Christmas Verse John 1:14

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

This is one of the greatest verses of Christmas. This one verse does more than most to explain what Christmas means. the Word...the LOGOS, God lowered Himself to become a man out of love for us...to know us and to free us from our self-caused dreadful destruction.

I heard once that to compare a man becoming an earthworm, in order to save the earthworms of the world is quite ridiculous. The comparison fails dreadfully, for so great is the divide between a HOLY GOD and man, that man to worm is a much closer to the possible.

Consider this verse each time you see some commercial attack on Christmas. remember, the Word became flesh....out of love for you and me....

Crazy Love by Francis Chan

http://www.crazylovebook.com/ click on link to his website.

This the book by Fracis Chan. All of the small groups at church are going through it.
I have the audio book and am listening to it. It has been very good. Ken

the Allender/Logos Bible Fellowship Class will be going Saturday September 19th for Bikes and Flapjacks ....that is NEXT SATURDAY.
If you didn't sign up in class, send me an email to confirm.

We will be Meeting at 10:00 for the FlapJack Fest in the Cades Cove Picnic Area. If you can donate $5.00 per family that will be great, but give only if you can do so...no one will ask you. Come and have a great time.
Menu....Pancakes, Syrup, Bacon, Orange Juice, Coffee and bottled water....if you want something else, you will need to bring it.

Gary Douglas, Mark Smith and Eric Martin and Alicia Mathias are heading up the FlapJack Fest.... email me if you want to help and I will pass your email along to them.

If you want to ride your bikes, be at the gate at 7:30 am...Sharp.
The gates are closed to cars until 11:00 am. So you if you start riding...it is hard to quit midway....
The goal is to be back at the Picnic area by 10:00 to eat pancakes.

DATES and TENTATIVE PLANS

SEPTEMBER 19th
FlapJacks and Bicycles! Saturday Morning at Cades Cove
7:00 or 7:30 bicycle ride at Cades Cove for the brave souls (gather bikes on trailer on Friday night)
Flapjacks for everyone at the Cades Cove Picnic area at 10:00am

OCTOBER 16th & 17th (UT off weekend)
Camping (no campground determined) Friday and Saturday
Saturday afternoon weenie roast/smores for ENTIRE CLASS, even if not camping.

NOVEMBER
individual Care Group Outings

DECEMBER Saturday Evening....starting at 6 - until 10pm
CHRISTMAS PARTY...PROGRESSIVE DINNER Kid-Free for this activity (basically our only one for the year)
first house for appetizers... second house for salads....Third house for main course....Fourth & final house for coffee and desserts.

MORE FROM HIKE

MAY - ANDREWS BALD HIKE

CLICK TO SEE LARGER
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We all had a great time.....PLEASE JOIN US NEXT HIKE or OUTING!!

JULY 31, FRIDAY COOKOUT! YUM-MO!

PLEASE plan to join us FRIDAY - JULY 31 at 5:37 p.m. We will be having a family cookout at the Allender's Home - address 431 Westwood Dr., Maryville, Tennessee 37803.

If you can donate - $2 per person to help with the cost of burgers, buns, hot dogs, "fixins"(lettuce, tomato, etc)...we will have it all here and ready to go.

Please bring a side dish, a 2 liter drink and lawn chairs if you have them.

Please email - paige@wildwoodcabinets.com with what you plan to bring.

It will be great to get to know each other better.
Bring friends who might like to join our class.
KEN

trying to prevent any confusion

Here is a chart with the highpoints....it is certainly not exhaustive.

Southern Baptist are really neither Arminian or Calvinist...we do lean more to the Arminian side, but certainly do not agree with "falling from Grace" and instead hold the Calvinist view that once person is saved and adopted as a child of God ( a joint heir with Christ), he/she cannot be un-adopted...he/she is forever God's child and salvation is eternally secure.

