THE FISHERMEN'S NET NEWSLETTER

May 2001

[ Read this Fisherman's Net newsletter in Spanish Italian Portuguese German or French ]

Published by New Covenant Ministries

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 \_                         THE FISHERMEN'S NET                          \_
 \_                  "Come, follow me, Jesus said, and                   \_
 \_                   I will make you fishers of men."        -Mark 1:17 \_
 \_    -A Seventh Day Baptist Mid-Continent Association Publication-     \_
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CONTENTS

Mothers Have God's Faithfulness by Jan Ross
Where and How to Share the Ten Commandments by Mark Twain
Argentina by Pastor Jose Allegre
Seventh Day Baptists in Pennsylvania by Lauren and Thomas
Still Looking for the Historical Jesus? This is Not His Face!

Mothers Have God's Faithfulness
by Jan Ross
When we speak of "faithfulness" we think of steadfastness, unchangeability, being fixed in our intention, commitment, having the passion to follow through with our promises to see that they are performed. How GREAT is God's faithfulness!

We can all relate to such overwhelming disappointment when someone makes a promise to us and then dismisses it without giving it a second thought . . . and it happens all the time. "Faithfulness", or "commitment", seem to have become foreign words in today's society. Promises are easily made and just as easily broken . . . it's become a way of life. It has also made it very hard for us to rely on God's faithfulness simply because the word seems to have has lost its true meaning!

As Christians, we have a hope . . . hope for a future home in heaven in the presence of the Father, not because we deserve it, but because of God's unfathomable mercy and His faithfulness toward us when we least deserve it. And, because of God's great faithfulness, Mom has received that which He has promised. Again, not because she deserved it, but because of His compassion, His mercy, His faithfulness!

Psalm 81:1 says, " I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations." The Psalmist understood the need for God's faithfulness to be preached throughout the ages. He had a song in his heart stirring day and night because of his passion for God, even through the worst of circumstances. No one could take that "stirring" away and because of that, he could face anything! He was intimately acquainted with God's great mercies and compassion . . . He understood the faithfulness of God!

What better way to give hope to our children and our children's children than to teach them about the faithfulness of God. Without saying it in so many words, my mother's walk through life constantly instilled this truth in me from the time I was a small child. She gave me the precious gift of a foundation on which to build my faith . . . a gift which is still giving as our children are now doing the same for their children. The mercies and faithfulness of God are now being made known through our own family's generations because of the simple way she lived it in front of me.

Was she perfect? Of course not! But, she had a hope, steadfast and sure, that God is true to His Word . . . Great Is His faithfulness!

Where and How to Share the Ten Commandments
by Mark Twain

Mark Twain once encountered a business man from Boston who boasted of things he had and would do. He told Mark that before he died he was going to the Holy Land, climb Mt. Sinai, and while there, shout the Ten Commandments as loud as he could.
Mark looked at him and replied, "Why don't you stay in Boston and live them."
-reprinted from The Herald of Truth Newsletter

Argentina

- Pastor Jose Allegre

Argentina is a large beautiful country in South America. It's population of 37,000,000 people belong in there majority to the Catholic Church. Other Evangelical churches are represented in smaller numbers. In spite of its natural resources Argentina has been faced with many social and economic problems.

As Seventh Day Baptists we dreamt of starting a Seventh Day Baptist church as a testimony for the Lord. In 1992 the Lord opened a door to start the there that we are sure will remain open for His glory. For family reasons (the death of our parents) in that year I went to Argentina for six months, there I came in contact with a family interested in the Seventh Day Baptist doctrine. Soon after a small group of ten adults and seven children began to meet on a regular basis.

On my return to Australia, my prayers were for God to protect and bless this very young work. From the original group 2 families have remained faithful to the Lord, they are the pillars of our present church in Argentina. The new work in Argentina has brought to us the many tears, many trials and joy, great joy in the Lord.

In 1994 I went back to Argentina to start the new work. I knew I should expect struggles and disappointments, but I also knew the Lord's strength was even stronger than me! The Argentinean church began in the suburb called Barriomuero in the western part of the province of Buenos Aires, in the home of Ruben Rodriguez and his wife Isabel (currently it is our branch church).

Principally the work started with home visitations and making new contacts. Officially meetings began in October 1996 in the church presently located at General Acha No 151 Moron, Privincia de Buenos Aires Argentina. The beginnings were difficult because of several factors, social problems, lack of financial resources, and large unemployment. Work began by giving Bible studies and evangelical campaigns. Today our congregation come from varied backgrounds, Baptists, Adventists, Pentecostals and Catholics.

The following is a list of services and times:

Sabbath mornings:

10.00 am Bible Study

11.00am Worship Service

Sabbath evenings:

6.00pm Evangelical and Gospel preaching

Followed by a time of fellowship

Thursday evenings:

7.00pm Bible Study and prayer/praise time

Special Outreach Activity

Every Wednesday afternoon in Barrionuero (our branch). This area is a poorer area where people face many family and social problems. Many children (Over 25 of them) are hungry, our church provides them with hot chocolate, biscuits and sandwiches. As our resources are very limited we enlist the help from neighbours and friends by way of donations of milk cakes, etc. Then after refreshments there are Bible stories and special activities for the young children and teenagers. In the evening we hold a meeting for the adults. The Lord is blessing these efforts as many children and adults have accepted the Lord in this place.

Since the Argentinean Seventh Day Baptist church has started it's services there have been the following activities:

Seminars

A) Theological Seminars for the advanced students to prepare capable church leaders able to take leading positions in the church. These seminars are conducted by Pastor Alegre and his wife twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays. It is a four year series.

