The Gospel Spotlight

(Electronic Edition)

(Romans 1:16)

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation . . . .”

March, 2002 Vol. 1 - No. 1

 

The Gospel Spotlight is a

publication of the Sixty Fifth St. church of Christ

7115 West Sixty Fifth St.

P.O. Box 19062

Little Rock AR 72219-1062

 

Editor and Evangelist

Don McClain - donmccla@msn.com

Contents:

Welcome -

Disciplining Children - How To Make It Work - By Don McClain

Beware: - Ellis Long

Strange Isn't It

Youth Ministers - from The Beacon—by Frank Himmel

I Don't Care What It Says - Steven F. Deaton

 

Dark Forces Today - Lewis Sharp

 

Welcome

We welcome you to the first electronic edition of the "Gospel Spotlight." Many receiving this bulletin were previous recipients of "The Buckler," a bi-monthly electronic bulletin which I edited and sent out while preaching at the Sixth Ave. church of Christ in Pine Bluff Arkansas. I have been planning to get back into the practice of putting out an email bulletin since moving to Benton to work with the 65th Street church of Christ in Little Rock Arkansas, but time has been a fleeting commodity – until today.

The contents of “The Gospel Spotlight” will be edifying articles dealing with a wide variation of Biblical topics. Since these articles are published in the local bulletin, they will deal with things pertinent to the needs of the church here. Many resources are used to provide edifying materials and I will always strive to give accreditation to the source. Feel free to reproduce any of the articles contained herein, we only ask that you also give proper accreditation. 

We will NOT shy away from controversial issues. How can we if we are determined to teach and stand for the truth as it is revealed in the scriptures? If anything is found in any article that is contrary to the teaching of the scriptures, I plead with you to contact me . . . If indeed such is the case, I will quickly and humbly correct the error . . . . I do not want to have anything to do with publishing that which is contrary to the Word of God. Any questions that may arise or comments that you may have regarding the contents of this bulletin should be directed to the editor. . . . I love to discuss the scriptures, and I am not afraid of criticism. - - - -

Don McClain, editor and evangelist

Email - donmccla@msn.com

Phone:

Study – 501-568-1062

Home – 501-315-1953

Disciplining Children - How To Make It Work

By Don McClain

There is no such thing as an organization, institution, or nation, surviving without discipline. An undisciplined baseball team, despite supreme talent, will lose. A school, despite capable children and knowledgeable teachers will, without discipline, accomplish little. "Because of a lack of discipline in our classrooms - reading, writing, and arithmetic is lost for want of a hickory stick." (James Dobson)

Consider these comments made thirty four years ago by Sheldon Gluek when asked the question: "What seems to be causing delinquency to grow so fast nowadays?" . . . . He answered, "There are many causes for this. First you have more and more mothers going to work. Many have left their children unattended, at home or on the streets. This has deprived children of constant guidance and sense of security they need from their mothers in their early years. - Along with that charge, parental attitudes toward disciplining their young have changed quite rapidly. In the home and outside, the trend has been steadily toward permissiveness - that is, placing fewer restraints and limits on behavior." Mr. Gluek was then ask a follow up question . . . "How has that philosophy worked out in practice?" . . .Answer - "Not very well. Life requires a certain amount of discipline. You need it in the classroom, you need it in the home, you need it in society at large. After all God's commandments impose discipline. Unless general restraints are built into the character of children, (emphasis DM), you can arrive eventually at social chaos." (U.S. News and World Report, April 1965). Wow, did he hit the nail on the head or what?

Many times when we think of "discipline" we merely think of its corrective, and punishment stages. Consider the definition of discipline: "Training that teaches one to obey rules and control his behavior." (Webster's New World Dictionary). Certainly key elements in discipline are rebuking, and administering punishment, but only in the sense that they are conducive in bringing about the real purpose of discipline - "developing self control." Whether in the home or in the church, discipline is the process of preparing individuals to meet their individual responsibilities, to God first, then to their own families, and also then to their neighbors.

There are some key elements that first must be present in order for our efforts in discipline to reach their desired goals.

Respect for God is the beginning of an individual's willful compliance to His commandments, (Psalms 111:10). Such respect must first be instilled through teaching - "Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.'(Deuteronomy 4:10). The same is true with children and church members alike! Until respect for God and those whom He has placed in positions of authority, (parents, elders, governing officials, etc.), is instilled, they will not be willfully compliant to the rules advocated. (Exodus 20:12; Ephesians 6:1-4).

