“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”  (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)  It is this Pastor’s desire and hope that out of Black History Month will come the sense of community.  Dr. King’s life and work as a national leader of the Civil Rights movement was geared to improving the lot of all people – regardless of race, creed, or heritage.  He envisioned a world where we all will enjoy the blessings of freedom, hope and justice.  Dr. King’s dream has not yet been fully realized, however, we praise God for the great improvement that has been made.  We are all aware of Dr. King’s contributions to the betterment of our community, but the question each of us must answer is:  “What are you doing for others?”  Dear Ones, we share a common destiny.  As we are blessed by God, we are blessed to be a blessing.  God gives to each of us according to our individual abilities.  Having said that, we all have something to contribute into the lives of others.  We are all in it together.  We are all on this people planet together, in the Church together and in the community together.  Please know this, you can have what you want, if you help others get what they want.  There is still much to be done to address the helplessness, hopelessness and futility that is the breeding ground for Black on Black crime.  This is not a cliché or a platitude, but a statement of truth:  Christ is the answer.  Another area requiring our involvement is the matter of unmarried pregnancies.  Again, Christ is the answer, however, I must tell you that here on earth, God’s work must truly be our own.  We must build up our community by sewing into it’s people.

Pastor J. Amos Jones

Texas Monthly Magazine in it’s February issue has an article on how two Texas oilmen, Lamar Hunt and Clint Murchison, Jr., invented the Super Bowl. Since it’s inception in 1962, the Super Bowl has been viewed by multiplied millions of rabid sports fans. The Super Bowl is considered to be the consummate sports event. It is of such importance to some people that they will choose to watch it over most everything, and that includes church attendance. WOW! With that said, may I invite you to consider metaphorically the “Spiritual Super Bowl”? This event was played out, not in a stadium, but on a hill called Calvary, at a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull. This event saw Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the seed of the woman, the Anointed One, take on Satan, the Devil, the Evil One, and the victor is: “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God be glorified in Him, God shall also glorify Him in Himself, and shall straight-way glorify Him.” For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.” This event was scheduled for four thousand years before in the Garden of Eden, not hype but prophecy: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it (He) shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel” (Gen. 3:15). And the winner of the Spiritual Super Bowl is: WHOSOEVER!

Pastor J. Amos Jones

[This is a revisiting of a matter that this Pastor is deeply concerned about]

In our Church Sunday School, the study focus for the winter quarter is COMMITMENT (capitalized for emphasis). We have determined that commitment must be demonstrated rather than simply verbalized. As we enter into a new year, this is an excellent time for us to examine our commitment to Christ and to His Kingdom. Question. Does Christ have the pre-eminence in your life? (Remember, commitment must be demonstrated). In the year 2009, I am asking all members to commit to several Kingdom initiatives.

• Number one: Christian Education. “That ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:9b-10). Dear ones, we are asking YOU to commit to attending Sunday School, Teachers Meeting, and Bible Study.
• Number two: Mission/Evangelism. “And ye shall be witnesses unto me” (Acts 1:8). Evangelize: share your faith with the lost, and souls are saved. Develop a passion for lost souls. Evangelism is the only way to make full proof of your ministry (2 Timothy 4:5). May I remind you that the Mission is Evangelism. Ladies, you are invited to attend the meetings of the Senior Mission and the Women In Action, and young people, the Starlight Mission, and become equipped for Evangelism.
• Number three: The Ministry of Helps. The Brotherhood, the Support Group and the Ushers. If you are not now actively involved in some facet of Kingdom work, let 2009 be the year of total commitment.

Remember, “it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (I Corinthians 4:2).

See you at our weekly meetings.

Pastor J. Amos Jones