Billy Graham: ‘My Heart Aches for...
Transcript of Billy Graham: ‘My Heart Aches for...
February
A Letter from the Pastor
We have just about made it through another winter here in Cincinnati. So far we
have had a mild winter. If you are like me you are looking forward to the sounds,
smells, and life that spring brings.
I ran across this article that I feel is very relevant to what we have been studying in
Wednesday evening Bible Study. Many of you have missed our Wednesday Study on
“The Harbinger” (signs of a coming Judgment). Please take the time to read this article
by Rev. Billy Graham printed July 19, 2012
Billy Graham: ‘My Heart Aches for America’ Some years ago, my wife, Ruth, was reading
the draft of a book I was writing. When she
finished a section describing the terrible
downward spiral of our nation’s moral stan-
dards and the idolatry of worshiping false
gods such as technology and sex, she star-
tled me by exclaiming, “If God doesn’t
punish America, He’ll have to apologize to
Sodom and Gomorrah.”
She was probably thinking of a passage in
Ezekiel where God tells why He brought
those cities to ruin. “Now this was the sin of
… Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not
help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. There-
fore I did away with them as you have seen” (Ezekiel 16:49–50, NIV).
I wonder what Ruth would think of America if she were alive today. In the years since
she made that remark, millions of babies have been aborted and our nation seems largely
unconcerned. Self-centered indulgence, pride, and a lack of shame over sin are now em-
blems of the American lifestyle.
Just a few weeks ago in a prominent city in the South, Christian chaplains who serve the
police department were ordered to no longer mention the Name of Jesus in prayer. It
was reported that during a recent police-sponsored event, the only person allowed to pray
was someone who addressed “the being in the room.” Similar scenarios are now common-
place in towns across America. Our society strives to avoid any possibility of offending
anyone—except God.
Yet the farther we get from God, the more the world spirals out of control.
My heart aches for America and its deceived people. The wonderful news is that our Lord
is a God of mercy, and He responds to repentance. In Jonah’s day, Nineveh was the lone
world superpower—wealthy, unconcerned, and self-centered. When the Prophet Jonah
finally traveled to Nineveh and proclaimed God’s warning, people heard and repented.
(Continued on page 3)
February Birthdays:
Brittni Berkebile
Feb 2
Andrew Smith
Feb 11
Charlotte Smith
Feb 14
Sierra Rollins
Feb 25
February
Anniversaries:
Dave & Stephanie
Bedwell
Feb 4
Ken & Rhonda Cox
Feb 9
Tony & Sharon Parker
Feb 15
Ron & Pat Martin Feb
20
Mt. Carmel New Hope Community Church Newsletter
Our interviewee for February is Matt Evans.
Read below to learn some crazy things about our brother, Matt.
What is your favorite Bible verse?
Matthew, Chapter 6, Verses 33—34
But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness: and all these thing shall be added unto you.
Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.
Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
What is your favorite hobby?
Fishing and hunting ,as well as family vacations.
What fruit or vegetable do you think you resemble? Why?
A mater ( that is what it is called down south) A tomato because it is red and fat like me.
What do you do when you feel sad or depressed?
A lot of times I sit and ponder way too much on the situation or circumstance, feeling frustrated and
anxious and angry. Then I pray and remember to put it in Jesus’ hands because I can’t deal with it
without his presence and knowledge. That is what a best friend is for. I am far from perfect.
What was your first car? How much did it cost?
Mustang V Eight. It cost 1,100. Ran great until the timing belt broke.
What are your strengths?
Being a good honest person
What are your weaknesses?
Not having confidence in myself and talking too much. I can talk a bear out of his honey hole.
Are there any words of wisdom that you would want to pass down to future generations?
Don’t let life pass you by. Sometimes you have to stop and smell the roses or take pictures or whatever. Keep Jesus first. Are you
ready for heaven? Do your best and at the end of the day forget about it.
Where did you meet your wife? What year did you get married?
I met Bobbie Jo by nothing short of a miracle. My grandma got sick and her mother was my grandma’s in home
nurse and Jeanette asked, “ Would you like to meet my daughter?’ When I met Bobby Jo, I saw not only how
beautiful she was, but her personality as well. The rest is history. I know He sent me one of his angels because I
spent a lot of years by myself and being the third wheel or odd man without a girlfriend. We got married August
28, 1999 one of the best days of my life.
Does one of the socks you have on right now have a hole in it?
No! Comfortable socks are hard to come by these days.
So Matt, if your socks don’t have any holes in them, how did you put your foot through them? LOL
Last words?
Love to all at New Hope. Glory to His holy name. It’s great to be saved!
This Valentine’s Day
Romans
12:9 Let love be without
dissimula-tion. Ab-hor that which is
evil, cleave to that which is good.
Mark 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy-self. There is none other commandment greater than these.