A Brief Comparative Study of: Arminianism and Calvinism

Arminianism	Calvinism
Free-Will or Human Ability Although human nature was seriously affected by the fall, man has not been left in a state of total spiritual helplessness. God graciously enables every sinner to repent and believe, but He does not interfere with man's freedom. Each sinner possesses a free will, and his eternal destiny depends on how he uses it. Man's freedom consists of his ability to choose good over evil in spiritual matters; his will is not enslaved to his sinful nature. The sinner has the power to either cooperate with God's Spirit and be regenerated or resist God's grace and perish. The lost sinner needs the Spirit's assistance, but he does not have to be regenerated by the Spirit before he can believe, for faith is man's act and precedes the new birth. Faith is the sinner's gift to God; it is man's contribution to salvation.	Total Inability or Total Depravity Because of the fall, man is unable of himself to savingly believe the gospel. The sinner is dead, blind, and deaf to the things of God; his heart is deceitful and desperately corrupt. His will is not free, it is in bondage to his evil nature, therefore, he will not - indeed he cannot - choose good over evil in the spiritual realm. Consequently, it takes much more than the Spirit's assistance to bring a sinner to Christ - it takes regeneration by which the Spirit makes the sinner alive and gives him a new nature. Faith is not something man contributes to salvation but is itself a part of God's gift of salvation - it is God's gift to the sinner, not the sinner's gift to God.
Conditional Election God's choice of certain individuals unto salvation before the foundation of the world was based upon His foreseeing that they would respond to His call. He selected only those whom He knew would of themselves freely believe the gospel. Election therefore was determined by or conditioned upon what man would do. The faith which God foresaw and upon which He based His choice was not given to the sinner by God (it was not created by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit) but resulted solely from man's will. It was left entirely up to man as to who would believe and therefore as to who would be elected unto salvation. God chose those whom He knew would, of their own free will, choose Christ. Thus the sinner's choice of Christ, not God's choice of the sinner, is the ultimate cause of salvation.	Unconditional Election God's choice of certain individuals unto salvation before the foundation of the world rested solely in His own sovereign will. His choice of particular sinners was not based on any foreseen response of obedience on their part, such as faith, repentance, etc. On the contrary, God gives faith and repentance to each individual whom He selected. These acts are the result, not the cause of God's choice. Election therefore was not determined by or conditioned upon any virtuous quality or act foreseen in man. Those whom God sovereignly elected He brings through the power of the Spirit to a willing acceptance of Christ. Thus God's choice of the sinner, not the sinner's choice of Christ, is the ultimate cause of salvation.
Universal Redemption or General Atonement Christ's redeeming work made it possible for everyone to be saved but did not actually secure the salvation of anyone. Although Christ died for all men and for every man, only those who believe on Him are saved. His death enabled God to pardon sinners on the condition that they believe, but it did not actually put away anyone's sins. Christ's redemption becomes effective only if man chooses to accept it.	Particular Redemption or Limited Atonement Christ's redeeming work was intended to save the elect only and actually secured salvation for them. His death was substitutionary endurance of the penalty of sin in the place of certain specified sinners. In addition to putting away the sins of His people, Christ's redemption secured everything necessary for their salvation, including faith which unites them to Him. The gift of faith is infallibly applied by the Spirit to all for whom Christ died, therefore guaranteeing their salvation.
The Holy Spirit Can Be Effectually Resisted The Spirit calls inwardly all those who are called outwardly by the gospel invitation; He does all that He can to bring every sinner to salvation. But inasmuch as man is free, he can successfully resist the Spirit's call. The Spirit cannot regenerate the sinner until he believes; faith (which is man's contribution) proceeds and makes possible the new birth. Thus, man's free will limits the Spirit in the application of Christ's saving work. The Holy Spirit can only draw to Christ those who allow Him to have His way with them. Until the sinner responds, the Spirit cannot give life. God's grace, therefore, is not invincible; it can be, and often is, resisted and thwarted by man.	The Efficacious Call of the Spirit or Irresistible Grace In addition to the outward general call to salvation which is made to everyone who hears the gospel, the Holy Spirit extends to the elect a special inward call that inevitably brings them to salvation. The internal call (which is made only to the elect) cannot be rejected; it always results in conversion. By means of this special call the Spirit irresistibly draws sinners to Christ. He is not limited in His work of applying salvation by man's will, nor is He dependent upon man's cooperation for success. The Spirit graciously causes the elect sinner to cooperate, to believe, to repent, to come freely and willingly to Christ. God's grace, therefore, is invincible; it never fails to result in the salvation of those to whom it is extended.
Falling from Grace Those who believe and are truly saved can lose their salvation by failing to keep up their faith, etc. All Arminians have not been agreed on this point; some have held that believers are eternally secure in Christ - that once a sinner is regenerated, he can never be lost.	Perseverance of the Saints All who are chosen by God, redeemed by Christ, and given faith by the Spirit are eternally saved. They are kept in faith by the power of Almighty God and thus persevere to the end.

