Speaker: Allen Cagle, Pastor of Family Ministries
Christ Fellowship Church, Mobile, Alabama
Band: Luminate
Top 20 Sparrow Recording Artist from Tyler, Texas
$30 per student. Registration forms are located in the youth area.
In last week’s family article, I shared with you the four different approaches for interpreting the apocalyptic texts of Scripture: The Historicist, Preterist, Futurist, and Spiritualist (or Idealist) approaches. As I promised, I would now like to set before you the four major views of Christ’s second coming. These differing views are named for their particular perspectives of the millennium, or the thousand year reign of Christ on earth which is set forth by Scripture in Revelation 20:1-6.
Before I begin explaining the differing views, I would like to note what all the views have in common. First, all of the views believe that Christ will most certainly return to earth in His second coming. Second, all of the views believe in a rapture of the church. Third, all of the views believe that some form of tribulation will take place when the return of Christ is immediately imminent. Fourth, all of the views believe that Christ will reign on earth in some form during Continue reading
As we begin to work our way through the 24th chapter of Matthew on Sunday morning, we are going to be wading into the study of eschatology. Our eschatology is our theology of the end times. As I noted on Sunday morning, when Jesus delivers His Olivet Discourse, He is speaking of two different events: the “near” event of the destruction of Jerusalem which came just 40 years later in 70 A.D., and the “far” event of His second coming and the final judgment, which at this time is still a future occurrence for us.
Rightly interpreting apocryphal texts, like those we have in Daniel, Ezekiel, Revelation, and here in Matthew 24, is often very challenging. These texts are recorded visions which employ an incredible amount of metaphor and symbolism to reveal truths about God’s judgment of the wicked and His preservation of the righteous. Though we might prefer more clarity, we must remember that Scripture is absolutely Continue reading
In January of every year, evangelical Christians and other social conservatives observe a Day for the Sanctity of Human Life. It is a day set aside to remember that there is an ongoing holocaust in America. Though abortion rates have dropped slightly in the past decade, there are still millions of babies aborted every year. Unfortunately, because this practice has been protected by law for well over three decades, it has become an accepted reality, even among those who oppose it.
I want to remind us that though abortion is a grievous reality, it should never be accepted by those who claim the name of Christ. How would we react if our government set up centers for human beings that functioned like Continue reading
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated 4 years before I was born. I only became acquainted with him through the history I was taught in school. Even then, it was difficult to picture the world in which he lived. I attended public school in Florida with numerous Hispanic and African American children, and never gave a second thought to our racial differences. Two of my good friends were African American brothers who lived behind my father’s cabinet shop. The few times I encountered racist sentiments, I was thankful that my mother and father stood up to those persons quickly, and that they took time to teach me rightly. Even in high school, when racial tensions and gang affiliations were at the root of some school violence, I was thankful that the majority’s ability to remain united across racial lines eclipsed the hatred expressed by a few.
As I reflect upon these realities on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2012, it occurs to me that my thankfulness for these realities is rooted in the King’s success. No, he was not a perfect man; none of us . Though he served as a Baptist pastor, I also strongly disagree with some of the liberal tenets of his theology. However, God used him to precipitate realities that we and our children enjoy today. It is true that the work of helping people become “color blind” is not fully finished, but by God’s grace, we are far beyond where we were just 50 years ago. On this day, I would ask that we express our thankfulness to God, who has given us ultimate peace through Jesus, in whom “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3:28)
I would also ask that we not forget our history. Below is an excerpt from King’s letter from a Birmingham jail. It captures the reality of a racism that should grieve us to the core:
“I guess it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say wait. But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize, and even kill your black brothers and sisters with impunity; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an air-tight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her little eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see the depressing clouds of inferiority begin to form in her little mental sky, and see her begin to distort her little personality by unconsciously developing a bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son asking in agonizing pathos: “Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?”; when you take a cross-country drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading “white” men and “colored”; when your first name becomes “nigger” and your middle name becomes “boy” (however old you are) and your last name becomes “John,” and when your wife and mother are never given the respected title “Mrs.”; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tip-toe stance never quite knowing what to expect next, and plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of “nobodiness” — then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into an abyss of injustice where they experience the bleakness of corroding despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.”
Even as we consider the past, I would hope that we also could rejoice in how far God has brought us. Following are some of King’s words from his famous “I have a dream” speech: “I say to you today, my friends, that even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today!”
The dream is being realized. To God be the glory! I love you all.
Pete McCoy, who has spoken to Prime Timers in the past, has graciously accepted to speak to our group at Morningview at our January 24, 2012 meeting. He was liberated from Germany during WWII, and is an author, adjunct, and professor of History at Faulkner, Troy, and Auburn/AUM. The group has really enjoyed his presentations in the past. He will bring some of his books as some members were very interested in purchasing them.
