Testifying...

Testify - an old-fashioned word, concept? In the history of the church, typically there was time set aside during the worship service for people in the congregation to ʻtestifyʼ. What is it? What does it mean? What does it require? Why incorporate this into a service?! A simple definition is, testify-ing is a time for people to share what the Lord is doing or has done in their lives. Testifying in its simplest definition is ... witnessing: sharing what your experiences in and with the Lord have been, how He has shown Himself in your life. Some-times the situation was dire, and sometimes it was confirmation of what you needed to do. Some-times the testimony was of remarkable deliver-ances, and sometimes it was of those quiet un-derstandings Heʼs brought as youʼve brought your frustration, questions, or pain to Him. But the point is – it was a time to share with the church body what the Lord was actively doing. 

Personally, Iʼve only experienced a few times people testifying during a church service, but I do remember the effect on those listening. This was a time when speaker and listeners both profited, coming away from the experience encouraged and uplifted. I donʼt know if the church has gotten too sophisticated for this to be part of the service because testifying is never quiet. People listening shout out ʻAmen!ʼ, ʻHallelujah!ʼ, etc. which typically emboldens the speaker. But the focus is always on the Lord and His involvement in the lives of His people.

What we typically donʼt always realize is that everyone is constantly testifying through their actions, by their words. You are, consciously or not, 'witnessing' to what you think, what you believe, who you believe - every moment! One way of recognizing what a witness is/does is to consider what happens in court of law: a witness testifies to what they saw or heard – they give their evidence. This is what a witness does - testify. Are you a witness for Christ? Is this what others see and hear from you? Isnʼt He worthy of our praise?

Or do you think He is too reserved or respectable for such expressions?    Equally important about being a Christian wit-ness is - how you witness. Do you witness in an apologetic fashion, almost denying His hand? Or maybe you are at the opposite end of the contin-uum, and you're the 'hit them over the head' wit-ness - bombing others with hell-fire and brim-stone? I know the Apostle Paul said that he was all things to all men ... but neither stand would be one he would advocate. Does your method of witnessing provide an understanding of Who you are testifying about? Does your ʻhowʼ exemplify Christ-like qualities?Being a witness shouldn't be a frightening or burdensome activity; it should be an intentional and natural extension in your communications. Since you are a witness, the only questions re-maining are: what are you a witness of, to, about? Do you speak words of encouragement? Are you sharing your experiences in growing in the Lord? Of life and hope and peace? Regardless of

whether or not “testifying” is a part of the church service, you still have the opportunity and responsibility to share Who the Lord is in your life, what you are discovering, and how this makes you who you are in the world you live in.

Most of us share the Christ we have discovered, the One we know. The logical extension from that is - how much have you discovered? Who is He whom you know? These are not frivolous questions. Itʼs been said that you may be the only Bible someone reads. That's an enormous responsibility but not a fearful one. It should inspire us to discover more about Jesus and grow in our understanding and appreciation of Who He is. This will naturally translate into who we become, and how we portray Him to others. Iʼm not saying this to make anyone feel guilty about what they have or havenʼt done. Iʼm simply reminding all of us of Whose we are! Our lives, actions, words – our witness matters! 

VOICE ofFaith

The

Speaking the truth in loveFaith Evangelical Free Church

JUNE 2015Volume 24 Number 6

by Dr. Carolyn Coon

Saviorthe One Who saves

“The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!

Exalted be my God, the Rock, my Savior!”

2 Samuel 22:47 NIV

Sunday, June 2110:30 a.m.

on St Feriole Islandunder the tent

behind the DepotBring your lawn chair!

Membership ClassIf you would like to become a member of this

church, please make plans to attend the Membership Class on Saturday, June 13. It will be held from 9-3 with a lunch provided at noon. More information is available at our website (www.faithchurchpdc.org). You may obtain a Membership Packet from Pastor Mike in anticipation of the class.

Baptismal ServiceSunday, June 14, there will be a Baptismal

Service after the morning service. If you feel led to be baptized, please see Pastor Mike as soon as possible. More information can be found at our website (www.faithchurchpdc.org).

Rendezvous Garbage PickupAn annual service project for our church is to pick

up the garbage at the Rendezvous site on St. Feriole Island. If you would be willing to be on the team any-time between June 18-21, please see Joe Ostrander to get the schedule and receive instructions. Thanks!

Sunday, June 21

God had something special in mind when He made the first father. He assigned him a specific role in life. All of a fatherʼs activities are measured against that standard.

