HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1986-01-15, Page 15THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 1986. PAGE 15.
From the Minister's Study
Faith is a matter of the heart
BY DOUG ZEHR, PASTOR
BRUSSELS MENNONITE
FELLOWSHIP
People stop and stare. Yes, they
actually stare. You know that it
must be something that you are
wearing or something that you
forgot to wear. In my case I know
that it is my hat. But they don't just
stop and stare. 'Here comes
Gorbachev's ;ight hand man', or
'How's the weather in Siberia,
comrade?'. That kind of thing.
But I don't worry about it
because I know that it works. That
hat keeps my head warm. I'm told
that we lose more than 70% of our
body heat through the top of our
heads. That's a good reason to
keep your head covered and to keep
your hat on. At least it is a good
enough reason for me.
If you are a regular of this young
newspaper you know that this
introduction must or at least will
make some connection with the
Christian faith. And you are right.
As someone said, 'The heart of the
matter is the matter of the heart'.
As a Christian believer that is
precisely the issue for me. Chris-
tian faith is a matter of the heart.
Actually it is 'the' matter of the
heart. And although that is the
truth, too many of us leave our
heads uncovered.
What I mean by that is that for
many of us, the spiritual realities
and faith issues of the heart are
undermined by our heads. A
person may say, 'You've got to be
kidding. You can't expect me to
take any of those stories seriously,
or 'I'd have to commit intellectual
suicide to believe in the Bible'.
Some of the stories are nice but
kind of quaint even if they are
romantic. They are justt000ld tobe
relevant or too simple to be
meaningful, we say to ourselves.
Our scientific, sophisticated and
information-rich 20th century ori-
entation has robbed us of any
tendency toward faith or trust or
belief in God.
At a recent stewardship seminar
I was reminded that how we think
about our possessions is critical in
the way that we actually use or
abuse them. The truth of the
matter is that you could build an
easy argument much beyond our
attitude towards our money and
valuable possessions to include our
attitudes toward our spouses,
children, friends, colleagues and
people we work for. As Samuel
Levinson put it, 'I grew up in a rich
and happy home where we had
everything but money.'
There are a lot of people who
refuse to wear a hat! In an attempt
to intellectualize a sunday school
faith, our broadminded sophistica-
tion destroys the inner core of our
hearts and our lives. We let all our
faith, trust, and beliefs slip out of
our hearts, through our bodies and
they escape through our heads. It is
an expensive loss that forces us to
bear consequences now and in the
future. Some of us may never
recover from this pneumonia of the
soul.
There are a lot of frustrated and
angry individuals in our world,
across our country and even down
the street or concession line. Most
of them with heart-breaking stor-
ies that more than justify the
feelings of bitterness that rage
within. Yet how they respond will
have more to do with the kind of
persons they are within rather than
the particular circumstances that
they happen to find themselves in.
Some of them refuse to keep their
hats on and they will strike out at
anyone who crosses their path. Hat
in hand or thrown in a closet
somewhere, they now go it alone,.
no longer believing or trusting and
without a hope in this world or the
next.
Baptism at St. John's
A celebration of Holy Baptism
and Communion was held at St.
John's Brussels Sunday morning.
Lesley Bernice Stretton, daugh-
ter of Mary and Frank Stretton was
baptized. Her godparents were
Geraldine and Gordon Bradshaw.
Patricia Morris, daughter of Cathy
Morris was also baptized, her
Yes, the heart of the matter is a
matter of the heart. It really is more
than a cute little saying. As Jesus
said, 'For wherever your treasure
is, your heart will be there too!'
Church
godparentsbeingJulie and Roy
Janes.
In the afternoon a toboggan
party was plannedwith refresh-
ments in the church basement
afterwards.
St. Johns Annual Vestry meet-
ing will be held next Sunday,
January 19 immediately after
Morning prayer.
