True Freedom comes only from God

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July 3, 2009

John Settles The Richmond Register Fri Jul 03, 2009, 04:49 PM EDT

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John: 8:32)

Today as a nation, we celebrate over 200 years of freedom, but is this true freedom? In the spiritual sense, true freedom comes only from God.

Jesus himself is the truth that makes us free (John: 8:36). He is the source of truth, the perfect standard of what is right. He frees us from the consequences of sin, from self-deception, and from deception by Satan. He shows us clearly the way to eternal life with God.

We live in troubled times, Paul in (2nd Timothy 3:1) calls the time in which we live perilous times. I believe that as a community and as a nation, we have allowed Satan to imprison us with dope, alcoholism, pornography and other demonic forces that only God can free us from. Jesus does not give us the freedom to do what we want, but freedom to follow God. As we seek to serve God, Jesus’ perfect truth frees us to be all that God wants us to be.

As we enjoy the cookouts, fireworks and other activities on this Independence Day, let’s join in prayer for our nation and our community. Let’s ask God to free us from economic woes, drug dependence and other forces that are enslaving us. Amen.

We greet you today with life, love and peace in the name of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ who is the author and finisher of our faith.

Thought for the week:

“The spirit of God first imparts love; He next inspires hope, and then gives liberty; and that is about the last thing we have in many or our churches.” — Dwight L. Moody.

Rally Day

On Sunday, the Concord Predestinarian Baptist Church in Moberly will observe its annual Rally Day Homecoming. The special guest at 3 p.m. will be Pastor Bruce Malcolm and choir and congregation from Consolation Baptist Church in Cincinnati. Dinner will be served. Elder Anthony Phelps is the host pastor.

Mt. Zion Assembly

Mt. Zion Apostolic Assembly at 217 N. Estill Ave. will be hosting a special service on Sunday at 5 p.m. The guest preacher will be Pastor Michael Johnson and the congregation of Bethel Star Apostolic Church in Lebanon. He is an anointed, appointed preacher with a wonderful testimony and down-to-earth preaching style. Refreshments will be served following the service. Call 200-0759 for transportation.

Calling all women pastors, teachers, preacher and evangelists: If you are interested in participating in seminars designed for women in ministry call Dr. Cheryl Singer at 200-0759.

Tabernacle of Refuge

Tabernacle of Refuge and Transformation located at 507 Broaddus Ave. will have a gospel singing on Sunday, July 12 at 5 p.m. The special guest singers will be Don Lee and the Gospel Diamonds of Lexington. Everyone is invited to come and worship with us. Elder Brenda Todd is the host pastor.

Homecoming/Rally

On Sunday, July 19, Pleasant Green Predestinarian Baptist Church, located at 377 College Hill Rd., Waco, will celebrate its annual Homecoming/Rally Day. The special guest at 11:30 a.m. will be Elder Michael McPherson, and the choir and congregation from the Sweet Leaf Primitive Baptist Church in Louisville. Dinner will be served. Deacon Eric Garrett is the chairperson and Elder John Settles is the host pastor.

Upward Bound Ministries

Starting July 1, Upward Bound Ministries Inc. will launch a new branch of our ministry in order to provide our community with a service to publicize and promote the local church: Upward Bound Ministries (UBM)-Video Outreach.

UBM Video Outreach mission is to assist the local and rural churches with an opportunity to inform the public of the services, introduce their pastor and ministries available at the church. Many churches and non-profit organizations today feel overwhelmed with the expense of video equipment needed to expose their organizations and services. Proper, effective and timely communications within your local and rural community is essential if you are going to be able to reach the un-churched population.

At UBM Video Outreach, we film, edit, produce and broadcast a variety of quality videos to fit your applications. Our videos also serve as non-invasive tools for outreach initiatives to help the growth of small churches. In addition, because we are a non-profit outreach ministry, we can provide you with a variety of high-quality video packages for you to choose from at a very low cost.

Current Services include pastor introduction DVDs, church services DVDs and wedding services DVDs.

For more information, call Darnell Hill, executive director and founder, Upward Bound Ministries Inc., at 986-1650 or 358-5908.

Special note

To all churches and civic organizations: To place your church or civic activity in this column, please send all information at least one week in advance via the U.S. Postal Service. The new address is: Church & Community Focus, 246 Sunset Ave., Richmond, KY 40475. E-mailed announcements should be sent to: tpollary@roadrunner.com and all e-mailed announcements must be received by 6 p.m. on the Tuesday of the week you wish your announcement to appear in the newspaper.

Until next week

May the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus stay fresh in your minds until we meet again.

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True Freedom comes only from God

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