a biblical foundation? · 1/2/2015 · jonathan goforth, missionary to china, had read the bible...
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The Southview Sentinel January 2015
Welcome to The Southview Sentinel, a bi-monthly newsletter designed to keep you informed about recent events,
updated about current happenings, and prepared for future plans.
A Biblical Foundation?
Let us be sure that our Christian
foundation is strong. Husbands and
wives—do you pray together?
Christians—do you read God’s word
daily? Youth—are you seeking God’s
will and glory in everything that you
say and do? Are we each willing to give
up our habits and hobbies if God has
better things for us?
There are sincere Christians who can
easily read a “Christian fiction” book
every week, but do not read the Bible
every day. There are many sincere
Christians who can tell you what they
believe, but have no idea where (or if)
those beliefs can be found in the
Scriptures. How can you be sure that
you are raising your children Biblically
or that you have a Christian marriage or
holy life or Biblical morality if you do
not know what the Bible says about
these things?
Jesus told the Sadducees, “You are
wrong, because you know neither the
Scriptures nor the power of
God” (Matthew 22:29). The book of
Isaiah says, “Seek out of the book of the
Lord, and read” (Isaiah 34:16).
You Christians look after a document
(the Bible) containing enough dynamite
to blow all civilization to pieces, turn
the world upside down and bring peace
to a battle-torn
planet. But you
treat it as though it
is nothing more
than a piece of
literature.―
Mahatma Gandhi
George Muller
had read the Bible through 100 times by
the age of 71. By the time of his death,
about 22 years later, he had read it
through another 100 times.
Do you have no time for God?
George Muller wrote:
Friends often say, “I have so much to
do, so many people to see, I cannot find
time for Scripture study.” Perhaps
there are not many who have more to
do than I. For more than half a century
I have never known one day when I had
not more business than I could get
through. For forty years I have had
annually about thirty thousand letters,
and most of these passed through my
own hands. I have nine assistants
always at work corresponding in
German, French, English, Danish,
Italian, Russian, and other languages.
Then as pastor of a church with twelve
hundred believers, great has been my
care. Besides, I have had charge of five
immense orphanages; also, at my
publishing depot, the printing and
circulating of millions of tracts, books
and Bibles. But I have always made it a
rule never to begin work till I have had
a good season with God. The vigor of
our spiritual life will be in exact
proportion to the place held by the
Word in our life and thoughts.
Robert Murray McCheyne died at the
early age of 30, and yet
had by then read the
Bible through 100
times.
Jonathan Goforth,
missionary to China,
had read the Bible
through over 70 times.
Martin Luther read the Bible through
twice every year.
Catherine Booth had read the entire
Bible through eight times by the age of
twelve.
The primary purpose of reading the
Bible is not to know the Bible but to
know God. James Merritt
Ignorance of the Scriptures is
ignorance of Christ. Jerome
We should be better Christians if we
were more alone, waiting upon God,
and gathering through meditation on
His Word spiritual strength for labour
in his service. We ought to muse upon
the things of God, because we thus get
the real nutriment out of them. . . . Why
is it that some Christians, although they
hear many sermons, make but slow
advances in the divine life? Because
they neglect their closets, and do not
thoughtfully meditate on God’s Word.”
Charles H. Spurgeon
No one ever said at the end of his
days; I have read my BIBLE too much, I
have thought of God too much,
I have prayed too much, I have been
too careful with my soul. J. C. Ryle
My friend, if you are too busy to read the Bible every day, you are busier than Almighty God ever intended any human being should be, and you had better let some things go, and take time to read the Bible. D. L. Moody
We have had many people join our Southview family during the past few years, and it is not always to get to know
everyone; therefore, we hope this section will help you get to know some of the people whom you may not know.
The Stuarts began attending
Southview in 1965.
Ron and Jan Stuart will be
celebrating their 50th
wedding anniversary in
March 2015. They have 5
d a u g h t e r s a n d 8
grandchildren. Ron is retired
from Loudonville/Perrysville
schools and presently working
part-time for Steel Plate Akron/
Atlanta. Jan will be closing her
medical billing company June 2015
and retiring.
