On the authority of the Word of God, I can say unequivocally that Friendship Members do indeed demonstrate true discipleship.

 For the Scripture tells us, Jesus speaking: “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:35)

 This Pastor has observed an outpouring of love that has been unequaled in the recent past. The care and compassion shown to those in bereavement has been of Biblical proportion.

 Dear Ones, thank you for your love in action. Love is what makes Friendship a great church. Love is the new commandment given to the disciples, but in a sense it was an old one, (Lev. 19:18: thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the Lord), love was the mark of their brotherhood, created by Christ’s great love for them. Our standard is Christ’s love for us.

 Thank you for exemplifying that kind of love. You have achieved the Kingdom standard! And now Saints: “Let brotherly love continue.” (Hebrews 13:1).

 Pastor J. Amos Jones

There is a marvelous song sung by Beverly Crawford that wondrously exclaims that “If the Lord doesn’t do anything else for me, He’s done enough.” What a wonderful affirmation of thanksgiving. He has done exceeding abundantly above all that we might have asked or thought, according to the power that worketh in us.

 He has blessed us once and He has blessed us twice and He keeps on blessing us. The scripture tells us in Ephesians 1:3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all Spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” Here Paul asserts that Christians have already been made beneficiaries of every Spiritual blessing that belongs to and comes from the heavenly places.

 Dear Ones, it is the character of our heavenly Father to bless us. He has blessed us, past tense; He is blessing us now, present tense; and He shall continue to bless us in the future. That’s the kind of God we serve. Please know this, it does not matter what adversities we experience, the burdens we bear, the difficulties we must overcome; Praise the Lord, give Him the honor due a loving, gracious, generous heavenly Father.

 Hear the Word of Lord: “Blessings are upon the head of the Just: But violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.” (Proverbs 10:6). Well halleluiah! The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it.” (Proverbs 10:22)

 How we thank God for His gifts and His favors, His blessings.

 Pastor J. Amos Jones

 “Christianity is the white man’s religion.” This erroneous statement is often uttered by and the thought advanced by many of our separatist brothers. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: Seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children” (Hosea 4:6).

 How sad and how tragic it is for those who will embrace ignorance when the Word of God is available. There is no people, except the Hebrews and other ancient inhabitants of Palestine, more frequently mentioned in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments than the Ethiopians, and there is no country more frequently referred to than Ethiopia. The story of Philip and the Eunuch, found in Acts Eight, speaks to the subject with clarion clarity. Philip, after the murder of Stephen, went away from Jerusalem, and preached with great success in the city of Samaria. The injunction not to enter into any city of the Samaritans had been withdrawn, and the whole world was now opened to the preachers of the gospel. Please take note how the Holy Spirit, who will guide us into all truth, orchestrates the evangelization of Ethiopia, with its inhospitable climate and difficulty of access.

 “The angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went: and behold a man of Ethiopia, an Eunuch of great authority under Candance, Queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship.” Philip leads this Ethiopian Eunuch, this descendant of black Ham, to Christ. The Eunuch is baptized and “The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the Eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.” Do you see it? The methods and the instruments of Africa’s evangelization? The method, the simple holding up of Jesus Christ; the instrument, the African himself. This was the Spirit’s application and expression of the command: “Go ye into all the world”—giving the gospel to a man of color to take back to a people of color.

 Christianity, the white man’s religion. Yes, but the black man’s as well.

 Pastor J. Amos Jones