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Articles from this month's issue of the Berean News |
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Q: What are you most looking forward to about our move to the new church building in Lombard? |
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Faith The padded pews! But seriously... I'm looking forward to the possibility of new ministries. I would love to see something for kids with special needs. |
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Tim Getting married! |
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Mike I'm excited about the opportunity to serve new people in the community. |
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Doris I'm looking forward to more room, and also hearing the worship services there. I think they will be even more beautiful there. |
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Perspective by Larry Urbaniak
According to Dick Meyer, Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Maitland, Florida, the Presbyterian Church in this country has lost 500 members a week in the last decade. That's correct -- 500 members each WEEK. If that rate continues, Presbyterians will be extinct by the end of the century. Church sociologists are people who study growing congregations in this country. Dick Meyer summarized their findings into seven things that a vibrant church should do. The church should: 1. Center its life in the person of Jesus Christ. 2. See the Scriptures as that which determines the boundaries of the Christian faith. 3. Function as a seminary equipping her members for ministry. 4. Restore integrity to membership, linking discipleship with membership. 5. Offer worship experiences that make sense to people. 6. Be constantly open to the new thing God is doing, being careful not to put new wine into old wineskins. 7. Use small groups to build significant Christian community. Quite an interesting list. We Bible Students who are still interested in building up our congregations should take note. One of the roots of this list is the idea of building a sense of Christian community: a spiritual community that seeks to learn and grow and serve together. The ideal Christian community should foster intimacy, both between members and between each individual member and God. People today seem to be seeking such intimacy and yet also seem to be afraid of it. While often sensing something lacking in their lives and wanting to satisfy that inner need, many also build a wall around themselves and almost seem to instinctively push away anyone who comes close to penetrating it. All human relationships are tricky. And those which involve the spiritual can be even trickier. Real close friendship and fellowship must be built on mutual spiritual life goals. For a church to be spiritually effective, it must create a climate that encourages individual and corporate spiritual growth. This means that intimate friendships and fellowship must thrive. These can only be based on mutual commitments to develop Christian character. People with common and strong commitments to Christ and to each other must feel free to share openly, correct each other, and enjoy the struggle together. Modern society demands that we be able to quantify and measure the effectiveness and efficiency of everything we do. But this is very difficult in the spiritual area. There simply is no quick calculus by which to determine spiritual success. The spiritual life does offer primarily relationships: both with God through Jesus Christ and with fellow Christians also through Jesus Christ. Relationships do not easily submit to quantification. The only real measurement of successful Christian intimacy is by means of the spiritual fruit produced in and through our lives. The growing and production of good fruit takes time; it cannot be hurried. Fortunately, by the grace of God, we have been given a lifetime. And we have also been given the spirit of God. May we submit our lives to God, allowing Him to work His work in us. May we willingly risk the exposure of self that is necessary for spiritual intimacy. |
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Viewpoints by Steve Teunis One of the telltale signs that spring is just around the corner at the Teunis household is the heavy load of schoolwork in preparation for tests at the end of the quarter. Our kids can't wait to have a week off of school, but they also realize that they must go through the discomfort of being tested before they can enjoy themselves fully. As we all know, there is no getting out of testing, and every year the tests seem to get bigger and more complex in nature. Sometimes I'm amazed at the level our children are learning and I ponder if I was actually tested that hard at such a young age. I've come to the conclusion that I wasn't because the world changes constantly and is becoming more competitive, requiring our children to be even more prepared. I wonder how many years of college each of our children will attend? Will they specialize in a field that requires several years of internship? Do they comprehend how much testing is in front of them, and if they did, could they handle it? How would any of us deal with the knowledge of all our tests before they happened? Not very well, I believe. Long before schools even existed, God was in the teaching and testing business. I