Southside Oracle Archive

Vol. 50, No 34           S0UTHSIDE ORACLE                 November 9, 2007

The Bulletin Board

Senior Dinner - Our young people will host our senior members at a Thanksgiving Dinner this Saturday at 12:00 noon. Laurie Giombi is in charge of the meal. This is an annual event that is much appreciated by our older members and our young people are to be commended for making this possible.

Our Congregational Meeting last Sunday was well attended. The elders reported that growing out of the elders/ministers retreat last weekend the emphasis in the coming year will be service with each member being encouraged to become involved in service efforts following the example that Jesus has given us.

Picture Taking Sunday - This Sunday morning Cliff Copass will be taking pictures to be posted on our picture board. Cliff will be set up in room 9 and if you don't have a picture on the picture board or would like a new one to replace the one there, be sure to have him take yours.

Address Changes - John and Melanie Werner, Sarah Chukka.  Contact us for details.

Praise and Palate will be Sunday at 6:00 p.m. For the palate part the menu is Autumn Harvest. Jim Nichols has requested volunteers to take turns in hosting the food preparation or in cleaning up afterwards. See the sign up sheet in the foyer.

Nicole Helier and daughter Ivey are moving to Australia to join Mark who is already there. Nicole is the daughter of Ed Dabbs.

Calendar of Events

November 10 - Senior Thanksgiving Dinner, 12:00 noon

November 11 - Picture taking day after services

November 11 – Elders, deacons meeting, 4:30 p.m.

November 11 - Praise and Palate, 6:00 p.m.

November 20 - Christian Workers' Meeting, 9:00 a.m.

December 2 - Southside hosts Sunday Night Live youth program

January 6 - York College A Cappella Choir

January 19 - Southside Blood Drive

February 16 - Camp auction and dinner for Wisconsin Christian Youth Camp

March 14 - 16 - Southside youth rally

Do You Use Your Faith?

Jesus once told a father who sought his help, "All things are possible to Him who believes" (Mark 9:23). If that is true, why do so many of us falter when faced by difficult circumstances? The answer is that many of us just do not use our faith.

This is evident when we see followers of Jesus who are having problems who fail to seek a Christian solution. We all have problems. If our faith really matters to us, it ought to help us solve them. However, too often we seek a solution without the Lord's help. Then when we find ourselves in deep trouble, our faith wavers and our lack of interest in spiritual matters becomes apparent.

Consider. Two brethren disagree. Each is deeply offended. Neither will go to the other as Jesus enjoins. Each one waits for the other to make it right. The gap widens, they begin to grow cold and indifferent to Christ - all because they didn't try the Lord's way.

Or, I find myself facing serious physical problems - surgery or prolonged illness.  At such times it is hard to be happy. If I follow the human route, I am soon despondent and complaining. The despondency retards my recovery because it impedes normal body functions, and the complaining hurts everyone around. But if I allow may faith to work, confident that the Lord's way is best, even if I can't understand it, and if I display attitudes growing out of my faith, the picture is changed. I recover more quickly, or at least get along better if recovery is impossible. I help others and am more pleasing to God.

It all boils down to a simple question.  When you really need it, do you rely on your faith and the principles you have accepted, or do you seek a human solution? If your faith isn't worth anything in time of crisis, why don't you put it to work? If you don't earnestly pray when things get rough, how can you expect the Lord to pull you through?                                          Monroe E. Hawley

The Legacy of Atheism

A few years ago Christianity Today ran an article about Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the most famous atheist of the 20th Century. She disappeared in 1995 and the speculation is that she may have been murdered.

The Internal Revenue Service auctioned off her property, including her diaries, for non-payment of taxes.  Among the entries in her diaries is an insight into her troubled life.  She wrote, "I think atheism is done for this time .... I have failed in marriage, motherhood, as a politician."  The article then observes, "In at least a half dozen entries she pleaded, `Somebody, somewhere, love me. "'

The devoted Christian always has someone to love him. Even if others betray or forsake him, he is still assured that "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son" (John 3:16). Our God never leaves us, never fails to love us, for we are his children.                      Monroe Hawley

[ Upcoming Events ] [ Those Serving ] [ Search Site ] [ Site Map ]

To Top