Calvary Connection. June 2018

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1 June 2018 Calvary Connection The following is an article written by Ken Ham, director of Answers in Genesis and published on May 17, I believe it is a timely, well written work on an important topic worth acquainting you with as we read through the Bible in I trust you will profit from the following: Andy Stanley, the pastor of North Point Community Church in Georgia, recently announced that Christians need to unhitch the Old Testament from their understanding of the faith. By this he means to instruct people to ignore the Old Testament and focus solely on the resurrection of Jesus Christ, especially in evangelism. This statement was part of a sermon series encouraging those who ve left the church to reconsider Christianity. He says, Jesus new covenant, His covenant with the nations, His covenant with you, His covenant with us, can stand on its own two nail-scarred resurrection feet. It does not need propping up by the Jewish scriptures. The Bible did not create Christianity. The resurrection of Jesus created and launched Christianity. Your whole house of Old Testament cards can come tumbling down. The question is, did Jesus rise from the dead? And the eyewitnesses said he did. Now, the resurrection is the central tenet of Christianity. If it didn t happen, we have no hope (1 Corinthians 15:12 19). But many infallible proofs (Acts 1:3) demonstrate that this event did indeed happen - it was a real event in history, as recorded in the Bible and prophesized in the Old Testament. But it isn t enough just to know the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. That doesn t answer the question of why. For answers to those questions, you have to go to the Old Testament, particularly Genesis. Think about it. Why did Jesus need to die? Because we rebelled in Adam against our Creator and the just penalty for sin is death (Genesis 2:17). A blood sacrifice must be made to pay the penalty for sin, and the blood of goats and bulls is offered throughout the Old Testament, but it had to be offered over and over again. It merely covered over sin, it didn t take it away (Hebrews 10:4). But Jesus came as the Lamb of God to take away our sin (John 1:29). And Jesus had to rise from the grave to defeat death, the penalty for our sin. In Acts 2, when Peter preached a sermon to Jews, he started with Christ crucified and thousands were saved. Why? Because the Jews had the Old Testament background to understand the message of the cross! But when Paul did the same thing in pagan Athens in Acts 17, his message fell flat because they didn t understand who God was and why Jesus needed to die and be raised again. Paul started with the history in Genesis, laying the foundation for the gospel, some people were saved and others wanted to learn more. Our post-christian culture is definitely a Greek culture much like Paul addressed in Acts 17 that needs to be based in the Creation doctrine going back to Genesis! (cont. on page 2)

2 (cont. from page 1) The resurrection can certainly stand on its own two feet, so to speak, but it needs the history in the Old Testament to have any real meaning! Stanley gives a nod to the Old Testament as the backstory but completely ignores its doctrinal importance in understanding the New Testament. In fact, the Old Testament is so essential that the New Testament writings are built on the Old Testament. Indeed, the New Testament quotes from the Old Testament 855 times that means about 27% of the New Testament is quotations of the Old Testament! Stanley also says during his sermon, [Unhitching the Old Testament from the New is] liberating for men and women who are drawn to the simple message that God loves you so much He sent His Son to pave the way to a relationship with you. It's liberating for people who need and understand grace, who need and understand forgiveness. And it's liberating for people who find it virtually impossible to embrace the dynamic, the worldview, and the values system depicted in the story of Ancient Israel. Again, we must ask Pastor Stanley: how can you understand biblical grace and biblical forgiveness without understanding the history in the Old Testament that shows why we need God s grace and forgiveness and why we can t earn these things? Without that knowledge, grace and forgiveness are whatever we want them to be. And why do we need a relationship with God through his Son? Why can t I just come to God on my own merit? Well, we need Christ because we re sinners and our relationship with God is destroyed because of sin, according to Genesis. We need the perfect sacrifice of the Savior applied to us so we can approach a holy God. The gospel is only liberating to sinners because it s grounded in history. Without the history of the Old Testament, it s an unintelligible message! Stanley seems to be setting up a strawman argument. He s saying that considering the Old Testament to be important means you must embrace the dynamic, the worldview, and the values depicted in the story of Ancient Israel. But that isn t what the Bible teaches! We re part of the New Covenant, not the Old, and therefore are no longer under the Law (Romans 6:14). The law was a tutor or guardian to point us to our need of Christ (Galatians 3:24). While the Old Testament is still vital for Christians to understand, we aren t bound by the law, a point the New Testament stresses frequently. Describing Stanley s sermon, the church s website states, If you were raised on a version of Christianity that relied on the Bible as the foundation of faith, a version that was eventually dismantled by academia or the realities of life, maybe it's time for you to change your mind about Jesus. Maybe it's time for you to consider the version of Christianity that relies on the event of the resurrection of Jesus as its foundation. If you gave up your faith because of something about or in the Bible, maybe you gave up unnecessarily. (cont. on page 3)

