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A FIXED HOPE IN A BROKEN WORLD

Hebrews 6:18, 19

We live in a broken world. Evil is abundant, righteousness is rare, crime is increasing, poverty is epidemic, and global warming or global terror is a big threat to our planet. People are losing their jobs, their houses, and their life’s savings at an unprecedented rate. Violence, natural disasters, and moral depravity seem to be skyrocketing. In this broken world a murder takes place every 23 minutes, a rape every six minutes, a robbery every 58 seconds, a burglary every second. In this broken world one million teenage pregnancies occur annually, 68% of black children and 22% of white children are born out of wedlock; and half of all high school seniors report they have used illicit drugs. In this changing world in which old landmarks have been tossed aside; old customs and moral standards are turned up-side -down; MY HOPE IS FIXED! In this changing world, sin is called sickness, alcoholism is now just a disease, and adultery has become respectable and fashionable; MY HOPE IS FIXED! During the time when some congregations are trying to be like denominational churches, doctrine is changing, the distinctive plea is made user-friendly; UPON THIS ROCK, I STAND! Why is the world falling apart? The Bible not only identifies the source of our world’s problems, it gives us the solution. The solution cannot be found in science, politics, philosophy, Dr. Phil or any other human endeavor. I am not talking about standing upon sinking sand, not upon billows of the sea, not upon the blowing winds, not upon the philosophies of men, not upon the doctrines and the commandments of men. I am not standing upon human speculation, theological pontifications, philosophical speculation, liberalism, and denominationalism because they are not a solid rock. Upon this great truth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, I stand. The songwriter wrote for me when he wrote:

My hope is built on nothing less,

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ, the Solid Rock, I Stand.

All other ground is sinking sand.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the only lasting hope for this broken world. This is a fixed hope, a sure hope, an unshakable hope that is rooted in Jesus Christ. Hope is a complex emotion, made up of an earnest desire, and an expectation of obtaining an object. The Greek word is elpis, from a primary elpo (to anticipate, usually with pleasure); expectation (abstract or concrete) or confidence: - faith, hope. It has reference, therefore, to what is at present unseen.

Webster defines hope: Desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment; to desire with expectation of obtainment, to expect with confidence. How vital is that expectation!

Without it, prisoners of war languish and die.

Without it, students get discouraged and drop out of school.

Without it, athletic teams fall into a slump and continue    to lose.

Without it, addicts return to their habits.

Without it, marriage partners decide to divorce.

Without it, inventors, entrepreneurs, entertainers lose their creativity.

Hope is something that is important to us as water is to a fish, as vital as electricity is to a light bulb, and essential as air is to a jumbo jet. Take way our hope and our world is reduced to something between depression and despair.

If God be for us, who can be against us. Romans 8:31

There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Prov. 18:24

I think I hear somebody singing:

I still have joy. After all the things that I have been through, I still have joy.

I still have hope! After all the things that I have been through, I still have hope.

Police can’t arrest my hope.

Robbers can’t steal my hope.

Stormy weather will not destroy my hope.

Congress can’t legislate away my hope.

Sickness and hard times will not destroy my hope.

I’m not going to let anybody destroy my hope.

The president can’t veto away my hope.

Hypocritical church members can’t take away my hope.

Sickness and hard times will not destroy my hope.

I’m not going to let anybody destroy my hope.

In Romans 8:35, the apostle Paul raised this pivotal question, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? This rhetorical question begins Paul’s final celebration of assurance, a crescendo of certainty that finally erupts in a triumphant confession of the all-sufficiency of God’s infinite and faithful love. The question is framed in terms of separation: who will separate us from the love of Christ? The rest of the paragraph develops this emphatic answer: NO ONE! Paul’s answer to the question in verse 35 is given in verses 38 and 38, For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul had A Fixed Hope In A Broken World. I can say with Paul that I can do all things through Christ who strengthen me. What a Friend We Have in Jesus. This friend is worth having in your life in this Broken World.

He can solve the problems that you can’t.

He can win battles that you can’t win.

He can move mountains you can’t.

He can stretch the dollar that you can’t.

He can open doors that you can’t.

He is a friend to the friendless,

To the hopeless,

To the helpless,

To the worthless,

To the homeless,

To the jobless.

 

CHEAP GRACE, AN ENEMY OF GOD

A lonely figure leans over his bare wooden table in a German prison. He is busily writing his thoughts about faith and grace, knowing that his guards, who have come to admire and respect him, will smuggle his writings out of the prison to his friends. This man’s name is Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of several German preachers who dared to speak out against Adolph Hitler. On April 9, 1945, Bonhoeffer was killed by the Germans. In his writings, he talked about CHEAP GRACE and COSTLY GRACE. Cheap grace is wanting to be a Christian without wanting to change any of our ways of living. It is forgiveness without repentance. That, of course, is not the kind of grace that the Bible talks about. God’s grace is COSTLY because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it cost a man his life; it is costly because it condemns sin and grace because it justifies the sinner. Read Romans 5:6, 8-32.

