Verse of the DayWe’re proud of our young people who competed in this year’s Bible Bowl in Cookeville hosted by the Sycamore Church of Christ!
Here’s a recap video of what our kids did:
Take a look at the Bible Bowl Newsletter that explains how our kids did.
Want to try your hand at the questions the kids answered?
Now here’s to next year!
If someone were to starve to death while sitting in front of a Thanksgiving spread, it would be quite the news story, wouldn’t it? People would ask questions—the biggest being, “Why in the world did he not eat the food in front of him!?”
That’s exactly the story that describes the state of many Christians. Of all people who have ever lived, we have the most access to God’s word. There are more English translations of scripture than there are people who worship here! (There are more than 450 ones—just in English!) Despite the availability, some folks just don’t ever eat from this banquet table!
We have access to printed study materials. We have two opportunities to hear preaching each Sunday, and two additional classroom opportunities each week. There are gospel meetings, seminars, lectureships, and magazines—and I haven’t even mentioned the possibilities of the internet! There are free email studies, podcasts (that’s a nerd word for iPod broadcasts—a recording made available online at a regular schedule), research tools, and discussion groups surrounding almost any topic you’d like to study.
I say all this to say—don’t starve at a feast! Commit to taking advantage of some of these resources every week. Your doctor has to take “continuing education” courses. His work is only a matter of life and death. Our work is one of eternal significance. Re-commit yourself to being prepared for Sunday School. Attend a nearby seminar or meeting, and share what you learned with your family. A commitment to being built up in the knowledge and grace of Jesus will reward us richly and will build up this church!
A time to plant and a time to uproot Ecclesiastes 3:2
Gardening is always fascinating to me. This time of the year I enjoy the fruit of the labors of many gardeners. Ripe tomatoes make any meal go better. Radishes are some of the first fruits of the spring garden. They take only about one month to get ready for a veggie plate. If one plants asparagus it will be four to five years before you get an editable veggie.
Many of us are restless and impatient when it comes to planting and harvesting. We like the radishes and lettuce that grow up quickly and are ready to eat in one month. These are the ones is our churches who are concerned with getting fruit at the expense of patience.
Many in our churches are interested in getting on with the fruit and have little patience with those who are carefully challenging them to think and study. Old ideas seem to be easier to hold on to than the challenges to study to show yourself approved by God. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day were satisfied that their understanding of scripture was right and they refuse to be challenged by our Lord.
Today we are faced with new challenges to the truth of God. We can sit back and throw rotten tomatoes or we can get into the fight and live as no other and think as God would have us think. We can find safety in old forms and patterns or we can study again the mighty truth of God and learn His will for us. We can find our garden full of radishes and weeds and have no abiding fruit for the masters’ table.
We must return to the principles of divine truth and teach them in their contexts if we are to have an active and dynamic faith. Now is the time for us to sow and water and pray that the Lord of harvest will give the increase. It is time to plant!
“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17
As a child, I never understood what a big metal stick had to do with sharpening knives. I just knew that occasionally my mom would pull it from its spot in the pantry and start sharpening. To me it looked like more of a one-person sword-fighting competition than sharpening! I couldn’t understand how a bunch of scraping noises would equal a knife that peeled my apples better!
There’s nothing special about a sharpening steel that magically sharpens knives. It’s simply the fact that it is sturdy and strong—and that its surface rubs together with the knife you’re working on.
Our new Sunday night Bible groups are a lot like that knife steel: they’re not very fancy, they’re just strong with a biblical foundation and potent because they give us a chance to interact with God’s message and each other.
We believe that any person can approach the Bible, study it honestly and sincerely, and find what God wants him to know. Didn’t Jesus say “you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”? (John 8:28). Starting next Sunday night, we’re acting on that belief. We’ll join together for half hour of study and while doing so, we will interact with and sharpen each other, just as God described in Proverbs.
This is new for us—it’s a special chance to sharpen and be sharpened. Our prayer is that we’ll be encouraged and well fed from God’s word before we conclude all together with a brief worship service and observance of the Lord’s Supper.
If you want to kick-start your Bible study, and you want to refill your tanks—join us next Sunday night ready to sharpen away! I’m looking forward to learning together!
Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2
A change is coming on Sunday nights at Burns. Beginning the first Sunday night in July we will move to a new format for our gathering. We will move to more emphasis on individual Bible study within small groups.
We will begin our group Bible study at 6:00 and continue until 6:40. At this time we will assemble in the auditorium and group leaders will share a few things his group had learned in the group study. We will serve the Lord’s Supper for those who haven’t had the opportunity to partake in the morning. We will close by extending the invitation and conclude with prayer.
All those who are regular attendees on Sunday night will be assigned a group. These groups will meet in various places in our building. Others who wish to be part of this new format can let one of the elders know and you will be in a group. Any visitors will be assigned a group as well.
We will try this format for July and August and will evaluate it as the summer ends. We believe that this will be better use of our time spent together on Sunday nights. We hope that this will encourage others to be present on Sunday nights.
We believe this format will better meet the needs of our Burns family.
We look forward to the study of II Samuel as we begin this new Sunday night group Bible study. We pray that you will see that this format can be special for you and your family.
