From The Pastor's Desk
Who spoke John 3:16?
In 1899, the first red-letter edition of the Bible was printed and released to the public. It was the idea of Louis Klopsch and approved by the Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage. How many men other than Mr. Klopsch actually worked on the project is unknown.
The scholarly opinion of some is that the words of the Lord Jesus in this passage in John chapter three ended at verse 15.
Using their rule of thumb, I would say it ended at verse 14.
Thereby, leaving the rest of the chapter to have been filled in by the Apostle John.
Which means the most famous verse of scripture wasn't spoken by Jesus or spoken directly to Nicodemus.
So what does that change?
If you believe God Himself actually oversaw the writing of the scriptures then it doesn't change anything at all .
Without prior knowledge, John 3:16 alone is very vague. It doesn't say who the Son is or doesn't speak of the cross, the death, the burial, and the resurrection of the Lord. It just says He gave. For someone ignorant of the Bible, there are loop holes that needed to be filled.
I know, because I saw John 3:16 for the first time on a plaque in a doctor's office in Piggott, Arkansas, in 1977. I marveled at the glory of it but I needed those holes filled.
By the time August, 1978, came around, I knew enough to be saved.
Years ago, I liked professional wrestling. I understood the theatre part and all the rest as a nine year old kid. I grew less and less fond of it as the years went by. One day, I saw Steve Austin change John 3:16 to Austin 3:16. No one to this day that I know of ever spoke out against that.
Folks, we live in a lost world. I am Johnie J. Logue pastor of Grace Baptist Church located at 31046 Hwy MM. Services start at 10:00 AM for SS, 11:00 AM for worship and 4:00 PM for afternoon service. Call me at (660) 281-4775 for more info.
Lincoln First Baptist Church
With this past weekend being Memorial Day weekend I hope everyone remembers what it is all about. It is to honor the ones who fought and died for our freedom. We need to honor these men and women we died so we might enjoy the things we have today.
Celebrating birthdays today was Bob Lear and Sharon Hoard. Happy birthday to them and many more. A young lady came forward today and gave her life to Jesus. There is a baptism in the near future. There were a lot attending church today. It is good to see our church pews filling up.
Pastor Jesse’s message came out of the book of Proverbs. Where do you spend your time on Sunday? You can’t have fellowship with other Christians by sitting at home. Loving should be easy but people are afraid of getting hurt. There needs to be someone to tell you about Jesus. Are there people you don’t want to talk to? What makes people happy?
Proverbs chapters 15 and 16 was the text for today. We need mercy and love in our hearts. Jesus made things simple but we make it hard. Wisdom is better then gold. Have pride in certain things but not of yourself. Pride takes you to a fall. We are to be humble and that’s ok. Teach your children to be humble.
Compare yourself to Christ and try to live Christlike. We don’t see Christians like we used to. The churches would be filled if every Christian was who they said they were. When you are saved things change. If there is no change there is no Jesus. If you do things wrong whether you get caught or not Jesus knows.
Have a great week. God bless.
Hopewell Baptist Church
In Matthew 21:1-22 Jesus sent two disciples ahead into town to find a donkey to bring to Him. The crowd lay their cloaks and fig leaves on the ground, making the road softer. The people are amped up because the King is coming. They were shouting Hosanna (save us) Son of David, in the name of the Lord. They think they are inaugurating a new King; they’re just not understanding the whole meaning. Jesus tells them He will save the, but not how they think.
Jesus entered the Temple and confronted their greed and drives them out. The blind and the lame come, and the Temple becomes a place of God again. Jesus comes to wage war on the darkness in our hearts, not the government. A crowd of children shout, Hosanna (save us) Son of David. The High authorities are indigent because they are not getting their cut. Jesus asks them, have you never read before, the children will sing my praises. Jesus is not there for the Romans, but to save the people from themselves just like you and me. Jesus takes the Temple back.
Jesus passes a fig tree with no fruit and curses it. This holds true for the Temple. The people thought God would be happy if the building was clean and the fire never went out. He created us because He loves us. He sees our hearts, and Jesus needs to come in and turn over some tables. He made us to reflect who He is, and we became a reflection of ourselves. Jesus’ problem is with the religious folks like you and me. We become complacent and nothing happens. We don’t get to age out, and we don’t get to stop making a difference. God’s grace doesn’t stop, and neither should we. What is it that Jesus needs to work on in our hearts?
Join us Sunday mornings for Sunday School at 10 a.m. with Worship at 11 a.m. We have a new Sunday evening Children’s Program at 5:30 p.m. with Adult Bible Study at 6 p.m. Our mid-week Bible Study is Wednesday at 6 p.m. Watch our service live at 11 a.m. each Sunday on Hopewell Baptist Church Facebook page.