Speaking instructive words with the mouth is not the only method of teaching. Sometimes, force must be used to administer the lesson to the mind, even though the "rear end" is usually the recipient of said force. In today's society, the parents are far too often no more than the biggest people living in the house! They do not have control over their children, and consequently the children grow up without ever learning one of the most basic and fundamental necessities for a truly productive life (both physical and spiritual), - "respect for authority!"

The process of instilling respect into a child must begin early in their life:

James Dobson tells the following story in his book, "Dare to Discipline" -

"There was a mother who had a rebellious thirteen-year-old son whom she could not control. "Why?" She wondered often weeping. She loved her son - and always had. She gave him everything that he had ever asked for.

Counselor after counselor tried to comfort her - reaffirming that she had been the best mother she could have been. After diligent thought as to what went wrong in bringing up her son it finally dawned on her that the philosophy which had guided her thinking all those years was terribly flawed. She had followed the teachings of our society - "All confrontation could be resolved by love, understanding and discussion."

She eventually came to realize when her problems with her son started. "One evening, her son, (at the time being but three years of age), decided that he did not want to go to bed. As mommy placed him in his crib he spit in her face. She attempted to explain to him . . . . "It's important that you learn not to spit," . . . [splat, another wet missile found its mark], Mommy wiped her face and proceeded again - at which point the youngster fired another well-aimed blast. She began to get frustrated, she shook him, but not hard enough to throw off his aim for the next contribution.

What could she do now? Her philosophy offered no honorable solution to this embarrassing challenge. Finally she rushed from the room in total exasperation, and her little conqueror spat on the door as she slammed it shut.

- She lost! Her three-year-old son won. She never regained control after that night because she continued to follow a flawed concept. Surprised?"

Suppose Little Johnny wants a piece of candy out of the cabinet - mommy says "No," so little Johnny throws a temper tantrum, falling to the floor, screaming at the top of his lungs. Mommy says, "All right, all right, I suppose one piece of candy won't hurt anything, just stop crying." Has not mommy taught Johnny a lesson? Yes indeed!

She has taught him how to get what he wants! Johnny challenged her superiority and won! If good-hearted mommy follows this same course - what does her future likely hold for her? Yelling warnings at your children without backing them up will not instill respect in the child, but just the opposite.

A child can be destroyed through the application of overly harsh, oppressive, whimsical, unloving, and/or capricious punishment, (Ephesians 6:4 do not provoke your children to wrath), however, NO harm will come to a child when the following steps are followed:

1. Identify the rules in advance.

When a child willfully breaks a rule, give him a reason to regret it, but "At all times demonstrate love, (discipline and love are NOT antithetical).

Parents need to understand that punishment is not something done to the child, but for the child.

Consider the many passages that deal with this subject -

Proverbs 13:24 He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.

Proverbs 19:18 Chasten your son while there is hope, And do not set your heart on his destruction.

Proverbs 22:15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him.

Proverbs 23:13 Do not withhold correction from a child, For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.

Proverbs 23:14 You shall beat him with a rod, And deliver his soul from hell.

Proverbs 29:15 The rod and rebuke give wisdom, But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.

Proverbs 29:17 Correct your son, and he will give you rest; Yes, he will give delight to your soul.

2. Practice what you teach.

It will be difficult teaching little George not to smoke when you smoke, and not only that, what are you going to do when you catch him smoking? Can you punish him without him feeling that you are being hypocritical? (1 Peter 1:18)

3. Do so in a manner that is fair.

Being fair does not necessarily mean that you punish two children exactly the same - Pam totals the family car after a deer jumped out in front of her, a few months later Sam, her twin brother, totals the family car because he was drunk. Can you refrain from punishing Sam because you didn't punish Pam? Being a parent demands wisdom - parents are judges. We are often called upon to sit in judgment of one child's complaint against another. We must be fair in our judgments. (Genesis 37:3,4).

4. Be consistent.

If you tell Sandra that you are going to spank her the next time that she pulls Fred's hair, you'd better be ready to do what you've promised. You will probably be tested! Lay down the rule in a concise, understandable manner, and also the punishment for violating it in advance. When a rule is violated, do what you promised swiftly and decisively, reminding the child "You've made this choice, disobedience has its consequences."

