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Central Haywood Church of Christ

Serving God from the mountains of North Carolina

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Good Morning!

Every Sunday, we start our services with a hearty “Good Morning” and then “I hope that you are excited to be here today”. Have you ever wondered what I mean by that? What do I really hope you are feeling at that moment?

I’ll tell you that I start off our services with the idea of being excited because it dictates how we worship our God. If we are excited to be here, excited for the opportunity to enter the throne room of God; to praise and worship Him, then we will be actively involved in what is happening. We will be connected emotionally, spiritually, and physically in the worship of the church.

Jesus said in John 4:24 that those who worshiped God must worship Him in Spirit and in truth. One of the key thoughts for us is that just going through the motions of the worship service is not really worship at all. If we are going to truly worship our great God we must do it in accordance to the truth of God’s word but also in truthfulness to our hearts. If our hearts are not completely wrapped up in worshiping, then we are not being truthful to what we are doing or to what God wants from us. Don’t ever lose sight of the fact that God wants your hearts. He doesn’t want you to mindlessly and without emotion and feeling to approach Him in worship.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” [emphasis added by me] (Deuteronomy 6:4–9, ESV)

What God really wants from you is your heart. A heart that loves Him more than what’s for lunch, more than what others are doing or not doing; a heart that is so completely in love with Him that it cannot focus on anything else but Him. He wants your complete and undying attention during worship. He wants you to be so caught up, so lost in Him, that it is your entire life, everything you speak about, so complete and pervasive that everywhere and everything you do is guided by your love for Him. He wants you to write His words and His love on every aspect of your life.

“Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,”

(Psalm 119:2, ESV)

What does all of this have to do with worship? When you’re completely given to Jesus Christ and God our Father; you will be excited, you will feel something, and nothing will be more important to you than worshiping and praising your God.

Jeff Arnette

When you feel…

Feelings are something we all have. They are given to us by God and can be extremely good. They can also be bad depending on what you’re feeling at the moment. They can range from love to hate, important to unimportant, successful to unsuccessful; all over the scale.

With our emotions and feelings constantly moving from one extreme to the other, we often find ourselves feeling bad about life or about ourselves. When those negative thoughts arise and attempt to tear down our worth, we need to turn to Lord for help. Prayer and scripture reading can help us overcome many of the problems we face in life. Let me encourage you to commit as many of these passage to memory as possible. Memorizing passages of Scripture can have a tremendous and life altering effect in our life.

God has said…

When you feel rejected by others, remember how important you are to God – Matt. 6:26-27; John 6:37.

 When you feel unable to stand, remember that your strength comes from Jesus – 2 Cor. 3:4-5; 12:8-10.

 When you feel inferior, remember that Jesus has given you everything you need to succeed – 1 Cor. 12:4-7; Rom. 8:31; Phil. 3:14.

 When you feel alone, remember that you are a part of the body of Christ and your never alone – Eph. 3:6; 4:12; Col. 3:15.

 When you feel afraid, remember that God is always with you and you can be bold and courageous – Josh. 1:9; Isa. 41:10; 2 Tim. 1:6.

As Christians, it is important for us to accept the word of God as authoritative and powerful in our lives. We either accept the words of Jesus and strive to apply them into our lives or we don’t. But when we don’t our life and faith suffers.

Don’t let your feelings dictate to you what God has said, instead turn to the word and let God dictate how you feel.

God gives the increase.

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”
(1 Corinthians 3:6-7, ESV)

In Paul’s great letter to the Corinthians he addressed many of the problems they were struggling with. One of the bigger problems was their reverence of men like Paul, Apollos, or Peter. Continue reading “God gives the increase.” →

Unity In Inspiration – Jeff Arnette

Jon Mitchell's avatar

Inspiration is seen in the words used?

As we begin our study of the inspiration of the Bible we need to understand the word and how it is used. Inspiration is a word that comes from the Greek word used in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 which says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001. Print.) In this verse we see the phrase “breathed out by God” and its meaning is paramount to a true understanding of inspiration. The word is “theopneustos” and describes the way God breathed into the writers the words needed to express the mind of God to us. Another verse that helps our understanding of inspiration is 2 Peter…

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Was the Apostle Paul a Moral Monster?

This is a great article that defends Paul from accusations that he knowingly lied to churches for the sake of culture.

Was the Apostle Paul a Moral Monster?

This is a great article that defends Paul from accusations that he knowingly lied to churches for the sake of culture.

To Occupy or Not to Occupy?

