Church
Sunday School Lesson
What Does God Expect of Us?
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
(Exekiel It: 1-13, 25, M)
"I have no pleasure in the death of
him that dieth, saith the Lord God:
wherefore turn yourselves, and live
ye." (Ezekiel 18:32)
The principle teaching of personal
responsibility is evident throughout
the Bible, however, in some ways it is
more plain to us in the New Testa
ment. It began with the fall of Adam
Dear
friends.
The deep grief of
the bereaved family of
ten causes an inability
to make decisions, to
cope with routine ar
rangements, to control
the emotions. The fune
ral director, along with
the family's spiritual
adviser, must use all
their resources of char
acter to help the family
to work through this
difficult time.
Respectfully,
, -C
?>uitttbeU
Jffuneral
Home, 3nt.
509 Dobbs Street
Hertford, N.C.
426-7311
and Eve in the garden as they at
tempted to excuse their irresponsibil
ity by blaming someone, or some
thing, else.
Eve responded to God by saying,
"The serpent beguiled me." Adam,
on the other hand, said, "The woman
whom thou gavest to be with me, she
gave me of the tree, and I did eat." It
didn't work with Adam and Eve, and
excuses don't work with the Lord to
day. Most probably the primary
questions in the minds of many Chris
tians of our age is this, "What does
God expect of me? What is it that I
should be doing?'
Deep within them is the realization
that they were intended to do some
thing more. Feelings of guilt arise to
tell them so. They know that He ex
pects a response from them. Indeed
He does. But, like the Israelites of
Ezekiel's day, many people are
prone to make excuses for their fail
ure to live righteously as God re
quires. That is the subject for today's
study.
A TWISTED PROVERB
(Ezekiel 18:1-4)
"What mean ye, that ye use this
proverb concerning the land of Is
rael, saying, The fathers have eaten
sour grapes, and the childrens' teeth
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Jollish 8 Sheila Clifton. Owners
are set on edge?" (Verses 1, 2)
Here we see a classic case of peo
ple denying any responsibility for
their actions which brought them to
their present predicament. The im
plication of the proberb is that they
were being punished for the sins of
past generations. Apparently they
are saying that it isn't fair. They
question the justice of God in relation
to their own fate.
Yet, for decades God's prophets
had been warning them that unless
they repented of their myriad tran
gressions God would bring judge
ment upon them for they were an
abomination to Him it is true that
they did reap the consequences of
their fathers' wrong doings, just as
God had said would happen. The
prophet Jeremiah had pleaded with
the people to change. They did not.
They were guilty also and suffered
the results of their own evil ways. Be
fore we come down too hard on Is
rael's failures, we should look at our
own nation, and what is happening in
our time.
THE JUSTICE OF GOD'S WAY
Ezekiel 18:5-13, 25)
"But if a man be just, and do that
which is lawful and right, he shall su
reful live, saith the Lord, God."
(Verses 5,9)
The people of Israel were saying
that their life in exile was unfair.
What must one do to be just in God's
sight? In a board sense one who does
God's will and lives righteously
according to the precept of the Scrip
tures is just. Within this, however,
there is much detail. These verses
spell out many acts which God con
demns. Read them all. The justice of
God's way involves personal respon
sibility.
The Onipotent, Almighty God cre
ated this universe. He created man
and woman, placed them on earth
and provided for them everything
needed to sustain life. He breathed
into their being the will of choice.
They were free moral agents. Free to
choose their own life style. God set a
penalty for those who chose a sinful,
disobedient life.
(The soul which sinneth shall
surely die. ) Then, because of His love
for people, He provided a way of
wscape through the atoning death of
His Son, Jesus on the cross. Those
who choose to do so may have their
sins forgiven. It is a personal matter.
God holds each perosn responsible
for what they do and how they act in
this life.
(Sunday School Lesson based on the
International Sunday School Les
sons)
Church News
Women's Club holds bazaar
The Women's Club of Snug Harbor
held a bazaar and bake sale Sat. July
5. 1966.
Mrs. Nolie McKinsey won the quilt
of Snug Harbor and Ernest T. Brid
well of Bethel won the painting.
The Women's club would like to
thank all those who made the bazaar
a success.
Aglow Chapter Meets
The Elizabeth City Chapter of
Women's Aglow meets Saturday,
July 19th, 9:00 a.m. at the Providence
Ruritan Club building on 17 North.
The quest speaker is Kay Sawyer of
Manteo, N.C. Northeast Area Board
treasurer for the Women's Aglow. A
brunch will be served and the meet
ing is open to the public.
For more information, call 330
2647.
Annual Session to be held
The Sunday School and Baptist
Training Union of the Roanoke Mis
sionary Baptist Association will hold
its 70th annual session July 23rd and
24th at Haven Creek Missionary Bap
tist Church, Manteo, N.C.
All churches are asked to please
send delegates.
Services Set for Bay Branch
The Bay Branch A.M.E. Zion Sun
day School begins at 10:00 a.m. with
Mrs Esther Hunter in charge.
At 3:00 p.m. the senior usher board
will observe its anniversary.
The Rev. W.B. Moore and the peo
ple of Bagley Chapel Baptist Church
will render service. Dinner will be
served.
The public is invited to attend.
Fellowship Service to be held
Ellis Temple Baptist Church will
hold its fellowship service on Sunday,
July 20, 1986 at 7:00 p.m.
The guest will be the Rev. McPher
son and St. Paul A.M.E. Zion Church
in Hertford.
The public is invited to attend.
Exercise Care in Using Fertilizers
Finish last planting of Southern
peas, limas, pole beans, tomatoes.
Sidegrass tomatoes with compost
or a balanced fertilizer. Blossom-end
rot may be corrected with an applica
tion of two tablespoons calcium chlo
ride to one gallon water.
