June 26, 2013
TRUE PERFECTION IS ONLY FOUND IN GOD
Part One
Try harder. Achieve more. Make no mistakes. Produce perfection. These are the messages the world screams at us in the 21st century.
The desperate attempt to be perfect has seeped into our churches. Worship leaders seek to pull off the “perfect set” spending hours tweaking songs. Creative teams spend weeks on promos, handouts, etc. to compliment a service. Preachers labor for hours over the perfect soundbite for their congregations to tweet and facebook about.
There is nothing wrong with working hard to achieve good results—in fact there is every reason to work hard and give our best to what we do. God loves when we use the gifts He has given us for His glory!
But, by striving to be perfect, we are relying on our own strength, not God’s.
In the Old Testament, the word avodah is often used to mean both work and worship (see Exodus 34:21 and Exodus 8:1). Working hard is not a bad thing, and many good things have come out of situations where people have worked furiously hard to achieve brilliant results.
But things have escalated. Society today places expectations upon us that are not only unhealthy, but ungodly. Mistakes are no longer lessons to learn from, but public humiliations, which serve only to knock confidence and thwart passions. Achieving anything less than perfect is considered a failure. Employees in some of our biggest firms slave well into the early hours only to get up at the crack of dawn, all in an attempt to avoid failure. It’s perfection or nothing.
The problem is that by striving to be perfect, we’re relying on our own strength, not God’s. That’s why people who spend their lives trying desperately to achieve perfection often burn out. The human desire to be perfect means we push God to the side, opting to tap into our own limited power resources rather than drawing from the fountain of life. In many ways, the shift in society to achieve perfection is a shift that says, “God, we don’t need you anymore—we’ve got this one covered.”
James Dwyer
Relevant Magazine
(continued next week)
BECAUSE SOCIETY NEEDS IT
Life is hard. Marriage is harder. Adding to the struggle of marriage today is an increasing social and cultural fragmentation. By the time you read this bulletin article the United States Supreme Court will have decided on the California ban of same-sex marriage and the Federal Defense of Marriage Act which defines marriage as between one man and one woman. The Supreme Court seems to be leaning toward upholding the lower court’s rulings seeking to overturn the California ban and the Marriage Act. While divorce rates have decreased, it is often pointed out that this decline is due to couples simply living together and not marrying. If we were to consider the breakup of these live-together-only couples as “divorce,” then more “marriages” than ever are breaking up. Of those legally marrying, 40-50 percent will end in divorce, and live-together-before marriage couples have a 67 percent divorce rate.
The meaning of marriage seems to be slipping away in our society. I confess that I sometimes think to myself, “So what, really? The Church defines marriage, not society. So if society wants to abandon or pervert marriage, then that is their problem. The Church does not need society to justify or affirm what God’s Word declares to us.” My previous views were based on what some refer to as the “Two Kingdoms” view. In short, there is the kingdom of God and there is the kingdom of the world. As Christians we concern ourselves with the kingdom of God and let the kingdom of the world go to hell in a hand-basket. I am over-exaggerating, but that is the basic sentiment. We cannot save the world, but we can save individual souls in the kingdom of God. The kingdom of the world is on its own to face God’s judgment and wrath.
While there is much in the two kingdoms view that I find favorable, it is not necessarily best in the case of the institution of marriage. Marriage is a holy covenant conceived by God as the foundation stone upon which families are made and society is built. Marriage shapes and impacts the warp and woof of our society. In other words, marriage is a two kingdom problem that the Church of Jesus Christ cannot afford to ignore.
Marriage affects us all whether we are married, not married, or do not care about marriage. The fabric of our universe is designed to receive, promote, and uphold the marriage covenant between one man and one woman. We ignore God’s creation designs and mandates to our own peril. The universal church will be affected whether it wants to or not by how society regards this marriage covenant. We cannot “tinker” with marriage that is part of God’s creation and not expect consequences in nature and in society.
