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October 3, 1996 AUGUSTA FOCUS
M@‘ EthiCS By Rev. Michael W. Newton
Rumor mongers, or Psst... Have you heard...
There is a Christian song that
goes, “It only takes a spark to get
a fire going ...”
For the gossips and rumor-mon
gers that spark is generally a not
so-well-intentioned remark, and
there starts the fire of gossip and
discontent that destroyslivesand
leaves friendships in smoldering
ruins. The first rumor-monger was
Lucifer. He started a rumor in
heaven and got a third of the an
gels to join him in a rebellion.
Next, he moved his operation to
Earth. He approached Eve with a
rumor that was half-truth and
half a lie. His purpose was to dis
creditand displace God. Byaslan
derous remark that called God’s
integrity into question, Adam dis
obeyed God and sin entered the
world.
Anytime you hear or share in
gossipyou canbet that thebearer
of the gossip is discontented and
that someone’s character is be
1] Words 1o the Wise -, oo
Secondhand smoke
Eversat next to someone smok
ing a cigarette? The smoke com
ing from the cigarette isenchant
ing, hypnotic. It winds its way
around the person’s hand, en
circles the body. It is inhaled,
exhaled, inhaled, exhaled. It in
filtrates the senses, quickens the
pulse. It penetrates, permeates
the skin and clothes of those who
smoke. It is addictive. The same
effects smoking has on the
smoker, it has on the nonsmoker.
We see the same, feel the same
and, ifaround long enough, smell
the same. Secondhand smoke
cuts off oxygen. So does second
hand sin, except it cuts off your
lifeline — Jesus.
If you are subjected to sin on a
regular basis, it affects your
spirit-life much like that of some
We Invite You To
BAPTIST CHURCH
Dr. Sam Davis, pastor
1434 POPLAR STREET
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA 30901
TELEPHONE: (706) 724-1086
Baptist Training Union (BTU) at 6:00 p.m. Sunday
Sunday School at 9:30 Sunday morning
Bible Study 7:00 p.m. Wednesdag, and 9:30 a.m. Saturday
Prayer Service at 11:00 Saturday morning
Thirty-five Christian Ministries
All Services Are Bible-based and Holy Spirit-led
I[ cfilfl) ernac fl@
Baptist Church
Dr. C.S. Hamilton, Minister
1223 Laney-Walker Blvd.
Augusta, Ga. 30901
Church School 9:30 A.M. * Morning Worship 11
A.M. Broadcast Hour fiWT HB 155912 * Nursery,
Kindergarten Open « Bible Study-Tues. 6 P.M.
Prayer Nfecting Tges. 7P.M. Daif;' Kindergarten
Services 7 A.M. to 5 P.M.
FOCUS your special luncheons and dinners in a fine restaurant.
Visit BL’s Restaurant at 1117 Laney-Walker Blvd. or call (706)
828-7799 to arrange your celebrations.
ing murdered. On the other side
of the same coin, the person who
brings gossip will also turn
around and talk about you. My
folks told me, “If a dog will bring
a bone, he'll take one too.”
But what does the Bible say
about gossip? It says that, “With
out wood a fire goes out; without
gossip a quarrel dies down. The
words of a gossip are choice mor
sels: They go down to a man’s
inmost parts.” (Prov. 26:20, 22)
These proverbsidentify twoim
portant marks of gossip. First, it
fuels controversy. As surely as
fresh wood makes a fire burn
longer, a gossiping tongue extends
a conflict. It does not bring heal
ing or reconciliation — it cannot.
And this is what distinguishes
gossip from biblical truth-telling.
A gossip may tell the truth and
often does. But thetruth-telling of
a gossip only makes the problem
worse.
one in the company of the
smoker. It is not good for you. As
a matter of fact, we have a sur
geon general who issues warn
ings about cigarettes: “WARN
ING: SMOKING COULD BE
HARMFUL TO YOUR
HEALTH.” Well, we have a sur
geon general —Dr. Jesus —who
instructs us to avoid ungodly
friends. The reason? Just as that
stream of smoke permeates skin,
clothes, hair...sindoes the same
thing. If you are in the company
of those who pass sin around in
a relaxed, after-dinner type of
atmosphere, sooner or later it
will permeate your mind, body
and soul. You will eventually
reek of sin.
Okay, so no one is perfect.
