Eastland eBulletin 8.20.06

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Potpourri
. Remember the kids' bulletins on the table in the foyer.
. Copies of the notes for this morning's sermon are in the literature rack.
Cloyce Sutton is the speaker.
. Tonight's service is our monthly singing.

August Duties
. Transportation: Gorick, Crowder
. Lord's Supper: C & M Wilson
. Meals: A Sutton, K Mindel, N Pardue
. Deacon: J Gorick
. Usher: E Shields
. Sound: J Price

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Religion By Proxy
By Marvin Noble

"You want me to become a Christian? We11, I'11 tell you: I have an aunt who
is a member of the church, and she is an awfully fine woman. We sure are
proud of her..."

All too often the goodness of a family saint is used by the sinner as a
smoke screen substitute for personal obedience. One may be descended from
along  line of Christians, but unless he obeys, he will be lost. It rather
reminds me of the Jews' boasting about having Abraham as one of their
forefathers. On the judgment day we will not be able to hide with the family
and slip through, but each person wi11 stand exposed before the Lord. Paul
said, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every
one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done,
whether it be good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5:10". Religion by proxy won't
work.

Sometimes lifeless congregations find it easy to rest on past laurels. When
an effort is made to stir up such brethren, some begin to boast about
prominent preachers and great evangelistic meetings of the past - as though
they were enough. That such preaching was done is fine, but it does not
excuse today's indifference. Instead, it requires more service, "For unto
whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required" (Luke 12:48). The
church at Ephesus was in danger of being removed because it had left its
first love (Revelation 2:4). Take heed! The good efforts of others before us
cannot be used as our tickets to get past the judgment bar.

Here is another way of practicing religion by proxy: leave it to the clergy.
It is not unusual to hear a denominationalist say, "Don't ask me about the
Scriptures, go see my pastor--we pay him to study"; or "Why should I visit
at the hospital? The minister can do it." But, in the Lord's church there is
no elevated clergy. Instead, we all belong to a royal priesthood (1 Peter
2:9). Though some may spend full time in the gospel, this does not excuse
any Christian from prayer, study, visiting, or other personal duties.

Many a conscience has been peacefully laid to rest by bequeathing
responsibilities to man made organizations, or by simply turning over
obligations to the church. The motto seems to be: "Why worry about being a
Good Samaritan? Let an organization do it." What a relief it is to a
moneyed, fun-loving generation - just put your cash in the plate and let the
modern church or institutional robots perform you tasks! Admittedly the
local congregation has work that its members are to support: preaching to
the lost, edifying the body, helping needy saints: Such is taught in the
Scriptures. But, this does not relieve the Christian of personal, God-given
duties at home, in his neighborhood, or at work.

Nevertheless, modern religious machinery is ready to perform it all: Don't
worry about training your chi1dren, 1et the church baby-sit and entertain
them. You needn't be concerned with honoring father and mother with your
care in their old age - just send them away to a church old-folks home (See
1 Timothy 5:8). As for sheltering the homeless, or feeding the hungry leave
that to a benevolent institution.

Such piety by proxy may ease the conscience; but duty, growth and fruit have
been consigned to a 20th-century religious machine, and the "Christian" has
become an empty shell. Where is the good old-fashioned example of a fruitful
and godly life? Where is the Good Samaritan? There are giant religious
machines in abundance, but where are the Christians? When our neighbors can
see Christ in our simple daily tasks, the Lord will be glorified, and souls
will be saved.

God has service for you to perform. Don't relinquish it to a proxy.

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The Heart of Worship Found
When They Banned the Church Band

The pastor said, "The band is banned," and the people listened. It was not
time for another "sound check" but for a heart check at Soul Survivor Church
in Watford, England. The youthful congregation was meeting in a new building
with a state-of-the-art sound system. Their worship, too, had a
state-of-the-art band.
They discovered that they were singing the songs, but something was missing.
These were worshipers who had become "connoisseurs" of praise instead of
participants. So the band was banned. In the following weeks, worship was
led with only one acoustic guitar, sometimes with vocal music only, and
finally with no musical accompaniment at all.
When all the instrumental props were removed, they could see where their
hearts were. At times, there were awkward periods of silence because no one
had a sacrifice of praise to bring. It was a painful process, but a
necessary one. In time, with all the comforts of their familiar form of
worship gone and without the emotional boost of the band, this church again
found the heart of worship.
Out of that season of soul-searching at Soul Survivor came a song, written
by Matt Redman - a member of the banned band - expressing his heart:

"When the music fades,
All is stripped away,
And I simply come.
Longing just to bring something spiritual that's of worth
That will bless Your heart.
I'll bring You more than a song.
For a song in itself is not what You have required.
You search much deeper within,
Through the way things appear;
You're looking into my heart.
I'm coming back to the heart of worship,
And it's all about You,
All about You, Jesus.
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it.
When it's all about You.
All about You, Jesus."

(Matt Redman (c) 1997 Kingsway's Thankyou Music).

>From Tony Beckett's book, Real Life. Real Worship

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Hmmm.
A man and his ever-nagging wife were on vacation in Jerusalem. While there,
the wife died.

The local undertaker told the husband that he could have her body shipped
home for $5000 or she could be buried locally for $150.

The man thought about it and said he would have his wife's body shipped
home.

The undertaker asked, "Why would you spend $5000 to ship her body home, when
it would be wonderful to have her buried here in the Holy Lands for only
$150?"

The man replied, "Long ago, a man died here and was buried, and he rose
again on the third day. I just can't take that chance."

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