THE BEACON - Electronic Edition - 1/30/02 Let's Hear It for Miss Manners! What about handclapping in worship? The following letter and response was published on December 25, 2001 in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. I thought it was a worthwhile item to consider what "Miss Manners" has recognized, though many in denominations and so-called "churches of Christ" do not. See for yourself... DEAR MISS MANNERS: As a child, I was taught never to applaud in church. Now it is very common in my church and others I have attended. It seems that everything -- singing, speeches or any kind of performance -- is followed by someone saying, 'Let's give them a big hand.' Everybody applauds except me. Is this right or wrong." GENTLE READER: You are right, but brace yourself. A lot of angry churchgoers are going to come at you with that quote about making a joyful noise unto the Lord. Miss Manners is delighted that they have the joyful noise idea, and is all for music, speaking and other decently appropriate forms of worship. But she is afraid the good people missed the part about its being directed unto the Lord, and not unto themselves. Their pleasure may be great, but it is incidental to the purpose of worship, and they should not attempt to usurp the Lord's power of passing judgment on those who are worshipping him. Did you catch that, friends? Miss Manners (Judith Martin) has apparently recognized what many of our so-called "brethren" and our denominational friends and associates have not: worship is supposed to be directed unto the lord. When we applaud a preacher's words, a singers vocal talent, or even some dramatic point during these assemblies that are supposed to be for worshipping our Lord, it is not directed at the Lord at all, is it? Can you imagine the brethren of New Testament times applauding the apostle Paul as he concluded his late-night address to those in Troas (Acts 20)? Would the crowd in Jerusalem on Pentecost have applauded Peter as he concluded his oration that convicted them of murdering the Son of God (Acts 2)? Of course, not. When Peter went to Cornelius with the word of God, he fell at Peter's feet, to which Peter replied, "Stand up; I myself am also a man." (Acts 10:26) When the people of Antioch of Pisidia heard Paul's words of salvation, they "glorified the word of the Lord," not Paul himself (Acts 13:48). The word of God was never about the one who brought it, but everything about the word of God itself. When we get those things mixed up, as the Corinthian brethren did (1 Cor. 1-4), nothing but strife and division will result, and God will not be glorified. My dictionary defines worship as the reverent love shown to (God). It is an expression of our love for God, His word, and all He has done for us. It is not about how well we speak, sing, or even how well we can bring the audience to tears with some dramatic and emotional story. Everything we do should be for the glory of God and showing Him our love. When we applaud those who are supposed to be merely facilitators of that expression of our love, we have missed the point altogether. So, when we come together to truly and sincerely worship God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, remember that it is for Him we come together -- so do just that. Save your applause for another time. - by Steven Harper ______________________________________________ God Hates Divorce "I'm getting a divorce, but I don't plan to marry again" These words are being heard with increasing frequency. Usually the spokesman is thinking that God allows the right to divorce, but would disapprove remarriage. The truth is, however; Divorce itself is sinful unless it is for the cause of fornication. Consider Matthew 19:3-6. The question originally asked Jesus by the Pharisees was not concerning remarriage, but concerning divorce: Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?" Jesus' reply to that question: 'What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." It was only after further questioning that Jesus discussed the problem of remarriage and adultery. Consider Malachi 2:16. "For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away." Even under the old covenant God did not approve of indiscriminate divorce. It is likely that the "tears" of verse 12 which "covered the altar" and caused the Lord to refuse their offering, were the tears of those who had been wrongfully put away. Consider Matthew 5:32. "Whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery." Observe the words, "causeth her" or maketh her" (ASV). This writer understands this verse to say that if one divorces his wife he places her in a position of temptation to commit adultery, and shares the guilt when she does commit adultery. On the other hand, if he puts her away for the cause of fornication, he has put her away legitimately, and shares no guilt in whatever adultery she may subsequently commit. Consider 1 Corinthians 7:16: "And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband." Observe the word "command" or "charge" (ASV). The following verse (verse 11) does not negate or nullify this command, but simply