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Our desire is to edify the believer and strengthen the Body of Christ by the faithful proclamation of the Word of God. Here at Faithful Word Assembly, we have one focus, Jesus! We have one message, Jesus! And we have one Master, Jesus! We pray these messages and ministry materials will encourage you in your commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ!
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Message from the Pastor
“How to Remember the Ten Commandments”
You Can Memorize the Ten Commandments, in order, in ten minutes!
This is a test! You won’t be graded, but let’s test your memory. Quickly, name 10 cars, by brand. I’ll help you get started; Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, Mercury….. Packard, Hudson ( I’m revealing my age)….. quickly now. Have you named 10?
Now, name 10 Movie Stars, living or dead, male or female. Quickly! I’ll prime the pump; Cagney, Bogart, John Wayne…. This is easy! Have you named 10?
Now, name 10 famous musicians or bands…. You know, like Elvis, the Beatles, and so forth. Nobody should have any trouble naming 10.
(You can take this a little further should you choose… name 10 sports stars, 10 Movies, etc.)
NOW: Name the 10 Commandments! In order, preferably. Name as many as you can.
Having trouble? Isn’t it interesting what you remember and what you don’t? Does it say something about us that we can name so many other things; trivial and unimportant and insignificant things, but we can’t name the Ten Commandments, which are considered the Capstone of both Judaism and Christianity? It’s the Keynote of our faith and the Divine summation of the Laws 617 commandments. If you are having trouble remembering them all, you are not alone. In 2004, a group or 25 Senators sponsored a bill to protect the display of the Ten Commandments on public property. They said the 10 Commandments were the cornerstone of a civilized society and they represent all the United States was founded on and should stand for. But when a reporter asked if any of them could name the Ten Commandments, only one of them could! In our neighboring state, a Congressman who co-sponsored a similar bill, when asked, could only name three of the ten! According to a recent PollTronics poll, less than 10% of Americans can name more than four! And some of the things that people named were not commandments at all! (23% thought the 2nd Commandment gave us the right to bear arms! 31% said the 9th Commandment prohibited the removal of Ten Commandment displays!) Sadly, even most Christians could not name all ten. Can you?
How would you like to learn how to remember all Ten Commandments, in order, and to memorize them in such a way that you’ll never forget them… in just ten minutes?
You can do it! I guarantee it! All you have to do is follow my little word association method! The Ten Commandments are set forth in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. We’ll use Exodus for our study.
The Commandments are listed from one to ten. Say out loud and focus on the words in bold text. That is the key to remembering each one. Many of the phrases rhyme, while others are just simple to remember and associate with that Commandment number. Repeat this to yourself a few times and you’ll remember it forever!
ONE - GOD is ONE, there is NO OTHER. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3)
TWO - TABOO. What is taboo? Idols. Images. False gods. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.” (Exodus 20:4)
THREE - VANITY. From “vain,” i.e., “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” (Exodus 20:7)
FOUR – CHURCH DOOR. It’s what you should enter through every Sunday. “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” (Exodus 20:8)
FIVE - ALIVE. Only one commandment out of the ten has a promise connected to it. The Fifth Commandment promises “long life” to those who obey it. So, to stay alive longer, “Honor thy father and thy mother.” (Exodus 20:12)
SIX-FEET UNDER. Don’t put anybody six feet under, or in other words, “Thou shalt not kill.” (Exodus 20:13)
SEVEN-YEAR-ITCH. The old movie by that title illustrated a statistical fact; that after seven years of marriage many develop a wandering eye and are tempted to play musical beds. “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14)
EIGHT - GO STRAIGHT! Picture yourself watching an old black-and-white Humphrey Bogart movie. He’s the convict about to be released from prison, standing before the wardens desk. The warden says, “Here are your release papers. Now, don’t get in any more trouble. No stealing. From now on, go straight.” Hence, Eight - Go Straight. “Thou shalt not steal.” (Exodus 20:15)
NINE - MALIGN. What does it mean to malign someone? It means to falsely accuse them, to slander them, to do harm to their name, character or reputation. “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” (Exodus 20:16)
TEN - A PERFECT TEN! We often grade things on a scale of one to ten. One being the least, and ten being the very best. If a car is a 10 it is an amazing car. If a man or a woman is said to be a 10, they are a real knockout. We like and admire a 10. But be careful, because what you admire, you might begin to lust after. “Thou shalt not covet.” (Exodus 20:17)
How To Remember The 10 Commandments - Audio Message
Pastor Rusty Tardo
Windows Media
The Trouble With Christmas- Audio Message
Pastor Rusty Tardo
Windows Media
What About "The Shack?"
(Excerpted from the bereancall.org)
Are we refashioning our view of God from a strictly human perspective?
All of us, from time to time, have had thoughts about God that did not square exactly with what He himself has declared in the Scriptures, but that generation of misinformation has reached appalling levels among evangelical Christians today. This development has been stimulated primarily by the Church Growth and Emerging Church movements in their approach to allegedly reaching our culture for Christ. Reinventing Christ and Christianity, in order to make them more acceptable to the unsaved masses, is both the method and the goal. It amounts to recreating God in the fallen image of man. As delusionary as that approach may seem in attempting to reach the lost, astonishingly, it has millions of professing Christians caught in its web of deception.
