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Vol. 48, No.
48 SOUTHSIDE ORACLE February
17. 2006
The Bulletin Board
Our Sympathy -
We extend our condolences to the Williams family in the death February 8th
of Karen's father, George Ruesch. The
funeral was Sunday afternoon at the Jackson Park Lutheran Church. Many of us
at Southside have known George and have appreciated him and his wife,
Joanne.
The annual
Wisconsin Christian Youth Camp Dinner and Silent Auction at Southside is
Saturday from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. This is a good opportunity to help the camp
and at the same time to enjoy the fellowship of others.
The Sick -
Roger Young had emergency surgery last Thursday at St. Mary's Hospital in
Racine. He is doing well, but will be kept in the hospital for several days.
The Balancing Act
is a seminar with Dale and Vicki Hawley to be conducted February 24-26. It
will deal with ways in which we can bring balance into our lives as we meet
the pressing demands of our pressure-packed lives. Where should we place our
priorities? The Friday evening session will begin at 6:45 o'clock. There
will be a Saturday morning session starting at 9:00 a.m., and Dale will
teach the combined adult classes on Sunday as well as preach at both morning
worship services. Plan to attend and invite your friends.
ATTENDANCE RECORD
Two years ago Last year Last week Goal
Bible
classes 143
158 149 170
Morning
worship 237
235 *221 250
Evening
worship 57
65 85 80
Contribution $4028.30
$4438.32 $4866.58 $5200.00
(*) first service,
133; second service, 88
We were blessed
Sunday evening to have our Spanish speaking brethren from Milwaukee join us
for Praise and Palate.
There will be a
Sweetheart Dinner at the church building on Saturday, March 4h
at 6:30 p.m. Be sure to see the information posted on the bulletin board.
For further information contact Jim Nichols.
Two more College
Care Donation boxes are set up in the foyer with directions for making a
donation. Meagan Van Handel and Holly Shilts will be the recipients. Boxes
will be shipped after Sunday, March 5th. See Colleen Windell for
information.
The Christian
Workers' Meeting is Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. with Don Truitt and Gary
Cleveland giving presentations on the book of Amos.
Calendar of Events
February 18 - Wis. Christian Youth Camp
dinner and auction, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
February 21 - Christian Workers' Meeting,
Southside, 9:00 a.m.
February 21 - Tuesday Nights Together,
church building, 6:15 p.m.
February 24-26 - Seminar, "The Balancing
Act," Dale and Vicki Hawley
March 4 - Sweetheart Dinner, Southside, 6:30
p.m.
March 11 - Southside Area-wide Men's
Breakfast
March 17 - 19 - Southside Youth Rally
Identified With Jesus
Peter and John stood
before the Jewish Council. They were charged with unlawfully preaching in
the Temple precincts that someone had risen from the dead. Their inquisitors
perceived them to be formally uneducated, but "recognized that these men had
been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13). What an honor they must have felt to be
recognized as disciples of the Master Teacher!
Though on the basis of
what we tell them our acquaintances may associate us with a specific church,
they identify us with Jesus by how we live. Does our speech reflect the
language of Jesus or is it filled with profanity and vulgarity? Do we
practice the golden rule or just give it lip service? Are we scrupulously
honest or do we lie and cheat if we think we can get away with it? In short,
does the world see the image of Jesus reflected in our personal lives?
But how do we
initially identify with Jesus? Paul explains this in his Roman letter. In
the first five chapters he describes the wonderful grace of God by which we
are saved from our
sins through the death of Jesus. In his death on the cross he shed his blood
to atone for our sins. By faith we accept the offering that brings with it
the promise of eternal life. Then in chapter 6 Paul describes the process by
which we identify with Jesus so that God can remove our sins.
"Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus
have been baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by
baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory
of the Father, we too might walk in newness of
life. For
if we have been united with him in a death like
his, we shall certainly be united with
him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with
him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be
enslaved to sin " (Romans 6.3- 7).
Notice the process.
Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and then was resurrected. When we come
to him, we do what he did. We die with him to sin as a way of life, we
re-enact his burial when we are buried or immersed in the water of baptism,
we are resurrected with him to a new spiritual life. Baptism is for the
forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38), not because there is virtue in the water,
but because it is at this point that we meet the atoning blood of Jesus. In
the rest of chapter 6 Paul goes on to explain that once we are identified
with Christ, we must live the way Jesus did. When we do, others will know
that we have been with Jesus. __Monroe Hawley
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