Tuesday, August 30, 2011

"He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second."

The emblems in the foreground are juxtaposed in their simplicity with the very complex tabernacle and all its trappings. "Only bread and only wine..." as the hymn goes, but what deep, rich meanings they have to the believer.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

"Welcome to Our Bible School..."

"...We're So Glad You're Here!" Vacation Bible School is HERE at Central Bible Chapel, starting July 11 through July 15. Child Evangelism Fellowship will be working with us to reach our neighbors with the Good News of the Gospel. Prayer for all involved is much appreciated!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Buried with HIM in Baptism...

RAISED with HIM to newness of Life!
Baptism, for the believer in Christ, is the opportunity to demonstrate (1) obedience to the Lord's commands and (2) to publicly identify with the One he or she calls Savior. We had the privilege this month of watching one young man do this very thing. After giving a clear testimony of faith in the Lord Jesus, and when he first believed, Kit was immersed in the typical fashion, indicating burial and resurrection.
We long to see many more come to faith in the Lord Jesus, and walk in such obedience to Him!

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Down South there is much talk about the "Lost Cause"...for the uninitiated, this year marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the War Between the States (or"Civil War", or "War of the Northern Aggression", etc.). The "Lost Cause" refers to the the South's loss, and its inability to defend its "State's rights" position (I realize that many have varying views on this - this is not the point of my article, so please forgive me if I don't engage in an ideological debate at this point).
Every believer should have a "Lost Cause" - the fact of the "Lost" should "Cause" him/her to be burdened for souls, and seek to give out the Gospel! While many Americans are preoccupied with a Cause that will never be regained, Christians should be occupied with the Cause that will yield eternal benefits - and a message to be proclaimed that is promised to be as successful as HE determines it should be.
Are you seeking purpose in life, believer? Take up the "Lost Cause" - and tell others about the One who came to "seek and to save, that which is lost" (Luke 19:10).

Monday, March 14, 2011

CBC Ladies' Conference

You are Invited to Central Bible Chapel’s
4th Annual Ladies’ Bible Conference
April 2, 2011

Central Bible Chapel is hosting our 4th Annual Ladies’ Bible Conference on Saturday, April 2, 2011 and we would like YOU to be there! The ministry from the Word of God will cover the subject of "A Woman's Work”, a focus on the woman of Proverbs 31. We encourage everyone to take this opportunity for fellowship, ministy, and insight into how to turn all our work (at home, at work, at church) into a service for our great God.
Refreshments will be served at 9:30AM, and the conference will begin at 10:00AM. We encourage everyone to take this opportunity for fellowship and instruction from the Word of God.
Lunch will be provided. Nursery and Children’s activities will be provided, and accommodations will be available for any who wish to stay overnight (Friday and/or Saturday!). Please contact Kathy Leach 334-365-3374 or Laura Bonner 334-358-2753 to make arrangements for accommodations or for directions.
We look forward to having YOU as our guests on Saturday, April 2, 2011. Please mark your calendars!
“Give her of the fruit of her labor, and let her works praise her in the city gates." Proverbs 31:31

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Needham Bible Chapel Annual Conference

The annual conference at Needham Bible Chapel will be held February 19 & 20, 2011 at the chapel. The speaker, Chuck Gianotti, is a brother very involved in producing helpful study and equiping materials for New Testament Churches, their leaders, and believers in general. Many of these materials are available at http://www.bible-equip.org/.
His subject matter for the conference will be on the formation of the New Testament itself. The conference is titled, "The New Testament: Credible or Not?" with Bro. Gianotti's following comments:
"Christianity rises or falls on the historical credibility of the Bible, particularly the New Testament documents. It has come under increasingly forceful attacks, with major news and magazine outlets routinely publishing scholarly refutation of the historical basis of the Bible and its stories. Some assert that the Bible as we have it today was the result of a political posturing in the early church that was rife with intrigue, conspiracy and secrecy. Others see it is a genuine effort by the 2M and 3M century church to read back into the very human stories of Christ a miraculous component that never existed in the first place. In such a post-modem (and some would say, post-Christian) culture, many are searching for answer to questions like these:
- Are the New Testament writings historically reliable?
- How do we know those book comprising the NT are authoritative? Who decided which documents to include?
- What about the apocryphal, deutero-canonical and Gnostic writings?
This presentation sunimarizes the large volume of available (yet very technical) information on the subject by providing a concise analysis of the facts to help you determine whether the New Testament as embraced by Christians for close to 2000 years is worthy of your confidence."

Message 1; 10:30AM
Title: What's the Problem?
The New Testament did not just dropout of heaven as one complete whole. How then did it come to be? How do we go about determining its historical origins? What actual documents do we have to work with?
11:30AM - Q & A
11:45AM - Lunch

Message 2; 1:00PM
Why Were Some Writings Included?
How did the early church come to identify the current 27 books or parts of the New Testament as being authentic and authoritative?
2:00PM - Q & A
2:15PM - Break

Message 3; 2:30PM
Why Were Some Writings Excluded?
What about those other writings, like the Gnostic gospels, the apocrypha and other writings? Why were they excluded?
3:30PM - Q & A
3:45PM - Break

Message 4; 4:00PM
Wht Does It All Mean?
So what? What difference does it really make? How is the New Testament unique among religious documents. What does it mean for us today?
5:00PM - Q & A
5:15PM - Supper

Lunch and Supper will be provided by the chapel. Please plan on attending - this will be a very informative and encouraging time. Needham Bible Chapel is located at 2497 New Hope Road in Needham, Alabama.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Who is my "brother"?

Our new Governor (Alabama) has inadvertently created a small stir with a few off-the-cuff comments to a church group shortly after his inauguration earlier this week. As a Christian, he mentioned that all Christians were his brothers and sisters, and for those that were not, he invited them to become part of the family as well.
Alabama newspapers didn't pick up on any problem with his remarks, but national media (looking for SOMETHING to write about in a slow news week) turned it to possibly mean that he would only be responsive to Christians while in office. He has spent the rest of the week explaining and apologizing.

Are all "brothers and sisters"? As part of the human race, yes. But for believers in Christ, there is a familial link unknown to those who do not believe. The New Testament writers used such terms as fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters in writing to Christian believers, whether Jew or Gentile. And that non-believers are outside that family, we look no further than the Lord Jesus Himself, who referred to the faith-denying religious leaders as "children of the devil". They were part of a "family", but not His!

The fact is, true Christians do acknowledge, despite secondary doctrinal or denominational differences, that they are "brothers and sisters". Furthermore, the invitation is open to all to come into a relationship with the Lord Jesus and to receive Him as one's own Lord and Savior. This personal act has the added benefit of becoming a member of His family, and every believer is a part of that.

Governor Bentley seems to have smoothed all the ruffled feathers, for now. But he refuses to deny his own faith in the One who (exclusively) stated, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6).

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Standing at the Portal

Standing at the portal of the opening year,
Words of comfort meet us, hushing every fear;
Spoken through the silence by our Savior's voice,
Tender, strong and faithful, making us rejoice.

"I, the Lord, am with thee, be thou not afraid;
I will help and strengthen - be thou not dismayed.
Yea, I will uphold thee with my own right hand;
Thou art called and chosen in my sight to stand."

For the year before us - O what rich supplies!
For the poor and needy living streams shall rise;
For the sad and sinful shall His grace abound;
For the faint and feeble perfect strength be found.

He will never fail us, He will not forsake;
His eternal covenant He will never break.
Resting on the promise, what have we to fear?
God is all sufficient for the coming year.

Onward then, and fear not, children of the day;
For His Word shall never, never pass away.
- F. R. Havergal