That’s understood. But if you
Spil‘it Church News
Biblical truth-telling promotes
healing. The gossip and the bibli
cal truth-teller may both speak
about the same issues, but theydo
so with different intents. The gos
sipstrokesthe firesof controversy,
but the truth-teller desires to
speak “only what is helpful for
building others up according to
their needs, that it may benefit
those who listen.” (Eph. 4:29)
The second thing I observe is,
gossipis tasty. Yes, there’s noth
inglikealittlesnack inthe middle
of the afternoon. And this, the
proverb says, is why we are so
attracted to gossip. It goes down
well! It feels so good to tell those
stories. Probably a large part of
the appeal stems from the sense
of superiority we feel as we re
late the most recent (sad?) tale.
“Do you mean to say he really
did that?”
“The pastor did what?”
“How could she do such a thing
don’t curse, don’t surround your
self with people who do. If you
profess to be saved, there
shouldn’t be a mad dash home to
watch programs that promote
infidelity, fornication and dis
obedience. Why? This second
hand sin will penetrate your will
eventually, become accepted as
normal, just an ordinary part of
your life. Okay, just something
that people do to blow off steam.
Yeah, that may be true or, as my
students say, “TruDat ...” Buton
aregular basis? Soon it becomes
addictive. You become a chain
sinner.
The result? Cancer of the soul.
Habits are hard to break. It is
better not to begin, than try to
quit. Smoking causescancer. Can
cer eats away at flesh and bone.
Bethel African Methodist
.T. Episcopal Church ..1..
623 Crawford Avenue
Augusta, Georgia 30904
Rev. Larry W. Hudson, Sr. Pastor
Office: (706) 736-4060
Sunday
9:30 Sunday School
11:00 Worship Service
z,,_ Williams Memorial
AT
&2/ C.M.E. Church
' Rev. Alex R. King
1630 Fifteenth St. Augusta, GA 30901
(706) 733-9430
Sunday: Sunday School 9:30 a.m.
i Worship Service 11:00 a.m.
Ist Sunday Evening 6:30 p.m.
Wed: Praise Bible Study 7:00 p.m.
Thurs: Senior Services 10:00 a.m.
Day Care
Center: 6:45 a.m.-5:30 p.mn.
with a young boy like that?”
Our zeal for God is offended.
Our sense of righteousness is
appalled. Our expectation of an
other is disappointed.
Butnotreally. In fact, if we are
honest, we are rather pleased to
see that others have feet of clay.
It seems to lift us up a notch or
two and temporarily silence that
little voice telling us it is time to
put our own house in order. We
feel smug in the knowledge that
other people have bigger prob
lems than we do. Yes, there’s
nothing like a tasty piece of gos
sip to perk up our day.
The disturbing thing is, I real
ize I am not above such things
myself. I can think of times when
I have said insensitive things
about others. Itis an ugly quality
in me as well as it is in others.
And it needs to stop if we expect
thoughtful people to take our
Christian message seriously.
Sin at the very soul of man. Is
there a cure? A catchy cliche to
curtail this constant corruption?
Proverbs 24:1 (TLB) — “Don’t
envy godless men; don’t even en-
Joy their company ...”
Proverbs 22:24-25(NIV)—“Do
not make friends with a hot-tem
pered man; do not associate with
one easily angered, or you may
learn his ways and get yourself
ensnared ...”
Psalm 1:1 (NIV) —“Blessed is
the man who does not walk in the
counsel of the wicked or stand in
the way of sinners or sit in the
seat of mockers.”
Got your answer? Don’t wait
toexhale, or claim that you don’t
inhale, for that matter. Follow
God’s word and don’t let second
hand sin filter into your life.
Wednesday
7:00 Bible Study
= = va
Minister of the Week °
oV
i forl
Ry Minister: £
et B Reverend Charles E. Lacy
- e Church: o
- Pleasant Grove Baptist
- Church, Mt. Nebo 8.C., Beéth
- Branch B.C. =
' Phone: 253
o 592-6760
/'" Address: - o
g Hephzibah, GA.
[ 1 Denomination:
{ } Baptist ‘f"'
Personal Philosophy:
“God’s holy word is our basic guideline for salvation and fge
our daily living.” MIS
Church Mission: 29
“Guiding souls to Christ. Salvation comes through sharing
the word of God.” fuo
Education: 1
Presently enrolled in graduate program at the Theologidai
Seminary School, Swainsboro, Ga. Completed further collegs
studies, seminars and workshops in psychology, sociology
and other religious courses. Graduate of Waynesboro High
School, Waynesboro, Ga. Ut
Harvest time at Green Grove .
Missionary Baptist Church
TeRE
‘ P
"~ Rev. Blade
Green Grove
Missionary
Baptist
Church, 1692
Savannahßd.,
will hold a re
vival October
14-18,1996,7
p.m. nightly.
