The Poinsettias Question

A reader of a church publication has written a letter to the editor inquiring about the legalities of placing Poinsettias around the church building during the holiday season.  the questioner is quite obviously opposed to the idea, and is using this format to express his discontent with all of the liberals in the church.

For those of you wondering why some congregations in the brotherhood are dead or dying -- this "poinsettia question" provides your answer.

Too many Christian families are falling apart.  Young people, described as having been raised in the church, are jumping out of our churches as if the buildings are on fire.  Sexual promiscuity is absolutely rampant and even bragged about amongst the brethren.  The devil is at the door!  People are broken and no one is trying to mend them.  Widows and widowers are lonely and no one is trying to comfort them.  An alarming number of church leaders' lives are void of Christ-like attitudes and behaviors.  Our neighbors souls are lost!  But we don't have mental energy to be concerned about all of this because we are too worried and upset about Poinsettias in the church building!  Who has time to battle the devil when we have to be so on guard against the evil florist who's trying to make God's house "too Christmasy"?

Satan must be in his glory when he heads us distraught about Christmas foliage.  "Let them argue about such things," he says to his angels.  "Let them pick at each other about carpet color, building size, communion tray style, and floral arrangements.  Meanwhile, we'll sneak in the back door and pick them off one soul at a time."

Brethren, if these inane, insignificant things are going to be what we fuss about, then we deserve every problem that befalls us.  we deserve every broken home, every broken church, every broken eldership, and every broken preacher!  A church can only strain on so many gnats and swallow so many camels before it eventually chokes to death.  When you get a chance, you should read the story of Jonah (Jonah 4:5-10).  You'll learn that Jonah would have been much more at peace had he as much concern for lost souls as he did the plants and worms.

[Revised from article originally penned for the Laings Church of Christ bulletin]

~Chuck Schultheisz

Think About It.

There are two parts to the Gospel:
Believing It and Behaving It.

A Christian is a mind through which Christ thinks, a heart through which Christ loves, a voice through which Christ speaks, and a hand through which Christ helps.

Tips To Make The Season Brighter

Some good advice that should keep you in the right frame of mind during this holiday season.

• Prepare your soul for the holiday. Spend not so much on gifts that your soul is forgotten.
• Don’t burden the shop girl, the mailman, and the merchant with complaints and demands.
• Give yourself with your gift. This will increase its value a hundredfold. And he who receives it  shall treasure it forever.
• Do not value gifts received by their cost. Even the least expensive may signify love, and that is more priceless than silver and gold.
• Do not neglect the needy. Share your blessings with many who will go hungry and cold unless you are generous.
• Do not neglect Christ’s church. To neglect church services for secular celebrations makes a mockery of the holiday.
• Keep a childlike spirit. Not until you have become in spirit as a little one are you ready to enter into the kingdom of Heaven
• Give your heart to Christ. Let Him be at the top of your wish list.

The Best Gifts To Give

To a friend...loyalty.  To an enemy...forgiveness.  To your boss...service.  To a child...a good example.  To your father...respect.  To your mother...devotion.  To your wedded mate...love and faithfulness.  To all people...charity.  To God...your life.

Thank You, Lord

Just this once, Lord, I want to come to you with no problems, but simply to say, Thank You:

For your forgiveness when I fail.
For the sheer joy of sleep when I’m terribly tired.
For the silent strength of humility when pride overtakes me.
For the justice of your laws when men are cruel.
For the remedies for sickness when I am ill.   
For the simplicity of orderliness when I face confusion.
For the assurance that you have made a place especially for me when I feel inadequate among my peers.
For me joy of helping others when I see people in need.
For the earthly evidences of your will when I’m trying to find out what life is all about.
For the reality of your world, when I stray too far into fantasy.
For the rightness of reasonableness when I panic too quickly.
For the fun that refreshes when everything gets too serious.  
For the renewal in moments of silence when I’m dizzy being busy in a hectic world.

Commandments for a Happy Church

1. Speak to people. Speak to everyone, especially to those whom you don’t know. There is nothing quite so nice as a cheerful word of greeting.
2. Smile at people. lt takes 72 muscles to frown and only 14 to smile. Your smile is one of your finest assets. Use lt! lt doesn’t cost a thing!!
3. Call people by name.  The sweetest music to any person’s ears is the sound of his or her own name. lf you don‘t know the person’s name, introduce yourself and likely the person will respond with his or her name.
4. Be friendly and helpful. lf you want friends, learn to be a friend. Everyone needs them. No one has too many.
5. Be cordial. Try to speak and act as if everything you do is a genuine pleasure.
6. Be genuinely interested in people. Try to like everybody and everybody will like you. Do not limit yourself to a few friends then there are so many likable people about you.
7. Be generous with praise. And be just as sparing with criticism.
8. Be considerate of the feelings of others. Usually, there are three sides to a controversy: yours, the other person’s, and the right one. Try to see them all.
9. Be alert to give service. What we do for others counts most in life. Try giving yourself away.  It’s fun!
10. Develop a sense of humor. To this good sense of humor, add a generous dose of patience and a dash of humility. Then get ready to receive many blessings. They’re sure to come!  

Facts About Our Capital

When one considers how irreligious and how offended by Christianity some of our country's leaders are, the following facts are astonishing.

As you walk up the steps to the building which houses the U.S. Supreme Court you can see near the top of the building a row of the world's law givers and each one is facing one in the middle who is facing forward with a full frontal view - it is Moses holding the Ten Commandments.

As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each door.

Above the seats of the Supreme Court Justices is a display of the Ten Commandments.

There are Bible verses etched in stone all over the Federal Buildings in Washington D.C.

Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer since 1777.

Patrick Henry, a founding father of our country, once said, " It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

The very first Supreme Court Justice, John Jay, said, “Americans should select and prefer Christians as their rulers."

My Thanks to Glenda Thomas for inspiring this article.
~ C. Shultheisz

India Work Update

Bihar & Nepal Ministry - "Greetings to you in the name of Christ.  Brothers, I am sending you some of the pictures of the Bihar and Nepal ministries.  We are working very hard.  By bicycle we went to Nepal and preached the Good News to the people.  Kindly pray for all these people.  People are very much attracted toward the Good News and they requested us to come and teach to them about the New Testament church.  May God Bless you." ~Massih Tudu

Teen Movie Night

Members:  Check out the pics from the recent Teen Movie Night.

Commitment Report Card

I wonder what it would be like if God issued each member a report card as the schools does? The report card would be based upon how they did in His kingdom. The report card might look something like the one below. Take a few moments and fill it out based upon how you think God would rate you in your Christianity (using the A-F scale):

Well, how did you do? Imagine for a moment that God would only take to heaven those who had "A’s"? Would you go? Of course, I can’t say that’s what will happen, but I do know that God desires us to be doing our very best for Him. What can you do to improve the areas where you wouldn’t receive an "A”? Why not start on improving your Christian life.

Ed Sterchi
The Encourager