The gospel of Christ will be preached in its purity and simplicity by Mike Bonner beginning on Sunday. Please consider the following suggestions for a great gospel meeting:

• Be an active participant. Think of it as MY meeting. Make every possible effort to attend every assembly. Determine that the Lord and His work are going to be first regardless.
• Invite and bring friends. All of us have someone in our acquaintance that we can influence to come with us. Be around him or her, make them feel at ease, introduce them to others, have them in your home for a meal or refreshments, and invite them to come again.
• Be enthusiastic about the meeting. Talk about the lessons and how much you have been helped. Talk the meeting up, and say nothing to discourage others.
• Be friendly and neighborly. Make a special effort to speak to those with whom you are least acquainted. Introduce yourself to as many visitors as possible. Welcome them warmly, and invite them to return. Be friendly to all.
• Be quiet and reverent. Remember we are here for spiritual reasons. Spirituality is essential. Let us do everything possible to create a spiritual atmosphere during the services.
• Be attentive in everything. Be ready to sing. Be ready to pray. Listen to every word of the sermon. This is not only good for you, but also an object lesson to our visitors. Visitors will notice our good attitude. They will be impressed.
• Be responsible for your family’s attendance and conduct. Be on time at each assembly. Help your family to be a credit to the Lord and a good influence.
  

The above phrase is found four times in the Bible:

• Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! (1 Ch. 16:29 NKJV emphasis mine)
• And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the LORD, For His mercy endures forever.” (2 Ch. 20:21 NKJV emphasis mine)
• Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. (Ps. 29:2 NKJV emphasis mine)
• Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth. (Ps. 96:9 NKJV emphasis mine)

The theme of our upcoming Gospel meeting is the phrase: “the beauty of holiness.” In these four instances of the phrase we find glory given to God and His name, offering, worship, singing, praise, mercy, and trembling (fear or reverence). With God as the God of all holiness, it is no wonder that to glorify and worship Him it must be done in the beauty of holiness (1 Pt. 1:16). This demands that our conduct be holy (1 Pt. 1:15).

On May 5-8, Mike Bonner will bring us some ways that we can be holy and reverent in the matters of worship, church roles, morality, and stewardship. Be sure to make plans to attend and encourage others to attend through handing out flyers, sharing the Facebook event, and/or sharing a link to our website. Becoming more holy should be all of our desire as children of God. Whether we see God or not depends upon our holiness (Heb. 12:14). Let us make this Gospel meeting a great success for the Lord by exposing as many as we can to His holiness!

Trent Thrasher

“but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’” (1 Pt. 1:15-16 NKJV)

The apostle Peter instructs those in Christ Jesus (cf. 1 Pt. 5:14), to be holy in all of their conduct. Conduct describes our manner of life or behavior. The reason our conduct must be holy is because God is holy (cf. Lev. 11:44-45). His very name is holy (Ps. 111:9). What does it mean to be “holy” though?

The word “holy” means to be set apart exclusively for the service of God. Holiness is the opposite of profane or common (cf. Ex. 31:14; Lev. 21:6). God made a distinction between the Egyptians and Israel with several of the plagues (Ex. 8:23, 9:4, 26, 10:23). This is significant as it shows very well the concept of holiness. Israel was God’s holy nation (Ex. 19:6), the church is Israel today (Gal. 6:16), thus the church is God’s holy nation (1 Pt. 2:9). Christians are to be set apart from the world as we have been called out of the world (darkness) into God’s marvelous light (1 Pt. 2:9; 1 Jn. 5:19; cf. Jn. 15:19). Our goal is to imitate Christ and Christ is holy (1 Cor. 11:1; Heb. 7:26). Holiness keeps God in His proper place in our hearts, and places us in our proper place (cf. Mt. 6:33, 22:37-38; Jn. 10:1-5; 1 Cor. 11:3).

A failure to understand holiness is a big reason why the church is more like the world than she should be. When darkness begins to snuff the light instead of the light dispelling the darkness, the church’s influence wanes. This is why Jesus told His disciples not to hide their light (Mt. 5:14-16). Let us not talk like the world, dress like the world, and behave like the world. Instead, let us be more and more like God’s holy Son, Jesus!

