Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. Acts 3:6

Our world puts a lot of emphasis on name brands because we want to buy products worth having. If we’re so careful about picking furniture, cars, or even mates (which is as it should be) then why not have a Savior worth having? I don’t want a savior who has eyes and can’t see, who has hands and can’t lift, or feet and can’t walk. I need a Savior who does walk, talk, reach and lift. I have that Savior in Jesus Christ. Nothing else and nobody else is qualified to be my Savior.

Let us take a closer look at the third chapter of the book of Acts:

Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour and a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple.

These Scriptures reveal that there was a lame man sitting at the temple gate begging alms. Peter and John were going up to the temple to pray and they saw him. They felt compassion on him and called on Jesus’ Name to heal him.

This caused a miracle to happen. The Lame Man immediately received new strength in his legs and went leaping, shouting, and praising God into the temple. If we have been lifted up out of our sin we should be leaping, shouting and praising God.

This occasion caused quite a stir among the rulers and the leaders of Israel because thousands of people began to discuss this miraculous happening. This also caused turmoil among the nation’s leaders. They began to debate what they should do and how they should react. They couldn’t deny the reality of it! They couldn’t dispute this evidence; it was indisputable. Here was this man who used to be lame and used to lay begging alms at the temple gate. Now all at once he was leaping for joy, praising God and causing great havoc. Something real had happened to him! The religious leadership was now inquiring by what power and in whose Name this thing had happened. Peter, the great spokesman replied, “In the name of Jesus. This is done in the name of Jesus.”

More and more, we who are born again should give credit to the name of Jesus. Often, when people are sick, down and out, in need of a job or finances, they so often say, “The Lord is the one on whom I’m leaning and trusting.” But as soon as things turn around, they say, “I’m just learned to roll with the punch.” But that’s not true. You ought to give credit to whom credit is due. That’s is what Peter and John did. They said, “It is the Name of Jesus. This is done in the Name of the Savior, Jesus. He’s the One! He’s responsible for this miracle.” That is why I say to get you a savior who is worth having. That’s what I tell our people.

“Don’t use His name,” they said. “We know a great miracle has happened, but we can’t have this happen here—all those thousands turning to Christ. We’ve got to do something.” One of them came up with a brilliant idea. They said, “Call these preachers in. They know we’re the rulers; they know we’re the elders of Israel. So call them in and let’s threaten them real good. We’ll tell them that they’ve preformed a great miracle and all that but that isn’t the kind of preaching we want in our town and that’s not the kind of results we want people all excited about. Our threat will let them understand that we don’t want anything like that done in that Name anymore. That Name is disturbing the city. That Name is causing things to happen that we can’t duplicate. That Name is causing men who have never walked before to walk. That Name is upsetting the city.” It should upset the city because at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess He is Lord. He is Lord! He is Lord of all!

This Name, Jesus, will upset things. So they told the disciples, “You can preach, but not in the Name of Jesus. We have seen some reality that, that Name is an authentic Name. We’ve had other men come in and do hocus- pocus and anoint them and nothing really happened.” The devil doesn’t object to those counterfeits. He says, “Come on in and do your act. Get all the money you can out of them.” But when he sees an authentic testimony, that’s different. Someone standing for the Lord, changed, praising God for deliverance—that’s an authentic testimony.

The devil has not changed his mode of operation. He has the same procedure. For even today the devil believes that if he just threatens the Christian he can stop the message from reaching the lost. The devil still believes he can stop the church. What do you think? He wants the Name of Jesus out of the school and church. He wants them to keep quiet.

How can we preach a sermon or sing a song without Jesus? He’s the Subject and the Center. He’s the Introduction, Argument and Conclusion. How can you teach, preach, testify, or sing without Jesus? There are a lot of needs in our world. The greatest need is that people know Jesus! When He is known things begin to come to order.

