A few years ago The Pur-pose Driven Life was a book many were reading, discuss-ing, and seeking to use as a

“guide” to their lives. The Purpose Driven Life was addressed to individuals. Another book, The Purpose Driven Church, was also published. This book was addressed to churches. It is very important to consider “what am I here to do” or “what is my purpose”. It is also very important for the assembly of God's people to determine what their purpose is. Without purpose an individual or an organization flounders. If you were to form a corporation or a partnership, the authorities would ask you “what is your purpose”. Have you ever considered what your purpose is? Have we, as a congregation, ever considered what our purpose is?

Some people believe that their purpose is to make money. Some of these then consider the purpose of money is: to “party”, to accumulate wealth, to buy influence, to make other's lives “better”, any combina-tion of these and various other purposes. Other pur-poses in life may be: to make others laugh, to free the oppressed, to feed the hungry, to “better the world” (whatever that means), to determine origins, to have “fun”, or a combination of these (or you can add other motivators – purposes).

What is the purpose of the Church? Is the purpose of the Church to: have fellowship (what does that mean?), go about doing good (who determines what is good?), helping people “feel good”, spreading cheer, provide a place to go to those that have no other place, a combination of these, or some other purpose?

Since we profess to be Christians, we have identi-fied ourselves as followers of “The Christ”. According to our profession, the Scriptures (Genesis through Revelation) are our authority. Since the Scriptures are our authority, it would be wise to determine if the Scriptures address the question of purpose for the individual and / or the Church.

The purpose of this essay, as per the title, is not to discuss individual purpose in life but to discuss the purpose of the Church. But, let it be said that the Scriptures do address the purpose of life for individu-als and it is not any of the items listed above. The pur-pose of the Church is stated by Paul in his letter to

Timothy as he tells Timothy the purpose of his letter to him: “These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. “ Note that Paul calls the Church “the pillar and ground of truth”. What does it mean for the Church to be the pillar of truth? One has written "The rea-son why the church is called the pillar of truth is that she defends and spreads it by her agency.... The church maintains the truth, because by preaching the church proclaims it, because she keeps it pure and entire, because she transmits it to posterity. … Paul does not wish that any society in which the truth of God does not hold a lofty and conspicuous place shall be acknowledged to be a church." The word translated “ground” means bulwark, steady, steadfast and is related to the word seat as in “seat of the government and / or seat of the gods (temple). In less metaphorical language it means that the Church is to proclaim, propagate, and de-fend the Truth.

The Church is not a group of kindred souls who articulate their common beliefs and practices and may change them as time passes and culture fluctuates. First there is a body of doctrine revealed to men through the Scriptures by God. Those who believe this doctrine then gather together for mutual encouragement, strengthening and growth forming the Church. The body of doctrine is God's Truth. The God revealed in the Scriptures is the “Lord God of Truth” and “the entirety of His Word is Truth” . The Church is sanctified by God's Truth for His word is Truth. It is God's Truth that the Church is to defend, propagate, and proclaim.

The Scriptures reveal that there are those who profess to declare the Truth but are liars. Hananiah in Jerusalem during the days of Jeremiah is one such person. The New Testament warns that there will be false teachers. Paul warns Timothy to “Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge – by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.”

P a s t o r ’ s C o r n e r

The Mustard Seed September 2014

The Purpose of the Church

Cont. on pg. 5

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for

doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the

man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

2 Timothy 3: 16-17

Church Theme 2014-15

“Ambassadors for Christ”

P a g e 2 T h e M u s t a r d S e e d

Fall is upon us!

Time to return to our regular schedule

beginning, Sunday, September 14th!

Sunday School - 9:15 am

Worship Service - 10:30 am

Welcome Back Luncheon, Sunday, September 21

Thursday Morning Bible Study - 10:00 am, Edna

Lowe Room

Friday Night Bible Study - 7:00 pm, Miranda

Home

P a g e 3

This year we will focus on individual deeper knowledge of the scriptures, recognizing its completeness, inerrancy, and authority in our lives. Each month the Diaconate will feature articles related to the theme verse, breaking down the components of the verse to encourage the congregation to grow deeper in faith and knowledge of The Lord while living as ambassadors for Christ. We encourage you to meditate about how you live as an ambassador for Christ.

In Service to His Church,

John Kunze, Helen Palmer, Karen TenDyke, Pastor Russ,

Nina Miranda, Hartwig Schmidt, Dianne James

& Ruth Reed

Theme Verse - 2014-15 Greetings in the name of the Lord! After meditation and prayer the Diaconate has selected 2 Timothy 3:16-17 as the theme verse for this year. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteous-ness that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 KJV)

Those in the church are called to be ambassadors for Christ. Webster defines ambassador as one who is sent to represent the send-er. In the case of the church, we are to represent Christ to the world. This years theme will build upon the last year. In the last year we concentrated on spiritual gifts and using them to serve the Lord.

Red Cross Community Blood Drive Saturday, September 13th, 2:00-7:00 pm

Give the gift of life through your blood donation, call 800-REDCROSS to schedule an ap-pointment, walk-ins welcome! Volunteers needed to assist with sign-in, handing out snacks and juice. If you are able to help, please see Peter James.

