(Disclaimer: Some articles and links to articles published in this ezine may contain false doctrine. They are included due to some valuable content. The fact that they are printed here does not mean that we accept or endorse their doctrine. All writings of men, including ours, should be carefully compared to the New Testament writings.)


Visit the website of the Piedmont (Alabama) church of Christ, where you will find myriad links to valuable Bible study aids, plus free Bible Study Courses, via mail or online:
www.alcg.net/piedmontcoc/index.html.

“And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service’”(Exodus 12:26)? Because of the hardness of the heart of Pharaoh the children of Israel were still held captive in the land of Egypt. Now the Lord God was to bring yet one more plague upon the Egyptians and that was the death of the firstborn of both man and beast. Moses and Israel were instructed as to the details of their duties in this, the beginning of a great annual feast which was to be observed throughout their generations. God was to spare His children from the awful fate that awaited Egypt. They were to observe the Lord’s Passover and remember the night when death passed through the land and they were spared from the last plague God sent among the Egyptians. In the new land which God would give to the Israelites they were to teach their children the real meaning of the Passover when asked the question, “What do you mean by this service?” Later when God gave the law to Israel through His servant Moses on Mount Sinai the people were to learn His commandments and then to teach the same to their children. In Deuteronomy 6:4-9 we read, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” The parents were to be able to answer properly the question raised by their sons “What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord our God has commanded you” (Deuteronomy 6:20)?

The responsibility of teaching children the ways of the Lord belongs to the parents. The apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:4, “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” The church and Christians schools can assist in this matter; and, the parents should utilize such organizations in the fulfilling of their responsibilities. Fathers, mothers, are you able to answer intelligently and scripturally the questions raised by your sons and daughters regarding the existence of God, the deity of Jesus Christ, the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, the Lord’s Supper, baptism, instrumental music, acceptable worship and the need to keep oneself unspotted from the world when they ask, “What do you mean by this service?” Are you carrying those children to the periods of Bible study on Sunday morning and Wednesday night? Are your children in attendance for all the period of worship? Do you encourage them to read the Bible, religious periodicals and books written by our brethren that would strengthen their faith in God? If you cannot answer their questions today you should not expect them to be able to answer your grandchildren tomorrow.

One more word about Searchwarp. They also allow their authors to have a personal blog page listing one's latest 5 or 6 articles. You can reach mine at http://searchwarp.com/Joel-Hendon I still wish some of you would sign up from one of my article pages so I'd get credit for it.

Sometimes it becomes amusing to see what all people will do to outguess God. I read an article the other day concerning some of the wild predictions over the centuries, of the ending of the universe. I've always heard of a number of them by religious leaders of some noteriety. But their predictions are but a drop in the bucket. Some are listed below. The earliest I found was 633BC when the Romans thought that the jig was up and when it didn't happen, they reset the year to 398BC.

Numerous other predictions were made through the centuries but really began to multiply during the 1800s when there were some 28 notable ones made. In the early part of this century came William Miller and his followers first made a predictin that Jesus would return between March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844. This did not occur of course and Miller set the new date of April 18,1844. Even when this also failed Miller still insisted that the day as very near and "at the door". His disenchanted followers formed various other groups and some continued to make wild predictions.

A grocer named Lee Spangler from Pennsylvania started telling his customers that he had figured out the end time would be October 1908. It got into the local papers and turned into a fairly widespead rumor. When it didn't happen, needless to say, Spangler had egg on his face.

Then when Haley's comet appeared in 1910, many people again thought the world was ending and near panic hit in many spots.

Unbelievably, I located 201 incidents during the 1900's. Needless to say, I didn't read them all...not nearly all. But to this day to our knowledge, God the Father may still be the only one who knows. Certainly He was when Jesus was here, but H may have confided in Jesus by now.

The dentist gave his patient a lecture on the importance of proper dental hygiene. He then asked him, "Have you been flossing religiously?"

"Well," the man hedged, "I floss more often than I go to church."

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Household of Faith Ezine is published every two weeks beginning in September, 2001. Materials in this are gleaned and compiled by the editor, Joel Hendon. Our purpose is to help present items of interest to those who would learn more of God's word.

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Copyright © 2007 Joel Hendon