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Compiled by the Faith Newsletter editor: Burt Pearson
Contents:
From your Pastor
Youth Group News
Scrapbooking Saturday
A Six Year Old Girl’s Logic
The Death of a Nation
From the Deacons
Welcome to Colton Kostner
Welcome to Martin Syms
Welcome to Danae Kostner
Welcome to Matthew Holmes
Welcome to Amanda Richardson
Welcome to the McGuires
Garden
A Pastor with Guts
A Year Through The Bible
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From your Pastor |
On Sunday evenings we are currently in a series based on Walter Marshall's book entitled, The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification. Who was Walter Marshall? I'm glad you asked! He was born in 1628 in Wearmouth, England. He was appointed as a parish pastor in England in 1661, but he had to leave when the British Act of Uniformity was passed in 1662. He then was called to pastor a congregation at Gosport, in Hampshire, where he labored until his death. He was considered an able preacher and a faithful pastor. It was during the time at Gosport that he wrote this book consisting of fourteen "Directions" about the Christian life. The book was born out of his own personal experience, and his struggles to live a holy life. Many theologians agree that it is one of the best, if not the best book written on sanctification.
The main premise of the book is that Christians are in union with Christ, and their Christian growth
flows from this union, not from their own efforts. Only the gospel can empower obedience. In our day, however, this truth (that power for growth comes from the gospel of grace) seems to be long forgotten. The gospel says that through faith in Christ, you are completely forgiven of all your sins. Then, having been forgiven, you are called to sanctification by faith in Christ as well. Sancti-fication is the lifelong process of being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (on this there is no debate). However, confusion sets in as soon as the question is asked, How do Christians become holy? Where does power for godly living come from?
These questions have been debated for 2000 years. In the Bible, the books of Galatians and Colossians
address this question head on. Does godly living proceed from placing yourself back under the
requirements of the Mosaic law, as the Galatian Judaizers taught? Does holiness proceed from higher life mysticism, as the Colossians heretics taught? Paul's answer in each case was an unequivocal, NO! Holiness from union with Christ comes from Christ living in me (Galatians 2:20) Godliness proceeds from living in Christ (Colossians 2:6-7). For the past 2000 years the church has re-fought the battles of Galatians and Colossians. The church has produced many different teachings about the Christian life:
asceticism, legalism, perfectionism, higher life and second blessing movements. Other churches have
emphasized discipleship (biblical and important), and many books have been published on Christian
disciplines. This is a critical emphasis for the church, however, many schemes of discipleship focus on methods of disciplining yourself for holiness. The bottom line is, they hardly even mention union with Christ or the power of the gospel to produce holiness. Such schemes quickly become legalism, and they leave those who attempt them frustrated, condemned, and powerless. They certainly give lip service to grace, but they do not put grace into practice to empower Christian living. It is always a message of grace-Yes, you are saved by grace ... but make sure you discipline yourself and live a good life if you really want to be sure God is happy with you.
The apostle Paul was confident that gospel grace would empower God's people to live godly lives. N1VTitus 2:11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say "No" to
ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope-- the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
For Paul the gospel brings a double blessing: the forgiveness of sin and the power for holiness. Only the gospel can empower obedience. That is why every generation of the church must discover afresh the sufficiency of the gospel of grace, and the power of the cross of Jesus BOTH to save and to sanctify. That is what we're attempting to do on Sunday evenings through this in-depth study of
sanctification.
Before our study begins each week, Russ Soule spends 5-10 minutes teaching us a new hymn, along with the history and context behind it (if available). In addition to helping us become more familiar with our new hymnal, this adds a richness to our worship as we learn the melody, and study the theology of the hymn. This has been a great addition to our service. We still enjoy our usual hymn selections from the congregation followed by a time of corporate prayer. Come and join us for this rich time of worship and fellowship
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Grace and Peace
Pastor Adams |
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Youth Group News |
Large group meetings at 6:00 p.m. in the Youth Room. Invite a friend!