guess you could even say God invented school. And God, it seems, is like a schoolteacher who is constantly testing His students, us. Even today. When we look back into the Old Testament, we find so much about God testing His people. And it seems that God is doing to us the same that He did time and again in the Old Testament: He has surrounded us with a pagan culture, ripe with testing opportunities; allowing this constant pressure to see whether or not we will remain faithful to Him and put Him first in our lives. It's right before us. We live in a culture that is self-centered, selfish, materialistic, corrupt and immoral. You'd have to be blind not to see it. And God is using that pressure to test US. But we are to be separate, we are to be different. In 1st Cor. 6:11 Paul says "There was a time when some of you were just like that, but now your sins have been washed away, and you have been set apart for God." Instead of being self-centered, we are to be Christ-centered. Instead of being selfish, we are to be selfless. Instead of being corrupt and immoral, we are to be pure and we are to live lives that are holy and blameless in the eyes of God. You know, some of the tests that come to us, the trials, hardships, disappointments and frustrations alike, are ultimately to determine what is in our hearts. God allows these tests to see if we will draw closer to Him and seek His strength and His help, and His nearness, or whether we'll turn away from Him and reject Him. It's what's in our hearts that determines what we do. The apostle Paul knew what he was talking about, for Paul was experiencing some painful testing himself. He refers to it in 2nd Cor. 12 as "a thorn in my flesh." Paul even begged God three different times to remove it and to stop the tormenting by Satan. And God said no, but I will give you the strength to bear it. So in 2nd Cor. 12:9 God says to Paul, "My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness". It's encouraging to know that when tests come our way, there's a purpose behind them. Our God will never in His love and mercy allow us to be tested beyond our ability to bear it. God is merciful. He wants to help us. He is a loving God, and a helper in our time of testing, all we need to do is turn to him&emdash;not turn away from him. If we do that, God will bless our lives for it. I look forward to the kingdom and the ultimate graduation ceremony. |
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A Daughter's Heart by Sharon Whittaker "Surely Goodness and Mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." Psalm 23:6. I recently unpacked and put up on the wall of our new home a plaque with this scripture text and was reminded once again of the wonder of having God's Goodness and Mercy in my life. These words of this scripture were impressed upon my mind years ago. I was single and living in my own place and sometimes would wake at night unable to sleep. The local Christian station played soothing Christian songs through the night and I would often hear a hymn with these words and meditate on them and drift off to sleep again with them in my mind. It became a favorite scripture text of mine and the words still trigger a sense of joy and comfort when I think upon them. I think that God's very goodness has been impressed upon me for most of my life as I was taught early about God's plan to bless "all the families of the earth." The mental image drawn for me of God's Kingdom on earth and how God would eventually bring all to a knowledge of him and bless and restore mankind back to perfection was a beautiful one &emdash; and I rejoiced in it. It was my vision of God's very goodness that drew me to him in my teen years to want to be part of that plan and give my life over to Him. Over the years that have intervened my Heavenly Father has displayed His goodness and care in my life in so many ways. There have been blessings and trials, but the years have only deepened my trust in Him. I know I can trust him because I know His character and the great love he has not just for me but for ALL. In Psalms 34:8,10 we are invited to "Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. … those who seek the Lord lack no good thing." I have certainly found Him to be true to His promise. The awareness of His love for me as His child has been a source of great joy and encouragement in my life. I have come to cherish Him as my Heavenly Father knowing I can trust Him completely in all things. I am still moved by the image of mankind restored to Him and the joy that is yet ahead for those who will someday look to Him in response to His Goodness and Mercy. I look forward to that time when His character will be vindicated and all will see Him as He is, the embodiment of Justice, Wisdom, Love and Power. Then they will respond to His Goodness and Mercy as in the words of Isaiah 25:9 "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation." That prospect certainly does make us Glad! There's a wideness in God's mercy. There's no place where earthly sorrows For the love of God is broader |
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Roy's Reflections by Roy Boswell
