The Anabaptist Voice 08

       We pray you are covered by the grace and love of our Heavenly Father. The weather here has been hot these days, around 100 degrees. One afternoon Don saw some clouds in the far east side of the sky, and he asked the Lord to bring the rain our way. An hour or so later Michi heard the rain while she was playing music on the keyboard. It sounded better than the sound of the keyboard. The sound of rain was wonderful music, and so we listened to the gift of God.
       After the rain, although it did not last long, the temperature went down from 100 degrees to 75 degrees within an hour. After the rain stopped the temperature slowly went back up to 85. Thank you, Lord.
       Naomi had an appointment on Thursday with a new neurologist doctor. He increased her medication, and Naomi got very sick the next two days from the increased medication. She slept several hours each day and while she was awake, she had difficulty talking and needed to use the wheelchair because she was dizzy. We are now very carefully watching how much medicine is the best amount for her to take. Naomi is doing OK now. Thank you, Lord. On Sunday, we decided not to go to the Baptist church because of Naomi and so we had church at home. (See attached service notes.)
       Our friend Eulaine Turner called and told us that their house got hit by lightning and caught on fire. What a shock! So we went over to see them for a few minutes. Here is a photo of their house.
       And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)
       The Turners live on the other side of the Saguaro National Park so we had an interesting drive there and back. Here are a couple photos of the drive through the Park.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you. (2 Cor 13:14)

Your brother and sisters in Christ,

Don, Michi & Naomi Murphy
Tucson, AZ, phone 520-297-1639
www.AnabaptistChurch.org

Jesus said, “People will know that you are my disciples by your love for one another.” (John 13:35)

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Our Sunday Service
9 am, 08/09/2009

Songs: #46 Halelu Halelujah, Glory to the Lord, #80 I will Bless Thee, O Lord, #38 From Glory to Glory, #130 O Lord, let Sin nor Guilt (by Peter Riedemann) (All songs are from Our Songbook.)

Introduction: John 15:1-14 Remain in Jesus

     Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
     “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
   “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.”

Hutterite Preface No. 18

     Concerning how we must follow Jesus obediently in order to become His disciples. (See the complete 7 page text in Hutterite Preface Volume 1.)

Sermon: The Shepherd of Hermas (written in the 2^nd century and was widely read in the early Christian Church of the second and third centuries. See the complete 24 page text on the Internet at www.AnabaptistChurch.org/Shepherd_of_Hermas.htm.)

The Shepherd [the Lord Jesus] appeared to Hermas and gave him twelve commands to help us live a holy life.

First Command: Believe in God as the Creator of all things, fear Him and obey His commands.

Second Command: Keep simplicity and be guileless and you shall be as little children that do not know the wickedness that destroys the life of men. Do good works and give freely to all in need.

Third Command: Love truth and let nothing but truth proceed out of your mouth, that the spirit which God made to dwell in you, may be found true in the sight of all men; and thus shall the Lord, Who dwells in you, be glorified.

Fourth Command: Keep pure and do not allow impure thoughts enter into your heart. Preserve purity and holiness therefore, and you shall live unto God.

Fifth Command: Be patient and understanding and you shall have mastery over evil deeds, and shall work all righteousness.

Sixth Command: The spirit of righteousness is sensitive, tender, modest, gentle and tranquil. When this spirit stirs in your heart, he puts thoughts into your mind of righteousness, of purity, of holiness, and of contentment, of righteous deeds and of glorious virtues.
     Now see the works of the spirit of wickedness also. First of all, he is quick tempered and bitter and senseless, and his works are evil, tearing down the servants of God. Whenever then he stirs your heart, know him by his works.

Seventh Command: Fear the Lord and keep His commandments. So keeping the commandments of God you shall be powerful in every deed, and your works shall be great. For while you fear the Lord, you shall do all things well in His sight. This is the fear that you must have in order to be saved.

Eighth Command: Be self-controlled regarding evil, and do it not; but be not temperate as to what is good, but do it. For if you are temperate in what is good, so as not to do it, you commit a great sin; but if you are self-controlled regarding evil, so as not to do it, you do great righteousness. Be self-controlled therefore in abstaining from all wickedness, and do that which is good.

Ninth Command: Tear doubt out of your heart! Never allow doubt to hinder you from praying to God. For you may say within yourself, 'How can I ask anything of the Lord and receive it, seeing that I have committed so many sins against Him?' Never think this way. Instead turn to the Lord with your whole heart, and ask of Him without wavering, and you shall know His exceeding compassion, that He will surely not abandon you, but will fulfill the desires of your soul.

Tenth Command: Rid yourself of sadness for it is the sister of doubtful mindedness and of an angry temper. Put away therefore from yourself sadness, and afflict not the Holy Spirit that dwells in you, lest He intercedes with God against you, and departs from you. For the Spirit of God, that was given unto this flesh, does not endure sadness nor distress.

Therefore clothe yourself in cheerfulness, which has favor with God always, and is acceptable to Him, and rejoice in it. For every cheerful man does good works, has good thoughts, and despises sadness; but the sad man is always committing sin.

Eleventh Command: Listen so that you can recognize the true prophet and the false prophet. It is by his lifestyle you can tell which man has the divine Spirit. For, in the first place, he that has the divine Spirit, which is from above, is gentle and tranquil and humble minded, and abstains from all wickedness and vain desires of this present world, and holds himself inferior to all men.

Twelfth Command: Rid yourself of all evil desire, and clothe yourself in the desire which is good and holy; for clothed with this desire you shall hate the evil desire, and shall bridle and direct it as you will. For the evil desire is wild, and only tamed with difficulty; for it is terrible, and by its wildness is very costly to men; more especially if a servant of God gets entangled in it, and has no understanding, he pays a fearful cost on account of it. But it is only costly to such men as are not clothed in the good desire, but are mixed up with this life. These men then it hands over to death.

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