Jan accepted Christ at the age of 13 at
an SMM meeting. She has been
involved in EE outreach,
pastoral care and
children's ministries
(teaching and leading
children's choir) and
has taken many
m i s s i o n t r i p s .
Currently she is
serving as coordinator
a n d t e a c h e r f o r
Southview's K-6 children's
ministries, which includes Sunday
School and BLAST.
Ron accepted Christ at the age of 24
under the ministry of Southview Pastor
Mason Cooper. He has served on the
elder board, maintenance, building
grounds, pastoral care, youth leader,
teaching children thru adults and taken
many mission trips. Currently he is
serving in teaching your children
grades K-6.
Things you may not know about
them:
Ron has a race car. Jan reads 3+
books a week. They enjoy fishing on
Lake Erie and were both born in
Ashland. Children have played an
important part in their lives, having
been foster parents and now they
frequently volunteer in their daughter's
2nd grade classroom.
Mary Jones was born
in 1784 in Wales. Her
father told her Bible
stories, and she longed
to read the Bible. Her
family was too poor to
afford a Bible (as most
families in Wales were),
and Mary could not
read. A farmer’s wife—
two miles away—told
Mary that when she learned to read, she
could come to their house and read their
Bible. When a neighborhood school opened,
Mary attended and learned how to read by
the age of ten. She then walked the two
miles to the neighbor’s house and began to
read their Bible, memorizing entire chapters
at a time. Every Saturday from then on, she
walked the two miles just to read the Bible.
During the next six years, Mary saved
money by doing jobs for neighbors. Mary
was now around 16 years old. She heard that
Pastor Charles in the town of Bala—about
25 miles away, had some Bibles for sale. She
took her money and walked the 25 miles—
barefoot—so that she did not ruin her one
pair of shoes. When she found the pastor, he
told her that he had sold most of the Bibles,
the remaining few had been promised to
others, and that the Welsh Bible Society that
had printed them had no plans to print more.
He heard her story, and gave her his last
copy—that he had reserved for someone
else. Her story inspired many, and, with the
help of Pastor Charles, the British and
Foreign Bible Society was soon formed to
help meet the need to provide more Bibles.
The Bible meant much to Mary Jones. What
does it mean to you?
Getting to Know You
Ron and Jan Stuart
Middle of the Week
Mary Jones and Her Bible
The next issue of The
Southview Sentinel is being
planned (March 2015). It
should cover the months of
March, April, and early May.
If you have comments, ideas,
thoughts, questions, or
upcoming events that you
would like to have considered
for the next issue, please put
them in writing (either a note,
letter, email, etc.) and give
them to Paul Miller, put them
in his box, or email him at
veritas3@zoominternet.net.
Please have the information to
him by Sunday, February
15. This includes SMM, GBB,
pastors,
youth,
Sunday
school,
etc.
Plan Ahead—
Feb. 15 deadline In addition to the youth group, SMM, and
GBB, Southview also has Wednesday
evening events for adults—so JOIN US! If
you can, meet at 5:45 p.m. to eat together,
followed by a brief time of congregational
prayer. Then, when it is not Titus 2 night, we
have a few options from 6:45-7:45: a time of
teaching and discussion with Pastor Russ
Enzor, current event discussion with Pastor
Mark Abel, and prayer and discussion with
Paul Miller. Ask us if you need more
information. We want to see you there!
SMM Girls
During the Christmas season, the
young girls acted out the birth of
Jesus from Luke 2. We had Mary,
Joseph, 2 angels, and 2
shepherds.
Also, the entire SMM group
traveled to Kingston of Ashland
on December 17 and caroled
though the halls. During that time we met some residents in their
activity room for a sing-along with more Christmas songs.
If you have a young girl who would like to join us for SMM on
Wednesday evenings, please see one of us for more details.
