Community Bible Church

Today we worshiped at Community Bible Church, 4549 Route 151, Aliquippa, PA 15001, 724.375.5800, Dr. Robert W. Kern, Pastor.

Scripture – 2 Timothy 1:1-8

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,

To Timothy, my dear son:

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I log to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,…

Bob’s thoughts:

We did find the church we had planned to visit but the service started at least a half hour earlier than the website indicated. They were also miles from where the online map and the GPS said they should be. We were early for the church we passed on our travel and stayed there for worship.

We were warmly welcomed by a number of people, and most asked where we were from. We sat in on an adult Bible study where quite a few adults were in attendance and actively checking Scripture with the leader. The speaker made mention of men crying or not over various stimuli, and I was hoping to catch him after the service to tell him that as a Marine I don’t cry but at times my eyes sweat profusely.

I was disappointed not to find a cross in the sanctuary and somewhat surprised to find an all male choir, joined later by five brass horns. I don’t know if that is the norm or special for Labor Day.

There was a bittersweet solo rendition of “It Is Well with My Soul.” A beautiful delivery of a song sung at church the day after our son’s death.

The message was delivered by a visiting pastor and dealt with our complacency in our faith and being faithful servants. The speaker introduced the concepts with a personal story and developed the sermon with numerous Scriptural references. It was good to hear the concerns of spiritual warfare addressed. We tend to want to avoid hearing about or talking about the Devil. The congregation seemed to be receptive.

Jan’s thoughts:

This was one of those mornings full of adventure…we headed to a particular church, even using the GPS this time. And when GPS said we were arriving, it turned out to be an auto repair shop. So we drove, asking God to lead us to where He wanted us to be today. We found the church we originally planned to attend, even thinking we were early, but when we walked in they were already partway through the sermon. So instead we returned to a church we had passed on the way.

We were greeted the moment we walked in; we decided to tour the facility and encountered a friendly couple. The husband had served in the Army in Vietnam, so he and Bob talked some while his wife and I chatted.

Following our brief tour, we went back upstairs and, after being greeted by a few more folks, decided to sit in the sanctuary during the adult Sunday school. We hesitated even after three invitations as we didn’t want to interrupt, but it was an interesting presentation by a member who is a police officer who spoke to the issue of how he reconciles his faith with the requirements of his job.

I couldn’t help but notice that the choir was comprised of 12 men and no women, and they sounded amazing when they sang “Rise Up, O Men of God.” For their marvelous presentation of “Abide with Me” they were accompanied by two trumpets and three trombones. The other musical joy was a solo of “It Is Well with My Soul.”

The guest preacher was a friend of the congregation, Pastor Kerry Allen, who currently serves Fox River Baptist Church, Aurora, IL.

The message began and ended with the observation that we often forget we are fighting a spiritual battle. Among his excellent points: the Bible is the source God uses to energize us for the battle; we are continually given strength for the battle…we are not required to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps; the world hates God and it hates us, and there is supposed to be something different enough about us for the world to hate us; our personal battle is not lost as long as we struggle against the desires of our flesh.

An assertion I found fascinating was that David danced before the Ark when it was returned to its rightful home, but after his affair with Bathsheba he did not dance again. The implication was that that sin was a defining event in David’s life that removed the spontaneous joy from his relationship with God. How truly sad to think of that.

I totally agree with his statements, though. All who walk this earth most definitely are in the midst of a spiritual battle, and we do tend to forget this. We get caught up in the demands of life, in the desires of our flesh (not only fleshly desires, but those too), and we forget that Satan is constantly working to erode our relationship with God. We work hard to be liked by those who hate God and to be strong in our own strength. We need to cease being afraid of the things the world tells us to fear and turn our weak, helpless, blind selves toward the God Who loves us, Who fights for us, and Who has already made a way for us to spend everlasting life with Him. We need to seek and accept His power through His Word on a daily basis. In Him, the battle is already won.

Our prayer for this church:
Dear Lord, remind us all that “it is a war out there.” Continue to guide and reassure us in resisting the demons that so easily draw us away from You; strengthen our resolve in You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.