Question: What Does Romans 5:12 mean?

Answer: The Bible says in Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” This verse tells us that death started when sin entered the picture of mankind. The Bible tells us that sin originated with Adam and Eve after God had created them and put them in the garden of Eden, and they disobeyed God. Genesis 3:1-7. Sin is anything that breaks God’s laws or disobeys His Word. Sin started in the garden of Eden and by consequence, death started there too. If you think about it, death comes for everyone, the rich, the poor, those with a PhD and those with a GED, those in Africa and those in North America, why? Because death is universal, it affects everyone. That’s what Romans 5:12 is speaking of. Sin entered the scene by or through one man, Adam, and because Adam and Eve were the parents of all mankind, they passed down their sin nature to all their descendants. Including you and me. We all have sinned, whether by telling a lie, stealing something, thinking a bad thought or saying a bad word, none of us can say we’re perfect and haven’t done anything wrong. Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:10.

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Answering Bible Questions withBible Answers

Question: Can God forgive all my Sins?

Answer: According to the Bible, yes, God can forgive all your sins, no matter how many nor how severe they are.
The Bible says in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This verse says that if we confess our sins, but confess our sins to whom? To Jesus Christ our Saviour. Jesus died on the cross and took all of mankind’s sin upon Himself so that all people could have their sins forgiven. John 3:16-17. The Bible says about Jesus in Ephesians 1:7, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Jesus was perfect, He never sinned, and it took one who was righteous and sinless to atone for everyone who was unrighteous and sinful. 2 Corinthians 5:21.
Jesus shed or poured out His perfect blood to cover our sinful blood.
In the Bible blood represents life (Leviticus 17:11) so Jesus laid down His life so that we, as people, could have life. John 15:13. The Bible teaches that before we ask Jesus to save and forgive us, we’re dead spiritually in our sins, and when we do ask Jesus to save us, He brings us to life spiritually. Colossians 2:13. Many people think that they’ve done too many bad things and sinned too much for God to forgive them, but that’s simply not true. Jesus died so that everyone could be saved, and the Bible says that whoever comes to Jesus will not be sent away. John 6:37. God says that once we accept Jesus as our Saviour, then He blots out our sins and won’t remember them anymore. Isaiah 43:25. All you have to do is call upon Jesus and ask Him to save you and forgive your sins, then He will do exactly that. Read Romans 6:23, and Romans 10:9-13 in the Bible.

St. Andrews 2024 Raffle Winners Announced

Father Anthony and Pablo Cortez

Father Anthony, Carolina and Pablo Cortez would like to thank everyone who purchased raffle tickets for the St. Andrews Festival. There were a total of 918 sold tickets, and $4,590 raised in sales.
The St. Andrews 2024 Raffle Winners (in order from 1 to 25) are: Manuel Davila (BBQ Pitt), Arnaldo Benavidez ($1,000), Rogelio H. Garcia ($1000), Monique Wimber ($500), Gloria Saucedo ($500), Jason Miller ($500), Ysabella Cortez ($500), Jaime ($500), Raul ($300), Raul ($300), Linda Vasquez ($300), Margarito ($300), Alma Zamora ($300), Melissa Cannon ($200), Librado Rivas ($200), Rita Cordova ($200), Juan Robles ($200), Frances Hartley ($200), Nelda Rosas ($200), John Leija ($100), Estela Rodriguez ($100), Josiah Glass ($100), David Avis ($100), and Sonia Cortez ($100).
Special thanks from Pablo S. Cortez:
I wish to thank all the people that bought raffle tickets from me while I was selling the tickets to help the church festival. With your help, I was able to sell 918 tickets and raised 4,590.00 for which Father Anthony was very pleased. Of those tickets I sold, I told two winning tickets out of 25 prizes. The winners are Sonia Cortez, who won $100, and Arnaldo Benavidez, who won $1000.00.
For more information please call St. Andrew’s Church Rectory at (830) 709-4287.
Thanks for your help and may God bless you.

2nd Annual Mission Conference Oct. 23-25

Iglesia Bautista Calvario / Calvary Baptist Church, in Lytle, TX will be having our 2nd Annual Mission Conference on October 23, 24, and 25 at 7:00 PM and October 27 at 9:45 AM. It will be bilingual and our address is 15253 Houston St., Lytle, TX.
This year we are privileged to have the following missionaries: Hno. Rubén Casas – Missionary in Durango, México; Hno. Saul Juárez – Director to Ministry Without Borders; Hna. Rut Elisabet Lerma Pizarro – Missionary to the Triquis People; Pastor David Richmond – Grace Batist Church – Evans, Louisiana; Hna. Graciela Vasquez – Missionary in India; Hno. Eric Watson – Missionary in Honduras & Texas Border
Please call (210)279-6143 if you have any questions.