5. Respect the child's needs and desires.

Respect operates on a two way street. You can't expect your children to respect you if you don't respect them. You can't belittle them by shouting degrading remarks at them and expect them to show you respect in return. Children know the proverb, "Don't mock the alligator until you've crossed the stream." When a parent fails to treat their children with respect they often administer punishment that is harsh and even cruel out of anger producing the wrong kind of fear. The child may stay in subjection for awhile, but what is going to be the probable result when the child becomes a teenager and young adult? Certainly I am not saying that children's every want and desire be met, but they should be considered. If their desires are not in their best spiritual interest, the parent who respects their child's truest need will respectfully decline the child's request. (Colossians 3:21)

6. Truly love our children.

Love is NOT manifested by how many things you give your children, nor the value of the things you give them. True love is manifested by giving them the things that they need: Security, comfort, direction, guidance, a good example to follow, teaching them how to act and live that may learn to love and serve God. Love does whatever is best for the child. Love will develop respect that will not be quenched when these young birds leave their nest! When we truly come to understand the love that our heavenly Father has for us, what will our reaction be? (Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:19; 5:1-3)

The generation gap resulted, not from the breakdown of communications initially, but from a deterioration of individual respect for authority thus resulting in the breakdown of communications. This, because parents failed to train their children to obey the rules, being overly permissive, placing fewer and fewer restraints and limits on their behavior, (1 Samuel 3:13). This tendency was true in the Sixties and has increased into the twenty first century and has infiltrated into the church. Can we see the results?

Discipline works when administered in the proper way: -

Only if we discipline our children as God instructs us will we begin to have a greater success rate in keeping our children out of the hands of the devil! (Proverbs 22:6)

 

Beware:

"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Rom. 3:23).

Christians are engaged in a lifetime struggle with sin. We must constantly be alert remembering that:

Sin is SEASONAL. Moses refused "to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a SEASON." (Heb. 11:24). This recognizes that there is some pleasure in sin but reminds us that the sorrow which comes at the end of sin’s pleasurable season is never worth the pleasure of that season.

Sin is a SEEKER. The Bible warns, "Be sure, your sin will find you out." (Num. 32:23). In 1950 eleven men stole $2,775,395 in the great Brinks robbery. For four years and 361 days it appeared they had committed a "perfect crime." But just four days before the statute of limitations expired and the crime could not have been enacted upon, the F.B.I. caught them. Sin always seeks out its doer and sooner or later destroys him.

Sin is a SEPARATOR. Isaiah lamented over Israel. "Your sins have separated you and your God." (Isa. 59:2). Sin subtly but surely brings a breach between man and God, until eventually the separation is for eternity.

Sin is SLAVERY. Jesus teaches, "Everyone that commits sin is the slave of sin." (John 8:34). Sin works like a vise in slowly binding its victim until escape is impossible.

Let us ever be thankful that we can conquer sin.

———Ellis Long in Power For Today.

Strange Isn't It

 

Some Christians can be pushed and insulted in the ticket line trying to get into a ball game, Mistreated by the opposing fans once through the gate, Interrupted by those sitting in front of them, Annoyed because there’s always somebody complaining about the coaching, and play calling, or calling the players names, Rain or snow – cold or Hot – they keep going . . . They keep doing what they can to encourage their favorite team. BUT . . if they feel slighted at church services, they refuse to attend for weeks or sometimes quit for good.

Yes, it is strange, isn’t it? Not only strange, but inconsistent. Being peeved at the brethren and forsaking the Lord is about as logical as being angry at the dog and kicking the cat!

Youth Ministers

(from The Beacon—by Frank Himmel)

The May issue of The Christian Chronicle carried an interview with LeGard Smith, now "Scholar in Residence for Christian Studies" at David Lipscomb University in Nashville. One item caught my attention. Smith was asked what he would say if he had the undivided attention of every member of churches of Christ for 10 minutes. Included in his answer:

". . I would call on the church to abandon youth ministries, which have toppled the spiritual hierarchy. Throughout Scripture, spiritual leadership is not only male, but it’s elder. It’s the wisdom of the years that leads and nurtures younger generations."

Abandon youth ministries. This is not the cry of some old fogey ultra-conservative who resists change at every turn. It is the counsel of one who is seeing among his peers the ripe fruit of an ill-advised tree.

Youth ministries typically feature two things: abundant recreational activities and shallow, entertaining instruction. What happens when teens who are accustomed to such things become adults? Will they immediately consider themselves too old for church-sponsored recreation, or suddenly insist on more sober worship and meatier preaching? Of course not. As a result, today’s "adult church" has in many cases become just a slightly toned-down version of yesterday’s "youth church."

The Bible, of course, knows nothing of youth ministries, youth church, or church-sponsored recreation for any age. And it emphatically warns against ear-tickling preaching (2 Tim. 4:3-4).