According to Arminianism:

Salvation is accomplished through the combined efforts of God (who takes the initiative) and man (who must respond) - man's response being the determining factor. God has provided salvation for everyone, but His provision becomes effective only for those who, of their own free will, "choose" to cooperate with Him and accept His offer of grace. At the crucial point, man's will plays a decisive role; thus man, not God, determines who will be recipients of the gift of salvation.

According to Calvinism:

Salvation is accomplished by the almighty power of the Triune God. The Father chose a people, the Son died for them, the Holy Spirit makes Christ's death effective by bringing the elect to faith and repentance, thereby causing them to willingly obey the gospel. The entire process (election, redemption, regeneration) is the work of God and is by grace alone. Thus God, not man, determines who will be the recipients of the gift of salvation.

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The following material was taken from The Five Points of CALVINISM - Defined, Defended, Documented. David N. Steele and Curtis Thomas, are Baptist ministers in Little Rock, Arkansas. Their contrast of the Five Points of Calvinism with the Five Points of Arminianism is the clearest and most concise form found for the edification of the average student. It is also included as an Appendix in, Romans: An Interpretive Outline by the same authors. Each of these books is published by the Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., Phillipsburg, N.J.

HIKING TRIP - MONDAY MAY 25th

Allender BF class….
We are going on a short hike as a Bible Fellowship class on
Monday May 25th – Memorial Day.

This is great time to go hiking for the first time…get back into hiking….take your kids on their first hike.

Don’t make excuses….Come out and FELLOWSHIP together…you will have plenty of time to YARD WORK!

The hike to Andrew’s Bald is 1.8 miles out and 1.8 miles back to the parking area…so just over 3 ½ miles total round trip.
A “bald” is a grassy area on top of the mountain….a big field with great views of the mountains all around.

Only a mere 700 feet elevation change…so it is down hill going out and uphill going back to the car….but NOT extreme.



See attached link for a great video of a trip to the Andrew’s Bald…done by a creative hiker, posted on web. http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2735045/andrews_bald/

“Who can go?”
Bring anyone you like.
We are going as a class, but family members, co-workers, friends….

ENCOURAGE (Spur each other on) anyone you see this week who has ever been in our class or needs to be in our class to come on the hike!

THE PLAN
We will leave my house (431 Westwood Drive, Maryville, TN 37803) in Maryville at 9:00 am and go up to the trail head at the Clingman’s Dome Parking area. We will stop at the Sugarlands Ranger Station (at the intersection of River Road and Newfound Gap Road - just outside Gatlinburg) bathrooms before heading up the final stretch of road to Clingman’s Dome.

If you want to meet us at the parking area/Trail Head…plan to be at the trail head at the Clingman’s Dome Parking area at no later than 10:30am.

PLEASE confirm by email or cell phone call (805-4880 Ken’s cell) if you are going…even if it on the morning of the trip….that is fine, but I sure don’t want to leave anyone behind who wants to go.

