*Volume 126 *No. 10*Published by Christian Triumph Co. *Permit # 695 *DEC 2010
Contents: Christmas Thoughts.......Home Page Christ Jesus .................... 2 A Look at the Book, Byrum Lee ... 3 Christmas poem by Maxine ........ 4 Unique by Anita .................. 5 A Good Deal in Brazil by Donna . 6 Pictures from Doris.............. 7 Pictures from Paul .............. 7
This Baby’s name was Jesus (Joshua), and like Joshua of Old, He would lead His people into the Promised Land.
Jesus is the First, Last and In-between. He begins our eternal journey; He never leaves us and when our earthly life concludes, He is there to take us Home.
The King – The Light, rescuing us The people wanted a King, and certainly, the Baby, born in a manger, was Lord of Lords! The wise men recognized His royalty in asking, “Where is He that is born King?” But the wise men were not the first to see Immanuel, God in the flesh.
The King was to be found by men of the fields, the shepherds. They gazed at Him on bended knee, a tiny baby, innocent as a Lamb. And, as the Lamb of God, He, by His suffering, would fully pay the penalty for our sins.
This Divine Savior would forever free us “from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.” The Message
from darkness when we are lost and in trouble, always reminding us of our great worth to Him.
Christmas -
a time to Baby us the the
remember the born to show Way to God Father.
Let my heart be Your throne, O King Jesus. “God sent His Son into the world…to save the world.” John 3:17
Have a blessed Christmas! Christian Triumph Friends
The clouds were dark, Just like my heart, Full of sorrow. And then an opening Appeared in their midst, And the Sun came Streaming down, Like the songs The Angels sang On that glorious night: “Glory to God in the highest…” And I welcomed the Peace That the Son brought. “My saving power will rise on you like the sun and bring healing like the sun’s rays.” Malachi 4:2
“Christ Christ Jesus Who, being in very nature, God, Did not consider equality with God Something to be grasped, But made himself nothing, Taking the very nature of a servant, Being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance appearance as a man, He humbled himself And became obedient to deathdeathEven death on a cross! Therefore, God called him to the highest Place And gave him the name that is above every other name, That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, In heaven and on earth and under the earth, earth, And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, To the Glory of God the Father.” Father. Amen.
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Philippians 2: 6- 11
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(NIV The Living Insights Study Bible Charles R. Swindoll General Editor)
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A LOOK AT THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Reference for this study comes from the Holy Bible as well as the book,
JESUS' EARTHLY LIFE DIGESTED Jesus, by angels to the earth was accompanied,
The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1 By William Barclay
By shepherds and wise men he was welcomed,
The Genealogy Genealogy of Baby Jesus Matthew 1: 11-17
But by King Herod his life was threatened.
Arranged in three sections and based on three great phases in history, Matthew’s lineage of Jesus culminates with His birth. And, yet, nothing about Jesus is a conclusion: it is only a beginning!
At age twelve, he the temple scholars astounded; By most common people he was respected, But by the Pharisees he was constantly hounded.
The Lineage: 1st section: Names identifying the stages of history up to David, a great King. Created in the image of God, born to rule, man stumbles and falls.
By the religious authorities he was rejected. And to his enemies, by Judas, he was betrayed. Tho' innocent, Pilate reluctantly had him executed,
2nd section: Names telling of failure, shame, and tragedy - a nation exiled. Man loses the kingdom and his greatness. God’s gift of free will is misused and the loving plan of God defied and defiled.
And in fear for themselves, his disciples fled. In death, by his Father God, he was abandoned; All alone, on the cross he sadly hung his head.
3rd section: Names leading to the birth of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, the Son of God, the Creator of everything that is! King Jesus is born a Savior, chosen to rescue every human being from the bonds of sin so that fellowship with God, the Father, can be reinstated. The King and the Kingdom triumphs over evil, destruction, and man’s loss of greatness. The loving mercy of God restores the nobility of man.
