New Lessons are Now Available

Use Your Influence to Win Souls
(Class by Josh Blackmer)

Establishing the Boundaries of Faith
(Sermon by Dan Jenkins)

Observations Concerning the Age of the Patriarchs
(Sermon by Dan Jenkins)

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Stories Told By the Master Teacher: The Parable of the Sower (Part 1)
(Class by David Sproule on Wednesday, July 16)

Some of the most valuable possessions within a household are found in the jewelry box.  A person may have more invested in the items found in their jewelry box than in anything else in the entire house.  We love, treasure and carefully protect our jewels.

In Malachi 3:17, God looked down through time to those who would one day be in His church and called them, “My jewels.”  The New American Standard translates that as “My own possession.”   The phrase literally means “special treasure.”  The same terminology is used in the New Testament to show that God’s prophecy had come true—those in His church were called “His own special people” (1 Pet. 2:9; Titus 2:14).

God’s most valuable possessions, His jewels, are found within His church.  In order to purchase His church, He invested the precious life of His Son.  God loves, treasures and carefully protects His jewels.  No wonder Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure…”

– David Sproule
Thought for the Day
July 23, 2008

The Muslim world would have us believe that they follow the same God we do but they simply call Him by another name. Their view is that God’s blessings promised through Abraham come through Ishmael and not through Isaac. There are several reasons why we can affirm that we do not serve the same God as the Islamic world.

The July 2008 issue of Reader’s Digest had an interesting article on pages 162-169 entitled, “Why We’re Happy.”  Before pointing out his five keys to happiness, the author noted that happiness is not based upon the acquisition of things or being accepted by others or any other factors that “we typically hear about.  Things like winning the lottery, getting liposuction, and earning a master’s degree don’t make people happy over the long haul.  Rather, the key to happiness, and the difference between happy and unhappy Americans, is a life that reflects values…”  You may be thinking the same thing I was thinking when I read this—“That’s exactly what God said!”  Notice further what this researcher of happiness concluded when he summarized five “happiness predictors,” as he calls them.  You’ll find he is not revealing anything new.

A second email scam is apparently being perpetrated in the name of the Palm Beach Lakes congregation. Some unscrupulous individuals are circulating an email promoting the fictitious "4th International Church of Christ Convention" in Florida in February. Of course, they are asking for "registration fees" to be sent to them in Africa via Western Union. They have even set up a website with some of our information on it.

Please be advised: this email is a fake and a scam. Do not send any funds to these unscupulous individuals.

While we would love to be able to track these folks down so that the authorities could mete out justice, we are comforted by the fact that the Lord is in control and already knows who they are.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.