Guest evan
gelist will be
Rev. Brady L. Blade Sr., pastor
of Zion Baptist Church of Shreve
port, Louisiana. Pastor Blade is
a graduate of Wayland Baptist
College. While attending school
there, he was called to the pas
torate, his first, at the Greater
Mount Zion Baptist Church in
Crosbyton, Texas. After four
memorable years there, he and
THE AMEN CORNER
M Historic Springfield Baptist Church, 114 12th St., wil| hold
the Annual Fall Revival Worship Sept. 30 - Oct. 4, at 7 p.m. gach
evening. Rev. Peter Evans, pastor of Shalom Baptist Churfi%n
Newport News, Va., will be the guest evangelist. Rev. E.T. Martin
is pastor. ,”“
B Crawford Missionary Baptist Church, 955 Florence St., will
hold their communion services on Sunday, October 6, 1996 at ;
Guest minister for the occasion will be the Rev. Owen Jessie, r
of the Silver Bluff Baptist Church of Beech Island, S.C. Rev. Ch##fes
Dent is pastor. e
B Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 710 East Ceda“rlS‘L. .
will celebrate its 91st Church Anniversary on Sunday, Oct. 6, at2:3o
p.m. Rev.J.S. Wright and the Macedonia Baptist Church will lfie
guests. Dr. Johnny R. Hatney is pastor. fj ;
B Williams Memorial, 1630 15th St., will hold its Annual Chu} ith
Bazaar on Saturday, Oct. 5,8a.m.-4 p.m. Avotersregistration E!i‘z{/e
will be held. Items for sale include sausage dogs, burgers, 595 IS,
baked goods, fish sandwiches, clothes, plants and jewelry. Rev. A ]{ex
King is pastor. J:l
B Mount Tabor AM.E. Church of Keysville, Ga. will hol'c'lu'f;ts
annual camp meeting revival Oct. 9, 10, and 11 at 7:30 p.m. nig’flfiy.
Rev. Howard Harden of Spring Grove Baptist Church of Blythef,i?ra.
will speak on Wednesday. Rev. Gary T. Reese of Spring Hill Bdgyfgt
Church on Grand Blvd. in Augusta will talk on Thursday. Rev. Gty
Kerr of First Baptist Church in Keysville will speak on Frf%‘%‘y.
Camp meetings will be held on Sunday, Oct. 13, at the 11 a.m, HHd
2 p.m. services. Rev. Glenn Wiggins Sr., pastor of Waynesfi&fo
Deliverance Church of Waynesboro, Ga., will be participating at'the
4 p.m. Gospel Singing. Rev. Mildred Brown is pastor. o
B Moses Baptist Church will present a banquet for Rev: Pir.
Milton Key on Friday, October 11, at 7 p.m. at the North Augusta
Community Center, 495 Brookside Ave. Donation: sls. For tickefs
and information, call 724-4450.: !
M Walker Baptist Association and the 10th District of thie
General Missionary Baptist Convention will present an Annu
al Ministers Conference on Saturday, October 12. Registration will
be at 8:30 a.m. with a cost of $25 which includes lunch. Rev. J. §.
Wright will be moderator, Rev. W. B. Blount will be vice moderatof.
The theme of the conference will be “growing the local churc!l
through administration.” . |
B Everfaithful Missionary Baptist Church will celebrate itg
26th Church Anniversary on Sunday, Oct. 13, at 2 p.m. Gue
speaker will be the Rev. Bobby Hankerson and the Hammond Gro
Baptist of North Augusta, S.C. For more information, please call
722-0553. Rev. Dr. Rosa L. Williams is pastor.
B Christ Church Unity, 2301 Central Ave., is sponsoring Hath,
Yoga classes. Beginner classes are taught Tuesday evenings at th
YWCA and Thursday mornings at the Unity Church. Call 733-649
for more information. Intermediate yoga classes are held Monda
evenings at the church. Please call Donna Calhoun, church secr
tary, at 738-2458.
the Great Mount Zion Gid
goodbye to each other.
It was summer, June 1861,
enroute to Chicago to atterfihe
Moody Bible Institute to parsue
a Doctor of Theology degree, he
stopped in Shreveport, hon‘iez to
spend time with family. While
home visiting, he acceptedi“an
invitation to preach at Zio"fi.’ It
was Youth Day. The rest is'Kis
tory! !
From 1961 to present tiife,
Pastor Blade has served asipas
tor of the Zion Missionary Bdp
tist Church. He was called to'the
preaching ministry more \than
43 years ago. He is marriedsto
the former Dorothy J. Gartner.
They have three sons: Bradydr.,
Brian and Demetrius. WG