A little boy needs a father. He needs someone to teach him how to be a man, to take him by the hand and lead him through the maze of life, to teach him to be strong, gentle, loving, and to be a defender of right.

A little girl needs a father, too. She needs a father to protect her, to counsel her on lifeʼs problems, to teach her how to be a woman.

The home needs a father to serve as provider, protector, spiritual leader, and counselor. While the world seldom hears what a father says to his children, the effects of his counsel will be felt by the next gen-eration, and the next, and the next.

The Bible has these words of instruction for fathers: “Husbands, love your wives, evan as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her “(Ephesians 5:25). “Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:2).

Who am I?Created in the image of my God; in His hands with

love and authority in Jesus;Child of God: a daughter over whom He sings and

dances, a treasured possession;God calls me His friend: giving me an invitation to

know Him intimately;A Christian: a walking, talking follower of Christ,

conformed to His likeness;A royal priesthood: clothed in holy righteousness

of Jesus, proclaiming His praises;Heir to the promise: signed and sealed, a living

hope for the future eternity with God;The Bride: sanctified and redeemed in the blood of

my one true love - Jesus!Who are you?

by Dorothea Horsfall

Pastor Mike starts his Sabbatical

Pastor Mike will be leaving on Monday, June 22, for his Sabbatical and return Mon-day, August 31. While he is away from us, he plans to spend much time in study, writing, prayer, relaxing, and planning. Please pray for him and his family during

this time of rest and renewal. If you have a pastoral need, please contact one of our Elders: John Goree, Joe Ostrander, or George Schneider.

Note: A pastoral sabbatical is a release from the routine of the pastorʼs normal duties for the purpose of physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual renewal. A sabbatical strengthens and further develops a pastorʼs ability to serve the church.

In my newly released book, Be Strong and Courageous, there is an entry called, “Whatʼs your story?” Your story: have you ever shared it? Do you want to? Do you think no one would care to take the time to listen? Do you not know what you would share even if there were time or interest? On the scale of 0 to 10, where do you rate your story? The first thing you need to know is that you are no judge of your story. And the second is – there is NO unnecessary testimony, only unheard ones.

   When your testimony is about when, how, why you came to believe in Jesus and accept Him as your Lord, there is never a testimony that should be squelched or abbreviated. We are typically the worst judges of the importance and affect of our own story. And we rarely, if ever, know if our words strike a chord in the listener. Really... that shouldnʼt be our concern or focus, the storyʼs the point.

   Your story tells how you became part of the body, the beginning of your journey as you grew in the knowledge of who you are and Whose you are. It also provides a message that all are invited, all are wanted, all have a part in making the body strong and whole. Your story is important because it provides a message for others to move from darkness to light. Just as there is no insignificant person, there is no insignificant story. (Romans 12:3)

 Be encouraged!Editorʼs note: Be Strong and Courageous is now available on www.amazon.com.

Are you interested in what is involved in becoming a member of Faith Evangelical Free Church? On Saturday, June 13, from 9-3, there will be a class offered to explain the process. Actual membership is optional. Let Pastor Mike know either by calling or sending an email to the church office. You may also respond through the website which also has pertinent information. A lunch will be provided for participants.

Baptismal ServiceSunday, June 14

Those interested in being baptized, please see the website for further information, or call Pastor Mike at the church office.

Summer InternshipIsaac Jacobson is interning here for 8 weeks for

an educational requirement as a student at Moody Bible Institute. His responsibilities include sprucing up the church website, providing for the worship music portion of our Sunday morning services, and serving as our youth minister. Please pray for him as he implements his plans in these three ministry venues. His desire is to serve the Lord and this church to the best of his ability and for Godʼs glory. (Thank you, Isaac!!!)

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Hey, Kids!Ask your parents if you can check out

www.hiskids.netwww.answersingenesis.org/kidswww.christianitytoday.com/kids

www.jonathanpark.comwww.fancymonkey.com

www.whitsend.orgwww.kidsofcourage.com

http://mostimportantstory.comwww.patchthepirate.org

Shrimp kidnaps chemist!"...ʻWhere [is] God my maker, who gives songs in the night; Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds

of heaven?ʼ"Job 35:10-11

High drama takes place even among the tiny, almost unnoticeable creatures in the most remote parts of the world. In the frigid waters of Antarc-tica, for example, there's a tiny plankton which kidnaps even tinier chemists for its protection.

