September newsletter2

Southside Family News (September, 2014)

Every Sunday through September!

8AM!!!THIS SATURDAY!!!

Goal$100,000

June Total: $1085.00 To Reach Goal:

$974/week OR $4380/month YTD Total: $91,241.35

Identifi ed with Southside

Jackie Slusher Don & Pam NoblinJeff & Rhonda Morris Bill & Lynn Dickey

Matt & Dallas Henderson & Family

Baptisms

Dana Holiday Missy HutchinsRhonda Morris Genesis Arnold

John C. CampbellLota Taylor

Love | Serve | Seek | Teach Those are Southside’s four core values. I want you to know those values are not just nice words that make us feel good about what we do.

They are deeply biblical and profoundly important.

Jesus commanded us to love the Lord God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (“strength” could easily be translated “body”). American Christians talk a lot about accept-ing Jesus into our hearts, and while I think that is a perfectly fine concept, I also think its a

small one compared to the biblical view. You see, God isn’t trying to get a little Jesus into our hearts; He is trying to get ALL of us (heart, soul, mind and body) into Jesus.

With our hearts we love and desire the kingdom of God.

With our souls we seek and pursue the kingdom of God.

With our minds we teach and learn the kingdom of God.

With our bodies we serve the world as ministers of the kingdom of God.

Heart | Soul | Mind | Body

Love | Serve | Seek | Teach

And here is the thing: this is the absolute center of Christianity. Jesus said that all other commandments hang on this one. In other words, all our decisions are filtered through this one commandment (and the sec-ond commandment which is like the first - love our neighbors). All of this leads to transformation.

The goal of Christianity is to be transformed more and more into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

God’s past, present, and future goals are for us to be like his Son, Jesus. (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 John 3:2). Everything we do at Southside revolves around this. Read Acts 2:42. The earliest Christians organized their life around four things. Teaching scripture, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer.

Teaching = Teach = Mind = Bible Classes where we learn and study the Word of God together.

Fellowship = Seek = Soul = Life Groups and other small groups where we seek and pursue God together.

Breaking Bread = Serve = Body = Ministry where we imitate Jesus and take up a towel and serve one an-other.

Prayer = Love = Heart = Worship where we have our hearts and desires shaped by God in exalting Him above all else in our lives.

The things Southside does are not just nice things that make us feel good. They are central to our becoming like Jesus. From our smallest of children, to our eldest among us; we are trying

to be like Jesus! It’s the DNA of everything we do.

SYDNEY NEWSLETTER vol 1. 2020September is here! Summer vacation is over. School has begun. Schedules return to normal (whatever ‘normal’ is for you). Sep-tember is a terrific time to reassess, reinvigorate & renew your in-volvement in ministry. It’s a great time to join a Bible class fellow-ship or Life Group. Our children & teens need teachers, sponsors & volunteers. It’s the time to pray & prepare for Overflow Sun-day. Ladies’ Day, Saturday the 13th, is almost here! The follow-ing Tuesday (16th) is the kick-off of TLC (Tuesday Ladies’ Class); then on the 28th we have our Overflow contribution for missions.

Our church membership is approaching 800! We need more folks in Life Groups. We need more people in Bible class fellowships. We need more volunteers traveling to Newport, AR or to Honduras to see first-hand the work being done there. Greater involvement in minis-try allows more people to capture & share a vision for the Kingdom.

Your ministry involvement is vital to the health of our church fam-ily. No one can serve everywhere, but everyone can serve some-where. As an example of each person’s importance: a typical Thursday in our Soup Kitchen has 20 workers providing lunch & distributing assistance to 150-180 people from 11am-1pm! Mahatma Gandhi said, “Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.” I’m sure he had a point to make, but it doesn’t apply to the Kingdom! There is no insignif-icant work in the Kingdom of God. Each effort works in harmo-ny for the same goal. Paul said it this way, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. For we are God’s fel-low workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.” (I Cor. 3:6, 9) - Jackie

Responses for PrayerKristen Johnson

Debra Spann

Prayer ListJim Cate

Preston GarrettBob Clinard

Avalon TanksleyCarol Little

Clara Louise DickeyBobbie Halstead

Diana Parks

I AM SOUTHSIDE“A friend loves at all times” (Proverbs 17:17). I admit I have not always been a good friend. At times I have been bossy, jealous, and judgmental. I have monopolized conversations. I have even gossiped. I have been lazy and selfish in reaching out when a friend was in need. Instead, I’ve been quick to offer what I thought was my much needed, but not always want-ed advice. Or when a friend was too needy, I may have backed away slowly and made excuses so I wouldn’t have to change my plans and help them. The saddest part is that it took the ta-bles turning on me more than once for me to realize this about myself.Guess what? God is changing me. He is making me a better friend. And I hope it’s a change that sticks. That change is coming about through something I don’t particularly like. Hurt. He’s given me more than one opportunity to be on the needy side of this broken friendship equation, where I am the one getting hurt in the process. This hurt has shown me my own failings as a friend and how to be a better one. The best lessons are learned the hard way. Truth is, we want friends who are mostly, well, there for us. We want friends who listen, who love us, who are fun. But when the tables turn and that friend needs more than their fair share of our listening, ou-runderstanding, our help, our time and our grace...we get weary. What