P a g e 4 T h e M u s t a r d S e e d

The Congregational Church in Wilmington Sunday School Registration Form – Pre-K thru High School

Parent’s Name_______________________________________________________________________

Address___________________________________________________________________________

Parent Email Address_________________________________________ Phone____________________

Children’s Name:

_______________________________________________ Age_____ DOB___/___/___ Grade____

_______________________________________________ Age_____ DOB___/___/___ Grade____

_______________________________________________ Age_____ DOB___/___/___ Grade____

_______________________________________________ Age_____ DOB___/___/___ Grade____

Attending Adult Sunday School Class? _______ Interested in a Bible Study during the week? _______ Where could you participate?

_____Substitute teaching ______Class Assistant _____Providing refreshments ____Helping with special programs (Christmas Pageant, Christian Ed Sunday, other)

Photo release: I give ______ or do Not give ______ permission to use photo’s of my child in publications, display or website. No names will be used when displaying pictures.

*Parents of PreK class must remain in the building during Sunday School in case child needs you. We encourage you to join our Adult Sunday School class.

Sunday School begins Sunday, September 14 at 9:15 am

As a congregation we have “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thor-oughly equipped for every good work.” as our theme verse for the coming year. Our theme is “We are ambassadors of Christ”. This verse identifies our authority, the Scriptures, and the source of that authority, God. Since the Scriptures identify the Word of God as Truth, we could say that our authority is Truth and Truth is what God has revealed in the Scriptures for the Scriptures are the very word of God. Definitions are very important as we consider this verse. The verse speaks of one being “ equipped for every good work”. Earlier in this essay I asked the question “who determines what is good”. According to God's word, and His word is Truth, “the plowing of the wicked is sin”. In another place, God's word says “There is none who does good there is not even one “. According to our theme verse, it is only the man of God who is equipped to do good work after the Scriptures have taught, corrected, reproved and instructed him. Thus it is God and God alone who determines what is “good” and that by His word which is Truth.

We live in a culture that is skeptical concerning the possibility of knowing the Truth. Some even doubt that Truth exists except as personal truth as expressed by “I believe thus and so and therefore it is true for me. Your truth is yours and mine is mine.” Thus Truth is personal and subjective. But no one wants the bank to handle their money in a subjective manner! Imagine going to the bank and saying that you disagreed with the bank's statement. You believe that you have $1000.00 in your account. The bank says that is very nice and that may be true for you, but our truth is that you have $100.00. Your soul is far more important than your bank account! The problem regarding the nature of Truth was confessed by Pilate as he said to Jesus “What is Truth”?

If the Church is “the pillar and ground of Truth” it is necessary to understand that definition is vital to understanding Truth. For instance, what do you mean when you say Jesus? What do you mean when you say “The Christ”? Or, to whom do you pray when you say to someone “I will pray for you”? Is your prayer efficacious?

As an example, what do you mean when you say fast? Can you determine what is meant by “fast”? Maybe the following will help: The monk who had begun to fast, who did not live a fast life, took the King's fast horse and tied the horse fast in the stall. So, what do you mean when you say Jesus? “The Christ”? If the Church is “the pillar and ground of Truth” it would be vital to know how the Scriptures, God's Truth, defines Jesus, Christ, Wrath, Love, Law, Grace, Kingdom of God, and all other items necessary for “Life and Godliness”. Thus it behooves each of us to “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

It is wise to remember that the Scriptures warn us of false Christs, false teachers, and false professors of faith. Consider what Jesus says about those before His throne who claimed to do various things in His name, but He never knew them. Consider the admonishment to “test the spirits”. Consider those who claim to be the Christ or say “Look there is the Christ”. Are you wise? Do you know the Truth so well that you can identify the counterfeit?

Let us remember, that we are to be the Church , “the pillar and ground of Truth”.

Pastor Russell

P a g e 5

Pastor’s Corner (cont. from pg. 1)

P a g e 6 T h e M u s t a r d S e e d

Saturday, November 15 - 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

Fall Church Fair Meeting, Sunday, September 14th

following service. Bring your ideas, suggestions and

willingness to volunteer to help before, during and

after the fair!

We will also be looking for volunteers. If you volun-

teered/or coordinated an area last year and would like

to do the same "job" this year let Maggie or Heidi

know.

Areas to Coordinate or Work:

Kitchen duty w/helpers

Craft table

Run popcorn machine

Country kitchen

Bake table

White elephant

Kids activities

Jewelry (we need items for this area, please look through your jewelry boxes

to see if there is anything you would like to part with for the fair)

Helpers for decorating/advertising/setup-cleanup/menu, etc...

If you have any ideas for crafts to feature, new ideas, please bring your ideas

to the meeting. Any questions, please see Maggie Baldasaro or Heidi Kumm,

your co-chairs for the Fall Church Fair. Thank you!!!!

The Congregational Church

220 Middlesex Ave

Wilmington, MA 01887

M u s t a r d S e e d N e w s l e t t e r

Moved? Please update your address with the Church Office. Thank you.

October Newsletter Deadline

September 24, 2014

Pastor: Russell Kent Secretary: Heidi Kumm Music Director: Lydia Okumura Sexton: Don Armstrong

Office Hours Mon-Thurs - 9:00 - 3:00 pm

Phone: 978-658-2264

Email: office@wilcong.org www.wilcong.org

The Mustard Seed - A publication of The Congregational Church in Wilmington, 220 Middlesex Avenue, Wilmington, MA 01887. Editor: Heidi Kumm. The Mustard Seed is published monthly, excluding the month of August, to keep members and friends informed of programs of the church and to report news about the congregation. Deadline for copy: Third Wednesday of the month