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Week of November 13, 2022 |
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Ten Bible Study Attitudes (2)
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6) Desire To Understand God’s Word!
Psalm 119:34 states, “Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.” There are two common reasons why man is unwilling to understand the Bible: (1) “self-satisfaction” and (2) “self-conceit.” This is the way a selfish young man often loves a young lady. He loves her for only what pleasure she brings to him – thus really loving himself, not her. We must not allow our determination to seek the truth deteriorate into the plight expressed in the words, “the truth as I see it.” Let us ask ourselves the following questions regarding the truth of God’s word:
- Am I willing to “seek the truth” whether anyone else believes it or not?
- Am I willing to yield to the Bible wherever it leads?
- Am I willing to accept all truth, no matter how uncomfortable? Paul was (Acts 20:26-27).
- Am I willing to “arrive” at the truth, disregarding my own opinions, emotions, desires, or hopes?
- Am I willing to search each new fact without any fear of what I might find?
- Am I willing to see “both sides” of any issue?
- Am I willing to study what I “dislike” as well as what I “like”? If you are unwilling, then your understanding of God’s Word will be greatly impaired, no matter how much you study it.
7) Shun Perversions of God’s Word!
For one to desire truth, he will be “zealous” to shun error. As we stand before God with His Word in our hands, we have everything to learn and nothing to teach. How repugnant, then, when any false doctrine intervenes to “spoil” the truth! It should be identified and avoided or discarded as false! This is what the Scriptures teach over and over again (cf. 2 Timothy 3:7).
Look at God’s warnings in the following passages and observe how some “corrupt the word” (2 Corinthians 2:17), “pervert the gospel” (Gal. 1:6-8), “lie in wait to deceive” (Ephesians 4:14), “beguile you with enticing words” (Colossians 2:4), “spoil you through philosophy … after the tradition of men” (Colossians 2:8), “consent not to wholesome words doting about questions and strifes of words” (1 Timothy 6:3-5), strive “about words to no profit” (Titus 1:10-14), “bring in damnable heresies … with feigned words make merchandise of you” (2 Peter 2:1-3), and who “transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ” (2 John 7-11).
8) Undergird Study with Prayer!
Before ever beginning any Bible study, one should turn and ask the Lord to help him or her understand the Scriptures through prayer. The Lord will teach us much and help us to learn, but we need not expect Him to do for us what we ought to do for ourselves. The prayers of a lazy, halfhearted, grumbling Bible student cannot rise very high. A prayerful attitude is so vital, and God has promised to respond to such pleadings. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5). Let the spirit of prayer pervade all of our efforts to understand the Bible.
9) Have A Spirit of Expectancy!
The Bible student should have the right to “expect” to understand God’s Word. Many people are amazed, frightened, or overwhelmed by the bigness of the Bible; yet, it can be read completely through in one hundred hours, and a rapid reader might read it in sixty hours. To some it is a big, mysterious, unfathomable something, a complicated collection of deep, religious doctrines. Some consider it to be a strange writing to be worshipped and not used, a mystery to be understood only by a favored few, or a handbook of “proof texts” for sectarian groups.
When we start to study the Bible, we ought to “expect” to understand it. Our understanding of a particular passage might not be perfect, but we must remember that God revealed His will to us in order that we may understand it. It is to “be read unto all the holy brethren” (1 Thessalonians 5:27), so that when it is read “the Lord give thee understanding in all things” (2 Timothy 2:7). The very purpose is that the reader may “understand” the knowledge of God (Ephesians 3:3-4). The knowledge that makes “thee wise unto salvation” and brings Christian maturity (2 Timothy 3:14-17). Oftentimes you will be tempted to stop trying to understand the Bible, or be disturbed over specific passages that you do not fully understand. Nevertheless, you can and will understand most of it. God promised it; so “expect it”! (Ephesians 5:17).
10) Desire To Be Obedient!
Finally, as your understanding of God’s Word grows and develops, be sure and have a genuine desire to obey the Word. A mere curiosity about the Bible or an academic interest in it is not enough. God’s Word demands a greater desire — a desire to apply the holy truth, to live the way the Creator intended one to live. Let each Bible student say, “Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law” (Psalm 119:33-34).
Conclusion
Disobedience to the Word of God as it is received will only hinder or stop the progress of further understanding. The Word of God is spiritual food for the soul (1 Peter 2:2). If the simple food (milk) is refused, then the solid food will be withheld because it cannot be assimilated (1 Corinthians 3:1-4; Hebrews 5:12-14). Unless the attitude of the Bible student is right, all of the methods and rules in the world will avail very little. But with the right spirit of mind and heart, one may “grow in the grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).