Over the past months, we have been hearing about this movement called “Occupy Wall Street.” It would seem that this movement is gaining momentum and its springing up in almost every city in the country. The mountains of NC are no exception. I keep hearing about this movement called “Occupy Asheville” and the difficulties it is causing for the people/government of Asheville. It would seem that the government would like these people to fade quietly into the background.

The question I keep hearing is what are these people standing for? What are they against and what are they hoping to accomplish? It would seem that the theme for this movement is summed up with the statement, “We can no longer afford to allow corporate greed and corrupt politics to set the tone of our country.”

Before we are quick to point fingers or call names just remember how movements like this have shaped our country. Who can forget the “Civil Rights movement” or the “Women’s Liberation movement?” Each of these movements called for a better way for all people. This is just two and that’s not mentioning all the other movements that shaped the beliefs of our country. In fact it was a religious movement similar to occupy that shaped this very church. The Restoration movement called for Christians to go back to their bibles and restore the grandeur of the Lord’s Church. As a country and a church we owe a lot to people who were willing to stand against the status quo, people who would stand up and demand something better.

Remember that the call to end greed and corruption is consistent with the teachings of the New Testament. I will not tell you whether or not to embrace the “Occupy” movement that is something you must decide for yourself. However, I will tell you that the bible speaks loud and clear on such matters.

Let me encourage everyone to go to their bibles and read what God has to say on such social and moral issues. Here are just a few of the verses that come to my mind as I thought about this: 1 Timothy 6:3-5, 6-10; Prov. 30:7-9, 11:28; 1 John 2:16-17; Eccl. 5:10-12, 13-14; Matt. 19:24; Luke 6:24; James 5:1; Luke 16:19-26; Rev. 3:17; Acts 4:32-25; Luke 3:11; Matt. 19:21-24; Luke 19:1-10, 12:15-21; Matt. 6:24; Luke 16:14-15; Eph. 5:5-7; James 2:1-7; Psalms 10:2-3; Hab. 2:5, 6-11; Prov. 15:27, 29:4, 28:25, 1:19, 22:7-8; Matt. 3;24-26.

Let’s make it our calling to allow the teachings of the Bible to “Occupy” our hearts and minds.

Jeff

How much does it cost?

Matt. 16:24-28

This is a question that we often ask. We ask it whenever we are shopping for something we want. I did this just the other day while at Goodwill. I was looking at the dress pants and found several nice pairs of dress pants. After looking at the pants and deciding that I would like to have them. I asked that all too familiar question, “How much does it cost?”

In life and in Christianity, this is an important question to ask. In Matthew 16:24-28, Jesus reminds us of the cost of following him. Giving up on our desires and taking up the cause of Christ is a price we must be willing to pay. Jesus even took this so far as to say we must be willing to give up our lives for him.

Most of us would agree that at Goodwill we are not paying much for the items there. Luckily for me those pants were only $3.75 a pair. We spend great amounts of time trying to find the best bargain we can. However, I am afraid that we are doing this to Christianity as well.

Most of us like the idea of being a Christian but we don’t want to spend much of our time, effort, or money to do it. We are so concerned that it might take more than we are willing to give that we often shortchange being Christians.

Jesus understood that this would be the case with people and ask the question, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” Or “What shall a man give in return for his soul?” Jesus has promised that it would be worth the cost saying that each person will be repaid for what they have put into the Christian life. Not to mention that we gain our souls for eternity by following him.

How much does it cost is a great question to ask. Perhaps this is the question that we should ask next time we consider doing something we know is sinful. Is it really worth what it will cost me?

 

 

 

Did You Know?

That the Bible nowhere says, “Accept Jesus as your personal Savior?”

That the “Rapture” is not mentioned once in the Bible?

That no one in the N.T. was ever told to “Ask Jesus into your heart” in answer to the question, “What must I do to be saved?”

That every verse in the New Testament in which baptism and salvation appear together everyone lists baptism prior to salvation?

That no where in the New Testament is there a command or example for a baby to be baptized?

That “faith only” is mentioned just once in the Bible, and then it says, “not by faith only” (James 2:24)?

That Peter was not a pope and that he had a wife (Matthew 8:14)?

That there is no example or command in the Bible for preachers to wear special robes, clothes, or to have special titles?

That everyone that has put Christ on in baptism is a “saint” (Ephesians 3:8; 4:12; 5:3; 6:16; Philippians 1:1; 4:2)?