A rough timing of events….nothing is precise.
We will go out the bald…resting along the way…arriving around 12:00
We will have lunch and relax at the bald and take in the views. The key operative word is RELAX.
I might do a VERY brief devotion…5 minutes…optional.
We will hike back and return to the cars between 3:00-4:00pm
Returning my house at around 4:30 to 5:30pm

“What do I need to bring?”
Comfortable – well broken-in - walking shoes will work great…like lace up sneakers/tennis shoes….
NO FLIP FLOPS or slip-on-type sandals. The trail is little rocky…should be no problem if you watch your step.
I recommend you NOT going out and buy new hiking boots for this trip. For many reasons ….and the worst of which would being blisters forming from breaking in NEW boots on the trail. I have earned several T-Shirts on what not to do I could share with you.
Bring a bag/fanny pack/ day pack /school book-bag, etc to carry your stuff in.
Bring a minimum of TWO – 16 oz/.5L bottled water for each person…can let the kids carry their own water
LUNCH for you and your family
Snacks if you like....granola bars, trail mix, M & M’s, fruit (natural, but heavy I have found), chocolate (melts- total disaster if it gets too hot)
Toilet Paper… as a contingency plan.
Bring a fleece jacket or windbreaker…you can always tie it around your waste. You will be at over 5,000 feet elevation.

Optional items
Camera
Sunglasses
Sun screen
Bug repellent (may need it, may not- you know how you are with bugs)
If you were buying new hiking socks…I cannot say enough good things about Smartwool brand socks….not necessary for this short hike, but a fantastic investment for longer treks into the woods. Keeps feet free of blisters and dry, even once your shoes are soaking wet!!!
I will bring a small first aid kit…if you want to bring some band-aids…that is often nice to have on hand.

IDEA…. for KIDS, part of the adventure is letting them pack there own stuff and think for a few days about what they might want to take into the woods. Of course, some of it is crazy…that is fun of it. Let them brainstorm.
For older kids, let them be responsible for getting their own stuff together.

“How young of a child can go?”
The best answer at which I can arrive….remember, you are the one responsible for carrying your own child…so really, it as young as you like to carry.
Emma Grace is going and she is 8 years old…I believe she will do just fine.
She can walk all over West Town Mall with Paige and not asked to be picked up. (yeah!!!)
It really is a short hike, so as young as 6 or so would most likely do fine…that is as good as I can guide you.
Paige and I pushed a stroller up (it was a paved path) to Laurel Falls and I think that is around 1.5 miles one way.

"What if if RAINS?"
If it is pouring rain and storming - we will NOT go.
If there is a 50-60% CHANCE of RAIN...that is basically the same weather we encounter everyday in East Tennessee and I will be going anyway....hopefully it will clear-up if it sprinkling here and there. (remember - A rainy day in the mountains is better than a boring day on the couch!)

Call me (805-4880 ken’s cell) or email me if you have a question.

Spirtual Gifts

Spiritual Gifts....great short skit. (click to link)

We all want more...wow...too often I miss seeing Jesus as the main object of our worship and author of our gifts.

Ken

TRIALS...the fertilizer of Growth

Psalm 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.

1 Peter 4:12-13 12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.

2 Tim 3:12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

James 1:2-4 2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Trials and testing...wow...I must say I have never liked "pain" or "being uncomfortable". The scripture above tells us a bit more about trials....Not that we should seek "trouble" but it would appear clearly from scripture "Trials and Testing" are to be used in our lives to make us mature in Christ.

I thought to myself as the spring gardens are coming into bloom this year...who was the first person to think of fertilizer?

Who said..."Hey what will happen if I put the 'cow exhaust' on this turnip???"
I remember in history class the accounts of the Native Americans teaching pilgrims to bury a fish's head beside the corn plant as a fertilizer?

As I child I worked alongside my grandparents in their garden...yes I have spread cow manure and actually buried fish remains in the garden as fertilizer...IT WORKS GREAT, TOO!

