Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
Page 23
Page 24
17DECEMBER 2015BODY OF CHRIST NEWS Paul Wilbur Stewart Sr. 121925 112015 Paul Wilbur Stewart Sr. was born on December 18 1925 in Clinton Iowa the son of Martha and Eugene Stewart. The Stewarts were one of the few black families in this predomi- nantly white area and also one of the few who had a thriving business during that time. Paul joined the Navy after high school attain- ing the rank of Seaman First Class. He then trained to be a barber earning a certificate from Moler Barber College in 1947. For more than a decade Paul earned his living as a barber in Illinois Wisconsin New York and eventually Colorado. In the early 1960s Paul traveled to Denver to visit his cousin Earl Mann the first black Legislator of Colorado. This visit would change the course of his life as he realized that black people had been left out of the history books of the West and he set out to correct this omission. Paul then moved to Denver and opened a bar- bershop where he would begin his research on African Americans in the West. Pauls knowledge became so vast he began to be invited all over the country to lecture about black western history at schools libraries churches and universities. He also shared his wisdom on Good Morning America and the Today Show on several occasions. Over the years Paul received numer- ous awards and accolades from many prestigious organizations including the Smithsonian. He also received a Proclamation of Paul Stewarts Day on his 89th birthday December 18 2014 by the Governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper and the Mayor of Denver Michael Hancock. Paul was an avid Christian and his devotion to Jesus was steadfast. He was a member of Shorter AME from 1963 to 1986 and he was also a mem- ber of Rising Star Missionary Baptist for five years. His infectious smile strong pres- ence in the community and of course his cowboy handshake will be sorely missed. He now walks with God which was his last wish. Paul Wilbur Stewart Sr. departed this life to the embrace of the Lord on November 12 2015 in Denver Colorado. Those left to cherish his memory and mourn his loss include his loving and devoted wife Johnnie Mae Stewart of Aurora four sons Paul W. Stewart Jr. of Chicago IL Mark Q. Stewart Earl J. Stewart both of Denver and Edward LaVan Davis of Los Angeles CA three daughters Leticia Stewart of Dallas TX Tracy L. Stewart and Linda Kevin Reynolds all of Denver a niece 7 granchildren and a host of cousins other relatives and many friends. Praise God Thank You Jesus Paul is Home. Paul Stewart Sr. OBITUARY Black Churches Under Fire For Stance On Homosexuality As a minster of Gods Word I am in a state of shock from the statements made by preachers in the liberal church mainly those who are in support with andor are directly involved in the GLBT com- munity. Now before I continue in my thought let me say my purpose is in no form of way to pass judg- ment on or condemn any individual who is held in bondage by any sin. Children of God sin is sin and it must be exposed and cast out of the body of Christ. The other day I watched a special on VH1 titled Out in Hip Hop. The program was put together as a so called informative awareness to the GLBT com- munity inside of the hip hop culture which turned out to be an outright assault on any person that disagrees with their lifestyle not only in hip hop but in every cultural community as a whole. The GLBT is stating that we are wrong because the morality that we live by as well as the black church is sup- pose to be preaching the Word of God out of context. They say we preach a theologically erroneous gospel keeping men and women from experiencing the full- ness of God. These statements were made by other so called black preachers that were homosexual and represented the liberal church. I must ask are we wrong for preaching the Word of God in its fullness I think not. Are we wrong for telling people that their actions are considered sin according to the scriptures God forbid. Lastly are we wrong for using the Word of God to correct what churches are preaching and teaching when it comes to be directly out of line with the Word of God 2 Timothy 316-17 tells us what the scriptures are to be used for who inspired the scriptures and the effect it will have on the person who hears the Word as well as Hebrews 412. To those who are not aware let me tell you the Word of God as a whole will be offensive to the unsaved as well as the saved. Not only because its disrespect or its lack of sensi- tivity to the dark but also because once he Light of God uncovers things hidden deep inside one will go through the crucifying pain of the cross which will lead to true liberation as well as complete freedom in Christ. Here are some of the statements that were made which lead to this response. I will deal with them one by one later on. One preacher said that Nowhere in the Bible does it say homosexuality is an abomina- tion to God. Another statement made was one that I hear often God made me this way and thats how Im meant to be. Lastly a female made this very sad statement that we the black church are killing our people through spiritual violence by the message that we preach. I am just wondering what transla- tion of the Bible they are reading. The Old and New Testaments do not agree in any way with the state- ments they made. So what does the Bible say Instead of going into my own views Im going to take us to the Word of God. For let the Word of God bear witness to the message that we preach. For let God be true and every man be a