Blyth Christian
Reformed Church
HIGHWAY 4, BLYTH
Rev. Roger Gelwicks
Worship Services 10:00 a.m. and 2:30p.m.
Sunday Schoo111:00 a. m.
The Church of the "Back to God Hour" and "Faith 20"
Back to God Hour 10:30 a.m. CKNX, Sunday
Faith 205:00 a.m. weekdays, Global T.V.
ALL VISITORS WELCOME
BUSINESS
DIRECTORY
TODD'S
BAKERY
IN BRUSSELS
887-6666
We bake fresh daily
Tuesdayto Saturday
"Taste the Difference"
Lyle Youngblut
and son
Plumbing
and
Heating
BLYTH -- 523-9585
Use Citizen
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Only $2.50
Phone 523-4792
WALTON
REFRIGERATION AND
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•Repairs to all domestic
appliances.
'Commercial refrigeration
and heating.
•Anything in refrigeration.
•24 hour service.
CALL 887-9175
200 says we won't
HOME HEAT
SERVICE 0 0
Brussels
We'll give you 200 litres
of furnace fuel oil FREE
if we let yourtank run out.
See your CO-OP
for details of guarantee!!
ALL YOUR FUEL NEEDS AT
United Co-operatives of Ontario
OUR DRIVER SALESMAN
WAYNE JEROME
BELG RAVE . AUBURN
357-2711or523-4454 526-7262
887-6377
Raymond
enovations
Ltd.
P.O. Box 225,
Brussels, Ont.
NEW AND RENOVATED
BUILDINGS
Bob Bruce
887-6703 887-6092
FRANK WORKMAN
ELECTRIC
farm - home - commercial
Member of
Huron Chapter
R.R. 3
Brussels, Ont. 887-6867
B.C. Auto Body
Con. 8 Morris Township
2 miles east of Hwy 4
'Complete auto refinishing
•Welding
'Information on Tanaka gas-
powered tools. e.g. chain-
saws
523-4727
PROP. BARRY MacDONALD
Bachert Meats
Walton
887-9328
Call us for an appointment
for custom slaughtering of
beef, pork or lamb.
FREEZER ORDERS
AVAILABLE
CHECK OUR PRICES
• Work Clothes
• Boots
• Casual Clothes
• JP, GWG's
• Stanfield
• Harvey Woods
Ken's
Men's & Boys
Wear
Brussels -- 887-9284
Tues.-Sat. 9-6
Ward & Uptigrove
Chartered
Accountants
Listowel 291-3040
Mitchell 348-8412
R.B. Karcher, C.A.
C.D. Newell, C.A.
R.E. Uptigrove, C.A.
C.W. Brouse, C.A.
R.H. Loree, C.A.
G.J. Martin. C.A.
Howard Bernard Fuels
Agent-Petro-Canada
Heating 011s - Automatic Delivery- Farm Fuels
Motor Oils &Greases -Antifreeze -4L. Jugs $5.99
MTC Licence Issuing Office
CORDNER CROSSBREDS
ARE HERE!
GET THE F-1 ADVANTAGE
York x Landrace Gilts
Available Soon
Contact Cordner Farms, Brussels
Doug Richardsor Jane Sadler Richards
887-6724
TRI COUNTY TIRE
BRUSSELS
(Beside theLCB0)
All makes of tires forcers & light trucks
$22.-$35. PER TIRE INSTALLED
Ask about our re-conditioned tires
OPEN 6 DAYS A WEEK
887-6932 -- 887-9139
Septic Tank Pumping
M & E Sanitary Service
Call Any Time
Ken Miller
Gary Evans
887-6846
887-6583
Brussels
MANNING'S BUILDING
SUPPLIES LIMITED
HAMILTON STREET, BLYTH, 523-9305
Hours: Mon. - Fri. 8a.m.to 5 p.m. Sat. -8a.m. to noon
Come see us for: coal, lumber, plywood, hardware,
paint, panelling, cement, and hockey equipment
We never stop saving you money