Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!

We are under attack in so many ways. Read this article by Corinne Patterson on the Focus Press website and you will see what I am talking about.

A Life Changing Song

Today I wanted to post a short story written by a talented young lady who I met through Virtuous. Her name is Brooke Reninger and she worships in Cerdar Falls, Iowa. Here is the story. Enjoy!

A Life Changing Song

Violet took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Calm down, she told herself. Just one song and you’re done.

She was used to giving concerts; she had been doing them since she was seven. So she was also accustomed to the nerves that went along with them. But this was different. She was playing just one song in front of three judges and an average size audience. Just one song to leave her mark on the audience and mystify the judges. It would be quite a challenge, especially with the song she had chosen. But it would be worth it. She could finally be discovered, get a record deal, be a star! But she had to get past this first, she reminded herself.
Someone signaled her. It was her turn. She took another deep breath and walked out on stage. The lights were blinding. The middle judge smiled at her.

“Hello. What is your name, and what will you be doing?”

“I’m Violet Tercott and I’ll be playing the piano.”

“Excellent. You may begin whenever you are ready.”

Violet gave the judges a small smile and proceeded to the piano bench. She perched there gracefully for a moment, her fingers gently resting on the keys.
Then she began to play. As she moved through the song, her nervousness fled. She gave herself over to the melody, feeling it flow through her fingertips into her entire body. She felt every emotion of the harmonies; the anger as the seconds raged, the peacefulness when fifths sounded.

She ended with a flourish of fingers and keys, to the thunderous applause of the audience and a standing ovation from the judges. Almost in a daze, she managed a slight bow.
I did it, she thought. I’m on my way. Soon, the whole world will get to hear me play. In her heart, she knew this was the most important day of her entire life.

Brooke Reninger

What must I do to be saved?

In the salvation of man's soul there are 2 necessary parts: God's part and man's part. God's part is the big part, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift if God; not of works, that no man should glory" (Ephesians 2:8-9). The love which God felt for man led him to send Christ into the world to redeem man. The life and teaching of Jesus, the sacrifice on the cross, and the proclaiming of the gospel to men constitute God's part in salvation.



Though God's part is the big part, man's part is also necessary if man is to reach heaven. Man must comply with the conditions of pardon which the Lord has announced. Man's part can clearly set forth in the following steps:



Hear the Gospel. "How shall they call on him whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe him whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Romans 10:14).



Believe. "And without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing unto him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him" (Hebrews 11:6).


Repent of past sins. "The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent" (Acts 17:30).



Confess Jesus as Lord. "Behold here is water; What doth hinder me to be baptized ? And Philip said, if thou believeth with all thy heart thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God" (Acts 8:36-37).



Be baptized for the remission of sins. "And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).



Live a Christian life. "Ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).

OPEN INVITATION
Now that you are aware of a church in the 20th century which is built according to the blue prints of Christ's original church, why not become a member of it? In becoming a member of it, you will be called upon to do nothing which you cannot read in the New Testament. You will then live and worship just as the apostle-guided Christians of the first century did.
Not only is this return to New Testament Christianity a wonderful basis upon which all believers in Christ can unite, it is absolutely solid ground. If we do just what our Lord commanded we know that our salvation is certain. Come with us as we go back to the Bible, back to Christ and his church!



If you need help in locating a congregation of the churches of Christ nearest to you, please e-mail us at virtuousmag@yahoo.com, and we will be more than happy to help you find one. No one from the church will call without your consent. Please come by and visit us soon. We care about you and your family.





(Article from church-of-christ.org)

Things that make you go hmmm....

Hey! I hope everyone had a happy turkey day; I know I did. And I know that I have a lot of catching up to do, pictures to load etc... Anyway until I can get to that check out this article on the Christian Courier website and trust me it's eye opening to some of the abominations that are being spouted by so-called Christians.