FELLOWSHIP FOOTNOTES
Newsletter of Hamilton Bible Fellowship
September 2008
Trust in YHWH and do good;
settle in the land and celebrate security.
Psalm 37:3
Besides being our preaching text for the month, this verse coincides with last month’s VBS content. The overall theme was surfin’ through the scriptures and learning “beach be-attitudes.” There were four of the latter, capturing what it means to live as a Christian:
- Believe! Believe (“thinkin’ it) and trust (doin’ it) together constitute what the bible calls “faith.” And faith is only as good as its object; it is critically important what we believe in. Psalm 37:3a clarifies this - the only trustworthy object is YHWH, the God of creation, of the Exodus, of the people of Israel, the Father of Jesus Christ, the Messiah - the fulfillment of all the biblical promises. Why would we want to trust anyone or anything else?
- Be forgiving! This is “doing good,” part one. Jesus said clearly that we should forgive those who hurt us not 7 times, but 77 times (Matthew 18:21-22). Are any of us up to that limit yet? Paul concurs: “forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another; forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13). That about covers it.
- Be kind! “Doing good,” part two: reinforcing a Christ-like attitude toward all people. There is nothing more attractive than this. It will only begin to happen when we get our minds off ourselves, realizing that it’s not about us. “We do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5).
- Be bold! The last phrase of Psalm 37:3 is about getting down to the task at hand. We can begin to do this when we are secure in ourselves and our place. YHWH (see above description) is the only one who can truly do this for us.
VBS was a lot of fun this year. We all enjoyed singing the songs last week in church, and learning the motions from Lin. One song actually made it into the worship music repertoire, so we’ll be doing it again. But the content this time got my attention. It is highly appropriate and applicable as we begin a new season of activity here in Hamilton. Let’s pray that these “be-attitudes” affect our attitudes - and let’s put them into practice!
NEWS AND PRAYER UPDATE:
Congrats to all (9) who were baptized Sunday: Alisa, Hanna, Tom, Jack, Josh, Lizzy, Eliza, Keslie and June. It’s our job to encourage them as they continue in their walk of faith (all the above principles apply!).
Congrats to Whitney Randolph and Jeff Galletly, who were engaged this summer!
Continue to pray for parents’ health issues, especially Bruce Goodwin (Susan Nolen’s Dad) and Marianne Truppner (Candy Hayes’ Mom). Pray also for Ginger Bridges, Ashley Andrews’ mother, who was injured Labor Day weekend during a family celebration at their home in Florida.
Praise to God for Michael Hayes’ diagnosis and ongoing management of his condition. But I don’t recommend the “Smite Me” diet.
It’s here! Colgate and HCS begin this week, so pray for CCF and Young life as everything starts up again.
THE QUOTE CORNER
Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized
into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We
were therefore buried with him through baptism into
death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the
dead through the glory of the Father, we might walk in
newness of life.
Romans 6:3-4
COMING EVENTS CALENDAR:
Sunday School begins September 14th, 9:00 - 9:45. Women’s Study, Men’s Breakfast and Mid-week Bible Study will begin later in the month. Listen on Sunday for times and places.
CCF is hosting an Ice Cream Social on the Quad this Wednesday September 3rd, beginning at 7:00. This is a great opportunity to meet first year students. I encourage you to attend!
We are still considering hosting a Fall Open House at the church. Tentative dates are October 5th and October 19th. Listen on Sunday for more information.
September Birthdays: 2 Michael Babcock; 5 Colleen Schindler; 6 Alisa Babcock; 13 Patty Hodge;
20 Frank Deiter; 23 Jessica & Jimmy Fister; 26 Whitney Randolph; 29 Lauren Babcock;
30 Gabe Fister