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Vol. 46, No. 46
SOUTHSIDE ORACLE February 6, 2004
The Bulletin Board
The Sick – Jose Valdez, son of Marina, was in a car accident last week
and was hospitalized with broken bones….Ann Tevik was hospitalized last week
for tests, but is now home….Meagan Capitonoff is home from the hospital and
much improved….Roger and Pat Young have both been sick with the
flu….Remember all of them in your prayers.
Couples! Remember the Sweetheart Dinner to be held this year at the
church building on February 14th at 6:00 p.m.
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.”
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 donate to be auctioned for the camp, see Wayne Alexander or
the posted announcement.
ATTENDANCE RECORD
Two years ago Last
year Last week Goal
Bible classes
153 151
156 170
Morning worship
236 237 *232 250
Evening worship
47 71 61 80
Contribution $4604.45
$3853.67 $5022.41 $4500.00
The
Oakhaven Church in Oshkosh is hosting a youth rally February 13 – 15. Josh
Cleveland of the Woodbury, MN congregation will be the speaker. Some of our
youth plan to attend.
Seeking Help
The church is a family. In the human family parents
and children are attendant to one another’s needs. In a good home the
family members will rally to assist one another emotionally, financially,
and spiritually. Because of the love they share they will even rebuke a
straying brother or sister.
We
should have the same mutual concern in the church. We, too, are a family.
Unfortunately in today’s scattered urban society, we are often unaware of
the needs of our brothers and sisters. Their problems may be financial,
health related, or marital. They may involve parent/child conflict or some
kind of addiction. Christian brothers and sisters should be able to tap the
counsel, prayers, and support of one another. Too often, though, we cannot
help because those in need of assistance have chosen not to reveal their
problems. We cannot help each other because we do not know the needs.
There are several reasons that those in trouble do not seek help from other
believers. They may think they can solve their problems alone. They may
fear that personal revelations may become public knowledge. Perhaps they
fear rejection from those to whom they reach out. I suspect most often
people do not seek help because of shame. But when your life is at the
crisis stage, pride must be pushed aside.
The
purpose of this article is to encourage those who struggle to seek
assistance from other members of their church family. The church is not
just a worshiping society. It is a spiritual family bound together by cords
of love. Seek out a brother or sister with whom to share your need. But
also remember that the elders of the church are your spiritual shepherds.
As your pastors they will help you – and keep your personal difficulties
confidential. The elders want to assist you if you will contact one of them
with your need.
__Monroe Hawley
The
Meaning of Faith (4)
Jude was so concerned that error was
creeping into the church that he sounded a note of warning in a short
letter. “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the
salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the
faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 3). The
faith in this context defines the body of truths acknowledged by the
disciples of Jesus – the doctrine of Christ. Luke uses the word in this
sense when he tells us that “a large number of the priests became obedient
to the faith” (Acts 6:7). When Paul lists faith among the seven
unities (one Lord, one faith, one baptism – Ephesians 4:5), he is
referring to what we believe about Jesus and his teachings.
In an extension of the idea that faith
sometimes refers to what is believed, the New Testament also designates
those who accept these truths as believers. “As we have opportunity,
let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the
family of believers” (Galatians 6:10). Paul instructs Timothy to “set an
example for the believers” (I Timothy 4:12) and Peter tells his
readers to “love the brotherhood of believers” (1 Peter 4:17).
Today we usually identify the followers of
Jesus as Christians. That word is used three times in the New
Testament, but believers is used more often. But why believers?
Because Jesus’ followers trusted him implicitly. They not only accepted his
teachings as valid, but they trusted their Lord so much that they
would die for him and for the faith that defined their lives.
Most American citizens nominally believe
in Christ – they mentally accept the teachings about him as true. But it is
a much smaller number that can truly be called believers because they
trust Jesus enough to follow him to the end.
__Monroe Hawley
END OF SERIES
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