The Church Of Jesus Christ Headquarters: 2797 Bryant St. Portage, IN 46368 Phone: 219-763-1049 www.JESUSCHRISTISGOD.ORG Message of Hope Official Organ, owned by: The Church of Jesus Christ Editor of the Message of Hope: Sis. Wendy Leslie Please send all articles to: MESSAGE OF HOPE 236 Southwind Dr. Valparaiso, IN 46385 Bugsy2004@msn.com Articles and Pictures due: July
1st, 09
What Does The Church of Jesus Christ Believe? We believe that the Bible is the infallible Word of God and is the SOLE authority on every subject. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Almighty God. Rev. 1:8, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” God put on a robe of flesh and walked here on earth for 33 years to fulfill prophecy for the New Testament Church, which is The Church of Jesus Christ. According to the Word, John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us….” The Church of Jesus Christ believes that everyone must take His word seriously, John 8:24, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I Am He, ye shall die in your sins.” We follow God’s plan of salvation. Acts 2:38, “…Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Baptism is by immersion in water only. The evidence of the infilling of the Holy Ghost is according to Acts 2:4, “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” John 3:5 states, “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” We must then live a clean, holy, and dedicated life to Jesus Christ thereafter taking diligent heed to the Word. The Church of Jesus Christ must be found faithful to His Word. We must be partakers of Communion service. This service consists of the Lord’s Supper and Foot Washing. 1 Cor. 11:24, 25, “And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. (25) After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, “This cup is the New Testament in my blood: this do ye oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.” John 13:14, 15, “If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. (15) For I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done to you.” Watch, pray, forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, give your tithes and offerings, so that YOU can be counted among the faithful when our one and only Savior, Jesus Christ, comes back in a “cloud with power and great glory”!
Executive Board of Bishops Bishop Jarret R. Spence, Presiding Bishop 2298 Fern Street Portage, Indiana 46368 Phone 219-762-7492 Bishop Tommy Johnson, Asst. Presiding Bishop P.O. Box 505 Dyersburg, Tennessee 38024 Phone 731-285-9200 Bishop Paul Rose, Secretary/Treasurer P.O. Box 344 Cabin Creek, West Virginia 25035 Phone 304-595-5640
National Youth Leaders Bro. Jarret & Sis. Caryn Spence 804 Pennsylvania Avenue LaPorte, IN 46350 Phone 219-325-3904 Bro. Travis & Sis. Nora Hensley, Assistants 437 Tecumseh Street Warsaw, IN 46582 Phone 574-551-4487
Bishop of Jamaica Bishop Orville Rodney 199 Catherene Mount Albion P. A. Montego Bay, St. James, Jamaica, W. I. Phone 876-952-6676
Bishop of Canada Bishop Mathias Gooden 75 Dunlop St., Apt. 406 Richmond Hills, ON L4C 2M7 CANADA Phone 905-883-8543
State Bishops Bishop Charles Hays, Sr. 409 Fitch Street Albion, Michigan 49224 Phone 517-629-7053
Bishop Danny Walls P.O. Box 216 Ingalls, Indiana 46048 Phone 317-485-4105
United We Stand
Divided We Fall
www.jesuschristisgod.org www.thechurchofjesuschrist.net
THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST 2797 BRYANT STREET, PORTAGE, INDIANA 46368 (219) 763-1049
“Everyone Welcome” Three Services Daily 10AM, 1PM, 7PM Come and Enjoy Good Holy Ghost Filled Services With the day of the Lord fast approaching why would you want to be anywhere else? For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Matthew 24:27 _______________________________________________________________________________________________
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A Called-Out People Matt. 7:21, Not everyone that saith unto me Lord, Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. After we say Lord, Lord, he has told us that not all will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. 2 John vs. 4, I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. Verse 9, Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. Col. 1:19, For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. Col. 2:9, 10, For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power. Eph. 4:6, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. John 10:30, I and my Father are one. 1 John 5:20, And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. John 8:24, If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. Eph. 3:21, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. 2 Chron. 7:14, If my people which are called by my name… (The Church of Jesus Christ). He does have a calledout people. Are you called by His name? Bishop Tommy Johnson Pastor, Elder Mickey Dodd The Church of Jesus Christ Dyersburg, TN
The Unexpected Nest
The Holy Bible records every nation and people had to follow God’s plan for it to work. II Chronicle's chapters 28 & 29, is an example of how God’s plan was to be done and the end results of not following God’s plan to the letter. The people, who shut the doors of the temple, took away the vessels and replaced them with other gods. This action brought a harsh warning, of God’s disapproval. Then God had to cleanse The House of The Lord, to set things back in order. We can be grateful for those that God has set to restore His plan and see the worship that is in The Church of Jesus Christ. Sis. JoAnn Leslie Pastor, Bishop Randell Spence The Church of Jesus Christ Portage, IN
