Southside Oracle Archive

Vol. 50, No. 37          SOUTHSIDE ORACLE                            November 30, 2007

 The Bulletin Board

Sunday Night Live Youth Worship will be this Sunday night beginning at 4:30 p.m. for the young people. Our young people will host the youth from area congregations. Jeff Hill will deliver a teen-oriented message at the worship service for those of all ages at 5:30 p.m. instead of the usual 6:00 p. m. time.

The Wisconsin Challenge will be assembled for mailing Monday evening at 7:00 p.m. All interested in helping should come at that time. The Challenge is a news publication of churches in Wisconsin that is published three times a year.  Roy Ratcliff of Madison is the editor.  We publish the paper and are responsible for its assembly and mailing.

ATTENDANCE RECORD

                                                                    (*) first service, 133, second service, 96

We extend our condolences to the family of Vernal Britton, Sr. who died last week. The funeral was at the Brentwood Church last Saturday.

The Sick - Patricia Young had leg surgery last Sunday at St. Mary's Hospital in Racine and hopes to go home this week .... Teresa Matias had kidney surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital Monday. She is now home, but expects further surgery_ in the near future.

Address change - Randy and Arneetrice Ellerman. See us for deatils.

Our thanks to Mark Orlovsky who spoke at the 6:00 p.m. service last Sunday. Once a month on Sunday evening different men in the congregation will bring the lesson.

Calendar of Events

December 2 - Sunday Night Live youth program, 430 p.m.

December 3 - Assemble Wisconsin Challenge for mailing

December 9 - Praise and Palate, 6:00 p.m.

December 19 - Christian Workers' Meeting, 9:00 a.m.

January 6 - York College A Cappella Choir at Southside

January 19 - Southside Blood Drive

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

March 14 - 16 - Southside youth rally

Personalizing Our Message

Advertisers believe that personalizing their message increases success. We all know the principle. A handwritten letter is more personal than one typed. An envelope addressed by name is more likely to be read than one marked "occupant".

Some carry the idea too far. I hate getting a form letter that inserts my first name in the body. I don't dislike being called "Monroe", but when a computerized letter calls me that it goes against the grain. A few years ago I received a hand addressed letter. Now that's personal! Wrong. Close investigation of the message and address revealed that it was all done on a computer and made to look like the real thing.

Most advertising is necessarily impersonal. That's fine, but when the impersonal pretends to be personal, that is phony. This is a lesson we need to apply in personal relationships. The person who hears your Christian message looks beyond what you say.  He wants to know if you really believe it and if you re genuinely concerned  about him.  If he thinks you are manipulating him, he isn't interested.  He can tell if  you really care or are just pretending.  The world is full of hurting people who will  listen to Christ's message, but only if we who present it are real.       

                                                                                                         Monroe Hawley

Believing a Lie

One of the most tragic stories recorded in the Bible is that of the unnamed prophet of Judah in 1 Kings 13. This man of God was told by the Lord to travel north to Bethel to deliver a prophecy against King Jeroboam; he was then to return immediately to his home. When King Jeroboam asked him to stay for a meal, the prophet immediately declined. Another man, this one an old prophet, also invited him to come to his home far a meal, and lied by saying that this was a command from God. Believing the old prophet's lie, the man of God turned from the course the Lord had prescribed for him; later that day the Lord punished him by sending a lion to kill him.

"That was pretty harsh," someone says. I agree. "It was an honest mistake." I have no doubts about that. "He didn't mean to disobey God." That is probably true. But the fact remains that the prophet disobeyed the command of the Lord.

One of the most tragic lies pawned off on society today is that as long as you are sincere in your beliefs, everything is all right. The idea is that God doesn't care nearly as much about truth as he does about an honest heart and pure motives. Now, don't get me wrong. I think sincerity is vital to our spiritual lives. On the other hand, so is obedience. No less than four times did Jesus connect love for him with obedience to his commands.

God has not changed much in 3000 years. The way he carries out his will is different, but he is the same God who sent a lion to kill one of his chosen ones in the days of King Jeroboam. I am not suggesting that we need to be on the lookout for lions, but we do need to be examining the scriptures for God's will as well as our hearts for purity. After all, there are worse things than being killed by a lion.

                                                                                                             Glenn Hawley

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