I'm not sure which is worse a rogue, religious leader who is trying to grab 15 minutes of fame through despicable acts of religious candor or the dotes that feel the need to respond to his foolishness and, thus, prolong his ill-gotten notoriety. We now have a general, a president, numerous religious leaders from around the world, and at least two church organizations that have felt the need to make a public statement calling his actions unwise and un-Christian. The simple facts of this whole fiasco should make the average Christian shake his head in disgust. Here are the facts: there is an insignificant, independent church group in a small corner of the world planning to burn some paper and as a result all hell seems to have broken loose. If the media had not been alerted and the extremists had not been informed and the politically correct had not been aroused, no one would have paid attention to the folly that was planned for September 11, 2010 in Gainsville, FL.
NO ONE! But, because someone took issue, this small group of rogues now have an audience on the world's stage. The Apostle Paul wrote, "
Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ ..." (Romans 16: 17 - 18). The Greek word for
avoid is
ekklino which means "
to shun, turn away from and ignore." Had someone been wise enough to ignore the folly of these foolish people, their 15 minutes of fame would have died before it started. But no, our president and politicians and religious leaders felt that their opinions were so important they just had to say something. God forbid that we should quietly go about our business and just do the right thing.
The folly continues, however, as two Pentecostal organizations have now undoubtedly paid money to release a large ad in two insignificant newspapers which will, no doubt, prolong the fleeting fame of this foolish-hearted group. The mere reference to the planned actions in FL only adds credence to their irresponsible cause.
What is so frightening is that the leaders of the world who are responding to this idiocy are supposed to be among the world's intellectually elite. It's enough to make poor simple-minded people like me totally frustrated. What's the world coming to when the best and brightest lower themselves to this level of irrationality.
So here's my plan. The next time you think you need to spend money on a newspaper ad to prolong the fame of someone who believes that "
good grammer" is nothing more than a loving grandparent, stop for a moment, take a deep breath, think wisely and then send your excess finances to "
The Care Package" c/o Cottondale Community Church, POB 192 Cottondale, AL 35453. We will take your money and spend it on feeding the poor, the hurting and the hungry, and by "
visiting the fatherless and widows and do our best to keep ourselves unspotted from the world" (James 1:27).
James calls this
pure and undefiled religion!
The Care Package set distribution records this past week-end. We served 187 families from our food pantry. We would like to acknowledge the outstanding effort of our director, Teresa Crawford, and everyone who volunteered their time to participate in this ministry. There were 37 new families served on Saturday. The next distribution date will be December 18th. If you would like to serve in some capacity during this month's activity please let us know. There is plenty of work to be done.
We would like to extend a special thanks to Cottondale United Methodist Church for their recent Fish Fry which was used to support the Cottondale Community Church's Food Pantry. The total amount of proceeds donated to the pantry was over $3500. 
I recently read an article by the Vice President of Pastoral Ministries for Focus on the Family. The title of the article was, "Playing By The Rules Is Not Legalism." The writer used the illustration of Dustin Johnson's heart-breaking mistake at this year's PGA championship. His premise is that though Johnson's mistake was an error of judgment, he still violated the rules by grounding his club in one of the 1200 sand traps littered throughout the course.
The monthly Men's Fellowship Breakfast will take place this Saturday at 8:00 a.m. at Cottondale Community Church. We are looking forward to a great time of food, fun and fellowship. Immediately following the breakfast we will engage in a short period of work on the Upper Room Project. Come out and make this a great day of Christian fellowship.
Laodicea was a very, very wealthy city, founded by Antiochus II and named after his wife Laodice. The city was strategically located where three highways converged, thus it was highly commercial. It was well known for its banking industry, its manufacture of black wool and a medical school that produced eye ointment. The wealth in the city had been used to build theaters, a huge stadium, lavish public baths and fabulous shopping centers. Sound familiar? Sounds like any typical American city. So wealthy was this city that when an earthquake almost entirely destroyed it in 60 AD, its wealthy citizens refused help from Rome in rebuilding the city. If you were a real estate agent at the time it wouldn’t be hard to sell Laodicea. It was a great place to live. The land of opportunity. Sound familiar? The only real negative about the place was its lack of an adequate water supply. The church in Laodicea was most likely founded by Paul. He actually wrote a letter to them that was lost (cf. Col. 4:16). It is quite evident from historical accounts that the Christians in Laodicea had become victims of their environment. Indeed, a valuable lesson for us all today!
Sunday, October 3, 2010 at 10:30 a.m. will be a special day to celebrate the relief of our mortgage indebtedness. There will be special guest, music, dramas, worship and ministry on that day. We invite friends and family of CCC to join us for this special celebration.
I'm not sure which is worse a rogue, religious leader who is trying to grab 15 minutes of fame through despicable acts of religious candor or the dotes that feel the need to respond to his foolishness and, thus, prolong his ill-gotten notoriety. We now have a general, a president, numerous religious leaders from around the world, and at least two church organizations that have felt the need to make a public statement calling his actions unwise and un-Christian. The simple facts of this whole fiasco should make the average Christian shake his head in disgust. Here are the facts: there is an insignificant, independent church group in a small corner of the world planning to burn some paper and as a result all hell seems to have broken loose. If the media had not been alerted and the extremists had not been informed and the politically correct had not been aroused, no one would have paid attention to the folly that was planned for September 11, 2010 in Gainsville, FL. NO ONE! But, because someone took issue, this small group of rogues now have an audience on the world's stage. The Apostle Paul wrote, "Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ ..." (Romans 16: 17 - 18). The Greek word for avoid is ekklino which means "to shun, turn away from and ignore." Had someone been wise enough to ignore the folly of these foolish people, their 15 minutes of fame would have died before it started. But no, our president and politicians and religious leaders felt that their opinions were so important they just had to say something. God forbid that we should quietly go about our business and just do the right thing.
Our study of the Book of Revelation will continue tommorrow evening from Chapter 2 as we deal with the subject of the 7 Churches of Asia. Join us at 6:30 p.m. as we embark upon the wonderful journey through God's Word!
Today was a special day at CCC! The Youth Department led the congregation into the wondrous throne of God through music, drama and ministry. We were blessed to have Whitney and Crystal Smith as our guest. Crystal shared a dynamic message of God's delivering power. Praise God for a beautiful service devoted to God's mercy.
Tonight, we will begin a new adult study series from the Book of Revelation. This book is a wonderful revelation of the person and power of the Lord Jesus Christ. We invite you to join us at 6:30 p.m. as we delve into the wonders of God's Word.
