10 Myths About Christianity - Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church

The Monthly Testimony
May 2013
Vision: “Teaching, Preaching and Reaching Souls for Christ”
This publication is brought to you by the members of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church
10 Myths About Christianity
Myth # 4: It doesn’t
matter what you believe, all religions are
basically the same
Acts 4:12
Peter describes the exclusiveness of Christianity by claiming that
“there is no other name”
that can save.
That
doesn’t play well in our pluralistic society
where tolerance is a chief virtue. Indeed,
many people feel that an exclusive commitment to any one religious system is pointless,
since they assume that all religions are basically the same.
Most of us would never apply such reasoning
to any other realm of life. Imagine a student
saying, “It doesn’t matter what answer I give
in algebra, Latin, history or geography. They
all come to the same thing in the end.”
So why do so many people apply the same
shaky reasoning to religion? Perhaps one motivation is the strong desire to see everyone
getting along in our global village. Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism – all kinds of
faiths drive the peoples of the world. If one
system claims exclusivity, it’s bound to create
hostility among the others. But the fact is,
religion is already one of the greatest sources
there is of national and international conflicts
- which seems incredibly odd if “all religions
are basically the same.” Obviously they are
not.
Another reason why people accept this myth
is because they think that faith itself is what
really matters. One can believe in anything,
they reason, as long as one believes in something. But they misunderstand faith. Faith is
only as good as the object in which it is
placed. Like a rope, it matters enormously
what one attaches it to. One can believe in
anything-but not just anything will reward
one’s commitment. Only what is true.
A third reason why people adopt the allreligions-are-the-same line of thinking is that
it helps them avoid a decision. If all religions
are the same, they don’t have to choose any
one. In other words, they can avoid religion
altogether. How convenient!
But they are committing themselves to a deception. The assumption that we are all looking for God and will find Him in the end is
false both to the nature of God. In the first
place, we are not all looking for God. Many
people today have absolutely no interest in
God or religion. They are not atheists, just
committed secularists. Moreover, there are
far more motives behind the practice of religion than a search or desire for God. Political
power, tradition, standing in the community, a
desire for increased fertility or wealth, even
continued on page 4
Inside this issue:
New Drivers
2
Godly Mothers
3
Daily Devotional
4
Monthly Calendar
5
The Kid’s Page
6
Take Back Your Temple 7
15 Minute Bible Study
8
Bits and Pieces
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The Monthly Testimony
May 2013
 Reporting traffic accidents, medical emergency or a serious road hazard.
 Reporting a situation where the person believes his/her personal safety is in jeopardy.
 Reporting to prevent a criminal act against
another person or a potential criminal act
against another.
 Or people who use a voice operated system
integrated into the vehicle.
Hello church family,
I just wanted to provide you all with knowledge
about the new law for new drivers. This law is
called “Kelseys Law”. It was added to the
Michigan Complied Law 257.602c under the
Michigan Motor Vehicle Code.
This law became effective March 28th, 2013. It
states as follows:
Up to $100 fine is the cost if you are given a
ticket for violating this law (civil infraction). Plus
additional costs up to $100.
A person issued a level 1 or 2 graduated drivers license is prohibited from using a cellular
telephone while operating a motor vehicle.
It’s called Kelsey’s Law because Kelsey Rafaele
was a 17 year old who was killed in a cell phone
related crash in 2010.
Level 1 and Level 2 drivers are those with a
license between the ages of 14years, 9 months
and 17 years old.
Statistics In Michigan during the year of 2011,
52 people were killed and 452 were seriously
injured in crashes involving drivers ages 17
years and younger. Sixteen out of the 52 killed
was a driver 14-17 years old.
“Using” means the following:
 To initiate a call
 Answering a call
 Listening or engaging in a verbal communication (talking) through a cellular telephone.
All information retrieved from the State of Michigan website, www.mich.gov
This law excludes individuals using a cell
phone to do any of the following:
Officer Shawn O’Bryant
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The Monthly Testimony
May 2013
Godly Mothers
Many mothers have or will have three separate roles
in their life as a mother. Mother, mother-in-law and
grandmother. How they fill these roles has a great
deal to do with their happiness and the happiness of
others. In this space let’s look at what the Bible says.
The mother-in-law. Naomi was a wonderful
mother-in-law to Ruth. It may surprise some to know
that the beautiful passage often cited at weddings,
Ruth 1:16 was originally from a daughter-in-law to
her mother-in-law, “Where you go, I will go, and
where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be
my people, and your God, my God.”
The mother. While murderous moms make the news
today and some folks make excuses for their evil, we
should be reminded of the biblical role of the mother.
A child’s mother is the initial and primary source of
comfort. In Isaiah 66:13 God compares his care of
his people to that of a mother to her children, “As
one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort
you; and you will be comforted in Jerusalem.” Then
from before the time the child can remember, his or
her mother is the teacher. Solomon writes, “Do not
forsake the teaching of your mother.” (Proverbs
6:20). This, of course, assumes that the mother has
taught that which is good and biblical. It is not an
overstatement to say that mothers wield more influence by shaping the personality and character of the
children, especially early on, than anyone in the
world. Or at least that’s the way it should be.
The grandmother. The word “grandmother” occurs
only once in the Bible, 2 Timothy 1:5, “For I am
mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first
dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother
Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.”
Grandkids should be able to see and hear grandma’s
faith. Her well-worn Bible and sweet disposition
may touch many generations to follow.
May God bless mothers, mothers-in-law and grandmothers. And may God especially bless those godly
women who lovingly live the life and fill the roles he
has called them to.
Macedonia celebrates and congratulates Kaitlyn Grayer for her amazing
accomplishments in the 2013 Oratorical contest.

