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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1995-05-03, Page 19MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS Rev. Tim Purvis, Interim Moderator 11:00 a.m. - Morning Service - Sunday School 9:30 a.m. - Belgrave Service We welcome you to come and worship with us. BRUSSELS UNITED CHURCH Rev. Cameron McMillan Church Office 887-6259 Manse 887-9313 11:00 a.m. Morning Worship "The Good Shepherd" Dedication of Memorial Gifts Church School - Nursery --------- Ethel Morning Worship Church School "The King of Love My Shepherd Is" Everyone Welcome 9:30 a.m. THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA You are welcome this Sunday MAY 7 - EASTER 4 Holy Eucharist Ms Nancy Beale, Lay Pastor Trinity, Blyth St. John's, Brussels 9:30 a.m. 11:15 a.m. You are Welcome at the BLYTH CHURCH OF GOD 9:45 a.m. - Sunday School for Children and Adults 11 - 12:15 - Morning Worship Bible Studies - Wednesday 10 a.m. & 7:30 p.m. Phone 523-4590 McConnell St., Blyth HURON CHAPEL MISSIONARY CHURCH PASTOR JAMES H. CARNE AUBURN 526-7515 Sunday 10 a.m. - Family Bible Hour 11 a.m. - Morning Service 8 p.m. - Evening Service Wednesday 8 p.m. - Prayer & Bible Study Friday 7:30 p.m. - Youth - Pastor Bob Lewis, 526-7441 ft\ BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH HIGHWAY 4, BLYTH--523-9233 Sunday 10:00 a.m. & 7:30 p.m. Rev. Adrian A. Van Geest The Church of the "Back to God Hour" and "Faith 20" Back to God Hour 10:30 a.m. CKNX Sunday Faith 20 5:30 a.m. Weekdays, Global T.V. Alf Visitors Welcome Wheelchair accessible THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 1995. PAGE 19. From the Minister's Study Some marriages cost too much, says pastor By (The Rev.) Alex McGilvery Dungannon Union P.C. The other night I gave a talk at the Shelter about spiritual abuse. One of the things I talked about was how the church has contributed to the abuse of women and children over the centuries. Now I know you will say that the church has never supported the abuse of anyone. Yet, consider a moment: how often have you heard some church decrying the high divorce rate of our time? The assumption behind those statements is that the family is sacred, a mirror of how Jesus lives his church. It is true that the scriptures speak of the holiness of the family, especially 1 Corinthians 7 and Ephesians 5. It is a tragedy when a family breaks up. Yet the other assumption hind the mourning of high rates of family break up is that the family should stay together at all costs. It is this assumption that makes the church guilty of supporting abuse. I know of women who went to their pastor or priest or minister to talk about how their husband abused them, and to ask for help. They were told that it was too bad, On Sunday, April 30, Elwin Garland preached at Brussels Mennonite Fellowship. He based his sermon on Joel 2, and entitled his message "Locusts and Honey". Even though life may be depressing and it seems as if God doesn't care there is still hope, he said. We can return to God if we open our whole heart, with real signs of repentenace, which means with a real desire to change. There is no place for insincerity. We can fool people or even fool ourselves, but we can never, ever, fool God. God points out the areas where we need to repent if we ask Him. Those who refuse to allow the strength of God to heal them are in a perpetual state of estrangement It was the Third Sunday of Easter at Blyth United Church April 30 with the seasonal colour being white. Greeters were Hary and Deanna Snell while ushering the worshippers was the Richmond family - Terry, Barb, Kimberley and Trent. Candace Howson was in charge of the junior congregation. Rev. Stephen Huntley announced the wedding banns of Jeff Howson and Diane Campbell whose marriage will take place May 13. The message to the children was about God giving them a second chance. Rev. Huntley had them line up and try to throw a ball in a Bruce Russell was guest soloist at Auburn Missionary Church on Sunday, April 30. He sang The Shepherd Became a Lamb and Praise My Soul the King of Heaven. Pastor Came's message, "When God Intervenes," had scripture from Exodus 3: 7-10. In Romans 5, verse eight begins with 'but God'. Some people are so independent and proud of it. God has a way to make independent people dependent, Pastor Came said. Pharaoh said, "Who is God?" The Israelites were slaves in a grinding, but they would just have to live with it! They should try to avoid angering their husbands! The result is that we in the church too often appear to condone abuse. We may speak against abuse, we may even preach against abuse in worship, but until we are able to change some of our basic assumptions about marriage and the family we will continue to be guilty of women's suffering. So how should we view the family as Christians? First, we need to be very careful that we don't put the family in the place of an idol. I hear a lot of discussion about how our society is doomed because the nuclear family appears to be threatened. We have made the family the way of salvation for our society. If we could only return to the old family values we will be okay. This is idolatry. God is the only path to salvation. Secondly we need to take another look at those chapters and verses which talk about the family. In the gospels Jesus tells his followers that divorce is forbidden. This is response to a question intended to trap him. from God, Garland