! . RELIGION
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Believer's ministry is reconciliation and sacrifice
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! Lesson Scripture: II Corinthi
ans 5:11-21
; Lesson Aims: To understand
that believer's ministry is recon
ciliation, to appreciate Christ's
sacrifice for us, and to extend
reconciliation to others.
Background: This epistle is
the most personal and revealing
of Paul's writings. The motiva
tion for this letter was different
from I Corinthians written a
yiear or so later, Paul addressed
the distrust in tiim. Some felt
that he was not sincere while
others questioned his apostolic
authority. Here Paul presented
his love and committment
through ministry. Chapters 1-4
centered on the believer's ability
to comfort others because they
had been there at one time or
another in their life. A deep
Mildred _
Peppers
Sunday
School Lesson
sense of love enabled them to
forgive and to testify to the glory
of God. This made their lives
transparent. Therefore with con
fidence, a believer can admit
their weaknesses thus revealing
God's strength and power. Paul's
defense was his sincerity in serv
ing God. All of the evidence
used was centered around the
concept of ministry.
Lesson: Paul begins by stat
ing his reasons for serving the
the Lord. Reverence for Him is
first. Fearing (terror) the Lord
isn't being scared of Him.
Rather it is respecting the awe
someness^ of God. Recognizing <
that He knows Paul's heart and
will hold him accountable for his
actions serves as the catalyst for
ministry. Secondly, Paul does
what he does because of his love
of Christ. This love leads him to
devote his entire life to Christ.
At times he appears "crazy" for
the Lord. This enthusiasm cre
ates a "selfless" love for all peo
ple (revolutionary). Paul
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reminds the Corinthians in verse
1S about Christ's ultimate sacri
fice. Sin breaks the relationship
between God and man. Some
thing must mend it by standing
in the gap. Christ is sent to
redeem man and to renew the
brokgp relationship. The love of
Christ transforms Paul into a
new creature. The new creation
views the , world differently.
uTheir goals and values are ele
vated to new heights. Therefore,
the conversion experience makes
each person an ambassador for
Christ. Paul's life is evidence of
his newness.
Application: If our sincerity
were questioned, what evidence
would we us?? Paul's response
wasn't out of anger and neither
should ours. God knows all
about us and therefore we can
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not fool Him. The believer's life
is committed to the will of God.
We are flesh but we don't rely on
flesh to get things accomplish
ed. Our lesson today has a two
fold purpose-reconciling the
world to Christ and reconciling
with one another. Too many
times relationships are broken.
To mend them, Jesus' love is
needed. The world is in bad
shape. Families are torn apart;
factions in countries are killing
each other; corruption is every
where, Attempts are made at fix
ing the situation. Without Jesus,
no real improvement is made. As
believers we become new crea
tures. No longer do we use the
world's measure (our brains) to
remedy the current state..
Instead, we rely on Christ, Yes it
may appear crazy to some, but
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other ambassadors understand: ;
The emphasis on self is removed
and every effort is placed first on
others and then on ourselves. To
spread this new concept of ser- J
vice, others need to be persuad- J
ed to follow Him. As more ?
transformations occur, the world '
changes, not on its own but
because of Christ. Christ is the ;
bridge back to God. Since this is J
true, we believers are to mend <
broken relationships With each I
other (believers and nop-believ- J
ers). Believers then should be the '
best mediators. Our change is on J
the inside but manifested on the <
outside. Therefore, we must tell 1
the world about this Jesus, God's J
Son who can create a new to J
compel us to serve, MS. Peppers j
(336) 784-7270
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Lyons answers questions about torched church and builder's funds i
BJ PAT LEISNER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WRjTER
; LARGO, Fla. - A secretary for
the Rev. Henry Lyons told jurors
Friday she accidentally sent a letter
t<} the Anti-Defamation League
indicating he'd distributed
$225,000 the group gave him to
help burned black churches.
; Lyons, president of the Nation
al Baptist Convention USA, is
accused of stealing the money.
Prosecutors say he deposited
$60,000 in his personal bank
account, gave $12,000 to his wife,
sant checks to love interests, paid
h(s credit card and redecorated his
house.
< Earlier in the week, a group of
Lyons' supporters testified that the
embattled Baptist leader did not
mishandle church funds.