recognizes that one might disobey the Lord's command (in which case he sins - 1 John 3:4), and states his options if he has disobeyed. Not only does the Lord command husband and wife to live together, but he commands them to meet one another's physical needs (1 Corinthians 7:3-5) and to love one another (Ephesians 5:25; Titus 2:4-5) If one companion in a marriage fails along these lines, the other must still be obedient to God, seeking to be what He would have him or her to be in the marriage relationship. Never should the thought of divorce or separation ever enter the mind unless fornication occurs. We are not suggesting that divorce itself is "adultery," but we are saying that divorce for any cause other than fornication is sin. Christians must not be influenced by the loose standards that prevail in the world in which they live. - by Bill Hall ______________________________________________ Did Jesus Use Carnal Methods To Attract Crowds? Many religious groups use a variety of carnal appeals to draw people to their assemblies. For instance, there are suppers and ice cream socials, ball games and entertainment events, etc. When asked to justify these activities they will commonly refer to the episodes where Jesus fed the multitudes. Some have said, "If you first feed a man's body, then you'll have a chance to feed his soul." Let's see if their reference to Jesus' activities will really support their practices. There were two separate instances in which Jesus miraculously fed huge crowds of people with small quantities of food. One time there were 5000 men, plus women and children (Mt. 14:15-21; Mk. 6:30-44; Lk. 9:10-17; Jn. 6:1-14). On another occasion there were 4000 men, plus women and children (Mt. 15:32-38; Mk. 8:1-9). In both instances, the people had followed Jesus to hear His marvelous teaching and to see His amazing miracles. There had never been a promise of food to draw them. In fact, both episodes show the people following long distances and for a long time before they were offered food. For example, in Matthew 15:32 we read: "Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way." Do you see it? The people were not lured to follow by an offer of food. The food came AFTERWARDS, as an act of compassion. The people had NOT come in anticipation of being fed. We have one reference where Jesus suspected that the people did, indeed, come with a desire of receiving food (Jn. 6:22ff). On that occasion He DID NOT feed them! Those who would use the example of Jesus feeding the multitudes to justify their carnal practices today are simply wrong! - by Greg Gwin ______________________________________________ Trends . . . U.S. Census data released in May, 2001, revealed that nuclear families (those with fathers and mothers) fell to less that 25% of all households in the U.S. - via Does God Exist? 12/01 Matthew 19:6 "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." _____________________________________________ Some quotes worth pondering . . . "Successful marriages depend not only upon finding the right person, but also on BEING the right person." "Those who enter marriage with the idea that they will divorce if things don't work out -- usually find that things don't work out." ______________________________________________ News from Collegevue . . . January 27, 2002 It is a real blessing to be able to assemble together today. We thank God for this privilege, and we thank each of you for being present. We offer a special welcome to all of our visitors. We hope you will come again real soon. If you have questions or need our assistance, please let us know. We are happy to have Michael Connolly from Cork, Ireland, speaking to us this morning. Michael is preparing to move to Almaty, Kazakhstan, to preach the gospel. The church here has already provided some support for his move, and we look forward to this opportunity to meet him and hear about his plans. New Members: We are happy to welcome the Allen Crawford family (Allen, Lanelle, Lane, Ryan, Amber). Please make them feel "at home" here at Collegevue. Address and phone info is included in an insert in the bulletin today. Please continue in prayer for those who are sick, including: Gary Jackson, Fred Brown, James Sanders, Kermit Abner, Jeremy Fralix's mother, Roger Toombs' mother, and others. Our gospel meeting with L. A. Stauffer is not far off. The dates are March 10-15. Mark your calendars and be sure to keep those dates open so that you can attend each service. The weeknight lessons will be a series on church history, and will help answer the question: Where did all the denominations come from? Children's Bible drill will be at 5:40 today. Figures for the week of 1/20/02: Sun.: AM, 175; PM, 155; Wed., 156; Contrib., $3644 ______________________________________________ "The Beacon - Electronic Edition" is sent out weekly from Columbia, TN, and contains articles and information taken from the most recent "paper" bulletin of the Collegevue Church of Christ. We hope you will use this material in any way you can that will glorify our Father. Please give proper credit to the respective authors. - Greg Gwin ggwin@edge.net