February 2015 | VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 2
Friend of Sinners
J
esus was known by participating in our textile collection drive!
for a lot of things. He was known for his wisdom, discernment, holiness, authority, ability to work miracles, his compassion for the out casts for society, his teaching, his interactions with his opposition, and many more attitudes and actions left footprints on the beaches of society as the God of creation walked this Earth in human form. His discernment cut like
Feb 28 – This special collection event can make a big OPS of Oak Harbor difference! is hosting a Clothing and Textile Drive! *Accepted Items: CLOTHING any We all have unwanted kind/any conditextiles* that are either tion - stained, worn out, or no longer fit. torn, burned, etc. SHOES Instead of throwing into any kind/any condition; the trash where they’ll TOWELS bath, kitchen, simply add to our Nation’s rags; SHEETS, BLANKETS, growing landfills, give QUILTS; CURTAINS/ your clothes a second life DRAPERY; PURSES, BELTS synthetic/leather;
M
TABLECLOTHS, PLACEMATS, STUFFED ANIMALS... We cannot take glass, breakables, electronics, pet beds, bed pillows, carpeting, uniforms, or hotel linens. Contact with questions: Cheryl Lawler (206) 427-1295 or Amy Bruce (619) 8657430.
a scalpel in the hands of a skilled surgeon separating pretense from reality. In Matthew 11:16-19 Jesus fillets the insincerity of his critics, separating the realty from the show. John the Baptist was Jesus’ forerunner. He was an austere man, living in isolation, ministering in the style of the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah. The critics blamed demon (Friend—Continued on page 2)
2760 North Heller Road Oak Harbor, WA 98277
www.oakharborfamilybib www.oakharborfamilybible. le.org le.org
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(Friend—Continued from page 1)
He was labeled “friend of tax collectors
The most righteous impenitent found no
possession for John’s
and sinners” (Matt. 11:19). The label was intended to be an indictment; however,
comfort in his presence. Righteous living, but truly repentant Nicodemas found a
Spartan life-style. In
Jesus took it as an honor. Pharisee and
their minds, that was
publican were equally welcomed by Je-
loving Messiah while other Pharisees burned with anger. The repentant always
the only possible expla-
by Pastor Ron Lawler
nation for his self-imposed extreme re-
sus. He walked a tenuous tightrope between befriending highborn and lowborn
strictions. Communicating at the other end of the ministerial stylistic spectrum, Jesus socialized with people – all kinds of people. As a result, he was called a glutton and drunkard.
sinners. He accepted all categoDo we help the spiritually down and out, or do we shun them? What would Jesus do?
His compassion and acceptance of sinners was criticized by reli-
ries of people in their sin, without approving of their sin. When he confronted them
find acceptance and forgiveness with Jesus. Sadly they do not find such acceptance with all of Jesus followers. Jude challenges us, “Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mer-
about their sinfulness, many
cy, mixed with fear –hating even the
left feeling loved. The woman
clothing stained by corrupted
at the well ran home and declared, “Come see a man who
gious leaders. One of the Pharisees suggested he was not a true prophet because
told me all that I ever did.” What she had done was not something one bragged
he allowed a “sinner” to touch and kiss his feet (Luke 7:36-39).
about. She was glad to be exposed to the holiness of Jesus. In that exposure, the
flesh.” (Jude 22-23) Do we help the spiritually down and out, or do we shun them? What would Jesus do? ª
healing warmth of love shone through.
Heavenly Hearts is a one-on-one prayer partner ministry in which two women commit to meet weekly to share: ª two praises of their week ª two prayer requests ª and two areas for which they want to be held accountable
Everyone 55+ is invited to FBC Silver Eagles’ monthly potluck and program. Friday, Feb. 20th is a potluck at noon at the church. The program at 1:00 PM will be one of Silver Eagles’ very own speaking briefly about each President.
After the sharing time, all that was shared is lifted up in prayer.
Come and enjoy what promises to be insightful and
For more information, or to begin an HH prayer partnership with a friend, please call Marsha at 360-675-7664.
humorous information.
What is keeping you back from….”Making the Connection?”
