Author Archives: cgispringfield

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About cgispringfield

The Church of God, International in Springfield, Missouri is a Sabbath keeping congregation.

Mother’s Day

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by Mike James

One of the many criticisms “the world” has about Christianity is that it keeps women down or does not allow women to reach their full potential. Some of the reasons for this may be due to the fact some Christians and Christian groups emphasize male leadership. The Bible mentions the lead role of a man in marriage. God is referred to as “the Father,” and I could go on with other examples.

Despite all this, the Bible makes it clear that God’s image is made up of both male and female (Genesis 1:27). Let’s not forget this physical life is not what it is all about. God has primary roles for both men and women in this world. But that does not diminish women or make them less than men. Galatians 3:28 makes it clear that in the coming Kingdom, there is neither male nor female. In other words, the physical limitations we live in will be overcome in the spiritual kingdom we are preparing for.

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Empty the Pews

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by Mike James

I recently read a book titled Empty the Pews, which contains twenty-one essays by people who left hardline, authoritarian Christian groups. As the numbers for Church of God and other Christian groups continue to decline, I think it is important to see if we can find anything in these stories that may help us keep our young people. According to one estimate, 40 percent of people under 30 in the United States are religiously unaffiliated.

The editors of the book, Chrissy Stroop and Lauren O’Neal, cite a number of reasons as to why many young people are leaving right-wing Christianity: shame, repression, hypocrisy, and that many of the church’s teachings didn’t make sense. Let’s take a closer look at some details in the essays of this book and see what we can learn about not turning away our young people.

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What does the Holy Spirit provide to us?

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by Mike James

We are probably all aware that when we are baptized, we have hands laid on us, and prayer is provided to imbue the Holy Spirit within us. God’s Spirit in us then helps us understand that we are God’s children (Romans 8:16). The hope is this will lead to our eventual transformation into a Spirit being when Christ returns (1 Corinthians 15).

How do we use the Holy Spirit? What is the Holy Spirit.

During the most recent Feast of Tabernacles, a question was posed to our panel of elders during a Bible study in Ohio. The question was about the Holy Spirit. The questioner understood that the Holy Spirit is God in us (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19), but they wanted to know what else we get from the Holy Spirit.

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Registration for Feast and Meals for Branson Feast

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We now have a new web page – “Feast and Meal Registration” for the Branson, Missouri Feast Site.  Please take the time to fill out the Feast Registration and Meal Registration because it helps us plan the count for the First Holy Day Meal and Picnic during the Feast and since CGI is paying for the meals, we don’t want to reserve too many meals, but we also don’t want to come up short.

Registration for the meals is necessary because we have to let them know 14 days in advance of each meal a firm number in order for them to prepare the meals. Failure to not help us by failing to register for the meal will make it impossible to purchase the proper number of meals.

Photo by Public Domain Pictures on Pexels.com

We are still working out the details for the meals. When the menus become available you can find the First Day Meal menu, Picnic menu for the meals listed in the Feast Updates post page under FOT Branson.

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Be Prepared

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by Jeff Reed

Jesus gave an engaging parable concerning the nature of the Kingdom of God in the life of His followers. Jesus tells a story about five foolish and five wise virgins.

“For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you’” (Matthew 25:3-12, ESV).

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