of course, as far as it goes, is good.
But our God is far more faithful than we are, and he loves us so much that in due time he showed us the real Sabbath--our Savior Jesus Christ and the rest God gives us in him.
Now we have no excuse for seeing the weekly Sabbath as still commanded, or our meeting on it as superior to meeting on Sunday. Now we know that the true Christians, except for the Jewish converts, did meet on Sunday from the earliest times.
One thing is for sure: whenever we meet, we meet to honor, worship and glorify our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ--we do not meet to honor a "day."
We observe whatever days we observe as occasions to assemble as the Body of Christ for worship of the one true God. We come together in his presence (though he is everywhere, he meets his assembled people in a special way) to love him, to praise him, to thank him, to confess our sins to him, to participate in and partake of his grace and to learn from him and about him. We do not assemble to declare that we are meeting on the "right day."
Again, following Paul, the Worldwide Church of God does not demand that its members, who have a long history of meeting on Saturday and the annual festivals of Leviticus 23, stop such meetings.
But it does demand that no member teach others that God demands that we do that, or that he specially blesses us for doing it, because he doesn't.
We don't have to abandon the custom, but we do have to change the teaching and beliefs that used to lie behind the custom.
That is why church policy is to allow any combination of both sets of festivals. But in making such allowance, the church does not condone heretical teaching.
Rather, the church urges all of us to allow the love of Christ to guide our hearts in how we relate to one another about our varying preferences on days. By now, all of us ought to be able to understand and appreciate one another's viewpoints on this subject.
Last month, we analyzed some of the spiritual problems that lie behind the attitude of deciding who is and who is not a faithful, Christ-centered Christian by the choices they make about days of worship.
This month we considered the sort of attitude the Bible endorses for approaching new doctrinal concepts, and what Paul said to do about those who try to promote false doctrine in the church.
Next month, we will look at Paul's teaching about the Law.
From Randal Dick
Superintendent of Missions
Nigerian elder
freed from prison
The lives of real people in real situations have been captured by God for us. We call it the Bible. On rare occasions, we see Scripture lived out in real time. I must share one of those moments with you.
This is the story of one of our elders in Nigeria. Two years ago we requested prayers for David Adelana, who was imprisoned for nearly two years. Here are excerpts of his incredible story. One cannot help but glorify God as this story unfolds:
It was Jan. 15, 1997 when a gentleman called at my office to see me.
The pleasantries were short. The visitor informed me that his boss would like to speak with me at the state police headquarters. Everyone knew that an invitation for a chat with a police boss could signal the beginning of detention for an indefinite period.
Of course, I did not meet any boss. He merely handed me over to an officer who handed me over to another officer who took me down to a police station and handed me over to the officer in charge of the station.
I was ordered to remove my shoes, wristwatch and glasses and ushered into the VIP cell--a room about 18 feet long and 10 feet wide containing several bags of moldy grains serving as a cockroach breeding ground.
Windows opened to a gutter containing stagnant olive green water, the result of chemical and biological reactions between the elements and a mixture of rotten food, urine, feces, dirty water and general waste.
Whenever the wind blew our way a sweet-sour odor wafted in to complement the dense sweaty odor of between 50 and 60 men and 20 or 50 bags or more cramped into 180 square feet of space. This was to be my home for the next four days, before I was transported to the notorious detention center at Alagbon, a suburb of Lagos.
At Alagbon I found another 10 people slated for arrest. Two of us were Christians, and the others Muslim. By the end of our ordeal, only the two Christians were to complete 23 months of incarceration. All others were released at various times ranging from same day to several months.
In my case it was 23 months of imprisonment without fair trial, during which I was interrogated for only six days. For the rest I was simply abandoned and ignored by my jailers.
Why do such things happen to Christians? Why me? What have I done? What exactly is my offense? Why does Christ allow such points to be made with impunity over and over again? How can one carry this burden?
How were my five children--ranging in age from 6 years to 20 years to continue praying for their father's release day and night, apparently without success?
Now, with the ordeal over, I can answer these questions with a little more assurance. I can understand at a much deeper level the usual scriptures on this matter of Christian suffering--Rom. 5:3-5; Heb. 12:5-11; 1 Pet. 1:6-7; James 1:2-4, 12.
The outcome is that I am today a much better person than I could ever have been had I not gone through those harrowing 23 months of dehumanizing existence.
I hope I am a more patient person, more accommodating of other people's foibles and idiosyncrasies, much more ready to accept whatever situation I am in, therein to be content.
And then the bonus: my marriage. Marital problems began to be addressed during the imprisonment. My experience provided perspectives about what is truly important in life.
Come to think of it, I had been praying for help for all the 25 years of my marriage. Well, those members who have been praying for God to heal their marriages, and for whom excellent sermons have not done the trick had better watch out. Stronger methods may be on their way if they continue praying!
My incarceration took place when the transformation within the church had just gathered steam. Many members went their own ways, some of which were unusual indeed. I was spared most of the turmoil, my own re-orientation taking a different direction.
When I got to Alagbon I found to my surprise that a vibrant fellowship was already in place. The group met three times a day, morning and evening for worship service and prayer, and afternoon for Bible study. But for the new understanding of our place within the family of believers I would not have attended.
I would have kept my Saturdays holy all by myself, and what a miserable 23 months I would have had, not to talk of the many missed opportunities for learning!
This fellowship, run primarily by Pentecostals, included all the shades of Christianity that exist in Nigeria today--Catholics, Protestants of different lines, the whole gamut. It was an interesting group, faced with a common problem.
I soon learned that it was OK to be joyous and exuberant before the Lord if indeed the feeling is genuine.
Although I never spoke in tongues I soon came to learn that some tongues-speaking can be sincere. I still believe that far too many are fake, meant simply for status or for self-aggrandizement.
One thing I never got used to was the congregational prayer in which everyone was practically yelling at God, shaking their fists and their heads at him, literally commanding him on one thing or another.
Soon after I joined them, I began to share with our prison church the special strengths of the Worldwide Church of God, such as careful and diligent study of the Bible, readiness to believe what the Bible says and to reject all and any authority that is contrary to the word of God, and respect for the word of God, therefore taking care not to bend it to one's own will and ideas.
This attitude is attractive to all honest God-seekers. Before long, people started to flock to me for biblical answers to several of life's questions, and questions concerning who and what God is and other such issues.
By popular choice I came to lead the Tuesday evening service, which was devoted to questions and answers, despite opposition from some quarters. I learned how to defuse such opposition by sticking to the word of God, admitting where I was wrong (and I was proved wrong, in quite a few instances), and listening attentively to objections.
Soon I was appointed assistant pastor, and I eventually became the pastor before my release came. This gave me the opportunity to teach the way we are and the way we do things in the WCG. And in turn I learned how to add ebullience, spontaneity and joy of worship to our services.
David, thank you for sharing your spiritual journey with us. We rejoice in your deliverance from this trial, and pray that God will make the value of your suffering be multiplied many times over in the lives of all of us who are encouraged, corrected and inspired by your experience.
