Southside Oracle Archive

Vol. 48, No. 38                          SOUTHSIDE ORACLE                          December 9, 2005

The Bulletin Board

Congregational Meeting - Sunday is our congregational meeting. For this Sunday only our schedule will be changed. Bible classes begin at 9:30 a.m. We will have a single morning worship service at 11:00 o'clock. There will be a sandwich lunch after worship followed by the congregational meeting from 1:00 p.m. to about 2:30 p.m. There will be no evening service this Sunday.

Trustee Selection - At the the congregational meeting as required by law we will also choose four trustees - three to serve for two years, and one to serve one year as a replacement for Kim Christian who has moved away. Outgoing trustees are Kevin Parker, Tom Brockdorf, and Brad Stanger who are eligible to serve another term. John Dickson will continue to serve for one more year.

Disaster Relief Report - In September Southside sent $13,000 to the Churches of Christ Disaster Fund in Nashville, TN for the relief of hurricane victims. According to The Christian Chronicle this effort has sent $8 million dollars in aid to the victims of the various hurricanes including "more than 150 tractor-trailer rigs filled with emergency food, water, cleaning and other supplies." Since the hurricane devastation an average of $750,000 has been shipped weekly to the Gulf Coast region.

Picture Taking Day - This Sunday Cliff Copass will take pictures for our picture board. Come prepared to have your picture made if you are not on the board or if you desire a re-make.

ATTENDANCE RECORD

(*) first service, 129; second service, 71

The next Christian Workers' Meeting will be at 9:00 a.m., December 20th.

The Wisconsin Challenge will be prepared for mailing this Monday, December 12th at 7:00 p.m. Come to the church building at that time if you would like to help.

Bible Bowl - Our tweens (or pre-teens) are hosting a Bible Bowl on the Gospel of Luke on Sunday, January 8th. Teens and adults are challenged to put together teams of four members to compete. See the complete information posted an the bulletin board.

Negative Advertising

Someone once said to me, "It has been a long time since I have voted far anyone for president." He meant that his choice of a presidential candidate had been dictated by whom he was against rather than wham he was for. This is a sad commentary on American politics that mirrors the feelings of many people. Much of it is a reaction against negative political advertising that stresses what is wrong with one's opponent rather than spelling out a positive program of the candidate himself.

It occurs to me that there is an analogy in the spiritual realm. Some try to win religious converts by first condemning the doctrinal teachings of other people. They do not realize that in showing others to be wrong they have not necessarily proven themselves to be right. To be sure, establishing truth may require using God's word to correct errors. However, the thrust of our teaching should always be positive.

We live in a spiritually disenchanted society. The typical person has been raised in a church (or at least exposed to its teachings), but for whatever reason he has no ties to his faith. If he feels any spiritual need at all, it is for a religious community that will provide a support system to help him in his relationship with God. He isn't interested in the errors of his childhood faith. He already knows them. But he is seeking authentic Christianity that focuses on Jesus and what he reads about in his Bible. He is looking for a faith that addresses his spiritual needs rather than providing a list of religious duties that do not address his relationship with God. This is the

message that the world needs and that we must seek to give.

__ Monroe Hawley

The Soul of a Child

The soul of a child is the loveliest flower

That grows in the garden of God.

It climbs from weakness to knowledge and power,

To the sky from the clay and the clod.

To beauty and sweetness it grows under care,

Neglected, 'tis ragged and wild,

'Tis a plant that is tender, but wondrously rare,

The sweet wistful soul of a child!

Be tender, O gardener, and give it its share

Of moisture, of warmth, and of light,

And let it not lack for thy painstaking care

To protect it from frost and from blight.

A glad day will come when its bloom shall unfold;

It will seem that an angel has smiled,

Reflecting its beauty and sweetness untold,

In the sensitive soul of a child.

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