This warning is timely. In recent years, increasing numbers of congregations which have stood opposed to institutionalism and church-sponsored recreation (things readily accepted by Smith’s associates) are beginning to dabble in youth ministries. We don’t call them that, of course, and in most cases we have not yet crossed the line into unauthorized activities. But the trend is cause for concern.

Special meetings for young people call for certain speakers, those whose presentations are more entertaining. The truth is slightly repackaged - less Bible reading and exposition, more stories and humor, and lessons that are mostly application with content limited to "relevant" (daily living) themes. Parents provide ample food and entertainment.

Do not misunderstand. No one opposes occasional sermons targeted at a particular segment of the audience, nor do we underestimate the value of young Christians getting together. However, when meetings for young people consistently take on a more entertaining air, when the add-on recreation becomes expected, when we advertise it along with the worship (even though it is not paid for from the church’s treasury), and when brethren begin to say that we may lose our young people without such events, we have gone farther than we think down the wrong path. –

I Don't Care What It Says

Steven F. Deaton

In the course of a discussion the other day, I asked a man to read a certain chapter from the Bible and get back to me about our topic. He said he would read it, but it would not matter what it says, because he would continue in his practice anyway. He said God would have to come down and speak to him from a burning bush before he would change his mind. Many people have this attitude, that is dead wrong.

The attitude of "I don’t care what it says," reveals a lack of respect for God’s word. The Bible is inspired, therefore it is authoritative (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:15). God revealed it to men through the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10-13). No spiritual truth was left out (John 16:13; Jude 3). Hence, men can read all they need to know about pleasing God and going to heaven (2 Peter 1:3).

Further, God’s word was confirmed by miracles (Hebrews 2:3-4). There is no need for further revelation, nor a miracle to confirm it.

The bottom line is, men are simply not satisfied with what God has authorized. They want something more or different. They want what "feels" good to them, not what honors God. Though they may draw near to God with their mouth, in works they deny Him (Matthew 15:7-9; Titus 1:16).

What about you? Does it matter to you what God says? Is there a belief or practice you are unwilling to give up or change though God’s word does not authorize it?

Instead of saying, "I don’t care what it says, I’m going to do it anyway," our attitude needs to be, "I don’t care what anyone says, I’m going to do what God says" (cf. Galatians 1:10).

(Taken from the "Spirit’s Sword" http://www.lawofliberty.com/idontcare.htm)

Dark Forces Today

Louis J. Sharp

IGOR I. SIKORSKY stated that "The dark forces that incited a misguided mob to shout for the death of Christ are today just as evil, active, and aggressive as they were two thousand years ago."

We hear the plaintive cry of our Lord, while here in this world in which He lived: "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you." (John 15:18). A cause for this hatred, both of Jesus and His disciples, is given in John 17:14. "... the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world."

Friends, these truths have not changed with the passing of time. There is a raging war going on between good and evil, light and darkness, Satan and the children of God. As James reminds us, "... know ye not that friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy o/ God." (4:4) The statement of Sikorsky, given above, is true. It has ever been true, not because he said it, but by the very nature of the Christian’s warfare. When righteousness exposes unrighteousness, the forces of evil seek to overthrow righteousness. Hence, the battle rages on.

The things that are happening in our society today are a reaction on the part of the evil ones, to the good influence of the "sons of light." Speaking of the spiritual warfare, in Galatians chapter five, the Holy Spirit teaches us: "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lust eth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. "(5:16-17) This is the battle that is constantly being waged on the personal, individual level. This is a most important battle that must be won, if we are to win it in our schools, cities, state and nation.

The forces of evil are alive and active. Our adversary, the devil, hasn’t quit. He hasn’t lost his "roaring lion" image (1 Peter 5:8). Do not be timid in the fight. Put on "the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." (Ephesians 6:13) Christians, "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life. "(1 Timothy 6:12)

Schedule of services

Sunday morning;

Sunday Evening;

Wednesday –

Free

  • Bible correspondence courses
  • Private Bible study

Just call 1-501-568-1062 or write to the above address specifying your interest, and we will provide these things – at no cost to you!

 

If you would like to be removed from this list - please reply to donmccla@msn.com and your name will immediatley be removed.

 

Elders

George Rumker 565-5782

Louis Sharp 565-0943

Bill Wharton 821-2760

Deacons

Glen Gray 758-1301

Bennie Stephens 562-7391

Karl VanDevender 315-5464

Kevin Webb 842-3743

Brady Speer 868-3547

Evangelist

Don McClain (R) 315-1953

(Study) 568-1062



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