Jannes and Jambres?

In case anyone was wondering about the Jannes and Jambres verse from this week's passage....

"Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth, men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith." (2 Timothy 3:8)

... William MacDonald has this to say in his Believer's Bible Commentary:

In this eighth verse, Paul returns to the leaders and teachers of false cults. He compares them to Jannes and Jambres who resisted Moses. Who were these men? Actually, their names are not mentioned in the OT, but it is generally understood that they were two of the chief Egyptian magicians who were called in by Pharaoh to imitate the miracles performed by Moses.

The question arises as to how Paul knew their names. This should present no difficulty, for if they were not passed down by Jewish tradition, it is not at all unreasonable that the names could have been given to him by divine revelation.

The important thing is that they resisted Moses by imitating his works, by counterfeit miracles. That is precisely the case with the false cultists. They withstand the work of God by imitating it. They have their own Bible, their own way of salvation--in short, they have a substitute for everything in Christianity. They withstand the truth of God by presenting a cheap perversion, and sometimes by resorting to magical arts.

Children, Don't Forget ...

... the memory verse we learned Sunday before last!

"God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7)

We'll go over it again this Sunday ... plus learn a new one.

(Hint: It's going to be a verse from 2 Timothy 3 that talks about the Bible.)

Email from Georgia Friends

Remember the delightful Minick family from Georgia that visited with us in early June during the Gregg Harris Household of Faith seminar?



We just got this nice note from them ...

We're the family from Georgia that visited your church while on a conference trip to Birmingham. We really enjoyed the warm worship and friendly fellowship your church offers. Hope all is well with you! Just know that you all are in our thoughts and prayers. The next time we are in the area we will certainly stop in again. Thank you for your witness to our family. It is so encouraging to know that there are believers out there like us who can find each other and truly worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. Grace and peace to you all, The Minick Family

The Faithfulness of God

Following up on Sunday's theme, here is a fine article by Arthur W. Pink on the faithfulness of God.

Unfaithfulness is one of the most outstanding sins of these evil days. In the business world, a man’s word is, with exceedingly rare exceptions, no longer his bond. In the social world, marital infidelity abounds on every hand, the sacred bonds of wedlock being broken with as little regard as the discarding of an old garment.... How refreshing, then, how unspeakably blessed, to lift our eyes above this scene of ruin, and behold One who is faithful, faithful in all things, faithful at all times.

Click here to read more.

Lord's Day - July 24, 2005

Passage of the Week - 2 Timothy 2

Craig focused on verse 13, "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful; he cannot deny himself" and emphasized that God is always faithful ... No matter what happens, this is the bottom line. He also talked about the "vessels" of verses 20-21 ... and the importance of being emptied of self and filled with Christ in order to become "a vessel unto honor ... fit for the master's use."

Following up on the theme of being a vessel filled with Christ, Mark pointed to Paul as an example of not being entangled with the "affairs of this life" (v. 4). Paul's letters are filled with nothing but Christ and the things of Christ ... which challenges us with the question: Am I merely interested in the things of Christ, or am I absorbed by them ... are they my hobby or my life?

Alan shared some brief gardening analogies based on verse 6: "The husbandman that laboreth...." John and Greg shared encouraging testimonies.

Prayer Burdens:

• Nelsons are expecting in February! (praise and prayer)
• Stephen R. was accepted to 4-day therapy (praise!)
• Eloise's Mom is in Lakeshore rehabilitation facility.
• Boy scout trip this week to D.C. and Gettysburg involving several of our families.
• Jeffrey F. attending Summit conference (Christian worldview training) in Dayton, TN the next two weeks.
• Moody family (that visited with us last week) -- God's direction, provision, and blessing.
• Molly K. -- ear ache.

First Sunday, Last Sunday

The first Sunday in the new rented facility! We were a little short-handed, with some of our families away, but it was an exciting Sunday.




The saints gather for the last Sunday in the Frees' living room. We pray that we can keep that "living room" closeness and intimacy even in a larger facility.