Greens and leafy vegetables will
lose up to half their vitamin C content
in 24 hours if left exposed. Immedi
ately after harvesting cover with a
close-weaved moist cloth.
Many gardeners now use sticky
ball traps for apple maggots. These
red hemisheres are covered with
BEWIMD
THE
WEEDS (
by
JEAN WIIMSLOW
Tangle Trap adhesive, or even plain
petroleum jelly. Now a warning has
come from a reader of National Gar
Deadly Diseases of Church Folks
Reverend Henry Bizzell, Pastor
Hertford United Methodist Church
We ought to be concerned about the
health of the churches and church
folks
What is a disease ''"Webster s In
ternational Unabridged Dictionary "
gives the following definition: "Dis
ease: A condition which impairs any
or all of the natural or regular func
tions of the body - any disordered or
depraved condition or element:
moral, social, or political." The last
half of the definition is especially ap
propriate to the intention of this arti
cle.
A diseased church person is one
whose functions as a member of the
church is in a state of disorder or de
pravity Here is a list of some dis
eases which afflict church folks:
1 ) Sunday Sleeping Sickness -
This^s a peculiar disease It erupts
only on Sunday. The person affected
functions normally every day except
Sunday Then he is laid low Every
other day he may rise as early as 6 : 30
or 7 00 a.m. , but on Sunday is absolu
tely unable to get up until too late for
Sunday School or Church Worship
Very strangely, the disorder begins
to wear off soon after 11:00 a m and
he-she is able to carry on an accele
rated schedule of activity - golf, boat
ing, family outings, work in the yard,
etc.
2>Spectatoritis
Now, I like to watch others play
football, baseball, soccer, etc. I can
not play the sports ? never could.
However, I like to watch others play.
I am a spectator, not a participant
Spectatoritis is a rtiira? ? deadly to
church folks. Come and sit - never ba
ccate a part of the game. Others are
responsible for the action- the chair,
the preacher, etc. Preachers work
just one hour-each week. Everyone
else just rtwests up, cones, and sits.
Somehow, the aggregation is to be
"spoonfed" - pour in the spiritual
nourishment. What a deadly disease!
DSchixophrenia - The Divided Self
This is a widespread disease of
church folks. There are our jobs, our
familie*. our civic involvements,
club*, sport*, recreaton, social lives,
and there is our church. All of these
compete for our attention - pull on us.
divide us The church is only one
among many "pulls" on our lives.
Frequently, the church gets only
what is leftover! Has is a deadly dis
ease ot church fata - Srhiiophreiiia
4) Poor ViBMn
Who is more impaired than the in
dividual who cannot aee, the individ
ual who must feel his wsy in the
dark' Poor vision may be the result
of ignorance, or pride, or prejudice
When people can see and know about
themselves snd their relation to God
and their relation to other persons,
then they can function with vigor and
strength.
5)Hypersensitivity
Thoae afflicted wear their "feel
ings on their sleeves", "have a chip
on their shoulder" and are always
"up in the miff tree " This is a deadly
disease of church folks
8 1 Heart Troubte
This is the real ckaeaae. the basic
problem When the heart ? strong
and healthy, when it is right. we can
overcoe the other ailments A heart
warmed by the welcomed presence
of God can overcame all the prob
lems Hie Tint five diseases we have
mentioned are symptoms of the real
(tiseite - heart trouble. When the
heart of the individual belongs to
God, we can cope with all the other
problems.
Good health to you!
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dening Magazine. He says that
songbirds are also attracted, and
small ones can be fatally trapped.
Don't over-do the Tangle Trap
Care of Shade Trees
Environmental pollutants can have
a highly negative effect on shade
trees. Hortldeas Magazine reports
some practical tips for home garden
ers from Dr. T.T. Kozlowski that
may help avoid permanent injury.
Dr. Kozlowski, who is in the School
of Forestry at University of Wincon
sin, considers airborne toxic chemi
cal compounds, pesticides, agricultu
ral chemicals, and deicing salts all
pollutants. Obviously airborne toxic
solutions are hard to excape. Contin
ued lobbying for preventive legis
lation is a must if we are to escape
"acid rain." Let's hear it for the envi
ronmentalists !
Pesticides can definitely be con
trolled, however. Since some herbi
cides can be transmitted from tree to
tree via root grafts, be sure to check
with your local forester for specifics
before applying large doses to trees
and ornamental shrubs.
Spray drift can be dangerous.
Some of the worst offenders are invi
sible clouds of Benlate, captan, and
sulfur fungicides. Avoid using any
spray if temperatures are over 90 de
grees. Refrain from use if winds are
fairly strong. Adjuvants, which are
substances added to a chemical to in
crease its capacity for penetrating
plant tissues, should be incorporated
only if you are thoroughly familiar
with them. Always wear proper
safety gear, such as goggles, gloves,
spray clothing and respirators. A
good source is Kenco Safety Prod
ucts, P.O.B. 285, Woodstock, NY
12498. Free catalog.
Salts broadcast on driveways and
walks as deicers will leach even
tually into the soil. Chemicals ab
sorbed through roots can, in time, kill
the mightiest of oaks. An alternative
to salts is 8-8-8 fertilizer, which will
not only melt ice, but will ultimately
enrich the surrounding soil.
Least salt-tolerant tree species in
clude balsam firs, box elders,
maples, hornbeams, red and white
pines, hemlocks, and beeches. Thor
ough soaking around trees with fresh
water may help cleanse the soil.
A shade tree is hard to replace;
have you got enough life-time left to
grow another one to maturity? Sober
ing thought.
Take care of your tree now, and
you won't have to worry about it?
ever.
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