Okay...so what is the point of all of this. Trials, trouble, Testing, problems...the stinky refuse in our lives we would rather not experience....I propose they are the FERTILIZER God uses to GROW us in CHRIST.

Let me stop and be clear...I am not talking about sin. If you are not a Christian or unsure if you are Christian, click on the SMILEY Face ICON and take the Good Person Test. If you are a Christian and you have sin causing problems and difficulty in your life...repent, stop sinning and let the Holy Spirit cleanse you.

Trials are different...when you seek to follow God with all your heart and problems appear to intensify...rejoice in Christ. The scripture tells us trials come to our lives, not because we have done something wrong, but so we can growing closer to our LORD primarily through time alone in prayer.

I have wasted far too much time in my life, wasting my friends time lamenting about the stresses of life. I am sure you know from experience you really don't feel better after "getting it all off your chest" to another frail helpless human. Tell your Heavenly Father about your stress...about how it hurts, about the tough world we live in, about how you love HIM. In addition to prayer....serving others, reading and memorizing scripture are also part of the complete growth plan...

The Holy Spirit will complete His work in you ...GROWING in you up Christ, if you keep close to HIM.

Burned-Out Harry and Unsaved Mary

Once upon a time…Burned-Out Harry and Unsaved Mary visited a Dynamic Large Church…searching for a place to belong. The preaching they found was so clear and rich with bible truth and the choir/praise and orchestral music comparable to the greatest churches in the world. How could church be any better?

This is the kind of church they had dreamed of belonging… a place to serve God and a home for their family. Harry and Mary loved the Dynamic Large Church, quickly enrolling their children into Bible Fellowship and began to search for an adult bible fellowship class in which to belong.

At first they visited a bible fellowship class and were impressed with the fantastic teaching of God’s word. Hours of study had obviously been invested by the teacher and it showed in the lessons taught. Burned-Out Harry and Unsaved Mary visited for 3 months but no one really engaged them other than saying “Good morning”. The people in the class were pleasant and surely loved God, but they didn’t appear to need any NEW friends. No one invited Burned-Out Harry and Unsaved Mary to go to lunch or called or visited.

As a second attempt, Burned-Out Harry and Unsaved Mary visited another bible fellowship class with another truly awesome teacher. God’s word was taught with clarity and passion each Sunday. Alas, while surely the people in the class loved Jesus and each other….the people in this class appeared to not really need any NEW friends either.
After 6 months Mary and Harry began to doubt if God really wanted them to stay at the Dynamic Large Church….because after all…it is a “BIG CHURCH”.

One day a Godly couple from the second class called and invited Harry and Mary to dinner at their house. Harry wasn’t even sure of who the Godly couple was, but since they called…he thought they should go. The Godly couple, who were not in a leadership position, had by God’s guidance simply reached out in love to Harry and Mary… “Wow, maybe God does have a plan for us at this Dynamic Large Church?”

As a third attempt, Burned-Out Harry and Unsaved Mary were met at the class room door by a greeter who welcomed them to class and gave them name tags as they sat down. Before class started, more people surrounded Harry and Mary made them truly feel welcome. As class started they were warmly introduced to the entire class by the Outreach Leader. The teaching was equally awesome…God’s truth given with the love of a shepherd to a flock. After class the teacher and his wife came over to personally meet Harry and Mary. It really appeared genuine…could it be these people needed at least a few more NEW friends?

In bible fellowship class people testified of triumphs God had won in their lives…and reported how they had shared their faith at work, with friends and even some as they visited in prison. A person brought slides one Sunday of the recent mission trip she had been a part. A few weeks later Harry and Mary were assigned to a care group and they were contacted weekly and prayed for by their leader. Harry was invited to weekly men’s coffee group and Mary was invited to meet monthly at the women’s bible study. The care group went out to eat dinner together and relationships were made….Harry and Mary now belonged to bible fellowship class.