Upcoming Event:
Regressive Dinner. Date and Time to be determined.
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Submitted by
Joaquin Hall |
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Scrapbooking Saturday |
Come join us for our 1st Scrapbooking Saturday on February 7 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Bring your scrapbook supplies and a favorite snack to share. Drinks will be provided.
Never scrapbooked? No problem. We have a project you can complete in one day. All you need are a few of your favorite 4x6" prints and your imagination!
We plan to meet the 1st Saturday of each month. Invite a friend or neighbor!
Great way to reach out to our community!
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Need more information?
Contact: Denise Lemons |
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A Six Year Old Girl’s Logic |
One day a 6 year old girl was sitting in a classroom.
The teacher asked a little boy, “Tommy, do you see the tree outside? “
The boy responded, “Yes. "
“Tommy, do you see the grass outside? "
‘Yes.”
“Go outside and look up and see if you see the sky. "
Tommy returned a few minutes later, “Yes, I saw the sky. “
“Did you see God? “No.”
The teacher then said, "That's my point. We can’t see God because he isn't there. He doesn't exist.”
The little girl spoke up and wanted to ask Tommy some questions. She started, “Tommy, do you see the tree outside?”
“Yes.”
“Do you see the grass outside?”
The boy, getting tired of the questions, answered, “Yesss!"
“Tommy, do you see the teacher? “
“Yes!”
“Do you see her brain?”
“No”
“Then according to what we were taught today, she must not have one!!!”
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Submitted by
Marian Sweigart |
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The Death of a Nation |
The Death of a Nation
by Dr. Russel G. Riggs
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
America once believed that, but then we got bored,
We lived our lives for fortune and joys,
To pledge' allegiance to pleasure, and play with our toys.
We rose up early and worshiped the god of things,
To pray for wealth and the power it brings.
We took God's blessings and gobbled them down,
But when it was time to give thanks, we weren't around.
We turned our head to the sins of our lands,
We said, "It's O.K., God understands."
We laughed at the blasphemings on our T.V. sets,
We went to the big cities to party, dance, and make bets.
We cheered whilst the harlots led us astray,
Like lambs to a slaughter, we walked in their way.
We murdered our babies and put perverts on parades,
We kicked God out of our schools, and lowered the grades.
We elected our kings without a thought for God's plan,
We asked, "Who'll give us more money? He'll be our man!"
We forced from our memory the thoughts of God,
We put faith in our might, and the power of our sword.
We served ourselves like gluttonous fools,
We'd forgotten that in heaven, there's a God who rules,
Until the day, when His blessings went dry
We tried to pray, but got no reply.
We then begged for mercy, and begged for more grace,
But like Israel before us, we waited too late.
God brought swift judgment, and humbled our land,
We ran for cover from the power of His hand.
Our wallets went empty, and our shelves were bare,
Our soldiers fell dead, and our joy turned to despair
If you are troubled by the words at this rhyme,
Then join with us and seek God while there's time!
Let us pray for our country and seek God's face,
If we can spread the word, just maybe, we can find grace.
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Submitted by
Dan Acker |
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From the Deacons |
Now Serving
Now in those days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full
number of the disciples and said, "It is not right that we should give up preaching the Word of God to serve tables. Therefore brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word" And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. ACTS 6:1-6 (ESV)
Why does the church have elders and deacons? When we examine the passage of Scripture above, we see the NT roots of the offices. The church was growing in numbers and the apostles couldn't do everything. It is evident from this portion of Scripture that the church has at least two tasks that it needs to accomplish simultaneously: the preaching of God's Word and the serving of tables, i.e., meeting the needs of people. As the New Testament church experienced growth in the number of new "members" the apostles found themselves stretched beyond their ability to
serve tables and preach. We're told in verse I that the Hellenists (Greek speaking Jews) began complaining because their widows' needs were not being met. The apostles, with the Holy Spirit's guidance, acted quickly to resolve this issue. They directed the disciples to choose seven men to devote themselves to this task of serving tables. This would allow the apostles to devote themselves ''to prayer and to the ministry of the word."