His topic will be: “TO GET TO HIM, YA GOTTA GO THROUGH ME”.
This saying came to mind this week as I was reading Genesis in our daily Bible. The story of Abraham is both inspiring and thought provoking. He was a man that manifested faith in God from the moment he was first called out of Ur, yet he was also a man who struggled to walk by that faith at many points in his personal history. Each time I read Abraham’s story, I see reflections of my own frailties. Each time I read Abraham’s story, I am also moved by the grace and faithfulness of God.
According to Barna research, a majority of self-identified Christians believe Continue reading
I believe I have shared with you before where the idea of New Year’s Resolutions came from. “New Years” as a holiday has its origins with the paganism of Rome. Julius Caesar established January 1 as the start of the new year in 46 B.C. The first month of the year was named after the Roman god of doors and gates, Janus. Janus is portrayed as having two faces – one looking forward and the other looking back. Thus, Caesar felt that the name of his god, “January,” would be an appropriate “door” to the new year. Julius then celebrated the very first new year of his new calendar by ordering the violent annihilation of Jewish revolutionary forces in Galilee.
The aforementioned idea of looking “back” to the old year while simultaneously looking “forward” to the new year is what gave birth to the idea of making resolutions for the year ahead. Most all of us have practiced the idea of making resolutions at the start of each new year. The three most common resolutions are denoted by three “F’s”: Fitness, Finances, and Family. These things are certainly worthy of attention, but they reflect a sad fact: God is rarely mentioned when we consider the most important changes we need to make in life.
As we have so recently celebrated the incarnation of our Lord at Christmas, we should endeavor and resolve to improve our lives based upon ultimate reality of Christ rather than the mere start of a new calendar year. After all, it is not the change of dates that gives us a fresh start, it is the saving and regenerating work of Jesus Christ that gives us new life and new hope. To that end, here are some worthy resolutions for the for 2012 that I would like to suggest for you and your family.
(1) Read through the Bible this year with your church family — AND MAKE IT ALL THE WAY THROUGH! We did this together in 2007, and so many of us started well, but not as many of us finished well. God’s Word is the Word of Life. Make yourself accountable to read all the way through the Bible with your church family this year. If you have struggled to keep a consistent devotional time or to have regular family worship, this is the perfect opportunity to build an essential habit.
(2) Commit to share the gospel with at least one unbeliever every month of 2012. Right now, it takes about 50 Southern baptist Church members to lead one person to Christ in one year. We know that God is in charge of saving people, but as a denomination, we must admit that we are better at making excuses than we are at making disciples. Many of us can’t remember the last time we shared the gospel with someone. It could be a waitress, a family member, a co-worker or classmate, or maybe someone else you meet while at a ballgame or shopping. Be intentional. Have a goal. Share Christ!
(3) Resolve to go on a mission trip in 2012. I would love to see every person in our church go on a mission trip within the next 10 years. We currently have three opportunities every year to go and minister the Word of Christ on a foreign field. The church helps with finances and our congregation gives generously. We even help with each other’s families and children when people are gone on mission trips. There are few valid excuses for not going. A short-term mission trip will change your perspective, it will grow you spiritually, and it will glorify Christ. Consider going this year!
(4) Lead your family to minister in the name of Christ in our community in 2012. I know our lives are busy, and I know that many of us regularly suffer from time and/or financial constraints, but we really have been given so much. I was speaking with another pastor today about the fact that there are several hundred homeless people just in downtown Montgomery alone. Take your family and serve a couple times this year at our Ministry Center in Chisholm, feed the hungry at Friendship Mission, serve needy families with Linnie Dixon at Shepherd’s Staff, or get trained to be a foster parent for needy children. Make the resolution to get outside your comfort zone to serve and love and witness in the name of Christ.
(5) Resolve to replace at least one earthly pursuit with a spiritual pursuit in 2012. There is no standing still in our spiritual lives. We are either growing, or we are backsliding. What are you intentionally doing to grow? Maybe you should give up a sport or some television time to read some Christian works that will nourish your soul. Maybe you should exchange a troubling habit for a prayer time. Maybe instead of that hunting trip, you should take a couple vacation days to attend a nourishing Bible conference with your pastors. Crisis and intentional decision making are the only two things that will change your schedule and your habits. Doing the same old things and expecting different results is insanity. Resolve to pursue Christ in a new and different way this year. I love you all dearly!
My favorite Christmas text puts humility at the heart of Christmas. So this Christmas I am marveling at Jesus’ humility and wanting more of it myself.
Here’s my favorite Christmas text. Look for Jesus’ humility.
Though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8)
What defines Jesus’ humility is the fact that it is mainly a conscious act of putting himself in a lowly, servant role for the good to others. His humility is defined Continue reading