Two rich friends buried him after he was dead, Then on the third day, to life he was resurrected. Now as the world's Savior he is widely accepted, And by his followers, penitents to him are directed. Byrum C. Lee: 10/2010
THE DAILY STUDY BIBLE The Gospel of Matthew/Barclay/Volume 1
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Their hearts burned deep within them— This awesome scene foretold Was more than they could fathom A mystery from of old.
CHRISTMAS The ethereal sky was shattered— A star with brilliance ruled O’er all the slopes of Judah Giving earth a special hue.
The prophet’s voice extended— Their vision seeing far This scene that through the centuries Was guided by a star.
Driving the night of blackness Into obscurity— Allowing the least of creatures To appear in its purity.
The shepherds ran to tell it! Excitedly, they bore The news to everyone they met The Saviour has been born! Maxine Trigleth
The sleeping now were awakened. Wonderment touched their eyes. Who could explain what was happening Where were the ones who were wise? Did any remember the prophets And the faithful words foretold Of Messiah sent as a baby To David’s city of old? And then a chorus of angels— What a beautiful heavenly sight, Spoke peace to humble shepherds As they kept their flock that night. Angelic words brought comfort, Peace and hope—good cheer— Man now reconciled to God No longer bound by fear!
“When Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judaea, in the days of Herod the King, behold there came to Jerusalem wise men from the East, ‘Where,’ they said, ‘is the newly born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in its rising and we have come to worship Him.’” Matt.2
Go and find Him yonder In the city’s humble stall. There the miracle Baby— God’s gift to one and all!
“And, behold, the star, which they had seen in its rising, led them on until it came and stood over the place where the little child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.” Matt 2
He lay in holy reverence With the cattle on the hay. The shepherds humbly knelt down With homage for to pay! 4
We are each unique. No one else can take our place. We have an important place to fill. fill. “Ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” God loves each of us. Jesus died so that every person can be redeemed from sin. II Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usus-ward, not not willing that any should perish, but that all should should come to repentance.” In filling filling that special place in Christ, Christ, which God created for us, us, there will be great joy and eternal security for ourselves, for those who would be influenced by our lives, and God, our Father, will be glorified. Anita
Unique
One of our foster girls, along with her husband and son, came to visit us. Little grandson enjoyed playing games with Grandma. At his young age his comprehension span is short. It took a lot of of different games to keep him happy. Among the fun play time activities were boxes of puzzles to be put together. together. The small 50 piece mini puzzles went together with not too much effort. The switch to 100 pieces presented a little more challenge. Grandma found found that it soon became more of a personal project while grandson found something more exciting to do. Grandma did receive some interesting thoughts regarding the puzzle pieces. Each piece is unique, the only one of its kind. Each piece has its own color, shape, place, purpose and is important to the finished picture. How we individuals are like a piece of puzzle!
YOU ARE SPECIAL! MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Once again we rejoice with the Church of God mission in Ghana. They are receiving books from the Maxedons, as well as literature from Christian Triumph. “‘…All the children are very excited to begin the new academic year with a new library for the first time in the school…pass on our kind regards…’ Yours in His service, Bishop Edward” 5
and support and encourage a young couple in ministry, Eliezer and Cristiane Zamora, (son and daughter-in-law of Walking Man Narciso Zamora) at the Church of God in Joaçaba, Brazil in the state of Santa Catarina. The whole family liked the idea of Brazil – the world’s fifth largest country with incredibly biological and cultural diversity.