David & Aina Adelana
From Rod and Ruth Matthews
By Aub Warren
BURLEIGH HEADS, Australia--For the past couple of years, the church in Australia and New Zealand has consistently called for members to acknowledge and employ their gifts for the work of ministry and the building up of the Body of Christ.
The response to this message can be seen at the individual, congregational and national levels.
Individuals are not only identifying new opportunities to serve, but are also recognizing their decades of faithful service as genuine Spirit-led ministry.
This produces greater respect for the ministering service of others and acknowledgement of the need for all members to participate in ministering--serving--to one another as disciples of the Great Servant King.
The church development office--managed by John McLean--emphasizes this calling to ministry at conferences and leadership training seminars. The coaching role of pastors is emphasized as a part of developing more people who are equipped for ministry in congregations.
New opportunities are emerging to serve in established ministries and to initiate new ones. In addition, local church councils provide a practical avenue for spiritually mature members to provide support, encouragement and input to pastors.
Congregations are blessed as more and more people contribute to an increasing number of ministries, supporting and supplementing the work of pastors. In some areas with no resident pastor, pastoral teams are filling the void.
A focus of pastoral work is on equipping the saints for ministry: identifying, equipping and deploying those gifted for various ministries within each congregation.
To support this, the first of a planned series of three national training programs was conducted in January at the church's Lake Moogerah, Queensland, campsite.
More than 80 people from Australia (and two from New Zealand) gathered for four days of workshops, lectures, worship and fellowship.
"The concept of the ministry of all believers has now taken root--reinforced and expanded at this training program," said John Klassek, a member from Perth, Western Australia, "which I believe opens up endless possibilities and potential in sharing the gospel in an Australian setting."
Members from small churches found encouragement and support from their brethren representing larger congregations, while the bonds of denominational unity were reinforced as people suggested ideas and offered resources.
"We have been equipped with a vision for the future of the WCG, which is real, alive and an essential part of God's work to reach the lost of this world," said Leanne Ashcroft, a member from Morwell, Victoria.
With an emphasis on servant leadership, the program offered sessions on worship, preaching, women's ministry, outreach, children's ministry, evangelism, mentoring and leadership. Another training program is scheduled for June.
"The occasion exceeded participants' expectations," said Mr. McLean. "The whole experience was encouraging--and encouraging for the fellowship that gifted and talented people see that our fellowship has a future and want to contribute to that future."
Administratively the church has not only taught and encouraged the ministry of all believers, but has restructured its financial administration and established national advisory councils (in Australia and New Zealand) of mature, gifted and respected church members.
In August the regional administration announced a new financial administration that sees 75 percent of contributions from congregations being applied to the costs of maintaining and growing the congregations from where the contributions are made.
The implementation of this new structure is in process, requiring a strategic plan from each congregation before funds can be applied.
The new structure is designed to "facilitate growth in our church and encourage greater member involvement," said regional director Rod Matthews, introducing the proposal to pastors.
Essential to the new structure is acknowledgement that congregations grow through a series of stages, from being a small group to a house church to a congregation that can support part-time pastoral support, to full-time pastoral support, to planting new churches.
It seeks to balance the efficiencies of centralized administration with the local impact of congregational outreach and evangelism.
Also in August the Australian Office announced the appointment of a National Advisory Council to provide input, feedback and support to the national administration.
Comprised of 10 members (two employed pastors, four ordained or commissioned members, and four lay members) the council has met four times and is "a source of great support and advice," according to Mr. Matthews.
A six-member NAC in New Zealand will conduct its first meeting in May.
The harnessing of centralized resources and expertise for the benefit of congregations has been seen in the media area since mid-1997, when the church launched Living Today magazine as "a tool for congregations to use in serving their communities."
The 16-page magazine is designed specifically for unchurched readers.
Congregations distribute the magazine in their communities (through friends, waiting rooms, letterboxes and newsstands), clearly linking the magazine to their congregation.
It is a means of a) serving the community; b) building an identity; and c) establishing a relationship of trust so that community members may respond positively to invitations to church activities or services.
Living Today has also been used by other denominations as part of their outreach activities.
In May the church will release a new publication titled Foundations of Faith. Foundations will initially be a supplement to Living Today subscriptions, but will later become a separate publication.
It is designed to take readers through the basics--the foundations--of Christian belief, teaching, practice and faith.
"We see Foundations of Faith being a valuable tool for members and congregations to use in sharing the gospel with friends and conducting classes introducing people to Christianity and discipleship," said Mr. Matthews.
NATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAM--Participants in the first national training
program at the church's Lake Moogerah, Queensland, campsite in January. [Photos by Aub
Warren]
GETTING ADVICE--The Australian National Advisory Council conducts its
first meeting in August at the regional office in Burleigh Heads.
NETWORKING--Fellowship and networking were important elements of the four-day
training program.
SHARING IDEAS--Steve Steel from Melbourne and Ben Mann from Perth share ideas
over a meal at the training program.
"It was a delightful two weeks," said Tammy Tkach, "rich in spiritual food and fellowship with many sisters down under."
Mrs. Tkach and Sheila Graham, Women's Ministry Support coordinators, spoke at a round of conferences in New Zealand and Australia March 3 to 16.
Their first presentations were at a Ladies Day in the Auckland, New Zealand, church, Saturday, March 6, and at a women's conference the next day.
Noreen Thompson wrote that women conducted the entire service, including the prayers, worship-leading and speaking.
Di Toomer, women's ministry coordinator for Auckland, spoke first, then Mrs. Tkach and Mrs. Graham each spoke for 20 minutes, explaining what women's ministry is about.
On Sunday, 71 women met for an all-day retreat at the historic Ferndale House in Auckland. Some of the husbands served the morning and afternoon teas and lunch as well as did the dishes.
The women were able to relax and spend time learning how they are precious in God's eyes, which was the theme for the day, Noreen said.
Some of the women traveled a great distance to attend the retreat, including one who was sponsored by her congregation in the South Island.
From Auckland Mrs. Tkach and Mrs. Graham flew to Brisbane, Australia.
On the way to the pastors conference at the Summer Educational Program camp at Lake Moogerah, Ruth Matthews drove the two women to a koala sanctuary, where they spent several hours enjoying the Australian wildlife.
Both women spoke at the conference on Tuesday, March 9, updating the pastors and their wives on women's ministry and answering questions.
The next day they drove back to Brisbane and addressed 108 women at the Abbey Plaza Hotel.
The women also heard updates on women's ministry in India from Joanna D'Costa and Mary Zachariah, wives of pastors in that area.
They then flew to Sydney for a night's rest before speaking at a one-day conference with the theme, Living for the Lord, at the Epping Baptist Church. Fifty-one women praised God with music and enjoyed lunch prepared by the women themselves.
Dinner was catered, and the evening ended with two more presentations from Mrs. Tkach and Mrs. Graham.
The next morning, they flew to Melbourne. The theme for the weekend at Mountain Valley Camp was Our Guiding Light. One hundred thirty women attended.
Coordinator Bev Browning wrote that the retreat began Friday evening with praise and worship and an address by Mrs. Graham on Celebrating God's Love.
