The Reminder, 2/19/12

The Faith of our Fathers

Tomorrow we celebrate Presidents Day in honor of the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Historians widely consider Washington and Lincoln to be our two greatest presidents ever. Washington is often called the father of our nation and Lincoln its savior following the Civil War. Both men considered themselves Christians and believed devoutly that the Bible was God’s word.

Washington once said, “It is impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible.” Of the Bible, Lincoln said, “In regard to this Great Book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man.” Today, too many of our elected officials and judges try to divorce our government and society from any vestiges of Christianity. The United States was founded upon Christian principles. True, a few of our founding fathers, like Thomas Paine, were unbelievers, but they were vastly in the minority. Even Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, who were not as religiously inclined as the others, nonetheless viewed themselves as Christians.

In my judgment, our decline as a nation is because we have largely abandoned the Biblical truths that made us great. May God help us all to return to the faith of our fathers.

Text Box: SCHEDULE OF SERVICES SUNDAY Classes: 9:00 a.m. Worship: 9:45 a.m. Worship: 6:00 p.m. WEDNESDAY Bible Study 7:00 p.m. ______________ T.V. PROGRAM Channel 2 - Sunday 1:00 & 7:00 p.m. Channel 21-Sunday 10:00 a.m. & at yhctv.com RADIO 102.3 FM Monday - Friday 11:40 a.m. _______________ OFFICE PHONE: 573-624-8906 INFORMATION LINE: 573-624-1852 FAX: 573-624-8907

The Reminder

A PUBLICATION OF THE DEXTER CHURCH OF CHRIST

February 19, 2012

Text Box: NEW LIST CHILDREN’S HOME NEEDS Bottled-Apple Juice, Assorted Spices, Dishwashing Detergent, Almond Bark, Sugar & Batteries. The Children’s Home is also collecting Campbell’s and Best Choice labels.

Text Box: TIME’S-A-TICKIN’ My wife and I were relaxing on our back porch just after the sun set on a day of beautiful weather. As the blackness stealthily took over the blue, the temperature outside remained perfect, and the moon and stars became visible in the cloudless sky. To our pleasure, we had picked a perfect night to wind down with the day. All-of-a-sudden we felt a chill as a cool breeze invaded our back yard. We again gazed upward and noticed that the sky was now blanketed with clouds that were racing their way through the atmosphere. I continued to look upward contemplating how quickly our natural world changes. I then saw something that reminded me of the most sudden and most drastic change that this world will ever experience. A cloud shaped like an hourglass swept across the sky in front of the moon, reminding me that the end of life on Earth is getting nearer with each passing moment. One day, Christ will return in judgment, and this sphere called Earth will become a gigantic fireball (2 Peter 3:10). When will this take place? The truth is, we don’t know. At any moment, Christ could fulfill His promise and come down from Heaven to judge the world. Due to the imminence of Christ’s surprise return, every generation since Christ’s ascension has lived in the last days” (2 Peter 3:3). Each day - each moment - could be the last. Peter was confident that Christ would return for two reasons - the transfiguration and the Truth (2Peter 1:16-21. The glory Peter saw when Heaven came down on Christ was a prelude to the glory we’ll all see when Christ comes down from Heaven. Peter’s confidence in Christ’s return was further strengthened by the promises in Scripture regarding this coming cataclysmic event.

Text Box: We have assurance that Christ will return. Our lives as Christians should be characterized by separation (2 Peter 3:11,14), devotion (v.11), expectation (vs. 12-14), exertion (v.14), and a good reputation (v. 14). I was recently reminded about a favorite phrase used by Dowell Flatt: “The biggest difference between the first century church and the church today is that they actually believed Christ was coming back.” You don’t need to see a heavenly hourglass; God’s Word is reminder enough. Paul’s statement is truer now than it ever was, “For now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11). ‘Start preparin’ - ’cause time’s a-tickin’.

FAMILY NEWS AT A GLANCE

*The Quertermous family will host the TEEN DEVO this evening following services.

*The LADIES CRAFT NIGHT will be Tuesday evening 7:00-9:00 in the fellowship room.. We will be using this meeting for the Caring Bear Program. We invite anyone who would like to learn how to cut, paint, sew, or stuff bears to come and enjoy the fellowship. If you are already working on the program or know how to make bears, you are still invited to come and join in the fellowship.