1st place winner at Macedonia.

2nd place winner at Chain Lake Baptist District Annual Session,
Benton Harbor, MI.
Kaitlyn delivered a flawless 741 word oration on Joshua 24:27, “A
Solid Witness for a Solid Savior” before hundreds at the two events.
Kaitlyn is a high school senior. She plans to join the armed forces upon
graduation.
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The Monthly Testimony
May 2013
The Blame Game Part 1!
“I am innocent...it is your responsibility” Matthew 27:24 (NIV)
More and more, we are becoming a blame-oriented
culture. Today our misfortunes are deemed to be
somebody else’s fault. “I’m this way because of
them. They did it to me.” And it didn’t begin with us.
It goes all the way back to Adam in the Garden of
Eden when he told God, “The woman…You
gave…me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate”
(Genesis 3:12 NKJV). It’s in our DNA! We say the
breakdown in our marriage was our partner’s fault, or
we drink too much because somebody drives us to it,
or we’re sick
because of the fast-food industry; let’s sue them!
Shifting responsibility may alleviate momentary
guilt, but it’s a deadly game with no winners. In sentencing Christ to die, Pilate said, ”I am innocent of
this man’s blood…It is your responsibility!” He
thought by dumping the blame onto the Jews he
would avoid upsetting either his wife or his critics,
and prove himself innocent. But the buck stopped
at his desk! Understand this: God holds you responsible for your decisions and actions (Romans
2:6). And your failure to make the right decision,
or take the right action, also earns you His guilty
verdict. Paul writes, “You cannot mock the justice
of God. You will always harvest what you plant”
(Galatians 6:7 NLT). Others may be guilty of offending you, and that’s their harvest to reap. But
your harvest depends on your reactions. Accepting
responsibility before God is how you alleviate your
guilt, discouragement and stress.
10 Myths About Christianity
sexual gratification are among the forces driving
countless people back to their centers of worship.
Looking for God? Hardly.
Nor is there any guarantee that people will find Him
in the end. If there is a God at all, He obviously lives
in realms beyond us. Otherwise all of us would already know Him from birth. But the religions of the
world, including today’s New Age systems, recognize that people do not naturally and instinctively
know God, which is why they promise their followers access to Him. The problem is, they offer competing and often conflicting versions of who God is
and how we can know Him.
Christianity is unique in that it claims that instead of
people gaining access to God, God has made Himself
known to people. His ultimate self-disclosure was in
Jesus Christ. No longer is He the unknown God.
Although “no one has seen God at any time,” Jesus
“has declared Him” (John 1:18).
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(continued from page 1)
So does Christianity claim that all other religions are
totally wrong? Of course not. Most have some
measure of truth in them. Islam and Judaism in particular have a great deal of truth in them. They are
like candles that bring a bit of light into a very dark
world. Nevertheless, all religions pale into insignificance at the dawn that has come with Christ. He
fulfills the hopes, the aspirations, the virtues, and
the insights of whatever is true and good in all
faiths.
Just as Peter affirmed the uniqueness of the Lord, so
Moses told the people of his day that there is no
other god besides Him (Deuteronomy 4:35). This
belief set the Israelites apart from the other nations
of the ancient world, which worshiped numerous
gods.
~Pastor Troxler
The Monthly Testimony
Sun
May 2013
Mon
Tue
1
SS - Sunday School
PC - Pastor’s Class
SWS - Sunday Worship Service
YC - Youth Church
L of B - Laurels of Bedford
FSN - Family Support Network
5
6
PC @ 9:30a
SS @ 9:30a
SWS @ 11a
Health Ministry
6p - 7:30p
Wed
2
Prayer Service
and Bible Study
11:30a - 1p
6p - 7:30p
7
8
Clothing House
10a - 1p
PC @ 9:30a
SS @ 9:30a
SWS @ 11a
YC @ 11a
13
Health Ministry
6p - 7:30p
PC @ 9:30a
SS @ 9:30a
SWS @ 11a
Clothing House
10:30a - 11a
26
PC @ 9:30a
SS @ 9:30a
SWS @ 11a
Clothing House
10:30a - 11a
Clothing House
10a - 1p
Hospitality
Ministry
6p-7p
Clothing House
10:30a - 11a
19
14
20
Health Ministry
6p - 7:30p
Women’s Ministry
6p - 7p
21
Clothing House
10a - 1p
Shelter Ministry
@ 7:30p
15
3
Health Ministry
6p - 7:30p
28
Clothing House
10a - 1p
4
Choir Rehearsal
@ 6p
Leadership
Meeting 10a
10
11
Clothing House
10a - 1p
Clothing House
10a –1p
Choir Rehearsal
@ 6p
L of B 2p
Youth Ministry
Rehearsals
2:30p-5:00p
17
18
Clothing House
10a - 1p
Clothing House
10a –1p
Choir Rehearsal
@ 6p
Youth Ministry
Rehearsals
2:30p-5:00p
Men’s Ministry
6p - 7p
22
23
Prayer Service
and Bible Study
11:30a-1p
6p-7:30p
24
Clothing House
10a - 1p
29
Choir Rehearsal
@ 6p
30
Prayer Service
and Bible Study
11:30a-1p
Baptizing / Bible
Study
6p-7:30p
5
