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THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006
RELIGION
Life 1B
/
Bible I Lesson!
How to
get US to
think
Few books of the Bible are
as misunderstood as Ecclesi
astes. This is a shame, for it is
a divinely inspired medita
tion on the most profound of
questions; What is the mean
ing of life?
One factor in the regret
table neglect of Ecclesiastes is
the mistaken notion that the
book is just a collection of
uninspired musings (contem
plations) about life from a
writer who deliberately left
God out of the equation. In
this view, Ecclesiastes is in
the Bible solely to show us
how not to think.
At first glance there seems
to be ideas in Ecclesiastes
that are difficult to reconcile
with Christian truth. But this
just shows that we need more
than a first glance when we
study Scripture! When exam
ined carefully, the book pre
sents what amoimts to a bib
lical philosophy of life. The
well-known passage that
closes the book (12:13-14) is
not just an inspired exhorta
tion tacked on to a book of
worldly thoughts; it is a con
clusion toward which the
whole book points.
One of the lessons of Eccle
siastes is that life is meaning
less apart from God. This
week’s passage from John
complements this truth by
showing that a life of purpose
comes through the resiurec-
tion of Christ.
Today’s passages will let
Solomon pose some problems
then let Jesus propose some
solutions. Our teachers wid
be the wisest men on the face
of the earth (1 Kings 4:29-34)
and God’s own Son, whose
wisdom surpasses even that
of Solomon (Luke 11:31).
LIFE WITHOUT GOD IS
MEANINGLESS (Ecclesi
astes 1:1-9)
1. Who is the presumed
author of Ecclesiastes (Eccle
siastes 1:1)?
Students debate the identi
ty of the author of this book.
But the opening words surely
make Solomon the most obvi
ous choice, even though he is
not mentioned by name. In
fact we would be hard-
pressed to make the words
point to anyone other than
Solomon. He is attributed
also as the author, or primary
author, of Proverbs and Song
of Solomon (also called Song
of Songs).
You wUl recall Solomon’s
role as the third king of
Israel. He was a son of David
and Bathsheba. Many stu
dents believe that the book of
Ecclesiastes ' represents
Solomon’s musings in old age.
These are the words of a man
who has tried it all and is
weary of his attempts to
understand any meaning in
Tackling HTV
Friendship Missionary Baptist arms kids with wellness seminar
By Cheris F. Hodges
cheris.hodges@ihechart«iteposl.C\
What do your kids know about
HIV?
Friendship Missionary Baptist
Church will host a youth wellness
seminar on May 13, the second
sponsored by the church, its theme
is “Keeping it Clean.”
The seminar wiU address the
gravity of HIV/AIDS through work
shops and a panel discussion.
Mecklenburg Coimty leads North
Carolina in the number of HIV.and
AIDS cases reported. In 2003,
African Americans accoimted for
more than half of all AIDS-related
deaths.
Every day, according to the Cen
ters for Disease Control, 72 black
people in the U.S. become infected
with HTV.
. Friendship saw a need to bring
interfaith communities together to
foster support for young people to
make good decisions, said Michelle
Jones, associate minister of spiritu
al guidance and wellness.
Community leaders and organi
zations like Gang of One will
attend, hosting workshops on self
esteem, gang and peer pressure.
“HIV/AIDS is a pandemic,” Jones
said. “While we concentrate on pro-
PHOTO/WADE NASH
viding support for those infected in
our community, we cannot forget to
pray for and to work with our
youth. It is important that we pro
vide them with information and
tools to help them make good deci
sions in the face of peer pressure
and mixed messages fix)m society.”
Accordir^ to the Balm in Gilead,
a growing number of black church
es have AIDS ministries and are
making a difference in the lives of
people who have HIV and around
the world. However, that hasn’t
always been the case.
When Pemessa Seele started
Please see FRIENDSHIP/6B
Celebrating 100 years of Pentecostal revival
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Please see A LOOK/7B
LOS ANGELES-It was
1906 when William Sey
mour, the son of slaves, trav
eled to a small church to
preach that speaking in
tongues was the ultimate
path to salvation. The con
gregation rejected his mes
sage and promptly kicked
him out.
But that wasn’t the end of
the story.
Committed to his belief,
Seymour started his own
prayer group—first at a
firiend’s house and then at an
abandoned church in north
east Los Angeles. Within
weeks, people of all races
were streaming to the City of
Angels to see the services
where worshippers fell to the
ground and uttered strange,
unintelligible sounds.
The boisterous, three-year
revival that followed made
international headlines and
is widely credited as the
birth of modern-day Pente-
costalism. The movement,
once relegated to the theolog
1
ical finnge, now claims up to
600 million followers world
wide and remains one of the
fastest-growing sectors of
Christianity, according to
Vinson Synan, dean of •':
Regent University’s
School of Divinity
and an ordained
minister of the .
Pentecostal
Holiness
Church.
Starti:
this week
end, up to
60,000 fol
lowers will
descend on
Los Ange
les to
mark the
movement's
100th birthday, \
a celebration that\,
begins with a visit to
the street comer where the
revival church once stood.