if that friend is really struggling and we’re having a hard time sympathiz-ing with that struggle? Let’s be hon-est, we can only take so much of that!No friend is perfect. They can’t be. And we cannot become a perfect friend. God is the only “good” and perfect friend. We tend to give each other what we actually deserve, or worse. God gives us what we could never deserve, his mercy. God never gives up on us. He doesn’t avoid us when we get annoying or when we’ve messed up. He doesn’t turn his back on us. He knows us from begin-ning to end and still loves us, still roots for us. He forgives us. He has already forgiven us! He keeps work-ing on us to form us into the image of his son. ”being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philip-pians 1:6). To become a better friend and enjoy the richness of a true and blessed friendship, we need to first

seek to be a friend to God. Only He can fill that friendship-shaped hole in our hearts. I want to learn how to accept the love and friend-ship offered to me by God. I want grasp that intimate relationship God calls me to and look to him first to fill that need. Then I can be more whole and open to the friendships he puts in my path. I can learn to be the friend he has called me to be. If it was not for the mistakes I had made, if not for the ugliness in me that I have honestly seen in myself, then how I could begin to “love my neighbor” and be a true friend to someone? If not for facing my own sin, I would not be able to look upon my friends, my brothers and sisters as needing my love and compassion, but rather in judgment. I will praise God for molding me into a better friend, a better grace-giver, and a better grace-receiver. Even when it hurts. I am imperfect. I am growing. I am transforming. I am Southside.

SYDNEY NEWSLETTER vol 1. 2020

Serve | Body | Ministry

Serving within the Body of Christ prepares us for

discipleship in the world. Here are just a few of the ministries here at Southside:

Widows/WidowersGolden Age GroupTransportation AssistanceWomen’s MinistryLIFE (Ladies Intergenerational Fellowship Experience)

TLC (Tuesday Ladies Class)

Dixie-Oak Community GardenSisters in ActionMeals on WheelsChildren’s Ministry (Journeyland)

Teen’s MinistryWorship MinistryPrison MinistrySenior Care!

Love | Heart | WorshipWorship. What more can we say? My fear is that we sell ourselves short when it comes to worship. Often over my six-or-so years of doing this work, I encounter peo-ple who struggle with attending corporate worship, and I get it; however, when I’d ask why, I’d rou-tinely get replies like, “I’m just not being fed,” or “I just don’t get any-thing out of it.” I used to not know how to respond to this because I suffered from the same problem they did: MEism. It was all about how it made ME feel and how it fed

of us that we need to consider. It’s too easy to roll in at the last min-ute, take our seats, sip our juice, check everything off the list , and make a beeline for Red Lobster. It’s a funny thing, this worship. We do it to honor God, not to ap-pease His wrath, but in response to His grace. The funny thing is that so often when I’m intention-ally pouring my soul out in song or prayer, I get a little nudge and He whispers, “This, my child, is all for you.” Everything He asks, includ-ing worship, is for our own good.

MY soul. Now, I think my response would be, “What did you put into it?” And it’s a tough question for all


Teach | Mind | Study

Adult Bible Fellowships: Wild’s Fellowship Hall - Jackie Chesnutt Ethos - Room 124 - Joe James/John Mark Curtis Hefflos-Room121-KyleHeffley Nike - Room 120 - Shane Sturdivant/Alex Farris Auditorium - Lawrence Waggoner

Wednesday Night Classes: Southside University (class offerings are in three, six-week sessions each semester and are created to ensure a holistic approach: heart, soul, mind, and strength. New session begins in two weeks!)

Coffee Connections: Thebooksforsaleincoffeeconnectionsarespecificallyrecom-mended by staff and can be purchased at a lower price than online or in stores.

Library: There is a wealth of freeknowledge just down the hall from you! Through continuing donations,we’veprovidedforyouaplacetofindanswers to questions, to be challenged,to learn more as you grow in biblicalunderstanding.

Seek | Soul | Lifegroups

Howard & Susan Conley Jackie & Mackie ChesnuttLeesa Davis (ladies only) Keith & Becky BrownKyle & Sarah Heffley Golden Age Group

Joe & Shaila James/David & Kerri ChesnuttShane Sturdivant/Kris & Kristin Page

Andy & Megan Brazle/ Ty & Janet King (includes teens)Paul & Donna James (Innisfree)

Darrel & Shirley Baker/ Fred & Judy CoffeeRandy & Kara Moss/ Gerald & Melinda Venable

Fellowship is a cornerstone of spiritual growth and development. We were never meant to do this life alone. If you are not currently involved in a Life Group, we encourage you to jump in this fall! The official launch is October 5th! Below is a list of current groups identified by their leaders. If you have any questions, please contact the church office. We cannot describe to you the overwhelming blessings you will receive by being a part of this! Give it a try! What have you got to lose?!