That there is nothing in the Bible mentioning or even suggesting that you can be brought out of or prayed out of purgatory?

That denominational churches did not exist in the first century?

That you can be saved without ever “joining” a denominational church?

She knew too much bible?

A little girl, being asked by a priest to attend religious instruction, refused, saying it was against her father’s wishes. The priest said she should obey him, not her father. “Oh! Sir! We are taught in the Bible to “Honor thy father and thy mother,” she replied.

“But you are to call me father,” was his answer, to which she replied, “No, for the scriptures say, ‘Call no man your father upon the earth for one is your father, which is in heaven.”

The priest was not anxious to lose a religious discussion to one so young, and he said, “You have no business reading the Bible.”

Then why did Jesus tell me to “Search the Scriptures?” she asked? He replied by saying, “But that is only for the clergy. You understand that a child cannot know the Scriptures.”

“Then why,” she asked, “did Paul write to Timothy, ‘from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures’?”

Surely there was some way to get the best of this young upstart. So the priest said, “Timothy was being trained to be a bishop and he was taught by the church authorities.”

“No sir,” said the little girl, “He was taught by his mother and grandmother. At least that is what Paul wrote.”

The priest turned away and someone said they heard him mumbling something about, “She knew enough Bible to poison a whole parish.”

(Big Clifty Church Bulletin, Vol. 32 No. 33 – Aug. 16, 2009)

It is my hope that we too know too much Bible to be led astray.

Writing Your Story

No matter what else you are doing-
from cradle days through the end-
You’re writing your life’s secret story;
each day sees another page penned.
Each month ends a thirty-page chapter,
each year means the end of a part;
And never an act is misstated,
never a wish from the heart.
Each day when you wake the book opens,
revealing a page clean and white.
What thoughts and what words and what actions
will cover its surface by night?
God leaves that to you-you’re the writer,
and never one word shall grow dim
‘Til someday you write the word, “finis”
and give your life book to Him.

– Author Unknown

Dare to Be Different

The theme for our youth rally this year was “Dare to be Different.” It was taken from the book of Daniel; from the life of Daniel himself. We had three speakers: Michael Rowand, Ken Hicks Jr., and Kristie Gray. Each one of them had to deliver lessons on Daniel’s life and help us to see how we too could be different than the world around us.  I was thinking about this rally and I wanted to share with you some thoughts about Daniel and how we can be different from those around us.

Daniel was a man of purpose.

Daniel 1:8 tells us that Daniel purposed in his heart. As a young man in a strange land, he was immediately challenged to break God’s laws to fit in to the group he was now a part of. Despite the obvious pressures to conform, Daniel upheld the law of God and did not eat the king’s food. We are in desperate need of Christians who will not conform to the world around them, Christians who will stand up for what they know is right and be men and women of purpose.

Daniel was a man of principle.

Daniel was faced with numerous opportunities to blend in to the world he lived in. Three times he faced huge obstacles in his life. As we have already spoken, Daniel had to refuse to eat the king’s food and drink his wine. Once he had to refuse to accept the gifts the king wanted to give him for interpreting the dream. Another time Daniel had to rebel against the law of the king because the law would not allow him to pray. We need Christians today who will have principles like Daniel. We need Christians who are committed, who have drawn their line in
the sand and will not cross it.

Daniel was a man of purity.

Daniel was a man who had purity in all aspects of his life. He conducted himself in such a way that his opponents could not find anything to accuse him of doing (Dan. 6:1-4). This purity helped him to rise to positions of power and great responsibility. His reasoning for being pure in all that he done was related to his purpose and principles. He would not let his feelings lead him down a path to displeasing God. As Christians we must have the same purity in our lives (1 Tim. 4:12; Titus 2:6-8; Titus 2:9-10). It doesn’t matter if it’s sexual purity, business purity, and moral purity. It should all be important to the child of God.

Daniel was a man of prayer.

The thing that tied all these things together was the fact that Daniel was a man of prayer. It didn’t matter what others thought or did, Daniel prayed. He knelt in prayer, he prayed often, he prayed to give thanks even in the midst of turmoil, and he prayed by habit. Daniel learned to pray often when he was young (Dan. 6:10). We need to teach our children by our example and words that prayer is an important part of being a child of God. If we look at our own life, can we not see that the times that went well were the times when we prayed often?

These lessons are important for any Christian to learn. It doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, new or experienced at being a Christian. Learning to be a person of purpose, principle, purity, and prayer will aid your life and will help you find eternity.

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