B) Bible Seminars this is a two year Bible course designed for Christians who want to have a better understanding of the Bible and it's basic doctrines as well as the Seventh Day Baptist beliefs.

At this moment there are seven students doing both seminars. The church also provides a Bible course of 36 lessons for new believers just starting to know the Lord.

Other Activities

There has also been five children's dedications.

Two weddings.

Prayer vigils.

Several evangelical campaigns, with cooperation of singing groups from ecumenical churches. These campaigns have been very blessed as many people have accepted the Lord.

Home visitations.

Pastor Allegre has been invited to preach in many evangelical churches. These have been good oportunities to make known our church and has lead to several enquiries.

Latest activities and projects

A new outreach group has been started in a suburb called San Jaun. It is a populated area also in the western part of the province of Buenos Aires. This new group meets on Tuesdays in the home of one of our church members.

We are planning to start a radio program as a way to reach a wider range of people. The reality of this project depends on finance being available.

For you my brothers and sisters who have read this report, this is the present position of the Seventh Day Baptist work in Argentina. Our desire is to leave there a well established church with precious souls. Our prayer is that by God's grace this work can be expanded. The Argentinean church needs to get stronger, to spread to other cities of this beautiful and needy country, furthermore to reach other Spanish Latin-American countries.

I would like to use the word "Challenge". Here there is a challenge for everyone who loves the Lord with passion, appealing to you, share with us the vision. A door for evangelism has been opened in Argentina please help us to take hold of this open door and swing it wide open for the Lord.

I have endeavoured earnestly to preach only where the name of the Lord was not yet known in order not to build on the foundation of someone else, but as it is written, those who have been told of Him will see and those who never heard will understand. Rom 15:20-21

That was the challenge given to us from the Lord .

We earnestly desire you prayers, help and support in this new work
May the Lord richly bless each one of you

Address:

Pastor J. Allegre

Christian Evangelical Seventh Day Baptist Church
General Acha No 151 Moron (1708) Privncia Buenos Aires Argentina

Ph 0054-11-46596168

-reprinted from argentinachurch.html

Seventh Day Baptists in Pennsylvania

by Lauren and Thomas

Location : The Seventh day Baptist came from England and Germany. They are located in Ephrata and Lancaster, PA.

Contributions : They contributed flour mills, large buildings, and one of the earliest school books. They also contributed printing offices, school houses, and shoemaking, tailoring, weaving cloth , and medicine.

Customs and Traditions : One of there customs was they believe in baptism by going into the water as a symbol of death to sin.

Religions : Their religion is the Seventh Day Baptist. They believe that sin is disobedience to God and failure to live according to His will. They believe in one God, infinite and perfect, the Creator of the universe who exists eternally in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and desires to share His love in a personal relationship with everyone.

Other Facts : They slept on a wooden board and a wooden block for a pillow. The women cooked, cleaned, cared for the children, made pottery,and made medicine. They built there first church in December 1671. They did NOT believe in war. Cloister means a place such as a building for religious worship. They were also called Ephrata Cloisters.

-reprinted from Saint Joseph School

Still Looking for the Historical Jesus?

This is Not His Face!

Editor's note- Forensic and archaeological techniques were used to reconstruct how Jesus might have looked using a first century Jewish skull. Since Jesus did not have a twin and this reconstruction was done with a dead skull, This is NOT the face of Jesus! It is only what one first-century Jewish man may have looked like. One of my children when they were young saw a man with a beard and long hair and exclaimed, "He looks like Jesus!" I replied, "He also looks like Judas." If you are still looking for the "historical Jesus" we would advise you to start with the first century Doctor who sought out eyewitnesses in order to write his conclusions:
"Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed." -Luke 1:1-4

BBC News Online's Alex Webb wrote that Jesus has been the source of faith for billions of people and the inspiration of great art and music when he covered BBC One's new investigation into the life of Jesus Christ and presented by the BBC's former Middle East correspondent Jeremy Bowen.
Bowen admitted to BBC News Online he had a certain amount of scepticism. "I thought you couldn't corroborate anything that was in the Gospels, frankly. ... To start with I didn't know there was a historical character called Jesus - I thought that you had to believe in Jesus the same way as you have to believe in God." Bowen did discover certain facts: "I discovered that in fact there is a lot of historical corroboration for the existence of this man - for example there's a Romanised Jewish historian who writes about a man called Jesus, a Jew who attained a following of people in his area, who was known as a worker of deeds and who was put to death by the authorities.
Jeremy Bowen has concentrated on the 'history' of Jesus' life. "It's a different question whether or not you believe Jesus was the Son of God and our Saviour - that's a religious question." The series has used the latest scientific and historical research to reconstruct the main events of Jesus' life.
Bowen said his involvement with this series on the Holy Land had influenced his perception of the troubled region today. "No question about it - religion is as major a part of life now as it was then. "Jesus' disputes with the temple priests are interesting in so far as you can see Jews having huge disputes now in Israel like 'Who is a Jew?'. "And in a sense that's what Jesus was doing - there were a whole lot of people who weren't able to take part in religion because they were sick, they were lame, they were mentally ill - and he said no, he could forgive them, make them clean and they could then take part. "These debates are every bit a vivid today as they were then."
Bowen's fascination with the subject may yet make him a believer. "I'd say I'm not religious, really - I wouldn't rule it out. "The important thing is not what he was or what he wasn't - the important things is what people believe him to have been. "A massive world wide religion, numbering more than two billion people follows his memory - that's pretty remarkable, 2,000 years on."
Son Of God started on BBC One on April 1st and was shown in its entirety on April 15th on the Discovery Channel. Full details of Alex Webb's article, "Looking for the historical Jesus" is on the BBC News Website

To read previous issues go to the
Fisherman's Net Newsletter Archive

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