June 3, 2007

Prayer Requests:
1. Peg Gibson: Biopsy on Tuesday
2. Ryan Kline – unspoken
3. Tony & Connie; Brent & Karen - Travelling





WE NEED YOUR HELP Bake Sale/Car Wash: Our Youth Group is having a car wash & bake sale at Auto Zone on June 9th from 7:30 – 3:30. The more hands there are to wash cars the better. Any baked goods would be appreciated as well. Contact Teresa or Ernie about scheduling a time to help or to donate baked goods for the sale.

Mark Your Calendar: Our Lake Park Fellowship will take place on Father’s Day this year. Bring a covered dish of some sort and come fellowship right after morning service. If you are interested in being baptized in the lake see Pastor Jim.

Board Meeting: June 5, 6:30pm, at the church.

VBS Meeting: Monday, June 4, 6:30pm. Anyone who wants to help out this year please come. If you want to help but can’t attend the meeting, please let Robin know.

Guitar Lessons: Next lesson will be June 13 at 5:30pm. In the meantime, practice, practice, practice. Wondering if there is anyone wanting lessons but doesn’t own a guitar. See Robin.

The Pastor's Cat
: Dwight Nelson recently told a true story about the pastor of his
 church.  He had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then
 was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed and offered warm milk, but
 the kitty would not come down.
 The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided
 that if he tied a rope to his car and pulled it until the tree bent
 down, he could then reach up and get the kitten.
 That's what he did, all the while checking his progress in the
 car. He then figured if he went just a little bit further, the tree
 would be bent sufficiently for him to reach the kitten. But as he moved
 the car a little further forward, the rope broke.  The tree went
 "boing!" and the kitten instantly sailed through the air -out of sight. The pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood asking
 people if they'd seen a little kitten. No. Nobody had seen a stray
 kitten.  So he prayed, "Lord, I just commit this kitten to your
 keeping," and went on about his business. 
 A few days later he was at the grocery store, and met one of his
 church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was
 amazed to see cat food. This woman was a cat hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her,  "Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?"
 She replied, "You won't believe this," and then told him how her
 little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing. Then
 a few days before, the child had begged again, so the Mom finally told
 her little girl, "Well, if God gives you a cat, I'll let you keep it."
 She told the pastor, "I watched my child go out in the yard, get
 on her knees, and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won't
 believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten suddenly came
 flying out of the blue sky, with its paws outspread, and landed right in
 front of her."
 Never underestimate the Power of God and His unique sense of
 humor!
 
We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy. Psalm 126:2


WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT…CHILD TRAINING continued By J. Richard Fugate

God’s Protection of Parental Authority by Government

Matthew 15:4 For God commanded, saying, “Honor thy father and mother”; and, “He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.”
Exodus 21:15 And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.
Exodus 21:17 And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.
Deuteronomy 27:16a Cursed be he who dishonoreth his father or his mother.
Proverbs 30:17 The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.
Three important principles are revealed in these verses:
1. Both father and mother are considered equal in their role as parents.
2. God will not tolerate flagrant disrespect of parental authority by children. The death penalty was to be administered to any child who made a practice of overt disrespect by hitting or even cursing his parents. Of course, parents were not given the right to take their own child’s life. The institution of government alone has that power. However, the parents were required to testify against such a child.
Deuteronomy 21: 18-21 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of the mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not harken unto them, Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place. And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This, our son, is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones that he die. So shalt thou put evil away from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear.
As you can see, God is very serious about children being obedient. These verses were given to the nation Israel, but the principle still applies that God will not tolerate disrespectful or disobedient children. Drastic as it may seem that God would institute the death penalty for a child, it was for the protection and benefit of the nation itself. If a child is raised to adulthood who disrespects and disobeys his parents, he is not likely to respect either the national laws or even God. The mere existence of such a law would itself act as a deterrent to its ever being needed. Few, if any, parents would fail to train their children to be obedient knowing that if they failed they would have to testify against them for the death penalty. Likewise, few children, knowing what the penalty was, would be openly rebellious to their parents.
3. If a rebel escaped the death penalty, because either the parental or governmental institution failed in their responsibilities, God’s Word promises direct judgment to the child, the parent, and the nation. (1 Samuel 3:13 compared to 1 Samuel 4:10-18 and Proverbs 30:11-17.) America has been experiencing this type of curse over the last several generations. Wars, drugs, and violent death have been the way of life for youth in our nation for many years. Much of this carnage can be directly attributed to untrained youth.