Mrs. Tkach spoke twice Saturday morning, with a tea break in between. Her topics were Do You Know Who You Are? and Following to Lead.
In the afternoon Mrs. Graham spoke on the topic From Legalism to Grace and traced her own walk with God and how he brought her from legalism to grace.
Then, a communion service was offered for those who wished to take part.
Four electives including three workshops were offered Saturday. The workshops were: Parenting, by Sheila Graham; Journaling, Kate Chivers; and women's gifts, Eva Larkin. Thirteen women also got together for prayer.
Mrs. Tkach addressed the group Sunday morning on Dancing in the Arms of God. She encouraged the women to make Jesus the center of their lives.
Mrs. Tkach and Mrs. Graham left for the airport as the women continued with their program for the retreat.
Their next stop was Singapore, where they toured the island country for an afternoon. After dinner with several of the members, they addressed about 30 members on women's ministry and answered questions.
"God is working a mighty work through our women all around the world," said Mrs. Graham. "It's inspiring to see the spiritual growth and the joy and love expressed during these retreats and conferences."
Following are some comments about the retreat in Australia.
Lynne Hardy: "Everyone is absolutely raving about the retreat. They just can't say enough positive about it. Full marks to Bev Browning and her team. It set our ladies on a positive course.
Sue Cramer: The entire weekend was full of joy, answered prayers, sharing, loving, healing and peace. All who went came away refreshed, uplifted, awed and more dedicated to God than ever before.
Raelene McNaughton: I was really struck by the seminar on spiritual gifts. I heard that gifts are God's way of touching another person through our actions.
We may not feel that our conversation, our cups of tea, our prayers are on a spiritual par with Jesus, but if God touches another person through that action, then Jesus is living in us and we have a spiritual gift we can share.
Sue Weir: To be able to hear Tammy Tkach and Sheila Graham speak live was so encouraging and inspiring.
They are mothers just like us. They both shared personal stories, hurts and difficulties about their own lives.
Hearing and seeing these two women was uplifting and reminded us that God truly is working with the women in his church.
Susan Regazzoli: One thing that struck me was how much healing was going on. Many of the women felt free to share their hurts with others and to ask for prayers.
I felt Tammy's and Sheila's messages helped us all to see that we are not alone in our trials.
They are such normal, real people, who have suffered quite a bit in their lives, yet are positive about what Christ is doing through and in us all.
They were encouraging us to find our gifts and do what we can to edify and lift up those in the church and out of the church who are suffering.
 Sheila Graham |
 Simone Worthing |
 Naomi Parker |
 Joane D'Costa |
HOSPITALITY IN SYDNEY--Frank and Naomi Parker
welcomed Tammy Tkach and Sheila Graham into their
home during their stay.
SINGAPORE MEMBERS--Tammy Tkach and Sheila Graham meet with some
of the members in Singapore.
Tammy Tkach and Nita Williams in
Auckland, New Zealand.
HOPPING GOOD TIME--Tammy Tkach pets a wallaby
at a koala sanctuary. [Photo by Sheila Graham]
CHICAGO, Illinois--Many are anticipating the chance to bond together as sisters in Christ at the Women's International Conference Aug. 6 to 8.
We plan to celebrate the seasons of our lives, the beauty in each one and the wonderful work God can do through us wherever we are.
Three main sessions on Knowing God Is in Control, Contentment and Following the Role Call of Jesus will weave together the theme so you'll be better equipped to understand your place in God's tapestry of life, and celebrate each season with significance.
Our keynote speaker will be author, speaker and radio personality Jill Briscoe. Jill, the wife of pastor Stuart Briscoe, brings with her a wealth of experience and wisdom in ministering to women in all seasons of life.
Guest speakers will be Joseph and Tammy Tkach and Sheila Graham.
Workshops tentatively planned to address specific seasons of life are:
Millennial Mothering
Meeting the Menopause
Single and Loving It?!
Mother/Daughter Relationships
Coping With Terminal Illness
The Golden Years
Seasons of Marriage
The Christian Divorcee
This second annual Women's International Conference will take place in the Chicago northwest suburb of Itasca. While convenient to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and accessible to downtown Chicago, Itasca is removed from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Registration can be done by filling out the registration form on page 28 and mailing it to Margaret Davis at the address shown. We encourage groups who are traveling together to send in their forms together. Feel free to combine payment in one check or money order.
Walk-up registration begins at 3 p.m., Friday, Aug. 6. The cost will be $100 for registration only, but we cannot guarantee meals will be included for walk-up registration.
Check-in will also begin at 3 p.m., Friday, with the first general session starting at 7 p.m., with guest speakers Joseph and Tammy Tkach. Saturday will begin with a general session with Jill Briscoe followed by workshops.
Our evening celebration will be a sock hop, to which family members are invited. Sunday will close the weekend with a morning general session followed by communion. The event will end at noon.
Hotel accommodations are on site at the Wyndham Hotel. Please make your arrangements when you send in the registration form.
Confirmation packets will be sent to you upon registration with further details of the conference schedule and directions to the hotel or the shuttle service number for those traveling by airplane.
The WCG is host to the conference. We welcome all members of the Body of Christ, and any family members, friends or neighbors interested in registering.
Your sisters in Christ,
Angie Latimer & Karen Newby
Name
Address
Home Phone Work Phone
Emergency Name Emergency Phone
Payment
Registration fee: $ ________
$70 on or before June 1, $85 after June 1
(Includes all general sessions and workshops; breakfast, lunch and dinner Saturday, breakfast Sunday)
NOTE: Registration fee is transferable but not refundable.
Donation: $ ________ To assist women who require financial assistance to attend.
Total enclosed (U.S. Funds*): $ ________
* Canadians and other international guests, please use international money order.
Special Needs and Comments:
Please make check or money order payable to: WIC Chicago Fund
and mail this form and payment to Margaret Davis
900 N. Taylor Ave.
Oak Park, Illinois, 60302
Hotel reservations must be made directly through the Wyndham Hotel by each individual conference applicant.
Wyndham Hotel
Northwest Chicago
400 Park Blvd.
Itasca, Illinois, 60143
Reservations 1-630-773-4000
Mention you are with the Worldwide Church of God group. Cost is $95 per night (tax not included).
We request that this be done as soon as you send this registration form to us.
If you have any questions please contact us:
Karen Newby 1-847-741-6658 (e-mail james_newby@wcg.org)
Angie Latimer 1-847-587-5038 (e-mail LATIMO@aol.com)
NORTHERN COLORADO--Imagine drawing closer to the Lord and your Christian sisters in a breathtaking alpine valley nestled under the Mummy Mountain Range high in Colorado's Rocky Mountains.
Surrounded by God's creation and sharing the weekend with other Christian women, you can take part in a three-day retreat focusing on Knowing Christ--A Journey of the Heart, July 30 to Aug. 1.
Your weekend will include seminars, round-table discussions, a workshop and praise and worship sessions. The women of the Northern Colorado congregation are hosts for the retreat at Pingree Park west of Fort Collins, Colorado.
The cost is $80, which includes retreat activities, lodging and meals (Friday dinner to Sunday lunch).
The last day to register is June 15.
