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Nile
Street Notes
Anna Church of
Christ 104 Nile Street,
Anna, Illinois 62906 833-5815 |
Website: www.annachurchofchrist.com
Vol 24. Issue
23 Aug.
8, 2010
Imperfection
Why does God
permit imperfection in His world? Why are babies allowed to be born
handicapped? Why do limbs not move, eyes not see, mouths not speak, and
ears not hear? Skeptics and Christians alike struggle with the answers to
such questions. How can a perfect God allow such imperfection in his
creation?
I don't pretend to have all
the answers to human suffering, but I do know there are some things that help
me deal with such difficult questions. One such aid comes from a change
in perspective. What if the perfection God is looking for is in us, not
the imperfect bodies of people? What if the greater perfection God
desires is in our reaction to people who are imperfect?
How compassionate are we with
the afflicted? How patient and understanding are we with their
trials? Do they have too many troubles to make getting involved with them
worthwhile? Are we inconvenienced and resentful of their demands on our
time and lifestyle? Are we annoyed at their presence or even worse,
embarrassed by them?
Just maybe the perfection God
is looking for is in our Christ-like response to imperfect people.
Instead of allowing people born with physical disabilities to
shake our faith in God, should we not rather allow them to challenge
us to reach toward Christ-like perfection in our response to these people? While
Jesus walked this earth, he was God in the flesh (John 1:1,14). He came
in contact with people who were burdened by imperfect bodies. In fact,
multitudes of people with physical disabilities flocked to him because they
knew he was one who had compassion upon them. On one occasion, a leper
came to Jesus for help (Mark 1:41). The text says that Jesus had
compassion on him and healed him. But not only did Jesus heal him; he
also reached out and touched him! I wonder how long it had been since
anyone had touched this leper? This passage gives us a glimpse into the
heart of Jesus. He wasn’t one who stood at arm’s distance from the
suffering, but rather touched their lives.
Friends, from God's
perspective, the imperfection in this world may not be in the physically and
mentally disabled, but in a healthy person's uncompassionate response to these
individuals.
- Steve Higginbotham via MercEmail
SERMON TOPICS
A.M. – “Worship: For Men Or God?”
(Jn. 4:23-24)
P.M. –
“Simplicity In Christ”
(Luke 2:1-7)
Those For
Whom We Are Praying:
Kathleen Ritchey
Jerry Ward
Bonnie Mangum
Kittie Yates’ sister, Peggy – has
Parkinson’s Disease.
Charles Dillow – Cancer in remission.
Virginia McIntyre – Not
doing well.
Jerry Toler –
battling prostate cancer.
Haley Inman –
Ann’s granddaughter. Remember Ann in your prayers as well.
Nellie
Childers - Mellie's sister.
Ron Pind of Anna, friend of Cliff
Thomas, is suffering from cancer.
Wayne Schultz
Quotable Quote: “Life will
always be to a large extent what we ourselves make it.” – Samuel Smiles
Wisdom From Proverbs: “The ransom of a man’s life are
his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke” (Prov. 13:8).
Welcome! If you’re visiting with us, we extend you a
special welcome and invite you to come back at every opportunity. If our
worship seems unusual to you, please let us know what you find different. We
endeavor to worship “in Spirit and in truth” (Jn. 4:24) and do only what
scripture authorizes (Col. 3:17, Deut. 4:2; Rev. 22:18-19).
NEWS & UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
* Please remember to mute or turn off cell
phones.
* Men’s Prayer Breakfast
has been scheduled for Aug. 14 at 8:30
a.m.
* Our Ladies' Day will
be Sept. 18.
* Summer Series begins
Wed., Aug. 18 at the Vienna congregation and runs through Sept. 15. Bro. John
will be speaking on
Sept. 15. More info on the bulletin board.
*Vienna's VBS will be
Aug. 28, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
* Change collection cans
for Schults-Lewis Children’s Home are on the shelf in
the back of the auditorium. They’re due at
month’s end.
* Southeast
* Please
continue to drop any Bible questions in the Question box in the foyer.
* If you've not brought in a wedding photo or
had your picture taken, please do so. See Sherry W.
* Wayne & Sandy have disconnected their home
telephone service. Their cell phone numbers are:
* Hearing assistance available
upon request.
BIBLE QUESTION/ANSWER:
Last week’s answer: King
of the Chaldeans (Dan.. 5:30).
New question: Who was Ishmael’s mother?
Sentence
Sermon: Kindness is difficult to
give away because it keeps coming back.
Birthdays &Anniversaries
Kody Travelstead – 8/ 9
Shane & Sara Jones – 8/10
Is Anger a Sin?
The
question has been asked, "If anger is a sin, then how could Jesus have
become angry?" Let's look at what the Bible says about anger.
Matt. 5:22: " But I say unto you,
That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of
the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca,
shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be
in danger of hell fire."
John 2:13-17 (also Mt. 21:12-13, Mk.
11:15-18, & Luke 19:45-46). When it was almost time for the Jewish
Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling
cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So, He
made a whip out of cords and drove them all out, both sheep and cattle; he
turned over the tables of the money changers. To those who sold doves he said,
"Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of
merchandise."
Mark 3:1-6. Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man
with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to
accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the
Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand
forth." Then Jesus asked them, "Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to
kill?" They said nothing. "And when he had looked round about on them
with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine
hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him."
Jesus
is indeed shown as displaying anger in the latter two passages above. However,
consider the context of each. In the case of the temple, Jesus threw out
usurers and others who were taking advantage of the poor. He was angry at the
wrong they were doing and also at the blatant disrespect for God they showed by
doing wrong even in God's temple. In the next passage, Jesus was angry with the
Pharisees, who wanted to catch Jesus breaking one of their laws, yet were
unwilling to consider the morality of the law or to believe in Jesus despite
seeing the miracles he did. In both cases, Jesus was angry with people who were
doing wrong and refused to listen to God.
Is such anger wrong? To say
"God should never be angry" is to say that God shouldn't be angry
when innocent people are hurt or killed, or that he shouldn't be angry that the
Holocaust took place, or when people sin and reject Him.
The
Bible doesn't condemn all kinds of anger. Consider the definitions of anger
(Webster's Dictionary): "Wrath" means an intense emotional state
induced by displeasure. "Anger," the most general term, names the
reaction but in itself conveys nothing about intensity or justification or
manifestation of the emotional state. "Ire," more frequent in
literary contexts, may suggest greater intensity than anger, often with an
evident display of feeling. "Rage" suggests loss of self-control from
violence of emotion. "Fury" is overmastering destructive rage that
can verge on madness. "Indignation" stresses righteous anger at what
one considers unfair, mean, or shameful.
Indignation,
as described above, is what could be called righteous anger - anger at
wrongdoing. This is Jesus' anger, for Jesus is angered by wrongdoing. Clearly
some forms of anger (such as fury as defined above) are wrong, and this is the
anger that Jesus spoke out against in Matthew 5:22 - anger that is destructive
and unnecessarily demeaning.
Remember, the Bible teaches "Be
ye angry, and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath" (Eph.
4:26). Jesus was angry. His anger was righteous and He channeled it to right
wrongs against the Heavenly Father. Let
us all try harder to emulate the examples of Jesus, especially where anger is
concerned.
-
R.W.