Christy Miller, Julie
Hillman, Karen
Kauffman,
Heather Russell, and
Jodie Dravenstott
A True Partner in Christ By Jan Stuart
Upon contact from Connie Boyd,
Partners in Christ's chairperson for
sponsorship, I was pleased to
accept her invitation to
attend the graduation of
our oldest sponsored
student, Thania
Mercedes, on
October 24th at
Fountain of Life
School. This trip
changed my
view of
sponsorship. Sponsoring a
child is a means to a joyous end. These
16 graduates were overjoyed as they
came together in a church filled with
family, friends, teachers, and Partners in
Christ board members. The proud,
smiling graduates felt successful as they
accepted their diplomas and looked
forward to the next chapter of their lives.
As this beautiful mature young lady
walked toward me with tears in her eyes
to receive her diploma, my heart was
filled with joy to be able to share that
moment with her.
Ten years ago, Thania Mercedes and her
brother, Josue, came into our lives,
followed four years later by her sister,
Dania, three years after that,
her brother Danniel, and the
next year, Denis. Through
Partners In Christ and
the wonder of
Facebook, we
correspond with all
of these children
and their
families. As they
share their lives with
us, they become a part
of our family. When we
visit the school, there is also
a visit to their home in
the village of Juan
Tomas, where we are
warmly welcomed
with hugs and words
of gratitude from the
children and their
parents. The day after
graduation we spent
together in Santo Domingo
going to a park and then to a Mall for
pizza and other activities, including
batting cages. Sunday we worshiped
together at their church. Yes, we are one
in Christ Jesus.
Thank you Partners
In Christ for making
this possible.
Speaking to other
sponsors, when your
child becomes a
graduate, I
encourage you to
plan to attend this
special occasion. Our Lord is using you
as a tool to help your child succeed in
life. Celebrate with them! The gratitude
of Thania, her parents, and siblings was
heart-warming. Nothing compares to
sharing the love of Jesus.
In Christ,
Jan Stuart
I had mentioned in my article
about encouraging other
sponsors to attend graduation
and about using Facebook. I am
hoping they pick up on the
suggestion to use Facebook. I hear
from my children at least 1-2 times a
week. Danniel just sent me a picture he'd
drawn of me...haha! You notice I didn't
attach that! So cute. They are just so
willing to share their lives. —-Jan
Thania and Family
On Sunday,
December 14 and
again during the
Christmas Eve
service, Acting
Up demonstrated
their puppet
skills, and were
enjoyed by both children and adults.
Thank you to all those involved and for all you do at
Southview and throughout the community!
Acting Up
Thania and Jan
The youth group has had an exciting
couple of months. We recently finished
our in depth Sunday morning study of
Genesis, and we have moved into
Exodus in our four-year journey
through the Bible. The goal is to give
students a solid Biblical foundation
upon which they can depend for the
rest of their lives.
Wednesday nights have changed
slightly over the past few months. We
continue to participate in the Titus 2
evenings. It has been a great time of
fellowship and learning from fellow
brothers and sisters in Christ.
The other Wednesdays we usually
open in a time of prayer, followed by what we call,
“Whatever Wednesday,” during which the students raise a
question about their daily lives or a current event about
which they may have a question. We take a Biblical
perspective toward this issue and discuss possible
solutions. Next is a specific topical study into which we
take a deeper look. These topics range from secular music
to seasonal topics. For instance, in December we started
with the Biblical birth of Christ and have traced Christmas
to what we celebrate today. Then our night is finished
with some sort of active activity.
Special events over the recent past include the return of
Turkey Bowl
and
Southview’s
1st Amazing
Grace
scavenger
hunt. Turkey
Bowl is a
football
game—flag football
this year—and was held on November 30th. Even though
the football was
not of the
highest quality,
it was a very
fun time and
we were very
thankful to
escape without
any serious
injuries!
On Saturday,
December 13th, we held our first “Amazing Race” style
scavenger hunt which we entitled Southview’s Amazing
Grace. We would like to thank all the participants and
those who opened their homes to
the youth and those who drove, as
it would not have been possible
without you! This was a great
time of fellowship and many great
memories were made. Just don’t
ask Ruth Abel if she wants any
more milk!
Youth Group By Mike Barr
Turkey Bowl
Making evergreen decorations at Rich and
Elaine Hess’ house.
Nativity Scene at Bob and Marilyn
Glenn’s home.
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