mar 2010 lamplighter newsletter, lafayette alliance church

8/8/2019 Mar 2010 Lamplighter Newsletter, LaFayette Alliance Church

1/10

lated than ever.

And lets be honest Reformedand evangelical churches nowa-days often imitate the cultureprecisely where we most need toconfront and counteract its influ-ence. As churches seek to be-come bigger, flashier, and moretechnologically savvy, they usuallytend to become more cold andimpersonal. Contemporarychurches sometimes even seemto encourage the me firstagenda of self-love rather thanthe one another commands of Scripture. As a result, we dont

bear one anothers burdens aswe should.

Yet Paul made this duty a highpriority. It was the centerpiece of his admonitions to the Galatianchurches. The first half (or more)of Galatians is a defense of justifi-cation by faith and a series of arguments against the false teach-ing that threatened to placethose churches in bondage to theLaw. In Galatians 5:14 he re-

minded them: The whole law isfulfilled in one word: You shalllove your neighbor as yourself.

How is that love best manifest?Bear one anothers burdens, andso fulfill the law of Christ (6:2).

The first and preeminent exam-ple of burden-bearing Paul men-tions involves dealing with the

(Continued on last page)

By John MacArthur

The troubles of this world aremanifold and relentless. Its noteasy to stay so focused onheaven that we remain unper-turbed by the afflictions of earthly life. Were commanded,of course, to set our minds onthings above, not on earthlythings (Col. 3:2), but even themost committed believer willtestify that earthly trials some-times obscure the heav-enly perspective.

We worry. We grieve. We stum-

ble. We strain under the toil of our daily labors. We feel the guiltof our fallen condition. Mean-while, we are assaulted withadversities of various kinds.Those are just a few of the manyworldly burdens that frequentlykeep our thoughts from risingto heaven.

And yet we are commandedrepeatedly to seek the thingsthat are above (Col. 3:1). We

are instructed to look not tothe things that are seen but tothe things that are unseen (2Cor. 4:18). We must not allowthe burdens of this life to divertour hearts from heaven.

How is that possible? When theload weighs us down and thetroubles become too much forone person to bear, pie-in-the-sky sentiments can soundvery hollow.

But that is precisely why thechurch is so important. It is ourduty as believers to help bearone anothers burdens (Gal. 6:2).When someone staggers, wehelp steady the load. If he isstraining, we help bear the bur-den. And if he stumbles, we lift

him up. Helping fellow believerscarry the weight of their worldlytroubles is one of the chief prac-tical duties that ought to con-sume every Christian.

Of course, that concept is con-

trary to the drift of our culture,with secular societys tendencyto foster self-absorption. Ourgeneration has developed anunhealthy obsession with enter-tainment; we are daily assaultedwith a plethora of trivial diver-sions; and we tend to interactwith one another in sound-bitesor through faceless media. Welive in crowded cities and over-populated neighborhoods; yetmost individuals are more iso-

Bearing One Anothers BurdenI N S I D E T H I SI S S U E :From Pastor Brians Desk

2

Why Believe

Moses? Pt. 2

3

WednesdayPrayer Meeting

3

SpringPoem

4

Katie WellsUpdate

4

Cabin Fever 4

Beyond the

Shoebox5

Birthdays/Anniversaries

5

From the ChurchLibrary

5

AWM SpringRefresh

8

Bulletin Board 9

Quizzing 6

Church LockupSchedule

5

Youth Scholar-ship Information

2

The LamplighterM A R C H 2 0 1 0V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 3

John MacArthur


2/10

P A G E 2

The theme for

LIFE 2010 is

COLLIDE . . .

what happens

when your world meets

Gods world?

From Pastor Brians DeskLIFE

Our Alliance Youth Confer-ence, Collide, is in July. Thatseems like a long way off, how-ever, we must continue toraise the funds for our group.Our next fundraiser will be aSpaghetti Dinner, Sunday, April25 right after the second ser-vice. Everybody needs to eatso why not place this date onyour calendar? What betterway to fellowship with eachother and contribute towardthe youth.