The retreat is limited to 60 participants, so please register early. For more information contact Mary Jo Kostka, 2407 Atwood St., Longmont, Colorado, 80501, 1-303-776-9799; or Kelly Bixby at Kbix@aol.com
We would like to expand our Teen Ministry page, and we need your help. We need articles about teens, for teens and by teens. We want to publish articles about things that interest you, about what's going on in your lives, such as school, plans for college, dating and music. We want to hear about the challenges you face as Christian teens. We want to hear about the Christian events you attend. We want to know about your walk with Jesus, how you came to know him as your personal Savior.
We'll send a free introductory volume directly to your friend. Just call us with their name and address.
And, if you haven't yet "experienced" the Word, call and order the first six-volume set now. You'll get one every month for the next six months, plus the bonus booklet, Understanding the Word.
1-800-309-4466
-Share the Experience-
By Ronald
Kelly
The first quarter of 1999 has come and gone. And of course that means our staff has compiled financial statistics for January through March.
The bad news is that our daily average income has fallen well below budget projections.
As you will see from the accompanying chart, daily income for March was only $91,613. Daily income for the year-to-date is $94,672.
Brethren, it is sometimes difficult to report our finances every month. I do not want to give an impression that our members are not giving generously. Just the opposite is true. Many thousands of you are giving with dedication and joy and most liberally.
The last thing I want to do is have someone feel that we don't appreciate the sacrifice so many of you make to support the work of your church. Yet, we are doing our best to keep you fully and accurately informed about financial matters of the church. That requires us to report even the most negative figures.
Therefore as you read these monthly updates I trust you will not be discouraged or feel pressure to give unreasonably.
What can we all do to meet the budgetary needs of the church? Obviously those of us involved in financial planning keep all department managers fully informed.
When necessary, we recommend budget adjustments. The hard part is that almost all budget modifications require termination of employees, and we are down to a minimum number in our work force already.
To ease the pressure, the major solution is that somehow we have to increase our income--or at least stop the ever-changing decrease in monthly income.
What that primarily means is that we need to retain our members. We need to encourage those who might be drifting away. We need to care for those who are hurting. We need to appreciate each person for who he or she is and to help that person in his or her Christian journey. We need to set aside personal feelings about doctrines and traditions and changes as we pray for one another.
Pastor General Joseph Tkach in his May member letter called on each of us to dedicate ourselves to love, serve and pray for each other, especially during this continued time of transition for our fellowship.
Probably the most important contribution each of us can make is not giving more money, it's praying for a brother or sister who is wavering or who has stopped attending.
And more than just praying for each other, actually reaching out to support every precious brother and sister in the Lord.
As we pass through this critical time of financial concern, we ask you to pray for the stability of the membership, church attendance and appropriate financial stewardship. Our loving Father wants us to spend time in his presence as we worship him in spirit and in truth.
We appreciate all you are doing as we move forward in the power of God's Spirit. We have no strength on our own, but depend solely on God, in whom we live and move and have our being.
The Canadian, Caribbean and European Offices announced Festival sites for 1999.
Edmonton, Alberta
Services, seminars and workshops will take place at People's Church, where the Edmonton congregation meets.
Guest speakers will help equip members in youth ministry, family ministry and personal evangelism.
Contact: Bob Millman. Telephone: 1-403-444-6336.
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Emphasis will be put on the first weekend, Sept. 24 to 26, with a final service on Oct. 2.
Contact: Owen Willis at 1-902-826-1197.
Penticton, British Columbia
Sermons and workshops will provide opportunities to learn about Christ and what God has done for us through him.
Contact: Bob Morton at 1-250-769-5613.
St. John's, Newfoundland
Contact: Chris Starkey, 22 Olympic Drive, Mount Pearl, NF A1N 4K3, Canada. Telephone: 1-709-368-9901.
Toronto, Ontario
Seminars, workshops and presentations on personal and biblical topics are planned. The Lord's Supper will be celebrated on the two Sabbath mornings during the Festival. One youth service and children's church are planned for the opening and closing weekend services.
Contact: Doug Smith at 1-519-746-4337.
Vendee, Quebec
Eight-day Festival at church- owned camp. Services in French.
Contact: Rejean Vautour, a/s du Camp Vendee, 1609 Chemin Vendee, Vendee, Quebec, J0T 2T0, Canada.
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Children's church and teen services will be offered several times .
Contact: Alan Redmond at 1-204-654-3217.
Montreal, Quebec
Weekend site, Oct. 1 to 3.
Contact: Tony Rigatuso at 1-514-725-9091.
BOREHAMWOOD, England--The European Office announced eight-day Feast sites for 1999.
A Feast brochure is available for fuller descriptions giving costs, contact details and more information about the locations of the sites in the European Region.
To request a copy write to Jacqui Eve or Cathy Wells, Worldwide Church of God, Elstree House, Elstree Way, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, WD6 1LU, United Kingdom. Phone: 011 181 953 1633; fax 011 181 207 1216; e-mail: jacqui_eve@wcg.org or cathy_wells@wcg.org
Netherlands
Middelburg, near beaches, the North Sea and Lake Veere. Bungalows cost $350 for eight days; hotels $25 per night. Budget hotels $10. Registration fees $125 per family; $85 individual. Services in Dutch with English and German translations.
Contact: Dutch Office, Box 20, 4170 AA Herwijnen, Netherlands. Telephone: 011 (31) 418 584 055; fax 011 (31) 418 584 119; e-mail: wcg.Lifeline@wxs.nl
Estonia
Two city Feast--Tallinn, the capital, and Tartu. Costs range from $22 per person, per night (four sharing) to $62 per person, per night for single person, including breakfast. Services in English.
Contact: Carl Aas. Telephone and fax: 011 47 64 86 93 30; e-mail: carl_aas@wcg.org.
Germany
Bonndorf in the Black Forest, near French and Swiss borders. Costs for an apartment range from $19 to $47 and hotels cost up to $76 per day. Some services in English, some in German, with translations provided.
Contact: Stiftung Weltweite Kirche Gottes, Postfach 1129, 53001 Bonn, Germany. Telephone 011 (49) 228 66 89 10; fax: 011 (49) 228 9 87 68 27; e-mail: wkg53bonn@aol.com
Italy
Lido di Jesolo, Venice. Costs for four star hotel for nine nights with half pension (breakfast and dinner) about $394. Application fee of $90 for a single adult and $145 for a family. Languages spoken will be Italian, German, English and French with translations in all languages.
Contact: Worldwide Church of God, Casella Postale 67, 24030 Brembate di Sopra (BG), Italy. Telephone: 011 (39) 035/54 99 09; fax: 011 (39) 035/54 83 05; e-mail: daniel_bosch@wcg.org
Malta
Grosvenor Hotel in Attard. Costs range from $15 per person per night to $75 per person, per night, usually including an evening meal.