Out with the old...In with the new...WEBSITE!

www.familyatsouthside.org


Stuck? Struggling for spiritual growth? What’s preventing transformation in your life?

Join us next Sunday as we hear from some of our own about the way God has transformed them!


September = Self-Control and Discipline

September 7, 2014Week One: Genesis 26 – Isaacs Wells – Isaac and his family were suffering from a severe famine, so God tells Isaac to move to the land of Gerar. The temptation would be for Isaac to settle in a more advanced society, like in Egypt. Egypt has water systems that are prepared to endure famine. But God tells Isaac, “Do not go down to Egypt; settle in the land that I will show you.” So Isaac obeys God and settles in Gerar. Isaac takes a page out of his father’s book and decides to dig wells there to preserve water. So he digs wells and the people of Gerar argue with him saying, “That is our water!” Isaac gives them the water and digs another well. They say, “That is our water!” So Isaac gives them that water also. He finally digs another well and is allowed to keep it. This is a story of Isaac mod-eling several character traits. Last month we talked about compassion, and Isaac is certainly compas-sionate. He is dedicated and committed. But this week we focus on Isaac’s discipline. He could have gotten angry but he remained dedicated to his task. He does what God commands, even when things get difficult in Gerar. Our memory verse this week is Ephesians 4:26.

September 14, 2014Week Two: Nehemiah 8 – Ezra Reads Torah – In Nehemiah 8, a long line of events have led to this moment! The Israelites have long desired to have the Torah returned to them. Ezra has led Israel back to the stronghold of God’s good and faithful law. Now he is going to read it to them. So Ezra reads… THE WHOLE THING! Sometimes we complain about having to stand for a few extra songs on Sunday mornings. Israel stood for 9 hours to hear the Law of the Lord spoken to them! Now that is discipline and Self-Control! This week’s memory verse is Deuteronomy 4:40.

September 21, 2014Week Three: Matthew 3 – Jesus Rejects Satan – The famous show-down in the desert with Satan. This is certainly not a “lesser known bible story” but there may be a part of it that not so well known to us. I have taught this story in adult bible classes and had responses like, “Well Jesus avoided temp-tation but we are human, not Jesus. We can’t do that.” And I think this misses the point. I think the point is exactly that Jesus is fully human when he does this! Notice that the Spirit “leads him” out into the desert and then returns to him after 40 days. Jesus is like us. He shared in our sufferings and in our temptations. But he remained faithful, showing us that trusting God in the face of temp-tation is possible. This week’s memory verse is 1 Timothy 2:22.

September 28, 2014Week Four: 1 Samuel 24 & 26 – David Spares Saul’s Life – For a long time now, David has known that God has chosen him to be king of Israel. Now ask yourself, if God told YOU that YOU were ordained to be king, would you wait for it? David did. In 1 Samuel 24 & 26, David has two oppor-tunities to take Saul’s life. Not only that, but he could easily justify killing Saul since Saul is a wicked person and a terrible king! Instead of taking control of the situation, however, David trusts God’s timing and waits patiently for the throne, even showing forgiveness and compassion to Saul. This week’s memory verse is Galatians 5: 22-23.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT SCHEDULE!

5:30 - Fellowship Meal in the Wild’s6:30 - Class Time

Option 1: Kevin Snyder - Wild’s “The Reason for God”

Option 2: Paul Woodhouse - Rm 124

8/3 8/10 8/17 8/24 8/31

Bible Class 233 243 208 300 246 Worship 471 432 480 562 461

Giving $18,130.67 $13,685.00 $16,050.53 $19,050.03 $11,773.38

YTD Giving: $524,825.00 YTD Budget: $525,126.62

Southside Church of Christ919 S. Dixieland Road • Rogers, AR • 72758

(479) 636-1156www.familyatsouthside.org

Golden Age Group

- September Meeting, Friday 19th, 6 PM in the Wilds Hall- Potluck Sign-Up Sheet on the bulletin board in the main foyer. - Hosts are: Jim and Karen Grigg, and Melvin and JoAnn Jones.- Th e Speaker is Kay Growen from Harding University with information on the up-coming Abundant Living Retreat in Branson.

September Events Calendar *Wednesday Night Schedule Returns - Evening Meal at 5:30 - Wild’s Hall

● 7th:Widows&Widowers’NoonLuncheon;Wild’sFellowshipHall● 13th:Ladies’Day;“WomantoWoman:Self-caretoSelf-share”● 16th:TuesdayLadies’Class(TLC);10AM;Wild’sFellowshipHall● 19th:GoldenAgeGroup,6PMintheWild’sHall(detailsbelow)● 20th:SouthsideWorkDay;intheAM(detailstocome)● 28th:OVERFLOWSUNDAY!-Don’tforget!

*October6th:Veteran’sLunch;11:30am;Wild’sFellowshipHall

September newsletter2

Documents

Transcript of September newsletter2