February 2018 Volume 80, No. 2 The Trumpeter · Lofland, Ester Mejias, Barbara Bridges (many...

(USPS 642-900) is published twelve times a year (January – December), at First Baptist Church, Portland OR Periodicals postage paid at Portland, Oregon.Postmaster:Send address changes to:The Trumpeter909 SW 11th AvenuePortland, OR 97205-2099

A Publication of First Baptist Church Portland, Oregon The Trumpeter

February 2018 Volume 80, No. 2

Continued on page 6

Periodicals PostagePaid at Portland, OR

The Forms of LoveHow helpful and encouraging it is that February is “the month of love.” Otherwise in the wet, gray days of a typical Portland February, we might all too easily wallow in depression. This is especially so in a year when several FBC members are grieving the loss of loved ones.

At the heart of Christian faith is the affirmation “God is love” (1 John 4:8). God's love creates us out of nothing, as God graciously shares the divine being with us, and redeems us at cost to himself from the sin that corrupts us and mars the world. And in a broken world God accompanies us “through the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4); we are never alone.

The Apostle Paul proclaims that love is the greatest of the spiritual gifts, the supernatural endowments that the Spirit pours out on members of the Body of Christ. At the end of his listing and describing the spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12,

he says “And now I will show you a more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31). Then he proceeds to his description of the of the patience and the kindness and the hopefulness and the endurance of love in what we know as the “love chapter” (1 Corinthians 13).

“Love” in 1 Corinthians and 1 John and many other places in the New Testament translates agape, which we understand as a self-giving, unconditional love which loves with no thought of reciprocity or return, as the Sun sheds its rays on the earth or a spring surges forth fresh water. The Swedish theologian Anders Nygren wrote a massively influential book called Eros and Agape in 1936, in which he contrasted the unconditional nature of agape with the love of “need,” eros, maintaining that the former is par excellence the divine love. God gives unconditionally, and what could God possibly need from us?

But I'm not convinced that this distinction

Good bye and good luck, Mary.You have touched so many lives here,

and we are all blessed to have known you.



SUNDAY 8:45 Contemporary Service10:00 Sunday School for all ages11:00 Worship Service, Sanctuary Cambodian language, Rose Chapel Children’s Church for ages 3 through 2nd Grade5:00 & 7:00 pm: A Jesus Church: Bridgetown

MONDAY—SATURDAY 6:00 – 8:00 am: Eye Opener (AA meeting)

MONDAY & THURSDAY 2:00 – 4:00 pm: Drop-In Center

TUESDAY 5:30 pm: Dinner And A Movie

WEDNESDAY

5:45 pm: Wednesday Night Dinner 6:30 pm: Adult Bible Study6:30 pm: High School Bible Study

THURSDAY 7:00 - 8:00 pm: Downtowners (AA meeting)

FRIDAY Office closed 6:00 pm: FOCUS

SATURDAY 8:30 – 10:30 am: Cambodian Men’s Fellowship Bible Study

February 2018The Trumpeter

Sermon Schedule WeeklyEvents

February 4 “Strong”

Isaiah 40: 21–31 Mark 1: 29–38

February 11 “Season of a Remnant”

Daniel 1 Dr. Jolene Erlacher preaching

February 18 “Storms, Deserts and Rainbows”

Genesis 9: 8–17 Mark 1: 9–15

First Sunday of Lent: God's Promises and Presence

February 25“Faith When We Can't See Ahead”

Genesis 17: 1–7, 15–16 Romans 4: 13–25

Second Sunday of Lent: God's Promises and Presence

The Trumpeter (USPS 642-900) is published twelve times a year (January – December). Find us on the web: www.fbc-portland.org and www.ccmnews.orgThe next Trumpeter deadline is February 19, 2018. Please send articles to [email protected]

Dr. David L. Wheeler — Senior Pastor Peter Im — Cambodian Ministries Chris Shade — Associate PastorTravis Hatton — Music Director Keith Ponce — Facilities and Events Manager Cathy Francis — Business AdministratorJason Chastain — Assistant Business AdministratorRebecca Christensen, Kathleen Chastain — ReceptionJoe Robak — Sound Technician

5:45 pm Dinner and Bible study

Trumpeter mailing

FEBRUARY 2018

Dates and times are subject to change. Please contact the FBC office to verify.