The Storm A little girl walked daily to and from school. Though the weather that morning was questionable and clouds were forming, she made her daily trip to school. As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up, along with thunder and lightning. The mother of the little girl felt concerned that her daughter would be frightened as she walked home from school and she herself feared that the electrical storm might harm her child. Following the roar of thunder, lightning, like a flaming sword would cut through the sky. Full of concern, the mother quickly got in her car and drove along the route to her child’s school. As she did so, she saw her little girl walking along, but as each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up and smile. Another and another were to follow quickly, each with the little girl stopping, looking up and smiling. Finally, the mother called over to her child and asked, “What are you doing?” The child answered smiling, “God just keeps taking pictures of me.” Submitted By: Sis. Florence Buchanon Pastor, Elder Mickey Dodd The Church of Jesus Christ Dyersburg, TN
Help Me Lord As spring arrives in Northwest Indiana I look forward to its signs. One of the main signs is the robins return. God pre-programmed this bird to build a nest, lay eggs, and watch over a new generation to maturity. This year a super sized nest arrived to the delight of all the neighborhood kids and yes, even a seasoned adult that has seen a lot of springs new arrivals. A robin’s nest appeared on an electric meter. Now what you may think is so unexpected ... it's watching God’s plan unfold in our daily lives. "It is good" since the first recording in Genesis ... even after our life is over God’s plan continues.
Instead of pointing my finger at he or she, Lord just help me to work on me. When I see others making a mistake, Help me to zip my lips and give them a break. Help me to remember we all belong to you, And it does matter what each of us say and do. Submitted By: Sis. Lora Lovell Pastor, Elder Mickey Dodd The Church of Jesus Christ Dyersburg, TN
A Jealous God Praise the Lord! I thank God daily for all the blessings in my life from my job and home, to a wonderful wife and daughter. But, one of the greatest blessings of all, are the revelations of the scriptures that I have received. One of those being that there is a side of God that demands fear! Very seldom in the world today do we hear a preacher say that, “God is a jealous God.” All you hear is, “God is love”, and He is, but, the world has taken these scriptures and created a false doctrine out of them. The Bible tells me in Matthew chapter 15, that when we do this, you make the word of God of “none effect.” My Pastor always teaches us, if you want a good understanding of the New Testament you must first have a good understanding of the Old Testament. In Exodus 20: 1-5 it says, “1) And God spake all these words, saying, 2) I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3) Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5) Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;” The first two commandments that God gave us is that there is but only one God and that we shouldn’t make any graven images and worship them for He was a jealous God. It didn’t take the children of Israel long to break those commandments and if Moses had not interceded for them, God would have destroyed them all. (Exodus 32: 7-10) When you read the rest of the chapter you find that only 3,000 people were killed and plagued the rest for making the golden calf. It is never a good thing to make God angry. The Bible also says in Hebrews 10:31 “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God.” Many times in God’s anger, thousands would die before someone could intercede and pray for them. God is constantly warning us throughout the scriptures of His jealousy and anger at disobedience. One such warning is found in Deuteronomy 4: 23-24 which says, “23) Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. 24) For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.” Scriptures like Nahum 1:2 and Isaiah 31: 1-3 gives additional warnings of just how jealous our God can be. You do not have to set up a statue of a golden calf or any such thing to be worshipping an idol. Things like a job, money, or even that special someone that you rely on can be a false god when you trust in them more than Jesus Christ. In Matthew 21: 12-13 it tells of just how angry Jesus Christ can be when His temple is misused. “12) And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them
that sold doves, 13) And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” An unwillingness to accept and walk in more truth will also get God angry and make Him jealous. Trusting in traditions and false religions will make Him just as angry as worshipping a statue! In John 8: 37-45 it tells us that the Pharisees were so caught up in their religious traditions that they would rather kill Jesus Christ then to break one. John 8:44 reads, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” God told His own people that they were the children of the devil! God is love, and He loves us all. But, we must put Him first, trusting in nothing or anyone else but Him, and walk as closely to the scriptures as we can! Bro. Jay Rogers Pastor, Bishop Randell Spence The Church of Jesus Christ Portage, IN
