Pastor's
Harbor
|
Antioch
Lighthouse
Here
at Antioch, we are Disciples for Christ, the Church of
Three Ships: Worship, Friendship, and Fellowship; Where our worship is produced by our daily devotion with God,
Where our friendship is produced by our love, Where our
fellowship is produced by our relationship with Christ.
Here at Antioch, we are Kingdom Building.
Rev.
Michael E. Coleman, Pastor
Staff/Writers:
Bonnie Frizell, Rosemary Jordan, Shelly Robinson
Editor:
Stella Thomas
April 2001
Volume VII
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| Christians With No
Power Now that we died with Christ,
we believe that we will also live with Him. For we know that
since Christ was raised from the dead, He can not die again; death no
longer has mastery over Him. The death He died, He died to sin
once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. In the
same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive in God in Christ
Jesus. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so
that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your
body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves
to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer
the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness.
For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under low, but
under grace. Ro. 6:8-1 (NIV)
The longer I pastor the more it occurs to me that
many of our problems are because we will not yield to the work of God
in our lives. At first glance one would think that this
statement is out of order. Listen to the scriptures;
"Quench not the Spirit". (1Thes. 5:19 KJ)
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Christians are individuals who have acknowledge that
they are sinners and that Chris's death and resurrection has
transformed their lives (salvation). An individual must first deal
with the fact of their salvation. That being settled, the
Christian must then enter into the process of sanctification. Sanctification
is the process of yielding ourselves to God. This yielding tot
he hand of God is both spiritual and practical.
When we do not yield to God there are consequences.
The consequence is powerlessness. We as Christians are not to
offer our bodies up to sin and yet we do so offer. As pastor I
want to institute a biblical system of reconciliation. There are
so many hurts in the body that we can not do the work of the
kingdom. The only real solution is for Antioch is to yield to
the Lord. This means to yielding to God is knowing and keeping
the Word of God. With these things in mind we mist not yield our
bodies to sexual immorality, our hearts to emotional despair, or our
minds to intellectual unfaithfulness.
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This is not an easy task to give that all around us
there are those who seek
to deny God. Therefore, Christians are to band together in order
to facilitate our obedience to God and love for one another. We
need to operate under the commands of God.
Ask yourself, is there power in my Christian
living? Am I teamed up with the righteous? Am I in the
process of sanctification? Here Am I!
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Antioch Baptist Church Leadership
Workshop
Our First Leadership Workshop for this year was held here at Antioch Baptist
Church, the weekend of February 2-3, 2001. Our facilitators were Mike Cook
and Pastor Michael E. Coleman. Each days session began with a Praise
Service lead by Deacon Dennis Reed.
At Fridays session, two major questions were posed to us. The first
was, 'why are we here?" as it relates to a ministry mind-set, and
the second question was, "what or how are our dreaming/visioning
power?" Some of the questions that were asked and answered were, 1)
what is the purpose and mission of the church, 2) what has Antioch done to help
fulfill its mission and purpose, 3) what will or should Antioch do in the future
to fulfill its mission and purpose, 4) what will/should Antioch look like in 10
years, and 5) what prevents us from fulfilling our mission/vision.
Did you know that our mission or ministry comes from the
Word, but the "vision" comes from the Heart of God? So in
order for us to answer either of the two questions, we here at Antioch must be
able to identity out Church Ministry Points of Transition and then we will recognize
that God uses us to build bridges over impossibilities.
On Saturday we began again with the question, "Why are we
here", but our focus was on communication/commitment. We learned that
we, the Leaders, must use every means necessary and available to transmit our
goals and visions to the body of Christ. We also learned that it is a must
that we have a "nucleus for communication".
The last segment of our workshop was taken from Chapter 1 of the
text, "The Philosophy of the Church" by Dr. Anthony
Evans. Our focus came from 2 Chronicles 15:3. "Now for a long season
Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and
without law". Our importance as a church, our purpose as a church is
to complete Christ.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
VISION PLANTERS FOR KINGDOM BUILDING
STRENGTHENING OUR ROOTS
In the February Newsletter you were informed that The Vision
Planters Pledge Program is on going. If you have not joined the Vision
Program may we suggest to you "Get a New Vision". To let go of
the past and learn to live victoriously, you need a new vision. In the Scripture,
Isaiah, the prophet, describes an eye-opening experience "In the year that
King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and exalted, and the
train of His robe filled the temple". Isaiah 6:1. Get the
Vision: Will you join us? We still need your pledge.
OPEN MY EYES, THAT I MAY SEE
Open my eyes, that I may see
Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free;
Silently now I wait for Thee,
Ready, my God, Thy will to see;
Open my eyes, illumine me,
Spirit divine!
The Total amount Pledged per month was $4,631.00
Total Pledges received for January was $2,898.50
Total Pledges received for February was $3,642.50
The way we live our lives indicates our level of faith and love
for God. Faith in God is crucial to spiritual growth and future
blessings. When we live in the past, our faith is compromised.
Proverbs: 3:5-6 (NIV) instructs us to "Trust in the Lord with all your
heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge
{God}, and He will make your paths straight.
LENT SEASON
It is a period of penitence and fasting observed from Ash
Wednesday to Easter, in doing this we are making a special sacrifice.
