JUNE 2015

UPCOMING EVENTS!

Midweek Services Meal at 6:00 pm

Worship time and Discipleship Ministries for all ages 6:30 pm

Quilting Adventures Day June 2nd 1—7 pm

Barn Party

at the Jipps June 5th

Women’s Bible Study

June 9, 16, 23, 30 7-8 pm

Helping Hands June 11th 10:00 am

Celebrating Biblical Fatherhood

We celebrate many things in June – weddings, Flag Day, the official beginning of summer, the longest day of the year. And we celebrate Father’s Day. But there is a corrosive element of modern Western Civilization that degrades fathers and vilifies men in general.

The signs of this ongoing war are everywhere. This summer our nation’s Supreme Court debate the definition of marriage. What will the court decide, and how will it affect fatherhood, motherhood, marriage, and the church? In commercials I watch with disgust as men are depicted as bumbling idiots (think of the two yahoos in Sonic Drive-In commercials), while women are depicted as being suave and sophisticated. I shake my head and watch football players in the NFL parade around in pink gloves and socks. Supposedly they are honoring victims of breast cancer. But it’s a one-way street. Since when has pink been a manly color? And when have you seen LPGA golfers perform in green to honor victims of prostate cancer?

But this battle does not affect only the culture at large. It has wormed its way into the church. I attended a church once where God was addressed as both “him” and “her.” Many churches have ordained women as pastors, when the Scriptural qualification is that an overseer must be the husband of one wife (1 Tim. 3:2). Increasingly, churches allow pastors to marry two men or two women. Modern Bible versions such as the NIV 2011 now read “brothers and sisters” in passages such as James 1:2, where the Greek text reads only “brothers.” They want to keep in step with contemporary usage. But since when do Biblical Christians allow the world’s culture to define them? Aren’t we to resist conformity to the world (Rom. 12:2)?

An attack against the definition of marriage is an attack against God, who reated man in His own image and likeness as “male” and “female,” and who commanded them to “be fruitful and multiply” (Gen. 1:26-27). And an attack against fathers and family is an attack against God “the Father (Grk. pater), from whom every family (Grk. patria) in heaven and on earth derives its name” (Eph. 3:14, 15). If the culture wants to accuse God of being “patriarchal,” let it. He is the source of patriarchalism! And He will have the last word, and no one will be able to contradict Him!

Here is the truth. God swore to give the land of Canaan to Israel’s “fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Deut. 6:10). God commanded Moses to teach his audience “the commandment, the statutes and the judgments” so that, literally, “you, and your son, and your son’s son might fear the LORD your God” (Deut. 6:1-2). That is the Biblical prescription for Israel, and it is the Biblical prescription for the Church. If that sounds patriarchal, let it. It is Biblical. And it is the Truth, which transcends all cultures! The Supreme Court can never trump the Scripture. The Scripture always trumps the Supreme Court!

So let us celebrate Father’s Day joyously, unashamedly. And let us celebrate every occurrence of Biblical fatherhood. A couple of Sundays ago, I watched as Chris Kirk won the PGA Crowne Plaza Invitational in Fort Worth, Texas by one stroke. After he had finished, he lovingly held his two little boys, one in each arm, and when he was sure he was the winner, he leaned over and kissed his (gasp) wife! Happy Father’s Day, Chris!

James T. Bartsch, Interim Pastor of Oakdale Evangelical Free Church

Women’s Bible Study

"Knowing the Shepherd" by Nancy Leigh

DeMoss A 4-part video/discussion Bible study for women of all ages

Tuesdays 7-8 PM June 9,16,23,30 No sign-up necessary, just join us

for study and discussion!

Happy Fathers Day June 21st

Memory Verse for June:

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

2 Corinthians 5:20

Baptism Class

Beginning June 7th during the

Sunday School hour. Please see Pastor Jim if you are

interested or have questions.

The General Board met on May 19. Vice Chair J.W. Hatten chaired the meeting in the absence of Mark Hecox. There was a good update from the search committee. This past Sunday they took a road trip to hear one of the prospective candidates preach. They are still moving forward with several candidates at this time. Please continue to pray for this dedicated group. The primary focus of the meeting was the concern over the budget. At the end of April our giving to the general fund is down $21,944 from the budget that the congregation approved. Our spending is in line with our budget, in fact we are $1,072 under budget from the spending side through the end of April, and that includes a large annual premium for the insurance. We currently have a balance in the general fund of $36,259. So while we do have a positive balance we cannot continue the rest of the year without some changes if our giving and spending continue at the current rate. Either our giving needs to increase or we need to make some significant changes in spending the second half of the year. The board has asked our trustees to get cost estimates and recommendations on several projects that are currently being discussed. We will be diligent in looking at both sides of the ledger over the next 60 days. Submitted for J.W. Hatten, Vice Chair.