Contact: David Stirk, 42 Richmond Court, Lisburn, County Antrim, BT27 4QU, Northern Ireland. Telephone: 011 (44) 01846 605020; e-mail: david_stirk@wcg.org
Portugal
Sao Pedro do Sul, near the historical city of Viseu. Services will be in Portuguese with English translations available. Costs are for apartments, including continental breakfast, three-course mid-day meals (every day except tour day), tour to Porto, a group dinner and the bus fare to and from the airport: $99 per person per day for single occupancy; $59 double; $55 triple; $52 for four people sharing; $48 for five sharing and $45 for six sharing. Children younger than 6 are free.
Contact: Jose Ribeiro. Telephone: 011 351-1-225-9749; e-mail: Jose.S.Ribeiro@mail.telepac.pt
Spain
Three-star hotel at Palma Majorca by the beach. Costs for nine nights including flights from Madrid or Barcelona are $650 per person in a single room; $550 per person, sharing in a double room; 50 percent discount for children sleeping in their parents' room, depending on age of the children. Price also includes full buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner; a full day trip with picnic lunch; and translation kits for English translation.
Contact: Pedro Rufian Mesa, Avda La Iglesia 26, 28610 Villamanta (Madrid) Spain. Telephone: 011 (34) 918 135 705; e-mail: pedro_rufian@wcg.org
Greece
Nea Makri, a coastal village northeast of Athens. Costs and further information available on application. Services will be in English.
Contact: e-mail: in the United States: delores_schroeder@wcg.org or international: jacqui_eve@wcg.org
London
Near Euston in Central London. Visits planned to Cambridge University and Windsor Castle. Theater trips also scheduled.
Contact: Robin Jones, P.O. Box 25, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, AL2 3YJ. Telephone: 011 (44) 1923 681255; e-mail: robin_jones@wcg.org
Paignton
Beverley Park; telephone: 011 (44) 1803 843887. The site has trailers up to seven-berth, with private facilities and color television. Cost per trailer for nine days ranges from $172 to $445.
Pastor General Joseph Tkach and his family are expected to attend this site for part of the Feast.
Contact: Tony Lodge, 2 Meadowland, Yatton, North Somerset, BS19 4JB, England.
Telephone: 011 (44) 1934 838461; e-mail: anthony_lodge@wcg.org
Scarborough, England
Hotels range from $32 to $210 per person, per night including dinner, bed and breakfast. Most hotels have reduced rates for children. Self-catering units start at around $162 per unit per week.
Contact: Robert Harrison, 8 Mallinson Way, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG2 9HL, England. Telephone: 011 (44) 1423 872 885. E-mail: robert_harrison@wcg.org
Oban, Scotland
Oban is a seaport town 90 miles northwest of Glasgow. Costs for hotels range from $35 to $72 per person per night for bed and breakfast; $64 to $80 including dinner. Guest houses cost from $24 to $32 per person, per night, and self-catering ranges from $256 to $480 for two or three bedroom cottages or apartments.
Pastor General Joseph Tkach and his family are expected to attend this site for part of the Feast.
Contact: Hamish Dougall, Beechmount, Kingscavil, Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland. Telephone: 011 (44) 1506 845 725. E-mail: hamish_dougall@wcg.org
Kenmare, Ireland
Kenmare is on a bay where the Kenmare River enters the Atlantic Ocean. Housing ranges from two five-star hotels to farmhouse cottages.
Kenmare Bay Hotel costs from $60 per person, per night for two people sharing, with single supplement of $20 for bed and breakfast. Dinner supplement is $18.
Contact: David Stirk, 42 Richmond Court, Lisburn, County Antrim, BT27 4QU, Northern Ireland. Telephone: 011 (44) 1846 605 020; e-mail: david_stirk@wcg.org
France
Evian-Les-Bains on south bank of Lake Leman, from Sunday, Oct. 31 to Sunday, Nov. 7. Everyone stays at the Village Vacances Familles.
Costs for seven nights for studios (two people) are $73; two-bedroom apartments for four to six people are $320; three-bedroom apartments $400. Meals for seven days: breakfasts $30 per adult, $23 child; lunches $87 adult, $49 child; dinners $87 adult, $49 child. Services will be in French with translation into English.
Contact: Marie-Angelique Alcindor, Eglise Universelle de Dieu, B.P. 64--75662 Paris cedex 14, France. Telephone: 011 (33) 1 43 22 60 84. Fax: 011 (33) 1 43 35 05 52. E-mail: dpi@club-internet.fr
St. Luce, Martinique
Oct. 2-9. Services will be in French, but English translations can be provided if necessary.
Contact: Jack Brunet, 69 Rocade du bel Horizon, Ravine Vilaine, 97200 - Fort-de-France, Martinique. Telephone and fax: (596) 79 64 20. E-mail: jack_brunet@wcg.org
The Caribbean Office announced the following Festival sites.
Castries, St. Lucia
Four-day Feast with possible meetings during the week. Hotels $50 to $200 per night. Contact: Paul Krautmann, P.O. Box 780, Castries, St. Lucia. Telephone 1-758-453-7574; e-mail: krautmannp@candw.lc
Kingstown, St. Vincent
Four-day Feast, with possible extra activities during the week. Hotel prices similar to those in St. Lucia. Contact: Paul Krautmann at the above address or Frederick Forbes, P.O. Box 780, Kingstown, St. Vincent. Telephone 1-784-457-1237.
Grand Anse, Grenada
Hotels range from $45 to $160 per night. Contact: Terrence Frank at 1-473-440-5339, or 1-473-440-3311, or by fax at 1-473-440-1829; e-mail wcgfrank@caribsurf.com
Barbados
Contact: Clifton Charles at 1-246- 420-2088; e-mail cpcharles@caribsurf.com, or David Norgrove at davidnor@caribsurf.com
This month we begin a new WN feature in which we will introduce the district superintendents to you.
The U.S. field ministry and churches are divided into 20 regions, each supervised by a district superintendent.
District superintendents serve as pastors to the pastors in their region. They attend regular conferences at church headquarters in Pasadena and interface between headquarters and the field churches.
Al Barr is the
district superintendent for the the Atlanta, Georgia, district.
He and his wife, Edna, live in the Atlanta area and have four living children. He has served in the ministry since 1968 and has attended the Worldwide Church of God since 1963. He was baptized by Carn Catherwood in 1964.
The following pastors, wives and congregations are in the Atlanta district.
Anniston, Alabama: Gilbert and Mary Nell Flournoy
Athens, Georgia: Howard and Jacqueline Shadoan
Atlanta, Georgia: Charles and Deborah Young
Birmingham, Alabama: Bob and Ruth Miller
Buford, Georgia: David and Tina Whited and Terry and Susie Cohron
Columbus, Georgia: Stephen and Tracy Glover
Douglasville, Georgia: Donald and Joanna Madlena
Dublin, Georgia: Stanley and Eneida Kilgore
Gadsden, Alabama: Jacky and Jamie Duncan
Geneva, Alabama: Harold and Mary McKissic
Good Hope, Alabama: Bob and Ruth Miller
Gulf Coast, Mississippi: Frederick and Laura Moore
Kennesaw, Georgia: Tom and Betsy Mahan
Macon, Georgia: Willie Jr. and Jacquelyn Taylor
Mobile, Alabama: Frederick and Laura Moore
Monroeville, Alabama: Melvin and Lynda Hall and Mitchell and Barbara Jay
Montgomery, Alabama: Stephen and Tracy Glover
Panama City, Florida: Jack and Mary Ellen Patterson
Pavo, Georgia: Lee and Sue Wilkes
Pensacola, Florida: John and Gwen Young
Stone Mountain, Georgia: Howard and Jacqueline Shadoan
Tallahassee, Florida: Jack and Mary Ellen Patterson
Tuscaloosa, Alabama: Larry and Vicki Pritchett and John and Wink Cooper
Craig
Bacheller serves the Washington, D.C., district with his wife, Mary.