Burned-Out Harry began to feel a part…to truly belong and was invited to use the teaching gift as a substitute teacher in this new bible fellowship class. Burned-Out Harry, who had gained his name by being overworked (8 jobs at the previous church they had been a part) was now excited to minister and to be a part of this Dynamic Large Church.

Unsaved Mary…here is the thing….Burned-Out Harry didn’t know Mary was lost. Mary had walked an aisle when she was 10 and had played the part of a Christian for 26 years. Mary always doubted, but just thought she wasn’t trying “hard enough”….if she could only DO something more for God…she would feel His love and be pleasing and “feel something”. Unsaved Mary changed her name one Sunday when she gave her life wholly to Christ as her Lord and Savior!!! Mary was soundly saved and changed. Mary had heard the clear gospel preached from her pastor, heard weekly challenging lessons from her BF leader and seen Christ lived out in the people in her bible fellowship class. Harry knows that nothing would have changed in Mary’s life if they would have not found a place to belong…without a place in bible fellowship, Harry and Mary would have left the Dynamic Large Church and Mary would still be lost.


Everyone who walks through the doors of the bible fellowship class has some things in common.
1) Each person wants to belong to a Dynamic, On Fire for God, Bible preaching – world reaching SMALL church…Bible fellowship is the place for them to belong to that “small church”- in the midst of the large church.
2) Each person is fighting a battle….each person is struggling with something in their lives. Bible fellowship gives them a chance to share and gain strength to deal with their battles.
3) Love…each person needs love. We care about people because Jesus cares about people. Bible fellowship allows us to love and be the hands and feet of Jesus.


By the way….it’s a true story…I am Harry and my wife is Mary!! To God be the Glory for the great things HE has done.

Meeting a Christian Hero!!!

Friday, March 6, 2009, I had the great privilege of meeting Mr. S. Truett Cathy the founder of Chick-Fil-A. Most restaurants in the industry normally report 20% of their sales on Sunday. Mr. Cathy has been wildly successful and done it all steadfastly held to being closed on the Lord's Day.

Mr. Cathy spoke to the 2009 National Sunday School Conference in Atlanta. I met him backstage before he went out to speak. I walked up and stood while he was engaged in a conversation with a Chick-Fil-A employee who accompanied him. He immediately stopped his conversation, turned to face me squarely and put out his hand to me.... "Hello, I am Truett." Suddenly, I couldn't remember my name.
I stammered it out as I reached to shake his hand. I quickly told him "Thank you Mr. Cathy for always keeping the Lord so prominently in your business. It means so much to me and my family." He was so gracious and just said "You certainly are kind. Yes. You are too kind to me. Thank you."

My Cathy, age 87, in addition to his business pursuits, has taught Sunday School for 51 years to 13 year old boys. He said he always like to tell people they can always choose the "3-M's" You can choose who will be your master in life, what will be your mission in life and who will be your mate in life. What a servant hearted leader. He spoke for about 15 minutes and received two standing ovations.

Another one of the things I hope I never forget from his presentation..."Do you know how you know someone needs encouragement?" He paused for a moment and then answered "Only if they are breathing!" Everyone needs encouragement he believes and I saw that he gives encouragement to everyone he meets.

He closed his discussion with a question..."When I consider what the Lord has done for us. I ask - Why not be at our best at ALL TIMES? Why Not?......WHY NOT!!.........WHY NOT???"
and he quietly left the podium.

I met this gracious man again at his book signing table. I purchased his latest book, autographed by Mr. Cathy..... it was a great day to meet such a Godly man!!!

SPIRITUAL GIFTS

Dr.Elmer Towns -Spiritual Gift Test click on this link and take this 10-15minute test.

Do you know your spritual Gift or Gifts God has given to you???

1 Cor 12:1-11 gives a great place to begin to study.

Why did GOD give us these gifts? To serve the Kingdom and the Body.

Find out what God has given you and explore how you use it for HIM.


Ken