Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins

Memorials It is understandable that memorials are a necessity for man. The challenges of today are often tomorrow’s forgotten lessons. Today’s problems easily overwhelm our minds, leaving little or no place for remembering the pain or pleasure of last year. We need memorials. When Joshua led Israel across the Jordan River into the land that would fulfill God’s promise to Abraham and other patriarchs, they needed a memorial. You might think that such a momentous occasion would not require a memorial. How could they possibly forget that day? But God’s instructions for Joshua eventuated in two memorials, one where they crossed the river, the other in Gilgal as a reminder of God’s help and the fulfillment of God’s promises. One man from each tribe carried a single stone that was then placed as a reminder of that great event. Hear Joshua’s words: “And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever.” “What mean these stones?” Children do ask such questions, don’t they. Our children wrote their names on the trunk of a dead tree in Colorado years ago. When they found their names there a year later, they had a “memorial” to remember that time together. Our nation has many memorials. Statues, buildings, street names, schools, plaques, airports, flags— they are our modern way of remembering and giving honor to those to whom honor is due. Some events deserve to be remembered, and should be remembered. Many of America’s memorials took years to build. The World War II Memorial has not even begun, though that war ended nearly sixty years ago. Plans are in motion now to build a memorial to those who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks that occurred last year. The events and the acts of selflessness certainly deserve to be remembered and respected. It appears that man has a need for reminders of things important and sacred. And so, we build memorials. Studying our Bibles will remind us of many people and things we would be wise to remember: Ezekiel spoke often of calling to remembrance Israel’s “iniquity” (see 21:23-24, 23:19-21, 29:16). Malachi, in the midst of Israel’s rebellion, writes of a “book of remembrance” in the hands of God concerning “them that feared the Lord,” 3:15-16. Jesus spoke by means of promise to His apostles that the Holy Spirit would “bring to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you,” John 14:26. By Peter’s words, God reminds us of Cornelius, “a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house,” that his prayers were “heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God,” Acts 10:1-31. Paul wrote to Timothy of false teachers who would arise, then tells him how he can be a positive influence. He encouraged him by saying: “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine,” 1 Timothy 4:6. Paul complimented the Philippians, saying “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,” Philippians 1:3. Peter said the way to keep Christians pure is to “stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance,” 2 Peter 3:1. Acts 20:35 says we “ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive,” Acts 20:35. Instructions concerning the Lord’s Supper remind us, “And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me,” 1 Corinthians 11:24-25. Many things need to be forgotten, but God’s memorials deserve our remembrance. Carl B. Garner

“Memory is the cabinet of imagination, the treasury of reason, the registry of conscience, and the council chamber of thought.” Basil “Those who will not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana “A retentive memory is a good thing, but the ability to forget is the true token of greatness.” Elbert Hubbard “Every man’s memory is his private literature.” Aldous Huxley

MUST WOMEN "KEEP SILENCE IN THE CHURCH"? by Wayne Jackson Bible Question: The term "silence" in 1 Corinthians 14:34 is often misunderstood and misapplied. Must a woman keep "silent" in the church? Bible Answer: A number of years ago, a faction arose within the church which argued that it is sinful for women to teach the Bible to children in the class arrangement when the church comes together. This practice, they alleged, violates Paul’s instruction for women to “keep silence” in the churches (1 Cor. 14:34). Some of our old debaters responded to this argument in this fashion. They contended that the Greek word sigao (“keep silence”) demanded absolute silence – not a sound. Since such a prohibition would be inconsistent with injunctions regarding regular meetings of the church, e.g., singing, they reasoned that 1 Corinthians 14:34 did not pertain to normal church meetings, hence, this context must not be applicable in our time. By such reasoning they felt they avoided a conflict with 1 Corinthians 14:34. Some today are making this same argument – but with a different purpose. They want an expanded role for the woman in the assembly. But they, likewise, see 1 Corinthians 14:34 as an obstacle; hence, the context is again dismissed as irrelevant. The argument was unsound in the past (regardless of the respectable names associated with it) and it is equally erroneous today. The entire case hinges upon the meaning of the Greek verb sigao. This word never did demand an absolute, unqualified silence. Rather, the nature of the silence is determined by the context. The verb sigao is found infrequently in the Bible – some 19 times in the Greek Old Testament, and less than a dozen times in the New Testament. A careful examination of the term reveals that the context identifies the nature of the “silence” under consideration. For instance, when the Israelites, pursued by the Egyptians, arrived at the Red Sea, they were terrified; they complained of their plight to Moses. He told them that Jehovah would fight for them; they thus were to “hold [their] peace,” i.e., be silent (Ex. 14:14). That obviously did not mean that they were forbidden to speak at all; rather, they were to cease their faithless whimpering. When David described certain hardships – as he “kept silence” (Psa. 32:3) – he was not speaking of general silence, but silence regarding his sin. After the disciples witnessed the transfiguration scene, they “held their peace,” i.e., remained silent (Lk. 9:36). That does not mean they did not talk at all. Rather, they did not discuss with others what they had seen on the mountain. Now to 1 Corinthians 14. The verb sigao is used three times in this chapter. One who has the gift of tongues is to keep silence if he has no interpreter to use with his alien audience (:28). If a brother is speaking, and another receives a more current revelation, the former is to keep silence (:30). Finally, women are to keep silence (:34). The first two prohibitions demand silence only in the matters being discussed. They do not forbid these men to otherwise speak consistent with their divine obligations. The final command of silence does not demand that a woman be absolutely silent at church. Rather, in harmony with what the apostle taught elsewhere (1 Tim. 2:12), the woman is not to speak or teach in any way that violates her gender role. She is not to occupy the position of a public teacher in such a capacity as to stand before the church and function as the teacher (or co-teacher) of the group. In assuming this official capacity, she has stepped beyond her authorized sphere, and she violates scripture. Thus, mark “silence” in :34. Draw arrows back to verses 28, 30, and note: Silence not absolute, but qualified by context.