What is LIFE?

Imagine thousands of studentsauthentically experiencing Godand being inspired to expandHis Kingdom. Imagine worship-ping and growing closer toChrist. Imagine connectingwith new friends, serving to-gether and helping churchplants. Imagine tons of semi-nars and workshops, awesomeconcerts and incredible experi-

ences. Thats what LIFE is allabout.

The theme for LIFE 2010 isCOLLIDE . . . what happens when

your world meets Gods world? Iam personally excited with theLIFE 2010 theme and am looking forward to God meeting each of as we collide from all over theUSA and from around the world in Louisville to hear from Him!

Jason Ostrander

National Alliance Youth

Director

Our LIFE team consists of Tinaand Jeremy Culver, NathanRoberts, Nate Phipps, JesseBlum, April Aungier, MaggieTitus, Julia Martin, PatriciaMartin, Amber Vanderwerff,and Brittany Wentworth.

Thank you for supporting us!

New Sunday School Class

What's The Difference? Bibli-

cal Manhood and Womanhoodaccording to the Bible

Many have signed up for thisclass. I am personally lookingforward to leading a study of this crucial topic. Come join usas we discuss what John Piperunveils and what the Bibleteaches about our roles andresponsibilities in the churchand in our families. Our soci-

ety is terribly confused andmisleading on this subject. Ourchildren need us to have a firmand proper understanding of what it means to be a man ora woman in God's eyes. Seeyou there!

T H E L A M P L I G H T E R - M A R C H 2 0 1 0

LAC Youth Servant Leadership Sch Attention High School Seniors:

Applications for the Youth Servant Leadership Scholarship are available in the church office. The scholarshipcommittee will be looking at the following criteria for the award:

Demonstrated Christian Character Regular Attendance at church services including worship, Sunday School, and youth group Christian/Community Service

The application deadline is April 1, 2010


3/10

Why Believe Moses? Part 2by Todd Carsten P A G E 3V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 3

The Genesis creation days cameunder attack in the early 1800'swhen pagan concepts surfacedclaiming Planet Earth was far olderthan the six thousand or so yearsthe Bible traditionally allowed. Suchclaims were anything but new sinceancient civilizations often acceptedEarth's age as unfathomable. WhenCharles Darwin's evolutionary the-ory appeared in the mid 1800's,everyone including Darwin himself admitted the theory was dead onarrival without being afforded vasteons of time, the more the merrier.Afterward, the only scholars stillrejecting vast geologic ages werethe scriptural geologists. Nowadays,evolutionary geologists have pre-vailed and Planet Earth is surmisedto be some 4.5 billion years old.

Incidentally, 4.5 billion years differsfrom six thousand years by a magni-tude of one million times. It's zerosover which no one simply whistlesthe tune of Dixie. The trickle downeffect of a 4.5 billion year old earthhas become so pervasive that anindividual can neither enter a mu-seum, zoo, or national park withoutbeing continually bombarded by it.Consequently, many Christians nowfeel pressured (possibly brain-washed) into accepting Genesis asan allegory (symbolic story) repre-

senting vast geologic ages. But isGenesis truly an allegory?

Major problems arise for treatingGenesis as an allegory since theopening verses plainly depict crea-tion's time scale as being six ordi-nary days: and the evening and themorning were the first day ... andthe evening and the morning werethe second day ... , and so on for allsix days. Every Hebrew scholaropenly admits it lacks any literarysemblance of being an allegory, norof even being a lyric (poem orsong). Rather, scholars maintain thecreation account bears all the hall-marks of an historical record writ-

ten in Hebrew, with each day as-signed a consecutive number, andeach day closely linked by a con-

junction signifying no interval.