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

8:45 am Early Service10:00 am Sunday School11:00 am Worship Service5:00 + 7:00 pm Bridgetown

28


4


11

8:45 am Early Service10:00 am Sunday School11:00 am Worship Service12:30 pm Fellowship Dinner5:00 + 7:00 pm Bridgetown

18


25

29

2:00 pm Drop-In Lunch

5



12


Trumpeter content due

19

26

5:30 pm Dinner + A Movie

30


6


5:45 pm Dinner

7:00 pm Ash Wednesday Service


13


7:00 pm Diaconate Meeting

20


27

31

7

14

21

28


1


8


5:00 pm C.E. Meeting


15

22



1

FBC office closed

2

FBC office closed

9

8:00 am Men's Breakfast

16

FBC office closed

FBC office closed

23

FBC office closed

2

3

10

17

24

3



To my FBC Friends,It seems a futile task to

try to express my love, joy and thankfulness for all the years - nearly 48 - God has allowed me to be a part of and serve at FBC. The saying goes, "all good things must come to an end." Let me rephrase and respond on “good things.” All excellent, amazing, awesome, fantastic, wonderful, spectacular and God Blessed things: the blessing of so many friendships, teaching and nurturing children and youth to love and serve Jesus, Circle friendships, Pathfinder Class friends, and of course the honor and privilege of serving as Chef for 27 1/2 years. My

heart is full of joy and thankfulness for being partnered with Wayne Bridges (27 1/2 years), Vicki Bridges, Violeta Sandu, Claudia Papagolos, Janice and Ellen Chellis, Ryan

Lofland, Ester Mejias, Barbara Bridges (many volunteer hours), and others who participated in the church dinner programs. Their support and high work ethic through all the "cooking adventures" over the years was phenomenal as well as fun and rewarding. I am so grateful. Lots of hard work and all to the glory of God. Also, I am so grateful and blessed with my amazing and awesome friendship with my sister in Christ and coworker in children's ministry, Bev Simmons.

So with mixed feelings I have given notice of my retirement. The memories of my journey here at FBC are God blessed and will last a lifetime. But the time has come for transition and a new direction in my life. After the death of my dear husband Nate 17 months ago, after his nearly 3-year battle with cancer, my life changed forever. I am downsizing etc., and on a new journey. God has lovingly and kindly and directionaly enabled me to move on and out of the grieving process. God has been the calm in all the change around me

"Yesterday He helped me, Today He did the same. How long will this continue? Forever, Praise His Name!”

I echo the words of King David who expressed it so simply and well in Psalm 31:14-15a: "But I trust in you, O Lord: I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hands."

So thanks for the journey and all the multitude of wonderful and joyful memories. May God whose love never ends continue to guide and bless you.

— Mary Olson

New to the FBC LibraryThe Invisible Girls:

A Memoir by Sarah Thebarge

As It Is in Heaven: How Eternity Brings Focus

to What Really Matters*by Greg Laurie

Leaders Who Last: Sustaining Yourself and Your Ministry

by Margaret J. Marcuson

The Grace Awakening*by Charles R. Swindoll

To Heaven and Back: A Doctor's Extraordinary Account of Her Death

by Mary C. Neal, M.D.

February 2018

Samedy Kay ................................ 2/1Paz Mark ..................................... 2/1Alex Paul ..................................... 2/1Canny Mark ...............................2/2Saphoeun Prom ...........................2/2Kanica Thong ..............................2/2Theresa Reilly ..............................2/5Micah Davis-Wheeler ..................2/6Ted Fischer ..................................2/6Yom Huon ...................................2/6Eric Mickelsen .............................2/6Sonnary Chan .............................2/7Pat Pickett ...................................2/7Lim Chan ...................................2/8Dick Smith ..................................2/8Ron Spence .................................2/8Rodger Verdieck ..........................2/8Peggy Hamilton ..........................2/9Oniel Sanchez ...........................2/10Somaly Suon .............................2/10