Source: W. Robert Palmer, “How To Understand The Bible” (Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing Company, 1980), 32-38.
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Elders
Leon Cort
Mark Craigwell
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Minister
Mark Craigwell
Assistant Minister
Denver Simmons
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Deacons
Raleigh Gallington
Anthony Johnson
Gregory Johnson
Carlfred Malcolm
Albert Martin, Jr.
Walter Maxwell
Richard Meuse
Barry Person
Jason Reid
James Wade, Sr.
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Sermon for Sunday, November 13, 2022
To Serve With Love
1 Peter 5:1-4; John 21:15-171
Speaker: Mark Craigwell
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DON'T FORGET YOUR MASK!
Remember that masks are required at all of our in-person events, including services, classes, and meetings. Please also remember to bring your mask with you. We have a limited supply of masks available for those who do not have them.
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November Men’s & Women’s Classes: Our 4th Sunday Men’s & Women’s Classes for November are canceled so that we can all attend the City-Wide Evening Service on Sunday, November 27th at 5:00 p.m. See Metropolitan Evening Worship Service below.
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2022 Thanksgiving Outreach |
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City-Wide Evening Worship Service |
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Join Little Uprisings and the Roxbury Branch of the Boston Public Library on Saturday, November 19th from 10-11a.m. for Our Library, Our Stories, an ode to the oral histories of Roxbury. Families are invited to participate in an interactive Story Time featuring live music and portrait making workshop with Tanya Nixon-Silberg and Beatriz Zapater. There will be food and other activities as well. Register here:
Tanya Nixon-Silberg
Founder, Little Uprisings
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We will continue to offer two Sunday morning worship services to accommodate in-person attendees
The first service begins at 8:30 a.m. and runs until approximately 9:45 a.m.; the second service begins at 11:00 a.m. The auditorium is sanitized between services. The weekly 10:30 a.m. devotional/adult Bible class will continue as scheduled. The usual sign-up rules and COVID protocols remain in effect. When you access the online sign up form, you will be required to specify which service you would like to attend. Once capacity has been reached for a particular time slot, the form will no longer accept new registrations for that time slot. We will continue to livestream the 11:00 service on our YouTube channel, and we encourage members to utilize e-giving, even when attending in person.
PLEASE NOTE: THE LINK BELOW IS FOR NEXT WEEK'S SERVICE
In-Person Worship Sign-up
Please also note that there is a new registration link each week.
E-giving link
Livestream link
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Don't Miss Out! Scroll On... |
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Don't Miss Out! Please scroll through the entire e-bulletin each week to be certain not to miss any important announcements or links. Many items are repeated each week, but there are also new announcements that you'll miss if you don't scroll through the entire bulletin.
See the following sections for new/updated announcements.
- News & Notes
- 2022 Thanksgiving Outreach, Sat., Nov. 19th
- City-Wide Evening Worship Service, Sunday, Nov. 27th, 5 p.m. @ Florian Hall
- CPR/First Aid Class, Saturday, December 3rd, noon-2 p.m. @ church building
- Worship & Class Schedule - Links to Services & Classes; link to worship attendance registration form for next week.
- Latest on COVID-19
- Vaccine available for ages 6 months and up. Booster shots available for J&J, Moderna, and Pfizer. Walk in appointments available at many clinics.
- Current and Upcoming Events
- Community Outreach Monthly Grocery Distribution, Saturday, November 19th - Thanksgiving Outreach
- Youth & Family Ministry
- Youth & Family Ministry Movie Night, 11/11
TextAlertz: If you are signed up to receive church text blasts via textalertz, but have stopped receiving the blasts, please email Sis. Gallington at ggallington@gmail.com so she can troubleshoot the issue.
Please keep us updated: Please keep us apprised of any changes to your address, phone number and email address so that we can maintain an accurate database of member information. Please notify Sis Nagarajah at enagarajah@gmail.com or Sis Gallington at ggallington@gmail.com of any changes to your contact information.
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Current & Upcoming Events |
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Our November monthly grocery distribution outreach will be replaced by our annual Thanksgiving Outreach on Saturday, November 19th. The completed Thanksgiving Gift Bags will be delivered to Madison Park Community Development at 12 noon on that date. Please see Thanksgiving Outreach under News & Notes above for details.
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The Department of Public Health continues to urge all who are eligible to be vaccinated and/or boosted to do so, as vaccination is currently the best medical defense against the potentially deadly effects of COVID and its variants.
All Massachusetts residents ages 6-months and up are now eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and many facilities have walk-in hours. Booster shots are available for the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines at many pharmacies and health care facilities. Use the link below if you need assistance scheduling an appointment or locating a facility.
