Teague Bible Church

http://www.teaguechronicle.com/Article/Show/3104

Come join us!

ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR APRIL 27, 2014:

Cleaning: Week April 27.—Bev.

Nursery: May 4.—Bev.

Women’s Crafting Group: Wednesday, May 7 6:30pm at TBC. Check website for more information.

Follow us on Facebook or at teaguebiblechurch.org

All knitters, crocheters, cross-stitchers and quilters from beginner to expert are welcome to attend a group meeting on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. All levels and children from age 9 and up are welcome.  Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult.  No supplies needed for the first meeting.  Details will be provided at first meeting on May 7, 6:30 PM

Men’s Fellowship In The Age Of Isolation  – Jimmy Petty

 

“Iron Sharpens Iron”  – Howard and William Hendricks    p.31

 

“Imagine a man climbing alone, with no support system. He may achieve great heights. But one wrong move and he can fall thousands of feet to his death, without so much as anyone hearing his cry. That’s why scripture says, ”Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either one of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up”  Ecc. 4:9-10 (NAS)

The tragedy is that more and more people in our society are traveling through life as the Lone Rangers. They are placing less and less value on their relationships, with the result that each succeeding generation experiences greater isolation, loneliness, and even despair.”

 

 

Iron Sharpens Iron –   (Hendricks)     p. 24

 

“Can you see the extraordinary power of a relationship? It can transform a man’s life. That’s why Jesus, after spending a night in prayer, choose 12 men to be “with him” (Mk. 3:13-14, Lk. 6: 12-13)   He knew that His greatest impact would come from living side-by-side with hand-picked men day after day.

There is no substitute for knowing and being known by another human being. There is no way to experience what deep down we really want as people- to be heard, to be understood, to be affirmed, to be valued. God has put into each of us a longing to be significant, to feel that our life counts. Yet countless men feel inadequate, and insecure, no matter how much talent they may possess.”

 

Jimmy Petty-

“Nothing runs on automatic. In all things you must first have DESIRE. If you are a Christian you already have that, but can suppress it, by selfishness. Along with the desire to be what God wants you to be, comes the humility to learn SKILL/KNOWLEDGE from others. Stop swelling up like a toad in pride and ask other men questions on how they would deal with certain situations that need a solution. ( I Cor. 8:1-3)  Pride can rise up in a man and prevent this. His alternative of choice is to pose and put up a false front. He thinks he is protecting himself, but really he is dying inside as he pretends he has it all together. Along with DESIRE and TRAINING/SKILLS one must have ENDURANCE. Men are prone to work hard, for a short, intense period of time, thinking that will fix the problem, once and for all, and then they can “move on” to something else. Get the house built, fix the car, buy the insurance and put it in a box and forget about it. You cannot just “fix” a relationship or “put it away in a box,” or “set it, then forget it.”

We do it in marriage as we say things such as, “What is it going to take to make that woman happy!” We say that, not realizing what we really said. It is not what, but who can make them happy.  Wives want a long-term and growing relationship with you. They want you, not a “what.”

Let me be quick to say that no man is required to make a wife “happy” as a substitute for a close relationship to God she so desperately needs. Girls, if you are never satisfied with all he does, for your sake, then don’t be surprised if he gives up trying. If he is going down the right path and improving, then why would you put your foot in his back and try to make him go faster? I ask a wife once, “why do you not let him lead?” The answer was, “He is just not fast enough for me, nor does he handle that situation like I would!” Yea, tell God that one and listen for the crickets.

At any rate, the real measure of a man is ENDURANCE as he pushes forward toward the upward call of God. Just “hanging around” is not the same as endurance. To fully engage in all aspects of your calling and to endure is manly.”

 

Why men move away from real fellowship with other men, and move away from mentoring:

 

A man’s pride tells him to go it alone

A man’s heart tells him to remain quiet

A man’s mind tells him nobody will understand

A man’s emotions tell him to keep things under control

A man’s time tells him that he has no room in his schedule

Pray now for Milton Phillips, Mike’s dad. Had a stroke yesterday. In ICU MED CENTER Plano. Still in trouble at this hour.

We should remember the detours as well….

On The Way to The Cross….

ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR APRIL 20, 2014:

Cleaning: Week April 20.—Kerrs.

Nursery: April 27—Nancy.

Men’s Meet-Up: Friday, April 25 6pm @ Frankie’s Restaurant in Mexia (Hwy 14 & Hwy 171). Contact Jimmy for further information

Citywide Men’s Group: Saturday, April 26 6pm @ Mockingbird Hill. See Poster for details.

Women’s Crafting Group: Wednesday, May 7 6:30pm at TBC. Contact Linda P. or Nancy for details.

Follow us on Facebook or at teaguebiblechurch.org.

False Dreams Or Daily Resurrection ?    4/20/14

 

People are under a lot of stress today. Duh! So much stress that even Christians are losing focus on what really counts. Isolation is normal now, fellowship with other believers is a low priority. A panic and self-preservation mode has set in.

We are told to follow our dreams. But we follow the world’s ideas in considering those dreams. The disappointment is inevitable. What did we think was going to happen if we focused only on ourselves?

We say we believe Christ died for us and rose from the dead, which proved who He was and that He is able to fulfill all His promises He made to us. I do not doubt we are saved, but where are we now that we are saved? What happened to us?

I was listening to a song this morning called, “Your Love.” One line stood out for me which said, “I’m getting older now and I am running out of dreams.” That pretty much says it for many Christians today. Since my plans did not work out; my circumstances are not ideal or always pleasant, then everything is wrong and I must have missed something.

