Lesson
from page B5
division usually occurred
after the death of the father
or in a living situation, the
division occurred if the
father retired and awarded
the estate to the sons. Well
neither is the case in our
story. Here the younger
son just has a tremendous
urge to be independent and
in a very bold move,
requests of his father an
early issuance of his inher
itance. The father complies
because he loves his son
and wants to see him
happy. Within a few days
of the division of wealth,
the younger son cashes out
and leaves the country. We
are told that he squanders
his wealth in wild living
(Luke 15:13). Details of
what wild life entails are
not given, but we can imag
ine it would include gam
bling, drinking and carous
ing. Jesus doesn't say how
long it took for the younger
son to deplete his funds,
but we guess not long at all.
With the days of wine and
roses gone, the young man
now in need hires himself
out to a local who uses him
as a hand in the field caring
for the pigs. Hunger pains
affect him so much that he
considers eating what the
pigs eat (vs.16). In a
moment of clarity, his
thoughts returned to his
father's house where even
the servants were well fed.
He makes the decision to
go home and confess his
sins against heaven and
before his father and ask to
be taken back, not as a son,
but as a hired servant (vss.
17-19). He has clearly had
a change of not only mind
but heart. The question
now lingering in his mind
is, will he be forgiven and
taken back? Tlie father
sees the son coming from
afar and driven by love, he
hurried to meet, hug and
kiss him. For a person with
status to run was consid
ered degrading and humili
ating. Love sometimes
breaks rules (vs.20). The
son now blurts out a con
fession and the father read
ily forgives him and orders
a fine robe to cover him, a
ring for his finger and san
dals for his feet. A feast is
ordered also using a prized,
grain-fed "calf' (vss. 21
23). The father is over
joyed at the return of a son
who was as good as
"dead." He had returned to
life morally and spiritually
(vs.24). Further reading
shows the contrast of the
father's attitude with that of .
the older brother. The
older brother refused to for
give and was bitter and
jealous. The father
explains to the older broth
er why he forgave the
younger and we see that
Jesus' key point here is that
God the Father wants to
save sinners.
For Your Consideration:
What caused you to turn to
God in repentance and seek
His forgiveness? What can
we do to be as grace-orient
ed as God is toward the
lost?
Life's Application:
Our churches are not doing
all they can to reach out to
the lost with the message of
salvation. The lesson is a
reminder to us that the mis
sion of the church is to tell
the lost about the love of
God as Father and His
mercy through faith in the
Son. Its not "new,"it's
"news" that should always
be on our lips - The Good
News.
Movie
from page BS
Clavius' associate
Lucius returns to tell Pilate
of what he has seen and of
what he believes Clavius
intends to do. Once Pilate
leams of Clavius's appar
ent betrayal,, he sends a
contingent of Roman
troops to pursue Clavius
and the disciples. Clavius
helps the disciples evade
the Romans and encounters
Lucius and shows him
mercy instead of violence,
as he once showed earlier
in the film.
Clavius continues to
struggle with what he
thinks to be true of the
world and what he has seen
from Jesus, but eventually
begins to believe after see
ing the Messiah heal a
leper and also witnessing
the ascension of Jesus into
heaven.
"I thought it was a
blessing on my life to be
able to see how Jesus was
crucified from another per
spective, such as someone
who was not a believer, and
it was a joy to see in the
end that he was saved,"
said Denise James of
Galilee.
the Rev. Jackie Moore
Hairston said, 'To actually
see the Resurrection of
Jesus depicted in a movie is
just awesome, and it also
emphasizes the importance
of discipleship and that in
itself is a blessing. I think
this movie can make a life
changing impact for some
one that may become saved
and be glorified that God is
still alive:"
Scovens spoke with the
congregation in the movie
theater following the film,
quoting a line from the
movie where the disciple
Bartholomew is asked by
Clavius, "Where are the
disciples?" and
Bartholomew responds,
"They are everywhere."
He wanted everyone to
take that message from the
movie and be a disciple for
Jesus Christ and to lift him
up so that all men may be
drawn unto Him.
Scovens, and many
from his congregation,
recently visited the Holy
Land and has been preach
ing from John as part of his
post-Resurrection sermons
the past few weeks, and felt
this movie would be a great
way to build onto that mes
sage.
