Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2000-05-24, Page 12PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 2000. From the Minister’s Study Filling the God vacuum in the heart By Rev. Dave Wood Huron Chapel Evangelical Missionary Church Well, don’t blame me. They did ask me to pray for rain but it is not my fault if they weren’t specific enough! Isn’t that the way of it? We get what we ask for, we acquire what we want but when we receive it, we are just never satisfied. Me included! With all this wet and cold weather we have had lately I find myself longing for the hot days to return so I can enjoy the dry air and bask in the sun . .. to just be free of the dampness. That way I can change the tune, switch to another station, complain about how hot it is, how dry the ground is and so on and so on. Melville’s Women’s Guild It never seems to end. There is no pleasing the fickle nature of man and I have often wondered how God must feel when the prayers launched heavenward reflect such a vast array of “opinion”. Do we ever come to that place of real satisfaction, of lasting satisfac­ tion? You know, that place where you are content within your heart of hearts and the external things of life no longer have that false fascination to satisfy. The bulk of the commercial world is geared to appeal to our base desires. It is designed to produce and supply that “missing” ingredient that will finally give you that edge that you have been looking for. In essence, the promise is satisfaction, why, some even advertise that it is guaranteed! I don’t know about you, but I have not been that fortunate in finding that guarantee! Sooner or later the prod­ uct breaks or the initial excitement has passed by and once more there is a need for stimuli, for “-something” to satisfy. Why? Why is this? Why is there this innate sense of longing within that desires the better, that craves for the perfect, the lasting? Is it, could it be, as St. Augustine has suggested, that there is within the human heart what Augustine calls the “God vacu­ um” and only God Himself can fill this void within the human heart? When one looks at the world, the his­ tory, the cultures, the practices, the thoughts of Augustine are quite plau­ sible. The search is on. Around the world there is an increasing desire to find that which will truly satisfy and the products that are being offered by this world are no longer filling the need. The allure of drugs, sex, and immorality have become stagnant water from which many drink but they no longer serve to satisfy, they merely cover the pain and a give at best, a fleeting sense of satisfaction... Jesus said He is the Living Water. He is more than able to quench the thirst, to fill the void within the heart that is crying out to be filled. In John 4, Jesus meets with a Samaritan woman at the well and it is there that she learns that her thirst, her parched spirit can be satisfied. Take time to read the account for in it you will find a woman who found what she was looking for and left that place a changed, satisfied, a woman made complete. This old world has a lot to offer but nothing it can offer can compare with the offer of the Son of God. “Indeed,” Jesus said, “the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” A water that quenches the thirst, a drink that truly satisfies! Brussels Mennonite Fellowship 9:30 a.m. Worship Service 10:45 a.m. Christian Education Everyone Welcome Pastor Ben Wiebe 887-6388 "...but I have called you friends." John 15:15 sees pictures of Holland Melville Presbyterian Church Women’s Guild met in the church parlour on Tuesday, May 16. Dona Knight and Jean Bewley were in charge of devotions. Mrs. Knight gave the Call to Worship which was followed by the singing of For The Beauty of the Earth. She read a paper on The Price of Gas and Eternal Life. Mrs. Bewley led the scripture reading, Psalm 104: 1-4 and 10-23 followed by a prayer by Mrs. Knight. Mrs. Bewley showed interesting pictures of Holland and Portugal. The tulips of Holland were beautiful with their many vivid colours. She showed a piece of cork which had been removed from a cork tree. WMS The cork tree must be 25 years old before you can harvest the first cork crop. After the first harvest it can be harvested by cutting the cork