Judy Kimbrough ........................ 2/11Dini Davis ................................2/12Vivian Garrett ...........................2/13Vern Chartier ............................ 2/14Chanry Khao ............................ 2/14T. K. Olson ............................... 2/14Mal Williams ............................ 2/14Joan Klaassen ............................ 2/15Steve Morasch ........................... 2/15Ren Rath ................................... 2/15Paula Snyder .............................. 2/15Bettyjean Spence ....................... 2/15Mindee Garrett ......................... 2/16Serafin Martinez ....................... 2/16Darcia Hing ..............................2/18Tara Casper ............................... 2/19Meade Moran ............................ 2/19Bev Brininstool .........................2/20Vanny Cao ................................2/20Chen Cao ..................................2/20

Sothy Prom ...............................2/20Lila Smith .................................2/20Ron Callahan ............................2/22Rinoa French .............................2/23 Marina Otsuki ..........................2/23Lucy Martinez ...........................2/24Julie Perkins ..............................2/24Grant Shearer ............................2/24Mary Ann Aschenbrenner .........2/25Mick Johnson ............................2/25Brent Kellogg ............................2/25Euna Flammia ...........................2/27Jeanette Oberfoell ......................2/27Pat Hales ...................................2/28Rick Lawrence ...........................2/28Cletus Moore Jr. ........................2/28Janice Rydman ..........................2/28 Yergeniy Volchanskiy .................2/28

The Trumpeter February 2018The Trumpeter

MEMBER BIRTHDAYS

applies so neatly and cleanly to the divine love as we might think. For instance, God took delight in all that he had made according to the creation narratives in Genesis, and he was accustomed to “walk in the garden in the cool of the day” in the company of our first parents according to Genesis 3:8. And in a heartrending passage in Hosea, the Lord speaks through the prophet to his beloved Israel:

When Israel was a child I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.The more I called them, the more they went away from me;they kept sacrificing to the Baals, and offering incense to idols.

Yet how can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over,

O Israel?

My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender.I will not execute my fierce anger…(Isaiah 11:1–3, 8–9)

The Lord Jesus, looking out over Jerusalem, exclaims:

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones thosewho are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your childrenas a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!(Luke 13:34)This is the divine eros; God

makes Godself vulnerable to us, rejoices with us when we are faithful (Luke 15:7) and grieves

over us when we are unfaithful.In John's Gospel, on the eve

of his passion, Jesus tells the disciples, “I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father” (John 15:15). This is yet another dimension of love, the love of friends, colleagues, beloved companions, denoted by philia in the Greek.

The bottom line: God is the source of every dimension of love; God loves us not with a remote, haughty love, but with a deep and complex affection which is the very source of our well-being and self-worth. Trust that love; dwell in that love, share that love!

— Dr. David L. Wheeler

Page 6

Continued from page 1

A few words from Mary

Cambodian ministry has been here at FBC since June 1975. More Cambodian refugees came during the ‘80s, after the Killing Fields. The ministry has been growing and active in the church ever since. Twenty-seven years of those thirty-eight, we have been served and fed on Wednesday nights and at Fellowship Sunday dinners by Chef Mary Olson and her excellent crew. Also during those years Mary was a Sunday School teacher to our Cambodian refugee children, including my three children. There were up to thirty children and youth in the Sunday school classes in the children’s department. Their lives were changed through that ministry. Now some of the young people grown

through Mary’s ministry have been serving churches in this community and beyond. What a blessing to have Mary working in this ministry that built up the children with the word of God from a young age. Proverbs 22:6 says: Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. In recent years, Mary and Nate Olson partnered with the Cambodian Children Ministry in Cambodia through our ministry as well. We Cambodians and their children deeply thank you, Mary, for your spiritual investment in the lives of these children as

well as your work in the nutritional program for all of us at FBC for the last twenty-eight years.

Sunday, January 21, was the last Sunday Fellowship Dinner for Mary. A big crowd joined to celebrate the last meal prepared for us by Mary and her outstanding crew. To the Cambodians and me that meal seemed another Thanksgiving Dinner with the recognition of her excellent service for us over the last three decades.

The Cambodian mission trip was part of that program as well. We also gave thanks to all our 2017 team members. I would like encourage you all to join us serving this

children’s ministry through your prayers, financial support and joining us on the next mission trip as well. An update of the Cambodian Children Ministry is available online at www.ccmnews.org.

I pray that you all continue to abide in His word and to serve our living God this year as he has plans for all of us in many ways according to the spiritual gifts given to us through Christ our Lord.