Clothing House
10a - 1p
Choir Rehearsal
@ 6p
25
Clothing House
10a –1p
FSN Ministry
6p-7p
27
Sat
Clothing House
10a –1p
16
Prayer Service
and Bible Study
11:30a-1p
6p-7:30p
Fri
Clothing House
10a - 1p
9
Prayer Service
and Bible Study
11:30a - 1p
6p - 7:30p
Clothing House
10:30a - 11a
12
Thu
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The Monthly Testimony
May 2013
“My son, keep your fathers commands
and don’t forget your mother’s teaching.”
Proverbs 6:20 (NCV)
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The Monthly Testimony
May 2013
Healthy Weight Loss God’s Way
we must change.
Forward Motion!
Philippians 3:13
When I wanted to be delivered from emotional eating and
food addiction, I had a vision: I saw myself huddled in a
dark corner, cold, scared, and lonely. And I saw God
bathed in light just behind me. I sensed Him calling me to
come to him and give him the emotional burdens that
were literally eating me alive. And yet, voices were whispering to me that it was safer in the darkness.
“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one
thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.” NKJV
One thing I have learned in my Christian weight loss
journey is this: God is a forward thinking and acting God.
Imagine that: I actually felt
safe in my misery!
I meditated on this fact recently when a
scripture from Jeremiah 7:23-24 hit
me right between the eyes during my
morning bible study time:
But God’s love was so strong
that it compelled me to turn
around and look at him in my
vision. When I looked, I saw
beauty, gentleness, and
strength. I trusted Him, took
His hand, and haven’t been the
same.
“But this is what I commanded them,
saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be
your God, and you shall be My people.
And walk in all the ways that I have
commanded you, that it may be well
with you.’ Yet they did not obey or
incline their ear, but followed the
counsels and the dictates of their evil
hearts, and went backward and not forward.”
In order to receive real comfort
and move forward, you have to
let the false comforts go. Simple as that. Yes, it takes courage. Yes, it is scary and yes, it is hard. But say to yourself
that you are willing to go to the other side of hard.
Even though God led the Israelites out of Egypt, a place
of oppression, wickedness, and idolatry, in their hearts
they never left. Their bodies might have been free in the
Promised Land but their hearts and minds were still in
bondage back in Egypt.
That is where your reward is. It is waiting for you. All it
takes is a commitment to forward motion, step by step,
day by day. And you will get there!
Too often, we allow fear, emotional pain, and habitual
sins to keep us chained to the past. But God sent Jesus to
set us free from all that so we can move forward in him.
Be blessed in health, healing, and wholeness,
Kimberly Taylor
Certified Wellness Coach
www.takebackyourtemple.com
I heard a motivational speaker once who said that we
want the new thing, but still want to hang on to the old
stuff! But that just does not work: To experience change,
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The Monthly Testimony
May 2013
15 - minute Bible Study
>> The world sees it as settling for less, but this misunderstood practice has life-giving power.
READ Psalm 23
King David’s famous song is a prayer of gratitude and, ultimately, a proclamation of his contentment in the
Lord. Having spent his adolescence as shepherd of the family’s flock, David chose a personally relevant metaphor to describe his relationship with God. he realized that whatever his situation, he lacked nothing because
the Lord was responsible for his total care.
To the world, contentment means accepting what one has without seeking more. But David’s psalm shows
that true contentment goes beyond the temporal. It is embracing a depth of relationship with the only One who
perfectly completes us. God gives Himself to His children, offering what each one truly needs in the moment.
Not only does He go before us, preparing the future; He is also by our side, so we’re never left to walk alone.
David models a contentment that isn’t based solely on the Lord’s fulfillment of our felt needs. It’s rooted in
identity—the recognition that God has chosen and called us for a great purpose. Because His promise to be
our home is eternal, we can walk in this world contented and confident in the One to whom we belong.
REFLECT
Think and pray about the following questions, journaling your thoughts if possible.
1. Are there any voids or needs in your life that you long to see fulfilled? Ask God to reveal how He is
“shepherding” you in these areas.
2. What verses in this psalm stand out to you? Why? Meditate on them throughout the day as you pay attention to the gifts God is continuously giving and affirm your gratitude for Him.
EXPLORE
Meditate on these biblical insights about the power of contentment. For in-depth study, see the supporting
scriptures.

