July 2019 Witness
For Father’s Day this summer, I shared a message called “Proverbs for Fathers.” The Old Testament Book of Proverbs offers short, pithy statements of practical, godly wisdom. There is good, biblical advice on marriage, parenting, discipline, money management and a host of other areas of life. An alcoholic husband went to the doctor and was told that he had a serious drinking problem. He didn’t want to admit that to his wife so he told her the doctor had said he had “syncopation,” a word he thought he made up figuring his wife would just think it was a big medical word and not investigate it. But he was wrong. His wife looked up the word in a dictionary and it’s a word from the world of music that means “erratic wandering from bar to bar.” Yep, he had syncopation! Now, there is nothing that is more difficult for a child than to live in a community where one of his parents, especially his father, is held in disrespect because of some illegal or immoral act he has committed. The disrespect that the father has brought upon himself spills over into how other children treat his child. But, thankfully, it also works the other way around. Proverbs 20:7 says, “The righteous lead blameless lives; blessed are their children after them.” Don’t be put off by the word “blameless” in that verse. It doesn’t mean perfect. Rather, it refers to a life lived with integrity, honesty and goodness. When a father lives such a life, the whole community treats him and his family with respect. In other words, his family is blessed by his behavior! June has been a good month with 320 in Bible Study. We enjoyed Father’s Day on the 16th with a couple of Baby Celebrations. We kicked off our Annie Armstrong North American Missions Offering on June 23rd with an attractive envelope board created by Joe and Judy Andrews, along with an excellent video that explained its use by Cara Grobbelaar and Carrianna Simmons, all to help us reach our $15,000 goal. We had a couple of Work Days at Hope Tree Food Bank on the 21st and 22nd. We had a Family Movie Night on the 28th and we’ll celebrate God & Country Day on the final Sunday, June 30th. July has some very special emphases:
- VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL is scheduled for July 21st – 25th, Sunday through Thursday, from 5:30 to 8:30 P.M.
- YOUTH CHOIR DINNER THEATER will be July 27th through 28th. Tickets will go on sale on July 7th.