Clean up the Inside We want to say Praise the Lord from Montpelier, OH. We are small in number but mighty in the Lord. Testimonies have been brought out by Bro. Dan with good food for the soul. "You can cover up the outside, but you can't cover up the inside." In Matthew 23:27 it reads, “Woe, unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like unto whited schulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead man's bones, and of all uncleanness.” Just because you may fool others, your true person comes through. 1 Samuel 16:7 says, “But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” Bro. Dan also testified that "You can tell what's on the people's heart by what they talk about the most." In Philippians 1:27 it tells us to, “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” So we need to strive everyday to make sure that we have His word written in our hearts and have it shine through our daily lives. We are looking forward to all the upcoming events and seeing everybody again. Church Reporter: Sis. Michelle Jones Pastor, Calvin Blaine Pennington The Church of Jesus Christ Montpelier, OH
Joy Is there anyone who has not heard the acronym J.O.Y. for the word joy? If so, it goes like this: J - Put Jesus Christ (God) first O - Put others next Y - Put yourself last On the surface it's easy to see the concept and recognize it as an interesting idea, but did you know the scriptures actually back it up? Mark 12:29-31 says, "And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these." God calls on us to put Him first, above all else, in our lives. We do that by consciously making ourselves subject to Him (doing what He says do, and not doing what He says not to do, no matter how we feel). Secondly He calls on us to love our neighbor as our self. Consistently in the scriptures we find where He calls on us to sacrifice our wants to the needs of others. Romans 15:2-3 says "Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself; ...” If we faithfully execute the two greatest commandments in the bible, we cannot help but put ourselves at the end of the line. But in so doing, we can rest assured that the joy of the Lord will be ours, because the Lord will shower down blessings on those who do those things pleasing in His eyes. John 15:10-11 says, "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." Want to be full of joy? Commit J-O-Y to heart, and live them out in your everyday life. Pastor Mickey Dodd The Church of Jesus Christ Dyersburg, TN
Pierceton Report Praise the Lord everyone! God is truly great and greatly to be praised. He is worth of all praise. Let everything that hath breath praise ye the Lord. He’s a great king and He is doing great things. We thank Jesus Christ for moving in our services lately in mighty ways. Bonds are being broken and the captives are being set free. You can see and feel that there is such a liberty that is returning within our church. The Spirit of God has been strong from the beginning of the services all the way through to the great preaching and altar calls. It has been awesome,
and only God can do such things as these. It is so refreshing and encouraging to feel the power of God sweeping through our midst and renewing each one of us. We all have been blessed and we know we can make it if we stay on the strait and narrow way. Thank God for all He has done and is doing! We also have been blessed to find out that we are going to be having two new additions to our church by the end of this year. Bro. Andy and Sis. Stephanie Baldridge have been expecting and we just found out that Bro. Jason and Sis. Misty Traxler are also expecting. We are just ecstatic to be able to have more to add to our congregation. One way or another we will grow our church! Just kidding, but we are really thankful for such great blessings. Mother’s Day is coming and we want to say that we are so thankful for the “Mother” of our church, our Pastor’s wife, Sis. Vanessa O’Dell. She stands for what is right and true and is not swayed by this world. It is “What thus saith the Word of God” for her, and nothing else. We are so thankful for her great leadership, guidance and the example she sets for each and every one of the younger ones to follow. May God bless her always for her faithfulness to Jesus Christ and His ways. We love her very much and could not ask for a better “Mother” than her. HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY FROM ALL OF US! We are also thankful for our Pastor, Bishop Robert O’Dell, and all he has been teaching lately. He has been encouraging us to have a deeper and closer walk with God. Especially for the days that are coming, we need to be built up in Him. If we are weak, we will fall and will not make it to heaven, and hell is waiting for all who do not make it. So don’t be weary in well-doing; For in due season, we shall reap if we faint not (Gal. 6:9). So run that ye may obtain (1 Cor. 9:24-25). God has made a way for all of us to make heaven our home eternally if we follow His redemption plan. Jesus Christ came that the world through Him might be saved (John 3:16-17). He does not want anyone to perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). In Acts 2, they asked Peter what they MUST do to be saved, and he told them that they had to “Repent, and be baptized, Every One of you in the NAME of JESUS CHRIST for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:37-39). This is what we must do if we want to have life eternally. It is our choice, but there will be no excuse if we don’t make it. We thank God for all He has done and are looking forward to all the Tent Revivals, Youth Camp and General Convocation. We pray God truly blesses in all these events, and hope to see many souls added to the Kingdom! Church Reporter: Sis. Nora Hensley Pastor, Bishop Robert O’Dell The Church of Jesus Christ Pierceton, IN
In His Footsteps