Another key factor to recall, Moseswas anything but an illiterate fighter-shepherd. He had once been anEgyptian prince receiving an eliteeducation courtesy of Pharaoh, andso early on he became quite familiarwith pagan dating for Planet Earth.Following the exodus from Egypt,he assembled and edited the Book of Genesis, ostensibly from pre-

served patriarchal records. Whileso editing he fully refrained from atemptation to insert eons of time

into the text, nor even the faintestof suggestion. Rather, Moses per-mitted the six day creation accountto stand exactly as received. Today,we realize Moses provided a trulyaccurate record since none otherthan Jesus Christ fully endorsed allof Moses' writings (see Part 1).

Thirdly, and this one is huge. Shouldwe mortals fail to grasp the timespan for creation, Moses provided arepeat mention of it in a whollyseparate document the Book of Exodus! Yes, the lesson of a six daycreation appears in both Genesisand Exodus. But basically Moses hadno choice but to provide a repeat

mention in Exodus because he re-ceived it etched in stone by thevery Finger of God. Following thedivine revelation atop of MountSinai, no earthling could ever right-fully challenge whether the Creatormeant a literal day or a vast geo-logic age, for a succinct and finalWord had been provided:

For in six days the Lord madeheaven and earth, the sea, and allthat is in them, and rested the sev-enth day: wherefore the Lordblessed the Sabbath day, and hal-

lowed it (Ex 20:11)(More on Moses and the etched

stone tablets next month)

primary condition of all true prayeris the renunciation of our own willso that we may desire and receiveGod's will. But having done this andhaving recognized the will of ourFather as the standard for our de-sires and petitions, we are to claimthese petitions that are in accor-dance with His will, with a forceand tenacity as great as the will of God itself. This petition, then, in-stead of being a limitation onprayer, is really a confirmation of our faith, and it gives us the right to

claim that the petition thus con-formed to His will shall be impera-tively fulfilled."

We invite you to join us Wednes-days at 7 pm in the ButternutRoom as we pray for the Church,and the needs of its members.

Prayerfully Yours,

Larry Petry

From the Official Directory & Prayer Guide of the C&MA:

Adopting a Posture for Effec-tive IntercessionExcerpts from The Life of Prayer,Unlocking the Secrets of Access toGod, by A. B. Simpson

Confirming Our Faith - "Realpraying is not simply asking forthings because we want them. The

Wednesday Prayer Meeting The primary condition of alltrue prayer is

the renunciation

of our own willso that we may

desire and

receive God's

will.


4/10

P A G E 4

The deadline for

the April issue of

the Lamplighter is

Sunday, March

21st. Please submit

your articles to the

church office.

SpringBy Dorothea Dyer

Spring comes in subtle ways

Unhurried and unseenMelting snow, a breath of warm airAnd patches of tender green

A crocus peeps out of the snowAnd pussy willows popUntil another blast of Winter comesAnd all advances stop

Then there comes a warm dayWhen Spring is in the airYou smell it and you feel itAnd KNOW that it is there

And then before you know it

You look and you will seeThe grass has all turned greenAnd there are leaves on every tree

Yes Spring comes in on quiet feetAnd in the dark of nightWhile with each dawn new life aboundsAs the sun shines warm and bright

took the very nature of aservant. Though Jesus was aKing, he came to serve, andoften he taught by askingquestions, though he couldsee into others hearts. It issuch a process to surrenderself and become more likeChrist. How can I see othersthrough His lens of grace?

It is thrilling to see more of you at LaFayette AllianceChurch rise up and stand withme as I prepare to return toBolivia with South AmericaMission. The S.A.M. mission-ary pilot told me the brick

layer in San Fernando hasfinished my house!!!! Yet thewater tank is not yet hookedup. My house will have runningwater, a novelty in San Fer-nando.

Flannel graph may be consid-ered out dated by some, but Ihave been receiving training byexperienced missionaries andam excited to use it in SanFernando.