Scovens wanted people
to understand the' differ
ence between fact and fic
tion in the movie and to
provoke some thought into
Security
frontpage B57
That's what I want to do
here today," Kimbrough
said during the course.
Kimbrough also dis
cussed protecting children,
ensuring pastoral protec
tion, dealing with disorder
ly people, determining lia
bilities, evacuation proce
dures, planning for inci
dents and threats, and how
to create emergency plans.
.It's no secret that
churches are generally
open environments and
therefore much more vul
nerable to violent crimes
than other controlled work
places and institutions.
Since 1999 over 622 vio
lent deaths have occurred
on church and faith-based
properties.
During an interview
with The Chronicle,
Kimbrough said at any
time and any moment
something could happen.
"When the church is
secure, the worship is
secure," he said. "Proper
planning can stop a lot and
prevent a lot of issues. It's
the small things that mat
ter."
Security directors from
a number of churches both
big and small said they dis
covered a lot of new tactics
that will help create an
atmosphere of security.
"I took a lot of tilings
from the course here
today," said Alex Neal, a
member of Cornerstone
Faith Ministries.
"The course covered
the entire aspect of securi
ty," he said. "I will be
implementing a number of
things from the course at
my church."
While Neal was look
ing to build a security team
to protect his church, others
came to the workshop to
get advice on how to
improve security teams that
are already in place.
4*
Christian Robert Smith,
a member of Greater
Cleveland Avenue said
although they have had a
security team for a number
of years, Kimbrough's
expertise will help take
security to the next level.
"It was important to
come here today to get
more information and learn
how to update what we are
doing," said Smith. "We
want to make sure every
thing is in place and that we
are doing this the right
way."
In coming months,
Kimbrough will be hosting
similar courses at venues
along the East Coast.
Coordinator for the
course, Denise A. Smith,
said a lot of effort goes into
planning the training. She
also noted it is important to
make sure that upon com
pletion, attendees leave
with the knowledge, infor
mation and confidence nec
essary to protect their
places of worship.
"They say a vision
without action is merely a
dream, action without
vision just passes time, but
vision with action can
change the world,", she
said. "It's a great feeling to
be able to stand beside him
and watch his vision
become a reality."
Smith mentioned that
when Kimbrough conducts
his training, he is in his ele
ment.
"He's focused on one
common goal. Safety and
security in the worship
place is no longer a need, it
is a necessity!"
For more information
on upcoming training
workshops or scheduling a
site visit/security consulta
tion for your worship place,
contact Denise A. Smith at
888-239-4775.
rnoco oy levm Minson
Bobby Kimbrough Jr. talks about the legal aspects
of having a security team inside the church during
the "Plan, Prepare and Protect Safety and Security"
course on Saturday, April 16, at the Hilton Garden
Inn.
I
SBI
BASEBALL BBM
mm
| PRIZES ABOUND! H
Prizes for Guess the Longest Drive and
Magic Ball contests. Win a new car for a
hole-iri-one, sponsored by Flow BMW.
Hole-in-one contest sponsored by
Windsor Jewelers. Trophies will be awarded
for winners in the GolfTournament
I Come out and enjoy 18 holes of exciting golf on new Diamond Zoysia greens at
Winston Lake Golf Course. A day of fun, fellowship and great prizes await all participants.
All proceeds from the classic and silent auction will support the general scholarship fund atWSSU.
So grab a friend or three - and join us
Friday, April 29,2016 for the Golf Tournament.
Dual Shotgun starts at 7:30 am and 1:00 pm
4 Player Captain's Choice
pepsL
Entry Fee: $180 per person/$630 per team
Includes cart, green fees, souvenirs,
MMHH lunch sponsored by Bib's Downtown. ?BMB
CHANCELLOR'S
PUTTING BUDDIES ,
Join us and cheer on our inaugural class of
Chancellor's Putting Buddies announced during
lunch. Selected individuals will compete in a
short putting contest for a chance to win $500
for theWSSU Foundation general scholarship
fund sponsored by Tournament Promotions.
SCHOLARSHIPS H
WSSU desires to provide financially for students
through scholarship offerings. Opportunities
such as the Golf Classic will allow access for
more dedicated, talented and ? I
motivated students.
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Let us Know mmckmickM