Volume 13, Issue 6 June, 2009

Pastor’s Column 2

CLF Library 4

Men In Action 5

Senior Adults 8

IMPACT Kids Ministry 10

A m o n t h l y c o m m u n i q u é o f

C h r i s t i a n L i f e F e l l o w s h i p

Inside this issue:

One Church

Two Locations

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f you have been around CLF for any length of time, you know that there are certain things that we talk about again and again.

There is a reason for that. It is because these particu-lar things are extremely important to our Christian life, and ultimately they affect every aspect of our lives.

For the first article in this series I want to talk to you about the Bible. We keep saying that it is vital that you read and study the Scriptures. We en-courage you to spend some time in God’s Word on a regular basis, and adopt a reading schedule, if you so choose, so that you will get through the entirety of God’s Word. Now why do we keep harping on this particular issue? Why is it so important that we know what is in this book? And perhaps the corresponding question is, “Why is Satan so intent on keeping you out of this book?”

The truth is, Satan doesn’t much care how many Bibles you have in your home. Just don’t read them! Stay ignorant. Assume that the Bible is out-dated and irrelevant, that it is a waste of time to read. However, if God truly wants us to read His Word, but Satan is just as passionate that we not read it, what do both of them know about the Word of God that we need to know?

Let me give you some brief answers to that question. First of all, the Word of God will increase your knowledge. That sort of seems like a no-

brainer. But the prophet Hosea said, “My peo-ple are destroyed from lack of knowl-

edge.” (Hosea 4:6) Jesus himself said in Mark 12:24, “Your trouble is that

you don’t know the Scriptures.”

At this foundational level you simply learn the stories of the Bible, the people of the Bi-ble, the facts and events of the Bible. In other words, what is the

content of the Bible? We need to know what this great book is really

about, and we learn that by

reading it. We

gain knowledge of the grand story that the Bible tells.

Secondly, the Word of God will enable you to gain perspective, particularly as you take time to study it. Perspective is seeing life from God’s point of view. In gaining knowledge, you start to know what God did in the Bible. But in gaining perspec-tive, you begin to discover why He did it, His rea-sons. You start seeing the bigger picture.

Thirdly, the Word of God will help you de-velop convictions. Convictions are the beliefs that shape my behavior. I’m not talking about opinions. An opinion is something you’ll argue about and dis-cuss. But a conviction is something you will die for.

Is it possible to know right and wrong in this day and age of pluralism? Is it possible to know good from evil? For sure! There are some things that are absolutely right, and there are some things that are absolutely wrong. But how do you find out? Go to the Scriptures and meditate on its words. Joshua 1:8 instructs us to, “Meditate on God’s Word day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and suc-cessful.” This is a key. When you start following God’s Word, life tends to become a lot less messy. You quit making stupid mistakes. You quit having to learn things the hard way.

Fourthly, the Word of God helps you sharpen your skills. Ecclesiastes 10:10 says, “If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success.” There are cer-

Senior Pastor’s Column

VOLUME 13, ISSUE 6 Page 3

tain things you have to know how to do in life if you are going to be successful. You have to know how to get along with other people. You have to know how to man-age your money. You have to know how to make the best use of your time. You have to know how to make wise decisions. These are all skills that can be learned. And the Bible is full of extremely practical advice, if we will just seek it out, and then put it into practice. The Scripture tells us that we are not just to hear the Word, but we are also to do it! You have to put God’s Word into action.

Finally, the Word of God will build your charac-ter. Jude 1:20 says, “Build up your lives ever more strongly upon the foundation of our holy faith.” The great evangelist, D.L. Moody, said, “The Bible was not given to just increase our knowledge. The Bible was given to change our lives.”

Colossians 3:10 gives us our goal, “…Continually learning more and more of what is right, and trying con-stantly to be more and more like Christ.” When we get that truth in our heads, it makes it easy to understand why God wants us in His Word, and Satan wants us out of God’s Word. It will literally change our lives. So, when you hear us continually encouraging you to read and study and meditate upon the Scriptures, and then to put them into practice, just know that it is for your own good. It will change your life!

The month of June brings us a great opportunity to have a significantly positive effect in our community. We will be presenting our annual Patriotic Celebration on June 27 and 28. This year we will be in a NEW LOCATION, the East Junior High Field House. Both the Saturday evening and Sunday morning presentations will be part of the Wiscon-sin Rapids Cranberry Blossom Festival. On Saturday, June 27th, the 6:00 pm concert will follow the craft show at Witter Field. On Sunday morning, June 28th, the 10:00 am concert will be before the Cranberry Blossom Parade. Peo-ple will be able to come to the concert, buy a brat, and then go watch the parade. It will be a new setting for us, with the potential for reaching new people. I hope that you will not only plan to be there, but that you will also com-mit to doing two other things: inviting others to come and enjoy this great celebration; and serving in some capacity. Thanks for your help in this great endeavor. Watch and listen for further details.

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I have enjoyed receiving your emails about the books you are reading. This month we feature 2 fiction books recommended by Rachel Janssen. These books are found in the church library!