When someone does a kindness it always seems to me, that’s the way GOD would like us “all” to be… For when we bring a pleasure to another “human heart” then we have followed in His footsteps; when we’ve had a little part in serving HIM who truly loves us “ALL.” For I am sure it’s true in serving those around us, we are serving and pleasing Jesus Christ too. God bless The Church of Jesus Christ! (1 Cor. 15:57, 58)
been working so hard teaching our youth the signing songs. Bro. John Dodd has started leading a Sunday School Class for the older youth. It really takes a Real Man or Woman to stand up for the gospel. Please remember the Reed family with the passing of Sis. Lucille Reed. We really are going to miss her. Bro. Alvin and she were such a blessing to the church. I can’t forget his favorite scripture, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Until we all meet soon, may we all continue to fight the good fight of faith, uplifting one another. Remember us as we pray for you. Church Reporter: Sis. Amanda Rose Pastor, Elder Mickey Dodd The Church of Jesus Christ Dyersburg, TN
Because of Calvary, Sis. Pittman Batavia, IL
God’s Name Be Not Ashamed Don’t sit back holding on to the seat. If you feel like God is telling you to go to the altar then let go of the seat and go and get what you need. Don’t be ashamed to lift your hands or lift your voice. Don’t worry about what someone may say. In Mark 8:38 it says “Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Don’t let God be ashamed of you. Hebrews 2:11 says “For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.” If God is not ashamed to call us brethren then why are we ashamed to praise Him and witness for Him. Time is drawing near. We need to get as many as we can in THE TRUTH before time is up. So don’t be ashamed of God get out and do what you can for Him! Bro. Eric Gilbert Pastor, Elder Mickey Dodd The Church of Jesus Christ Dyersburg, TN
Dyersburg Report Praise the Lord! God is so great and greatly to be praised! We are getting very excited about the upcoming events. It seems like the winter months are very long and we miss the fellowship of our brothers and sisters in the Lord that are afar off. We are looking forward to seeing everyone soon. Sis. Melanie Westmoreland has started leading the “Junior Choir”. She is doing a wonderful job involving the younger ones of the church. Sis. Jessi McCaig has
To God be the glory for the great things He has done. We send greetings to all the Bishops and Members in the body of Jesus Christ. Let us pray one for the other, as we are seeing the signs of the times. Let us be prepared for the coming of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In Matthew 28:18-19 it gives us a commandment. In verse 19 it says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” Notice that it doesn’t say names. In Matthew 1:20-21 it tells us the name of the son shall be called Jesus. But in Matthew 16:16 Peter announces that He was the Christ the son of the living God. In the flesh He was a man but in the Spirit He is God. We must have the revelation of who He really is. When a fetus is conceived it carries the name of the father. Jesus says in John 5:43 that He came in His Fathers name. Also, in John 14:15-26 Jesus says that the comforter will come in His name and shall teach us all things. Do you know the name of the Father, the name of the Son and the name of the Holy Ghost? Do you know that all three are one? In Deuteronomy 6:4 it says, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:” Ephesians 4:5-6 states that there is, “5) One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6) One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Now that His name is clearly seen in the word, there should be no more doubt or confusion in the minds of those that believe that there are three separate Gods. Jesus Christ as the light of the world has promised to open our understanding and to lead us into all truth. Let us lift up and honor His name, singing praises and giving Him all the glory for shedding His precious blood for us on Calvary. May the good Lord bless and keep us all. Sis. Doreen Benjamin Hamilton, Canada
Whom Does He think He is Kidding? When a man says he can’t keep a-wake through a 30 minute sermon, but can sit and watch a 2 1/2 hour movie, whom is he kidding? When a man says Sunday is his only day to rest and gets up at 4:30 a.m. to go fishing or spends the day golfing, whom is he kidding? When a man says the church seats are too hard and uncomfortable, but can go and sit on a bleacher for hours in the rain watching 22 men push one another back and forth across a muddy lot, whom is he kidding? When a man says he can’t afford to tithe, but lives in a comfortable home, drives a new car, eats well, clothes his family comfortably and stylishly, whom is he kidding? When a man says he doesn’t have time for Christ and His church, then is gone from sun up to sun down running the roads, whom is he kidding?....
NOT GOD!!
Dear Lord, it's such a hectic day With little time to stop and pray For life's been anything but calm Since You called on me to be a mom Running errands, matching socks Building dreams with building blocks Cooking, cleaning, and finding shoes And other stuff that children lose Fitting lids on bottled bugs Wiping tears and giving hugs A stack of last weeks mail to read So where's the quiet time I need? Yet when I steal a minute, Lord Just at the sink or ironing board To ask the blessings of Your grace I see then, in my small one's face That you have blessed me All the while And I stop to kiss That precious smile!
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