The Trustees will distribute Lenten folders Sunday, March 4,
2001 as Ash Wednesday was February 28. which is the beginning of Lent. We
are asking each adult member to take one and fill it. We also give some
special ones to our youth whom we hope will make a special sacrifice. We
are making a special plea for all to participate this year in order for us to
reach our budget so we cam meet our expense.
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But
sstore up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy,
and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21
Aim at heaven, and you will get earth thrown in;
Aim at earth, and you will get neither
*************************************************************************************************************************
For Your Information
A Revised Copy of our Bylaws was presented to us at our Annual
Church Meeting on Saturday, January 20th by the Bylaws Committee. We would
like to commend those individuals who gave of their time, talent, and effort
which together brought forth for us a finished draft of Bylaws which
reflect Antioch's Theme, Goals and Visions for now and the tomorrow's to come.
At our first Quarterly Business Meeting in April, the first
reading of the revised Bylaws will be read. These are the Bylaws which
will govern us here at Antioch Baptist Church, so it is imperative that you come
out and take par6t in its reading so that you can be clear on the rules and regulations
that we will be bound by. There will be a total of three (3) Readings,
after which they will be voted and adopted as the official ruling document for
us here at Antioch. If you have questions or conce45ns, then you need to attend
all Business Meetings.
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
IT'S HAPPENING HERE
Upcoming Church Events for April
April 1st Lord's Supper (Daylight Savings Time Begin)
April 8th (Palm Sunday)
Easter Cantata @ 6:00 p.m. (Rehearsals April 2nd & 7th)
April 13th Good Friday
April 15th (Easter) Sunrise Service @ 6:00 a.m.
Sunday School Easter Program @ 9:00 a.m.
End of Lent
April 28th Quarterly Business Meeting
April 29th Pastor & Family Appreciation
Wednesday Night Praise Service & Bible Study @ 6:00 p.m. "Blacks
in the Bible, So What?"
^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^<^
But
they that Wait
upon the Lord
shall
renew their strength;
they
shall mount up
with wings as
eagles;
they shall run,
and
not be weary; and they shall
walk,
and not faint
I S A I A H 4 0
: 3 1
==============================================================================================================
DIARY
OF A BIBLE
JANUARY:
A busy time for me. Most of the family decided to read me
through this year. They kept me busy for the first two weeks, but they
have forgotten me now.
FEBRUARY:
Cleanup
time: I was dusted yesterday and put in my place. My owner did use
me for a few minutes last week. He had been in an argument and was looking
up some references to prove he was right
March:
Had
a busy day first of the month. My owner was elected president of the PTA
and used me to prepare a speech.
April:
Grandpa
visited us this month. He kept me on his lap for an hour reading
Corinthians 1:13. He seems to think more of me than do some people in my
own household.
May:
I have a few green
stains on my pages. Some spring flowers were pressed in my pages.
June:
I
look like a scrapbook. They have stuffed me full of newspaper clippings -
one of the girls got married.
July:
They
put me in a suitcase today. I guess we are off on vacation. I wish I
could stay home; I know I'll be closed up in this thing for at least two weeks.
August:
Still
in the suitcase.
September:
Back home at
last and in my old familiar place. I have a lot of company. Two
women's magazines and four comic books are stacked on top of me. I wish I
could be read as much as they are.
October:
They
read me a little bit today. One of them is very sick. Tight now I am
sitting in the center of the coffee table. I think the Pastor is coming by
for a visit.
November:
Back in my old
place. Somebody asked today if I were a scrapbook.
December:
The
family is busy getting ready for the holidays. I guess I'll be covered up
under wrapping paper & packages again... just as I am every
Christmas.
GOD'S WORD SAYS,
"And
you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your might. And these words, which I am commanding you today,
shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and
shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and
when you lie down and when you rise
up."
Deuteronomy 6:5
.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Congratulations Antioch!!
Antioch Baptist Church is on the move. The year 2000 ended
on a very positive not and 2001 is building on that momentum. One of our
projects that we are excited to update you about is the New Nehemiah House, which
is under renovation/construction. It is located at 424 Oneida Street,
corner of Halstead and Oneida. We were blessed to receive this property as
a gift and we have received partial funding from the Community Development Block
Grant Program.
The Nehemiah House is a transitional housing/drug rehabilitation
ministry. It's origin comes from our "How Shall We Then Live
Ministry" which is the community outreach arm of the Antioch Baptist
Church. This ministry seeks to provide a structured atmosphere for
individuals who are either coming out of prison or recovering from drug addiction.
Phase I of the project has begun. This entails preparation
of the site, including clean up, removal of debris, demolition and removal of
interior walls, ceilings and floors back tot he structured framing.
Temporary electric service and heating have been installed to allow work to
proceed during our current winter months.
We hope this information will ignite a fire in each of us,
producing excitement and pride. We all need to be team members. It
will take all of us to reach our goal. We are asking for your support
through prayers, words of encouragement, helping hands, financial support and
other means and effort. Its time for team work. We look forward to
being a blessing to our church family as well as our community. I know
that God is pleased.
Antioch Baptist Church
Rev. Michael E. Coleman, Pastor
426 Sumner Street
Waterloo, IA 50703