Contentment plus godly behavior is a powerful combination (1 Timothy 6:6-7).

Because of God’s unfailing presence, self-reliance is unnecessary for His children (Hebrews 13:5-6).

Recognizing Christ as your source is the secret of being content in all circumstances (Philippians 4:11-13).

Knowing that your future is secure, you can take joy in whatever God has called you to in the present
(Psalm 16:5-6).
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The Monthly Testimony
May 2013
Happy Birthday
to all those
Celebrating during the
month of
May!
God bless you and keep
you for many more.
April 2013
Michael Campbell III
Albert Perry
Monica Gordon
Senaja Ross
Ramonz Hawkins
Anika Settler
Darnell Joplin
Carman Watkins
Carita Keene
Aryionna Williams
Synitha Keene
LeShanta Williams
Kimberly Kelly
Sharmeka Williams
We are starting the early phases of VBS 2013 planning.
If you are willing to help with teaching, food, crafts,
decorations, clean up, registration or anything else
please complete the VBS Volunteer Form in the vestibule. Our first meeting will be Saturday, May 25 at
10:00 am, please plan to attend!
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The Monthly Testimony
 “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.”
—Albert Einstein
 “I remember my mother’s prayers, and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.”
—Abraham Lincoln
 “Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.”
—Oprah Winfrey
Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church
Rev. Timothy Troxler, Pastor
636 W. Van Buren St.
Battle Creek, MI 49037
Phone : (269) 964-0015
www.macedoniabattlecreek.org
May 2013