Oct 14 - Elmwood Church of Christ

Elmwood
C H U RC H O F C H R I S T
Knowing christ and MaKing christ Known
What Do You Have?
Visit tiny.cc/articlesbygilbert to view articles by Gilbert on the church website.
small boy who brought these provisions.
There seemed to have been
only one smart person in the
whole crowd of people. Think
about it for a moment. Five
thousand men, along with their
families, followed Jesus out to
the middle of nowhere and the
only person who had the common sense to pack a lunch for
such a long journey was a small
boy who brought along five
loaves of bread and two fish.
John is the only gospel writer
willing to admit that it was a
Obviously, he packed only for himself, and maybe his family. There was no way that little
bit of food was going to feed everyone following Jesus. One of Jesus’ disciples said it
would take a almost a full year’s wages just to provide just enough bread for each person
to have a bite. A bite! What were they going to do with five small loaves of bread and two
small fish? It would not have mattered how many ways the disciples sliced and diced it,
there was no way they were ever going to be able make that be enough to feed everyone
that day.
There never seems to be enough for all that we know we should do and for all that we
really want to do. It doesn’t matter how many ways we slice it and dice it. There never
seems to be enough. “If only our yearly budget was higher we could... If only our weekly
contribution was higher we could... If only I made more money, then, on Sunday I could
give...” We look out at the work that needs to be done and we think to ourselves, “If only
we had more to offer.”
The disciples were thinking those very same thoughts. “We can’t do this. We can’t take
care of them sufficiently. Jesus, please send them away so they can be taken care of
properly.” Those words may have been spoken out of a lack of faith, but I believe they
were spoken with compassion.
Jesus looked at the disciples and essentially asked, “What do you have?” We know the
rest of the story. Jesus made sure it was enough, actually more than enough. All 5,000
plus ate until they were full. And there was more left over. Jesus asked a simple question:
“What do you have?” The answer really didn’t matter. Jesus made sure it was more than
enough.
The question is still the same today. What do you have? Jesus will make sure that it is
more than enough. When hearts are full of compassion and there is a desire to do the
work of God. It is never a matter of how big or how little your offering is. Jesus simply says,
“Give me what you have.” He will make it more than enough.
Vol. XXXVIV, No. 41 October 14, 2015
Visit tiny.cc/elm2015news to view past newsletters.
upcoMing events
S
October 17, Time TBD
S
October 18, 12 p.m.
T
October 20, 7 p.m.
W
CSC Cornmaze, Exploration Acres
Bell Bible Bowl Meeting,
Fellowship Hall
Ladies Game Night, Fellowship Hall
October 21, 11:30 a.m.
Senior Servants, Fellowship Hall
S
October 24, 6 p.m.
W
October 28, 6 p.m.
Youth Cornmaze, Exploration Acres
Trunk-or-Treat
Children’s Classes Cancelled
S
October 31, Time TBD
S
November 7, 10 a.m.
CSC Halloween Party,
Freudenthal’s House
Baby Shower for Craig & Courtney
Hodges, Wimmer’s House
Visit tiny.cc/emevents to view a complete
listing of events on our website.
If you have an event to submit, contact us at
[email protected].
Food Pantry
Focus
We are always in need of more food and variety in our Food Pantry. This week, let’s focus on cereal, dish soap, and shampoo. You
can bring your donations to the church building during our office hours, Mon. - Thurs. 8
a.m. - 5 p.m. and Fri. 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Rejoice always, pray continually,
give thanks in all circumstances...
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Armilda Follick is still in the hospital at St. Elizabeth
East. She is scheduled for a kidney stone removal Tuesday, October 13. Please continue to pray for Armilda’s
strength and health.
Doug Ford, a cousin of John Marks, has been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Doug is currently in a coma in a hospital in Minnesota. Please keep Doug and family in prayers during this time.
Patty Asbill, Norma Frick, Gloria Holderfield, and John Ruckh are
all continuing their cancer treatments and will also be blessed by your
prayers for healing, strength, and peace.