You are invited

to a barn party at the Randy & Kay Jipp farm at 4818 Y Avenue on Friday, June 5th,

Cherokee County Pork Producers are grilling at 6:30 PM and the "Triumphant

Sound" men's gospel quartet will be performing at 7:30 PM. Please bring

snacks to share, lawn chairs, and a friend or neighbor!

Beverages will be provided.

Tim’s Thinking AgainT-shirt Ambassadors I am waiting for the Mystery Missions team T-shirts to arrive so that we can

be decked out in s-t-y-l-e! (Ok, maybe we will match at least). Whenever I get a new T-shirt, it brings up a whole new issue that some of you may never deal with.

I have been in youth ministry for many years, and many of the events, conferences, and trips have a specific T-shirt that accompanies them. Add that to the shirts that advertise my favorite sports teams, organizations, and interests, and soon my 2 T-shirt drawers are full. Something has to go to make room, even with emotional attachments I have because of the memories of good times with the people I shared them with. The T-shirts are a way of communicating more than just a logo; it represents the true event, sports team, or interest.

When we engage the “not-yet” family of God - those who currently do not have a relationship with Christ - we convey to them not only a picture of Jesus, but we represent the truth about Him. The words we say, the deeds we do, and the attitudes we hold help others to see who Jesus is through lives aligned with Him.

In 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, Paul tells us how and why we represent God to unbelievers:

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

What God was doing in Jesus was bringing people to Himself. He was not only saving people, but drawing them to be near Him. This is a change of position for sinful people like you and me. Remaining in our sin, we cannot dwell with God, as Psalm 5:4-5 points out:

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.

So the change from sinful to forgiven is not only a legal issue, it is a nearness issue. When we call ourselves children of God it is not merely that we are created by Him, but that we are reconciled to be His children and live in His presence eternally. This is not something we could fix on our own, so Jesus had to come to bring us back to God.

The consequence of this is that God is sending us as His ambassadors with the message of reconciliation to a world estranged from Him. We are sinners who have been brought near through Christ, and those still in their sin can also be brought near. So the message we tell is not a storyline that we need convincing of, nor is it a product to be advertised or sold. Our message is a testimony of what we are experiencing, living, and working through, showing Who we are trusting in.

Do you struggle with sharing your faith? Do you worry about what to say or whether or not the person you are speaking with will understand? One of the biggest obstacles to witnessing is fear. How do we overcome that fear?

We have no problem sharing the good news of a baby being born, or of the championship of our favorite sports team, or what the weather means for our crops. We gladly let words flow when we have accomplished something notable, or when we receive a sum of money we didn’t expect. So why the hangup and fear when sharing the greatest news we could know?

The best way to share your faith is to tell how your story met God’s grace and what happened to you as a result. People can tell when a story is being made up, so don’t make it up. Live your life in obedience to Christ, then tell what happened to you. It is God’s work to draw people to Himself through Jesus - it is our work to give witness to what Jesus has done.

So next time you put on that T-shirt with a message or logo on it, and are being an ambassador for that event, team or organization, think of your role as an ambassador for God. As a child of God, each thought, word, and deed you put forward is as His ambassador. So represent Him in the way your live, sharing the good news of life that you have received as God pulled you close through Jesus. and don’t forget to clean out the T-shirts of your old life from time to time.

Wednesday Nights

Our Wednesday Night group is a great place for students to

connect and find out more about God’s ways. All students in

grades 7-12 are invited and can bring friends!

Our theme this summer is:

GRACE Summer Passage:

Romans 6:15-23

Summer Memory Verses: Ephesians 2:8-10

ONE Sunday Nights at 6pm

for grade 7 through college age

See News 2 You for bulletin for summer locations

We share food, fun and discuss questions that you bring.

If you would like to host ONE, please see Stacey Hunter to schedule your time.

Mystery Trip June 11-18

PLEASE PRAY for our Mystery Missions

Trip Team. These young men will be learning to serve God in unexpected ways this

summer.

GOD DEPENDENT PARENTING ALLIANCE We are meeting as a monthly growth and support group

for parenting. All parents of any age are invited to join us.

We will meet again on June 7th from 12-2pm and finish discussing what 1 Corinthians 13 says about

parenting. Hope to see you there!

W h e r e A r e Y o u

G o i n g ?

Kirk Carlson Andrew Cullison

Jake Hunter Josh Hunter

Will Hunter Kyle Morgan Cody Tjossem Daniel Wester

Follow Our Mystery Trip! When we leave on the 11th, please see the church website for a link to the whole trip. You will be able to

know our plans (God may have other ones!) and to pray for us each day.

