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TGOC HAS WHEELS!
 As strange as that headline may seem, it's true: TGOC has wheels! In late April, the elders of the McLish Avenue Church of Christ in Ardmore, Oklahoma (who oversee all phases of TGOC), recognized the growing need for the work to have access to a reliable van that could be used for a variety of purposes, including carrying TGOC's display to places like lectureships and Gospel meetings, picking up or delivering equipment and supplies required during daily operations, providing transportation for staff members on fund-raising trips, etc.
To that end, the elders sought out and purchased just such a vehicle—a beautiful new 2008 gold Toyota Sienna van. Upon delivery of the van, the elders promptly presented the keys to the GOC staff members, who already have been busy putting the new automobile through its paces. In future months, the van will be seen traveling all over the south and midwest as it takes staff members to various parts of the country for a variety of purposes. The GOC staff would like to publicly say "Thank you!" to the McLish Avenue elders and congregation for their generosity in providing this new vehicle. We are truly grateful to have it.
TGOC ANNOUNCES
TWO MORE LESSONS
IN ITS NEW
TOPICAL SERIES OF LESSONS
We are pleased to announce in this newsletter the availability of two more lessons in our newly revised Topical Series, with James Gravelle as the speaker. In the first of those lessons, "The Gospel of Christ," James begins with Paul's statement in Romans 1:16-17, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek."
James then launches into an examination of certain traits of the Gospel. First, as Paul stated in Galatians 1:8, and as John made clear in Revelation 22:18-19, the Gospel is intended to remain pure and unadulterated. Men do not have the right to add to it, take from it, or alter it in any way, lest they fall under divine condemnation. Second, the Gospel of Christ also was intended to be understandable. As Jesus Himself said, "They who seek shall find" (Mt. 7:8). Third, the Gospel is not a feeble or ineffective thing, but is, according to Paul in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, "mighty in God, for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." Fourth, the Gospel of Christ is so powerful that it and it alone can save us from the ravages of sin, as Paul made clear in Romans 8:1, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."
In his lesson on "Morals in an Immoral World," James begins by asking, "Has God, within His Word, set for us an absolute standard of morality and conduct that is to regulate all phases our lives?" James then makes two extremely pertinent observations: (1) This is a question with which mankind has struggled from the Garden of Eden until this very moment; and (2) Whenever man decides that he has the ability to be his own master—without any divine assistance—tragedy always ensues.
James then investigates human-based morality systems (pragmatism, utilitarianism, epicureanism, et al.), and shows their fallacious nature. Along the way, he notes how men have tried, yet failed, to put in place any successful human standard of morals. If only those people had listened to the inspired prophet Jeremiah who wrote, "O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps" (Jer. 10:23). James' presentation then proceeds to examine biblical morality—which is based in the existence of the true and living God Who is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. As James points out, we as humans need to remember God's words in Colossians 3:17, "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus." That phrase, "in the name of" refers to "by the authority of." Only the Godhead has the right to legislate human morality. And that is exactly what God has done through His inspired Word, which contains "all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Pet. 1:3). We, like King Nebuchadnezzar of old, must eventually come to realize that "the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses" (Dan. 5:2).
Both of these new lessons are now available on our Website, where you will find them in video, audio, and written transcript formats. We invite you to examine them for yourself, and to share them with others.
MORE BIBLE QUIZZES
IN OUR TRUTH SERIES
NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE
In the April 29, 2008 edition of this newsletter, we announced the availability on our Website of the first four Bible quizzes in our newly revised Truth Series. Today we are pleased to announce that we have added another four quizzes to that section of our Website ( www.thegospelofchrist.com/quiz ). We invite you to test your Bible knowledge by taking any or all of these eight quizzes.
TGOC'S NEW
WORD-SEARCH PUZZLES
AND QUIZZES
ON
KINGS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH
In addition to adding four new Bible quizzes to our Website about our Truth Series (see article above), we also have added two new word-search puzzles and two new (for lack of a better phrase) "fun quizzes." The two new word-search puzzles deal with (respectively) the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. The two new Bible quizzes test your knowledge as to whether each of the kings was a "good king" or an "evil king." [Yes, those are the only two possible answers. And yes, that means you automatically have a 50% chance of being right--which is double the odds on regular quizzes that have four possible answers. Surely that ought to pique your interest and make you want to take these new quizzes!] You can find the new word-search puzzles at www.thegospelofchrist.com/quiz/cw.html.
TGOC EXPERIENCES
"MAY MEDIA MANIA!"
We thought that readers of our newsletter might be interested in some "record-breaking events" that took place at our offices during May 2008. First, we received 298 requests (in a single month!) for free media via the media-request form on our Website. In May alone, we sent free media (DVDs and CDs) to 28 different states within the United States, and 3 foreign countries (Canada, Columbia and Russia). So far this year (through May 31), we have sent free media to 40 of the 50 states in America, and to 24 foreign countries (Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Crete, Cuba, Germany, Ghana, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Liberia, Mexico, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Russia, Spain, Uruguay, and Zimbabwe).
But that's not all. In May, our Website received 548,968 page-hits—the highest single-month record in the history of our work!
But that's still not all! In May (yes—a single month!), 195 gigabytes of data were downloaded from TGOC's Website (the previous record for a single month was 186 gigabytes). During the entire year of 2006, 407 gigabytes were downloaded. And last year (2007), the figure stood at 832 gigabytes. Yet, in a single month (May 2008), 195 gigabytes were downloaded. Amazing. Simply amazing.
If you need free media from TGOC, please feel free to use the media-request form on our Website. Also, if you know someone else who could make use of our complimentary media, please tell them about our Website, too, would you? We are very serious about our goal of "taking the whole Gospel to the whole world." Thank you for helping us as we strive to obtain that goal.
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