from the trunk of the tree every nine years. This is a very labour-intensive job which is done in the hottest part of summer. Grape vines are grown in the sandy soil and melons and tomatoes are grown inside acres of greenhous­ es. She was thanked for a most inter­ esting slide presentation. Alice Marks, president, was in charge of the business part of the meeting. She thanked the committee for an interesting meeting. Secretary Leona Armstrong read the minutes of the previous meeting and thank you notes from Isobel Gibson and the Rutledge family. Jeanne Ireland gave the treasurer’s report. The Maytime Supper which will be held Sunday, May 28 was dis­ cussed. It was agreed to set the tables on Friday, May 26 at 7 p.m. Rev. Cathrine Campbell announced that a number of pictures painted by the late Wilma Hemingway had been donated to the church by the Hemingway family. Coffee and muffins will be served by the Guild at a Treasurer’s Workshop on Saturday, June 24. The June meeting will be in charge of Mary Carr and Margaret Work. Everyone enjoyed a social time over a delicious lunch of sandwiches and relishes. Medic Alert SPEAKS FOR YOU www.medicale r t . c a Synodical meets in Chatham The 53rd annual meeting of the Women’s Missionary Society Synodical of Southwestern Ontario was held in Chatham. The theme for the two-day meeting was Follow the Flames. Speakers included the Convenor of General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, the Rev. John Mark Lewis, Hamilton and the president of General Council of the WMS, Mrs. Mary Moorehead, Spencerville. Area Education Consultant Erin Crisfield conducted a Bible study on Jubilee. It was announced that Mrs. Lois Klempa is updating a history of the Women’s Missionary Society to be included in Knox College Studies. Rev. Margaret (Greig) Robertson will conduct seminars at Knox to acquaint the students with the work of the WMS. Attending the Synodical from Huron-Perth Presbyterial were Jean Edmunds, Mitchell; Shirley Aitcheson, Stratford; Pat White, Goderich; Janet Gibson, St. Marys; Eunice Bisset, Goderich; as dele­ gates, as well as Ina McMillan, Atwood; Evelyn Matheson, Avonton; Bernice Richardson and Mary Scott, Stratford and Barbara Tubb, Exeter. MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS 11:00 a.m. - Morning Service - Sunday School 9:30 a.m. - Belgrave Service Wheelchair accessible Nursery care available We welcome you to come and worship with us. Rev. Cathrine Campbell - 887-9831 Blyth United Church Come Worship The Lord With Us Sundays - 11:00 a.m. Worship Service & Sunday School Minister ~ Rev. Ernest Dow ALL ARE WELCOME 523-4224 June 4 - Sunday School Awards & Church Service 11:00 a.m. at Camp Menesetung Morning Worship Service ~ 10 a.m. Evening Worship Service ~ 7:30 p.m. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood,a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9 BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH i Rev. Adrian A. Van GeestA Hwy. 4, Blyth 523-9233 Wheelchair accessible you are ^Welcome at the BLYTH COMMUNITY CHURCH OF GOD 9:45 a.m. - Sunday School for Children and Adults 11:00 a.m. - Morning Worship Bible Studies - Wednesday 10 a.m. & 7:30 p.m. Phone 523-4590 McConnell St., Blyth HURON CHAPEL EVANGELICAL MISSIONARY CHURCH Auburn - 526-7555 PASTOR DAVE WOOD - 523-9017 Sunday 8:45 a.m.- Morning Worship Service 10:00 a.m.- Family Bible Hour 11 a.m.• Morning Worship Service 7:30 p.m.• Evening Service Wednesday 7:30 p.m.- Family Night Friday 7:30 p.m.■ Youth THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA (\fou one utelcatne tftib Sunday MAY 28 - 6TH OF EASTER MORNING PRAYER Trinity, Blyth St. John's, 9:30 a.m. Brussels Wheelchair accessible 11:15 a.m. Rev. Nancy Beale - Rector - 887-9273 BRUSSELS - ETHEL PASTORAL CHARGE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA Joan Golden - Supply Minister Church Office 887-6259 E-mail - bepc@wcl.on.ca May 28, 2000 Ethel United Church 10:30 a.m. at Ethel Ball Park Rev. Stan McDonald as guest speaker Brussels United Church 11:00 a.m. All are welcome to come and worship with us Communion - 9:45 - 10:30 Family Bible Hour and Sunday School 11:00 - 12:00 Prayer & Bible Study Tuesday 8 p.m. Cornerstone Bible Fellowship« Ethel 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