THE Chronicle January IO, 2019 B3
Religion
H^mmlll^BBMM^^HBMHHIMH
Church welcomes gospel artist
for New Year’s Eve concert
Submit to
God in Love
Scriptures: James 4:1-10
By the end of this lesson, we will
*Recognize how worldly desires create conflicts
*Repent of the ways we cause conflict with others
*Commit to seek God in humble submission
Background: James is dated A.D. 44-49 and is the
earliest written book of the New Testament. James him
self is the oldest half-brother of Christ and brother of
Jude. While James did not follow Jesus, he was convert
ed by an appearance of the risen Jesus. James is known
as James the Just because of his devotion to righteous
ness. James wrote that “The Word of truth” must be.
obeyed; the testing of faith, ethics of speech and in our
lesson that wisdom and humility belong together.
Lesson: James addresses discord in a church of
believers and false believers (wheat and tare). The root
cause is the sinful, fallen human nature - desires for
worldly pleasures (verse 1). The members are so driven
by lust that they will fight even to the death to fulfill their
desires (verse 2). James says “because ye ask amiss”...
true joy, peace, happiness, meaning, hope, and fulfill
ment in life come only from God. Unbelievers or those
not rooted in The Word are not willing to ask for these
things on God's terms - they refuse to submit to God or
acknowledge their dependence on Him (verse 3). They
seek for their own pleasures, not to the honor and glory
of God.
Whoever is a friend of the world is an enemy of God.
Strong emotional attachment or deep and intimate long
ing for worldly things is evidence that one is a friend of
the world and is not redeemed (verse 4). James points out
here that the spirit (the human spirit) of an unbeliever is
predisposed to evil (verse 5). Man’s natural inclination to
do evil can only be changed by the grace of God. God
gives “more grace” and that grace is greater than the
power of sin, the flesh, the world and Satan. That grace,
however, is given to the humble, not the proud enemies
of God.
How do we appear humble before God? James gives
a series of commands on how to receive God's saving
grace. Submission to God's Word - “line up under” His
Word. True humility is signified by a person's total alle
giance to God. Resist the devil - “take your stand
against” when allegiance is transferred from Satan and
given to God, Satan is defeated and flees. Draw near to
God - pursue an intimate love relationship with God, the
redeemed heart longs for communion with God. Cleanse
your hand - simply means to recognize and confess your
sins. Purify your heart - ask God to cleanse your inner
thoughts, motives, and desires of the heart - your heart
must not be divided between God and the world. Be
afflicted - truly broken over sins. Mourn - is the inner
response, to be broken and contrite over sin. Weeping -
is the outward response to inner sorrow over sin (verses
7-9). The truly humble person is marked by all the stated
commands which amount to simply “make oneself low.”
The conscious act of submission leads to humility and
clears the path for God to “LIFT US UP”(verse 10). (The
UMI Annual Commentary 2018-2019, the MacArthur
Study Bible and the Oxford Bible Commentary).
For Your Consideration: Reflect on areas where
you invest your time, talent and treasures. Do they reflect
love for the world?
Application: Humility before God remains an
imperative in the life of a believer. We must be attentive
to not satisfy ourselves in ways that negatively affect oth
ers. We must remain wholly committed to God. We must
show the love of God in the world in the way we treat
both believers and unbelievers. We must continually
draw close to God. Though we must interact with the
world, we must also remain wholly faithful to the Lord.
Pray with your heart aligned with the heart of God. “
Create in me a clean heart, 0 God, and renew a steadfast
spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10.
Photo by Timothy Ramsey
The room was packed for the Bri Babineaux concert at Praise Assembly Church Ministries.
BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY
THE CHRONICLE
Praise Assembly
Church Ministries wel
comed contemporary
gospel artist, Bri
Babineaux, for their New
Year’s Eve concert.
The concert was the
idea of senior pastor,
Johnny York, who wanted
to bring Babineaux to
Praise Assembly to
“engage with the younger
generation,” according to
organizer, Regina Cole.
The concert was free for
the public and the house
was packed for the event.
“He (York) has been
wanting to expand the hori
zon for Praise Assembly to
do something different,”
said Cole. “His whole idea
was just to find an urban
contemporary gospel artist
to come for New Year’s
Eve.
“We have had other tra
ditional gospel artists to
come, but we have never
had someone this young
and urban that is reaching a
generation that a lot of
churches are not able to
reach. We want to make the future of the church.”
sure we are doing things Cole stated the underly-
that connect with the ing goal was to also
Photo by Timothy Ramsey
Bri Babineaux brought the crowd to their feet from
her opening note.
younger generation
because we do not Want to
lose them, because they are
enlighten the older genera
tion of the congregation
about the contemporary
music that the young peo
ple enjoy.
