1 Timothy 2:1-8

Our speaker during Family Bible Hour was Mr Steve Witter. His message was based on 1 Timothy 2: 1-8

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

Mr Witter continues with his theme: "As Christians we love; and because we love, our conduct counts". This love ministry, per the passage above, includes the mission of the Church:

1. We PRAY, as indicated in verses 1 and 2
2. We share the GOSPEL, as in verses 3 and 4

Mr Witter's message, in full and in context, is available on DVD. Please see Romy.

We celebrated Jared's graduation form high school with a cake; and a gift of a Bible. God be with you in your endeavors, Jared!

1 Timothy 1

Our speaker during Family Bible Hour was Mr Steve Witter of Emmaus Bible College. It is always a pleasure to have him visit. His message was based on 1 Timothy 1:

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;
 ²Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
 ³As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine,
 ⁴Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.
 ⁵Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
 ⁶From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;
 ⁷Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.
 ⁸But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;
 ⁹Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
 ¹⁰For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
 ¹¹According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.
 ¹²And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
 ¹³Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
 ¹⁴And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
 ¹⁵This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
 ¹⁶Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
 ¹⁷Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
 ¹⁸This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;
 ¹⁹Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
 ²⁰Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme

Mr Witter's message, based on the above passage, may be summarized thus:

As Christians, we LOVE. Because we love, our conduct counts.

His message, in full and in context and with an explanation of the summary above, is available on DVD. Please see Romy

Our Speaker during Family Bible Hour was Mr Steve Witter.  How do we fulfill and face the impossible(s) in our lives, and do what Paul's reminds  us to do?:
...walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;  ~ Colossians 1: 10, 11

The answer to the questions may be found in the life of Joshua, as we look at the passage of  his "impossible" situation as he faced the swollen Jordan River (see Joshua 3: 5-17):

And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you...And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, they they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.  And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.  And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the Lord your God.  And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the  Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.  Behold, the ark of the covenant, even the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.  Now therefore take ye twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.  And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon a heap. 

According to the passage above, there are three requirements in order for a person to fulfill his/her calling from the Lord and to face all humanly-impossible situations in life:

1. Sanctification.  Do I know the Lord? If not, I have no hope nor help to begin with. If yes, am I set apart for the Lord?  Have I made the choice to follow Him and no other?  Am I holy as He is holy? 
2. Saturation.  I must spend time being saturated in God's Word.  Jesus said in John 8:31 "...If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed."   
3. Submission.  I must make the choice to obey God.  Hebrews 11 is the honor roll of people who had made the difficult choice of obeying God in spite of very difficult or impossible situations.

Lastly, Mr Witter reminds us to have "stones of remembrance" as Joshua encouraged the people to have in Joshua 4: 1-7.  For us as Christians, these would be: following the Lord in Baptism by immersion; and doing what the Lord Jesus asked us to do by being present and participating in the Lord's Supper. 

Our Speaker during Family Bible Hour was Mr Steve Witter.  His message was based on Joshua 1: 1-9:

Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying,  Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them even to the children of Israel...Be strong and of good courage:  for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them...Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed:  for the Lord thy God is with thee whitersoever thou goest. 

Mr Witter reminded us that when our heroes and leaders are no longer around, the Word of God tells us that we need to step up to the plate, be strong and of good courage, that we might

...walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;  ~ Colossians 1: 10, 11

Here are some of the reasons that we will be able to walk worthy of the Lord, in strength and courage.  Mr Witter reminds us of  -

1. God's many promises such as forgiveness of sins, rest for our weary souls, and the sufficiency of His grace
2. The limitless power of God 
3. His daily presence, and that nothing can ever separate us from God

Mr Witter's full message, in context and complete with Bible references, is available on DVD.  Please see Romy.

Mr Witter also reminds us to please pray with Emmaus Bible College regarding the follow:

1. For the Lord to send 253 full-time students this coming Fall 2010
2. For the new Business Administration Program Director, Philip Boom
3. The Schultz Family covets your prayer as Steven Schultz died suddenly and tragically
4. Pray for EBC's Faculty/Staff/Students engaged in work for the Lord over the Summer
5. That the college's accreditation will be re-affirmed during an accreditation visit in September.   Ideally, that the accreditation would be be re-affirmed for 10 years, with no reports and no focus visits needed,

Today at Park Manor Bible Chapel

Our speaker during Family Bible Hour was Dr Steve Witter, Vice President of Emmaus Bible College, Iowa.  Welcome, Mr Witter!

His text was Judges 14:1-11

And Samson went down to Timnath and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.  And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife...Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother to Timnath...

The passage shows us Samson's steps to conformity with this world, instead of choosing to live for God.
(A) He relied on his youthful desires and judgement to be his guide, instead of Scripture

Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines?  And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. 

(B) He hid God's giftedness so that he may enjoy the life of conformity.

Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.  And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand:  but he told not his father or his mother what he had done. 

(C) Though he made the vow of a Nazarite (see Numbers 6), he lived as close to the edge of sin as possible.

And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.  And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.


A copy of Mr Witter's full message in DVD form  is available in the foyer.  See Romy.

We welcome the Lim Family: Jonathan & his wife, Erin; their children Ethan and Maisey.  They're shown below with Grandpa Young and Grandma Bong:

Important Reminder:

Please refer to the Prayer Corner List  issued with your bulletin.  All on the list would appreciate your fervent prayers on their behalf.

• In particular, please pray for  the health needs of  Mr Art Modrzejewski and Mrs Lina Rivera 
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  Awana starts this Tuesday.  Pray that the Gospel will be preached faithfully, in season and out of season.