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Click here or anywhere in the announcement above for more information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). |
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Remote & In-Person
Class/Meeting Schedule
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Wednesday Night In-Person & Dial-In Bible Study
Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m. in-person and via freeconferencecall.com.
Dial in number: 978-990-5000
Access Code: 261232#
Or join the class online at
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Women's Saturday Prayer Meeting
Join us for prayer on Saturday mornings at 9:30 a.m. via freeconferencecall.com
Dial-in: 701-802-5069; Access code 3730930#
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REMINDER: Please remember to mute your phone or computer when joining any of the above conference calls to avoid interrupting the class or service you are entering, particularly if you are joining the call after the event has started. |
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Meetings will resume on November 11th and 18th at 7 p.m.
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This month's 4th Sunday Women's Class is canceled so that we can all attend the City-Wide Evening Worship Service at Florian Hall at 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 27th. |
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2023 Mature in Heart Pennsylvania Dutch Country Excursion: Our 2023 trip is scheduled for Thursday, September 14th through Friday, September 15th to see a production of “Moses” at the Sight & Sound Theater in Lancaster at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 14th. The cost for bus, hotel, dinner and show is as follows:
- $340/person for quad occupancy (families)
- $358/person for triple occupancy (families)
- $393/person for double occupancy
- $514 for single occupancy
- $830/couple for grand king room
Sign up is open now and a $75 deposit is required by to hold a spot. The number is limited by bus capacity and hotel availability. Deposits are needed by December 11, 2022, so we can finalize the theater seating. Seats can only be assigned for purchased tickets.
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This month's 4th Sunday Men's Class is canceled so that we can all attend the City-Wide Evening Worship Service at Florian Hall at 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 27th. |
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No announcements at this time. |
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Young Adult Ministry (YAM) |
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Date of next meeting will be announced. |
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Monthly Ministry Meeting
1st Sunday of each month at 2:00 p.m.
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Meetings & Events
11/5 - Finance Ministry Meeting, 9 a.m. via Zoom
11/6 - Youth Ministry Meeting, 2:00 p.m.
11/7 - Ministers/Elders/Deacons Meeting, 7 p.m. via Zoom
11/11 - Youth & Family Ministry Movie Night @church building
11/11 - Couples' Ministry Meeting, 7 p.m.
11/12 - Publications & Communications Ministry Meeting, 10 a.m. via Zoom
11/13 - Deacons' Meeting, following 11am service @church building
11/18 - Couples' Ministry Meeting, 7 p.m.
11/19 - Thanksgiving Community Outreach, 10am @ church building
11/27 - Boston Metropolitan Evening Worship Service, 5 p.m. @ Florian Hall
Masks are required for all in-person events
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Ministry Meetings - Please contact your ministry coordinator for remote meeting schedules.
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- Sunday New Converts' Class, 10:00am @church building
- Sunday Bible Class (children) Sundays at 10:00am @church building
- Sunday Adult Devotional/Bible Study, 10:20am @church building
- Sunday Worship Service 8:30 and 11:00 am in person and 11:00 a.m. via livestream on YouTube. See above for details.
- Men's/Women's Classes, 5pm (4th Sunday of the month); Men @church building; Women via Zoom (details above)
- Youth & Family Ministry (1st Sunday of the month at 2pm)
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Mature in Heart Women's Prayer (Tuesdays @ 10:30am) VIA TELECONFERENCE (connection info above)
- Prayer Meeting (Tuesdays @ 7pm) VIA TELECONFERENCE (connection info above)
- Mid-Week Bible Study (Wednesdays @ 6:30pm) in person and VIA TELECONFERENCE (connection info above)
- Mid-Week New Converts' Class (Wednesdays @ 7pm) @church building
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Healing Hearts (Thursdays @6:15pm) VIA ZOOM
- Couple's Ministry (2nd & 3rd Fridays @ 7 pm)
- Women's Prayer (Saturdays 9:30am) VIA TELECONFERENCE (Connection info above)
- Ministers/Elders/Deacons Wives Meeting, (3rd Saturday @10 am) @church building
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Bro. John Kurpiel, minister for the Lawrence congregation, hosts an international radio program, “Soul Food,” on Mondays and Tuesdays from 11AM until 3PM. The program airs on Ignite Radio Broadcast via Mixlr, an interactive internet radio platform. Use the link below to tune in to listen, or to participate in the conversation. Always free to listen. https://mixlr.com/ignite-radio-broadcast.
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Church of Christ in Roxbury
81 Walnut Avenue
Roxbury, MA 02119
617-442-5826
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