Here’s a link to a PDF of a bulletin from a sister congregation in a neighboring county. The bulletin contains three articles with titles: Well-Scrubbed Individuals, Who Are Our Real Heroes, and The Tongue is Ugly…. All three of these articles are doctrinally sound, they are very practical in nature, and to top it off they are manageable in length. So in other words, the articles hit the…
I thought it would be good to share this poem which was published in the latest Bulletin Gold email. The poem was written by Edd Sterchi, who preaches for the church in Kentucky. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did: The Ironies of CalvaryBy Edd SterchiMan of sorrows, Prince of Peace,Son of Joy, Man of griefs,Wounded healer, Rejected King,Earth’s disdain, Salvation’s wing.Friend of sinners,…
Interesting connection to worship and a Greek word
Interesting connection to worship and a Greek word
Here’s a link to a short but very good article that makes an important point about the worship we offer to the one and living God of Heaven by describing the meaning of a Greek word that had its roots in what possibly would have been a well-known character to a Hellenistic culture…or any culture today that enjoys doing a word-study on Bible words.
I can remember someone once saying to me, “Fatherhood will change you. You will look at your life in a completely different way.” While I can’t say that I argued with them then, I can definitely say that I didn’t fully understand the lengths to which my outlook on life would change.
Since becoming a father four years ago, I have experienced a range of emotions that I have never felt before, or at least have never felt to the degree to which I feel now. Some of them are terrifying: fear, no control, helplessness—especially in those times where you want to “fix” something for your child, but can’t. At the same time, some of them have been amazing: unconditional love, great big belly laughs, and a warmth in my heart that I have never experienced before in the same way. Being a father is both exhausting and amazing.
1) It hurts to see your child hurting. There are few things as pitiful as a sick child. The fevers, coughing, sneezing, belly-aching, and runny noses of my children cast a shadow over my day. I want for them to be well. I want for them to be happy. I want for them to be enjoying life. When they can’t, because something is hurting them, I’m miserable, too.
I’m reminded of how God takes notice of our suffering. David wrote that, “You have put my tears in your bottle” (cf. Psalm 56:8). And although there are times when my child is suffering, and I can do nothing about it, God the Father can (cf. Psalm 46:1; Hebrews 7:25). Paul refers to him as “The Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
2) There are few thrills greater than the obedience of your child. I remember how excited I was to be able to tell Jenaleigh to do something, and for the first time, she actually understood and did what I said. Now I’m proudest when I find out that she has been a “good girl” whenever she goes to someone’s house, or has to sit with someone else during worship.
I take great joy simply in the fact that she is doing what is right. She’s doing what I have asked. She has love and respect enough for me to do what I desire for her to do. I wonder if God feels the same way, when he looks at us and sees us choose to do what is right instead of what is wrong (cf. 1 John 5:3). I can’t help but think he does.
3) A child teaches you the true meaning of unconditional love. While the love you feel for your spouse or significant other may now be “unconditional,” chances are it didn’t start that way. There was something about that person that attracted you to them—there were conditions that caused you to love that person in a way in which you don’t love anyone else in the world.
But when it comes to the love you express toward your child, the only condition attached to loving them is… that this person is your child. A child doesn’t have to earn your love. They (should) inherently have it from the very beginning—even before they are able to love you back in any significant way.
The parallel to God’s love for his children should be obvious. God loved his children, even while they were still sinners (Romans 5:6-8). Part of our motivation for loving God is that he first loved us (cf. 1 John 4:19). Certainly, God’s love of his children serves as the perfect example of unconditional love—especially considering what he was willing to do to keep us safe.
4) There is nothing you wouldn’t do to keep your child safe. If it ever came down some horrible situation where I had to choose between my own life and any of my children’s lives, there is no choice to make—it was made the day they were born. I would face death for the safety of my children.
How fitting, then, that God did exactly the same thing through his Son? Though we were dead in our sins, he sent his Son, God in the flesh, as a sacrifice to save us from certain death (cf. Ephesians 2:1-4). God, and Jesus, were willing to save both you and I at great personal cost—only the love of a Father does such a thing.
There are probably many, many more things I could add to this list, but these are the few that first stood out in my mind. These are the ones that make me appreciate God’s love and concern for me as his child on a much deeper, more meaningful level.
> “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” (1 John 3:1)
A sermon, in many churches, is just a word of encouragement relative to the daily struggles in life. It is the opinion of some that since people struggle with various things throughout the week, the last thing one wants to hear is an exhortation to shaping one’s life in accordance with godly standards. This sounds too hard, and enough negativity has already occurred for the saints, that another…