Cheap Grace Is The Deadly Enemy To The Church Because It Asks For An Intellectual Assent As Faith. Someone says, “Jesus paid it all, and all to Him I owe. There is nothing for me to do.” Someone else says, “Only believe and you will be saved.” Matthew 7:21 tells us that we must do the will of God to be saved. Mark 16:15, 16 tells us that we must believe and be baptized to be saved. Cheap grace is wanting to be a Christian without wanting to change any of our ways of living. Cheap grace says that you don’t have to give anything to be saved. SALVATION IS FREE. My Christian friends, you can’t beat God’s giving no matter how you try. WE must give to God as we have been prospered if we want to make heaven our home. (I Cor. 16:1, 2)

Cheap Grace Has Changed God’s Plan of Salvation! Costly grace says to commune on the first day of the week. (Acts 20:7) But cheap grace says once a month, quarterly, annually or neverly will do. Cheap grace says that one drop of water is as good as an ocean, but costly grace says be buried in water baptism. (Rom. 6:4) When you streamline the gospel, you sprinkle folk and pour water on them. Cheap Grace is an enemy of God!

 

 

IN TIMES LIKE THESE WE NEED THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH, THE GOSPEL TRUTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH.

 

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Dr. Eugene Lawton

Dr. Eugene Lawton
is the minister of the Newark Church of Christ in Newark, New Jersey, having served in capacity for forty-three years. He is an international evangelist, radio and television evangelist, a defender of the faith, a preacher’s preacher and a successful author of four books.

Telephone: 973-374-4563 Fax:  +1-973-374-6704

Office:  894 S. 14 St. & Clinton Ave.  Newark, NJ  07108

CALENDAR OF SERVICES

Sunday Services:
10 a.m. Bible School
11 a.m. Morning Worship
6 p.m. Evening Worship

Thursday Service:
7 p.m. Bible Study

Television Program:
Televised in Jersey City, New Jersey, on Jersey City Cable Channel 190 on
Sunday from 7:00-7:30 p.m. and Tuesday from 9:00-9:30 p.m.

Radio Program:
Listen to the
Liberation Hour on
AM 570 WMCA Radio
Sundays at 2:30 p.m.

Click HERE for
Weekly Church Bulletin

Church Calendar
February 2010

Events at the Newark COC

Ladies' Prayer Meeting and Bible Class
Date
: Sat., Feb. 13, 2010
at 10:00 a.m.
 Topic: Big Blessings Come in Small Packages
2 Kings 5:10-14

Area-Wide Singing Fellowship
Date
: Sun., Feb. 21, 2010
at 3:00 p.m.

Youth Devotional
Date
: Fri., Feb. 26, 2010
at 7:00 p.m.
Topic: Let's Give It Up For God
Luke 18:18-23
Speaker: Bro. Jelani Butler

National Dinner Day
Date
: Sun., Mar. 7, 2010
at 2:00 p.m.
Guest Speaker:
Bro. Jack Evans, Jr.
Terrill, TX

Family Seminar
Dates
: Mar. 14-17, 2010
Guest Minister:
Dr. David Lane
Dallas, TX

42nd Annual Northeastern Youth Conference
Dates
: Apr. 9-11, 2010
Theme:
Don't Let the Devil Fool You!
John 8:44, Acts 5:3
Click HERE for Flyer

Spring Gospel Meeting
Dates
: May 16-21, 2010
Guest Minister:
Bro. Warren Blakney
Tulsa, OK


Area Events


Gospel Meeting
Harlem Church of Christ
Harlem, NY
Dates
: Feb. 14-18, 2010
Mon. - Thurs. at 7:30 p.m.
Guest Minister:
Dr. Tony Roach
Abilene, TX
Host Minister:
Bro. O. J. Shabazz

4th Annual International Minister's Memorial Stars of the Faith Banquet
Harlem Church of Christ
Harlem, NY
Date
: Sat. Feb. 27, 2010
at 6:30 p.m.
Guest Speaker:
Dr. James Maxwell
Terrell, TX
Founder:
Dr. R. C. Wells

24th Annual Ladies Day
Roosevelt-Freeport COC
Roosevelt, NY
Date
: Sat., March 13, 2010
at 10 a.m.
Theme: Let God and Let God Take Control
Ecclesiastes 3:6

Host Minister:
Bro. Walter Maxwell

3rd Annual Church Growth Conference
Manchester Church of Christ
Manchester, CT
Date
: Sat., March 13, 2010
at 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Theme: I Have Many People In This City
Acts 18:10

Guest Speaker:
Bro. Monte Cox
Harding University
Searcy, AR
Click HERE for Brochure

66th Annual National Lectureship
Dates:
Mar. 30-Apr. 4, 2010
Location:
Philadelphia Marriott Downtown
Philadelphia, PA
Theme:
"The Building of
a New Nation"

Studies from the
Book of Acts

Host Director:
Bro. Willie Rupert
Click HERE for more information.

33rd Annual Northeastern Ladies Retreat
Eden Resorts & Suites
Lancaster, PA
Dates
: June 4-6, 2010
Theme: This Side of Jordan
Gen. 32:9-12

Registration Fee:
Adults:
$159 self drive or
$249 on bus
Children: $71 self drive or
$90 on bus
Payment Schedule:
Oct. 15, Dec. 15, 2009
Feb. 15, Apr. 15, 2010
Hotel Reservations:
www.edenresort.com or
(866) 801-6430
Group Code 532928


Publications

THE CHRISTIAN ECHO
One year subscription is $15. See Sis. Pamela Askew to order or renew your subscription.

THE REVIVALIST
Monthly newspaper published by Bro. Herman Wesley, III. One year subscription is $15. See Sis. Connie Smith to order or renew your subscription.

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