Drawing of Lighthouse

Pastor's Harbor

Antioch Lighthouse

Here at Antioch, we are Disciples for Christ, the Church of Three Ships: Worship, Friendship, and Fellowship; Where our worship is produced by our daily devotion with God, Where our friendship is produced by our love, Where our fellowship is produced by our relationship with Christ. Here at Antioch, we are Kingdom Building.

Rev. Michael E. Coleman, Pastor
Staff/Writers: Bonnie Frizell, Rosemary Jordan, Shelly Robinson
Editor: Stella Thomas

January 2000
Volume III

The Past Should Tell the Old, Old Story

We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us the deeds You did in their days, in days of old: ...If we had gotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a foreign god, Would not God search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart. ...Arise for our help, and redeem us for Your mercies' sake.

Ps 44:1, 20, 21, 26 (NKJ)

The church that worships its past is dying. It is a foolish thing to worship our past and it is another thing to learn from that past. I believe God is calling us to look back and learn. Our fore-parents understood this. They sang, "Lift every voice and sing, till earth and heaven ring, ring with the harmonies of liberty; Let our rejoicing rise, high as the listening skies, let it resound loud as the rolling

sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, "Our dark past has taught us to trust in the Lord."

Have we turned to other gods? "To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him? …Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in." We worship the past when our god is too small. I challenge you to serve the God of heaven and earth. He will fill your heart. He will fill your home. He will fill your block. There is not a place that the God we serve cannot fill. First you must surrender your past to Him.

The good old days are only good when Jesus refocuses them through redemption. He purchases your experience for His own and refurbishes it down to the last detail. Antioch, God has purchased our past. Let us not return to our way of life. Paul says in Gal 1:6, "I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. "Our past is not there to worship but to cause us to worship God.

May

JOY lightens each heart

HOPE brightens each day

PEACE opens the door

LOVE shows us the way

 

Journey of Praise

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending," saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the almighty. Revelation 1:8

Port of Worship

Submitted by Bertha Harrington

I've always had the desire or wish to visit Africa. In my mind I thought, this is something that will never happen. Little did I know that the victory was mine to claim, and for that I Thank God.

Being a member of Antioch, under the leadership of a very dedicated and anointed man of God, Rev. Michael E. Coleman, I realized, through his teaching, that the victory of a trip to Africa was mine to put a claim stamp on, and for that blessing, I give God the Praise.

After arriving in Africa and actually standing on African soil, saying out loud, I'm in Africa, I'm in Africa...I Worship God. He took me and everyone on that huge plane over the Atlantic Ocean, over mountains, over danger seen and unseen and for that, I Worship God. Why? Because he loved all of us on that plane enough to keep us from destruction and He kept us from going off course.

For all of the above, I give God the honor, the praise, and the glory, but most of all I Worship Him for being who He is. And who is He... the Word says He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, and for all this, I Worship Him.

With God, all things are possible.

Port of Friendship

by Stella Thomas

Lets begin with the basic: Webster Dictionary defines "friend" as 1) a person who knows and like another, 2) a person who favors and support, and 3) a person who belongs to the same side or group. It defines " friendship" as the condition of being friends, a liking between friends. By contrast, the Christian Dictionary, The Bible, gives us several definition by scripture for "friend" 1) Proverbs 14:20 reads, "The poor man is hated even by his own neighbor, but the rich man has many friends" , 2) Ruth 4:1 reads, "Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there; and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, "come aside, friend, sit down here," so he came aside and sat down. 3) Proverbs 18:24 says, "A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother, and 4) Proverbs 17:17 says, "A friend loves at all time, and a brother is born for adversity".

Each of the above scriptures defines "friend" in a different light, as in, a friendship based on riches/wealth; friend based on lineage or kinship; a friendship developed from just being friendly and lastly, a friendship base on love.

As Christians, our dictionary, The Bible, teaches us that the depth of friendship is not based on selfishness, but on love, .. "the love of God". To love God and be His friend requires obedience and commitment to Him, therefore, I can't love my neighbor/friend until I first love the Lord with all my heart, mind and soul.

Thought to remember: Friendship will not cause you to break God's Word

Port of Fellowship

by Rosemary Jordan

"And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship in the breaking of bread and in prayers." Acts 2:42

When we come together at any given time, is it because of tradition? Or are we putting on a fashion show, or we looking for a social club to entertain ourselves? These and many more are questions we should be asking ourselves about why we fellowship?

For about two months Rev. Coleman has been teaching us the meaning of true fellowship and giving us some biblical descriptions such as, Amos 3:3 and Ecclesiastics 4:9-12. When we look for the meaning of fellowship in the scripture these two examples give us an idea what we should be looking for. I now know that when I come together in the service on Sunday with believers in the body that we must have a basic foundation of the word of god and we must agree upon the word of god before we can have true fellowship. I challenge to you that you make it to Bible Study on Wednesday night a priority in your life as we begin the 21st century, so that you can experience the excitement in the truth of God's word which has not changed from its earliest existence up to the present. Are you ready for Y2K? Then say Yes 2 the King.

 

Who Is Jesus and What Has He Done for Us?

Something to think about as we enter the New Millennium

 

 

 

Antioch's Youth Speaks Out

Here at Antioch, we believe that our youth are our future and we believe that God has given us a charge to teach them and provide a biblical foundation for them to stand on. To do this we must meet them where they are and above all listen to them. A survey was taken of the youth in the Sunday school and they were asked three questions. The following are the questions with their answers.

Question #1: What do you like most about your church?

Answers: Like the family bond and how the church come together t o support us. How the church is here to help work out our problems. Sunday school, Youth Conference, Youth Revival. Singing in the Choir. Learning About God. Church people are real nice. Getting to go out of town and sing at other churches.

Question #2: What do you like least of all about your church?

Answers: Don't get to voice opinion on type of activity we want. Need more new music and more enthusiasm in our choir. Don't have enough ushers, youth & seniors to cover post. Need more youth greeters. Don' t understand general assembly in Sunday school....should not meet every Sunday. We don't have a youth Minister. More Male Sunday school Teachers. Length of service is too long. Don't have our own youth church. Don't have our own church bus.

Question #3: What would you like to do differently/improve upon at your church?

Answers: Do more church visitation with other youth. Go to summer Christian camps. See more youth at Wednesday night Bible study. Get back involved with Congress/Training for youth. Have Youth Soul Saving Night where we can invite our friends who are not saved. Family fun night at other places than the "Y". Involve more youth in the solo section in our choir. Go on field trips. Different books to make learning easier and fun. Have more church night out activities. Retreat for youth. Do more plays. More youth activities doing the month like movies, skating, bowling, etc.

Our youth have shared with us their needs and it is now up to us, the leaders and ministry heads, to come together and take a look at what we can do to better meet the needs they have expressed, or improve upon programs which can better serve the, and at the same time, continue to show them that they are a key part of our lives and the life of the church.

 

 

Antioch Baptist Church
Rev. Michael E. Coleman, Pastor
426 Sumner Street
Waterloo, Ia. 50703