Did it ever occur to you and me that maybe, just maybe, we are pretty much on schedule with God’s plan for our lives? Did it occur to us that it might be the Lord Himself who is making our “self-made” dreams a bit sour so that we can become people  much deeper and richer than we could have ever imagined?

So you might go to church Sunday. You might drift off during the service, and dream, once again, about your broken dreams. You will hear about the greatest thing that has happened; the cross and resurrection. You probably understand the meaning and agree with it wholeheartedly. But like trying to hold water in your hand, in just a few days the message fades away and you wonder what is this truth supposed to do to my everyday life?

The distance between your “everyday” and your own resurrection day seems too far away.

So come Sunday you feel like you cannot grasp and hold the truth of the historic resurrection. You are still searching for that something, but cannot seem to find it. Everybody around you sees that you are pre-occupied with something, but what is it?

I think the gap between the “now” and our resurrection day is too far, if we think that just reflecting on the resurrection event of Christ will be enough. The answer?

 

I Peter 1:3

“ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

 

Well there it is; a “living” hope. Not a mere reflection on a historic event, but a vital relationship of new life that is daily recharged because of that historic event. Me thinks our “default” position is wrong. Our daily patterns do not reflect our hunger to be often recharged by daily devotion to Christ. We are not hungry for a daily walk like we once were.

You have not even scratched the surface of what you could have in Christ today; because you think you have learned most of it. As if head knowledge alone was transforming knowledge. It is not. It is not and never can be. The Spirit of God makes all things fresh.

II Corinthians 5: 14-15,   17

“For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all so that they we who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf…

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away, behold, new things have come.”

 

I hope you die to the old dreams, and by now might be smiling about the reality of the truth that God’s plan for you is being fulfilled if you really know Him. Knowing Him daily is the very core of eternal life. John 17: 1-3.

Cause if you are still chasing a temporary dream, and hoping God will just push your self-glorifying and ultimately self-destructive dreams, you will become disillusioned.

There is a plan God has for your life. And this zombie-state you have placed yourself in is not that plan. Your preoccupation, your “comfortably numb” attitude might be because you think your broken dreams were your ultimate failure. Time has passed, you are running out of dreams.

As long as you are looking back you cannot see what God has for you ahead. May you have a blessed resurrection Sunday, but may you also have a great Tuesday of next week, when no one else is around, when you feel little of nothing but daily, ”have-to” stuff. In those moments, when you cry out to God, you may be surprised to find His sweet presence meets you there also. Where is your “living” hope showing up, caused by the historic resurrection?

 

A REAL, BODILY RESSURECTION    

Jimmy Petty  BA.  M Div.     TeagueBibleChurch

 

    We spoke before that someone may die for something they believe in strongly, but it turns out to be a lie. They are sincere; but sincerely wrong. An example would be all the people who died thinking communism would work, and bring in some kind of political utopia, in this life. That was not true.

    Today the Muslim extremists use violence to try to force people to accept their views and are willing to die for their views, but their cause is wrong.

 

What about the people who follow a “good cause?”

                Remember the Chinese student  who stood in front of a tank at

                    Tiananmen Square to protest communist  ideas a few years back?

                       That was a “good cause.”

 

The apostles felt they were following a “good cause.”

 

The apostles had the same views, that most Jews had, at the time of the beginning of Christ’ public ministry. Even though they learned better, it was still hard for them to rid themselves of their previous misconceptions.

 

QUESTION: Does anybody remember what kind of a Messiah the Jews were

                          looking for when Christ began His ministry?

 

ANSWER: The Messiah would be a ruling, victorious, political king who would stop

                       Roman oppression. It would restore Israel to an independent nation ruling

                         with a son of David on the throne. Basically they looked for a national

                            liberation, with religious overtones.

 

QUESTION:  How did the disciples receive the news on the occasion Jesus told

                            them He would die on the cross?

 

 Let us check out these four verses

 

  Matt. 16: 21-23

    Matt.17: 22-23

       Matt. 20: 17-28

          Luke 18:31-34

 

 

ANSWER:   Matt. 16: 21-23

                        They thought it would be a contradiction for the Messiah to die,

                           since the Scripture said Messiah would reign forever.

                               (The Old Testament also said He would die first,

                                   ( Isaiah 53/ Psalms 22) but they did not get that, at the time.

                                        (We often hear only what we want to hear.)

 

 

  Matt. 17:22-23

      They were sad because they assumed He was Messiah,

         and if He died then they would be mistaken.

 

    Matt. 20:17-28

          Definitely felt it was a political earthly kingdom.

 

         Luke 18: 31-34

 

               They did not understand.

 

 

What happened to the “good cause” the apostles were following?

 

Answer: He died on the cross.

 

What did Jesus predict, and the disciples fulfill, when they realized that He was really going to be killed?

 

 

ANSWER: :  He predicted they would run, and they did.   

 

                         READ   Matt. 26:31, 56.

However, after 3 days He is raised from the dead; 50 days after the crucifixion, in spite of their former doubts, and all the dangers to themselves, the disciples were in Jerusalem proclaiming Jesus as Savior and Lord, as the Messiah of the Jews, and the Savior of the world.

 

QUESTION: How did a frightened band of followers of Jesus transform into the

                             greatest believers in the real, bodily resurrection of

                                 Jesus in so short a time?

 

 

QUESTION:   What happened to these guys?

 

 READ   I  Corinthians 15:1-8       

 

ANSWER:   They saw Jesus alive; not “we think He rose from the dead”

 

Most of the disciples were called upon to die a martyr’s death.

  None of them denied the resurrection.

 

 Who would die for a lie?