Trent Thrasher

AI or Artificial Intelligence has come on the scene of late and is finding its way into our phones, software programs, and now even Bible study software. It is significant that the first definition for “artificial” in the first dictionary I researched reads, “humanly contrived often on a natural model: man-made” (Merriam-Webster). The word “man-made” has as its definition, “manufactured, created, or constructed by human beings specifically: synthetic” (Merriam-Webster). In other words, those things that are artificial are made by human beings. Can humans really manufacture or create intelligence?

When we discuss intelligence, we are discussing the ability to learn, understand, and reason. All these things come from one source ultimately, and that is God (Pr. 2:6). God is our teacher (Jn. 6:45; Mt. 11:29, 23:10) and His Word thoroughly equips us for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17). God called the wicked Israelites to reason with Him regarding their sin in Isaiah 1:18, “‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ Says the LORD, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.’” God has knowledge and understanding that far transcends mankind (Ps. 139). Furthermore, we must take our direction from God, or the results are disastrous (Jer. 10:23; Pr. 3:5-6, 14:12). It is the epitome of pride for humankind to think they can contrive their own intelligence. Make no mistake about it, those that have cut God out of their thinking march headlong into foolishness, quite the opposite of intelligence (Ps. 14:1-3).

Nobody or nothing can learn for us. Nobody or nothing can understand for us. Nobody or nothing can reason for us. Nobody or nothing can study the Bible for us as God has required each individual to show themselves approved to Him (2 Tim. 2:15). Be sober, be vigilant, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (1 Pt. 5:8-9; Php. 2:12).

Trent Thrasher

“And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” (Acts 11:26 NKJV)

If I were to conduct a survey with the question: what is a Christian?, the answers would be sure to vary. Regardless of what a person thinks, the term “Christian” is a biblical term therefore, it has a biblical definition (cf. 1 Cor. 2:10-13). There are only three times in the Bible where the term “Christian” is found:

1. After the first Gentile converts were added to the church (Acts 11:26).
2. When Paul stood on trial before King Herod Agrippa II (Acts 26:28).
3. When Peter used it and connected the term with suffering and glorifying God (1 Pt. 4:16).

However, what it means to be a Christian is found throughout the Bible. Observe just a few things that the word “Christian” implies.

First, the term is actually a name which contains the name of Christ. The prophet Isaiah, through the revelation given to him, prophesied about this new name in Isaiah 62:1-2 when he wrote, “For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, And her salvation as a lamp that burns. The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, And all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the LORD will name.” This God did in Acts 11:26 when the Gentiles were ushered into the one church. Prior to this point in time, those that adhered to Christ’s teaching were called “disciples” meaning “learners” (cf. Jn. 1:37). Christ is the only name connected with salvation and Christians are not ashamed to wear His name (Acts 4:10-12).

Second, a Christian shares in the sufferings of Christ (1 Pt. 4:12-19). This makes complete sense since every Christian is a member of the body of Christ (cf. 1 Pt. 5:14 “in Christ Jesus”). Those Peter wrote to had been born again (baptized) and thus added to the one church (1 Pt. 1:3, 23; Jn. 3:3-5; 1 Cor. 12:13). If we live godly in Christ Jesus we will suffer persecution (2 Tim. 3:12). Praise God that those who suffer with Christ will also be glorified with Him (Rm. 8:17-18; 2 Tim. 2:11-12).

Finally, a Christian is one who follows Christ (1 Pt. 2:21-25). Christ is the Chief Shepherd (1 Pt. 5:4), and Christians are His sheep (Jn. 10:1-30). The sheep listen to (obey) the Shepherd. Following Christ is a daily task (Lk. 9:23-26). Jesus always did those things that pleased the Father which means that He always sought to do the Father’s will (Jn. 8:29, 6:38, 4:34). Christians will make every possible effort to do the same.

What is a Christian? It is a glorious name which contains the name of the Savior. It is one who shares in the sufferings of the Savior. It is one who follows the Savior wherever He leads through His Divine Word. Are you a Christian?

Trent Thrasher