When they called Peter and John they said, “We want to talk to you. We know that you have a powerful and miracle working Name. We’re not trying to dispute that. But we are here to tell you we can’t handle that here in our town. We’ve got together and decided that you can’t preach in that Name any more. If you do not comply, we’ll have to take severe action against you. Just take our warning, be good boys and go home, and nothing further will happen to you.”

Then Peter spoke up and said, “You’ll have to judge whether or not we should obey you or obey God. But as for us, we have a condition, and it’s contagious. It’s called ‘can’t help it’. We are not spectators; we are participators. No matter what! We will continue to preach this Name. We will do it because we can’t help it! It’s all over us, because of what we have seen and heard. We’re not just out here shouting. We’ve seen something and we’ve heard something. Based on what we’ve seen and heard we must talk about it! We were with Jesus when He turned the water into wine. We were there with Him when He called to Lazarus to come forth and he came walking out as if he had never been dead. We were there when He gave sight to the blind. Don’t tell us to shut up; we’ve got evidence.”

I’ve seen something! I can’t stop! The church today needs a great dose of the CAN’T HELP IT. It’s got to be, even if you are threatened, you CAN’T HELP IT. So I join with Peter and John and I proclaim the Name of Jesus!

By the way, one reason we come to church is so the world can see and testify that we have received Christ as our Savior. We must not stand off from the church, but be with the church, with the pastor, and church leaders in good times and bad. We need to be glad to tell people I’m going to church! These other things can wait.

So I join Peter and John. Don’t ask me not to speak His Name. I’ve seen too much and I’ve been through too much. As long as I have breath I want to preach, testify, and sing about His Name.

“I’ve seen the lightning flashing, and heard the thunder roll, I’ve felt sin’s breakers dashing trying to conquer my soul, But I’ve heard the voice of Jesus telling me still to fight on. He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone.”

To this day, I rely totally on that blessed Name, the Name of Jesus. Who so ever calls on His Name
shall be saved.

We are so thankful for our pastor, Elmo Parker and his wife, Imogene. Bro. Parker preaches the Truth of the Word of God. May 21st they celebrated 51 years of marriage!
 

The Saving Power of Jesus Christ!

A Testimony of a Changed Life

My relationship with Christ began at the age of nine. I had been one of the first bus children being bussed each week to Sunday School. I was seeking for contentment and a source of real love. I had come from a home that was torn apart by Satan as most bus children’s homes are. It was a Victory that I heard the Truth from God’s Word and realized that Jesus Christ loved me enough to take my sin and shame and die on Calvary. After accepting Christ, I realized the importance of being faithful to Him so I continued for years to ride the bus each week. During my teen years at VBT God began to mold and transform my life into His likeness. The Truths that I learned at church from the Word of God led me to obtain a Christian home and to be a small small part of the ministry. Praise the Lord for those that remain steadfast. I am eternally grateful for the many ministries of our church and the compassionate heart to reach others. Let me encourage you to pray daily for the young people of our church and to seek to be a blessing to a bus child. You may miss an opportunity to change a life for eternity. I sincerely want to thank each and every person whom God has used in changing my life.

Mrs. Cheryl Smith
Piedmont, MO
 

What’s Wrong Right with Holiness? 
Associate Pastor, Scott Miller

“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.”
-Heb. 12:14

Vance Havner, the old preacher of yesteryear spoke these almost prophetic words decades ago: “The world and the professing Church first flirted with each other, then fell in love, and now the wedding is upon us.” I say, the wedding is past, and we are seeing the fruit of the marriage—ungodliness! To speak of holiness and purity today is to be out of step not only with the contemporary world—which Christ told us to expect—but also with today’s contemporary church movement. Holiness is out, and ungodliness is in.
Now, while we sit in our traditional church services, singing the old favorites, saying “Amen” to any preacher who preaches against ungodliness and compromise: I wonder if we really are for holiness as much as we shout about it. I don’t mean to pry, but someone needs to ask us the question: How important is holiness, and how important is it to you? How much thought, attention, and effort are you devoting to its pursuit? Is holiness your priority—your mission in life? How important is your children’s holiness? Are you more concerned about them making the honor roll so they can take that “special trip,” their little league batting average, their earning capacity, or is their purity of heart and life of greater value?

