The Sin of Unbelief

We all know that we are saved by faith…but what is faith?

Is it a belief in the head?

Is it having good morals?

Is it selling all your possessions and believing God will provide?

Could it be none, or possibly all, of these things?

In John 3, a man well-respected in the religious community came to visit Jesus. Jesus told him to have faith to be saved, but he didn’t offer him a generic sermon on salvation. He made it deeply personal, asking him to be baptized (John 3:3-8) and live a pure life (John 3:19-21).

Does faith mean anything for you today, or is it something you left behind at baptism? Ask God to teach you some “faith” lessons. God might make it personal. You may be surprised what you learn.

Ryan Richardson

The Temple of the Lord!

Jeremiah lived among a sinfully religious people. Oppressive, idolatrous, and greedy, they nevertheless felt safe from harm because God’s temple was in the heart of their city. They might be awful people seven out of seven days, but as long as they made the right sacrifices at the right temple they felt secure.

“The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!” was their rallying cry. God describes them like a gang, going out to hurt and harm, and then retreating to their hideout within the temple walls.

The Holy Place in Jerusalem is long gone, but the danger is still present. “I can live my religious life on autopilot as long as I (fill in the blank).” As long as I had the right baptism. As long as I worship the right way. As long as I take the Lord’s Supper every Sunday. As long as I… God is no fool. He recognized hypocrisy in Jeremiah’s day and he recognizes it today. A covenant with God has never 

been about just the right location or rite or sacrifice. God has always desired people who would love him with all of their hearts, souls, and minds. Everything else is just an 

act.

     

Glenn Hawley

"Chosen For An Adventure"

Chosen For An Adventure

 Splashed across the newspapers of American last week was the obituary of John Fairfax, adventurer.

 At 9, he settled a dispute with a pistol. 

 At 13, he lit out for the Amazon jungle.

 At 20, he attempted suicide-by-jaguar. Afterward he was apprenticed to a pirate. To please his mother, who did not take kindly to his being a pirate, he briefly managed a mink farm, one of the few truly dull entries on his otherwise crackling résumé, which lately included a career as a professional gambler.

 He crossed the Atlantic in a rowboat because it was there, and the Pacific because it was also there.

 Sounds exciting doesn't it? But what does it matter in the end? 

 We're currently in a study called "40 Days in the Word." When we read the amazing stories of the Bible, we read about men and women who did amazing things because they lived for an amazing God. They spent the night with lions and lived to talk about it. They watched waters part with enemies hot on their heels. They saw a man die, and come back to life. 

 So what adventure does God have planned for you? Read your Bible, and you might find out.

Ryan Richardson

A Special Speaker

“What's the Big Deal With Pornography?”

February 12, 2012 

Holmes Road Church of Christ

1187 East Holmes Road

Memphis, TN 38116

901-396-6722

rdrmemphis@gmail.com

holmesroadchurch.com

9:00 Sermon The reality and pervasiveness of pornography. (G-rated)
10:30 Class:  Suggestions for protecting your family. (G-rated)

Free Potluck Lunch

12:30 - 2:30  What Parents Really Need to Know about their kids and porn. (P-rated…Parents/Adults)

Pornography is the addiction of choice among Christians. It is destroying families, homes, and marriages and is setting up our children for failure in their marriages as well.

Every second of every day, there are over 28 thousand Internet users viewing pornography. The average age of first exposure to Internet pornography is somewhere between the ages of 8 and 11. The largest consumers of pornography are males between the ages of 12 and 17. More than 70% of all men ages 18 to 34 visit a pornographic site in a typical month.

Unfortunately, pornography is just as big a problem in Christian circles with study after study showing that over 50% of Christian men regularly view pornography. And it’s not just a problem for men as seen by the roughly 9.3 million females who view Internet pornography each year.

It is clear that we are in the midst of an epidemic. It is also clear that the majority of those searching for freedom are finding others with their heads buried in the sand, unwilling to acknowledge the problem. Many times these people are themselves lost in the same problem, not knowing where to go for help. Yet there are others who want to be helpful but feel overwhelmed having no clue as to how to provide relief.

The good news is that there is help. The good news is that there is hope. Sexual addiction can be life threatening, expensive and devastating both to the addict and his/her family. But there is HELP, HOPE & FREEDOM from this trap.

This short seminar is designed to inform & encourage; To educate & explore the hidden shame; To point the way to freedom & begin the process of providing real help; To equip the Saints with tools to fight the good fight against Satan, especially in the area of pornography and sexual sin.

VITA

Lou Butterfield is the Chairman of the Board of the Center for Christian Broadcasting, Inc., and the executive producer of The Mouse Trap, Dangers of Internet Pornography.

After working 38 years with Harding University, Lou chose early retirement as a Professor of Communication to work full-time with CfCB, Inc., the fulfillment of a life long dream.

Butterfield has also served as pulpit minister, elder, deacon and youth director in various churches in Arkansas, Mississippi and Indiana. For over 18 years he has served as pulpit minister for the Remmel church in Newport, Arkansas, 12 of which he also served as an elder. Under his tenure the church grew from just over 30 to nearly 200 in weekly attendance, which Butterfield attributes to “The work of the Holy Spirit, a lot of prayer and dedicated workers.”  Butterfield continues to be a columnist for the Newport Independent, where his weekly articles have appeared for over thirteen years. He is a sought after speaker on church growth and on the subject of pornography and sexual addiction. 

Several DVD series have been produced by CfCB, Inc., with Butterfield serving as Executive Producer including Dating, Marriage, Sex - a 6.5 hour series by Dr. Adrian Hickmon; Two sexual purity series - Coming of Age for Boys and Coming of Age for Girls - each 3.5 hours in length; Three women’s series authored by Linda Smith – HiStory Through History, A Study of Jesus through the Old Testament; Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, A Study of How Jesus Valued Women; Keep Your Fork, Heaven’s Blessings Are Coming.

Butterfield received his Doctorate from Texas Tech University in 1989. Prior to this he received both the Master of Science degree (74) & the Educational Specialist degree (75) from Indiana University. Lou has been married for 45 years to Sandy Swann Butterfield, a retired schoolteacher and the mother of their three children all of whom are Marriage & Family Therapists. Butterfield and his wife live in Searcy, Ark., where they enjoy their six grandsons and one granddaughter.

Arrangements for Ted Bounds

Visitation for Ted will be tonight, Friday, January 27, from 5-8 PM at the Memphis Funeral Home, 3700 N. Germantown Parkway in Bartlett (north of I-40).  The funeral will be Saturday at 10:00 at the same location.