— Rev. Peter Im

Cambodian Ministry NewsThe Trumpeter February 2018 February 2018The Trumpeter

Page 5

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son

of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13

We have a very interesting Lenten Season this year. Ash Wednesday falls on February 14th, better known as Valentine's Day combining the romantic with the repentant. This puts Easter on Sunday, April 1st, also known as April Fool’s Day. If that is discouraging to you, know this: Easter morning will dawn by the light of a full moon. So, for the last two weeks of Lent, both the light of day and the light of night will be increasing each day. Such a great metaphor for the true Light coming in our lives. Some News:

YouthThe youth had a fun Christmas Party at the end of

December. We typically have our party after Christmas so we can re-gift all of the unwanted presents in our White Elephant Game. I scored a new University of Oregon hat. I cannot believe nobody wanted to steal it during the game (they must be Beavers’ fans).

For the first part of the year we will be exploring what it means to be a Christian by looking at the idea of courage. Being a Christian takes tremendous courage and strength. How can we develop that courage and trust it to be a guiding force in our lives?

KidsThe younger groups have been looking at all that Jesus

Can Do. In our original Jesus Can Do curriculum we have explored stories of Jesus’s baptism, healing, feeding, and walking on water. All of this will prepare them for looking at the last week of Jesus’s life during the season of Lent.

In March we will begin a new curriculum called Shine. It is a wonderfully accessible and visually rich group of lessons. Throughout the end of Lent and the Easter season they will be hearing stories of “God’s Good News.” Perhaps, if you are lucky, they will share some of that good news with you.

Mission TripWe are in the preliminary stages of our Mexico Mission

Trip Plans. For now, I can tell you it is scheduled for the last week of June so save the date. We are working with Amor ministries to coordinate a house-building effort in Mexico. It will be a great opportunity for the youth and parents alike to participate in a rewarding endeavor.

That’s all for now. See you in Lent!— Rev. Chris Shade

From the Desk of the Associate Pastor

Adelaide Marian Greer, daughter of Drs. Devon & Emma Greer, pictures with her namesake, was dedicated at FBC on December 24, 2017.

Dear FBC Friends,After seven years of zero income and five years of appealing to SSA, I will begin receiving funding this month, February 2018. To all who have assisted me with dental and sundry expenses during this time, MANY THANKS for your generosity and support. The Lord has cared for me through y'all even as He delivers me at present! Shalom.

— Christiana Dearborn

Cambodian ministry has been here at FBC since June 1975. More Cambodian refugees came during the ‘80s, after the Killing Fields. The ministry has been growing and active in the church ever since. Twenty-seven years of those thirty-eight, we have been served and fed on Wednesday nights and at Fellowship Sunday dinners by Chef Mary Olson and her excellent crew. Also during those years Mary was a Sunday School teacher to our Cambodian refugee children, including my three children. There were up to thirty children and youth in the Sunday school classes in the children’s department. Their lives were changed through that ministry. Now some of the young people grown

through Mary’s ministry have been serving churches in this community and beyond. What a blessing to have Mary working in this ministry that built up the children with the word of God from a young age. Proverbs 22:6 says: Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. In recent years, Mary and Nate Olson partnered with the Cambodian Children Ministry in Cambodia through our ministry as well. We Cambodians and their children deeply thank you, Mary, for your spiritual investment in the lives of these children as

well as your work in the nutritional program for all of us at FBC for the last twenty-eight years.

Sunday, January 21, was the last Sunday Fellowship Dinner for Mary. A big crowd joined to celebrate the last meal prepared for us by Mary and her outstanding crew. To the Cambodians and me that meal seemed another Thanksgiving Dinner with the recognition of her excellent service for us over the last three decades.

The Cambodian mission trip was part of that program as well. We also gave thanks to all our 2017 team members. I would like encourage you all to join us serving this

children’s ministry through your prayers, financial support and joining us on the next mission trip as well. An update of the Cambodian Children Ministry is available online at www.ccmnews.org.

I pray that you all continue to abide in His word and to serve our living God this year as he has plans for all of us in many ways according to the spiritual gifts given to us through Christ our Lord.

