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The Citizen, 2001-10-17, Page 20BLYTH UNITED CHURCH Corner of Dinsley & Mill Street October 21 Worship Service 11:00 a.m. Guest Speaker: Steve Hildebrand Sunday School at 11 a.m. Office: 523-4224 MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS 11:00 a.m. - Morning Service - Sunday School 9:30 a.m. - Belgrave Service Wheelchair accessible Nursery care available Rev. Cathrine Campbell - 887-9831 Sunday Wednesday Friday 9:30 a.m. 10:30 a.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. • 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. Family Bible Hour Morning Worship Service Evening Worship Crusaders 8 Youth Adult Prayer Meeting Youth THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA Wetcome/A toll to. come and wo,ahip, with wA October 21 Trinity, Blyth St. John's, Brussels No Service 11:15 a.m. Holy Eucharist Bishop's Visit The Rt Rev. Bob Townsend Celebrant & Preacher A The Rev. Tom Wilson, B.A., MDiv. 887-9273 HURON CHAPEL EVANGELICAL MISSIONARY CHURCH Auburn - 526-7555 PASTOR DAVE WOOD - 523-9017 BRUSSELS - ETHEL PASTORAL CHARGE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA Joan Golden - Diaconal Student Minister Church Office 887-6259 E-mail - bepc@wcl.on.ca Ethel United Church 9:30 a.m. Worship Service & Sunday School Brussels United Church 11:00 a.m. Worship Service and Sunday School October 19 at 8:00 p.m. there will be an informal time of prayer All are invited for a time of reflection and prayer. Come worship and celebrate with us! Neaeie gain 114, (e maitatilp Sunday. Morning Worship Service - 10 a.m. Evening Worship Service 7:30 p.m. "0 Lord, our Lord how majestic your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens." — Psalm 8:1 BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH Hwy. 4, Blyth 523-9233 Wheelchair accessible Cornerstone Bible Fellowship Ethel Communion - 9:45 - 10:30 Family Bible Hour and Sunday School - 11:00 - 12:00 Prayer & Bible Study - Tuesday 8 p.m. Adventure Club: Thursdays for 10 consecutive weeks September 27 to Nov. 29, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Children ages 4 to 12 welcome. Ladies' Time Out: the last Wednesday of each month (except October) 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. beginning Oct. 24. John 14:6 - Jesus said, "I am the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE, no one comes to the Father, but through Me." Everyone Welcome For more information call 887-6665 PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2001. From the Minister's Study About sparing the rod, spoiling the child By Les Cook, Pastor Blyth Community Church of God I had not followed the media's reporting on the Church of God, Aylmer, but I have been in dialogue with a lot of people on this subject. There is no connection between the Church of God in Aylmer and the Blyth Community Church of God so this is not about that case or about who was right or wrong nor is this about how the court should handle that particular situation. This is about Christians and how we should be careful not to use scrip- ture to justify actions, behavior or even attitudes that we know are con- trary to God's nature. Proverbs 13 : 24 "He who spares the rod hates his son and he who loves him is careful to discipline him." Of course anyone who has - already been in the habit of spanking their children will cling to this scrip- ture to justify corporal punishment. However if you take a close look it does not even suggest hitting with or without an object in your hand. Although there are many different types of rods that this could refer to it is most likely that Solomon is refer- ring to the rod that a shepherd would use to herd sheep. I have never heard of a shepherd using his rod to strike his livestock. In fact it would seem to me to be counterproductive to try to discipline a sheep by beating it with a rod. To the best of my knowledge -the rod was used to steer the flock, pro- tect it from wild animals and on occa- sion retrieve sheep that had strayed from the flock. I have even heard that it was a common practice for a shep- herd to throw the rod along the ground, in the direction of a straying sheep and as the rod slithered along the ground, like a snake, it would frighten the stray sending it back to the rest of the flock. When Solomon wrote " he who spares the rod hates his son " he was saying that if we love our children we will provide boundaries, keep them close and steer them in the right