Thank You for those who are joining with me in this missionto San Fernando! Please con-tinue to pray for God to raiseup more people to commit tobe monthly supporters and forGod to bless those who arealready committed. Acts 1:8together lets be witnesses toour Jerusalem, Judea andSamaria and THE ENDS OFTHE EARTH! Glorify God isall things.\

Time is in Gods hands. Hewill work how and when Hewills. Oh God that I would bewilling to wait, just as muchas I am willing to go, andwilling to learn, just as muchas I am willing to teach. Thispast month from January 21stuntil February 20th I took theIntercultural CommunicationCourse offered by JAARS(Jungle Aviation And RadioServices, a support ministryfor Wycliffe Bible translators)in Waxhaw, North Carolina.The key pillars of the coursewere: Suspend Judgment,Assume Goodwill, TolerateAmbiguity, and Think Gray.We studied cultural elements,as well as our personal char-acters and the Character of Christ. Your attitude shouldbe the same that of Christ

Jesus. Philippians 2:5, 7 who

T H E L A M P L I G H T E R - F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 0

Katie Wells Update

Cabin Fever Its that time of the year!

Are you getting cabin feverthis winter? Well mark yourcalendars for our annual

Cabin Fever nighto n S u n d a y ,

March 21st.

To kick off theevening, we willhave a covereddish dinner at5:00 pm. Pleasebring a large dish topass and your owntable service.

Following dinner, there will be atalent portion of the eveningat 6:00 pm. If you have a talentyou would like to sharemusic,skit, etc. please contact PastorBrian or the church office.

Please sign up for the dinner andthe talent portion on the ButternutRoom doors.

This is always a fun time in the lifeof our church. Dont miss it!


5/10

Beyond the Shoebox-Operation Christmas C

P A G E 5V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 3

A few months have passed since we sent ourshoeboxes on their mission to reach out tochildren all over the world. Do you knowwhere your box ended up? If not, here ishow to know for next year.

When your box is filled, instead of puttingmoney in the envelope provided, go on-lineto www.samaritainspurse.org and click onthe EZGIVE option. You will receive a track-ing number. After your box(es) havereached their destination, you will be noti-fied.

This year our box made its way to Lebanon!It was so much fun to open the e-mail andsee several photos of the children holding aChristmas shoebox. What was also very

March 2010

1 Christopher Lloyd, Nancy Malara

2 Hope Murgia, (Don & Lois Botbyl)

3 Larry Petry

4 Micaela Compton

5 Katie Wells

6 Hannah Johnson

7 John Shaver

8 Jean Palmer, Greg Titus

9 Joe Hunter

10 Linda Brown

11 Clayton Estey, Luanne Oda

12 Marybeth Ortlieb

13 Patrick Buff

14 Georgia Phipps

16 Margo Sullivan

17 Louise Benedetto, John Coye

20 Sarah Doolittle, Brian Ness

21 Crystal Compton, (Jerry & Gail Patterson)23 Bill Bowe

24 Katie Titus

25 Gabriel Benedetto

26 Becky Mintz, Jennifer Patterson

27 Esperanza DiStefano, Bev Storrier

28 Gail Patterson

29 Margo Christopherson, Justin Gates

30 Mary Smid

Birthdays & Anniversaries

Church Lock UpSchedule

This is a reminder for church officers who are onthe lock up schedule for the month of March

March 7 Clayt Roberts Jr.March 14 Bill BitlerMarch 21 Ralph MaloneyMarch 28 Marty Andrews

If you are unable to be at church on the day you arescheduled for lock up, please arrange to change withsomeone on the schedule.

amusing was, in one photo several of the boys,instead of looking up at the camera, werechecking out the kid next to him to see hisbox. Some things about children are universal.

When the boxes were distributed in 2009, theGreatest Journey project was also launched.The project goal is to equip local churches andministry partners with colorful Gospel story-books for a discipleship program. Graduatesof the program receive a New Testament intheir local language. Last year over 45 millionboys and girls were recipients of this program.Gospel storybooks were printed in 52 lan-guages and made available in 75 countries. Tosupport this project go on-line to Samaritanspurse.