Are we really as much for holiness as we say we are?

Concerning the holiness of the Body of Christ, does it grieve you:
 When Christians are unloving and unforgiving of each other
 When they are gossips and gluttons
 When they have more interest in possessions and pleasures than in spiritual riches and pleasing God
 When folks are so self-absorbed and self-promoting they miss services
 When Christians use profanity or even use God’s Holy Name carelessly through the use of slang—for  example, “Oh my G—h!”
 Or when they can sin glibly without blushing?

If septic problems caused raw sewage to overflow our academy hallways, and it seeped into the church auditorium—one thing would happen—we would definitely NOT ignore it! The health hazard that the sewage would pose would call for prompt attention, even overtime hours to clean up the mess, if necessary! The real fact is that ungodliness is the raw sewage and we are oblivious to the threat of willful, presumptuous, blatant sin! Of course, there is the unrespectable “sewage” which we will not tolerate: adultery, divorce, immodest dress, to name a few. Yet, at the same time we tolerate the respectable “sewage”: outburst of temper, overspending, unpaid debts, gluttony, covetousness, bitterness, pride, disobedience to ordained authority, backbiting, love for temporal things, notbeing filled with the Spirit, and self-centeredness! It is as if the place God has intended to showcase His glory and holiness has become a safe place to sin!

May I ask you as I ask myself, “What’s right with Holiness?” The answer you know already—EVERYTHING! For without it, no man shall see the Lord. Conversely, it means then when we are more sinful than holy, we cannot see, and are in the dark! We have no wisdom or understanding. When a ship is in danger of sinking, the crew thinks of nothing of casting overboard anything that will keep the boat from capsizing. When a man’s limb is dead, he will submit to any severe operation—even amputation—in order to save his life. Surely as followers of Christ, we should be willing from our hearts to give up any ungodly thing, attitude or relationship that poisons our fellowship with a Holy God. Paul admonished his son-in-the-faith, Timothy “—godliness is profitable unto ALL THINGS…” present and future. Dad, Mom, or Teenager: When are you going to deal thoroughly and decisively with everything that is unholy in your heart and home? Holiness pays—un-holiness costs. Everything IS RIGHT with holiness!

The Lord Is My Shepherd
Is He Yours?

1. Realize God Loves You.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life.” John 3:16

2. The Bible Says All Men Are Sinners.
“For all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God.” Romans 3:23

3. Sin Must Be Paid For.
“For The wages of sin is death…”
Romans 6:23

4. Christ Paid For Our Sins.
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

5. We Must Personally Pray and Receive Christ By Faith
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:13
 

Working With God - Bro. Mike Miller
For we are laborers together with God…I Cor. 3:9
 

Surely we could agree that we would get the best results in the work of the Lord if we cooperated with God in all things. After all, it is His work, not ours, and He certainly knows how to accomplish it better than we do. God surely wants to see sinners converted more than we do and He would surely use the right methods and say the right things to a sinner to get the job done. Let’s consider God’s dealings with a sinner and then consider our dealings with sinners and we’ll see if we are working with God or against Him.

Every person who has been truly saved and born into God’s family can remember what the Holy Ghost was pressing upon his heart while he was under conviction. God is very consistent and He tells every sinner the same thing. The message that God is pressing into the heart of every sinner under conviction is: “REPENT!” and “do it NOW!” There has never been a sinner under conviction who felt any other direction from God that this simple message. The issue between a sinner under conviction and God is his sin and he knows it very well. No matter who says that you don’t have to repent of your sin to be saved, the Holy Ghost still tells sinners to repent, and He presses it into their hearts with urgency. They know that they cannot have peace with God and continue in their sin. They feel they might not live another day if they don’t repent and turn to God, but still they linger. Why?

