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The Carpenter

Posted On: Tuesday, May 3, 2011

-- Author Unknown

Once upon a time two brothers who lived on adjoining farms fell into conflict.
It was the first serious rift in 40 years of farming side by side, sharing
machinery, and trading labor and goods as needed without a hitch.

Then the long collaboration fell apart. It began with a small misunderstanding
and it grew into a major difference, and finally it exploded into an exchange of
bitter words followed by weeks of silence.

One morning there was a knock on John's door.

He opened it to find a man with a carpenter's toolbox. "I'm looking for few days
work" he said.

"Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there. Could I help you?"

"Yes," said the older brother. "I do have a job for you. Look across the creek
at that farm. That's my neighbor, in fact, it's my younger brother.

Last week there was a meadow between us and he took his bulldozer to the river
levee and now there is a creek between us.

Well, he may have done this to spite me, but I'll go him one better.

See that pile of lumber curing by the barn? I want you to build me a fence, an
8-foot fence so I won't need to see his place anymore. Cool him down, anyhow.

The carpenter said, "I think I understand the situation. Show me the nails and
the post-hole digger and I'll be able to do a job that pleases you."

The older brother had to go to town for supplies, so he helped the carpenter get
the materials ready and then he was off for the day.

The carpenter worked hard all that day measuring, sawing, nailing. About sunset
when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his job.

The farmer's eyes opened wide, his jaw dropped.

There was no fence there at all. It was a bridge-a bridge stretching from one
side of the creek to the other! A fine piece of work handrails and all; and the
neighbor, his younger brother, was coming across, his hand outstretched.

"You are quite a fellow to build this bridge after all I've said and done."

The two brothers stood at each end of the bridge, and then they met in the
middle, taking each other's hand. They turned to see the carpenter hoist his
toolbox on his shoulder. "No, wait! Stay a few days. I've a lot of other
projects for you," said the older brother.

"I'd love to stay on," the carpenter said, "but, I have many more bridges to
build."

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When You Visit Us

As you park and enter our building, if you come in the front door, you will likely be greeted by the preacher. There will usually be some of us talking and laughing and enjoying one another in the foyer. Our Bible classes begin at 9:30 on Sunday mornings and the worship assembly is at 10:20. Our Sunday evening service is at 6:00 p.m. and we have an hour of Bible Study each Wednesday night at 7:00.

If you have children and need assistance finding their classrooms, we will be very happy to help you. All of our teachers are well prepared and will be very delighted to have visitors in their classes. Our classes last about 40 minutes. There will be a 5-minute bell and then a second bell, which tells us to begin moving on into the auditorium for worship.

We Will Sing a Few Songs Together
After the announcements have been made, our songleader for the day will come to the pulpit and lead us in singing. Perhaps this will be the first time you have ever witnessed or participated in singing in the way we will sing. We will not have any piano, organ, or other musical instruments, but rather will sing in a cappella fashion. We hope you will enjoy this singing. It may seem very strange to you, but there is a distinct reason why we do not use mechanical instruments of music in our worship to God. We will be glad to study that reason further with you, but the simple answer for why we do this is that this is the kind of music that the New Testament authorizes in passages such as Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16.

Some of us sing better than others of us do. We try to emphasize that it is not necessary to have a beautiful singing voice to participate in the singing part of our worship. We are not singing to please the ears of men, but we sincerely believe that God is with us and we know that He is well pleased when we sing with the spirit and understanding (1 Corinthians 14:15). We teach and admonish one another in song (Col 3:16).

We Will Be Led in Prayer
After being led in one or two songs, we will have one of our men come forth and lead the congregation in a prayer to God. When we look into the pattern for the church which is found in the New Testament, we find that the church continued in the apostles doctrine and in prayer (Acts 2:42). Thus, prayer will be an important part of our worship. We truly believe in the importance and power of prayer.

There are many occasions when a member of our congregation will request a special prayer for some person. Sometimes the preacher will lead such prayers before he begins to preach. It is quite often the case that someone not a part of our church will ask one of our members to request that we pray for them in our assembly.

We Will Observe the Lord's Supper
After the prayer we might have another song or two and then we will have some of our men come forward to serve the members of the congregation the Lord's Supper. We do this upon the first day of every week in order to follow the example of the early church (Acts 20:7). Jesus established this "supper" as a memorial feast of His death, burial, and resurrection (Matthew 26:26-28). According to the pattern of the New Testament, the elements which make up this "supper" are unleavened bread and fruit of the vine (grape juice).

As each member of the church takes of this bread and fruit of the vine, his or her mind goes back to the cross to remember the suffering and sacrifice made by our Lord on the cross. Jesus tells us that we are to do this in remembrance of Him (1 Corinthians 11:24). The Apostle Paul teaches us that this memorial feast is to be a time of self-examination (1 Corinthians 11:28). When the men come to your pew, if you are not a member of the Church of Christ, please just pass the trays on down to others.

We Will Give of our Means
While the men are up at the front it is a convenient time to engage in another aspect of our worship together. They will pass around trays into which the members of the church will place checks or cash. We surely do not expect our visitors to feel in any way obligated to give and so, please just pass the trays on to others. In 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 we are taught to give as we have been prospered upon the first day of the week. We are taught several principles in the New Testament about giving, but we are not taught to tithe. That was a part of the Law of Moses, but that law has been nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14). The monies received are used to do the work of the church. Part of these funds are used for that purpose; to pay the utilities for the meeting house; to pay the salary of the preacher, etc.

We Will Have a Period of Bible Study or Preaching
After the singing of some more songs, the preacher will come to the pulpit and present a message from God's word. We sometimes will study passages from the Old Testament because those things were written for our learning and admonition (Rom 15:4; 1 Cor 10:11). Sometimes there will be a study from a New Testament passage. Sometimes we might study a particular topic.

The preaching of God's word is a very serious responsibility. The elders of this congregation use this time of our worship assembly to "feed the flock" (1 Peter 5:1ff). It is their responsibility to be sure that the things that are taught by the preacher and the teachers in the Bible classes are true to the Scriptures.

Following Our Worship
We encourage you to stick around after the worship service is over, so that we might have an opportunity to get to know you better.