Soli deo gloriaSoli deo gloriaSoli deo gloriaSoli deo gloriaGlory to God AloneGlory to God AloneGlory to God AloneGlory to God Alone

Volume 38, Issue 3March 2012

By Pastor John Dawson

NewsletterAbingdon Presbyterian

Church

Avoiding the Seven Deadly SinsAvoiding the Seven Deadly SinsAvoiding the Seven Deadly SinsAvoiding the Seven Deadly Sins

And I sought for And I sought for And I sought for And I sought for a man among a man among a man among a man among

them, that them, that them, that them, that should make up should make up should make up should make up the hedge, and the hedge, and the hedge, and the hedge, and

stand in the gap stand in the gap stand in the gap stand in the gap before me for before me for before me for before me for

the land.the land.the land.the land.Ezekiel 22:30Ezekiel 22:30Ezekiel 22:30Ezekiel 22:30

For there is one For there is one For there is one For there is one God, and one God, and one God, and one God, and one

mediator mediator mediator mediator between god between god between god between god

and men, the man and men, the man and men, the man and men, the man Christ Jesus.Christ Jesus.Christ Jesus.Christ Jesus.

1 Timothy 2: 51 Timothy 2: 51 Timothy 2: 51 Timothy 2: 5

Deception Pass

Whidbey Island, Washington

The season of the church year before Easter is called Lent. The word comes from an old word for Spring, and Lent is a time for spiritual spring cleaning. It is good to take stock in your life and see where things are. It is good to see what is

Continued on Page 2

“A group of sailors led by Joseph Whidbey, part of the Vancouver Expedition, found and mapped Deception Pass on June 7, 1792. George Vancouver gave it the name ‘Deception’ because it had misled him into thinking Whidbey Island was a peninsula.”1

Avoiding the seven deadly sins Avoiding the seven deadly sins Avoiding the seven deadly sins Avoiding the seven deadly sins (continued)(continued)(continued)(continued)

blessing you and to notice things in your heart that are not blessing you. The former are to be cultivated and encouraged, but the latter need to be marked for removal. This year the preaching series during Lent is on the Seven Deadly Sins (Pride, Lust, Sloth, Gluttony, Ire, Greed, Envy). The purpose is to identify them for repentance and removal.

The list comes from the Middle Ages. There are seven listed because they seemed to like the number seven quite a bit back then. They are called deadly because they war against the new life that we have as children of God. Left to fester and grow, these sins would kill us spiritually. They work against the life God has given us in Christ and hamper out faith, hope, love and life. When these sins control, people will not see Christ in you. But the purpose of the preaching series is not to expose your sins to others. It is to expose them to you so you can fight them. And that fight consists of recognizing them, repenting of them, being forgiven by God and empowered with the Holy Spirit.

Deception Pass State Park

The list of the seven deadly sins are not specific sins, but root sins. These sinful impulses work in so many areas. They come to the surface in individual sins, but realize that it is not the individual sins that are the whole problem. Each unloving word or action needs repentance and forgiveness, but when you look behind the word or action, you will find a sinful condition of the heart that needs removed. Remember, when you pull weeds from a garden, you don’t just clip the tops. You pull them out, roots and all.

Part of facing these root sins is admitting that the cause for our sin comes from within us. St. James writes: Let no one say, when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God is neither tempted by evil nor does he himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death (James 1: 13-15). You do not sin because of something outside you. The Devil did not “make you do it.” It is sin, still rooted in you and tempting you to evil. As St. James says, these sins are deadly.

These sins can be habituated in our hearts. They lead our first response to be the sinful one. As such, they are called vices. Bad habits are tough to break. They only come out with prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit. Recognizing that these root sins are in our hearts is the first step to overcoming them. Sometimes the Holy Spirit will work in your heart directly to expose these sins. Sometimes the Holy Spirit uses the loving words of a faithful friend who points it out to you. After recognizing the sin in your heart comes the prayer of repentance.

