I’ll never forget the first sermon I preached: “Jesus Is Love,” just before I was ordained a Methodist preacher in the AME Zion Conference. I never imagined that the thoughts expressed in that lesson would become an important reality in my life. Some of the thoughts used to substantiate that Jesus is love were “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his\u00a0 friends<\/em>” (John 15:13). I wanted to be a friend to Jesus, so I knew I must do whatever He commanded me (John 15:4). Also, “He left the ninety and nine to find me the one<\/em>.”<\/p>\n I had become very studious while preaching in the Methodist Church, to the point where I saw areas in which the Methodist Church was out of harmony with the word of God. As I began to voice these observations, I was inevitably brought into contention with the conference’s leaders. Eventually, this would have led to excommunication from the Conference. I never believed in conferences nor thought highly of the denominational concept. I had made it a point to inform the people there that the Bible speaks of one church God is concerned with.<\/p>\n I left the Methodists to join the efforts of a Baptist preacher to return to New Testament Christianity. The idea was a good one-except that what the congregation practiced and the preacher advocated was not New Testament Christianity. At this point, I knew I was lost and had become discouraged.<\/p>\n Not long after my disappointment with the Baptists and an association with the world again<\/strong>, I was reading the personals section of the newspaper, which I hardly ever read. In it, I saw an ad for Bible Moments, a recorded Bible message. Without delay, I called. The message was uplifting and scriptural. I asked a question, which was answered the next day. The answer was impressively a biblical one. I still had some things that needed to be answered, but I wanted to speak to the “voice<\/strong>” directly. He called me back and soon after had set up a personal study. After our study I was impressed with the man’s ability and the simplicity of the word of God.<\/p>\n A couple of weeks later, I submitted to the Gospel of Jesus in Fairlawn, N.J., in September of 1986 and became a new creature in Christ. After being added to the Lord’s body, I sought to join the disciples meeting in Fairlawn. The love, truth, and spirit expressed there gave every indication of being the Lord’s people. One thing that really impressed me was how knowledgeable and studious everyone was. This aided in my growth. I was hungry and thirsty, but the Lord kept His promise (Matthew 5:6).<\/p>\n I am truly thankful to God for men like Dale Smelser, who showed much patience in leading me to God’s word for my many questions. I am also thankful for the saints in Fairlawn for being lights and exemplifying Christ in their lives, leaving me with a good example to follow. I am also thankful for saints everywhere who touched my life with edification, instruction, and encouragement.<\/p>\n The Gospel of Jesus is the power of God to save (Romans 1:16); it’s good to know that there are zealous men and women who have armed themselves with this power to do the Lord’s bidding. As Dale and others have labored and are laboring to proclaim God’s power, I, too, join in those efforts to find those who, like myself, are hungry and thirsting for God’s righteousness.<\/p>\n Those who truly appreciate the Lord’s efforts in finding them need to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called them out of darkness into the marvelous light (I Peter 2:9).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Charles N. Spence, Jr. via\u00a0Sentry Magazine, Vol. 16 No. 3, September 30, 1990 I’ll never forget the first sermon I preached: “Jesus Is Love,” just before I was ordained a Methodist preacher in the AME Zion Conference. I never imagined that the thoughts expressed in that lesson would become an important reality in my…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[99,390],"class_list":["post-86033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-becoming-a-christian","tag-conversion"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":83910,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-i-left-the-methodist-church-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":86033,"position":0},"title":"Why I Left the Methodist Church (Jackson)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 31, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Robert Jackson I became a member of the Methodist church in Charlotte, Tennessee, at the age of twelve. This was the result of being brought up in a Methodist family. I was taught that one should believe in Christ and then join the church of his choice, and his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17980,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-church-in-1492\/","url_meta":{"origin":86033,"position":1},"title":"The Church in 1492","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 7, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Kent Heaton The world of 1492 was very small. Men knew very little about the earth as we know it today. Christopher Columbus sailed this important year with a crew of 87 to discover a new world. His adventure literally changed the face of the world and man came\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/Columbus.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":25288,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-you-help-me-understand-more-about-the-free-methodist-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":86033,"position":2},"title":"Can you help me understand more about the Free Methodist Church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 16, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Can you help me understand more about the Free Methodist Church? Is it a charismatic church? I know of a church that has been praised for all the good it does in the community and the world. Does it teach faith only? Does it teach that baptism is a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5200,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-holiness-movement\/","url_meta":{"origin":86033,"position":3},"title":"The Holiness Movement","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: I Thessalonians 5:16-28 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Pietism took off during the 1600's with Philipp Jakob Spener (1635-1705) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Eventually a denomination form that was referred to as the Moravian church \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0From here we skip ahead to the early 1700's II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0John Wesley (1703-1791) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He was raised in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18854,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-are-some-of-the-errors-of-wesleyans\/","url_meta":{"origin":86033,"position":4},"title":"What are some of the errors of Wesleyans?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 28, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When you get a minute could you put up some of the things Wesleyans are teaching falsely on the web site? Answer: The Wesleyan Church has its roots in the Methodist Church. In fact, it originally used the name Wesleyan Methodist Church of America from 1843, at its founding,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45175,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/our-changing-attitude-toward-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":86033,"position":5},"title":"Our Changing Attitude Toward the Bible","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Peter 1:22-25 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A new translation of the Bible came out last month, called \u201cAs Good as New: A Radical Retelling of the Scriptures.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Actually, \u201ctranslation\u201d is not a good description of it. 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