Continue praying for: Janet Achor, the Anderson family, Pat Arthur,
Willie Mae Batts, Linda Bilyeu, David Black, Steve Cable, Alberta Cagle,
Christian Coats, Gene Dilling, Marie DeWoody, Armilda Follick, Max
Haffner, Cindy Hathaway, Darla Hensen, Rose Hunt, Louise Jones, Phil
Judd, George Kenworthy, Kaden Koebcke, Randy Kraud, Jack and Sue
McCoy, Marceena Miller, Seth Mullen, Barb Newberry, Ken and Connie
Nicholson, Delores Nolan, Mickey & Carolyn Rigdon, Rob Smith, Chris
Strountz, Rut Tirado, Larry Todd, Thelma Venable, Marilyn Walters, David Widner, and Brad Wilson.
Continue to remember the following people who are home-bound
or in a nursing care facility: Ethel Cable, Hattie Coffel, Phyllis Gray,
Delores Hill, Betty Lucas, Carolyn Moore, Max and Dean Raines, Mary
Walker, and Wanita White.
In the military: Jarod Curwick, Chris Martin, Josh Martin, and Joe
Mazzetta
We have several people on our long-term prayer list whom we would
love to have updates on as we continue to pray for them. If you are
the primary contact person for someone on this list, please contact
the office so we can keep records of who to contact for updates.
We ask for prayers of comfort and peace for the family of
Mary Lou Baugh. Mary Lou passed away on Sunday, Ocotber 11, after experiencing a massive cerebral hemorhage.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Thank you so much for your kind and heartfelt messages
of condolence which you sent to me and my daughter to
comfort us after Mike’s death. Every prayer and thought
means so much to us.
We appreciate Thelma too, and wish she could come again. She is a
marvelous teacher.
God Bless,
Milly
By the Numbers: October 11, 2015
1st Service: 71 Bible Class: 106 2nd Service: 143
Total Contribution: $6,853.00
ELMWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST newsletter (USPS 758-630) is published weekly, except the week of Christmas, by the
Elmwood Church of Christ, 2501 Elmwood Ave., Lafayette 47904. Periodical postage paid at Lafayette, IN. POSTMASTER:
send address changes to ELMWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST, 2501 Elmwood Ave., Lafayette, IN 47904.
The Fruit of Curiosity
Visit tiny.cc/articlesbyderon to view articles by Deron on the church website.
The following article, “The Fruit of Curiosity”, is from Alex Lewis. This
article was featured in the “Campus Renewal Magazine.”
There was no head-chair and no speaker to carry the floor; we were
equals in a collaborative circle. The only sign of guiding was the girl who
sat at the piano bench, strumming her guitar as she sang the first of that
night’s worship songs.
Each attendee represented a different life, a new story, and a whole
world of perspective that somehow differed from each other person in
the room. Being that we were all Christians, we certainly had our similarities, but within that context of our common religion, multiple denominations were represented so that no one carried themselves exactly the
same.
When worship ended, a time of prayer began and each person found
their time to pour out the worries or praise that yearned for expression.
Prayer eventually turned to conversation as ideas bounced contagiously
back and forth, and experiences became the stories to affirm or question each thought.
Diversity
Each of us has settings where it is easiest for us to learn. For me, one
of those settings is that which I’ve portrayed above. Specifically, this
night was a time of worship and discussion with the members of the
Campus Renewal Core Team in Austin, Texas, but the scene could have
been placed to many other experiences I’ve had with different people,
at different places over the course of the last half-decade.
Being one who has attended house churches steadfastly for the majority of the past five years, I‘ve found myself increasingly drawn to settings
where each person has equal opportunity for involvement. But as I’ve
attended more of these gatherings, I’ve realized that the factor most
involved in drawing me back to each new meeting has less to do with
my opportunity to speak, and much more to do with my opportunity to
listen to diverse opinions as they are contributed to a common topic.
Listening
Listening is the freedom to be curious about what others know and
have experienced. It is the humility to enter conversation without having all of the answers.
The older I become, the more I see the significance in what others have
to say, and the more I seek opportunity to hear the perspectives of
those around me. There is a notion behind the characteristic of being
an independent person that often paints a picture of someone who
exists as a one-man-show with no need for that individual’s life to be
contributed to in any way. But mature independence gives room for us
to acknowledge our need for one another, and to discover that we can’t
fully know ourselves outside of community and openness with others.