' "1 cannot think of anything he
t
did under this administration that
the previous presidents did not
have the privilege to do," the Rev.
Lacy Curry said.
Curry was one of three conven
tion ministers who testified as the
defense began presenting evidence
at Lyons' racketeering trial.
Lyons and his alleged mistress,
Bernice Edwards, are accused of
swindling more than $4 million
from companies hoping to sell
cemetery products, life insurance
policies and credit cards to conven
tion members.
The Convention voted to keep
Lyons as president after Florida
prosecutors began investigating his
finances in 1997.
A convention ethics commis
sion reviewed Lyons' conduct,
focusing only on whether he stole
any money from its treasuries, and
found nothing wrong.
"That's what we zeroed in on
and that's what we dealt with,
mainly," said the Rev. Edward V.
Hill, who led the commission. "We
didn't want to go any further."
Defense lawyers say failed busi
ness deals are not criminal matters.
They spent much of Wednesday
presenting testimony from the
ministers who said tjiey believe
Lyons has the right to earn profit
from his post as president and to
spend the money as he chooses.
ADL officials testified earlier in
Lyons' grand theft and racketeer
ing trial that he sent them a letter
saying he had given the money to
six burned churches and needed
more money. They sent another
$19,500 before learning only a
fraction of the money had been
distributed to churches.
"I was just so new at that time,"
convention secretary. Deborah
Blake testified during her second
day on the witness stand.
Lyons, she said, had dictated
the letter to her by telephone while
he was out of town and she typed
it up, stamped his name-to it and
mailed it.
"I assumed that he meant for it
to go out in the mail," she said.
Lyons' lawyers maintain he had
planned to distribute the money,
but first was researching where it
should go. But before that could
happen, his wife was arrested in
1997 for setting fire to a waterfront
home he owned with another
woman, Bernice Edwards, and
prosecutors began investigating his
finances.
Lyons repaid the money when
the ADL asked to get it back.
The minister alone is accused in
the grand theft charge. He and co
defendant Edwards together are
charged with racketeering, accused
of swindling $4 million from cor
porations seeking to do business
with the powerful church organiza
tion.
In other testimony Friday, a
consultant who helped arrange a
marketing deal between Lyons and
Globe Life Insurance Co. denied
he told a Lyons' aide to make up a
mailing list for the company.
Administrative assistant Bonita
Henderson had testified that Fred
Canfield instructed her to simply
make up a list of names and
addresses for the company, which
was seeking to sell life insurance
policies to the convention's 8.5 mil
lion members.
"That's absolutely, absolutely a
lie, okay? This was a very impor
tant project"" Canfield said.
"Never, I never did that."
Prosecutors call the member
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ship figure a hoax, and say no list {
of convention members ever exist- J
ed. Instead, they say, Lyons and*
Edwards used the promise of such J
lists to dupe companies and use J
their money to buy expensivej
homes, luxury cars and diaipond?
jewelry. 1
Defense lawyers say the mem- J
bership figure was used before;
Lyons ever became president, and ?
maintain he was trying to compile)
a membership list and never misled *
the companies.
The judge ended court early'
Friday afternoon because Edwards
became ill with the flu. Testimony
resumed Tuesday, the day after the
President's Day holiday.
Lyons also is scheduled for trial
this spring on 54 federal charges of
bank fraud, wire fraud, extortion
and money laundering.
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New Bethel Baptist to hold
annual leadership observance
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Special to The Chronicle
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I The deacons, trustees and
-.pouses of New Bethel Baptist
Ghurch will hold their 25th
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anniversary Leader Observance
Fieb. 21 at 4 p.m. *
} The Rev. Bobby Best of St.
J^hn CME Church will be the
guest speaker..
? Best was born in Wilson and
attended public schools there.
1 He received his bachelor of
s4ience in business administra
tion from UNC Chapel Hill and
a'master of divinity from Duke
University, graduating cum
* laude.
| He has extensive training in
bereavement care and hospital
visitation.
? Hrts currently the Director of
E&imigelism, Missions and
human Concerns of the CME
church. He is also associate dean
of the Carolina Annual Confer
ence Bishop's School for Minis
tars.
