First Baptist Church of New Carlisle, Ohio has a rich and unique history in our community. Since 1955 we've been establishing ourselves as a lighthouse for Jesus Christ in our hometown of New Carlisle, Ohio.

We have Bible Study at 9:15 am and Worship Service at 10:30 am every Sunday. Childcare/nursery provided for all services. Wednesdays we have Prayer Meeting at 7:00 pm and Revive Student Ministries for youth at 7:00 pm

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Jesus In The Tomb - By Ken Lawler

This is the third part in a series on what I think was going on behind the scene on Passover, ca. 29 A.D.  The first part was the in the garden article, the second was the on the cross article, now what was going on while Jesus' body was in the tomb.  Notice what I underlined above.  Second Peter 1:20 says, "No prophecy of the scripture is of anyprivate interpretation."  The Greek word translated private is idios (id'-ee-os), meaning pertaining to self, one's own, and private.  I'm pretty sure our English word idiot, idiotes in Greek, is related to this word.  If it is I hope you give me some slack.  I believe God deals in logic, and feel confident analyzing His activities in a logical manner.

The preparation for the crucifixion began in Eden when Adam & Eve disobeyed God.  For some reason the thing that seems to have bothered them most was being embarrassed about their nakedness, so they "sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons" (Gen. 3:7).  God's initial response was to demonstrate that man could not cover up his sin; only God can do that, so He killed an animal and made them clothes from the skin (Gen. 3:21).  Proof that Adam got the message that blood had to be shed to cover sin, and that he relayed it to his sons, is evident in Gen. 4, when God accepted Abel's animal sacrifice but did not accept Cain's "fruit of the ground" offering.  The fact that this was known to be the accepted form of worship is shown over and over through Noah (Gen. 8:20) and Abraham (Gen. 22:13); bringing us to the first Passover in Egypt (Ex. 12:11).  The bottom line with God is made plain in Ex. 12:13 when He said, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you."

Passover was established as a public worship service in Lev. 23, where it is called a feast, a holy convocation.  It began about sundown on the 14th of Abib, the Hebrew first month of the New Year (corresponding to approx. April on our calendar), and lasted 7 days.  The first Passover required each Hebrew family to kill a lamb or kid, dip a bunch of hyssop in the blood and paint both door posts and the lintel.  That's when God made the statement referenced above from Ex. 12:13.  Once the Tabernacle was assembled, and later when Solomon's Temple was constructed, the blood of the sacrifice was taken into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled on the Mercy Seat.  This Mercy Seat was the solid gold lid on the gold-plated box called the Ark (Ex. 37:6), a replica of the true Mercy Seat in God's throne in Heaven.  The ritual the High Priest went through to do this is explained in Lev. 16:14 in relation to the Day of Atonement.  He would dip his finger in the bowl of blood and sprinkle the Mercy Seat, then he would sprinkle blood seven times before the Mercy Seat (before means on the face of) in the direction from west to east.  That blood sprinkled on the Mercy Seat covered the people's sin from God's sight for one year.

Now what do I logically think was going on during those 3 days Jesus' body was in the tomb.  The first thing He did was go to His Father's throne and sprinkle His own blood on the Mercy Seat.  When He met Mary Magdalene in front of the tomb He said to her, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father" (John 20:17).  I'm convinced He would have sprinkled the Mercy Seat, then the face of it seven times, west to east, just like Aaron and dozens of other high priests had done it in the Temple for over 1500 years.  The big difference is His blood didn't cover up man's sin, it removed it "As far as the east is from the west," (Ps. 103:12); "And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." (Heb. 10:17).  The second thing He did (as I discussed in the Jesus in Hell article back in Nov. 2014) was descend into the Paradise section of hell, as Paul tells us in Eph. 4:8-10, and Peter in I Pet. 3:19.  I'm sure Daniel and David and the old Prophets and all those who had died righteously under the previous dispensations were glad to see Him.  He told them who He was and what He had just done, preached the Gospel to them, and then led captivity captive.  Those two words are a play on the Greek word for a prisoner of war.  All those souls are now in Heaven where paradise has been relocated to (2 Cor. 12:4 & Rev. 2:7).

You may be recalling that Greek work idiotes, but that's what I think happened during those 3 days.  Next month I'll expand on this with an article called The Atonement.

The New Year - by Wanda Hess

The New Year is here. It took 365 days to get here! For many the New Year brings thoughts of New Year’s resolutions.  Some of those new year’ resolutions have been attached to a bucket list.  Many think of a new year as a clean slate.  A clean slate can change your character (and we hope for the good).

As a new year is here we should think of what matters the most to us.  Church – Family – relationships to name a few.  Relationships involve many times “forgiveness”.  Are you a forgiving person? Do you have a forgiving characteristic?  GOD offers forgiveness to everyone. Hebrews 8:12 I will forgive their wrongdoings, and I will never again remember their sins. Can you do that? Could that be a new year’s resolution?

Forgiveness.  It is something you should give yourself.  You will make mistakes. We all do.  GOD forgives you; you should forgive yourself too.  Forgiveness is a stunning principle, your ticket out of hate and fear and chaos.

How many times you’ve been forgiven? GOD doesn’t keep a scorecard of the number of times. GOD forgives and forgets.  We say we can forgive but what about the forgetting part?  Should this be added to your new year’s resolution?  To be able to forgive those who harm me with words to my face and the words behind my back.

Since GOD has given the gift of forgiveness to you, He wants you, too, to pass it along to others.  If you wish to grow closer to GOD, forgiveness needs to be part of your spiritual life.

Because everyone needs to be forgiven for something at some time, you may even need to forgive yourself for a weakness, mistakes or poor decisions.  GOD’s forgiveness of you- can wipe the slate of your heart clean and give your faith a fresh start.

Romans 4:7 what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight.

Should forgiveness be added to your character?

Kitchen Korner - CORN CASSEROLE - by Dolly Lawler

My side of the family meets every year to eat Thanksgiving dinner at our home away from home in Illinois.  Besides my family, many times a few friends, living in that area, join us on that day.  One school chum of mine, Kathy Stokes, was among the friends that showed up this passed Thanksgiving.  To contribute to the meal, she brought this tasty casserole.  I'm usually a purist when it comes to corn.  If it's a good garden grown corn I usually heat it up in a pan on the stove, slap a little butter and a tad of salt & pepper on it, and you'll hear me to say, "umm, umm," after every bite.  So, when I uncovered her casserole, (although it looked absolutely delicious), it didn't overly excite me.

As I was filling my plate with all sorts of holiday food, as a curtesy, I put a little helping of Kathy's corn right between my turkey dressing and cranberry relish; not much, just enough to sample.  It tasted so good to me, I had to go back and get more just to make sure it was as good as my first taste.  Well, the answer was and is, "yes."  It was not only as good, but even better.  Needless to say, I asked for the recipe, not only for myself, but to share with you.

CORN CASSEROLE

1 can (14-15 oz.) cream style corn (undrained)
1 can (14-15 oz.) whole kernel corn (undrained)
1 cup uncooked spaghetti (broken into 1 inch pieces)
1 cup Velveeta Cheese (diced)
1/2 cup melted oleo or butter
1/3 cup onion (chopped)
 

  • Stir together in a bowl
  • Pour into a buttered 2-quart casserole dish
  • Bake at 375°
  • ½ hour covered, then
  • ½ hour uncovered  
Please submit a favorite recipe to:lawlers@windstream.net