Listening is the fruit of our curiosity, and the information we garner for
this curiosity can mature each of us to see the world with increasing light.
Whether listening means frequenting gatherings like the one mentioned
above, popping headphones in to hear an engaging podcasts, reading
books on topics you’ve never explored, or simply grabbing coffee with a
friend with the intent of gaining understanding of that person’s perspective, the key is not how many voices are speaking around us, but how
curious we are to know what is truly being said.
Never lose the wonder that the admittance of mystery provides. Each
day, every place, and every person is a teacher waiting for an attentive
student, so be the curious learner who will glean from their greatness.
Three Reasons Millenials Leave the Church or
Why Churches Are Getting Older
Visit tiny.cc/articlesbyphil to view articles by Phil on the church website.
Excerpted from Why Are Millennials Leaving the Church in Droves?
by Preston Sprinkle on Patheos.com
Authentic Community
It’s like a broken record. Everything I’ve read lists community as a top reason why
people have left the church (but not the faith). The de-churched long for authentic relationships, yet they didn’t find these in the church.
…“The de-churched consider community to be fundamental to the Christian
experience,” write Packard and Hope. “They want to express and act out their
faith with others” (Church Refugees, 132).
Now here’s something for you older folks to consider. According to the research,
Millennials, in particular, desire intergenerational relationships. That is, they
want to hang out with and befriend older people. And people are leaving the
church partly because older, more mature believers didn’t take the time to say,
“Can you and I spend some time together? I’d really like to get to know you.”
Meaningful Action
Passing offering plates has its value. Brewing coffee is important (especially for
a junkie like me). Some people love to play in the worship band, or set up chairs,
or do other things that contribute to the worship service on Sunday morning.
But what about the other 166 hours in the week? How are we, in the words
of Ephesians 4:12, “equipping them for the work of ministry?”
I fear that we often reduce the concept of “ministry” to church work, things
that make for a good Sunday service. There’s a lost and dying world out there
and many de-churched leavers are bubbling over with passion and imagination
about how they can make a difference in their communities.
Josh Packard and Ashleigh Hope were actually shocked at their research. The
de-chruched they interviewed were former lay leaders, active members,
congregants who were itching to live out Jesus’s radical mission to the lost.
Instead of being empowered, they were stiff armed by bureaucracy or given a
job that helped keep the Sunday services going. According to one testimony,
“There’s nothing for me to do there [in Church] that’s meaningful.”
Intelligent and Honest Dialogue
This one’s close to my heart. And I very much resonate with how the de-churched
feel about this point. Put simply: the de-churched left the churched because
they found it to be dishonest and shallow in how they deal with the important issues of the day. Many de-churched people said they weren’t allowed
to question, dialogue with, discuss, or pushback against some of Christianity’s
pet doctrines. I’m not talking about the deity of Christ or salvation by grace. I’m
talking about the duration of hell, the genre of Jonah, and whether the Bible’s
same-sex prohibitions apply to monogamous, consensual, same-sex marriages.
These aren’t rebels. These are inquisitive and honest believers who didn’t
find much honesty in the church.
The point is, we need to cultivate safe places in the church where people
can ask really hard answers and engage in a listening dialogue rather than
a pontifical monologue with no time for Q & A. Church leaders need to listen
and be comfortable saying, “That’s a really good question, and I don’t know the
answer. Why don’t we study it together and talk about it.”
I long for the days when Christians are known for being the most gracious people on Facebook, the most eager to listen to other viewpoints, the most intelligent and well-read conversation partners, and are willing to engage in thoughtful, humble, humanizing dialogue with other people.
150 Ways
to show kids you care
Check out this section of my article each week for 3 ways to show
the kids in your life that you care! This week:
139. Help them learn from mistakes.
140. Be sincere.
141. Introduce them to people of excellence.
Patrick and Jen were blessed on
Thursday, October 8 at 8:05 a.m.
with the arrival of their baby boy,
Dean Patrick Ruhl. Dean weighs
8.9 lbs. and is 20.5 inches long.
Visit tiny.cc/ruhlmeals or see Barb Tilley or Becky Pitt if you would like
to bless Jen and Patrick by signing up to take/send them a meal.