! Prior to his assignment to St.
v J<Jhn in 1996, Best served as pas
ter of Broomfield CME Church
iq Gastonia, North Carolina
Missionary Temple CME
Ghurch in Raleigh and Brooklyn
CME Church in Chessness, S.C.
Although Best has only been
in the city three years, he is fast
emerging as a community leader:'
He is married to the former
Jacqueline Howard of Charlotte.
The couple has one daughter
Bridgett, 12, and a son Brandon,
17.
Others scheduled to appear
on the program are presiding -
Trustee Wesley Curtis; scripture
' - Diane Piggott; invocation -
Trustee Gerald Pauling; welcome
Trustee James Brown; introduc
tion of speaker - Rosetta Paul
ing; recognition of visitors -
Deacon Harold Easter and spe
cial honors and recognition -
Trustee Carl Bankhead, Mildred
Griffin and Deacon Douglas
Joyner. ^
Remarks will be given by the
Rev. Jerry Drayton.
The Leadership Observance
was first sponsored by the dea
-cons, trustee and spouses in 1975. *
The annual prayer breakfast led
by the deaconess, trustee wives,
deacons and trustees is the first
program sponsored by an auxil
iary each year.
"" The Leadership Observance is .
presented on the third Sunday in
February and is designed to set
the tone for leadership in the
church for the new year. Guest
ministers from sister churches
and their congregations share in
the observance. Members are rec
ognized for their dedicated ser
vice and honored with plaques
and certificates.
Monies raised during the
observance are donated to the
following church causes: building
fund, 30 percent; youth council,
20 percent; van fund 10 percent;
contingency, 20 percent and
scholarship fund, 20 percent.
Rev. Best
Macedonia to celebrate 67th anniversary
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S|?cial to The Chronicle
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; Macedonia True Vine
Pentecostal Holiness
Church of God will cele
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bpate its 67th anniversary
throughout the February
and March.
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' ; The celebration begins
With Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. with
"Sisters in the Name of
Uove," a gospel concert
featuring a number of local
women. The concert will
feature Vickie Johnson
Hicks, Patricia Green,
Bjelinda Daniels, Billie
Mason Todd, Gayle
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Couthen, Sharon Allen,
LaKeshia Goldsmith,
Twana Gilliam, Demitria
Dillard and Carolyn Nap
per.
The celebration contin
ues March 7 at 6 p.m. with
a worship service featuring
the Rev. Joseph Samuels, of
St. Stephens Baptist
Church.
Services continue March
14 at 6 p.m. with a special
service featuring Bishop
Raymond H. Gardner of
Waller Memorial TVPH of
Martinsville, Va.
Macedonia is located at
500 Kinard St. The pastor
is Apostle Sylvester D.
Johnson.
Bishop Johnson
The
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Lift Your Voice In The Chronicle
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Pastor Byron
Ingram
and wife Co-Paster
Cheryl Ingram
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Shekinah Glory Praise Center will celebrate their 6th Pas- ;
toral Anniversary of Pastor Byron Ingram and Co-Pastor i
Cheryl Ingram. The first service will be held on Sunday, Feb- j
ruary 21, 1999 at 4 p.m. with Pastor Essie McCullough and \
New Direction Movement Cathedral as the guest pastor and !
church. Our second service will be held on Sunday, February J
28, 1999 at 4 p.m. with Pastor Aldine Ingram and Steadfast j
Apostolic Chdrch of Christ as the guest pastor and church, j
Come in as we celebrate our love for our pastor.
* J
542 North Trade Street * ?
Winston-Salem, N.C.
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Remembering the life, ministry, and legacy of a great man...
"Di. THantcK *&uthen, 'K&ttp, fit.
"yy/\t uut/t has no{ fou/u/ a cause to (fa/or, he is uo{/it to h'oe."
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"As recipients of Grace, we are committed to being givers of Grace."
OUR CAUSE TO LIVE!
6RACE UNITED COMMUNITY CHURCH
"a non-traditional Baptist Church seeking to reach all people"
Dr. Joseph B. Parks, Senior Pastor
406 Northwest Boulevard - Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Office: 336-721-2500 ? Fax: 336-721-2596 ? E-mail: jbparkst^graceunited.com
Worship: 11:00 am Sundays Family Night and Word Study: 6:00 pm Wednesdays
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