— Rev. Peter Im

Cambodian Ministry NewsThe Trumpeter February 2018 February 2018The Trumpeter

Page 4

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son

of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13

We have a very interesting Lenten Season this year. Ash Wednesday falls on February 14th, better known as Valentine's Day combining the romantic with the repentant. This puts Easter on Sunday, April 1st, also known as April Fool’s Day. If that is discouraging to you, know this: Easter morning will dawn by the light of a full moon. So, for the last two weeks of Lent, both the light of day and the light of night will be increasing each day. Such a great metaphor for the true Light coming in our lives. Some News:

YouthThe youth had a fun Christmas Party at the end of

December. We typically have our party after Christmas so we can re-gift all of the unwanted presents in our White Elephant Game. I scored a new University of Oregon hat. I cannot believe nobody wanted to steal it during the game (they must be Beavers’ fans).

For the first part of the year we will be exploring what it means to be a Christian by looking at the idea of courage. Being a Christian takes tremendous courage and strength. How can we develop that courage and trust it to be a guiding force in our lives?

KidsThe younger groups have been looking at all that Jesus

Can Do. In our original Jesus Can Do curriculum we have explored stories of Jesus’s baptism, healing, feeding, and walking on water. All of this will prepare them for looking at the last week of Jesus’s life during the season of Lent.

In March we will begin a new curriculum called Shine. It is a wonderfully accessible and visually rich group of lessons. Throughout the end of Lent and the Easter season they will be hearing stories of “God’s Good News.” Perhaps, if you are lucky, they will share some of that good news with you.

Mission TripWe are in the preliminary stages of our Mexico Mission

Trip Plans. For now, I can tell you it is scheduled for the last week of June so save the date. We are working with Amor ministries to coordinate a house-building effort in Mexico. It will be a great opportunity for the youth and parents alike to participate in a rewarding endeavor.

That’s all for now. See you in Lent!— Rev. Chris Shade

From the Desk of the Associate Pastor

Adelaide Marian Greer, daughter of Drs. Devon & Emma Greer, pictures with her namesake, was dedicated at FBC on December 24, 2017.

Dear FBC Friends,After seven years of zero income and five years of appealing to SSA, I will begin receiving funding this month, February 2018. To all who have assisted me with dental and sundry expenses during this time, MANY THANKS for your generosity and support. The Lord has cared for me through y'all even as He delivers me at present! Shalom.

— Christiana Dearborn

To my FBC Friends,It seems a futile task to

try to express my love, joy and thankfulness for all the years - nearly 48 - God has allowed me to be a part of and serve at FBC. The saying goes, "all good things must come to an end." Let me rephrase and respond on “good things.” All excellent, amazing, awesome, fantastic, wonderful, spectacular and God Blessed things: the blessing of so many friendships, teaching and nurturing children and youth to love and serve Jesus, Circle friendships, Pathfinder Class friends, and of course the honor and privilege of serving as Chef for 27 1/2 years. My

heart is full of joy and thankfulness for being partnered with Wayne Bridges (27 1/2 years), Vicki Bridges, Violeta Sandu, Claudia Papagolos, Janice and Ellen Chellis, Ryan

Lofland, Ester Mejias, Barbara Bridges (many volunteer hours), and others who participated in the church dinner programs. Their support and high work ethic through all the "cooking adventures" over the years was phenomenal as well as fun and rewarding. I am so grateful. Lots of hard work and all to the glory of God. Also, I am so grateful and blessed with my amazing and awesome friendship with my sister in Christ and coworker in children's ministry, Bev Simmons.

So with mixed feelings I have given notice of my retirement. The memories of my journey here at FBC are God blessed and will last a lifetime. But the time has come for transition and a new direction in my life. After the death of my dear husband Nate 17 months ago, after his nearly 3-year battle with cancer, my life changed forever. I am downsizing etc., and on a new journey. God has lovingly and kindly and directionaly enabled me to move on and out of the grieving process. God has been the calm in all the change around me

"Yesterday He helped me, Today He did the same. How long will this continue? Forever, Praise His Name!”

I echo the words of King David who expressed it so simply and well in Psalm 31:14-15a: "But I trust in you, O Lord: I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hands."

So thanks for the journey and all the multitude of wonderful and joyful memories. May God whose love never ends continue to guide and bless you.