said. We can repent with our head, or we can repent with our heart as well. If we only repent with our head then we merely go in circles but do not grow in Christ. Nations and churches can suffer the same as individuals and be estranged from God, he said. A church may be dysfunctional because it needs to repent because of pride in its accomplishments or it is in bondage from tradition. Joel stressed the urgency for all from young to old to repent. Recreation will happen for God will honour His promises to heal and nurture His people. The healing aspect of Jesus' earthly ministry is just as important now as in His physical time on earth. God as creator, will repay us for basket. The children were all successful after several tries. He said, "God will help us if we try again and never give up." The Choral Kids rendered two anthems, Gentle Shepherd and We Were Made to Love the Lord under the direction of Phyllis Boak and Susan Howson. Joan Clark read the New Testament Lesson from Acts 9: 1- 20. The Gospel lesson was from John 21: 1-19, delivered by the minister. Rev. Huntley's sermon was, "The God of Second Chances." He spoke about a couple of classic cele- gruelling time. We are all slaves either to God or to Satan, Pastor Came said. God's intervention often comes unexpectedly. People often try to make themselves worthy of God but the scripture says while they were yet sinners, Christ died for them. God's intervention is often sudden. When your calamity is sudden God can take over. In Acts it tells of Peter in prison when light suddenly shone. In Malachi it tells how "the Lord will come suddenly." The Israelites The practice of the day was a man wile for any reason at all, and she would be left with no hope. The break up of marriage should not be for any trivial reason. But Jesus did not condemn either the women caught in adultery, or the samaritan woman who had had seven husbands. Instead he showed them compassion and spoke of the kingdom of God. In the 1 Corinthians and Ephesians passages, Paul is writing to the churches to bring their behaviour back into line. Some people in those churches had taken the gospel to mean license to do whatever they wish. Paul states that the relationship between husband and wife is an image for the love of Christ for the church. We have in the past read these verses as the blueprint for how a family should work. Indeed if all members of the family attempt to live by what Paul has written, the family would be a wonderful place. Too often though we stop reading at Eph. 5:23. "For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the the times the locust have eaten. When we repent of our sins, we can praise God as we have never praised Him before. A great healing will take place and we'll taste the "Honey of God", for God has promised, "I will pour out my spirit on all people." All believers will be saved. Thelma Steinman was worship leader and Mervin Lichty and Christy Pardys were in charge of the congregational singing. Darlene Hemingway played a piano solo for the offertory. On Friday evening, the congregation held a talent auction with proceeds going to the mission fund. Lyle Martin of the Ethel area, volunteered his services as auctioneer. brities, who passed away last week, namely Ginger Rogers and Howard Cosell. He also talked about Mickey Rooney, who has had nine marriages. The first two wives died, while the next six were unhappy marriages. His present marriage of 25 happy years is successful as he gave his life to Christ. God gave him a second chance. Amazing Grace was sung followed by Commissioning and Benediction. In the hospital are Molly Grant in Wingham and Selena Machan and Ruby Pattison in Clinton. were slaves but in one night they were on their way to freedom. The intervention of God is complete. The Israelites never made bricks again and Pharaoh's army was drowned. If you can't believe in a miracle working God, then faith is nothing, Pastor Came said. "Can you believe in a God of divine intervention?" Pastor Bob Lewis received his BRE degree at Emmanuel Bible College, Kitchener, on Saturday, April 29. Congratulations. church, his body, of which he is the Savior." We don't pay as much attention to all the verses which tell us that husband and wife are part of each other, and should each live for the other. So the only message we get is "The man is the boss." Given that message it isn't surprising that a great many men abuse their wives. The church has given its permission. I want to turn this verse from Ephesians around. If marriage truly is the image of Christ's love for the church as Paul states, then for a husband to abuse his wife is to say that Christ would abuse the church. This is absurd! Indeed if we view marriage as sacred, then we should view any abuse within marriage as sacrilege. Our concern needs to be with the protection of the woman who is a child of God, rather than trying to maintain the existence of a relationship that fails to model the all-encompassing love of Christ for his church. Yes, the family is important, and marriage is given to us by God, yet we are not called to preserve family and marriage at all costs. Some costs are too high. Amos addressed thelsraelites to say that the worship of God is not sufficient unless we also "let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!" Amos 5:24 It is for this goal that we must give our lives. E. Garland delivers sermon Pastor talks on second chances Missionaries hear guest soloist