West Main

It was another Sunday at church. Everything was going well as my family sat in our regular pew. The kids were busy with their normal mix of paying attention, then talking and playing with friends, and then trying to pay attention again. It was time for the communion meditation, and my son looked up from a scribble he was working on to see Charlie Michael walking forward. He whispered to himself, but audible to us around him: “Yes! It’s Charlie ... this is going to be GOOD.” It made me smile from the inside out! I smiled because I knew he was listening in church. And even more so, I smiled because it reminded me of an important concept: the idea that we are all a family and in this together, and that MANY, MANY other people besides myself are needed to shape my kids’ faith and devotion to God. So I was pleased and excited to know that Charlie, a good and godly man, had made such an impact on my son that he was indeed excited to hear what Charlie had to share about the Lord that morning. My friends ... this is a blessing!

 

 

We are a family. We are a village and we are in this together. Some of us have kids here now. Some have kids who’ve grown up and moved away. Some of us do not have children ... but we are ALL parents, because we are in this family! I am so thankful for the men and women who are showing my kids the love of Jesus. Some do it in classrooms, some at dinners, others at BBQs and watching football games.

 

 

I just want to encourage us all that our kids matter, and they are watching us! They are listening to us! They are LEARNING from us. God instructs us to live in such ways as to show the world to whom we belong. Sometimes we think this only pertains to the outside world, but I believe it is for us, too! You are a teacher ... whether you realize it or not.

 

 

Thank you all for helping shape my kids. May we all strive to do this even better, as we pray for the church and generation to come. It is a true blessing to be a part of this family of God.

 

– Pannell

 

 

 

DEMAND THIS MUCH

 

 

I recall these words from King David’s psalm often: “In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God” (Psalm 10:4). I recall these words often because I am struck by the lack of attention by unbeliever and believer alike when it comes to thinking after God. Study after study, survey after survey points out what is increasingly obvious: the Bible, God’s living revelation, is being increasingly ignored and neglected.

 

 

It is easy to point a judgmental finger at those outside a covenant relationship with God for their ignorance of God’s Word. Yet, the old adage rings true here: “Remember when pointing a finger at someone, there are three fingers pointing back at you” (go ahead and try pointing your finger at something to see for yourself). Ignorance and negligence of God’s Word begins with the household of God. The Apostle Paul warns Timothy and us of this pitfall when he says, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). In other words, King David is right, “In his pride the wicked [and the believer] do not seek God” (Psalm 10:4). Pride drives God from our thoughts. We falsely assume we can know and do better than the Lord. The space in our minds that ought to be taken up with God’s thoughts are increasingly being filled with myths or whatever else we so choose to think.

 

 

Our prideful negligent arrogance of God’s Word manifests itself especially in the general inability in discerning God’s thoughts in contemporary life. The general feeling today in the church seems to be: “It’s about loving relationships, not doctrines.” Now I agree in the history of the church we are often guilty of Jesus’ charge to the Pharisees: “They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them” (Matthew 23:4). Doctrine without love is cold. However, love without doctrine is cruel. In other words, relationships are guided by what we believe to be right and true. If there is no room in all our thoughts for God, then how will we know how to love one another? Love without knowledge is not love. Love is discerning.

 

 

Here is our contemporary problem: We no longer know God’s Word so as to be discerning in our relationships. Just consider the doctrine of marriage being between one man and one woman “till death do you part.” The biblical doctrine of marriage is becoming an embarrassment for many in the church today. Or what of the far greater doctrine of a Christian marrying only a Christian? Can you imagine the furor if I proclaimed boldly that it is a sin for a Christian to marry a non-Christian (See 1 Corinthians 7:39; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18)? Marriage is just one area in the contemporary Christian mind that is losing and has lost space for God’s thoughts.

 

 

How can we speak in love guided by doctrine if we neglect the one true source of knowledge—The Bible? As our pride pushes God’s thoughts from our minds we will increasingly become foreigners to God, one another, and are own selves. If pride goes before the fall, then negligence of God’s Word goes before pride. In our upcoming seminar on human sexuality we will face the challenge of how to create and even fight for the space in our minds that ought to be occupied by the doctrines and thoughts of God. The doctrine of love and the love of doctrine demands this much. Will you?

 

– Terry

 

 

 

Save the Date   -- Please save the date of May 16 & 17 for our continuing seminar, Blurred Lines: God and Sexuality and Marriage, Part II. It is our hope that you can be part of this event. More details to come.

 

 

Southern Oregon Christian Camp  --  Camp 2014 will be at a new location this year in the Roseburg/Winston area. It is called Kellogg Springs Camp, and it is beautiful! Look at their website at www.kelloggsprings.com and see all the wonderful activities that are available to us.   Also, our camp time will come a week earlier than usual – June 29 - July 5, so mark your calendar now and start saving your registration dollars now. The cost has gone up this year to $210.00 per camper, but if you start setting some money aside each week or month it is manageable. We are looking forward to having you there!

 

Camp Fund-Raising Dinner  -- Our Camp Dinner will be on Saturday, May 10, at 6:00 p.m. in the Fireside Room. Please be thinking of how you can help. Please contact Brian or Jessie Pannell to volunteer.

   

Campers Looking for Support  -- On Saturday, May 3, there is an opportunity for you to work hard and earn some GOOD money towards your camp fees. Please contact Brian Pannell ASAP for details.

 

 

Vacation Bible School  -- VBS is only three months away. We are planning on VBS for the week of July 21-25. Our grade levels will be for kids who have finished Kindergarten through 6^th grade. Our theme this year is: Kingdom Rock - Where Kids Stand Strong for the Lord.

We need teachers, food items, help with set up and clean up, carnival booth help and prizes, help with the gift each child will receive and much more. There are a lot of ways that you can help. If you need more info, please contact Denise Beeks.

 

 

Guest Speaker  -- This Sunday evening, April 27, at 6:00 p.m. Travis Denn, son of Larry and Wydie Denn, will speak to us about his mission trip to Africa this past February. Please plan to come and hear about his experiences in Africa. Also bring desserts to share for our fellowship time to follow.

 

 

The Daddy-Daughter-Dinner-Dance is scheduled for this Saturday, April 26, for all young ladies ages 5-18 years old and their favorite adult gentleman. Contact Marcie Dixon for more info.