Weekly Message / Prayer Request

Acts 2:42 Men’s Fellowship

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” Colossians 2:8 NIV

This past week I have been reading a book titled Quicknotes Christian History Guidebook by Carol and Roddy Smith. A very easy read compared to the academic books I have come across on the topic of Christian history. So I would definitely recommend this book to someone who wants to know how the Christian Church has developed since Christ, without having to dredge through deep academic thought.

So once again I realized that anytime someone looks at Christian history in depth, the one striking characteristic of the early Christian Church is how similar it is to the Church today. Many of the different views that persist throughout the Church today have already been addressed by the historical Church in one form or another.

We only have to consider how true Solomon was when he declared, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9 NIV)

Therefore there is great value in studying history and looking into the discussions of early Church fathers in order to see how many of the issues which exist today in the Church were worked out in years past.

Yet there must also be a word of caution, because history can be a very dangerous thing as well. The Apostle Paul understood how deceptive man can be in their rituals and traditions when they are based upon human wisdom. Over time rituals and traditions can replace the true meaning of Christ with a hollow version of who He truly was. So this morning we end up within a very powerful verse written by the Apostle Paul…

Probably no other verse in the Word takes the issue of deceptive philosophy head on like Colossians 2:8 does. In fact, the Greek word for philosophy in this verse is philosophia, which literally means “love of wisdom”. It is only used once in the entire Bible, right here in this verse.

What the Apostle Paul is therefore warning us not to do is look toward the world for wisdom and guidance. This world can offer no higher knowledge to living then what our Lord Jesus Christ offers, for we are not of this world when we have been born-again.

And the Apostle Paul even further qualified this exclusive nature of our Lord when he shared with the Galatians:

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.” Galatians 1:6-7 NIV

Brothers, I truly believe we are to rest everything on our Lord Jesus Christ. Everything which exists only exists within one dimension—the distance from our Lord. We need to ensure each day we are not turning to the gospel of men, but resting our faith on the gospel of truth.

Therefore as we continue to move forward as a group, I pray that we all can measure everything shared as a group with the only standard that matters—the Word. Nothing else matters. My opinion doesn’t matter. Instead let us live like the Bereans did so long ago by examining the Scriptures daily to see if all things were true (Acts 17:11)…

If this happens, the history of this group when it has been written will not reflect any tradition of men; but instead the history of this group will only reflect the thing that matters—our Lord working through each one of us…


Prayer requests

Ernie – pray for wife that she may be healed of her pancreas problems, pray for Joe Marine who was involved in a boating accident

Tim D – pray that he may grow closer to God

Paul – pray for guidance in making the right bids at work

Gary – pray for wife who may have to have surgery to help correct a health issue, pray that the Lord can help fill this feeling of emptiness

Kevin – pray the Lord will guide him in making the right decisions on a job path, pray for the government and all of the leaders in this country

Steve – pray that the Lord will help anyone who is struggling in this group

Bill M – pray that he will be able to lose some weight to help with the prostate condition, pray for making the best decision on treatment

Vince – pray that the Lord will look after his exwife and continue to bring her closer to Him, pray for healing in hand, pray for financial support in the bills that he is having

Greg – pray for the Men’s ministry

David – pray for teaching him to hear God’s voice more clearly

Mark – pray for financial discernment in using God’s money wisely, pray for the health of the Church

***Pray as Northshore begins a new chapter in its ministry to people who desperately needs to hear the gospel message


Continued prayer needs

Tim H – pray that his family as a whole will become closer to one another even during the loss of a particular members of the family, pray for job change that it will go smooth

Ramon – pray for Brett S who has a liver disease which is progressing and needs treatment or possible transplant, pray that both his wife and him will walk more in Christ each day

Sky – pray that he will be accepted into the RN program at college for this fall

Larry Miller – pray for wife Sandy’s mother who is hospitalized with a ‘mass’ found on her pancreas, pray that her father may have peace during this time

Kelcy – pray for all the pastors and leaders within the Church

Brent – pray that he will find clarity and guidance for finding the right person to marry

Brett S – pray for healing of liver disease

Dick – pray for gluttony issues, pray for strength to deny self by helping him submit to the Lord

Carmine – pray that he can find ways to lower his blood pressure which was very high recently

Monte – praise God for a new job that he has been blessed with

Keith – pray that their youngest daughter will be able to do well in college, pray that Nate will be able to find a job

Craig – pray that he will become more diligent in his Bible reading, pray that all pain will be removed someday from his body

Chad – pray for continued seeking of purity in his life


Future Meetings

Wednesday, August 6th, 7:00-9:00 pm, regular meeting at Northshore Christian Church in room C214 on the academy side of the church.

Wednesday, August 13th, 7:00-9:00 pm, regular meeting at Northshore Christian Church

Wednesday, August 20th, 7:00-9:00 pm, regular meeting at Northshore Christian Church


Group Happenings

August 27th we will be having a special night of prayer. That evening we will be looking into the scriptures on the meaning of prayer during our usual time of fellowship. But we will close the meeting with a special time of prayer… More will be shared in the next few meetings.


Memory Verse

“For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10 NKJV