— Mary Olson

New to the FBC LibraryThe Invisible Girls:

A Memoir by Sarah Thebarge

As It Is in Heaven: How Eternity Brings Focus

to What Really Matters*by Greg Laurie

Leaders Who Last: Sustaining Yourself and Your Ministry

by Margaret J. Marcuson

The Grace Awakening*by Charles R. Swindoll

To Heaven and Back: A Doctor's Extraordinary Account of Her Death

by Mary C. Neal, M.D.

February 2018

Samedy Kay ................................ 2/1Paz Mark ..................................... 2/1Alex Paul ..................................... 2/1Canny Mark ...............................2/2Saphoeun Prom ...........................2/2Kanica Thong ..............................2/2Theresa Reilly ..............................2/5Micah Davis-Wheeler ..................2/6Ted Fischer ..................................2/6Yom Huon ...................................2/6Eric Mickelsen .............................2/6Sonnary Chan .............................2/7Pat Pickett ...................................2/7Lim Chan ...................................2/8Dick Smith ..................................2/8Ron Spence .................................2/8Rodger Verdieck ..........................2/8Peggy Hamilton ..........................2/9Oniel Sanchez ...........................2/10Somaly Suon .............................2/10

Judy Kimbrough ........................ 2/11Dini Davis ................................2/12Vivian Garrett ...........................2/13Vern Chartier ............................ 2/14Chanry Khao ............................ 2/14T. K. Olson ............................... 2/14Mal Williams ............................ 2/14Joan Klaassen ............................ 2/15Steve Morasch ........................... 2/15Ren Rath ................................... 2/15Paula Snyder .............................. 2/15Bettyjean Spence ....................... 2/15Mindee Garrett ......................... 2/16Serafin Martinez ....................... 2/16Darcia Hing ..............................2/18Tara Casper ............................... 2/19Meade Moran ............................ 2/19Bev Brininstool .........................2/20Vanny Cao ................................2/20Chen Cao ..................................2/20

Sothy Prom ...............................2/20Lila Smith .................................2/20Ron Callahan ............................2/22Rinoa French .............................2/23 Marina Otsuki ..........................2/23Lucy Martinez ...........................2/24Julie Perkins ..............................2/24Grant Shearer ............................2/24Mary Ann Aschenbrenner .........2/25Mick Johnson ............................2/25Brent Kellogg ............................2/25Euna Flammia ...........................2/27Jeanette Oberfoell ......................2/27Pat Hales ...................................2/28Rick Lawrence ...........................2/28Cletus Moore Jr. ........................2/28Janice Rydman ..........................2/28 Yergeniy Volchanskiy .................2/28

The Trumpeter February 2018The Trumpeter

Page 3

MEMBER BIRTHDAYS

applies so neatly and cleanly to the divine love as we might think. For instance, God took delight in all that he had made according to the creation narratives in Genesis, and he was accustomed to “walk in the garden in the cool of the day” in the company of our first parents according to Genesis 3:8. And in a heartrending passage in Hosea, the Lord speaks through the prophet to his beloved Israel:

When Israel was a child I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.The more I called them, the more they went away from me;they kept sacrificing to the Baals, and offering incense to idols.

Yet how can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over,

O Israel?

My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender.I will not execute my fierce anger…(Isaiah 11:1–3, 8–9)

The Lord Jesus, looking out over Jerusalem, exclaims:

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones thosewho are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your childrenas a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!(Luke 13:34)This is the divine eros; God

makes Godself vulnerable to us, rejoices with us when we are faithful (Luke 15:7) and grieves

over us when we are unfaithful.In John's Gospel, on the eve

of his passion, Jesus tells the disciples, “I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father” (John 15:15). This is yet another dimension of love, the love of friends, colleagues, beloved companions, denoted by philia in the Greek.

The bottom line: God is the source of every dimension of love; God loves us not with a remote, haughty love, but with a deep and complex affection which is the very source of our well-being and self-worth. Trust that love; dwell in that love, share that love!

