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Vol. 46, No.
43 SOUTHSIDE ORACLE January
16, 2004
The Bulletin Board
The
York College Choir concert last Friday night was a great success.
Over two hundred attended, not including the singers. We want to thank all
who helped by providing housing for the choir members or assisted in other
ways.
We
extend our condolences to Dorothy Henry in the death of her father
last week. The funeral was held in Greenwood, MS, on Saturday.
The Sick – Hank Karbiner went home last Friday after being hospitalized
for a very severe staff infection….Tom Rucker, father of Laura Mahan, is
hospitalized in critical condition. Our prayers go out to the family.
Blood Drive. The Southside Church community
blood drive is Saturday, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. If you have signed up
to participate, please come during those hours. It is also open to members
of the community or others who may wish to contribute their blood. For
further information contact Trevonna Parker.
Election of Trustees – We are required by law
to choose trustees for business purposes. This will be done at a special
congregational meeting at 5:40 p.m., Sunday, January 25th, prior to our
evening worship that begins at 6:00 o’clock. Three trustees will be chosen
for two year terms to serve with two others who have a year more to serve.
Those whose terms expire are Rodney Windell, Brad Stanger, and Kevin Parker.
Guest Speaker – Jim Coehoorn, who preaches for
the Elkhorn Church that Southside is currently assisting, will be our
speaker at both morning services Sunday. Bobby Valentine will be preaching
for the Elkhorn congregation
ATTENDANCE
RECORD
Two years ago Last
year Last week Goal
Bible classes 148 171 no
count 170
Morning worship
233 262 *238 250
Evening worship 180 66 50 80
Contribution $3925.48
$3798.17 $3876.66 $4500.00
The Christian Workers’ Meeting will be this Tuesday, January 20th at
9:00 a.m. The speakers will be Chris Kunkel of Monroe who will speak on
“Cruciform Spirituality”, and Jim Coehoorn from Elkhorn who will give a
presentation on “The Preacher’s Sabbath.” The meeting is open to everyone.
Announcing a Sweetheart Dinner on February 14th at the church building.
Details will be forthcoming. For specifics contact Jim Nichols.
Our
annual area-wide Men’s Breakfast will be February 28th. The speaker
will be Bobby Valentine whose topic will be “God’s Spirit and God’s Man.”
The
Meaning of Faith (1)
“Now
faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”
(Hebrews 11:1). With these words the inspired writer begins the great faith
chapter of the Bible. Yet a single sentence in the Holy Book is inadequate
to define the great Biblical subject of faith. With this article we
begin a series designed to help us better understand this great theme,
especially as it is developed in the New Testament.
First, however, we must understand that the New Testament was written in
Greek. In any translation from one language to another equivalent word
choices must be made. Moreover, as with the word faith, the Greek
word can have distinct, though related, meanings which may be expressed as
nouns, verbs, or adjectives. The basic word for faith is pisteuo
that in classic Greek meant the act of trusting. The related words
are usually rendered in English as faith or belief. Thus
to believe means to have faith.
There are, however, several senses in which the New Testament uses faith or
belief. Much religious confusion has resulted from not distinguishing these
senses. To begin with faith is the act of believing. It includes
the mental acceptance of facts, i.e. George W. Bush is president of the
United States. In many Biblical passages this idea is expanded to include
trust, i.e. one not only believes that Bush is president, but also
believes in him, that is, trusts or has confidence in his leadership.
The
New Testament also extends faith to what one believes. “A large
number of priests became obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7), that is,
the body of teachings about Christ. When Frederick Faber penned the
hymn, Faith of Our Fathers, he was not writing about the individual’s
trust in God, but about the body of religious teachings that had been taught
in the past.
Finally, in the collective sense, faith is also used to define the body
of believers or the church. “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do
good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of
faith” (Galatians 6:10). In the next few weeks we will enlarge on these
concepts. __Monroe Hawley
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