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Vol. 47,
No.39 SOUTHSIDE ORACLE December
10, 2004
The Bulletin Board
The Christian Workers Meeting will be Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. The theme
is that of Unity In Christ. Ken Henes will discuss "Maintaining
Congregational Unity" and Jim Coehoorn will speak on "Building Bridges Among
Congregations." The meeting is open to all and is regularly attended by
people from about eight churches.
The Sick -Patricia
Young entered St. Luke's Hospital last week because of complications growing
out of her recent heart surgery. She was able to go home Monday.
Address Changes -Ryan
and Christy Timms, AND J. R. Frost.
Contact us for details.
ATTENDANCE RECORD
Two
years ago Last year Last week Goal
Bible
classes 142 140
130 170
Morning worship
223 225 *239 250
Evening worship 150
62 50 80
Contribution $5389.71
$4040.17 $4108.96 $4500.00
(*) first service,
123; second service, 116
The Wisconsin Challenge was assembled for mailing in record time
Monday evening by a dozen people. We appreciate the help!
Praise and Palate
will be Sunday at 6:00 p.m. Bring "holiday" food.
The elders and deacons meting will be at 4:30 p.m.
Sunday.
"Give it Back, God"
A
few weeks ago a Christian couple in another state, unhappy about local
developments, left the congregation of which they were members. Their
departure was not the usual, however. Through the years they had contributed
various items to the Lord, including the pulpit, communion table, etc. These
they surreptitiously removed, and then proceeded to write the church that
they would like to make a financial settlement for money they had
contributed through the years.
Obviously these people never gave anything to the Lord. They
only loaned to him. The Bible teaches that we are stewards of God,
caretakers for the Lord of our possessions. Their conception, on the other
hand, was that the Lord is caretaker for their things. They were willing to
loan them to God on condition that they were allowed to retain title.
To any mature Christian this incident is ridiculous. When one
gives to God through the church it ought never to be with the thought of
taking it back later. Even though I should seriously question the use of
money I have contributed it is no long mine once it has been given.
The basic error in the attitude of these people is that they view the church
as some kind of corporation in which they own stock. When they become
unhappy about the way things are going they want to sell their stock and
invest elsewhere. But the church is not to be compared to a corporation. It
is a privately owned enterprise purchased by Christ with his blood, and
therefore owned by him. (See Matthew 16:18; Acts 20:28). We are merely
workers in this business, drawing '~ages" worth far more than what we put
into it. If we decide to sever our relationship with the "company", to take
whatever we have contributed is nothing more or less than stealing. That
human beings who make mistakes carry out the directives of the owner in no
way invalidates the ownership of the organization.
This incident is pettiness in the extreme. It displays a spiritually
impoverished soul. We can only feel sorry for those whose conception of
Christianity is no deeper than to view it on such a materialistic level.
yet, perhaps each person should reflect on his own conception of the Lord's
work to inquire whether he, too, may not be so spiritually undeveloped as to
act in ways that bring discredit on the One who died for us.
By the way, if anyone one offers you a slightly used pulpit,
better get a quit claim deed!
Monroe Hawley in Southside Oracle, May 23. 1965
Builders or
Wreckers
I
watched them tearing a building down. ..
A
gang of men in a busy town,
With heave-ho and a lusty yell
They swung a beam and a side wall fell;
I
asked the foreman, " Are these men skilled
And the men you'd hire if you had to build?"
He gave a laugh and said, "No, indeed!
Just common labor is all I need;
I
can easily wreck in a day or two what
Builders have taken a year to do!"
And I thought of myself as I went away,
"Which of these roles have I tried to play?"
Am I a Builder who works with care, measuring
Life by the rule and square?
Am I shaping my deed to a well-made plan,
Patiently doing the best I can?
Or am I a Wrecker, who walks the town
Content with the labor of tearing it down? -Selected
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