3 I would urge those who have given up on Christianity to reconsider their position, but I would urge them to do so because the Bible all of it can be trusted! You see, the message of the gospel (Christ s death and resurrection) comes from the Bible. If the Bible s history isn t true, then why should we trust what it says about Christ? The ministry of Answers in Genesis produces numerous apologetics resources to show people that the Bible has not been dismantled by academia. Actually, observational science confirms the history in the Bible, beginning in Genesis. Yes, you can support the resurrection with some evidence outside the Bible. But you can t support the importance of the resurrection and what it accomplished for us without going to God s Word from the beginning! If all of God s Word can t be trusted, why should the message of the resurrection be trusted? We can t unhitch Christianity from God s Word. We can t unhitch Christianity from God s Word. It s because God s Word is true that we can know that everything it teaches including the precious message of salvation is true. (Hospitality Offered by the Moores for your Entertainment) For ten months in 2018 the Calvary church family will be invited to the Moore home (110 Hillside Terrace in the Kearney Hills area) on the third Saturday of the month for an evening of finger food, fun, and fellowship. Each family unit will be invited twice during the year. The invitees for June 16 at 7PM are those whose last name begin with Sn-Z, which includes but is not limited to: Stelling, Stenzel, Strope, Stukenholtz, Swanson, Throckmorton, Thummel, VanVoorhis, Ward, Warner, Welch, Welshinger, White, Whitehead, Whittington, Woltemath, Woods, and Yearian. All ages are welcome and you needn t bring a thing. We hope you can come!

4 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 Ross & Pam Baker Mark & Kerry Kattelman 2 Elizabeth Ely Aaron & Edie Madsen Ray & Deb Lynn Nancy & Donald Whittington Gavin Hall Jim & Susan Bovee Chris Richardson Elisa Strope Michael Ely Aaron Gering Ron & Linda Holland 12:00pm ReCharge VBS 6:30-8:15 PM Jodi Drannen Jeff & Janice Parker 7:00pm Deacons 7:00pm Hometime Happy Father s Day! Faith Stelling Holly Schneider Miranda McCord Ginny Richardson Sarah Roberts Roy & Holly Schneider Kim Coe Rowan Coe Pete Welch Kirk & Patti Miller Darrin Coe Betty Garrett John & Susan Gordon Jake Heitkamp Paul & Debbie Salansky Scott Drannen Randy & Julia Perry Ray & Jane VanVoorhis 7:00pm Deacons

5 CALVARY VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL Camp Calvary Get S More of Jesus! Coming to Calvary Community Church! 273 S 63rd Rd, Nebraska City, NE When? June 4th-8th Time? 6:30pm-8:15pm Program, Family Meal, & Carnival on Friday, June 8th Visit the Link Below to register Online Questions? Call (402) or calvarycommunityvbs@gmail.com

6 June 2018 Julia Perry Laura Poirier Gary Hudnall Jim Brockhaus John & Judy Stukenholtz When the Prayer Ministry Team moves to the front during worship, you are welcome to go to any of them to receive prayer. You may call on them outside of worship also for your prayer needs. The objective is for you to be blessed by the intercessions of your brothers and sisters in faith. Prayer for praise & thanksgiving Prayer for comfort for the grieving or heavyhearted Coaching you and affirming you as you make prayers of confessions and repentance Prayer for healing physical healing, healing of emotional wounds, healing of relationships Prayer for restoration of joy Prayers for release, deliverance and protection Prayer for specific blessing Assisting anyone who desires to profess faith in Jesus and acknowledge Him as Savior and Lord. Nursery Schedule June 2018 June 3: SS Jane VanVoorhis & Jeanne Gubser Worship Janice Parker June 10: SS Jeanne Gubser Worship June 17: SS Susan Gordon & Gaylene Callahan Worship Shirley Oakes & Renae Stelling June 24: SS Betty Garrett Worship If you can help in the nursery, please contact the church office. Thank you!!

7 On Saturday, April 7, twenty-four women met at Calvary for a Hat Extravaganza!! Hosted by Amanda Ely and Jane Moore. Special Guest Sasha White brought her vintage clothing collection. Amanda s refreshments were Almost too beautiful to eat! Hats of all kinds and colors were entered in the style show. Devos by Jane Moore on prioritizing the many hats we wear. The Winners: 1st Candy Gray 2nd Janice Parker 3rd Deloris Stenzel Lovely Ladies and their hats!

8 Young Adult Ministry Ages Join us every Sunday, after church, from 12:00 Noon 1:30 PM in the Lighthouse Room and be refreshed, restored and revitalized in conviction, vision, and passion for the Lord. A light lunch is provided. Calvary Community Church Evangelical Free 273 S 63 rd Road Nebraska City, NE (402) calvarycommunityefc@gmail.com Web: calvarycommunityonline.com Pastor: Donald Moore Worship Director: Aaron Madsen Deacons: Scott Drannen, Jeff Parker, Steve Stenzel, Claude Strope, Don Woods, Bob Yearian Sundays: 9:00 AM Sunday School 10:30 AM Worship Service