Questions? Call Marjorie Kott 675-3146 or
[email protected]
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Family Bible Church Church— —FamilyGram
International Needs transformed lives, changed communities
Nathan
International Needs
Egypt “My plan for your future is filled with hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
D
ear Friends, We thank you all for your prayers and all your support for us as a family. We are being supported and protected by all your precious prayers. My wife and I and my three children Maggie, Martin and Michael are thankful for the Lord, for his goodness and for his protection for us through all the circumstances. My elder children Maggieand Martin are working and Maggie is still preparing her house to get married in about five months. Sawsan and I are very excited to see our eldest daughter getting married and to see our grand children in the future. As for my wife, she decided to leave her job as a pharmacist starting the beginning of December, in order to be more involved in the ministry, as deep inside her heart, she wants to serve among the poor and the sick people and also the refugees. Country News Egypt still needs all your prayers as there are so many things that are not settled down. We still suffer insecurity because of the number of explosions that have recently taken place, that the Muslim brotherhood made in a number of schools, buses, train stations and underground stations as well. Every week there are numbers of people injured and killed people because of those explosions. Also, the terrorist group ISIS has reached Egypt through Sinai, they do a lot of terrorist acts and hundreds of people are being killed. Ministry News We thank the Lord that despite all the hard circumstances, we still see new doors are being open in the ministry, and we see a lot of people coming to the Lord. We are witnessing a lot of churches combining and uniting together in prayer. New Projects We are now establishing a new training center for all the male and female youth. The training will teach different handcrafts in order to provide job opportunities. The training will be on hairdressing, haircutting, sewing and fixing, repairing computers, repairing air conditioners, and also repairing mobile phones. Also, we will give courses in computer and the English language, as well. We will start working in this center during the coming three months. Please pray for us so that the Lord may fulfill all our needs to be a blessing for those young youths and also to be a way to deliver the message of God. Ministry Among the Syrian Refugees We still minister among thousands of refugees who have left their homes and their countries and they live here, in Egypt, in very hard circumstances and in deep poverty. We have organized a number of meetings as we give them a spiritual message and also food, shoes and blankets and other things to help them to live in a good way. At our last meeting there were more than 500 people, beside the children, and most of them were Muslim. But they accepted the message of God happily, and their hearts were totally open for what we had shared. The good news is that thirteen of them have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, and they have now joined a discipleship group as well. God is working through the Holy Spirit and we are very happy and grateful to see the fruits of our ministry through those who are accepting Jesus Christ in their lives and they gain eternal life. Please continue to pray for us as a family and for our ministry. Also, pray for our country Egypt, that the Lord will prevail with his peace and calmness. We thank you all, Nathan and Sawsan International Needs, Egypt 5570 32nd Ave Hudsonville, MI 49426
(616) 209-5420
2760 North Heller Road Oak Harbor, WA 98277
Winter 2014
Dear Supporter, Thank you for your faithful support of Nathan in Egypt. Whether your support is financial or through prayer, his work in Egypt and the spread of the Gospel would not be possible without you. Please enjoy this latest update from Nathan.
Thank you for your partnership with the International Needs ministry.
www.innetworkusa.org
www.oakharborfamilybib www.oakharborfamilybible. le.org le.org
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show me a future in God’s grace alone.”
WANNA GET AWAY?
A
s I begin this article, I am thinking maybe the headline should be “Rain, rain, go away, please come back another day!” My next thought is that my favorite season (spring) is just around the corner and that corner will bring the Women’s Retreat! The Retreat Team is excited to plan the Retreat and we hope you will prayerfully consider attending this year! It promises to be a fabulous get away weekend filled with beautiful surroundings, peaceful rest, delicious meals, girlfriend time, and most importantly, uplifting worship and lessons learned from God’s word. Women’s Ministry is excited to announce Our Annual Women’s Retreat Please join us Friday, April 10 to Sunday April 12 at the lush and beautiful grounds of Cedar Springs
Christian Retreat Center in Sumas
The cost for the Retreat is only $160.00. This includes a two night stay at the beautiful Cedar Springs Christian Retreat Center (cedarspringscrc.org) plus all your meals! Sign-Ups will begin Sunday, March 1st. Watch the church bulletin and our Facebook page for upcoming details. Here is what women had to say about their retreat experience last year: “Just having the opportunity to spend all my free time communing with Jesus outside surrounded by the beauty He created was a treat. It was like a trip to heaven!” “I’ve never in my 50 years been able to see God’s hand in events. This retreat has truly been amazing. God knew I needed to be here and used a great speaker to
“I love the opportunity to get away and get quiet before the Lord is such beautiful surroundings. God was able to do a mighty work in my heart” Begin making your plans now to join us! Please note: Each year we offer several scholarships for women to attend the retreat. If you are interested in contributing towards our scholarship fund or maybe you need a scholarship for yourself, please contact Carolynn Kaetterhenry @ 360-3201663 or
[email protected]. ª
Wonderin what s oin on in Women s inistry? o to our Fa e oo pa e for all the information a out lasses and e ents
February
is
I frequently use 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to en oura e the hildren I tea h to "pray without easin " One day after hapel, a youn oy said, " rs Capehart, I am sorry I sneezed durin your prayer today " I assured him sneezin was no pro lem ut I appre iated his apolo y He responded, "Well, I now you li e us to pray without sneezin " —Jody Capehart, Dallas, TX, Today's Christian Woman, "Heart to Heart "
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Family Bible Church Church— —FamilyGram
Y
G
p
Wed Ni hts 6:30 P —All Youth Dinners in the Foyer 7:00-8:30 P —Brin a friend and en oura e others to parti ipate!