Fall Revival this Sunday

Sept. 29
to Wednesday, Oct. 2 at
Black Creek Baptist Church with
Dr. Ross Chandler

We would like welcome the community to join us as we worship and learn more about God’s plan during this time of revival.
Black Creek Baptist Church is hosting a Fall Revival. Services will be held on Sunday, September 29 at 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Monday, September 30 at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 1 at 7:00 p.m. and Wednesday, October 2 at 7:00 p.m.
Dr. Ross Chandler will be preaching.
We welcome the community to join us during the four day revival.
Black Creek Baptist Church is located at 798 County Road 660, Devine, Texas 78016.

Where in the Bible will I find…?

Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”
I pray that you are doing well so far this week, as always, I encourage you to get into the word of God on a daily basis. Have you read your Bible today? If not why not? It only takes a few minutes to read a whole chapter. In Luke 4:4 Jesus said: “…it is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” Let us also continue to pray for our nation’s defenders and our first responders. And please pray for rain! Our question for the week is; “Where in the Bible will I find God’s people offering covered wagons to the Lord?”
I remember as a kid my dad had a Real Estate business. Back in those days it wasn’t uncommon for local businessmen to decorate a vehicle or float to be in the parade as it would give them some free advertising. One year my dad put his Real Estate sign on the sides of his truck and turned the bed off it into a covered wagon and we rode in the back of the truck throwing candy out like settlers. Whenever we think of “Covered Wagons” we often go back to the wild west but as our question today implies there were covered wagons WAY before the wild west was settled, as we will read in Numbers 7:3 “And they brought their offering before the LORD, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they brought them before the tabernacle.” Think about it! J.W.

St. Andrew Church hosts festival on Sept. 29

St. Andrews Church is having its church festival on September 29, providing fun for the whole family bingo, food, beer, face painting and live music from Latin Grammy nominated musical artist Gary Hobbs and others. The grand prize from the raffle is a custom made barbecue pit/smoker on wheels valued at $8,000 with additional prizes such as gift cards and a trip to Rome and Venice. Admission will be free for children under 12 and cost adults $5.

Big FESTIVAL at St John Bosco this Sunday, Sept 1st…

The annual festival will be held at St John Bosco Catholic Church located at 502 5th Street, Natalia on Labor Day September 1. There are several fundraisers leading up to the big event.
There will be lots of bands. See page 2 for more details on the big event.

DRAWING TICKETS: Text Beatrice Morales at 210-482-9595 for tickets. September 1st is the Grand drawing. So don’t delay, get your tickets TODAY, $5 each. Father Antony will draw the $500 winning ticket on Sunday, August 11th after 11 a.m. mass.  
The winning ticket and all the tickets will be put back into the raffle barrel for another chance to win $3k, $2k, & $1k and other prizes on September 1st.  This drawing will be announced at the Labor Day Festival extravaganza. 
Fun FOAM FINISH and Zumba 5K Run or Walk:
This is a fun event for the whole family. 1.7 miles through the City of Natalia; check-in is at 6:30 a.m.
Kids Run starts at 7:45 a.m. There will be activities for the kids during the race. Race starts at 8 a.m. for the runners, followed by the walkers.
When everybody returns they will have a Zumba session and end the day with a Fun Foam Finish.

Updates to St. Joseph Faith Formation – Year 2024/2025

Parishioners of St. Joseph, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and St. Augustine early registration is taking place now. Forms and envelopes may be found in Faith Formation Basket in our church and in the parish office. Online registration will be available very soon. CLASSES WILL BEGIN WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 4th and SUNDAY, SEPT. 8th. Registrations received by August 9, 4 pm will be entered in a drawing for a $50 VISA gift card. The cost per family is $35. Class for 1st thru 5th will be held on Wednesdays (5:30-6:45pm); 6th and higher on Sunday mornings (10:30 am to noon). PLEASE NOTE our Confirmation program will now require 3 years. 8th grade is Year 1, 9th is Year 2 and 10th is Year 3. To receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, students must attend all 3 years. Those students registered in 2023/24 in 8th grade, Phase I or Sunday class will complete their studies under those requirements. If you have not already provided our office with a birth or baptismal certificate for your child(ren), it is recommended you obtain them prior to the start of class. Please call Bertha Haass at 210 415 1979 if you have any questions.

Where in the Biblewill I find…?

Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
I pray that you are doing well so far this week. As always, I encourage you to get into the word of God on a daily basis. Have you read your Bible today? If not, why not? It only takes a few minutes to read a whole chapter. In Luke 4:4 Jesus said: “…it is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” Let us also continue to pray for our nation’s defenders and our first responders. Our question for the week is; “Where in the Bible will I find someone’s flocks destroyed by hot thunderbolts?”
There are many peculiar things written in the Bible, especially during the Patriarchal and Mosaic times when God dealt directly with man. The book of Psalms is a large book compiled of many songs written about the difficulties, hardships, and historical events of the people. Our answer comes from the 78th Psalm verses 47-48, “He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore trees with frost. He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.” Think about it! J.W.