Southside Oracle Archive

Vol. 48, No. 18                         SOUTHSIDE ORACLE                             July 8, 2005

The Bulletin Board

      Our sympathy is extended to Lou Brown and his family in the death of his sister, Clarice Luedke, who died last Saturday.  The funeral was Wednesday in Neshkoro.  

      Youth Service Trip – Fifteen of our youth and adult sponsors led by Daryl Miller left Monday for a week at Fallhall Glen where they will be engaged in service projects around the camp.  Though the camp session is currently in progress, our youth group will be operating separately from the middle camp.   

      Camp Notes – In addition to those mentioned in last week’s Oracle, Chad Mudd is a camper at the middle session.

      Praise and Palate will be Sunday at 6:00 p.m.  Menu is “Summer Celebration.”

      The elders and deacons meeting will be Sunday at 4:30 p.m.

ATTENDANCE RECORD

                                                       Two years ago   Last year      Last week         Goal

Bible classes                                          110                   127                  119            170

 Morning worship                                     175                  224                *251            250

Evening worship                                        69                     44                    40              80

Contribution                                   $4201.95         $4426.26         $4517.37   $4900.00

                                                        (*) first service, 151; second service, 100

      The Sick – Tony Benson was hospitalized last week with congestive heart failure but is now home and doing as well as could be expected.  

Demas Has Forsaken Me

      I have a friend.  Not a recent, but an old friend.  We were close once – we are not close anymore.  He has moved miles away.  So have I.  At first it was a distance of  latitude and longitude, and we might have covered that, but now it is a distance of the heart, and there is no bridge – no vehicle which can span that gap.

      He was a lover of the fields and streams and our friendship formed out of that mutual love.  He was spiritually concerned and sensitive to the plight of those who were down trodden and our friendship became brotherhood.  But now he has no time for sunflowers, his heartbeat does not quicken when the morning frost comes and leaves turn, the salmon begin their run, and the cock pheasant’s shrill call greets each dawn.  We do not laugh at the old stories of dogs we had, shots we missed, fish that got away, the time we tipped the canoe and almost drowned.  We do not remember walking in the rain, snow, cold, high winds – and sharing the misery and later the warmth.  He has put these things behind him.

      His children are estranged from him and he refuses to acknowledge them and acts as though he does not care.  He has amputated them from his life, as he has his emotions, his friends, his past, and his spiritual being.  He does not experience wonder.  He will not reach out – even to his wife.  He has become an island, and I wonder what monsters live on that island which he has created.  He was a jovial, good natured, loving friend who shared much of himself and was daily grateful for the bounty of God’s grace.  Now he knows no gratitude, no sentiment, no nostalgia.  He is quick to speak, quick to anger, slow to repent, even slower to forgive – he never forgets.  His life is statistics, percentages, interest rates, and development.

      I wonder how it happened.  Did I ever really know him?  Was he ever really my friend?  I think I did – I think he was.  Was Demas ever converted?  We have no reason to think not.  Did he gradually quench the Spirit within him by constantly turning his eyes – his attention to the world?  Was not his “forsaking” the result of a little “flirtation” here – a slight “indiscretion” there?  The slight alteration on a tax form, the watching of a borderline T.V. show or movie, the acceptance of a rakish idea, a lunch with a secretary, allowing entertainment to interfere with church attendance, excusing himself from time consuming but necessary tasks like coaching little league - girl scouts – a careless attitude about time spent at home.  Where does a marriage begin to break down?  Where does a faithful Christian begin to capitulate?  Where does a friendship begin to fail?  The process always has the same end.  

      “Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world” (2 Timothy 4:10).

                                                                                __John Smith in The Vandalia Star.

Calendar of Events

July 3 –16 – Middle session, Wisconsin Christian Youth Camp

July 5 – 10 – Youth service trip, Wisconsin Christian Youth Camp, Black River Falls

July 10 – Elders/deacons meeting, 4:30 p.m.

July 10 – Praise and Palate, 6:00 p.m.

July 17 – 30 – Intermediate session, Wisconsin Christian Youth Camp

July 31 – August 13 – Senior session, Wisconsin Christian Youth Camp

August 14 – 18 – Quest, all ages session, Wisconsin Christian Youth Camp

September 2 – 5 – Labor Day Retreat, Fallhall Glen, Black River Falls

Missing the Mark

      At this week’s men’s breakfast we discussed John’s statement in 1 John 3:4 that sin is lawlessness or as in the King James, “Sin is the transgression of the law.” In the Greek lawlessness is literally “to miss the mark.”  We may compare our failures in Christian living to the archer whose arrow misses the target.  The men in our group observed that in shooting with others one’s accuracy is affected by the proficiency of his associates – better competition improves marksmanship and poorer competition lessens one’s effectiveness.  So in the Christian life our ability to overcome sin is reflected by the company we keep – for better or worse. – as Paul declares, “Bad company ruins good morals” (1 Cor. 15:33. Conversely, close association with other believers greatly improves our efforts to live the Christian life.       __Monroe Hawley

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