Greater St. Louis Church NEWS
PURPOSE and PLEASURE – WHERE IS OUR STRUGGLE by Tim Spencer ...October 14, 2008
Victor Frankl, survivor of a Nazi concentration camp, had everything and almost everyone taken from him and destroyed. From his experiences and studies he made every effort to teach others how to find meaning in all forms of existence. From his book Man’s Search for Meaning he quotes:
“Man’s main concern is not to gain pleasure or to avoid pain, but rather to see a meaning in his life. That is why man is even ready to suffer, on the condition, to be sure, that his suffering has meaning.”
Do you ever find it difficult to motivate yourself, or do what you know you should do, maybe blame others or your circumstances for what you lack, or simply be happy? Do you see happiness and pleasure become more elusive the more you pursue them? It seems that in our society we have more “toys” and opportunities for fun than ever before. So why aren’t we fulfilled? <MORE ON THIS ARTICLE>
JESUS CHRIST, A COUNSELOR, TEACHER, AND ADVOCATE by Cheryl Miles ...October 3, 2008
Abstract
Jesus Christ countered the culture of his day, and served as an effective human service practitioner for persons with disabilities. Jesus used methods different from the medical and moral models of society to serve disabled individuals. Gospel accounts will be used to examine Jesus in his role as a teacher, counselor, and political advocate for disabled people. His willingness to challenge dehumanizing practices will be emphasized.
Like all people, Jesus was born into a world which had an established culture. Societal roles were often assigned at birth based on class, sex, pedigree, and so forth. To preserve the status quo, people behaved according to their place in society. In Jesus’s day, people with disabilities were taught that their place was at the bottom.
EMPOWERING WITH GRACE by Dave Stubblefield ...April 1, 2008
How many of you ever been accused of over thinking or over complicating? That’s me! My wife insists that any home repair takes me twice as long because I spend 2/3 of my time thinking about how to do it. In fact just before a large complicated work project I would think and worry. My wife pulled me aside and said, “Stop thinking about it and just do it.” Therefore I have 10 points to share.
As much as I like to think about things and over complicated the task I also like to figure out the simplest way to do things. I like task lists. In other words I need KISS. This comes from the saying Keep It Simple Stupid. The same applies to my Christian life and I use Keep It Simple Saints. <MORE ON THIS ARTICLE>
FREEDOM!!!!! by Dave Stubblefield ...April 1, 2008
Our church has a special ministry named the Freedom Group. This ministry has had an incredible impact on my life.
Sin is powerful and can weaken and destroy us. Sin that involves deceit is especially dangerous because the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. To my shame the ugliest sin came after I became a Christian. I engaged in deliberate sin. The wages of my sin brought me to death and destroyed my marriage. My children lost and I was beyond help. I stood at the gates of hell toeing the line.
In desperation I cried out to God, “Why do I suffer from this?” “God build in me a new heart.” I knew God wanted my heart but I deliberately kept on sinning. I opened myself and my family to the power of evil. The root of my sin was idolatry. God’s punishment for idolatry is death. <MORE ON THIS ARTICLE>
MARKETING, MICE & THE LIGHT OF TRUTH by Lannie Cox ...March 25, 2008
“After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, Jesus' brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world." For even his own brothers did not believe in him. Therefore Jesus told them, "The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil.” (John 7:1-7 NIV)
In my professional life, I work in marketing and public relations. The job is to share your message in a positive way with your audience and do it so well they accept it and, hopefully, act on it. Marketing goes after building customers for a product, service or idea. Isn’t this the same thing we do as Christians? Aren’t we supposed to make Jesus seem appealing to the world around us? Isn’t it our job to tell the story of Jesus in such a way that unbelievers see the positive side and want to become loyal customers? I think Jesus answers our questions in the snapshot above, and the answer might surprise you. <MORE ON THIS ARTICLE>
OUR RESPONSE TO LIFE'S OFFENSES by Larnise Johnson ...March 4, 2008
In life we are very easily offended. We take offense when we are cut off in traffic. We take offense when the food we ordered at a restaurant is served too slowly. We take offense when we are overlooked by others, or not treated with the respect we think we deserve. We take offense at God when the circumstances of our life are not as comfortable as we had wanted. We even take offense at God’s word when our sin is rebuked. When offended we are easily taken captive by the Enemy to fulfill his purpose and will. We become embittered, cynical, distrustful, and resentful. One of the greatest reasons we are so easily offended is that we forget that nothing happens apart from the Lord’s will. He knows it before it ever happens. In my life, I am learning through the story of Joseph (Gen 37-47) that if I trust in God, I can keep myself from being so easily offended and can stay on the path of God’s will.
Joseph was betrayed and sold into slavery by his own flesh and blood — those who were supposed to protect, support and love him. Instead, his brothers abused him and left him for dead--all for their own pleasure. Why did they do this? It was because they were offended. They were offended by his dream and by his close relationship with their father. <MORE ON THIS ARTICLE>
EMBRACING FEAR by Tim Spencer ...February 20, 2008
Theodore Roosevelt once stated, “The credit goes to the man who is actually in the arena—who at his best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at his worst at least failed while daring greatly—so that his name shall never be among those cold and timid souls who know neither defeat nor victory.”
Fear is a part of life as we strive to live a Godly life and do what is right in a world that does not understand true character. The only way I have found to diminish fear is to seek out a comfortable status quo, one that allows me to avoid taking a stand that is unpopular, to stay out of the arena. But obviously this is not God’s plan. His desire is to accomplish more than we could ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21) as we put our trust in Him (Psalm 37:3-6).