To answer the question let us look at the instructions that are given to lost sinner today. God is saying, “REPENT!” AND THE PREACHER SAYS, “Raise your hand.” God is saying, “REPENT!” and the preacher says, “Come forward and someone will pray with you.” God is saying, “REPENT!” and their Christian friends will say, “Read your Bible,” or “pray and ask Jesus to come into your heart.” God is saying, “REPENT!” and the sinner will be given the “plan” in four or five points and then asked to repeat a sinner’s prayer. The sinner is convicted by the Holy Spirit that he is a sinner and when he does come forward someone takes a Bible and begins to try to show him that he is a sinner. If he is under real Holy Ghost conviction he already knows that and God is saying to him in his heart with great urgency, “REPENT!”

What do you suppose would be the result if we simply told the sinner the same thing that we know God is telling him? If we simply took up the same argument that the Holy Spirit is making with this rebel against God and His throne, do you suppose the results might be different than what we are seeing in most of our churches? Too many are too sympathetic with the sinner and his struggle against God. We should not give him aid or comport in his battle against God. What we should do is join up with God and hammer at the walls of his hard heart with all the strength we can muster, telling him the same things that the Holy Ghost is pressing upon his heart. We should not feel sorry for him while he continues in his rebellion against God. He is wanting to be comforted, but there is no real comfort for him until he surrenders to God and lays down his weapons and quits fighting. The Holy Ghost that is convicting him and pressing him so over his sin is the same Comforter that will soothe and heal him the moment he surrenders and gives up his battle against his Creator. Any effort we make at comforting him while he is still struggling against God will simply grieve the Holy spirit and harden the sinner’s heart more.

Let’s junk our own “plans” and methods and let God lead the way. Then let’s follow hard behind Him and cooperate with Him in the work of salvation. Surely that is an idea worth considering. Let’s face it, God knows how to save the hardest sinner, but it is very evident that we don’t. The work is the Lord’s, but the Lord uses people to carry the Gospel to other people. Surely more could be accomplished if we simply cooperated with God.

Bro. Mike and his wife, Teresa are pictured above with their children Esther, Elizabeth and Daniel. They also have been blessed with 3 adult children and 6 grandchildren.
 

Today’s teens are faced with many issues: drugs, alcohol, rock music, television, and movies. These enemies are just a few on the list that is growing longer every day. However, these dangers are not the Christian teenager’s greatest threat. The greatest subtle threat is teens that are not challenged with the truth of God’s Word and the message of repentance, salvation, separation, and the commitment that it proclaims.

Esther McCormick and Cheryl Smith are two dedicated teachers who strive to teach and challenge the teen girls with the truth of God’s Word. “God has given me a love and concern for them.”

Cheryl has been working with the teens for 15 years. Presently she assists Esther by leading the girls in opening song and prayer. “Cheryl is a wonderful help. I would be lost without her.” Esther has been teaching the teens for 4 years. Presently she is teaching a series of lessons entitled Treasures of Darkness. Through this study they are learning how God uses difficulties in their life to draw them closer to Him. “I am thankful for the spiritual growth I see in the girls. They are learning to read their Bibles and cry out to God for help. Many of them have a burden for lost family or friends.”

“Our class likes to sing. Recently, we sang for the Fifth Sunday Sing. Nathan Parker, Aaron Miller and Scott McAllister accompanied us on their guitars. The Lord was honored by their singing and testimonies.”

“Last month Donna Henson, Judy Knepper and Kay Adams hosted our class for lunch and games. Everyone enjoyed and appreciated their hospitality.”

There are always needs in every ministry. “We need to reach more girls for the Lord and we need to see our loved ones and friends saved.”

We at VBT are very thankful for loving, dedicated, and faithful teachers. Only in eternity will we totally see how God has used our lives to influence others for Christ.

Left to right: Cheryl Smith, Mona Hassell, Katrina Goodall, Alisha Adams, Denise Eaton, Heather Henson, Melissa Goodall, Cassie McAllister, Esther McCormick
 

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Thanksgiving Meal

Wednesday, November 15
6:00PM