It is not enough to have the sin removed from your heart. It has to be replaced with a virtue (or holy habit). Jesus told of the evil spirit which was cast from a man, who came back to the man and found his old place empty, swept and put in order. He goes back in with seven spirits more wicked than himself. You need to do more than toss out the old sin. You need to grow the new virtue. Instead of pride, grow humility. Out with lust so chastity can grow. Envy is replaced with kindness. Gluttony is pushed out by temperance. Anger is overcome by patience. Vanity is displaced by faith in God. Sloth is run out by diligence. Let God grow good fruit in you by these planted virtues. And so Christ will be seen in our lives, more and more. -Pastor John

Upcoming PresWIC eventUpcoming PresWIC eventUpcoming PresWIC eventUpcoming PresWIC eventMay 4May 4May 4May 4thththth & 5& 5& 5& 5thththth

Westminster Presbyterian Westminster Presbyterian Westminster Presbyterian Westminster Presbyterian Church in Johnson CityChurch in Johnson CityChurch in Johnson CityChurch in Johnson City

Gracia Burnham will Gracia Burnham will Gracia Burnham will Gracia Burnham will reflect on Godreflect on Godreflect on Godreflect on God’’’’s s s s

sufficiency, grace and sufficiency, grace and sufficiency, grace and sufficiency, grace and peace in the midst of peace in the midst of peace in the midst of peace in the midst of

difficulty.difficulty.difficulty.difficulty.

WomenWomenWomenWomen’’’’s ministriess ministriess ministriess ministries

March Nursery ScheduleMarch 4 – Teresa Berg & Debra Kiser

March 11 – Andrea Moormans & Tess MoormansMarch 18 – Teresa Lawson & Sally DawsonMarch 25 – Chellie Davis & Annie Dawson

Sunrise Photograph by Teresa Lawson

If you have any If you have any If you have any If you have any encouragement from encouragement from encouragement from encouragement from

being united with Christ, being united with Christ, being united with Christ, being united with Christ, if any comfort from his if any comfort from his if any comfort from his if any comfort from his

love, if any fellowship love, if any fellowship love, if any fellowship love, if any fellowship with the spirit, if any with the spirit, if any with the spirit, if any with the spirit, if any

tenderness and tenderness and tenderness and tenderness and compassion, then make compassion, then make compassion, then make compassion, then make

my joy complete by being my joy complete by being my joy complete by being my joy complete by being likelikelikelike----minded, having the minded, having the minded, having the minded, having the same love, being one in same love, being one in same love, being one in same love, being one in

spirit and purpose.spirit and purpose.spirit and purpose.spirit and purpose.

Philippians 2: 1Philippians 2: 1Philippians 2: 1Philippians 2: 1----2222

Please still include a “save the date” note for the meeting May 5th with PresWIC.

Also, Abingdon Presbyterian Church will be hosting the Presbytery meeting April 14th. A team of ladies is gathering to serve coffee and lunch. If you are able to help this event in some way: set up, decorations, make food, serve, wash dishes, pray for our pastors and elders gathering, please let Sally Dawson 704-957-7424 or Carolyn Dando know.

Ladies,

The movie October Baby provides us with the opportunity to celebrate the truth that every life is beautiful. The movie tells the story of a young woman who finds out she survived an abortion. It is being released for showing March 23rd. Let’s attend the movie together and have a time of sharing over a sandwich and coffee. The details of when and where will come out as soon as we see it listed for a local showing.

Session update:1. Budget report

a. January Income $13,670.b. January Expenses $12,864.c. Budget – January 2012 – $13,700

2. Improvements in process:a. The new door is complete. A key is required to unlock it, unlike the previous door, so if you use the church

for an event, you will need to see the secretary to sign out a key.b. The new sign will be completed by the sign company in a month or so. We hope to locate it approximately

where the two pipes have been placed in the ground. As of this writing, we are trying to verify the property line along Lee Highway, and the answer appears to be elusive. Please pray that the details will fall into place.

c. The back half of the manse roof was ruined by the second storm on May 26th, so we are awaiting the claim from the insurance company before releasing the work to another contractor.

2. The Care Groups continue to study the following:a. Abingdon – The DNA of Relationships by Gary Smalley.b. Bristol – Your Walk with God is a Community Project video series by Paul David Tripp.

3. The pastor has begun a series: “Avoiding Sin”, as a spiritual spring cleaning to prepare us to celebrate Easter.4. Special thanks to Chuck Stone of the Family Sign Shop of Bristol who donated our temporary yard sign,

which includes our service times. This will communicate our presence while our permanent sign is being built.