Though many examples could be cited, the most popular vehicle of this tactic is a fictional book that has been atop the New York Times best-seller list for about 60 weeks, is available in 35 languages, and has sold more than seven million copies. I'm referring to The Shack, by William Paul Young. Multitudes have claimed that the book has transformed their lives by giving them a "new and wonderful awareness about God that they never understood from the Bible." The story centers upon a man, Mack Philips, whose young daughter was abducted during a family vacation. Although her body hadn't been found, evidence pointing to her murder was discovered in an abandoned shack in the wilderness of Eastern Oregon; hence the title.
After several years, which have played emotional havoc with Mack and his family (he calls this time "The Great Sadness"), he receives a note in his mailbox inviting him back to the shack. The note is signed, "Papa," a very private and intimate name that Mack's wife affectionately uses for God. Mack apprehensively follows through with the invitation and encounters the godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in ways, means, and manifestations that are both unbiblical and bizarre. God the Father appears as a stereotyped, overweight black woman, who, nevertheless, is called Papa. She's a bit crude at times, likes to boogie to funk music, and some of her dialogue makes you wonder if she got past the third grade: "Well, Mackenzie, don't just stand there gawkin' with your mouth open like your pants are full"; "Take it easy on those greens, young man. Those things can give you the trots if you ain't careful." And when asked if there was anyone in the world of whom she was not especially fond, she replies, "Nope, I haven't been able to find any. Guess that's jes' the way I is."
The book may be fiction, but God is not. If God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit say and do things in this novel that are out of character with how they are revealed in Scripture, they are obviously false representations. Insights and explanations about God constitute doctrine. They are either true to God's Word, reflecting sound doctrine, or they are lies or fables that men concoct. Paul's prophetic words of warning in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 are evident in the popularity of The Shack: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."
The Jesus character is a giggling "good ol' boy" who is enamored by His creation. A bit of a klutz, he drops a bowl of sauce that splatters all over Papa's skirt, giving the three persons of the "Trinity" a good laugh. When questioned by Mack about his less-than-good looks, Jesus blames it on his "big Jewish nose," which he says he got from Mary's side of the family, specifically his grandfather. We learn that Jesus likes to fish for trout by trying to chase them down as he runs on water. He has yet to be successful but thoroughly enjoys the sport. Referring to the female Papa's unexpected crudeness, he declares, "She's a riot." Throughout the story, Jesus can't seem to restrain his giggles and chuckles. He and the other persons of the Trinity are so like us that many readers claim they are now "more comfortable" with God. It's astonishing that what amounts to slandering the character of our holy God could make a professing Christian comfortable.
Nearly all of the literary devices in the book are either emotional or psychological hooks. The bait is "meeting felt needs." For example, Jesus the Carpenter constructs a coffin for the now-found body of Mack's daughter, although she makes her daddy feel better by communicating to him from heaven (necromancy?) that she's quite happy. As another example, the reason that God the Father appears as a woman to Mack is because he had a bad attitude toward his own dysfunctional father (who made it to heaven anyway, in keeping with the universalism [everyone is finally reconciled to God] implied in the novel). Heresies and distortions of biblical truth are found in page after page of The Shack (see Extra Page).
Thinking of Jesus' words in Matthew 24 that false Christs would arise and lead many astray, the Jesus of The Shack readily qualifies as a fulfillment of that prophecy. Again, more than seven million people have thus far been presented a bogus Jesus, and, for some, that may be their one and only introduction to him. That grieves me deeply. A false Jesus can save no one. Erroneous ideas about Jesus will destroy any hope of a truly fruitful relationship with Him. Jesus was, and is, certainly human. But He is also God, and His humanity was and is perfect in every aspect. In that light, all attempts to make Him seem more like us—sinful humanity—either in a book or in our minds, is an act of blasphemy. Blasphemy isn't just bad-mouthing God or Jesus; it's attributing characteristics to Him that are not true—any false characteristics. It is conjuring up "another Jesus," which Scripture condemns.
"This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart" (Ephesians 4:17-18). The success of The Shack among those who profess to be evangelicals is as shameful as it is destructive, yet it also indicates that "vanity" of mind and "ignorance" are not the exclusive domain of unbelievers. Only a love for the truth and a willingness to do what the Word of God says will preserve us from the apostasy that Scripture tells us will overtake the world.
Lord, help us to remain steadfast in the faith, submitting to You in all things, and worshiping You in Spirit and in truth. Maranatha! TBC
COPIED FROM: THEBEREANCALL.ORG
Can We Weep Over Our Nation?
"Lord, please forgive us. God have mercy on the United States. Forgive Your church, Lord, for our backslidden condition. Cleanse us from our moral failure. Reach down and awaken us. Set our hearts on fire again, for You and for the mission You called us to. We are crying out to you for another chance to reach our generation before it is too late." J. Lee Grady