TRANSFORMING LIVES WITH THE TRUTH OF GOD'S WORD

THROUGH REFORMED THEOLOGY WE HAVE BEEN

TRANSFORMING LIVES WITH THE TRUTH OF GOD'S WORD SINCE 1997

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Men Prepare Sermons; God Prepares Men

2nd Timothy 2:15

"The proper place for a ship to be is in the water, but if the water gets into the ship, the ship will sink. The proper place for the church is in the world,

BUT IF THE 'WORLD' GETS INTO THE CHURCH,

THE CHURCH WILL GO DOWN IN DISGRACE!"

Thank you for taking the time to view our blog;we look forward to reading your comments. DVDs of our services are available upon request. We covet your prayers and friendship. In His Service and For His Glory, Pastor Bill & Kathy ...
"Now fear the Lord and serve Him with all faithfulness...But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve...But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."-Joshua 24:14-15

Is God Calling You to be a Pastor?

The right kind of education is essential to the man who has answered God's call. No army dare send a soldier into battle without proper training. The results would be devastating, not only for the warrior, but for the war.


Sunday, April 14, 2013

April 14

TIME TO SAY GOODBYE FOR A SEASON

Breakfast

A farewell breakfast as we bid adieu to our friends Joe and Martha and Dallas and Carrie.  We will miss you!  May the Lord be with you.


OPEN FOR BUSINESS

We want you to know that we’re open on Sundays.  All are very welcome to come by for a visit.  The coffee is hot and the conversation is good.

ChurchOpen
  ChurchOffice

THE PASTOR IS IN


Poll: Americans Love the Bible But Don't Read It Much

"The State of the Bible 2013"

More than half of Americans think the Bible has too little influence on a culture they see in moral decline, yet only one in five Americans read the Bible on a regular basis, according to a new survey.


More than three-quarters of Americans (77 percent) think the nation's morality is headed downhill, according to a new survey from American Bible Society.


The survey showed the Bible is still firmly rooted in American soil: 88 percent of respondents said they own a Bible, 80 percent think the Bible is sacred, 61 percent wish they read the Bible more, and the average household has 4.4 Bibles.


If the Bible is so commonplace in America, wouldn't its moral teachings counteract the downward trend? Almost a third of respondents said moral decline was a result of people not reading the Bible, while 29 percent cited the "negative influence of America" and one in four cited corporate corruption.


Doug Birdsall, president of American Bible Society, said he sees a reason for why the Bible isn't connecting with people.


"I see the problem as analogous to obesity in America. We have an awful lot of people who realize they're overweight, but they don't follow a diet," Birdsall said. "People realize the Bible has values that would help us in our spiritual health, but they just don't read it."


If they do read it, the majority (57 percent) only read their Bibles four times a year or less. Only 26 percent of Americans said they read their Bible on a regular basis (four or more times a week).


The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, said the Bible can come across as intimidating to the uninitiated. "There's a tendency to think that if you read the Bible, you have to read it from start to finish. But when people do read the Bible, they don't know where to begin," Martin said.


Younger people also seem to be moving away from the Bible. A majority (57 percent) of those ages 18-28 read their Bibles less than three times a year, if at all.


The Barna Group conducted "The State of the Bible 2013" study for American Bible Society, using 1,005 telephone interviews and 1,078 online surveys with a margin of error for the combined data of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

c. 2013 Religion News Service. Used with permission.

Publication date: April 5, 2013

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3 comments:

  1. LOOKS LIKE GOOD FELLOWSHIP... ...

    ReplyDelete
  2. HI BILL AND KATHY,
    I AM SAFELY BACK IN OHIO. HAD A GOOD FLIGHT BUT IT WAS TIRING. I'M STILL GETTING USED TO THIS TIME ZONE-3 HRS. DIFFERENT. THAT IS A GOOD PICTURE OF YOU ALL AT THE BREAKFAST. LOVE, PHYLLIS

    ReplyDelete
  3. I find it difficult to say goodbye to folk who move away...... I know many of your church will be back too....... and that is a bright note.

    I love the article on The State of the Bible....... I will share that PB with all up here .....pj

    ReplyDelete