Wednesday, October 1, 2014
The Kings Mountain Herald | www.kmherald.com
A I I EES sR
MEDITATION
While
[Jesus]
was speak-
ing, a
Pharisee
invited him
to dine
with him;
; so he went
Josh Tucker in and
Pastor ;
St. Matthews took his
place at
Lutheran Church
the table.
The Pharisee was amazed to
see that he did not first wash
before dinner. Then the Lord
said to him, “Now you Phar-
isees clean the outside of the
cup and of the dish, but inside
you are full of greed and
wickedness. You fools! Did not
the one who made the outside
make the inside also? So give
for alms those things that are
within; and see, everything will
be clean for you.” Luke 11:37-
41
Grace to you and peace from
God our Father, our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ and the
Holy Spirit. Amen.
Now more than ever it
seems so easy to fake being a
Christian. It’s seems so easy to
put on a spiritual front where on
the outside one can appear de-
voutly pious in their faith prac-
tices but, like the Pharisee’s
dishes Jesus references in this
week’s passage, their insides
are filled with hatred, selfish-
ness and faithlessness. Modern
tools and resources make this
counterfeit Christianity possi-
ble. With information at our fin-
gertips and the ability to interact
with others via social media, the
opportunity to portray a false
sense of one’s religious self is
made more readily available.
In this encounter with the
Pharisee, Jesus makes it known
that to be a true disciple one has
to be made pure not only the
outside, but the inside as well.
Discipleship then is about more
than our actions and outer pres-
entation - things that make us
appear faithful; internal disci-
pleship practices are vital as
well — those things that we are
called to do as Christians that
help us build upon and further
develop our faith foundation.
Discipleship is about becoming
a deeper person in the faith.
Jesus implores us in this
passage to be faithful in our
spiritual practices so that our in-
sides are sanctified. Jesus says
that if we focus our Christian
growth on developing our spir-
ituality within, the outsides
would be made clean as well;
we would experience that same
type of growth on the outside
too. Spiritual cleanliness starts
within and works its way out.
This passage is about growing
in our faith and deepening our
relationship with God. How
might we be faithful stewards
of our insides, our souls and our
very beings so that we grow in
the faith internally? For me, a
regular practice of Bible study,
prayer and seeking God’s pres-
ence in the world promotes
growth in my relationship with
God. What spiritual practices
promote a connection to God
and growth for you? I encour-
age you to be intentional about
developing your faith and disci-
pleship from within and see
how God will continue to foster
nurture growth on the outside as
well.
Page 5A
Prayers requested for
Ebola victims, families
Area churches are being asked to offer a
special prayer on Sunday that God would stop
the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa.
Christians around the world are being
asked by SIM, the global mission organiza-
tion of which SIM USA is a part, to set aside
some time during the week for prayer.
“For two millennia, the church has priori-
tized the sick and marginalized, we are called
to do no less today," said Joshua Bogunjoko,
international director of SIM.
SIM encourages prayer specifically for the
people of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea,
where the Ebola outbreak has been most se- |
vere. SIM urges prayer specifically for health-
care workers, grieving families, church and
government leaders and protection for those
who otherwise come in contact with the
deadly disease. :
Bogunjoko said that Sunday should be a
day of focused prayer by churches and indi-
viduals in stemming the tide of Ebola.
“We know that when Christiang unite in
prayer and call upon God, He acts," said Bo-
gunjoko.