liar. Lets take a look at Leviticus 1822 You shall not lie with man as with a woman. It is an abomination NKJV. In the NIV it is trans- lated detestable which comes from the same root word in Hebrew. Now keep in mind Chapter 18 is explaining to us the sexual acts that should not be committed among Gods people. In fact everything listed there was considered unlawful. Ok for the sake of those who say minister we are not under the law that was for that time Let me point you to the New Testament outlook on the matter. Starting here in I Corinthians 69-10 the Word states Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor homosexuals nor sodomites nor thieves nor covet- ous nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners will inherit the Kingdom of God. Galatians 519-21 also states what are deeds of the sinful nature which ends in this warning I warn you as I did before that those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God NIV. As we look at the parallel in the Old and New Testaments there is no way that we can deny what the Bible says about the subject matter. To deny one would be to deny all lets take heed. To say that it is only by force that we commit any sexual sin is completely wrong and cannot be found in any context to fit the idea. Any sexual sin is wrong no matter what it is. Now lets talk creation and how we were created. Furthermore to deal with the issue Did God cre- ate man or woman to have a deep attraction for the same sex We are created in the image of God and I agree with that greatly Genesis 126. Yet he created man and woman so that we may reproduce and fill the earth Genesis 128. The question then is if the intended design was man for woman and woman for man where do these desires from for this deep lust of same sex Lets take a look. We must start at the fall of man when sin entered the world. In Genesis Chapter 3 we find the story of when do to freewill God gave Adam and Eve allow Satan to deceive them into all manner of corruption. Ever since then the seed of man has been cursed and has been subject to all evil. So now that we have a foundation lets dig a little deeper into the matter. According to David he declares in Psalms 515 Behold I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me. This may be hard for some people to eat but David is telling us that even in conception we were not born with the mind of God but with the mind of this world and the fact that we are Gods creation God can say to us as He said to Moses in Exodus 411 who has made mans mouth Who makes the mute the deaf the seeing or the blind Have not I the Lord Let me submit this to you God did create you and even though we all have disconnected with Him because of our sinful nature His purpose is to deliver us from it all that He may be glorified through the transformation that only He can bring through the Blood of Christ. There must be a switch from the natural to the supernatural from the carnal to the spiritual. Paul says in Romans 86-8 For to be carnally minded is death but to be spiritually minded is life and peace because the carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God nor indeed can it be. So then those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Verse 9 goes on to say but you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if indeed the Spirit dwells in you. There has to be a switch and the way for this switch to happen Jesus tells us in John 3 is that you must be born of water and of the Spirit. Even though you were born of man we must be born of God. For only then can we overcome the deeds of the flesh because in man there is nothing good. Paul words in Romans 12 has to spark something in us as it reads in verse 2 do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and accept- able and perfect Will of God. That means that we have to let go of our old thinking and deeds and put on the mind of Christ that we may over- come and work out the salvation that is in us. That we may no longer walk in the ways of our flesh but by the power of the Blood walk in the newness of life. Our lifestyles have to match our God not the other way around. The pattern of this world is what makes us content in sins. Its what tells us that we are fine the way we are and that we do not need to change. Its the falsehood of the Prince of the Air. The last subject I will touch on is the spiritual violence. Yes this is spiritual warfare and the carnal mind would not understand the depth of this battle. The church is under attack in a vicious way not only the church but anybody seeking a life after God. Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force. Paul tells us we fight not against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against rulers of the darkness of this age against spiritual host of wick- edness in the places so our fight is not against the GLBT community nor is it with those backing their movement. Our fight is far beyond that and to over- come we must listen to the instructions of Christ and turn to much fasting and praying. That is the only way to move this mountain in faith. Remember our God is bigger and stronger we cannot just sing it we must believe it as well. As I close this out let me submit this even though homosexuality is a hot topic let us not forsake con- fronting sin as a whole. Sin is sin no matter how big or small. God has not called us to hate but to love let us continue to love everyone as we continue to show the world the truth in Gods Word. Stand firm in the faith and know that God is faithful. God Bless. SCRIPTURE By Minister Isaac C. McCoy Isaac C. McCoy