Thursday 17 September 2015

Old people thrown out of churches

The last few weeks we do receive more messages of elderly people not liked any-more to be partakers of the service in certain churches.

On Aug. 2, 2015 Genora Hamm Biggs, a 103-year-old woman who has been a member of the Union Grove Baptist Church since she was 11 years old received a letter on Aug. 2, 2015, which was signed by Pastor Tim Mattox, Deacon Glen Jackson and nine other church officials. It stated that she could not attend the church and
 “any membership or associations that you have had with this church are now officially revoked.”
 Further, she may not attend the church “for any reason what so ever.”

You may wonder how it can be that a community which calls itself Christian does not want somebody to come to their service or mass. But in the United States many churches only like those people who are willing to contribute enough money to their association.

Unbelievable it is when somebody calls for the police when the lady turned up to pray. The responding officer did not arrest Biggs or take any other action, deeming the issue a civil matter. When the police refused to remove Biggs, Mattox decided to take matters in his own hands. This so called man of God stopped church service, dismissed the congregation and turned off the lights in the sanctuary, leaving the elderly woman sitting alone in the dark sanctuary.

In addition to banning Biggs, the church also banned her grandson Eliott Dye, a 30-year member of the church and ordained minister, and church member Kevin Hamm. Hamm stated,
 “To disrespect a pillar and a mother of the church… How can we sit back and watch something like this go forward?”
Genora Hamm Bigg is a retired schoolteacher and has taught many of the residents of Elberton. The news of her removal from the church upset many in the town including police chief Mark Welsh who called Biggs a “well-revered person” and stated,
 “We’re not going over there and throwing a 103-year-old lady out of her church.” Church officials have refused to comment on the matter.

Perhaps a little bit late, though not less well ment: Happy Rosh Hashanah

Symbolic food of the Jewish holiday Rosh HaSha...
Symbolic food of the Jewish holiday Rosh HaShana (Lybian tradition) Français : Nourriture symbolique du jour férié Roch Hachana (tradition libyenne) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
My laptop encountered many problems the last few weeks. After a first crash the update to Windows 10 did not work out well so the pc had to go in again to made working. This took longer than expected, so no work on the pc could be done leaving no postings to be presented for some days.

This made also that I am too late to wish a happy New Year to our Jewish and Messianic readers.

All the trumpets had to make a joyful noise on Monday night. Monday to Tuesday had to be a day of joyful shouting. (Numbers 29:1 HCSB)

Starting the Hebrew Year 5776, some may find that there may not seem much cause for horn tooting and joyful shouting in the Holy Land. In the past few days, Jews have found themselves bombarded with rocks and worse by Palestinian radicals from atop the Temple Mount. Anti-Semitism is surging. Iran, with both a windfall and nuclear weapons in sight, promised last week that there’ll be no such thing as Israel in 25 years.

Europe is facing an unseen migration flood and in the East the wars seem to become battles without an end. For us there are enough signs the end times are coming closer and closer, so we have enough reason to blow the trumpet out of "joy" 

 Twice in Scripture God lays out His desire for the Feast of Trumpets, first in Leviticus 23:23-25:
Leviticus 23:23-25 The Scriptures 1998+  (23)  And יהוה  {Jehovah} spoke to Mosheh, saying,  (24)  “Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you have a rest, a remembrance of blowing of trumpets, a set-apart gathering.  (25)  ‘You do no servile work, and you shall bring an offering made by fire to יהוה .’ ”

The New Year is the time to reset our priorities and get back to the business of serving God and directing our lives towards these goals. 
To love the Lord your God, to listen to His voice and to cleave to him, for He is your life and length of your days. (Deuteronomy 30:20)

Jew's are obligated to here 100 blasts of the Shofar, on Rosh Hashanah, which awakens our souls to God. Happy new year.

+++
 

The Unseen Realm reviewed

The Unseen Realm talks about not an easy topic to wrap your mind around, especially if you’re being asked to remove 2,000 years of filters off your interpretive lenses.  The Unseen Realm was written for an academic audience, but many reviewers have commented on the clear and full treatment of the topic, making this title approachable for anyone.unseen realm

Many of the early reviews praise Dr. Heiser’s ability to challenge the modern worldview by engaging with the perspective of the ancient Hebrew.