The Azusa Street location,
now in the heart of Little
'Ibkyo, bears a commemora
tive plaque.
ting J
^eek- fJ
ip to '.i*
1
“We see the centennial as a
homecoming for die move
ment, a wonderful
memory of what God
did 100 years ago,” said
the Rev. Billy Wilson,
executive director of the
. Center for Spiritual
Renewal, the celebra
tion’s sponsor. “We
want to show the world
that Pentecostals
are about more
than just feeling
good and speaking
. . in tongues.”
i Pentecostals
believe in a person
alized commitment
to Christ and a sec
ond experience
, Known as ‘baptism in
the Holy Spirit.” That
• baptism is most commonly
accomp£inied by speaking in
tongues-, though other “gifts”
from the Holy Spirit can
include faith healing, the
casting out of demons and
modern-day prophecies. Fol
lowers base the practice on
Acts 2:1-4, in which Jesus’
Church News
Winfred Cross
‘This
Time,’
Allen goes
it alone
Bruce Allen
Just B. Allen
This Time
Produced by Bruce Allen
Meridian Music Group
Bruce Allen spent most of
the last decade or so as half of
AUen & AUen, a jazz/gospel
duo which has almost an
equal amount of fans in both
genres.
Allen decided that after
nine releases it’s time to
explore his craft deeper with a
solo effort. “Just B. AUen This '
Time” finds him at the top of
his game.
Allen’s named his new style
praisetrumental” - the combi
nation of modem praise &
worship and inspirational
jazz. This isn’t new. Pamela
Williams, Jeff Majors and a
host of others offer religious-
sprinkled jazz. Coining the
phrase is a good idea, howev-
apostles were “filled with the
Holy Spirit and began to
speak in other tongues, as
the Spirit gave them utter
ance.”
Mainline Christians had
rejected speaking in tongues
for more than a thousand
years, believing that the
Holy Spirit’s gift stopped
with the apostles. But when
Seymoiu- came to Los Ange
les in 1906, conditions were
ripe for the long-forgotten
message.
The rough-edged town of
240,000 residents had dou
bled its population in just six
years, and the city sprouted
so many new churches that
modern-day experts have
called it an “American
Jerusalem.”
Hundreds of Christians
were so concerned about the
freewheeling mentality of
the rapidly growing city that
they had broken away firjm
mainstream denominations
to pray for a massive spiritu
al revival.
Allen leans more toward
jazz on this release. There are
the obvious gospel choices,
such as his remakes of “Going
Up Yonder,” “He Looked
Beyond My Fault” and the
contemporary “More Than
Anything (Lamar Campbell)”
and “I Need An Angel (“Amer
ican Idol’s” Ruben Studdard).
But Allen’s original tunes
could easily fit on many
acoustic or contemporary jazz
playlists.
Allen’s piano playing seems
more fluid as well. He’s devel
oped some powerful chops
since the duo’s first record
ings. He also chose to set this
live recording in what soimds
like a jazz club.
“Best Praise” is decidedly
urban, possibly giving Maceo
Parker competition, Allen
eyen mentions James Brown
on “Focus Your Eyes,” which
is pimctuated with staccato
horns and percolating bass.
If you’re looking for an all-
out jazz jam session, listen to
Please see THIS TIME/6B
Ratings
Classic;
See CELEBRATING/8B
Excellent
Good
Fair
Why?
No stars-A mess
The deadline for announcements to the calendar is
noon on Fridays. Fax to (704) 342-2160 or e-mail
your announcement to cheris.hodges@thecharlot-
tepost.com.
April 27
The Kingdom of God Christian Fellowship
Ministries will host it sixth annual women’s
conference through Saturday. Services begin
nightly at 7 p.m. with a Satirrday morning
seminar at 10 a.m: This event, which will be
held at 4837 South Tryon St., is free and open
to the public. For more information call (704)
713-4862.
April 29
Addie L. Robinson Ministries of Philadelphia
will host a Holy Ghost Boot Camp Spiritual
Warfare Conference at the Ramada Limited,
located at 7900 Nations Ford Road at 9 a.m.
and 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the
public. For more information, caU (215) 574-
7888 or log on to www.addierobinson.com.
• Women of aU faiths are cordially invited to
attend “The Power of Pink,” a luncheon pro
gram on breast cancer in the African American
community. It will be held at Little Rock AME
Zion uptown at 401 N. McDowell Street on
Saturday. Registration and seating begin at 11
a.m. The MC is Lenise Ligon, WBTV
anchor/reporter. Speakers are Dr. Beverly
Belle, ob/gyn, and Deirdre Mack Lynch, a
breast cancer survivor.
• Johnson C. Smith University will celebrate
spring with its annual concert by the Universi
ty Choir at 6 p.m. Saturday. The event will be
held inside the Jane M. Smith Memorial
Church on campus.
The free event will feature various songs
from-the-University Choir, which will be pro
fessionally recorded for sale at a later date.
Although the event is free, opportunities will
be available if concert-goers would like to
donate to help the choir fund its live taping,
April 30
The District III Ushers Revival Service
Musical Concert will be held at 5 p.m. at Sec
ond Calvary Baptist Church, located at 114
Nelson Ave. For more information, caU (704)
392-2885.
• The St. Phillip Missionary Baptist Church
will host its “Annual Friends and Family Day
Celebration” at 11 a.m. Dinner wUl be served
at 1 p.m. The church is located at 400 DeUwood
Drive, Huntersville. For information, call the
church at (704) 875-6180.
May 4
Trinity Park Baptist Church, located at 9115
'Irinity Road, wiU host a free Medicare D (Pre
scription Drug) Information Seminar for
Senior Citizens and their families at 7 p.m.
For additional information caU the church at
(704) 393-0130.
May 6
Seigle Avenue First Church of God Girls in
Action for Christ presents the first mother and
daughter luncheon, “Empowering Another
Please see MEDICARE/6B
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