January 22, 2012
CHRISTIAN VIRTUES (1)
The term
virtue
in the ancient Greek language referred to
“moral excellence” and “goodness.” A virtue is an inner disposition
to act in the correct way. Virtues are not simply a tendency or an
impulse (either good or bad), but rather are settled attitudes and
habits of the spiritual mind. Virtues reveal who we really are as
people—our true character.
The
Greek philosopher and mathematician Plato believed that the
“excellent moral virtue” of a man is centered on four essential
virtues: wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice. Aristotle added
that such virtues were learned. The 4th
Century theologian Augustine of Hippo affirmed the concept of those
four virtues are established in relation to the loving Eternal God
and he added to Plato’s list the virtues of faith, hope, and love.
The
apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians in Philippi regarding the
biblical concept of virtue, saying:
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things
are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure,
whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if
there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate
on these things” (Philip. 4:8). The apostle Peter affirmed: “[A]s
His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and
godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and
virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and
precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the
divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world
through lust. But also for this very reason, giving all diligence,
add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge
self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance
godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly
kindness love” (2 Peter 1:3-7).
Because of Who God is, the disciple of Jesus Christ is committed to
learning and living Christian virtues. God is holy, infinitely good,
and completely free of every kind of evil. From this characteristic
of His (His holiness), flows His total righteousness always acting
consistently with His moral nature. God is also just, and His
justice requires that all men live in accordance with the Law that
He established. So holiness, righteousness, and justice are virtues
that must characterize the Christian’s conduct: “[B]ut as He who
called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it
is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15-16). The
true disciple
of Jesus must be constantly growing in holiness, righteousness, and
justice. The disposition of justice and goodness must permeate all
the other moral attributes, such as joy, diligence, faithfulness,
peace, kindness, and gentleness.
The
Christian virtues are desired and lived by Christians also because
“God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16). The Bible preaches this message both
explicitly (through direct statements) and implicitly (through
example). The cross of Jesus demonstrates once and for all that God
loves all people (John 3:16).
Love is THE very heart of God
and motivates Him to seek the welfare of lost sinners who are
willing to repent and change. Love acts in the interests of others.
This is the reason why, in Christian ethics, love is permeated with
holiness, and holiness with love, in such a way that they find their
fullest expression according to the wisdom that God gives us: “For
this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray
for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His
will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk
worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good
work and increasing in the knowledge of God strengthened with all
might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and
longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has
qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the
light” (Col. 1:9-12).
— Paolo Di Luca
Welcome
To those who are with us today, we are glad you have chosen to spend your Lord's Day with us.
A special note to our visitors: If this is your first visit with us, we ask that you stay after services for a brief period so we may introduce ourselves and get to know you.
We hope you find us a friendly congregation whose desire is to resemble as closely as possible the church described in the new Testament. If you have any questions about what we do during worship, please see one of our elders. Their names and phone numbers are listed on the back of today's bulletin.
Return this evening for our worship service at 6:30 p.m. and our mid-week Bible study -- Wednesday 7:00 p.m.
Sunday Evening Children's Class
Each Sunday evening at 6:15, all children are
invited to attend a short Bible class in the front of the
auditorium.
Reminder
Weekly Services
New Martinsville Health Care Center
Wednesday afternoons, 1:30 p.m.
Everyone able is encouraged to attend and participate. The residents enjoy this brief period of devotion and Christian fellowship.In SEARCH of the Lord's Way
7:30 a.m. Each Lord's Day Morning -- Channel 7
Give Me the Bible, Steelton Radio Program, Sunday 8:00 a.m., 103.9 FM
Bridge Street Schedule of Events
Ladies Bible Class, Monday, January 23, 7:00 p.m. at the building.
Please see the "Coming Events" page for more details.
Area Schedule of Events
Flyers posted in foyer.
Cards Received
"Thanks for all the calls, cards, and visits."
In Christian Love,
Faye Stillwagoner
Christian Friends:
"I want you to know how much I appreciated the thought and the basket with all the helpful gifts. Everything was so useful, and I enjoyed it very much.
Thanks again!"
Christian Love,
Betty Timmons
For those ladies wanting to participate in the Secret Sister program, a sign-up sheet is in the foyer. Also available in the foyer are sheets with additional details.
Church Hypocrites
Have you ever heard someone say, or even used the excuse yourself, "I can't go to that church because there are too many hypocrites!" or, "The people who go to that church are hypocrites. They think they are perfect." Are there hypocrites in the church? And, more importantly, if there are, is that a good reason for not attending church services?
The word hypocrisy originated in the Greek language as a theatrical term. Often, one actor played different roles in the same play and disguised himself by the use of different masks. The actor was called a hypocrite because he showed himself with two or more faces. In time, the idea of being "tow faced" evolved into a term to describe someone who says one thing and does another. The hypocrite (or two-faced person) in the church is one who pretends to be more righteous than he really is. A hypocrite lives a lie. He tries to present himself outwardly as a better person than he is inside, and to do that, he used deception, dishonesty, and trickery.
Why does a hypocrite live like this? In this way, he had the praise and approval of his piers. This is all that matters to him. He does not want his own weaknesses and faults known by friends and even family, therefore, he puts on a "false face."