Some ni hts will e small roup ni hts where we ha e more dis ussion of topi s
Other ni hts will onsist of fun a ti ities, worship and a tau ht lesson
Sunday
ornin
Chur h Ser i e—Worship with the whole Body at 8:30, 9:50 or 11:00 A Sunday S hool is offered at 9:50 A
Sun
1
Mon
2
Tue
3
9:50 am Sunday School Jr./Sr. High in C6 Topic: Romans
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9:50 am Sunday School Jr./Sr. High in C6 Topic: Romans
4
Dinner Together 6:30 - foyer
Sr. High 7-8:45C-6 Big - Relationships w/ God
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9:50 am Sunday School Jr./Sr. High in C6 Topic: Romans
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Wed
Fri
Sat
5
6
7
12
13
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Jr. High 7-8:45 C3 Topic TBD
11 Dinner Together 6:30 - foyer Sr. High 7-8:45C-6 Small Groups - LOVE
Thu
Jr. High 7-8:45 C3 Game night Bring a friend
High School Winter Re
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18 Dinner Together 6:30 - foyer
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25 Dinner Together 6:30 - foyer 26
27
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Sr. High 7-8:45C-6 Big - Relationships
Jr. High 7-8:45 C3 Topic TBD
High School Winter Retreat Ocean Shores
22 9:50 am Sunday School Jr./Sr. High in C6 Topic: Romans
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Sr. High 7-8:45C-6 Small Group Triple Options
2760 North Heller Road Oak Harbor, WA 98277
Jr. High 7-8:45 C3 Topic TBD
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R
v
O
ver the past couple of months something strange has been happening to me, and for good purpose. My understanding of the word relevant has been stretched, poked, and prodded in such a way that it has been shaped into a much clearer understanding of relevancy. Relevancy in the church has often been about making things – whether it’s the music or the preaching or the liturgy – accessible to the youngest generation, but often to the detriment of making it irrelevant to all the other generations. Much of the discussion about relevancy in the church that I have encountered has been about preference and opinion about the style of the church’s Sunday morning service practices. And the major question has been, “How do we attract the current culture to come to know Christ?” However, we run so far in the direction of making it relevant to
I D f
G
fT
ive me an ordinary love. Give me morning hair and old, comfy pajama pants. Give me dirty socks next to the bed every night. Even if the bed is in different continents at different times and seasons of life. Even if the bed sags in the middle. Even if the bed is full of long, growing limbs and tiny, precious bad dreams that need to be comforted with blind kisses. 6
those who either don’t know Christ or have such a young faith that they need milk instead of solid food that we forget all about those in the congregation who need solid, spiritual food throughout the week. We also tend in our practice to forget that part of Sunday morning is to help these young believers and unbelievers take the next step in their spiritual process and that they need to begin to start nibbling the solid food of our faith. So, what impact has this stretching, poking, and prodding of the term relevant had on our (my) practice of Sunday morning services at Family Bible Church? Well, quite honestly, we are still working that out a bit in the terms of practice at Family Bible. While we have always striven for a Sunday morning practice that is both current and theologically sound it has not always meant searching out the “tradition” of our faith. It also means finding the right balance of milk and solid food that will nourish both the mature believer and the young believer, and will attract the unbeliever to begin listening to the gospel message. Style is so much different than content when we are talking about Sunday morning practices.