From the Church LibraryThe library has a a good and improving collection of books. Read a few through 2010 and then send us afew lines by email to [email protected] inNovember about which was your favorite and why.Your favorite could be fiction, biography or any in-spirational book in the church library.

There will be a prize of a gift book for the best re-sponse!

Children in Lebanon receiving their Shoeboxes


6/10

P A G E 6

We still need

volunteers, housing

and cookie

donations for the

March Madness

Scramble on

March 19-20, 2010

Quizzing

Junior Quizzing News

Wow! Talk about change! The Junior Quizzers havedone some flips on the status placements. BothRebecca and Chris Lloyd had an excellent day, withBeca taking 1st place for the day and for the yearso far. Chris took 2nd place for the day and 3rdplace for the year so far. Joel Flemming had a roughfirst quiz, but he did well in his remaining quizzes,giving him 3rd for the day and 2nd for the year.Amanda Negley took 5th for the day and holds 5thplace for the year.

Our next quiz is February 27th at 9:30 am in LaFay-ette. It should be exciting! You never know whatwill happen. Come and join the fun watching how

Gods Word is being planted in young hearts.

Please continue to pray for us as we study andlearn Gods Word, and prepare for the upcomingMarch Madness Tournament. Also, pray for goodhealth as we near the end of our regular seasonand prepare for Districts.

Marie Murgia, Junior Coach

Senior Quizzing News

We have another exciting month ahead of us. Be-sides our regular zone quiz meet, we have a specialtournament that we are hosting for teams from

around New York State and Eastern Canada. It iscalled March Madness Scramble. Scramble meansthe quizzers are mixed up with one quizzers fromeach of the four different zones that are repre-sented. Right now we have 70 Senior quizzers and16 Junior quizzers registered, along with about 50adults will make for an exciting weekend.

We begin March 19th, on Friday nightwith a time of worship music. Then wehave a special guest, Greg Stultz, whowill be doing a drama presentation of thelife of Saul including his conversion.Friday night is capped off with a time of fellowship with ice-breaker games andthen brownies and ice cream for all.


About 9 pm, the kids and chaperones head off totheir host homes for the night.

Saturday morning, March 20th, will begin again withworship music, followed by Gregs drama presenta-tion of Paul following his conversion. Much of itwill actually come from the material the quizzershave memorized this year from I and II Corinthians.Then about 9 am we begin nine rounds of some of the most exciting Bible quizzing you will ever see.We break for lunch, which will be a real treat thisyear. The menu includes meat lasagna, vegetarian

lasagna, macaroni and cheese and salad. Dessertwill be cookies that ladies from our church willprovide.

After lunch we finish up the last few preliminaryrounds and then we have the top team quiz withthe top three teams from prelims. Then we have atop fifteen quiz with the highest scoring fifteenindividuals from the preliminaries. We end with anawards ceremony with trophys and medallions forthe top team and individual finishers. Then the kidssay their goodbyes and head off for their long drivehome.

We appreciate all the families hosting our quizzers

and providing cookies.

If youve wondered about quizzing and would liketo take part in this exciting and fun weekend, pleasefeel free to join us, Friday night from 6:50 9 pmor Saturday morning from 8:20 am 3:30 pm.

If you cant make it, please remember us in yourprayers.

Georgia Phipps, Senior Coach


7/10



8/10

P A G E 8

Where:

Holiday Inn, Auburn

Cost:

Registration & Meals:

$65 (Teens: $55)

Room:

$94 including tax for

up to 4 people

Sign-up:

Butternut Room door

or see Shaun

Standford

Deadlines:

Hotel Room: March 19th

Registration/Meals:

March 28th

Alliance Women Ministries Spring Re



9/10


Daniel Sheyesteh Books

Attention Men: Your News Here! This space could be for you! Send alongyour Bulletin Board announcements ornews items to [email protected]

Dont miss out on two excellent opportunitiesin our church.

