A message from Pastor Fred Soberg:
We continue to pray the prayer, 'Lord, please show us what you want our congregation to do to be Your people, in this place, at this time." As we pray, there is a concern for our community and our children. One of the exciting things to emerge is Lauren's vision for youth ministry. She'll be needing some help to recruit and launch this outreach!
VBS is a big opportunity for reaching out. This year we're planning a single day event to be held Friday, August 1st. This gives an opportunity to invite kids from the Shannon Day Camp, which will be over by then. Please invite children in your neighborhood - a flyer is enclosed. With one day, we don't have the opportunity for enthusiastic kids to invite friends the next day, so our publicity is even more important. Pray for this experiment!
My two granddaughters in California are amazing. I'm so glad I was able to see them. I was able to get from Palo Alto to General Assembly at San Jose by train. Thank you for sending me. The Assembly this year has voted again to send to Presbyteries the vote on removing ordination standards of chastity in singleness and fidelity in marriage, as well as changes to interpretation of these standards. When this has previously occurred, it has been voted down by the Presbyteries. These actions of General Assembly show a disregard of the Scriptures and our historic confessions.
As we prayed before the Assembly, one of the important Scriptures was Nehemiah 1. Nehemiah fasted, wept and mourned upon hearing news of Jerusalem, identified with the sins of the people and confessed them. We prayed in this way last Sunday, as we are privileged to confess and repent for our church.
Where you have questions and concerns about our church, please give me a call. We are in a place and culture of being a light of God's truth. This church has taken a stand as a Confessing Church. You can tell anyone who asks what First Presbyterian Church of Castle Shannon believes and where we stand. Review again the confession adopted by this church, which you'll find in this newsletter.
I have great confidence that God is leading us by our prayers for guidance and growing desire to hear His voice. God has good plans for us!
THANK YOU!!
Thank you to the men from the Russian Baptist Church and to Don Bonkowski from our congregation for all their hard work in the excavation of our old walkway and wall and the construction of our wonderful new walkway at the lower front level of the church. The next step is the building of a new wall along the walkway, which will be done shortly.
ONE-DAY TRIP TO HOLMES COUNTY, OHIO
The Men's Group is sponsoring a one-day trip to the Amish country of Holmes County, Ohio on Saturday, July 19th. The trip will include a visit to Warther's Carving Museum (where you'll see magnificent carvings of trains and other items), a visit to Heini's Cheese Chalet (where you can sample all their cheeses and fudges), and an explanatory guided tour of "The Behalt" (a 265' mural-in-the round, depicting the history of the Amish and Mennonites). We will also stop for a mid-afternoon meal at Der Dutchman. The approximate cost for the entire trip (including your meal) is $30.00. Financial aid is available for all who need it. (See Paul Schmidt or Edd Hale). Please call the church office or sign up at the back of the church by July 13th to guarantee your ride. We will leave the church at 7:00 a.m. sharp and return around 6:00 p.m. We will not be stopping for breakfast, so be sure to eat before leaving home.
NEWS FROM RUSSIAN EVANGELISTIC MINISTRIES
"We are grateful to the Lord that His good hand is upon us. This is especially true in the area of missionary outreach. During the last year alone, 2,330 people were baptized, 66 new churches were planted, and more that 100 new ministers were ordained in the persecuted church.
The missionary work is also yielding good fruits in the Caucasus, where among church member you will find more than 150 baptized Muslim converts. Several of these converts are already serving the Lord as ordained ministers. The same people who were only recently holding machine guns in their hands are now holding the Bible. People from different ethnic groups who were hostile to one another are now members of the same churches who love one another and serve Jesus Christ together.
In the persecuted church there is a day set aside every month for fasting and prayer for those who assist the persecuted church in the ministry. Tens of thousands of believers in the former Soviet Uni9n are grateful to God for believers in the United States who were supporting us during the years of Soviet persecution and are helping us today to carry the Gospel to the perishing people. This is a miracle of god's grace, that living in different countries, having different upbringing, different language, and at times different skin color, we can be brothers and sisters, doing the common work of building up god's church. May the lord bless you for everything you are doing! We are praying for you."
SOME THOUGHTS FOR TODAY
- The trouble with being a good sport is you have to lose to prove it.
- People may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons, but they are helpless against our prayer.
—J. Sidlow Baxter
SAVE THIS NATION
In the days of the Civil War, a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln was a visitor at the White House. "I had been spending three weeks with Mr. Lincoln as his guest. One night I was restless and could not sleep. From the private room where the president slept, I heard low tones, for the door was partly open. Instinctively I wandered in, and there I saw a sight which I have never forgotten. It was the president, kneeling before an open Bible;...his back was towards me. I shall never forget his prayer: 'Oh, thou God, that heard Solomon in the night when he prayed and cried for wisdom, hear me. I cannot lead these people, I cannot guide the affairs of this nation without Thy help;...O God, hear me and save this nation.'"
—Clergy Talk
UNTIMELY ANSWERED PRAYER
During the minister's prayer one Sunday, there was a loud whistle from one of the back pews. Tommy's mother was horrified. She pinched him into silence and, after church, asked, "Tommy, whatever made you do such a thing?" Tommy answered soberly, "I asked God to teach me to whistle, and He did!"