MEMORIAL DAY 2008

We at the Union Church of Christ celebrate a Homecoming Sunday on Memorial Day Weekend. These are some things from our celebration. R.D.Ice.

PENTECOST REFLECTIONS -- May 11, 2008 was Pentecost Sunday. British teacher N. T. Wright preached that day on "The Stream, the Lake and the River," [Ezekiel 47:1-5] and his sermon ended with this challenge: "The Spirit of God longs to fill the whole earth with God’s glory, and our worship here today is supposed to be a sign and a foretaste and a means towards that end, as we celebrate the glory of Jesus and share in His Spirit and are thereby equipped to pour out, ourselves, from our own hearts, those rivers of living water to a world – God’s good world – which is once again in danger of dying of thirst." Read John 7:37-39. Jesus was glorified in the Cross & Resurrection.

I Want To Know Him!
Paul wrote: "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death..." Phil 3:10

"Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.. John 14:6

John wrote: "By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God..." 1 John 4:2


JESUS is God's PLAN! ALL relates to HIM: Bible, church, forgiveness, salvation, precious promises, hope, eternal life, etc. "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself." Jesus is "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." All "authority" and "power" derives from Jesus Christ [Matthew 28:18; Philippians 2:5-11].

Christ is the first priority of the church. Not people. Not ministry. Not growth. Not success. Christ and Christ alone occupies the place of ultimate and absolute priority in the church. If the church is once again to become salt and light to the world, SHE MUST PUT JESUS FIRST! Compare Rev. 2:4-5.

This world is the arena of God's redemptive work through Christ and His One Body. We need to be open to God's power at work among us. For the Brotherhood of Churches of Christ to survive after we older folk are gone, we must pray and work for Revival, Renewal, Spiritual Awakening! We must enlist the young people in the Army of God's Kingdom.


It's all about Jesus!
Everything in all of Creation has
Made By Jesus stamped on it.
And long before Earth's Foundation,
He had us in mind as the focus of His Love.
That we should be holy and blameless
by His Love and Mercy.
He wanted us to enter in the celebration
of the glory of His grace
by the Hand of His Beloved Son.
Christ was the Sacrifice -
His Blood poured out on the altar
of the Cross. We're now a free people -
free of sin & death, penalties and punishment.
It is in Christ that we find out who we are
and what we are living for,
that we should be to the praise of His Glory!
[Eph. 1:3-12; Col. 1:14-22; Romans 8:1-4]


HISTORY OF THE UNION CHURCH OF CHRIST
Sometime around 1894, Elder Daniel Austin Preached a Gospel Meeting ( a church-planting revival in this case) in the one-room schoolhouse at the community known as Union. This was on a dirt road, about five miles SW from Philippi, WV. A coal mine & community called Lillian was down the hill at the bend of the river. A number of people lived on small farms on the fairly flat land around Union.

The original deed for the first schoolhouse at Union came from John A. Jones dated April 23, 1873. On December 25, 1918, the Union Congregation of the Church of Christ purchased the "old" schoolhouse in which they were meeting. A "new" schoolhouse had been built across the road and is still standing, although abandoned for some years now.

Elder Daniel Austin preached a number of Gospel Meetings around W.Va. On December 6, 1896, Kromer Ice [R.D.'s grandfather], received a request from Elder Daniel Austin, of Alpha, W.Va., to use Kromer’s school house at Rigan's Run, Doddridge County, to hold Preaching. Note that preachers in the Churches of Christ back then were called "Elder." David Lipscomb mentioned this in his book, "Questions and Answers."

There were few Churches of Christ in West Virginia at the turn of the century. Looking at our area, the church at Mt. Nebo at Brunner’s Ridge, dates from 1825. Union from 1894. Mt. Liberty from 1916; Belington, around 1942; Central in Clarksburg dates from 1938; Blueville at Grafton, 1911; Gladesville, 1908; Philippi 1945; Buckhannon, 1953; Elkins, 1952; Weston, 1956.
The Independence Church of Christ dated from the 1940s and existed for some years. In fact, Union & Independence were like one congregation with two buildings. Yet each was separate from the other and worked to proclaim Christ in their own way. In time deaths and finances caused the people to abandon their separate existence and to come to Union around 1994.

Following WWII, the Churches of Christ had explosive growth. Many who had been sent overseas with the military, came home with a vision of a world to be won to Christ! A period of great missionary activity was generated and many outreach ministries were begun. [Don Daugherty went from this area as a missionary to France.] Churches of Christ concentrated on lifting up Jesus Christ and proclaiming the Good News of God’s great offer of Salvation.


RESTORE WHAT???

Like the Israelites of old, we need to be called back from time to time to the Ancient Order of things in the New Testament. We are to look to Christ Jesus and go straight to the goal! "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself." Phil 3:20-21

1. FALL IN LOVE WITH JESUS AGAIN.
Satan tries to distract our attention to other things. The Church at Ephesus was in danger of losing their candlestick because they no longer loved Christ as they did at first. Rev. 2:4-5. "that you have left your first love."

2. RESTORE BODY LIFE.
We can only share what we have ourselves. "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit." 1 Cor. 12:13 We are God's Family and we share our life together.

3.UNITY IS NOT OPTIONAL.
All the SAVED have the same FATHER! Our UNITY helps promote the Cause of Christ Jesus. "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread." 1 Cor. 10:16-17

4. MAKE DISCIPLES TO CHRIST.
The Great Commission requires that we make people disciples (students and followers) of our Lord Jesus Christ.
"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy." 1 Peter 2:9-10

5. IT IS THE LAST HOUR.
Not the "End Time" (it could be) but John teaches us to live as though each hour were the Last One. "And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour." 1 John 2:17-18
Paul spoke of the "present distress" taking place in the world of his time. 1 Cor 7:17-26.

"And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all." Acts 4:33