On Redeeming God, Jeremy Myers discusses the refreshing perspective Dr. Heiser brings to the table:
If you are like me, you might be a little tired of hearing about the supernatural realm, but this book was insightful and creative and helped me think through a few issues I have been wanting to study further for quite some time. For example, I think Heiser is exactly right about what it means for humans to be made in the image of God (Gen 1:26-27), and I really liked his discussion of the Nephilim in Genesis 6:1-4.
Tim Chaffey picks up where Myers left off by praising Heiser’s willingness to engage with the ancient perspective of the Hebrews:
The book also does a good job of helping readers learn about the ways the Israelites interacted with the people around them. Even those who penned Scripture were not afraid to use concepts and even the terminology from the surrounding pagan nations, although they often needed to redefine or refine the concepts to fit within Hebrew theology. Too many Western Christians, particularly from conservative backgrounds, avoid any possible linkage of the Scriptures with ancient Near Eastern writings. This is probably due to the abuse of this concept by the liberals who act as if the Hebrews borrowed everything from these cultures. I believe Heiser strikes a nice balance in this book.

Matt Dabbs loves the way Dr. Heiser connects the concepts in the book throughout the entire Bible:
This book is about the spiritual realm in the Bible and how various threads run from cover to cover connecting all sorts of things that I had no idea were connected. I was probably aware of about a quarter of the content of the book as far as exegesis goes…leaving me mostly unaware of his brilliant interpretation. But what was even more fantastic than all of the information that I was simply unaware of was the way he connected the concepts throughout the entire Bible.
Perhaps Justin Daniel said it best when he wrote, “This was the most thought provoking, thrilling, insightful book I have read all year.” He, too, was impressed with the accessibility of the book:
He systematically works through the Bible and each individual issue with such clarity that it appeals to both the layman and the seminarian as well as the pastor. The things that lie in this book will challenge you and for that I am grateful for reading it.
+++

Thursday 10 September 2015

Meetings at the well in Shrewsbury

English: Teignmouth from the coast path
Teignmouth from the coast path (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Shrewsbury Study & Serve Day, 13th September.

Speaker Bro. Paul Lucas, Teignmouth, on 'Meetings at the well'.

The day will include talks, billing and an insight into the work of Meal-a-Day. Start time 10 am at Shrewsbury Meeting Room.

+++

CSN Praise & Fellowship Day at Arden School, Solihull, on Saturday 11th October 2014

The old school building of Solihull School, We...
The old school building of Solihull School, West Midlands, England. A Grade II listed building by architect J. A. Chatwin, 1879-82. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
CSN Praise & Fellowship Day =€“ Hold the date, full details to follow

We warmly invite everyone to the Christadelphian Support Network Praise and Fellowship Day to be held, God willing, at Arden School, Station Road, Solihull, West Midlands B93 0PT on Saturday 11th October 2014, God willing.

Welcome and coffee from 10.30 for 11.00 and the day will conclude at 4.00 pm.

Lunch and refreshments will be provided so booking will be necessary, look out for the next announcement.

We hope you will be able to join us to share an enjoyable and enriching day together in worship and fellowship. 
The CSN Committee

+++

CBM Europe Open Day - 7th Nov

Subregions of Europe (The World Factbook)
Subregions of Europe (The World Factbook) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
CBM Europe Open Day - 7th Nov (God Willing) 13:30 at Coventry Grosvenor Road Ecclesia.
All are warmly invited to this event arranged to discuss the work of the CBM in East and West Europe.

CBM will commence with a series of short presentations on practical ways which have been used to meet some of the challenges of preaching the truth in Europe. This will be followed by a panel discussion around these issues.

The last session will be a devotional talk led by Bro Peter Brown on the theme *Sanctification and the promised inheritance*, with the meeting concluding around 5:30pm.

+++


Wednesday 9 September 2015

Nepal earthquake & Heritage Children charity

Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu, Nepal
Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu, Nepal (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Trustees of the Heritage Children charity really appreciate all the donations received from ecclesias, individual brothers and sisters, the Swanwick weekenders and the Samaritan Fund. 

So far over 40,000 pounds has been received and all will be used to benefit those in Nepal whose lives have been tragically disrupted by the earthquakes. 

Since the first, on 25th April, some 358 aftershocks have affected the valley of Kathmandu, many 4 or 5 on the Richter scale, so you can understand that our brothers and sisters, now numbering 110, are still fearful and disturbed.

At present two trustees are visiting Nepal to make an assessment of need as well as assessing the plight of those members who are in isolation in Dharan and Sitali, so that necessary help can be given. 

It is already clear from correspondence with Nepal that the psychological effects on the members and their children has been marked, and one sister has been admitted to hospital for treatment.

On the visit, we will convey the love of all who have donated generously to this appeal via HERITAGE CHILDREN, and assure our brothers and sisters that the thoughts and prayers of the brotherhood are with them. 

Your brother by grace
Peter Fry