Does this mean the apostles were too good to "serve tables?" Certainly not! They had been with Christ and were called to preach so that Christ's church might increase. Up until that time, we can infer from this passage that they
had been able to handle both tasks. However, when the numbers grew and complaints surfaced that needs weren't being met they realized the need for assistance. They knew, just as Jesus had taught, that the two tasks went hand in hand. More times than we can count, Jesus showed a concern for people and their physical needs. These acts of compassion went with His preaching and His call for repentance. So, men were called into service to carry on the all important task of serving the "daily distribution" to those in need which freed the apostles for prayer and the
ministry of the Word. James 1:27 says, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
If we preach Christ crucified but do not show the love of Christ to our neighbor, we appear as hypocrites. If we only strive to meet our neighbor's physical needs, apart from the Gospel, we appear, at best, to be worldly
philanthropists. The two must go together-faith and works. We again are reminded by James: "What good is it my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food and one of you says to them, 'go in peace, be warmed and filled,' what good is that? So also faith by itself: if it does not have works, is dead"
We must apply this teaching to our individual Christian walk, but we must not forget that it applies to the church as a body. Each member of Christ's church has a gift. All these gifts come together, through the power of the Holy
Spirit, to sustain the church and carry out this "partnership" of faith and works. The apostles realized this and gave
us a model to follow, even in our modem times. The pastor ofa church is a very busy man. His gifts and calling are to devote himself to "prayer and ministry of the Word." Without this the Gospel does not go out and the sheep are not fed. This of course does not give the pastor license to disregard the physical needs of his congregation. However, it does release him of the burden of having to take care of it all himself. There are other "parts" of the body, established by God, to tend to these matters. The pastor should be allowed to devote his time completely to the preaching of God's Word and to the spiritual matters of the church. After all, that's his calling and what we pay him to do, right? There are elders, deacons, and members with various gifts to take care of the rest. I write this not to condemn others, but because I am convicted of this myself. Too many times in diaconate meetings, meetings designed to tend to the physical care and needs of our church, I've heard the pastor say "I'll take care of this issue," or "I'll call someone about that issue ... " No. That's not the pastor's job. That's one more issue that I allowed to
get in the way of what the pastor should be devoting his time to: the prayer and ministry of the Word of God. I know our pastor goes above and beyond his "duties" because he loves and cares for this congregation, something for which we need to be ever grateful to God, but if there are opportunities to alleviate any burden or stress for our pastor, we should jump on them. For example, after Sunday worship, the pastor should be able to move among the "flock" tending to "sheep" for which he's been called to shepherd, and then head home to care for his own family, without the burden of having to ensure all the church facilities are locked up. This, in my opinion, falls within a deacon's area of responsibilities ... and I'm guilty!
The same principle applies to the elders on the subject of spiritual matters and the teaching of God's Word.
The pastor (an elder in the church) cannot do it all.
So if you see the pastor doing something that you know someone should, or could, take care of, jump in yourself or remind a deacon or elder. Better yet, remind the pastor that he's allowed to delegate to the men God has given him in the church to tend to such things! As an officer in the Air Force, I'm learning (ever so slowly) the importance of delegation, because you can't do it all. The same principles can apply to the care of the church. The apostles
(elders) delegated to the seven chosen from the disciples, not because they didn't feel like "serving tables" but because they were sure of their calling to preach the Word. They saw the importance of calling upon the various gifts of other men to meet the church's physical needs.
So, do you need your "table served" or know someone who does? Call a deacon. Do you have a spiritual matter you want to talk about or have a question about a certain Biblical doctrine? Call an elder. After all, that's what you elected them to do, right?
