March 13, 2022

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THE CHURCH OF CHRIST ON M 51 S

We welcome you to our worship services this morning. We hope that you will be encouraged and uplifted by our time together. We have no creed or set of rules to force on you. We simply rely on the Bible to tell us what to do and try to copy what we read the church in the first century did. We meet here every Sunday, but we also have Zoom available for those who are interested. Just ask and we will include you in our Zoom services. Call Karl Marcussen at 574-514-1400 for information.

FAMILY NEWS

POTLUCK RESUMES IN APRIL: We have all missed the joy of eating together on the first Sunday of each month as COVID has made it unsafe to be close to one another for two years now. The risk has reduced to the point where we plan to be able to enjoy a monthly fellowship meal again. April 3 will be our first 2022 potluck. Bring a dish and plan to eat with us. We will also be going to Timbers after the potluck.

FOOD PANTRY RECORD: This past Monday we had a huge response from the community to our food pantry. Eighteen families showed up to get groceries, with 70 people being fed. Each family got a large amount of food including milk, eggs, meat, several loaves of bread and an assortment of canned foods. I do not think most of us understand how much work Richard Hoyt goes to organizing and securing all this food with the Gibsons providing support. Many hours went into securing and preparing all of the food materials, and in roughly an hour it was all distributed. This past Monday was one of our best if not the best response from the community. Lots of people who are in need were served.

TODAY'S LESSON

DISPENSATIONALISM
John Clayton

INTRODUCTION — Did you watch the Winter Olympics?

A. Sunday night class clashes with Christian Zionism.

1. Many denominations preach a war led by Christ.
2. Physical conflict is not the message of Jesus.

B. Restoring Israel and Jerusalem is not up to us.

1. The “Rapture” and modern war is not at hand.
2. See enclosed sheet for more on this teaching.

C. One part of this teaching is a young earth belief.

I. BIBLICAL PASSAGES AND RAPTURE THEOLOGY

A. The word “rapture” is not in the Bible.

1. “Harpazo” in Greek means “caught up.”

Used in Acts 9:39; 2 Corinthians 12:2; Revelation 12:5

2. Latin word for “harpazo” is “rapyus.” Rapture in French.

B. Three passages used to support Rapture theology:

1. Matthew 24:39-41
2. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18
3. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53

C. Different Rapture theologies have unique problems.

1. “Silent Rapture” violates Revelation 1:7; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16.
2. “Multiple raptures” violates John 5:28-29; Hebrews 9:27.

D. The Bible clearly teaches the annihilation of earth.

1. 2 Peter 3:10-12; Revelation 20:11
2. There is no war, no physical rule on earth again.

II. RAPTURE THEOLOGY IS A DISCOURAGING FALSE PROMISE. Have you not had enough pain?

A. Revelation 21:1 — The first heaven and earth pass away.
B. Revelation 22:3 — No more curse (see Genesis 3:14, 17)
C. Revelation 20:1 — Heaven and earth vanish.
D. The worst for you is what is happening now, a discussion is for Christians, not the world.

III. THERE IS NO DOUBT ABOUT THE FUTURE.

A. You do not have to be afraid — 2 Timothy 4:6-8.
B. The promise of 1 John 1:7-10 is from God.
C. Do not let others steal your joy of being a Christian.

IV. NOT BEING A CHRISTIAN DOES NOT MAKE SENSE.

THE BACK PAGE

MAKING SENSE OF THE BIBLE

What is the number one reason why people have trouble understanding the Bible? It is not the language, it is not what translation you use, and it is not because you need a high level of education to make sense of it. Our Lord taught things that are easy to understand, and saying it is too hard to understand is the kind of claim in which Satan leads us to make to justify not understanding what the Bible says. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount was talking to common folk like us. The Jewish scholars may have had a hard time understanding his message but the common folk did not — and we are also the common folk.

The reason people have trouble understanding the Bible is because humans want to contain everything in their physical world. Think of what is hard to understand in today's world. Can anyone make sense of the war in the Ukraine, and of the mindset of the Russian leaders who are bringing such pain and suffering to innocent people? Why does evolution and “survival of the fittest” have such an attraction to people of the world? Why are we obsessed with “Star Wars” and why do we have video games that bring fighting and death and destruction into our homes and our very laps. Why is porn and sexual misconduct front page news every day?

Until you get your mind around the fact that Jesus and the Bible devote all of their time and energy to the spiritual, you will struggle with the Bible and with the teachings of Christ. Jesus said “my kingdom is not of this world.” Jesus said “do not worry about tomorrow.” The whole idea of “agape” love only has meaning if you understand the spiritual.

The tragedy of dispensationalism is that it forces us to believe in continued physical struggle in the future. Jesus offers freedom from all that, and from fear of all kinds. This is REAL freedom. Do not minimize the importance of training yourself to think in spiritual terms. Then the Bible will make sense.

Our sign by the street!

Let us encourage one another to love and good deeds!

Scripture links/references are from BibleGateway.com. Unhighlighted scriptures can be looked up at their website.