IgHB^gPyBv Boil If W11 bon HMMPH
Sunday
£Pcfico/
SEetbcn
INTRODUCTION
“A kingdom that cannot be shaken” - this great phrase
comes from Hebrews 12:28. It shows an awareness that
even great kingdoms such as David’s and Solomon’s
ultimately came to an end. The Hebrew kingdoms were
overthrown, and the people were enslaved by the
Assyrians and Babylonians. Even the great empire of
Rome was not going to endure. All kingdoms of earth are
“shaken” by wars, revolutions, and fluctuations in the
fortunes of men.
THE LESSON
“And he said, So is the Kingdom of God, as if a man
should cast seed into the ground. And should leep and rise
night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he
knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of
herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn
in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately
he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. But
when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the
Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. Then
one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question,
tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great
commandment of the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all
thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great
commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt
love thy neighbor as thyself. And on these two command
ments hang all the laws and the prophets.” (Mark 4:26-29;
Matthew 22:34-40).
In recording Jesus’ parables about the Kingdom
Matthew often speaks of the “Kingdom of Heaven.” Mark
speaks of the “Kingdom of God.” It seems that Jesus used
these terms interchangeably. It is clear that He was
speaking about how God’s power and place in a person’s
life increase as he is yielded to God. Paul had this aspect of
God’s reign in mind when he said, “For the Kingdom of
God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace,
and joy in the Holy Ghost!” (Romans 14:17). A farmer
does not cast seed in a haphazard, careless and
thoughtless manner. Before he sows his crop, he thinks
about what he is sowing, the best time to sow the seed, and
what part of his land is best for the crop. Careful attention
and preparation needs also to be given the sowing of the
seed of the word.
By corn is meant "gram.” Another version of verse 28 is
“All by itself the soil produces grain, first the stalk, then
the head, then the full kernel in the head.”
In the same way, if we reniain open to God and walk
faithfully in Him, we shall grow in our spiritual lives. Of
course, we don’t see change*'every five minutes. Some
times it seems we’ve made Very little progress over quite
a period of. time. It is important for us not to become
impatient with ourselve^as far an our victories over
worry, fear, impatience, irritability, and pride are con
cerned. Just as the seed grows in a way unknown to the
farmer, so it is with us in character development.
If this is true for us, so is it true for our views of others.
Sometimes we expect new Christians to become mature
Christian personalities immediately. Of course, they have
failures and unlovely qualities still present in their lives.
This is the work for prayer, worship, Christian love,
fellowship, and encouragement to accomplish. We should
expect them, like us, to grow, but should not expect
ourselves nor them to develop overnight as if we were
hothouse mushrooms.
The desire of the Son of man was not only to seek but to
save those who are lost. The church must plan for "harvest
times.” We must also be aware of areas of earth where
groups of people seem more receptive to the good news of
God. Where such opportunities exist we should use them
because the "harvest time” may not last indefinitely. We
must be patient when waiting for times erf harvest,
perceptive to see when the grain is ripe, and prompt to
begin the harvesting procedures; for the harvest is
crucial.
We remember Jesus’ words, “The harvest truly is
plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the
Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his
harvest.’’ (Matthew 9:37, 38).
There are scores of commands in the Old Testament and
hundreds of commands in the Jewish regulations. The
commandment Jesils quoted was taken from Deuterono
my 6:5. These words were considered of primary signifi
cance by the Jews and were recited regularly in the
synogogue. All thy heart - soul - and - mind. We should
consider this as a vivid description of how all-encompass
ing our response to God should be. It is a decision and a
dedication involving our warmest find deepest emotions,
the complete submission of ourselves. Simply put we
ought to give Him the whole devotion of odr whole being.
To love God above everything else is to love the One who
stands for all that Is good, pure, kind, forgiving, merciful,
truthful, and faithful. All qualities of worth in man derive
from the fountain of all righteousness, which is God. Every
blessing and every lovely and good thing we ever have had
or ever will have, whether material, intellectual, or
spiritual, we owe to our Heavenly Father. Why should we
not love Him? To love Him in return is what He asks.
Someone has said, “The best thing in man is love, and God
wants the ^est.”
Jesus illMtrated in Himself all the great principles of
His Kingdoms- H* 681116 into the world in lowly guise as the
Babe of Bethlehem. He grew in relative obscurity, and His
reign was begun in the lives of men through His life and '
work and the training of the 12. As Phillip Brooks Wote in
his Christmas hymn:
How silently, how silently
The wondrous Gift is giv’n! -*
', So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His Heav’n. v f
No ear may hear His condng; »*
But in this world of sin.
Where meek souls will reeelve Him still,
The dear Christ enters in. ^ * j
Father, help us to walk in Your way and to try to do Your
work and Your will. In Jesus’ name we pay. Amen.
’4- ... .. . '. #»
Emancipation Proclamation
Celebration Hay Scheduled
By Jalyae Strong
Poet Staff Writer
To keep before the minds of the
black community the fact that we
were once enslaved and unless we
remember important freedom dates
in our lives, we may lose the gains
accomplished by the blood, sweat
and tears of Our foreparents.
