Victor Ebersole

A renowned US President has said, “You can have anything you want if you want it badly enough. You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose.” Our society has unequivocally embraced this ideology. “Believe in yourself,” we are told. “Live life on your terms.” Can the disciple of Christ live by these maxims? Is this worldview compatible with Christ’s command to take up your cross and follow Him?

The first five years of a child’s life lay the foundation for future failure or success. Bit by bit, he accumulates the knowledge and abilities he will need to be a complete, independent adult. From the first moment in the womb when he responds to his mother’s voice, he is processing and reacting to information given to him. The first five years of a child’s life contain a dramatic transformation from a helpless infant into a self-aware first grader. During that time, his brain develops more and faster than at any other period during his life.

When was the most recent "Anointing with Oil" practiced in your congregation? Of the seven ordinances mentioned in our Decrees for to Keep, "Anointing with Oil" is the least practiced in our congregation. In the three short years since I have been called to the work of a deacon, our congregation has witnessed four individuals experience Baptism, observed Communion and Feet Washing seven times, rejoiced in the Marriage of two couples, practiced the Christian Woman’s Veiling and Christian Salutation in every service, yet we have observed only one service of "Anointing with Oil. "Why?