Craig and Mary have six children, ranging in age from 29 to 21, and one grandchild. Two of their children are twins.
Over the past 26 years, Craig has served in three countries on two continents. His assignments include Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Regina and southern Saskatchewan; Brisbane, Australia; Florida; and New York City.
He was appointed district superintendent by Joseph Tkach in January 1995, and he served the churches in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
In 1997 he was transferred to the Washington, D.C., district, which encompasses Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, the District of Columbia, northern Virginia and Queens, New York. Craig pastors the Queens congregation in New York City.
He has a bachelor's degree from Ambassador University, and a master's degree from St. John's University. Mary is a professor at the College of Staten Island (City University of New York), where she heads the Sign Language Department of the Department of Modern Languages.
Mary is also the founder and executive director of the Seymour Joseph Institute of American Sign Language, an institute that teaches American Sign Language and prepares sign language interpreters for certification in the interpreter training program. All courses are accredited and are accepted at more than 1,500 U.S. colleges and universities. Mary is also a Ph.D. candidate.
The following pastors, wives and congregations are in the Washington, D.C., district.
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania: Gary and Marcia Demarest
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania: Gary and Marcia Demarest
Altoona, Pennsylvania: Brian and Eileen Crum
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Steve and Sylvia Burns
Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Steve and Sylvia Burns
Burke, Virginia: Gerald and Kathleen Herd
Strasburg, Virginia: Gerald and Kathleen Herd
Cumberland, Maryland: Al Ditmar
Frederick, Maryland: Peter and Charlotte Whitting
Baltimore, Maryland: Peter and Charlotte Whitting
Washington, D.C.: Lloyd and Malinda Garrett
Wilmington, Delaware: Raymond and Cindy Taylor
Seaford, Delaware: Raymond and Cindy Taylor
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: David and Hinke Gilbert
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: George and Merry Kackos
Medford, New Jersey: Craig and Mary Bacheller (senior pastor); Mike and Louise Harkins (pastoral candidate); George and Linda Kuo (pastoral candidate)
Queens, New York: Craig and Mary Bacheller (senior pastor); Walter and Kathleen Dolengo (pastoral candidate); Ron and Deborah Swift (pastoral candidate); Jeff and Vicki Kolsch (pastoral candidate).
The Scriptures were an important part of Jesus' work. He used the Old Testament as an authoritative basis for beliefs and behavior. He used the Hebrew Bible to prove his points, to explain his mission and ministry, and to communicate God's will for his people.
Jesus and the Pharisees agreed that God had inspired the Scriptures. Jesus disagreed with them about interpretations, but they all agreed on the basic belief that these writings were true and authoritative.
Since Jesus agreed with the Pharisees on this point, he did not have an occasion to list all his beliefs about Scripture, nor to explain the reasons he had for his beliefs. However, Jesus used the Scriptures so often that we are able to see what he believed about Scripture. The disciples who wrote the Gospels also used Scripture frequently, and we can tell by the way they used the Scriptures that they held the same beliefs.
1. According to Jesus, who wrote the Torah? Matt. 8:4; 19:8. Did he also say that God was the author of at least two of the commands? Matt. 15:4; 22:31-32. How was a human author able to write the words of God? Verse 43. Did the prophets accurately report words God said about himself? Matt. 9:13; 11:10; 12:18; 15:8-9.
2. Matthew mentions numerous Old Testament verses that were fulfilled by Jesus Christ. Who was the source of these verses? Matt. 1:22; 2:15. Matthew tells us that various scriptures were spoken "through" the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel (Matt. 2:17; 3:3; 13:35; 24:15). Who was the source?
3. Did Jesus expect all the words of the prophets to be fulfilled? Matt. 5:17-18; 26:24, 31, 54, 56. Did he chide the Pharisees for not understanding the prophets? Matt. 12:7; 21:16, 42. Did he consider the Scriptures, even though they were written hundreds of years earlier, to apply to his own day? Matt. 15:7; 19:8.
4. How did Jesus use Scripture as a decisive answer to doctrinal questions? Matt. 12:3-5; 19:4; 22:31-32. How did he quote Deuteronomy in response to Satan's temptations? Matt. 4:4, 7, 10. Does this suggest a greater-than-human authority in the Scriptures?
Comment: Our Lord clearly had a high view of Scripture. He always treated it as true, as conclusive proof, as correct teaching. It was God communicating through human authors. The message was true.
Jesus understood his own mission in terms of the Old Testament Scriptures: "I have come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. Everything in them must be fulfilled. I must do this because it has been inspired by the Holy Spirit, and what is written must come to pass. Doctrinal errors exist because you do not know what the Scriptures say. They are the standard of truth" (paraphrase of Matt. 5:17-18; 22:29; 26:54).
5. What was Jesus' attitude toward the Old Testament laws? Matt. 5:18-19. Did Jesus advise people to obey all the laws? Matt. 15:4; 19:17-19; 22:37-40. Did Jesus tell people to obey ritual laws? Matt. 8:4. To obey the Pharisees when they taught the law of Moses? Matt. 23:2-3. Should people obey in even the smallest details? Matt. 5:19; 23:23.
Comment: Jesus taught people to obey every law in Scripture, because all the laws had divine authority. The laws told God's old covenant people what he wanted them to do, and they were supposed to do it all.
The ritual laws are still part of Scripture. They describe what God told a specific people to do at a certain time in history. But those laws were not given to the Christian church, and the covenant that framed those laws has been surpassed. Just as we do not have to obey all the instructions God gave to Abraham, we do not have to obey all the instructions God gave to the Israelites.
Those laws were inspired by God for a temporary purpose: "All the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John" (Matt. 11:13).
6. Does the law of Moses give the perfect will of God? Matt. 19:8. Where did Jesus find authoritative guidance? Verses 4-5. Is it enough to keep the letter of the law? Matt. 5:21-22, 27-28. Was the law of Moses too strict, or too lenient? Verses 31-32. By what authority did Jesus say this? Verses 22, 28, 32, 34. What is the higher standard that Jesus taught? Matt. 7:12; 22:37-40.
Comment: Although Jesus had a high respect for the Old Testament, he taught that it was not a complete guide for godly living. The law of Moses allowed divorce, but divorce is not good. Jesus taught a higher principle, the golden rule, the way of love and mercy. The law of Moses included love, but it did not identify love as the most important principle. Jesus did.
Jesus had high standards about the way humans should treat one another--he was stricter than the Pharisees. But when it came to ritual purity and Sabbath rules, Jesus was more permissive than the Pharisees. Jesus often touched unclean people, and he often healed on the Sabbath even though he could have waited until later.