Pete and Vernell Swank have a phone number
change. Please contact the office if you would like to
update your directory with their new contact information.
Children’s classes will be cancelled
on Wednesday, October 28 as we
host Trunk-or-Treat from 6 p.m. to 8
p.m. Trunk-or-Treat helps provide a safe
environment for trick-or-treating for, not
only our own children, but also for the
children in our surrounding community.
Start inviting your neighbors and classmates now! See Cindy Freudenthal for flyers to give to your friends.
You can get involved by:
> Making plans to decorate your car and hand out candy.
> Bringing in candy to hand out to trick-or-treaters.
Please place donated candy in the marked bin in Farris Foyer.
> Providing chips and/or baked goods for the meal.
Chips may also be placed in Farris Foyer.
> Provide a grill and be willing to grill hotdogs. > Help plan and work games.
*More details and reminders will be emailed to those who sign up. If
you would like to be involved with Trunk-or-Treat, please email Cindy
Freudenthal at [email protected].
For those of you who knew Craig and Courtney Hodges,
we would like to invite you to join us for a baby shower
to celebrate the upcoming arrival of their baby boy. The
shower will be on Saturday, November 7th from 10:00 am
-12:00 pm at the home of Chase and Katie Wimmer. The
Hodges are registered at Target, Babies “R” Us, and Amazon. Please talk to Katie Wimmer or Phyllis Simmerman if
you have any questions.
Elmwood Online
Visit our website at elmwood-church.org to listen to
current and past sermons online, view archived newsletters (all the way back to 2005)!, check out our full
calendar of events, and more.
Connect with us on Facebook for updates throughout
the week, including information about any weatherrelated closings as soon as decisions are made.
We even occasionally tweet and instagram using the
handle @ElmwoodLeaf.
OCTOBER 18 - october 24, 2015
Visit tiny.cc/elmfamilystories2015 to view past Family Stories articles on the website.
Read next week
Proper 24
Psalm 104:1-9, 25, 37b
Job 38:1-7, 34-41
Hebrews 5:1-10
Mark 10:35-45
The readings for this week proclaim the wisdom and greatness of God, which is far above the understanding
of man. For man, greatness is reflected in high position, but from God’s point of view, the greatest of all is the
servant of all, and particularly the servant who is obedient to God. Job complains to God about his situation, but
God, by a series of questions, points out that Job is too dumb to understand. The Psalmist describes some of
the great creations of God. The passage in Mark reveals how Jesus’ closest followers yearned to have high position in his kingdom, but he corrects them with the teaching that the greatest of all is the servant of all. Hebrews
declares that by obedience, that led to the cross, Jesus became the source of salvation to all who obey him. Thus,
Jesus became, not only a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, but a model for us all.
- Rick Swensen
weekly schedule
Sunday
Worship
Bible Study
LIFE Groups
8:00 a.m. & 10:45 a.m.
9:30 a.m.
6:00 p.m.
Wednesday
Bible Study
shepherds
Bill Bell
Joe Mathews
Joe Ruhl
Rick Swensen
Don Vice
Bob Waltz
ministers
7:00 p.m.
Church Office Hours
Monday - Thursday: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Friday:
8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
463.1139
426.7850
463.7012
463.6822
471.8653
497.8280
Senior Minister
Gilbert Kerrigan
418.3652
world missions
Kevin Chambers, World Christian Broadcasting
Anchor Point, Alaska 99556
Loren & Penny Hollingsworth
Phuket, Thailand
Email: [email protected]
Bren & Cheryl White, Operation French World
www.ofwmissions.com
PO Box 245, New Market, MD 21774
Youth and Family Minister
248.229.7904
Phil Travis
Campus Minister
Deron Freudenthal
743.0954
Cris Carpenter Gomes
Natal, Brazil
[email protected]
Periodicals
Postage
2501 Elmwood Ave, Lafayette, IN 47904
Phone :: 765.447.2874 | Fax :: 765.447.0878
[email protected] | www.elmwood-church.org
Christian Student Center @ Purdue University
115 Waldron St
West Lafayette, IN 47906
765.743.0954
PAID
at
Lafayette, IN