Go with Donna on her journey into into Brazil for the next several months. She will keep you intrigued with the region and people of the area. (Donna is Evelyn’s granddaughter) A Good Deal in Brazil By Donna Lee Schillinger
Donna and John In I 2003, my husband and I made a deal. He wanted to go to college to become a teacher and then go on for a master’s degree. This would require a sacrifice on the part of our family. So I negotiated something in return. “When you’re finished with school, I want to live abroad somewhere for a year.” Reluctantly, he agreed. Seven years later, John graduated with a master’s degree this past August and now, we live in Brazil. As the time to make good on the deal was approaching, our family considered many options – we could have gone almost anywhere in the world for this year abroad (which is actually only nine months). I sought God’s will and searched high and low for some sort of affordable missions experience, which I am sorry to say, I could not find. Most programs were cost prohibitive – asking us to pay for our service more than twice what I know it takes to live in a developing country. Others we didn’t qualify for because we didn’t know the language. (I didn’t want to go to an English or Spanish-speaking country, because one of my objectives in living abroad was to learn a new language.) It seemed that there was some disqualifying factor to each organization I researched. There was one open door, however, in Brazil, to simply live near
Pastor Eliezer Eliezer Zamora, his daughter, Vanessa, and Chaise, son of Donna and John. Since arriving here, we have received such tender care from our Heavenly Father that we know that we are where He wanted us. On our first day in town, we found a wonderful home – a duplex – that is less than two blocks from church and our friends, the Zamoras – important, since we don’t have a car. My daughter has enrolled in a ballet class with a Christian teacher and she has made friends her age at church, my three-year-old son has a new best friend in the pastor’s daughter, Vanessa, also three, and we were able to get inexpensive wireless Internet in our home so I can effectively continue my work in Christian publishing, and the whole family can stay connected to friends and family in the U.S. These are just a few of the blessings so far. To be honest, we don’t have a clear idea of what God’s purpose in our being here might be. And we may never understand it. So we are just trying to live daily in God’s will and attend and support the local church. 6
The Church of God in Joaçaba is one of the older Churches of God in Brazil – some 50 years old. Once a large and thriving congregation, a division some years ago left the current congregation with 40 to 50 in regular attendance. They have a Saturday children’s ministry that attracts about 15 children, some from families that do not attend church. Tuesday evening is children’s choir practice; on Saturday night, the youth (high school through young adults) gather; and then there is the main service on Sunday night. There’s no church on Sunday morning here – it’s a cultural thing, similar to how many congregations in the U.S. do not gather on Sunday night. However, the division of the church is still living history and the remaining congregation has not fully recuperated. Laypersons need to be discipled and to take initiative and fill in leadership positions. So much of the programming responsibilities fall on the same few people and the church has not grown much since the division. Pastor Eliezer Zamora also travels twice monthly to a town about 90 minutes away called Puritiba. There is a smaller congregation there which worships in a tiny store front. This congregation is growing and energetic, having just purchased land for a new church – but they need a full-time pastor. Pastor Zamora has tried to interest others in going to Puritiba to pastor, but the small congregation doesn’t have the resources to pay a livable salary. Just as Pastor Zamora does in Joaçaba, a pastor in Puritiba would have to work full-time in secular employment to support his family. With a national shortage of pastors and many other churches able to offer a livable salary, a place like Puritiba doesn’t have much chance of attracting one of the few seminary graduates. During our stay here, I hope to provide a few other reports on the churches so that Faith Messenger readers become better acquainted with the work of the Church in Brazil and know how to pray for these local
congregations we’re visiting. Please pray for spiritual growth and maturity among the believers in Joaçaba, for growth and that God would raise up some strong lay leadership in that congregation. And please pray for the provision of a pastor for the church in Puritiba, as well as funds to build a church on their new land.
Children’s Youth Ministry on Saturday
Merry Christmas to all our friends! Friends of Christian Triumph
Doris (Busbee) Bardell & Leslie Busbee (brother)
Dear Family of God, I have had Sister Evelyn on my mind a lot recently and wanted to write a little about how she influenced my life when I was a child/teenager. My brother, Leslie, and I attended her vacation Bible studies in her home. How wonderful it was – I am sure it was because of Evelyn and her sweet Christian life that I asked Jesus-God to be my Savior and Lord….Doris --------------------------------------------------------------Christian Triumph local Bible Institute will end with a graduation in January and begin class again in February. The literature ministry is doing well. Upcoming issues of the Faith Messenger will include more pictures by Paul, Doris, and Donna. 7
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“Though
Your sins Be as scarlet, They shall be As white as snow.”
Have a Blessed Christmas!
Isaiah 1:18
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