"When it came to morals (e.g., divorce) Jesus' interpretation was stricter than most of his contemporaries. When it came to [worship] laws (e.g., the Sabbath) Jesus' interpretation was comparatively lenient. Jesus' emphasis seems to have fallen on compassion as over against holiness" (Craig Evans, "Old Testament in the Gospels," Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, InterVarsity, 1992, p. 581).
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus quoted several laws from the Torah, and then gave his own teaching as the complete word on the subject. In doing this, he put his own words on the level as Scripture, as authoritative instruction from God. His words will never pass away, and it is by his words that people will be judged (Matt. 24:35; 7:24-27; John 12:48). He is the only one who can help us know God (Matt. 11:27).
Jesus spoke with authority; his judgments are certain, and his predictions are guaranteed to come to pass. The Holy Spirit taught his words to the disciples (John 14:26), just as the Spirit inspired the Old Testament writers. These sayings of Jesus suggest that more Scripture was yet to be written, the Scriptures we now call the New Testament. These are the writings that give us the words by which we will be judged--words from and about Jesus Christ.
7. Did Jesus see his own ministry in terms of Old Testament prophecies? Luke 4:16-21. Did he believe that the prophets foretold his suffering, death and resurrection? Luke 18:31-33. Which prophecy of Isaiah applied specifically to him? Luke 22:37. Did he believe that the prophecies were certain to come true? Luke 24:44-47. Did he believe that other prophecies were certain to be fulfilled in the future? Luke 21:22.
Comment: Jesus, as a Palestinian rabbi who taught in synagogues, would naturally root his ministry in the Old Testament Scriptures. The Bible was the foundation for many of his teachings, for explaining his mission as the Messiah, and for predicting the future judgment. Our Lord was confident that the Scriptures are trustworthy because he believed them to be inspired by God. He based his life and mission on this conviction.
Many of his teachings have Old Testament roots. The parable of the Good Samaritan, for example, reflects the story in 2 Chronicles 28:8-15--the men of Samaria gave food, clothes and medicine to Jews, and used donkeys to help transport them to Jericho. The parable of humility (Luke 14:7-14) develops the thought of Proverbs 25:6-7.
Jesus often referred to Old Testament characters: Abel, Noah, Abraham, Lot's wife, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Solomon, the Queen of Sheba, Jonah and others. Although he corrected the Pharisees on other matters of biblical interpretation, their acceptance of the biblical story did not have to be corrected.
8. In the Gospel of John, how does Jesus describe the giver of the law? John 7:19, 22. Did he quote part of the law to support the validity of his own teachings? John 8:17-18. Did he expect biblical prophecies to come true in his own ministry? John 13:18; 15:25; 19:24. Which Old Testament author wrote about Jesus? John 5:46.
9. In addition to the books of Moses, what else was included in "the law"? John 10:34. How likely was this word to be true? Verse 35.
Comment: Jesus quoted Psalm 82:6, which describes God criticizing leaders who fail to do their duty to help the oppressed. With some irony, he calls these leaders "gods"--mighty ones, elohim, and he gives judgment on them (Ps. 86:1). He calls them "gods" and children of the Most High, but notes that they die like all other human rulers (verses 6-7). The word of God--his judgment on them--came to these unjust leaders.
Jesus is not commenting on the now-dead leaders, nor on the psalm itself. He is using it as a "from the lesser to the greater" argument: "If he called these people gods, these unjust people to whom the judgment of God came, why do you accuse me of blasphemy when I say that I am the son of God? If he can call unjust people gods, why can't I call myself the son of God?"
In making this argument, Jesus mentions, almost as a parenthetical thought, that "Scripture cannot be broken." He was not trying to prove this idea. Rather, it was a point on which he and the Pharisees agreed, and all he needed to do was to mention it. Human words can be broken. They can fail, but Scripture cannot. Its words are trustworthy, because they are inspired by God. The Scriptures are the standard of truth, the accurate record of God's revelation, and the ultimate authority for all matters of doctrine, faith and practice.
Michael Morrison
By John McKenna
Part four
We have seen in the previous three studies that the Book of Hosea is to be read in the light of the great reversal of the Great I-AM, the Lord God of Israel.
Because his people turn the I-AM into the Not-I-AM, they become the Not-My-People, the Not-Pitied and the Jezreel rather than His People, Pitied and True Israel.
They have rejected their Redeemer and Creator. The prophecy of Hosea is thus a vision of this reversal of Israel's fortunes. We saw how the marriage relation between Hosea and Gomer embodied this prophetic word of Yahweh with Israel. We saw how the holy passion of the Lord God roars like a whirlwind through Israel to destroy her in the Promised Land.
His judgment is devastating. He gives his people into the hands of the Assyrian armies. Israel as his bride is to be taken into exile by her enemy, with whom she has willingly committed adultery.
She does not know the grace or loyal love of Yahweh Elohim. We saw how with one judgment speech after another the prophecy applies to the whole of Israel's affluent society, people, priest, prophet and king alike.
Without knowledge of the loyal love of the Holy One, Israel will not remain in the Promised Land.
Yet, judgment in Israel is not the last word. The judgment is ministered with a view to the keeping of the ancient promise. This view is given to us in the form of salvation oracles and love songs that follow the announcements of the judgment.
We are asked to hear the music of the Great I-AM himself with his Israel. Like the marriage relationship and the like the relationship between a father and his son (Hosea 11), the One who is divine shall ultimately deliver and save his people (Hosea 11:9-10).
If he can roar in judgment against his people, he can roar for Israel's salvation. Thus, Israel is to know both the judgment and the salvation of the One God. Prophecy is to be understood in the light of the great reversal wrought by the Great I-AM in covenant with Israel.
Hosea concludes with a call that embraces the sage in Israel (Hosea 14:9). Who is wise? Let him realize these things! Not without wisdom shall the prophecy be understood.
True wisdom in Israel is that which knows the ultimate salvation of the people of God. This is the wisdom of the messianic hope of the prophets in Israel.
Beyond God's judgment are the acts of his loyal love and salvation. In the final days, he will be known as the great I-AM that he truly is.
Consider the role of this wisdom tradition in the prophecy of ancient Israel. Scholars have struggled to relate biblical wisdom to biblical prophecy in a clear theology. Two great German Old Testament theologians, Walter Eichrodt and Gerhard von Rad, were criticized for the manner in which they related the wisdom tradition to their understanding of Old Testament theology.
Since then, many have sought for a center around which a theology might be built that would include more naturally the wisdom and the prophetic traditions among the people of God.
It has not been an easy center to discover. Part of the reason may be credited to the way biblical theology in the early 20th century responded to the systematic theologies of the 18th and 19th centuries.
People had grown weary with the abstract notions of God developed in the so-called Age of Enlightenment.
They sought to realize afresh the dynamic God of the Bible, the God who acts in the history of his people.
That became the focus of the biblical theology movement--the acts of God in history. But when this focus denied that the being of God could be identified with what we can know of him in his acts, then a loss of relationship was experienced from which we have not yet recovered.