More than ever, the church must come together as a counter or alternative society that supports with all its efforts, money, members, and resources the holy covenant of marriage. Especially marriage between believers! A Christian marriage is an evangelistic enterprise. Society is supposed to see a Christian husband’s love for his wife as the love of Christ for His Church and the love of a Christian wife for her husband as the church’s love for Christ (Ephesians 5). Christian couples getting married cannot carry out this awesome task on their own. Couples are not self-contained little congregations with all the answers and resources. Christian couples need the Church, so here is one small step that you can take right now – join the West Main Church of Christ this Sunday night at 6:00 p.m. for a congregational wedding shower for Cassie Kelton and Matthew Pitcairn. We will gather together to eat finger foods, desserts, and share marital advice and stories. It will be a fun evening, so come and join us as we do all we can as a congregation to set this young couple off in the right direction. The church needs it, and our society needs it!
– Terry
Congregational Wedding Shower -- Please join us for a congregational wedding shower for Cassie Kelton and Matthew Pitcairn this Sunday, June 30, at 6:00 p.m. in the Fireside Room. We are asking everyone to bring finger foods and desserts. We will have a time of love and laughter as we share stories and advice on marriage with this soon-to-be wedded couple! If you are able, then gifts would be appreciated. For your convenience, Matt and Cassie are registered at Bed, Bath & Beyond.
Camp Kitchen Drive – Check the lists at the back of the auditorium for items you can bring to help supply our camp kitchen this year. Then bring the items and place in the boxes provided. Thanks!
Prayer Requests . . . EEthel Flock is doing poorly. Please pray for her comfort...Merrick Pannell asks prayers for safety for friends who are traveling...Jack Spodnik asks prayers for his friend, Finn, who is not feeling well...Prayers for healing for Jessie Stoner’s aunt, as she recovers from kidney transplant surgery...Christina, Jessie and Olivia ask prayers for their mom, Rene, to put aside her nervousness and come to church with them...Glenda Rennels asks prayers for a friend, Michelle Holmes and her family, as they are facing some difficult situations...Donna York asks prayers for Laura Molzer who is in RRMC with complications from her surgery. Please pray for a complete recovery...Jenny Way asks prayers for a clear mind and an able body this week and to complete her brain book...Mary Liles asks prayers for families affected by drug abuse...Mike and Carlena Eddy ask prayers for their newborn grandson, Tanner, who has jaundice...Karina asks prayers for her cousin, Juan, who is struggling with some personal issues...April Olson asks prayers for all who will be going to Portland on the Agape Mission Trip later this summer, that they will make a difference in people’s lives and work hard...David Mayes asks continued prayers for Cora Sawyer to influence her friends; for Barbara Sawyer to accept Christ; for Brandi’s knee to heal (she needs a knee replacement); for David to be more Christlike...For our President and all of our military men, women and families.
May Financial Statement
INCOME:
|
General Fund Contributions |
|
$ 20,786.74 |
|
Non Budgeted Contributions |
|
$ 272.74 |
|
Development Funds & Rents |
|
$ 1,827.00 |
|
Interest/Other Income |
|
$100.26 |
|
Total Income for Month |
|
$ 22,986.74 |
EXPENSES:
|
Administration and Payroll |
|
$12,513.79 |
|
Youth on Fire |
|
$1,943.81 |
|
Vision Ministries |
|
($273.76) |
|
Office |
|
$630.39 |
|
Nurturing Brethren |
|
$827.35 |
|
Operational Ministries |
|
$3,202.80 |
|
Worship & Facilities |
|
$1,310.22 |
|
Non-Budgeted Mission |
|
$1,379.48 |
|
Development & Kings Hwy |
|
$8,599.97 |
|
Total Monthly Expenses |
|
$30,134.05 |
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JULY SERVERS
Coffee Servers: Barbara Logsdon
Nursery: July 7: Angela Beeks; Tabitha Walker
July 14: Jennielle Denn & girls
July 21: Shawna Chavez; Quinn Drew
July 28: Codi Spodnik; Andrew Morris
Greeters: Louis & Clara Arnold
Josh & Chaley Johnson
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JUNE ATTENDANCE
1st Sunday 265
2nd Sunday 233
3rd Sunday 258
4th Sunday 266
Calendar of Events
June 30: Wedding Shower for Kelton/Pitcairn
6:00 p.m. in the Fireside Room
July 4: Picnic at Don Jones Park in CP
July 7-13: CAMP