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Chris Bergstrom
Table Server |
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Welcome to Colton Kostner |
Colton Kostner joined Faith Presbyterian on Sunday, Dec. 21, 2008. He is 12 and in the 6th grade at MILA Elementary. His favorite subject this year is math.
Colton’s favorite sport is kickball. He has done extensive traveling with his family. Iceland is his favorite place so far. He plans on spending this summer out at Teen Missions on Merritt Island.
Colton was baptized as an infant – a decision by his parents… Since he is a Christian, he felt the need to make his own decision so he decided to profess his faith and join the Faith congregation.
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| Welcome, Colton! |
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Welcome to Martin Syms |
Martin Syms joined Faith Presbyterian on Sunday, December 21, 2008. He is 16 years old and a 9th grader at Temple Christian School in Titusville. His favorite subjects this year are history and weight lifting. He also enjoys watching football and dirt bike racing. He is currently on leave from the Police Explorers and his work with the Titusville Police Department.
Martin enjoys helping his siblings and other people. He plans to be a Marine when he graduates from high school and then would like to be a sheriff’s deputy when he completes his military duty.
Martin never remembers a time that he did not have God in his life. In 6th grade he consciously made a decision for Jesus and invited him into his life following a chapel message. When his mother died, he more concretely knew how much he needed the Lord and started being more focused in his Christian walk. This has led him now to join the Faith congregation.
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| Welcome, Martin! |
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Welcome to Danae Kostner |
Danae Kostner joined Faith Presbyterian on Sunday, Dec. 21, 2008. She is 10 years old and in 5th grade at MILA Elementary on Merritt Island. Her favorite subject this year is science.
Danae loves soccer and is on the Cyclones. She plays defender, mid-field, and basically anywhere they need her except goalie. During the season she keeps busy with practices two evenings per week and Saturday games. Currently she’s just playing in occasional tournaments.
Being in the Kostner family, she’s a world traveler… Figi, Faroe Islands, Indonesia, China and Cambodia are some of the stamps in her passport. China was her favorite place so far. This year she plans on going to Malawi – without her family!
Danae became a Christian when she was 6 or 7 and decided to join the Faith fellowship following taking the Communicants class.
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| Welcome, Danae! |
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Welcome to Matthew Holmes |
Matthew Holmes joined Faith Presbyterian on Sunday, Dec. 21, 2008. He is 11, in the 6th grade and has been home schooled since the 4th grade. His favorite subject this year is history.
An avid swimmer, Matthew practices 5 to 6 times per week to stay in top form. His favorite stroke is the breast stroke and he is currently rated in the Top 5 in the north Florida district in the 11 & 12 year old category.
North Carolina is one of Matthew’s favorite place to vacation. He hopes to be an Olympic swimmer, a pro-fisherman or a Marine Biologist when he grows up.
Matthew has recently become a Christian and wanted to join the church to be in the fellowship with Jesus and other Christians.
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| Welcome, Matthew! |
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Welcome to Amanda Richardson |
Amanda Richardson joined Faith Presbyterian on Sunday, January 18, 2009. She is 18 and a junior at Merritt Island High School. Her favorite subject this year is Child Care.
Amanda enjoys reading in her spare time. Her favorite vacation spot was Niagara Falls. She has had one Teen Mission trip, spending the summer of ’07 in Wales. She would like to work with children when she graduates.
Amanda has been a Christian for many years but felt it was now time to make a public profession of her faith.
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| Welcome, Amanda! |
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Welcome to the McGuires |
On January 18, 2009, John and Vicky McGuire joined Faith Presbyterian. They have both lived in the area for many years and have been attending Faith Presbyterian for the past 1 and a half years. They currently live in Rockledge.
John is a branch manager for John Deere Landscapes in Rockledge and Vicky is an assistant manager for the Cocoa Wal-Mart. They have been married for about 4 months. Vicky has three children from a previous marriage – a 21 year old son, and 20 year old and 13 year old daughters.
John enjoys golf and Vicky likes to do cross-stitch. They both enjoy reading, redecorating their home and doing yard work.