Ephesians 4:2
With all lowliness and meekness with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love;
1 Peter 4:8 And above all things have fer-vent charity among yourselves for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
1 Corinthians 13: 4—8 Charity suffers long, and is kind; charity envies not; charity vaunts not itself, is not puffed up, Does not behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil; Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Charity never fails: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall van-ish away.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that who-soever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 1 John 4:7
Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
(Continued from page 1) I believe the same thing can happen once again, this time in our nation. It’s something I
long for, and my son Franklin recently shared a vision for perhaps the greatest challenge in the history of the Billy
Graham Evangelistic Association—to launch an outreach called My Hope with Billy Graham that would bring the
Gospel into neighborhoods and homes in every corner of America next year. BGEA has already taken My Hope to
more than 50 nations. We’ve worked in close partnership with local churches across each country, and those
churches have reported millions of life-changing decisions for Christ. Carrying out a nationwide American version of
this evangelistic outreach will be an enormous undertaking, but in my spirit I know God has called us to do this, and
I pray He will stir your heart to join us in prayer and support.
Franklin will share more about the project with you as the planning develops. In the meantime, all this year Franklin
and his son Will are preaching “repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21, ESV) at Cru-
sade events across North America—from Texas to Canada—and God has blessed the work. Already tens of thousands
have heard the Gospel, and many have responded, especially young people.
Ss I write, I am in the middle of a busy summer enjoying visits with many of my grandchildren and other family mem-
bers, but also working hard on a new book that addresses some dangerous illusions about eternal salvation that are
becoming increasingly accepted in many places. I want to point the world to what the Bible says.
Although age and health restrict my mobility and my stamina, not to mention my eyesight and hearing, I am thankful
for the days God has given me, and I am humbled by His continued hand of favor BGEA’s various evangelistic minis-
tries, and I am so deeply grateful. May God bless you, Billy Graham
Bulletin Board
Friday, February 13 & 27, 2015
@7:00 pm in the Fellowship Room
“Women Working Together”
An outreach ministry to help women
with life’s daily challenges through music,
prayer, studying God’s Word.
See Nadine Siegel
for more info
Tuesday, February 17
@ 6:30 pm
Women’s Joy Ministry
Meet in the Fellowship Hall
See Pat Martin or
Rochelle
MeConkey
for info
March 13 @ 7:00 pm
Leader Carol Pelfrey
More info will be in the
weekly Bulletin
Men’s Prayer Breakfast
March 7 @ 9 am
Invite a friend and come
and enjoy the discussions
Adult Class Every Wednesday @ 7 pm in the fellow-
ship Hall “The Harbinger” A study about signs of a
coming judgment and Biblical prophecies of the end
times.
Seeking OOOOut SSSSouls
January was a GREAT month for the SOS Youth Group.
January 25, the last Sunday of the month, SOS stayed at the church for lunch. We spent the day hanging out, having fun and practicing songs for the evening service. Sunday evening the youth took part in the service and sang a special song for the service. Afterward, they provided snacks, yummy pulled pork sandwiches, for everyone.
Saturday night, January 31, SOS had a lock-in at the church. We ate pizza, popcorn and ice cream and had an awesome time playing Upset the Fruit Basket, Balloon Volleyball and a host of great games.
New Hope is blessed to have a great group of teens. God is helping! Some of the group went forward to pray in our Wednesday night class and, of course, that’s what it’s all about. Keep the teens in your daily prayers. We encourage all teens to join us Wednesday nights at 7:00 and the last Sunday of each month for lunch together and evening youth service.
Check the bulletin for an update of events we are planning each month.
Thanks to Pat Martin, Char Smith, Sharon Parker and Betty Silver for providing sweets for our lunch and lock in. The teens need sponsors for our events in February and March. If you are interested in sponsoring one or more events, contact Rhonda at 304-1910.
Page 6
Opportunity Knocking......
Beginning 2-23-2015 Curt Ward and Betty Silver will be hosting a new 6 week
Bible study on Monday evenings beginning at 7:00 P.M. We will actually be using
a Bible and plan on exploring what it says about who God is, the finished work of
His Son and the ministry of Holy Spirit. We hope you block out this time and
grow in the Lord with us.... Betty Silver
2-23.....Who is the God of the Bible
3-2.......Who is God/ Introduce the person of Yeshua Messiah....Jesus
3-9.......Who is the Holy Spirit
3-16.....Function of the Holy Spirit
3-23.....Jesus ministry
3-30.....Holy week …..seeing Jesus in the symbolism???
~Sign-up in the church foyer~
S.O.S Youth group. Join us
every Wednesday @ 7 pm
ADULTS NIGHT OUT/ IN
February 6 we had a great evening of food, fun, and games in the fellow-
ship hall. We had 25 Adults who attended. Thanks Carol & Jeff for
such an exciting evening. There was a contest for the craziest hat. See
the pictures below, they will tell you the events of the evening. You do
not want to miss the next Adults Night out scheduled for March 13.
More info will be in the weekly bulletin.
Prayer Requests
If you have a prayer Request call
NHCC Prayer Chain:
Dorothy Dunn
688-0955
If you would like to
be on the Mt.
Carmel New Hope Community
Church Prayer Chain, please sign up
in the foyer.
New Hope Community Church
Weekly Schedule
Sundays:
Prayer for Morning Service 10:05am
Junior Church 10:30am
Morning Worship 10:30 am
Evening Worship 6:00 pm
Wednesdays:
Adult Bible Study 7:00 pm
Teens SOS 7:00 pm
A Place Where You and Your Family Will Feel At Home!
4170 Mt. Carmel Tobasco Rd
Cincinnati, OH 45255
Ph# 513-528.2380
www.mtcarmelnewhope.com