I liken this loss to the fundamental sin of Israel against her Lord and God. We have in this manner turned the Great I-AM the Lord God into something that he is not.
Only because God is who he truly is may we look for his salvation. The church, like Israel, must come to realize that in the Savior we are not merely given a little knowledge about God, but we have been given the knowledge of God that can only be given and actually has been freely given by God himself.
In Jesus Christ we are not given merely knowledge about God, but knowledge of who the Lord God is in his own being and nature. Thus, we must understand that the Messiah of Israel as the Lord Jesus Christ, the Great I-AM that the Lord is with his people, reveals the Father Almighty, maker of the heavens and the earth.
It is in this spirit that we may realize the things Hosea once called the people of God to understand.
We have been given those transcendent relationships that allow us, as he makes us into his people, to know him for who he truly is, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as the one true God of all things created.
The nature of the great I-AM is such that divine and human realities have been made in himself to correspond with one another so that the creation and the Creator are made to reflect each other.
The wisdom of the Creator and the Redeemer of the world is to be realized in this one person. The Great I-AM of the burning bush and the Great I-AM of the Incarnation are the same as the revelation of the Lord and God of all creation.
Both the Old and the New Testaments are to be understood according to these transcendent relations established for us by God in Christ.
To acknowledge this is to understand the final exhortation in Hosea: Who is wise? He will realize these things!
What do we make of all this?
God is not merely "out there" somewhere, intervening occasionally from the "far away heavens." God is our all in all, the root and substance of our being.
"In him we live and move and have our being," Paul wrote. And despite our sin and rebellion, God's love is faithful. He comes to us in redemption and salvation to restore us to wholeness--to oneness with him.
He calls on us, as he did to Israel, to believe in him for who he truly is so that we may be restored to who we really are as his own children.
We can trust in God's love. He is ever faithful, and through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we can know him for who he truly is in Jesus Christ, the perfect revelation of the Father. Praise be to God!
By Arlano Aquino
QUEZON CITY, Philippines--Pastor General Joseph Tkach visited the Philippines March 13 to 17 for the second consecutive year and was the main speaker at the 1999 Worldwide Church of God national leadership conference.
About 400 lay leaders and full-time ministers attended the conference at Baguio City, at 6,000 feet above sea level, known as the summer capital of the country.
Mr. Tkach's main topics were the mission and vision of the church, the annual worship calendar and word-faith teaching. He also clarified certain issues on spiritual warfare, predestination, the leadership role of women and spiritual gifts.
Mr. Tkach arrived in the country Friday night, March 13. The next day, he spoke at a combined worship service in Metro Manila. Eight hundred members listened to his sermon on Testing the Spirits.
Before Mr. Tkach's message, a group from the Metro Manila churches gave a choral rendition of the musical piece, Lord I Lift Your Name on High/All Hail the Power. Mr. Tkach also led in the commissioning of 25 members who finished the Condensed World Mission Course.
Sunday morning, Mr. Tkach flew to Baguio City with Philippine regional director William Sidney and attended a worship service in the afternoon. About 400 brethren from northern Luzon gave him a warm welcome. For many of them, it was their first opportunity to see the pastor general. Mr. Tkach spoke on the paradoxical nature of the triune God.
In the evening, the brethren were treated to a dance number from our Ibaloy brethren. Mr. Sidney and his wife, Daphne, danced with them. The Ibaloys are one of the many ethno-linguistic groups of the northern Philippines.
The 1999 leadership conference formally opened on Monday morning, March 15.
Mr. Tkach discussed word-faith teaching. After lunch he answered questions from the participants. The evening saw the women delegates interact with Mrs. Sidney on women's ministry, while the men listened to Mr. Sidney talk on the state of the church and what plans are for the future.
Tuesday, Mr. Tkach shed further light on our celebration of Christ on certain days.
Tuesday evening, Vic Lim, pastor of the Cavite church, gave a presentation on Chronological Bible Teaching (CBT). CBT is a major component in the missionary effort of New Tribes Mission.
The participants then viewed a documentary produced by New Tribes.
After Mr. Lim's presentation, Mr. Tkach resumed answering questions from the participants.
Wednesday, department supervisors from the regional office gave reports and shared their plans. Gil Llaneza, ministerial services manager, introduced the Becoming a Contagious Christian course.
Eugene Guzon, financial services manager, gave a financial update, and Laila Purcil, church accountant, discussed the church's budget.
Rex dela Peûa, music and youth ministry coordinator, reminded the church to reach out to the youths and challenged the delegates to love them deeper.
Rey Taniajura and his media and editorial services team reported on New Life Asia, The Worldwide News, translation work and on the church's working relationship with the Asian Theological Seminary Lay Institute and the Philippine Campus Crusade for Christ.
Each morning and afternoon session was preceded by praise and worship led by Rex dela Peûa. A band composed of four teens accompanied the singing.
PHILIPPINES TRIP--Mr. Tkach with leaders in the Philippines.
PASADENA--The church will award plaques in 1999 to the following 25-year employees.
Arnold and Trish Clauson; Randall Cole; Gary and Susan Endres; Ronald Grove; Kerry and Anne Gubb; Dominador and Josie Guevarra; James and Shirley Henderson; Randall and Beth Holm; Kent Lading; Gary and Tamara Moore; Rex and Davina Morgan; Ralph and Denice Orr; Jack and Mary Ellen Patterson; Bob and Kathy Regazzoli; Leo and Jane van Pelt; David and Kathy Sheridan; David and Nancy Silcox; Tim and Mary Ann Snyder; Wolfgang Thomsen; Ronald Urwiller; Ronald and Carolyn Washington; Dennis and Sidni Wheatcroft; Owen and Tina Willis.
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island--The Providence congregation invites singles to a Christian singles retreat, Single Servants of God, at a 300-acre Christian conference center in Exeter, Rhode Island, Sept. 4-6 (Labor Day weekend).
John Halford, European regional director, and his wife, Pat, will be special guests.
The event will include three days of worship, interactive discussions, fellowship and fun together as brothers and sisters in Christ.
The cost is $125, which includes overnight accommodations and all meals for the entire retreat.
For applications and further details, contact Dennis or Lorraine Pelley at 1-508-643-9592 or by e-mail at dennis_pelley@wcg.org
PENSACOLA, Florida--The Pensacola congregation combined with the Ferry Pass Baptist Church for a worship service March 20.
|
The service was filled with songs of worship, special music and split sermons from John Young, WCG pastor, and Frank Johnson of the Ferry Pass Church.
Members from both congregations performed in a combined choir.
For the past year the Pensacola congregation has met at the Ferry Pass Baptist Church. Creasia Daniel.
CORLANDO,
Florida--The Orlando congregation unveiled a full-length compact disc of original
Christian music during services April 17.
The album, "Lifting Up Rocks" (A Christian Compilation) is a blend of pop, ambient and classical pieces written by songwriters who attend the Orlando congregation.
The CD was produced under the direction of Erick Pace to raise funds for ministries the Orlando congregation houses.
Samples of songs can be played on the Internet at churches.wcg.org/orlando/local_frs.htm or www.mindslounge.com.
For mo