The church library has a plethora of great books, but my personal favorite is Danger in the Shadows, by Dee Hender-son. This book is the first of the O’Malley Family series. Sara, a woman who hides behind a fake name, is trying to stay hid-den from the man after her own life. She has security guards at every door, and is well educated on every exit in every building she enters if an escape be-comes neces-sary. When she becomes com-fortable under her new name, and location, she meets a for-mer football star: Adam Black. This is the last thing she needed;

now she has to avoid the paparazzi at every turn. Adam and Sara meet un-der her security guards’ terms in order to keep her out of the public eye. During this emotional and confusing time, her haunting past is revisited, as her attacker draws nearer, making it al-most impossi-ble to escape.

Another one of my favorites is Blink by Ted Dekker. A Saudi Arabian

Princess, Miriam, escapes a wretched family after she witnesses her best friend’s murder. She es-capes to America and is traced and pursued by violent men. Before giving his speech, Seth, a UC Berkley gradu-ate, has a vision; A vision of a woman who was being hunted. He dashes out of his party, and finds her un-harmed. He

comes to the realization that he has been given the gift of see-ing the fu-ture but not as the future turns out. Rather, he is given options, and he has to choose the best option pos-sible. With this newfound gift, Miriam and Seth get out of many close call encoun-ters, and over-

come all odds!

These books are extremely exciting reads. You don’t have to be a good, or fast reader to enjoy them. The authors use an easy and descriptive lan-guage so almost anyone can follow the story line. I would recommend any book by Dee Henderson or Ted Dekker. They are outstanding writers.

I will look for your reviews in my inbox! pastorjulie@clfonline.org

What are you reading???

VOLUME 13, ISSUE 6 Page 5

Men’s Breakfast

June 13th-7:00am Bruce Van Natta

(author of Saved by Angels)

Contact the church office, 887-3565 if you are planning on attending

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In May we experienced our first all-woman mis-sion trip to serve at City on a Hill in the inner city of Milwaukee. Located in an old hospital, City on a Hill is now a “spiritual hospital,” of sorts, housing ministries of all kinds that impact the residents of Milwaukee.

Twenty-one women participated, ranging in age from 15 to 70, including four “mother-daughter pairs.” Our goals were to make a differ-ence in the lives of people in Milwaukee’s inner city by participating in hands- on min-istry/outreach, to gain valuable missions ex-perience, to build relationships with other church women, and to grow in compassion and love for those less fortunate.

On Friday we decorated and served for “Queen for a Night,” a special Mother’s day weekend event with pamper-ing, dinner and a speaker. Saturday be-gan with devo-tions and train-ing by Diane De la Santos, director of City on a Hill. Then we helped to

setup for the monthly Health clinic, lunch and hy-giene/food pantry. We all stayed on the third floor of the hospital and had some great times of bonding! All in all it was a once in a lifetime ex-perience that could become an annual event! A huge thank you to Lori Fuchs who organized the entire event this year. We’ll be forming a women’s Mission team, so if that is something you’d be in-terested in, please talk to Lori. And be sure to watch for other mission opportunities for women in the future!

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GRANDPARENTS HELPING GRANDCHILDREN

Many grandparents are assuming roles as childcare providers or advocates for their grand-children largely due to our changing society and the increase in single parent homes or even from military de-ployment .

According to an article in the July 2008 “In Touch” magazine, over 4.5 million grandparents in the U.S. are actu-ally raising their grandchildren, with numbers steadily increas-ing. The article states, “The tragic circum-stances behind these numbers reflect the condi-tion of our world. Divorce, abandonment, incar-ceration, financial or emotional instability, ad-diction, abuse, teen pregnancy, or parent’s death are common reasons “grandfamilies” form”.

Whether our involvement with our grand-children is small or great, we as grandparents have a unique opportunity to impact God’s king-dom.

The bible shows how a godly grandmother can make a difference in the life of her grand-child. Lois was a Jewish grandmother. She did a very great thing. She believed in God and passed her faith along to her daughter, Eunice, and then on to her grandson, Timothy. This is found in II Timothy 1:5. We see in the word of God that Timothy was taught the scriptures from child-

hood (II Timothy 3:15). He ended up becoming a great preacher and teacher in the first century church (Acts 16:2-3). In this particular situation,

this was all done without the help of his father, because scripture tells us that he was a non-believing Greek (Acts 16:1).

We see through scripture that God wants us as Christian grandparents to model our faith before our grandchildren. We can be actively involved in spiritual growth opportunities with

our grandchildren at church and in our homes.

We can encourage our grandchildren in their own Christian faith. We can pray “with” our grandchil-dren and “for” our grandchildren. In regular day-to-day conversations, we are able to interject simple bible truths as the Lord opens a door of opportunity. If the child’s parents are be-

lievers, we can come alongside and reinforce the godly principals that are already being taught in the home.

It is important to have the proper perspective if we do find ourselves as a childcare provider, or guardians for our grandchildren. We must re-member that we serve Him by serving them.

Brenda Almquist

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R R Summer Camp........June 11-13

M’Pact Girls Camp.........June 26-28

Patriotic Musical.............June 27-28

Family Camp ........... June 28-July 5

Senior High Camp............ July 6-10

VBS................................ July 13-17

Baptism at the Lake............. July 19

Junior High Camp .......... July 20-24

Lunch by the River ..........August 13

Mini-Golf@Clancy’s.........August 16

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