Od
L v
Give me an ordinary love. Even on its most boring days. Give me an ordinary love. Give me a dishwasher unloaded without fail every morning, noon, or night. Give me basketball practices he never misses and boys he always listens to. Give me Lego patience and Polly Pocket fascination. Give
Our content will always strive to be Biblical, true to the text of Scripture that is our authority for all life and righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16). So the content of the message will not be anything other than biblical and if it is ever not Biblical we hope to be humbly approached with concerns. But style, not being in the bible, is so much different to approach with the different preferences even between two God fearing, God honoring believers in Jesus Christ. So, the impact that you may begin to see is an honest approach to making our practice not only relevant to the youngest of our family but also to the most mature of our family. We hope to draw from a number of different preferences in order to best communicate the gospel message and to bolster the word of God. But the question of relevance to me is no longer age dependent but rather depends on the needs of our church to grow in grace, godliness, righteousness, and peace. It is a question rather of what we have to offer as a pleasing offering to God that will connect with the greatest number of believers as we join together to worship God and encourage each other in our faith. ª
L
-J
k
me an ordinary love. Give me sticky kisses over South African pancakes and dreams we worry over side by side. Give me spreadsheets that project our future and tiny humans who clamber up and into our laps and laugh us away from our columns and into their bright blue skies of tomorrow. (Ordinary—Continued on page 7)
Family Bible Church Church— —FamilyGram
Tayshaun Bulthuis 3
Carl McLeod 9
Joanne Taton 20
MaryLou Cooper 23
Meredith Minich 9
Shawn Trisler 2
Raul Cortez 17
Larissa Ocanas 11
Cody Turner 8
Ann Eelkema 27
Derek Ostermann 24
Kathy VanSant 23
Susan Fakkema 10
Brighton Pruss 23
Larry Whitlatch 24
Andrew Gangi 1
Lynett Radka 28
Roxalee Whitlatch 4
D'Andre Bellamy 7
Dianne Granade 6
Sylvia Rice 23
Frank Willis 11
Karin Black 8
Jack Granade 21
Jeff Riffel 3
Luke Blas 8
Cindy Hannon 27
Gabriel Salinger 6
Gerald Brigham 9
Amy Malmkar 14
Tom Smith 15
Lynn & David Adam
Pamela & Larry Ketchum
Meg & Edwin Hilkey
Julie & Willie Wilhelm
(Ordinary—Continued from page 6)
Give me an ordinary love. Give me tiny feet on top of big, black dress shoes as he spins and she twirls and he watches her with all that trust that spills out of her blue eyes and that he never drops. Give me pizza on Friday nights and hamburgers the way he makes them. Keep your magazines and movie endings and mad dashes through airports – just give me an ordinary love. That I can touch and hold and snort out loud with; that I can fight and fume and cry with; that I can trust, and hope, and dream with; that I can warm my feet up against under the covers at midnight. Give me an ordinary love. Keep your perfect endings and Pinterest pretty and give me unshaved on Saturday mornings surrounded by the clutter of the week before and a good sense of humor as Elsa yells her morning greeting.
Keep your RomCom expectations and give me the man who wipes snow off my windshield with a dishtowel because I can’t find the scraper. Keep your chocolates, flowers, and one-day-a-year on the calendar countdowns and give me every day in and out and in again someone who folds the laundry and sleeps in the bottom bunk bed because his sons believe that dads can punch bears. (I’ll take your tulips, though). Give me an ordinary love. That I can kiss and hold and grow old with. Unselfconsciously.
me just the way I am. Give me an ordinary love. Give me an ordinary love that changes batteries and light bulbs, that drives the old car and mixes up the basketball times, that believes in the God of his father and mother and passes down the old stories to his sons and his daughter. Give me an ordinary love. Give me an ordinary love. Give me an ordinary love. Because with him, I’m who I want to be.
Lisa-Jo Baker is the author of Surprised by Motherhood, Tyndale House Publisher. See more at: http://lisajobaker.com
Give me an ordinary love that believes in commitment. Give me an ordinary love that isn’t afraid of change. Of wrinkles. Of this shaped-by-children waist. Give me an ordinary love that sees my reflection in the eyes of my children and loves
2760 North Heller Road Oak Harbor, WA 98277
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Birthdays & Anni ersaries
7
In Defense of Totally
6
issions
3
Pastor Ron
1
Sil er Ea les
2
Youth
5
Women s
4
inistry
6
Worship
Family Bible Church is a non-denominational church. We are located at 2760 N. Heller Road, Oak Harbor. Our Sunday service times are 8:30, 9:50 and 11:10 AM with Sunday School running concurrently. Church office hours are 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM, Monday - Friday. You can contact us by calling 679-1585. Our FAX # is 679-6144. Email address:
[email protected]. Web location: www.oakharborfamilybible.org. Articles for this publication may be submitted to
[email protected].
IT S HAPPENING THIS EVERY TUE
6:00 P
EVERY W ED
6:30 P
FEB
FEB
FEB
Your Leaders Are Available To Serve You
ONTH
The Pier—Colle e and Career
Ed
Prayer & Praise
1
12 & 26
OPS
28
OPS
20
Sil
Alan S hell
Chairman & Worship
inistries 360-679-2381
Brian Haynes
Adult Edu ation
206-349-7688
Wayne A
Se retary &
360-929-0333
eetin —Li rary
ission Fest—Van ou er
ott
Tyler Bla
Small
issions
roups
360-682-5969
Clothing and Textile Drive Ste e Burt
310-500-8200
er Ea les: 12:00 Noon
P FEB
20-21
BETH
OORE
CONFERENCE—OVERLAKE
LOOKIN AHEAD
APR
8
10-12
Women s Retreat—Sumas, WA
Ron Lawler
Prea hin
& Tea hin
360-675-3653
Dan Potter
Youth & Family
206-604-4439
Brian Haynes
Worship
206-349-7688
Family Bible Church Church— —FamilyGram