John has recently become a Christian, following an invitation by his now sister-in-law, Laura Chapman, to visit Faith Presbyterian. Vicky was born and raised a Presbyterian.
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| Welcome to the McGuires! |
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Garden |
Some ideas about correction and discipline won’t win prizes with the social culture, but then society hasn't done very well on its own in dealing with the problem of self-centeredness. The "I am the center of the universe" mentality that we accept in children is now seen just as frequently in adults.
And it is crippling society.
"I will do what I want to do" is part of the common language. What about others? What about family? What about our children? "They will have to adjust to me," we are told. In other words, children, who are by nature, se!f-centered, are expected to act like unselfish adults and accept the behavior of their parents and other adults who want to act like children.
There are weeds in our societal gardens, and we haven't dug them out. We see people's errors? and we don't address them because we want to be kind, we want to be tolerant. Maybe the garden will improve by itself' if we don't disturb the weeds, we say.
But ..weeds don't abandon gardens on their own. If we ignore them, they take over and It won't matter how much other loving care we give to the garden.
The harvest will be stunted and sparse.
Maybe we have not said, "Thus saith the Lord," often enough to children who are still learning behavior patterns, and to childish adults who were
never obliged to behave like adults. Maybe we haven't let people know that when they make gods of themselves and serve those gods, they will not only wreck their own lives but will break other lives around them.
Weeds choke. They choke when the Gospel seed starts to sprout, just as Jesus said that they would; weeds choke when the plants grow larger. Digging
out weeds is not easy' digging out weeds is not gentle. Digging out weeds even invites the response, "Who gave you the right~" But then we should expect that response. After all, who did Jesus say sows the weeds? Satan does.
Satan will always com lain and scream "intolerant" hen a gardener comes along with his weeding hoe of honesty and truth. Being gentle hasn’t worked
with the sin-weeds that are destroying lives. In our own lives we know what the Master Gardener has had to do with us every day. If he doesn't, the weeds come back quickly.
It is time to say to people "I love you too much to ignore what ou are doing to yourself and to others. There are weeds in your garden, and they need to
come out." --
That's not gentle. That's confrontational. If someone closes his eyes to the weeds in my garden and isn’t willing to confront me, I would think that that person doesn't love me much. Because, obviously, that person doesn't care.
Roger C. Palms, from Decision Magazine
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Submitted by
Peg Krieg |
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A Pastor with Guts |
Thought you might enjoy this interesting
Prayer given in Kansas at the opening session of their Senate. It seems prayer still upsets some people. When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:
Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek your direction and Guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we
have done.
We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.
We have exploited the poor and called it
the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it
welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it
choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it
justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our
children and called it building self esteem.
We have abused power and called it
politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts
today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.
Amen!
The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving International requests for copies of this prayer from India, Africa and Korea.
Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, 'The Rest of the Story,' and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired ..
With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called 'one nation under God.'
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| Submitted by Burt Pearson (as received in an e-mail message) |
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A Year Through The Bible |
Barbara and I have been reading through the Bible together since our church decided to do this. It has been a wonderful experience for us. We have had some good discussions. I have read through the Bible a few times over the years but I believe this is the first time Barbara and I have done it together. I only wish we had done this together before. I can tell you this, it will not be our last time of going through the whole Bible together.
I want to encourage everyone to continue. I know for us, the last couple of weeks have been a bit tedious. The end of Exodus and Leviticus are not the most exciting reading. However, as our Pastor has said, it is all the Word of God and worthy of instruction, correction, etc.
One thing these books have shown me is that God's people really had it tough. I often wonder how they remembered all of the law let alone were able to do it. I guess that is the point. They were not able to do it and keep it all. It is truly impossible to work our way to salvation. It is through Jesus alone that we can be saved.
So, persevere and let God's Word enrich your lives. I truly believe God is pleased as we read through His Word together.
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Submitted by
Tom Ferraro |
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