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Vol.
46, No. 45 SOUTHSIDE ORACLE
January 30, 2004
The
Bulletin Board
The Sick – Meagan Capitonoff,
Don and Wanda’s one month old baby, was hospitalized at Children’s Hospital
last week for a viral infection. She is now home. Remember her and her
parents in your prayers.
Trustees Chosen – As
required by law, three trustees were chosen Sunday to serve for two years.
They are Kevin Parker, Tom Brockdorf, and Brad Stanger. John Dickson and
Troy Jensen still have one year to serve as trustees.
We extend our sympathy to the
family of former member Bill Hodges of Searcy, AR who died last week. The
funeral was Monday. Bill and Martha and their children were very active
members of Southside thirty years ago.
Sweetheart Dinner – If you
plan to attend the Sweetheart Dinner on February 14th be sure to
sign up on the bulletin board by this Sunday. It appears that it will be
well attended, but it is necessary to know how many to expect. See the
posted announcement for details.
ATTENDANCE RECORD
Two
years ago Last year Last week Goal
Bible classes
140 161 137
170
Morning
worship 225
216 *219 250
Evening
worship 55 58
60 80
Contribution
$3219.50 $3442.20 $4567.98 $4500.00
Our 14th 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.”
Our young people had a successful
trip to Spirit Fest in Duluth, MN last week and arrived home safely Sunday
evening.
The Wisconsin Christian Youth
Camp Silent Auction will include a dinner and will be February 21st
at 6:00 p.m. If you have items you would like to have auctioned for the
camp, see Wayne Alexander or the posted announcement.
Why Do
People Lose their Faith?
Over the years I’ve occasionally
been approached by people who had previously lived exemplary lives, but who
suddenly felt they were losing their faith. I remember a terminal cancer
patient who asked, “How do you hold on to your faith when you’re going
through something like this?” I really didn’t know how to answer her.
I spent a lot of time trying to
learn academic answers to questions posed by unbelievers only to find that
most of the people with faith problems weren’t asking me academic
questions. My ministry has been conducted largely among people who don’t
spend all that much time with deep philosophical questions. People have
told me that they were experiencing faith problems who never read a defense
of the evolutionary hypothesis in their entire lives.
I admire those heavyweights who
know their way around in the field of apologetics. The Christian faith
needs to be represented by members of the body with sharp minds who can
provide credible answers to persons about the historical and scientific
accuracy of the Bible.
On the other hand, I’m convinced
that many of the people who are struggling with their faith, struggle more
out of their emotional state of mind than they do from an intellectual point
of view. The person who has just lost a precious loved one probably has
more questions about God’s justice than he does about God’s existence. A
person who is living in an immoral relationship may be asking questions
about the existence of God in an attempt to cover up his guilt. Some people
probably feel a drain on their faith because they’re just plain exhausted.
There was a time when worshipping God challenged them, but now all the
excitement is gone. Their faith has simply dried out.
What do you say to people who are
experiencing an emotional drain on their faith? I really don’t know, but I
have a feeling that what we do speaks louder than our words. After all,
Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men that they may see your good
deeds and praise your father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16).
__Norman Bales
The
Meaning of Faith (3)
In his introductory remarks in the Book
of Romans, Paul uses an interesting expression that sheds light on the
nature of trusting faith. “We have received grace and apostleship to bring
about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles, for His name’s
sake” (Romans 1:5). He repeats the phrase in the last sentence of the book
(Romans 16:26). Paul’s identification of obedience as stemming from faith
shows that trusting faith involves obedience. A faith that will not obey
Christ will not save. By definition saving faith includes the whole of
obedience.
This is illustrated in the story of the
conversion of the Philippian jailer recorded in Acts 16. The jailer asked
Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (verse 30). They
responded, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you
and your household” (verse 31). The jailer washed their wounds, was
immediately baptized,“ and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God
with his whole household” (verse 34). His repentance in washing their
wounds and obedience in baptism was part of his faith!
If we think of faith in the trusting
sense that Paul uses the word, then our confession of faith in Christ is
faith speaking, our repentance is faith turning, and our baptism
is faith obeying. All are integral parts of trusting faith.
__Monroe Hawley
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