Keeping Cool Without Compromise
Joe Slater
	Officially, summer begins in a few days; but the heat has been with us awhile! Traditionally, as the heat wears on, the clothes come off. This is appropriate to a certain extent; after all, who would wear insulated coveralls on the fourth of July? We ought to recognize, however, that passages like 1 Timothy 2:9 have not been suspended for the summer.
	“In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation . . .” (1 Timothy 2:9). Endless debate has ensued over precisely what constitutes modesty, and why Paul specified women rather than including both sexes. I am not naive enough to think I can settle the argument to everyone’s satisfaction, but an honest look at the Scriptures will help.
	“Modest” apparel means decent, honorable, and dignified clothing. It’s meaning is accented by the word “propriety” which follows it. The American Standard Version accurately translates propriety as “shamefastness.” The idea is not that she is ashamed of her body, but rather that her sense of shame holds her fast from dressing indecently. Wouldn’t all of us blush at appearing in public dressed only in undergarments? How much difference is there between that and a swim suit? Where is our modesty and propriety?
	As to the passage being addressed to women, surely it is no secret that men are more visually-oriented than women are. That’s not a slam against either sex; it’s simply a fact. Why do you think advertisers use so many scantily-clad young women on TV and in print? Why do you think Jesus warned men against looking lustfully at women (Matthew 5:28)? Paul wasn’t picking on women, nor did he say it was OK for men to dress immodestly. He simply emphasized the danger of women doing so.
	Current anti-male feminist dogma would have us believe that all men are filthy-minded Neanderthals who will think evil things about women no matter how they dress. In the first place, that is an inaccurate and unfair stereotype. In the second place, even if it were true, it would not justify immodest dress. That would be like saying, “This gasoline is volatile and will probably explode anyway, so I’ll sit here and play with matches!”
	You can stay cool this summer without compromising God’s word. Whether you are a man or a woman, remember to dress modestly!
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Congregational Vote
	Please sign your name:
	“I, ____________________, recommend that the church should quit having Sunday morning Bible classes and mid-week Bible classes, and Sunday evening worship services. They are not important, so I do not attend – and, given the opportunity, I will speak out against others attending.”
	You mean you won’t sign this vote? That’s ok! Actions speak louder than words anyway. Deliberate absence is a vote to close the doors of the church building to these studies and services.
	Think about it!
		-- via Bulletin Digest
Jesus has Left the Building
	After Elvis finished performing at a concert, his fans would be left cheering & hoping he would come back on stage to sing another song. Then the P.A. announcer would make the statement; “Elvis has left the building.” That was the cue to the fans that the concert was over and it was time to leave.
	Well, if I may use that phrase as a jumping-off point, I think the church needs to realize that “Jesus has left the building.” This leaves us with a decision to make. Will we stay huddled in the building, practicing a very limited-in-scope form of Christianity? Or will we leave the building too, and follow Jesus?
	Friends, Jesus has left the building, and He wants His church to follow Him and leave the building too. Our assemblies of worship and study are wonderful, and Jesus joins us in them. However, Jesus doesn’t stay in an empty building all week long, just waiting for the next worship service. Likewise, the church needs to assemble, but it also needs to follow Jesus and “leave the building.”
	When Sunday is over, let’s leave the building. Throughout the week let’s engage society, challenge culture, call men to holiness, be lights in the workplace and at school, and point people to Jesus.
     --Steve Higginbotham (adapted; via MercEmail)