Southside Oracle Archive

Vol.  5l, No. 17                            SOUTHSIDE ORACLE                        June 27, 2008

The Bulletin Board

New arrival - Congratulations to Joaquin and Sarah Borges on the birth of baby boy Quame who was born last Sunday morning. Both mother and baby are doing well.

The sick - Martha Sepulveda was released from St. Francis Hospital last Sunday .... John Dickson's mother is being treated with chemotherapy for cancer.

Library news - As you probably know there have been some major changes in our church library. The library was started during the early years of the church, but it always shared office space with other parts of our work. It is now located in room 6 and it has new shelving and a computer. Many long hours have been spent in preparing the facilities and in cataloging books. There are now over 1000 total books in the adult and children's parts of the library. Part of the children's area is now designated for youth.   Cathy Ribar is in charge of the library and Karen Van Handel heads the children's library.  Linda Capitonoff and Julia Hawley have cataloged and prepared many of the books for the library.  Now that the library -facilities are more accessible, let's put it to good use.

ATTENDANCE RECORD

                                      (*} first service, 148, second service, 70

Elders' Forum - This Sunday at 6:00 p.m. we will have an elders' forum in which the elders will respond to biblical questions that have been asked.

Homecoming notes - Our 50th anniversary homecoming on July 12 & 13 is rapidly approaching. A number of former members have indicated their intent to be with us including four of our former elders and two of our former preachers and their families.

Calendar of Events

June 22 - July 5  - Middle camp session, Fallhall Glen

July 6 - 19 - Intermediate camp session, Fallhall Glen

July 12, 13 - 5& anniversary homecoming of Southside Church

July 20 - August 2 - Senior camp session, Fallhall Glen

August 3 - 16 - Junior camp session, Fallhall Glen

August 9 - Milwaukee inter-congregational picnic, Kleztsch Park

August 11 - 16 - Green Lake Family Encampment at Green Lake

August 12-17 - Youth and family service trip to Fallhall Glen

September 22 - 24 -- Midwest Preachers' Retreat, Fallhall Glen

Exegesis and Exposition

Big words, aren't they? The average Christian probably can't define them in spite of the fact that we regularly use both in studying the Bible.  As applied to the Scriptures exegesis is the interpretation of what God says.  Exposition is the explanation of what it means to us in our lives. To properly use the Bible we must have both exegesis and exposition.

To illustrate, Jesus taught, "If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles" (Matthew 5:41). In exegesis we study the context of the passage and the historical background of the statement.   We discover that the Persians had a law, continued under the Romans, that a soldier could force a civilian to carry his luggage for a mile. Jesus was saying that if someone forced you to do this, you should willingly go an extra mile.

By exposition we inquire what this means to us today when this law isn't in effect. The principle is the same. Jesus is teaching that we should go beyond what is required of us to demonstrate that we are his disciples, not simply that we should carry someone's baggage for another mile. Exposition without exegesis will cause us to miss the meaning of the Scripture. Exegesis without exposition will mean that we will not translate the divine principles into our daily living.

                                                                                                                              Monroe E. Hawley

Did Jesus Ever Get the Hiccups?

"Daddy, did Jesus ever get the hiccups?" the little girl asked.

"I don't know," chuckled her father. "I never thought about it." Those second graders think up the craziest questions ...but somehow she had gotten through to his own inquisitiveness.  "I wonder if he ever did get the hiccups?" he thought.  "Oh, what a waste of time thinking of such. What does it matter if he did or didn't?" And so the father and his daughter forgot all about the silly question - or was it so silly?

Perhaps our biggest mistake in grasping for a hold on the true character of Jesus is our inability to picture him as human as well as divine. Artists have long portrayed him as having a constant look of piety and a halo glowing overhead, but that really sells the man short. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to picture Jesus as being human enough to get the hiccups. It might help us to identify with some of those intense moments in the garden when he uttered, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me, yet not my will, but yours be done."

We might do well to follow after Zacchaeus who climbed a tree to get a better look at Jesus. Have you been looking at him through the crowds too long?

                                                                                                          Gary Cleveland

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