ce
Fellowship & Faith
Church,
KINGS MOUNTAIN
Long Creek Presbyterian
Church
701 Long Creek Road
704-629-4406
Love Valley Baptist Church
2032 Bethlehem Road
704-730-0075
Macedonia Baptist Church
1101 S. Battleground Avenue
704-739-6811
Midview Baptist Church
703 Margrace Road
704-739-6711
Mount Zion Missionary Bap-
tist Church
220 N. Watterson Street
704-739-8354
Mountain View Agape
Church
506 Sparrow Springs Road
704-739-0160
Mt. Olive Baptist Church
Compact School Road
704-739-4516
Mt. Zion Baptist Church
220 N. Watterson Street
704-739-8354
New Beginnings Church of
Jesus Christ
541 Crocker Road
704-730-9507
New Bynum Chapel AME
Zion Church
N. Cansler Street
704-739-2606
‘New Camp Creek Baptist
~ Church
863 New Camp Creek Ch. Road
704-487-7128
ervlee irectory 3 i
New Life Family Worship
Center
428 Oak Grove Road
704-739-9371
New Way Missionary Baptist
Church
105 Waco Road
704-724-0414
Oak Grove Baptist Church
1022 Oak Grove Road
704-739-4833
Oak View Baptist Church
1517 York Road
704-739-7831
Pathway Baptist Church
3100 Parkdale Circle
704-734-0852
Patterson Grove Baptist
Church
301 Oak Grove Road
704-739-5826
Peoples Baptist Church
1010 Groves Street
704-739-0398
Proclaiming the Word
7011 Cleveland Avenue
Progressive Church of Our
Lord
1001 Cleveland Avenue
704-734-1070
Resurrection Lutheran
Church
600 Crescent Circle
704-739-5580
Royal Praise Ministries
2055 Shelby Rd.
Saint Matthew’s
Lutheran Church
201 N. Piedmont Avenue
704-739-7466
Second Baptist Church
120 Linwood Road
704-739-4216
Shady Grove Baptist Church .
339 Shady Grove Road
704-739-8920
St. Paul United Methodist
Church
N. Cansler Street
704-739-1256
Sunrise Baptist Church
208 Mail Road
704-692-3007
Temple Baptist Church
612 N. Cansler Street
704-739-4716
The Favor Center Church
602 Slater Street
Featured Church of the Week:
David Baptist Church =~ .
True Gospel Holiness Church
1608 Shelby Road
704-739-6764
Unity AME Zion Church
948 Unity Church Road
704-228-0328
Vestibule AME Zion Church
2175 Vestibule Church Road
704-739-7961
Westover Baptist Church’
114 Westover Drive
GASTONIA
Bethesda United Methodist
Church
3714 S. New Hope Rd
Grace Community Advent
Christian Church
206 West 3rd Avenue
704-739-9230
Baptist Church
GROVER. «|
Bethany Baptist Church
423 Cleveland Avenue ty
704-937-3010
Carolina Praise and Worship
Center x
201 N. Main Street
704-937-7541 So
ew
First Apostolic Church of a
Blacksburg
205 E. Cherokee St.
Blacksburg, SC704-937-*
7390864-839-1873
WACO
New Testament Missionary
Sid
Notice: In order to accommodate the number of churches in our communities,
we will print two alternating lists of churches each week. If you don't see
the church you're looking for, be sure to check next week.
Griffin
Drug Center
“Serving Kings Mountain Since 1919”
Friendly Hometown Service
*Free City-Wide Delivery”
704-739-4721
129 Mountain St.,
Kings Mountain
C&C Heating &
Cooling, LLC
Sales ~ Service
Installation
Bobby Childers - Owner
NC License #9507
704-739-1043
502 York Rd., Kings Mtn.
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Laughlin
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For All Furniture Needs
400 N. Lafayette St.,
Shelby, North Carolina
704-484-3204
Kerns
Trucking, Inc.
You Call
We Haul
704-739-4747
ASR ole ale tT
local churches.
Compliments of
ISTO HS
AMR LD
228 S. Washington St., Shelby
arnoldsjewelry.com
Kenny Spangler, President
704-482-9896
904 S. Post Rd., Shelby
Locally Owned and Operated
www.shelbyalarm.com
Security & Surveillance Systems
Specialists for over 32 Years
BRADLEY INSURANCE
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Asset Preservation ® Wealth Managgments
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Keith Bradley, Owner
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219 S. Battleground Ave., Kings Mountain
bradleyinsurance @att.net
Christian G. Anderson, MD, PA
Board Certified in Intemal Medicine
Internal Medicine and Primary Care
502 West King Street
Suite 100
Kings Mountain, NC 28086
Phone: 704-734-0576
Fax: 704-730-1712
E-Mail: ANDERSONCG@AOL.COM
Amity
Finance
(704)
739-1311
The Staff of
HARRIS.
FUNERAL
HOME
108 S. Piedmont Ave.,
Kings Mountain
704-739-2591