From the sessionFrom the sessionFrom the sessionFrom the session

Deception Pass Bridge Construction 1934-1935

1 Wikipedia

By Rebekah Larson

Book ReviewBook ReviewBook ReviewBook Review

Perfecting Ourselves to Death

When I picked up “Perfecting Ourselves to Death,” by Richard Winter, I figured I was about to learn about friends and family members. I was not anticipating several portions of Winter’s book to poignantly describe me. Three aspects of his book leapt off the pages at me: (1) The defeated perfectionist, (2) Definition of shame and its affects, and (3) My greatest comfort.

Winter dives quickly into the dilemma of perfectionism. “You can see that the problem with perfectionism begins when we move beyond the legitimate pursuit of excellence to live under the tyranny of believing that perfection is possible and failures unacceptable” (pg 36). The various forms of perfectionism (i.e. performance, appearance, interpersonal…etc.) (pg 37-39) can lead to other problems, like eating disorders, anxiety, depression, indecisiveness… to name a few (pg 51-72).

Aerial view of Deception Pass

Winter also discusses key features of perfectionism that he discovered in his own research which center on performance, personal standards, and parents (pg49). Winter’s conclusion is full of hope. Our hope is in one source: Christ’s work in us. Christ talks about perfection but “…not in relation to performance or appearance but in relation to maturity in personal development” (pg 169).

I am not a perfectionist. It is not possible. I am currently surrounded by clutter in my room, and I rarely keep working on something until it is perfect. As long as I have tried hard, why make it

“perfect”? It will never be perfect. Then Winter scrapped my denial: “But is it possible to be a defeated perfectionist, inwardly wanting everything so perfect that anything less is not worth aiming for so that we don’t bother to try at all or we give up trying?” (pg 34). Time to hide under the covers; I have been defined. Although, I think I am a little different because I seem to choose to be a defeated perfectionist on purpose.

Book Review (Continued)Book Review (Continued)Book Review (Continued)Book Review (Continued)

Reflection on the Tennessee River

Photograph by Rebekah Larson

When I was little, I literally decided not to be perfect. Instead of perfectly matching clothes, I still wear something a little off-color. Instead of organizing my t-shirts, I mash them into my drawer. I have turned imperfectionism into perfectionism. I want to appear laid back, go-with-the-flow. On occasion, my perfectionist ways appear in pure form when driving a stick-shift and when writing fiction. Mostly I use imperfection as a veil to the fact that Ifrequently wish my t-shirts were not mashed in the drawer.

I am the defeated perfectionist, and apparently I live my entire life in a blanket of shame. “Shame results from failing to live up to expectations: our own, other people’s or God’s. It is usually triggered when we anticipate disapproval or rejection, and when our foolishness, weakness or sin is exposed” (pg 90). I dropped Winter’s book and shouted, “That’s me!” I eat, breathe, and swim in shame every day. Even now, I feel shame for admitting it. I can go toa party and say a total of two sentences, inconsequential to the listeners, but I can take the impact of my words home with me and mull on them for days. “I shouldn’t have said it that way. Did you see the way they reacted? I’m such a dork.” I have a very self-defeated inner voice that is humiliated by what I perceive to be social mistakes. It is a debilitating way to live, as I am slowly learning.

Even though it feels hopeless, God does not leave me alone in my struggle. Winter says, “Christ has [me] in his grip, and somehow he will complete the task of making [me] perfect and bringing [me] to glory” (pg 175). Even though I know I will never be perfect while still under the curse, Christ is wiping away my imperfections. One day, when I am with him, I can stand in his presence a new creation.

March 2012March 2012March 2012March 2012March 2012March 2012March 2012March 2012

Every Sunday:

10 am Sunday School 11 am worship 6 pm evening study

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27

Abingdon

Care Group

Communion

Prison Ministry

28

4

Dinner Day

Prison Ministry

Did you know: Only 7 % of the population are lefties?

Bristol Care

Group

Abingdon

Care GroupBristol Care

Group

1 2 3

29 30 31

Bill Prestowitz’s

Birthday

Richard

Woelker’s

Birthday

Drex & Carol

Hull’s

Anniversary

Mark & Andrea

Moormans’

Anniversary

Bethany

Dawson’s

Birthday

Eli McCraw’s

Birthday

John

Dawson’s

Birthday