For Biblical Discussion

Stay Away from Murder!


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THE FASCINATION WITH MURDER

Murder is on the increase, not only with those who physically commit such crimes, but also those who are transfixed with their details. Many video games and apps, news reports, and television programs all have one thing in common — murder! Our world has a curiosity, fascination, and even a love affair with the “how’s” and “whys” of murder. We are being fed a steady diet of crime, served up in as many ways as possible to make the viewing and hearing about killing palatable. Murder is a heinous crime that can capture the attention of its listeners and viewers. For those taken in by the sensationalism, at some point murder goes beyond “news”. The news has the ability to feed on the psyche and can become as addictive as any powerful drug. This is a trick of an enemy!

THE EFFECTS OF MURDER ON A SOCIETY

Many know the account of Samson who was fascinated with Delilah’s ways. After Sampson’s hair was cut, he thought he had the strength he once had to fight. He found out at the critical time he didn’t have that strength at all. Likewise, one cannot be consistently curious about murder and think it doesn’t have any negative affect on them mentally and spiritually (Mt. 24:12). The Bible states: “We know that anyone born of God does not keep on sinning; the One who was born of God protects him, and the evil one cannot touch him. We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.” – I John 5:19 – Berean Study Bible

Copycat killings usually start with one who is intrigued by another’s murder(s). The intrigued person eventually “acts out” what has been sown in their heart. We should stay away from anything that is wicked — and our hearts are desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9). We should also know that we haven’t experienced the utter depths of where our hearts can lead us. (“Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.” – Prov. 4:23/GNT.) A person who is “saved” is not immune from being caught up in the spirit of murder — which is usually in some form of news or entertainment through means of broadcasting. People can be subject to this spirit, whether saved or unsaved (James 4:2; I John 3:14-15). Great spirits from history have a way of returning and affecting masses of people. We see these following accounts in the Bible. During Noah’s day the earth at that time was given over to violence (Gen. 6:13). The apostle Paul noticed that the city of Athens was given over to a similar spirit, which was idolatry (Acts. 17:16). The prophet Hosea took a wife from the land of Israel that was given over to idolatry and adultery. Habakkuk complained of the wide-spread violence of his day (Hab. 1:1-3). History has a way of coming back to repeat itself.

The first murder in the Bible was broadcast for the purpose of showing how dark sin really is, but we see the insatiable drawing power murder has to consume all who are given over to its spell — from those who commit actual crimes to those who are drawn in by the details.

Stay away from murder!

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An Imitation of Love!


Little children, we must stop expressing love merely by our words
and manner of speech; we must love also in action and in truth. 
(1 John 3:18)

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There is a movie titled: “The Imitation of Life”, that could have easily been named the Imitation of Love. The two main actors are a single black mother and her fair-skinned daughter, who conveniently passed as white. The daughter had struggles loving her mother because she wanted to “fit in” with white America during the 1950’s. The mother pursued the daughter with unconditional love. The daughter (suffering her own struggles with her skin color) rejected her mother’s love. She finally realized the depths of her love for her mother at the time of her mother’s death — which was too late. (This was a tragic story!) The movie should be seen by all people who have issues loving anyone because of internal and external pressures.

In many ways there are struggles we face with those who are considered different than who we have defined ourselves as. Many only want those type of people in their world. The church also struggles with loving certain members who are in the body. We all know that love can be expressed by words, but “I love you” means nothing if there are no actions that back up mere words. Take a moment and ask yourself how would you define love? What does it look like? Is it a nice feeling you have for someone and they, in-turn, have for you? How would you define it? Let’s go back to I Corinthians, chapter 13 and revisit the “love” chapter and see what love really is. Here is a good biblical definition of love, as well: For God so LOVED the world that He GAVE his only begotten son. The verse clearly suggests that love is a sacrifice. Forms of intense giving are expressions of love. Love means little to others if our flowery words are simply poured out on them. We must be careful because there is an imitation of love. It looks like love, and it often masquerades as love, but it can have its root in selfishness and indifference. True love cannot be imitated with just words of expressions.

God — help us to love — not just with words, but also in deeds! Amen!

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Start A VIRTUAL Bible Readers’ Club For Your Church (Handouts)


ICEA – “Church at Study”

STARTING A BIBLE READERS CLUB IS A UNIQUE WAY FOR
MEMBERS TO LEARN THE BIBLE & INTERACT BY ZOOM AT THE SAME TIME!

HERE IS A SAMPLE LETTER THAT WAS SENT OUT TO MEMBERS:

Praise the Lord ________________________ .
 
I want to invite you to our Bible Readers Club, where members will be reading the book of Philippians. The event will be this Sunday, from 4:15-5:30 p.m. We will have some light-hearted things to do to make the reading exciting. We will be giving out small gifts; have the audience shout out hard to pronounce words; find key verses throughout the chapters, and more!
 
The group will be reading (in rotating order) from the NIV version for better clarity. We plan to continue this study from various books on a monthly basis. For this meeting only, we will allow readers to use their King James Version, also. I have created a curriculum outline to break down and better understand Philippians.
 
We currently have over 50 members signed up! Please e-mail me and let me know if you are able to make it.
 
Look forward to your reply!.
 

(CLICK TEXT BELOW TO SEE HOW IT’S DONE AND SEE THE ATTACHED FOR A SAMPLE OF THE HANDOUT WE USED.)

bible-club-philippians-handoutDownload

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A Recording: “Dad, What Do You Know About Life?”


PCAF Instructor Elder Fred Wallace Teaches with Great Wisdom for ICEA about Life.
Here is the recording:

We are studying from
the great book of Proverbs
Sunday mornings,
from 9:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
The phone number is
1-712-832-8330
The access code is 6902797

(Different instructors weekly.)

You may click the download button and
print the packet for our studies below.
(Also…get a young person to listen in weekly!)

(Proverb Packet)Download
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