direction. The Bible tells us that we should "Train up a child in the way he should go." Prov.22:6 This too has been mis- used. It simply means we should raise our children according to their bent (personality), as individuals. There is no simple process for rear- ing children successfully. Each child deserves to be treated in the way that best steers the child according to his own nature. Would it not seem an e that our heavenly Father, who AellitalIMMERIEGMEgi 1 3 3 rellaw&hip Cruitsticta tg 'Water 3 3 3 O ct. 21 I "Grace Given for 8 Building the Body" § 0 Fri. Oct. 26, 6:30 p.m. MI' 11 0 FAMILY FUN NIGHT! I 9:30 a.m. - Sunday School ill for all ages, a 10:30 a.m. - Worship A at Blyth Public School, 1 r & .corner of King & Mill g . Pastor: Ernest Dow 6, Ird 523-4848 g www.tcc.on.cai-dowfam I loopmwpwrionoww. treats each one of us as individuals, with grace, and forgiveness would instruct us to treat our children any differently? Does this mean I am against corpo- ral punishment? No. I am against any government agency telling me how I can or cannot raise my own children. We have a guideline to steer us in the right direction in this regard. This guideline also tells me how to con- duct my own life in such a way that I set a good example for my children in my daily life. It tells me I should honour my par- ents and regard the laws of the land and how to be responsible and rea- sonable. It tells me how to have good relationships with all of mankind and it explains how to adjust my thinking when I know my attitude is off track. And all of this is done in a way that is consistent with Him who created me. But when we try to bend God's word to suit our human understand- ing, instead of bringing our human understanding up to the divine way, we are doomed to live an unfulfilling life. Jesus said "I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." John 10:10 not so that we can contin- ue on in our human shortcomings arid justify them by taking scripture out of context. More recently all of us here in the west have been horrified by what happened on Sept. I I. Here is anoth- er example of someone using good teaching to justify demented thinking. Osama bin Laden, with help of our media, has taken a beautiful word, jihad, and turned it into something much less than what it really means. Jihad refers to the extra effort that is needed to put God's will in to prac- tice at every level,' personal, social as well as political. It describes the struggle we must go through to find a higher purpose for our actions. Just like the Koran our Holy Scriptures demand that we always respond according to God's leading. This means that we need to struggle with ourseliies to overcome our human inclinations and conform to God's direction. Given that the Koran and the Holy Bible suggest that there is only one God, and that he created the earth and everything on it, how could God lead anyone in a direction contrary to his own nature and to destroy part of his own creation., Yes, the whole world should respond to the call for a "Jihad" and when we do start to struggle within ourselves to do the right thing, not just for ourselves but for all mankind, the questions of how to raise our chil- dren, whether to spank or not, whether to war or not or whether we should be mistreating Muslims or anyone else for that matter, these questions will not even have to be asked. I am sure the struggle to do what is right will leave no time in any of our lives to do what is wrong. The Bible tells us that in glory our questions become like answers. A time of jihad now could very well give us a glimpse of things to come. There have been enough things done in the past to hurt our fellow man by terrorists, bad parenting, prej- udices and our own ignorance. Rather than doing what satisfies our negative impulses which serves only us, for the present, we can change all that by struggling to discover the right thing to do for all mankind in the long term. God bless our home, this world we live in. Francis' friends Rev. Tom Wilson blesses one of the pets brought by con- gregants to the St. John's Anglican Church service in recogntion of St. Francis of Assisi Day. (Vicky Bremner photo) You are Welcome at the BLYTH COMMUNITY CHURCH OF GOD 9:45 a.m. - Sunday School - for ages 3 to adult 11:00 a.m. - Morning Worship 7:45 p.m. - Evening Worship Kids' Club - Tuesday - 3:45 - 5 p.m. Ages 6-11 welcome. Bible Studies - Wednesday morning 10 a.m. Wednesday evening 7:30 p.m. Phone 523-4590 308 Blyth Rd., Blyth