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7), Jesus taught that religion is not what brings people into the Kingdom of Heaven. "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:20). Christ commands His disciples not to be hypocritical in giving (Matt. 6:1-4) and in prayer (Matt. 6:5-15. Jesus took a clear and strong position against the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees who appeared holy, religious, devout, and clean, while inside they were full of corruption and immorality. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness" (Matt. 23:27-28; cf. 1-3:15). They demonstrated their hypocrisy by not living according to what they knew was correct (Matt. 23:3).
The disciple of Jesus is called to live differently than the world around him (I Pet. 1:15-16; I John 2:15-17). When he doesn't he may be labeled a hypocrite, simply based on the assumption that hypocrite and sin are synonymous. R. C. Sproul defined these terms well: "Frequently the words 'sinner' and 'hypocrite' are confused. The confusion is one that is commonly found between genus and species. Sinner is the generic term. Hypocrite is the species. Since hypocrisy is sin, we can say, 'All hypocrites are sinners.' But we must not view this statement as an equation of identity. We cannot reverse the statement and say, 'All sinners are hypocrites (Reason to Believe, '78). In his letter to Timothy, Paul confessed: "This is a faithful saying worth of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life" (I Tim. 1:15-16). If a Christian denies Paul's confession and affirms to be perfect, the Bible calls this person "hypocrite" (cf. I John 1:8-9). The church is not the gathering of infallible people, instead it is a gathering of sinners who recognize their need of Christ-like transformation: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Rom. 12:1-2).
-- Paolo Di Luca
Ten Steps to a Happier Life
1. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and start counting you blessings (Psalm 68:19).
2. Don't worry about what everyone else is doing wrong. Just make sure YOU keep doing what is right (Philippians 4:8).
3. Perform one totally selfless act each and every day. And don't tell anyone about it (Galatians 6:10).
4. Pray without ceasing (I Thessalonians 5:17).
5. Let others be right once in a while, and sometimes even let them be wrong without correcting them (Ephesians 4:21-32).
6. Take care of yourself. Eat right, exercise, and get plenty of sleep. Your body can't function at the best of its ability (as God intends) if you won't let it (I Corinthians 6:19-20).
7. Make a vow to be kind in all situations. There are only two choices: kind or unkind. Why not choose kindness (Ephesians 4:31; Romans 12;21)?
8. Treat your loved ones like there is no tomorrow. There may not be (James 4:14).
9. Listen more than you talk. You'll be surprised at what you learn (James 1:19).
10. Take pleasure in the small things of life. A good book, a jigsaw puzzle, a cup of coffee, the sound of a child's laughter, the glory of God's creation all around us (Zechariah 4:10).
Scripture Reading
"Add to your faith . . . knowledge" (II Peter 1:5)
January 15-21, 2012
Sunday -- Genesis 22
Monday -- Genesis 23
Tuesday -- Genesis 24
Wednesday -- Genesis 25
Thursday -- Genesis 26
Friday -- Genesis 27
Saturday -- Genesis 28
All who read the bulletin (including this on-line version) are invited to join us in our weekly Scripture Readings. Everyone who competes the reading is asked to inform the office (by email). A leaf will be added to our tree in the foyer for every person who has completed the reading. Read the Bible, and watch the tree grow!
Our Majestic Cedar
At the beginning of 2011, we began a new Bible Reading program, and we placed a tree on the wall in the foyers. Every leaf placed on the tree represented each week's reading assignment being completed.
The close of the year has brought to the completing the reading of the entire New Testament with 3 participants finished and an additional 16 to finished in the near future. When those 16 have finished, our tree will have over 1,100 leaves which represents over 5,700 chapters read.
This year, we continue our weekly reading with the Old Testament. The schedule will take 2 years to complete. And again, each week's completed reading will place another leaf on our tree.
If you did not participate last year, why not resolve yourself to participate this year? Start with the New Testament -- copies of the reading are on the table in the foyer --- or read along with us and start the Old Testament. We want to see our tree cover the foyer!
Among the Sick . . .
Many among our number continue to struggle with health problems. Keep them, our shut-ins and those in local nursing homes in your prayers. Send a card, call, or make a visit whenever able. They will appreciate it.
Sarah Bland is in now recovering at home.
It was good to have Ken Starkey back with us last Lord's Day after his recent fall.
We've been asked to keep Samantha Jones, granddaughter of Bob Yeager (Jacksonburg Church of Christ) in prayer as she struggles with complications from her pregnancy.
Please keep Michael Schultheis in prayer as he struggles with health issues. He is the son of Dave and Scarlet Hood's neighbor.
Our Family
Glen and Xie Goddard, Jim Eddy, Larry Spratt.
Friends
Christine Keller, Tom Skinner, Don Hyer, Leslie Ann Cabral, Kimberly Givens, Chuck Olsen, Sharon Pugh, Debby Wilson, Shirley Hood, Frank DeMoss, Tim Cooper, Megan Jarrell, Thelma Vandall, Paul & Kim Fuchs, Lilly Varner, Michael Schultheis.
Shut ins
Remember to keep in prayers those who are shut-in or living at other locations and unable to be with us: Velma Ruble (at home), Amy Goddard (Sistersville), Lyle Daugherty (NMHCC), Doris Swadley (NMHCC), and Linda Wildman (NMHCC).
There are many of our number who struggle with health issues daily. Some are able to be with us on occasion, some are not. Remember them in prayer; send them a card or note whenever you are able, call them, visit them. A few moments of our time means so much to them
Attendance Record (Week of Jan. 15th)
Sunday Bible Classes 64
Sunday Morning Worship 81
Sunday Evening Worship 56
Wednesday Evening 53