Niagara Falls Church of Christ

2011 Tennessee Ave.,  Niagara Falls, NY  14305

(716)285-6534 (716)285-6534 (for phone and fax)

James Lawrence, Herschel Walker - Elders

Eddie J. Cornelius, Minister Emeritus

This year, 2003, we will focus our attention on the process used by God to build strong Christians. The God we serve can take nothing and bring something into being by simply speaking. In the book of Daniel we are told of king Nebuchadnezzar who had to be brought low in order to learn who God is. In Daniel 4:35, having learned his lesson well, he said: And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? Our God is able to take this "nothing" and build for Himself strong Christians. It is this process we propose to examine this year.

The process has its beginning in the will of God. The apostles Paul and Peter both speak to this point. In 1 Timothy 2:3-4 Paul says: For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. Peter expresses this idea in a similar way in 2 Peter 3:9: The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Man did not come to be "reputed as nothing" by the will of God. Man must take full responsibility for his fall.

In the beginning, when God created the earth and all its fullness, God pronounced that it "good".  In Genesis chapter one  after God had finished His creation, including man, we are told in verse 31: And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.  No! Man's being "reputed as nothing" had nothing to do with God's creation. Man's fall from God's favor had everything to do with man's choice.

When God created man He made him a creature of choice. As long as that choice was not tested, fellowship with God seems to have been easy. But, as soon as God established commandments to be obeyed, commandments that demanded that man choose between pleasing God and pleasing self, man failed. In Romans chapter 8 Paul shows this to be a choice between walking after the flesh and walking after the Spirit. If  we are to understand God's process for taking the nothing man has become, and rebuilding it into strong Christians, it is imperative that we also understand the process that led to man's fall.

During the course  of this year we will attempt to study together the process that led to man's fall and the process by which God recovers man today.