The tiny shrimp-like creature has absolutely no defense of its own. But this creature is not a shrimp without a plan. As it searches about, it may find an even smaller snail-like pteropod that it will fasten to its back.

The pteropod makes a chemical which fish hate. Fish which have tried to eat one of the shrimp-like creatures with its chemist backpack have been seen to shake their heads violently and spit the pair out. But the shrimp's captive backpack slows down his foraging for food. So after several days, the shrimp releases the pteropod unharmed to search for more food and, hopefully soon, another pteropod.

It sounds rather silly to suggest that one day, many years ago, one of these tiny plankton noticed that fish never ate pteropods because they produce a chemi-cal defense. Who would suggest that once he told his friends, all the shrimp-like plankton started kidnapping pteropods? This strategy was obviously taught to the plankton by the Creator Himself. be a primary recycler of waste wood in the forest.

~ Pastor Paul Bartz (Taken from www.creationmoments.com)

Missionaries of the Month

Rob Wiese, Don Price, and Tim HoukThese men and their families are missionaries serving

the Lord with the Forest Lakes District of the Evangelical Free Churches of America. This is the

District in which our church is located.Don Price is Church Health Director.

Rob Wiese is Director of Student & Family Ministries, and his assistant is Tim Houk.

Please pray for them as they seek to honor God in serving the churches under their care.

Christ Followers: Back to the Basics A study of the fundamentals of the Christian faith at

www.thechristfollowers.com

Survey Results (part 2) by Sharon Meier

Recently, some of our ministry team members were involved in presenting a Prison Fellowship Min-istry seminar called “Knowing God” to prison inmates. They were asked to respond by filling out a survey. The second question was, “What was one (or more) concept(s) that you learned that will help you be suc-cessful in your home community?” Here are their an-swers:• God, Creator of the Heavens & Earth, is big and

awesome enough to help us.• Putting into practice being more Holy. Being held

accountable.• Being still, study and fellowship with more people,

and get closer with God with my family.• The speakerʼs explanation of knowing God, learn-

ing how to reach out to people and spread the Word of God.

• One concept was to be able to explain oneʼs sinful nature to them so they can better understand salvation.

• How well God knows us and about His desire for us to know Him. Realizing God is “BIGGER” than I believed.

• Focus more on knowing God more and more. We must know whom we worship.

• The importance of studying the Holy Bible• Humility – structure – disciplines• People need to know about their sinful nature.• That God donʼt make junk.• The immense power of God• Godʼs all present nature.• How Great is Our God. Awesome!• How large Godʼs world really is. Many Bible verses

helped. I need help on the outside. I can bring a lot of this with, in the outside world.

• The molecule responsible for binding the cells which look like the cross.

• HolyWhen asked, “Is there anything that would make

the seminar more helpful in future sessions?”, the most repeated recommendation was to provide refreshments! (The inmates included smiley faces with their remarks because they are aware we are not allowed to do that.

)Want to know whatʼs happening in Prison Ministry

in the State of Wisconsin?Check out the following website:

www.facebook.com/PrisonFellowshipWisconsin

Creator’sCorner

The Voice of Faith newsletter is a publication of Faith Evangelical Free Church. Lead Pastor is Mike

Jacobson. Editor is Sharon Meier. Sunday Worship is at 10:15 a.m. Website is www.faithchurchpdc.org

Visitors are very much welcome!

If you wish to mail this, fold it in half, tape the open sides, and place a postage

stamp here.

Faith Evangelical Free Church1110 E. Cass StreetPrairie du Chien, WI 53821

Food for Thought✴ A good father is one of the most unsung,

unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.

~ Billy Graham

✴ God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.

✴ Worry is the darkroom in which negatives can develop. ~ Wanda E Brunstetter

✴ We fear men so much, because we fear God so little.” ~ William Gurnall.

✴ Silence is often misinterpreted but never misquoted.

✴ One day you will wonder what was so impor-tant that you put off doing the most important things. 'Someday' can be a thief in the night.”

~ Deborah Brown

✴ Faith is the ability to not panic.

✴ Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them. ~ Elizabeth Elliott

✴ When you get tangled up in your problems, be still. God wants you to be still so He can untangle the knots.

✴ A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.

✴ Worrying is arrogant because God knows what He's doing. ~ Barbara Cameron

The mission of our church is toglorify Christ,

proclaim the Gospel,reach the lost,

and train and instruct Christians in the faith

for service and daily living.