Mens Seminary meets on the 1st and 3rdSaturday of the month from 9:30 11:00 am atchurch.

Joshuas Men meets on the 4th Tuesday of the month for dinner and then discussion/Biblestudy at 6:30 pm at church. They are currentlyusing the book Tell the Truth: The WholeGospel to the Whole Person by Whole Peopleby Will Metzger.

Senior Ministry LunchAttention all Seniors This month we will havea luncheon on Thursday, March 4th here atchurch at noon. Join us for a meal together anda great time of fellowship.

Please bring a dish to pass. Feel free to invite afriend and enjoy a relaxing, fun time.

There are a couple copies of TheDifference is the Son books stillavailable for purchase. This book is astudy of Islam and Christianity. Thecost is $15. Contact the church of-f ice a t 677-9810 or emai [email protected] if youwould like a copy.

Daylight Savings TimeDont Forgetto set yourclocks aheadone hour onS a t u r d a ynight , March13th!

Attention Ladies:Dont miss out on two excellent opportunities inour church.Chris Buff is leading a Bible study, OvercomingFear and Discouragement (Ezra, Nehemiah,Esther) on Monday evenings, from 7:00 8:30 pmin the Butternut Room.

On the second Thursday of each month, BethOrtlieb is facilitating a discussion group focusingon a womans role in being a complement to herhusband: primarily in areas of marriage and family.This group meets from 6:308:30 pm in the But-ternut Room.


10/10

Verse 2 then simply states the under-lying principle as an imperative (Bearone anothers burdens). Obviously,the precept applies to all kinds of burdens not merely the burdens of those who stumble into sin. WhenPaul suggests that burden-bearingfulfill[s] the law of Christ, he makesit clear that he has the whole morallaw in view. Every act of compassionand self-sacrifice on behalf of ourbrethren is a practical means of dis-playing the love of Christ and therebyfulfilling the moral demands of His law.

But the apostle clearly has in mindspiritual, emotional, and temperamen-tal encumbrances not physicalfreight only. The burdens we need tohelp carry for one another includeguilt, worry, sorrow, anxiety, and all

(continued from page 1)

burden of another Christians sin. If anyone is caught in any transgression,you who are spiritual should restorehim in a spirit of gentleness (v. 1).That, of course, isnt a different ap-proach from the steps of church dis-cipline Jesus outlined in Matthew18:1517. It merely explains how thatprocess is to be carried out (gentlyand meekly), and it underscores thetrue goal (restoration, not punish-ment or public rebuke per se).

In other words, the person restoringthe sinning brother isnt to approachhim as if he were a master over himbut meekly as one who is willingto help shoulder the burden so thatthe one who has stumbled can get tohis feet again.

other similar loads.

Do you want to fulfill the moral re-quirements of the Law? Love yourneighbor. How do you love him? Bybearing his burdens.

Its interesting that Paul would em-phasize this theme in an epistle writ-ten to confront people who werefalling into legalism. Its as if he weresaying, You want to observe a law?Let it be the law of Christ. If you haveto impose burdens on yourselves, letit be through acts of love towardyour neighbor.

If you will do that faithfully, your ownburden wont seem so heavy. Best of all, you will find it easier to keep yourfocus heavenward, regardless of thetrials you suffer in this life.

Bearing One Anothers Burdens

Were on the web! www.lafayettealliance.org

Our mission is to know Jesus Christ; exalt Him as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, Coming King,and complete His Great Commission .

LaFayette Christian & MissionaryAlliance Church

P.O. Box 1506069 Cherry Valley TurnpikeLaFayette, New York 13084Phone: (315) 677-9810

Rev. Robert Gates, Senior [email protected]

Brian Mandigo, Associate [email protected]

Ellen Coulter, Office [email protected]

mar 2010 lamplighter newsletter, lafayette alliance church

Documents