It was clearly the turning point in my life. Granted, there wasn't much time left; in hours this cross would wrench the life from me. Yet if I were to live a hundred more years, I would never look into a kinder face than that of Jesus of Nazareth. I truly believe that He is the Christ. I heard many things about Him, but His calm, majestic manner even on the cross drew me to Him. I can't explain it. I don't understand it totally myself. I've never trusted anyone in my life, but here I am trusting a man about to die. Ridiculous, you say? Let me tell you my story: I never had an easy life. I grew up stealing, cheating and conning people. I started when I was a young boy. I'd run through the streets, snatching fruit from the vendors or wares from the shops. It all seemed innocent at first; it was just a game. But by the time I was a teenager, I was really good at my craft. I was a professional thief. Over the years I learned to trust nothing except my ability to steal from others. I would cheat anyone, anytime, anyplace. As I saw it, if I did not steal I would have nothing. I had no intentions of going through life with nothing, so I stole. As I grew older my crimes became more serious. I even stole from some of the Roman soldiers. That was always a thrill. My head swelled with pride knowing that I could get away with it. I hated them anyway. I figured whatever I took from them, they owed to me. They took taxes and anything else they wanted from our people, so I was just getting back a little of our own. But I hated my people, too. The Jews had done nothing for me except cause trouble. What I stole from them they owed me as well. Oh sure, I was caught many times, but always let go. This was the first time they took my petty crimes so seriously. Perhaps the judge saw my face one too many times. So here I hang, condemned to die. I didn't really know the other two who were hanging on crosses with me. I had heard of the one on the middle cross, Jesus. Some people thought He was the Messiah. Others said He was a magician, that He raised people from the dead. I didn't really know who He was and I didn't much care until ... We had all been physically beaten but especially Him, the one in the middle. The soldiers paid particular attention to Him. I heard them mocking and ridiculing Jesus. I had nothing to lose, so I joined in. So did the other guy hanging on the far cross. Isn't it ironic? Here we were mocking the One hanging between us, and we were about to die ourselves. I watched Him. I noticed how He responded to the scoffing. He made no sound-not a word. Why didn't He show any anger? Why didn't He curse us as we cursed Him? I couldn't believe how calm and peaceful He was. Gradually, my jeers turned to silence. I didn't know what to say. This Jesus amazed me. I found myself rebuking the man on the other side of Him. Indignantly I said, "Don't you fear God? Don't you see that we are being punished justly for our crimes, but this man has done nothing wrong? How can you continue to ridicule Him?" (Luke 23: 40-41) It just didn't seem right. Jesus didn't belong here, hanging between two thieves like us. We were criminals, but He looked so innocent. I believe He was innocent. In fact, I began to think that maybe He was who He claimed to be "The Christ" the Son of the living God. With this tiny bit of faith I turned to Him, looked squarely into His face and said, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." (Luke 23:42) I couldn't believe I was saying this, but I knew in my heart that He had to be the Lord. If that was true, then everything He said about His Kingdom was also true. All I wanted was for Him to remember me when He became our king. I was surprised when He said, "Assuredly I say to you today, you will be with Me in paradise." (Luke 23:43) What did He mean, "paradise"? That didn't sound like some mystical region of spirits or some place to purge my sins. It sounded pretty real, and pretty good, too. For that matter, what did He mean, "with Me"? I always believed that once you died that was it. Life just ended. Yet He promised me, I would be "with Him in paradise." I trusted Him, this one hanging next to me on a cross. Even if I didn't understand everything, trusting Him made all the difference in the world. For the first time I had faith in someone other than myself. For the first time I trusted someone with my life. For the very first time I had hope for the future, for that day when I would be with Him in His paradise; and all because of this man I met at Calvary. |
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We are pleased to announce that the 52nd Annual Berean Christian Conference is scheduled for June 30 through July 7, 2001 in Grove City, PA. The campus of Grove City College will once again be the main site for all conference activities. As in years past, the seven day conference offers a broad variety of sermons, studies, interest groups and recreational activities for all ages. Nursery (ages 0-2), Vacation Bible School (ages 3 through grade 5), Junior High (grades 6-8), and Teen (grades 9-12) Programs are planned, in addition to the adult program. For the complete program listing, see the Events page. This year's conference theme is "Looking unto Jesus," drawn from Hebrews 12:2. Registration begins at 12 noon on Saturday, June 30. The conference chairman is our brother Denis Couture of Rochester Hills, MI. Conference accommodations are handled by our sister Pam Eckley of Westminster, VT. If you have any questions, please contact the conference publicity director. |
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