“We wanted to let them
know that there are a group
of young people that love
the Lord and know how to
praise and worship him,” ^
she continued. “It might
sound a little different, but
it is still their way of bring
ing glory to God.
“As each generation
comes along, there is a dif
ferent perspective. If the
church does not change
and shift with that perspec
tive, it will get left behind.” -
Prior to Babineaux tak
ing the stage, the church
kicked off the night with a
praise and worship involv
ing the choir and dance
teams. They transitioned
into a fun game involving :
everyone in the audience to
get them engaged.
Babineaux then took
the stage and sang several
songs that immediately
touched all in attendance.
Even with a sore throat,
Babineaux powered
through, giving the audi
ence what they came for.
See Artist on B4
Jan. 13 - Ministers’ Conference installation serv
ice
The Ministers’ Conference of Winston-Salem &
Vicinity will have the installation service of its new
officers on Jan. 13 at 5 p.m. at Union Baptist Church,
1200 Trade St. NW.
Jan.13
Prayer circle
Come and pray for our Winston Salem First
Responders on Jan. 13 from 3-4 p.m. at 725 N. Cherry
St. The event happens rain or shine (canceled is
snow/ice).
Jan.13
Worship services
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Winston-
Salem, 4055 Robinhood Road, will have two worship
services on Sunday, Jan. 13. At the Awake service at 9
a.m. and the 11 a.m. traditional service, former ministe
rial intern Shakeisha Gray will speak on how the
Local ministry
opens new food
pantry
BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY
THE CHRONICLE
On January 27, the con
gregation of New
Jerusalem Missionary
Baptist Church will open
their new food pantry. The
church purchased new land
to fulfill the need for food
in their surrounding area.
The food pantry idea
. came from then-pastor
Rev. Dr. Samuel J.
Cornelius back in 2003.
“He said that God had
revealed to him that the
churches would have to
assume this responsibility
more and more, and from
this vision and revelation
was born the New
Jerusalem Food Pantry,”
the church said in a state
ment.
“Dr. Cornelius told us
years ago that the church
was going to have to be the
Calendar
Fellowship community helped her heal after a devastat
ing traffic accident. At Explorations, 9:15 a.m., Kathy
Orms will speak on leadership. At the 9:15 a.m. Forum,
Suzy McCalley will discuss myths about yoga and how
everyone can practice it. For more info, see
UUFWS.org.
Jan.13-17
1st Anniversary Celebration
Stewards Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church, 198
Anderson Road, Rural Hall NC, will host its 1st Annual
Celebration beginning Jan. 13. Sunday’s service will
begin on 3 p.m., the services on Jan. 14-17 will begin at
7 p.m. Any questions, call on (336) 624-2864.
Jan. 20 - Family and Friends Day 2019
Family and Friends Day will be held at St. James
AME Church, 1501 N. Patterson Ave., on Jan. 20. The
Theme for the day is “A Time to Remember.” Church
school will begin at 8:45 a.m. Service will begin at 10
a.m. The preacher will be The Rev. Dr. Steven L.
Photo by limothy Ramsey
The new pantry at New. Jerusalem Missionary
Baptist Church will help hundreds of people in
East Winston every monty.
new welfare, because
many of the politicians
don’t care about the hungry
and the poor,” said Joyce
Paul, event, planner. “He
told us that the church was
going to have to be the
ones that feed the people.”
In 2003, New
Jerusalem purchased a
duplex apartment building
on North Dunleith Ave. for
the purpose of opening a
food pantry. The duplex
was converted and upgrad
ed to meet city standards.
The church opened
their pantry in 2004. They
See Food on B4
Lyons, former pastor of St. James. Currently, Dr. Lyons
is the pastor of Mt. Zion AME Church, Hillsborough,
NC.
Jan.20
Twin City Choristers’ concert
Grace Presbyterian Church, 3901 Carver School
Road, will host the Twin City Choristers’ 23rd annual
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Concert at 4 p.m.
on Sunday, Jan. 20. The event is free, although an
offering will be received during the intermission. A
reception will follow. For more information, call (336)
• 725-4105.
Jan. 21 - MLK Interfaith Service
Saint James Presbyterian Church, 820 Ross Ave.,
Greensboro, NC, will host the annual Martin L. King, •
Jr. Day Interfaith Service on Jan. 21 beginning at noon.
There will be a free lunch following the celebration.
For more information, contact the church office at (336)
273-6658.