ON BEHALF OF THE TEAM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

IN SENDING US ON MISSION!

The Christian idea of marriage is based on Christ's words that a man and wife are to be regarded as a single organism—for that is what the words "one flesh" would be in modern English. And the Christians believe that when He said this He was not expressing a sentiment but stating a fact—just as one is stating a fact when one says that a lock and its key are one mechanism, or that a violin and a bow are one musical instrument. The inventor of the human machine was telling us that its two halves, the male and the female, were made to be combined together in pairs, not simply on the sexual level, but totally combined.

The monstrosity of sexual intercourse outside marriage is that those who indulge in it are trying to isolate one kind of union (the sexual) from all the other kinds of union which were intended to go along with it and make up the total union. The Christian attitude does not mean that there is anything wrong about sexual pleasure, any more than about the pleasure of eating. It means that you must not isolate that pleasure and try to get it by itself, any more than you ought to try to get the pleasures of taste without swallowing and digesting, by chewing things and spitting them out again.

As a consequence, Christianity teaches that marriage is for life. - C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2 Prayer/staff Mtg 9am

Quilters Adventures Day 1—7 pm

3 Midweek Meal 6 pm

Service 6:30 pm

4

5 Barn Party/Gospel Concert 7:30 pm

at the Jipps

6

7 Communion Off: Missions/ Deacon

8

9 Prayer/staff Mtg 9am

Women’s Bible Study 7-8 pm

10 Midweek Meal 6 pm

Service 6:30 pm

11 Helping Hands

10 am

Spiritual Life Mtg7pm

12 13

14 Off: General Fund

15

16 Prayer/staff Mtg 9am

General Board Mtg 7:00 pm

Women’s Bible Study

17 Midweek Meal 6 pm

Service 6:30 pm

Foster care/adoption support group 7-8pm

18 19 20

21 Father’s Day Off: General Fund

22

23 Prayer/staff Mtg 9am Women’s Bible Study

7-8 pm

24 Midweek Meal 6 pm

Service 6:30 pm

25 26 27

Beier/Patterson wedding

28 Off: General Fund

29

30 Prayer/staff Mtg 9am Women’s Bible Study

7-8 pm

June 2015

1 David Brown Steve Louscher 2 Maxwell Erdmann 4 Sophia Patterson 5 Sue Sedore 7 David Wester 8 Faye Wilson August Deubner 9 Valerie Rohwer 10 Joleen Stout Sara Wester 15 Greta Hogrefe Kevin Massmann 16 Randy Jipp Joanne Petersen 17 Dixie Anderson Dee Murphy 19 Theresa Gnade 20 Chad Harper 21 Brent Mangold 23 Tyler Harper Levi Murphy Lorraine Mortenson Annie Ivarson 24 Arthur Burns 30 Warren Verploeg Jim Halstrom

Happy Birthday! Women’s Ministry

Quilting Adventures Day June 2nd 1:00—7:00 pm

Helping Hands Thursday June 11th at 10:00 am

Bring a sack lunch.

Women’s Bible Study "Knowing the Shepherd" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss A 4-part video/discussion Bible study for women of

all ages Tuesdays 7-8 PM June 9,16,23,30 No sign-up necessary, just join us for study

and discussion!

Attendance for April

AM SS Midweek 4/5 301 4/12 191 100 104 4/19 205 135 79 4/26 215 106 112

General Fund for April Giving: YTD Expenses: YTD $21,942.96 $87,508.44 $29,769.02 $109,460.51

Mission Fund Giving: Expenses: Year to date: $84,463.05 $84,951.63

June Birthdays

Nursery Schedule:

Sunday School Worship Service 6/7– Kristen Peterson Lloyd & Nancy Peterson Estella Stout Karen Mugge

6/14– Gloria Geerdes Vernon & De Tjossem Brandie Dublinske Debbie Kelley

6/21–Kent Lundquist Jon & Pam VanderPloeg Laura Lundquist Deb Zupke

6/28– Doug Stout Mark & Jill Hecox Joleen Stout Kristen Peterson

Family Night—Ross & Kristen Peterson 6/3—Joanne Petersen, Erin Wilson 6/10—Denise Lundell, Becky Erdmann 6/17—Donna Beier, Audrey Adamson 6/24—Joanne Petersen, Deb Zupke

June Greeters

Head Greeter—Jon Zupke

Prayer Room Schedule:

6/7—Vernon & De Tjossem 6/28—Doug & Joleen Stout 6/14– Kent & Laura Lundquist 6/21—Randy & Kay Jipp