— Dr. David L. Wheeler

Continued from page 1

A few words from Mary

SUNDAY 8:45 Contemporary Service10:00 Sunday School for all ages11:00 Worship Service, Sanctuary Cambodian language, Rose Chapel Children’s Church for ages 3 through 2nd Grade5:00 & 7:00 pm: A Jesus Church: Bridgetown

MONDAY—SATURDAY 6:00 – 8:00 am: Eye Opener (AA meeting)

MONDAY & THURSDAY 2:00 – 4:00 pm: Drop-In Center

TUESDAY 5:30 pm: Dinner And A Movie

WEDNESDAY

5:45 pm: Wednesday Night Dinner 6:30 pm: Adult Bible Study6:30 pm: High School Bible Study

THURSDAY 7:00 - 8:00 pm: Downtowners (AA meeting)

FRIDAY Office closed 6:00 pm: FOCUS

SATURDAY 8:30 – 10:30 am: Cambodian Men’s Fellowship Bible Study

February 2018The Trumpeter

Page 2

Sermon Schedule WeeklyEvents

February 4 “Strong”

Isaiah 40: 21–31 Mark 1: 29–38

February 11 “Season of a Remnant”

Daniel 1 Dr. Jolene Erlacher preaching

February 18 “Storms, Deserts and Rainbows”

Genesis 9: 8–17 Mark 1: 9–15

First Sunday of Lent: God's Promises and Presence

February 25“Faith When We Can't See Ahead”

Genesis 17: 1–7, 15–16 Romans 4: 13–25

Second Sunday of Lent: God's Promises and Presence

The Trumpeter (USPS 642-900) is published twelve times a year (January – December). Find us on the web: www.fbc-portland.org and www.ccmnews.orgThe next Trumpeter deadline is February 19, 2018. Please send articles to [email protected]

Dr. David L. Wheeler — Senior Pastor Peter Im — Cambodian Ministries Chris Shade — Associate PastorTravis Hatton — Music Director Keith Ponce — Facilities and Events Manager Cathy Francis — Business AdministratorJason Chastain — Assistant Business AdministratorRebecca Christensen, Kathleen Chastain — ReceptionJoe Robak — Sound Technician


Trumpeter mailing

FEBRUARY 2018

Dates and times are subject to change. Please contact the FBC office to verify.

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY


28


4


11

8:45 am Early Service10:00 am Sunday School11:00 am Worship Service12:30 pm Fellowship Dinner5:00 + 7:00 pm Bridgetown

18


25

29


5



12


Trumpeter content due

19

26


30


6


5:45 pm Dinner

7:00 pm Ash Wednesday Service


13


7:00 pm Diaconate Meeting

20


27

31

7

14

21

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(USPS 642-900) is published twelve times a year (January – December), at First Baptist Church, Portland OR Periodicals postage paid at Portland, Oregon.Postmaster:Send address changes to:The Trumpeter909 SW 11th AvenuePortland, OR 97205-2099

A Publication of First Baptist Church Portland, Oregon The Trumpeter

February 2018 Volume 80, No. 2

Continued on page 6

Periodicals PostagePaid at Portland, OR

The Forms of LoveHow helpful and encouraging it is that February is “the month of love.” Otherwise in the wet, gray days of a typical Portland February, we might all too easily wallow in depression. This is especially so in a year when several FBC members are grieving the loss of loved ones.

At the heart of Christian faith is the affirmation “God is love” (1 John 4:8). God's love creates us out of nothing, as God graciously shares the divine being with us, and redeems us at cost to himself from the sin that corrupts us and mars the world. And in a broken world God accompanies us “through the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4); we are never alone.

The Apostle Paul proclaims that love is the greatest of the spiritual gifts, the supernatural endowments that the Spirit pours out on members of the Body of Christ. At the end of his listing and describing the spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12,

he says “And now I will show you a more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31). Then he proceeds to his description of the of the patience and the kindness and the hopefulness and the endurance of love in what we know as the “love chapter” (1 Corinthians 13).

“Love” in 1 Corinthians and 1 John and many other places in the New Testament translates agape, which we understand as a self-giving, unconditional love which loves with no thought of reciprocity or return, as the Sun sheds its rays on the earth or a spring surges forth fresh water. The Swedish theologian Anders Nygren wrote a massively influential book called Eros and Agape in 1936, in which he contrasted the unconditional nature of agape with the love of “need,” eros, maintaining that the former is par excellence the divine love. God gives unconditionally, and what could God possibly need from us?

But I'm not convinced that this distinction





February 2018 Volume 80, No. 2 The Trumpeter · Lofland, Ester Mejias, Barbara Bridges (many...

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Transcript of February 2018 Volume 80, No. 2 The Trumpeter · Lofland, Ester Mejias, Barbara Bridges (many...