This statement is put forth as the
purpose behind the Emancipation
Proclamation Celebration Day, to be
held Wednesday, January 1, at East
Stonewall AME Zion Church, 1729
Griers Grove Road, beginning at 6
p.m. The event will be sponsored by
the Interdenominational Ministerial
Alliance, presided over by Dr.
Harold Diggs, pastor of Mayfield
Memorial Church.
The annual event unites all de
nominations, and civic organiza
tions such as the SCLC, Black
Caucus, NAACP, Urban League,
and CHOP. Prominent Charlotte
and surrounding area ministers in
cluding Rev. Paul Drummond,
Elder Smith Turner, and Rev. Bob
Walton will be present and Mayor
Harvey Gantt will issue a procla
mation statement for this program
which celebrates the freedom of
black people.
The Emanlcipation Proclamation
was issued by President Abraham
Lincoln in September, 1862; be
came effective January 1, 1863,
freeing the slaves in all territories
still at war with the Union. Rev
Bernard Sullivan, pastor of East
Stonewall, rephrases these facts
stating, “A vacillating President
Lincoln, in an attempt to hold the
Union together, granted blacks the
rights of full citizenship taking us
from slavery to freedom.
“However,” continues Rev..
Sullivan, “it was years before we
finally did become free. And still
many of us do not enjoy the rights of
liberty and the pursuit of happi
ness.”
Rev. Sullivan will be the featured
speaker at the celebration. ’ The
focus of his speech will be “Where
Do We Go From Here? ” This topic is
aptly taken from the title of the late
Rev. Bernard Sullivan.
.Featured speaker
Martin Luther King's book.
The pastor describes his recita
tion as one which wilt lead the
audience from where blacks in
America came from, to where they
are now, further to where they need
Mary Harvey Gantt
.Issues proclamation
to go. “I plan to mention all types of
historical people, such as Harriet
Tubman, Frederick Douglass,
Marcus Harvey Malcolm X, Booker
T. Washington, and Martin Luther
King; and events, including the
Underground Railroad, the Black
Codes, Nat Turner and slave up
risings, but most important the
Emancipation Proclamation,” he
elaborates.
It is fitting that an organization
such as the Interdenominational
Ministerial Alliance, which consists
of over 100 ministers and churches,
hosts such an event, since the black
church has always been in the fore
front of freedom efforts. At the same
time, it is just as appropriate that
the program is held on the first
day of the New Year It is ap
parently the anniversary of the
Emancipation but moreover, Rev.
Sullivan points out, “As we begin a
new year, we can also begin anew
Let us capture this moment and
reflect upon our history and be
strengthened by it.”
The East Stonewall AME Zion
Church Choir will render songs for .
the occasion. Refreshments will be
served following the service.
The public is urged to attend,
thereby the adults will not forget and
the children will be made aware.
In Child Nursing
Foul* Complete
Master’s Degree Requirements
l nree of four December graduates
of the master's degree program in
nursing at the University of North
Carolina at Charlotte are the first to
complete a major in a parent
child nursing program.
The three are Cindy Dabbs, who
teaches nursing at Wingate College;
Naomi East, who teaches at Cataw
ba Valley Technical College in
Hickory; and Beth Marlin, who
taught nursing at Central Piedmont
Community College before re
turning to full-time graduate
study. The fourth December grad
uate, Terra Sutton, who practices at
the Presbyterian Hospital Open
Heart Surgery Suite, completed the
adult health nursing major.
UNCC awarded its first master's
degrees in nursing in December of
last year. A total of 10 students have
now earned master’s degrees in the
nationally accredited master’s
program Ninety students are cur
rently enrolled in nursing service
administration and mental health
nursing majors and the parent-child
and adult health majors.
Mrs. Dabbs received her under
graduate nursing degree at UNCC in
1973 and a master’s degree in edu
cation in 1978. Her husband, John, is
a 1970 UNCC alumnus. They have
three children, Kristi, Barrett, and
Taylor and .live at 3604 Glenhave
Dr., Harrisburg.
Mrs. East attended the University
of Hawaii and graduated from
Lenoir Rhyne College. Her hus
band, Tom, is an employee of Deluxe
Printers They have two sons,
Jeremy and Chad and live.at Rt. 11,
Hickory.
Mrs. Marlin is a graduate of
UNCC and the wife of William
Marlin. She began a Graduate Stu- .
dent Association and a Graduate
Student Nursing Council at UNCC.
She and her husband have two sons, g
David and Todd
Mrs. Sutton is a graduate of UNCC 'Jf
and is married to Henry Marion
Sutton Jr. They live at 311 Old
Williams Rd., Monroe, She is a
native of Davidson. •
READ
THE CHARLOTTE POST
You 've got what It takes.
* .*• •
6
0
Share the spirit.
\ Share the refreshment.
1
! _ |
L • —JF*,.^' • V •• r -'
• V •.
SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Quitting Smoking
Now Greatly Reduces Serious Risks to Your Health.