Shepherd’s Corner

Living For a Purpose

Mike Elliott The Westminster Shorter Catechism says “the chief end of man is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever.” In Genesis 1: 26-27 we read, Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. If we believe the above two statements we also believe that God created us with a purpose and for a purpose. The question then becomes, how should we live our lives because we believe this? We just finished celebrating our mothers last month and we will be celebrating our fathers this month. For what purpose did God create these two positions? If it is to bring glory to God, then we should be operating under different principles than the world does. If we, as parents, neglect the family because of a

job, our hobbies, or even our service to the Church, we will be courting failure. If we allow our children to come under the influence of people whose purpose is not to glorify God, we need to be very careful that their influence does not cause our children to stumble. School, friends, sports, entertainment, and even the church will have influences that we need to consider carefully. Our work should be “as unto the Lord.” We give it our best. But, this should not be to the neglect of our priorities. If we give our best only at the job, we miss our other responsibilities to God and family. Most of us would not consider missing work just because we are tired or don’t feel like working today. Does our worship and service to God have the same commitment? Are we more committed to sports activities than to attending Sunday services? It is important for each of us to serve the Lord. It is more important for a family to serve the Lord together. Our children should not just see us serving, but should themselves be a part in the serving. Eternity is going to be a long time. Only what we have done for Christ will last -- only those things that glorify Him. Our lives here and now glorify Him when we live our lives with a holy purpose and an eternal perspective. We cannot take our job, our hobbies, or our athletic accomplishment to heaven. We hope that our families will be there; maybe our co-workers, neighbors, and friends will be there. They can all glorify Him and serve Him forever. .

Vol. 11, No. 6 – June 2016

SpecialAnnouncements For many years Fellowship Bible Church has participated in the Options for Life Baby Bottle campaign. These bottles filled with coins do a lot to keep this ministry going. Not only are babies saved that might otherwise have been aborted, but parents are influenced and, in many cases, won to Christ. You can pick up your baby bottle in the Church foyer. ----------------------------------------------------------- VBS is coming soon. Don't forget to register online. We need helpers galore! There will be a sign-up sheet on the back table for various areas where we need help. We can use helpers that are out of 7th grade and up. If you have questions please call or contact Lois Nebergall. Phone: 830-832-6462 or e-mail: loisnebergall@yahoo.com. Please ask God how you can serve in this ministry. Everyone in the church is invited to our VBS closing ceremonies on Friday, June 10th at 7:00 p.m. You will be encouraged and blessed to see the eagerness and joy of the young people. Hopefully you have been praying for the children so you will see some answers to those prayers in the children's faces. We have fellowship in the gym after the program so please come and meet some new families. The Green’s Summer Good News Club will meet in the home of David and Connie Green every Tuesday from July 12 through August 16, 9:30-11:30. Upcoming Retreat The College Retreat is scheduled for June 3-5 at Mo-Ranch near Hunt, Texas.

Below is the schedule for Sunday evening services for June: June 5 Determining God’s Will & Graduation June 12 Tuohy June 19 James Dobson on Fathers -- Video June 26 Testimonies ----------------------------------------------------------- Did you miss a sermon? All Sunday sermons – audio and video -- can be accessed by going to the Church’s website. Once at the site, click on “Sermons” and locate the series you wish to hear. For example, each of the sermons to date on Colossians can be viewed by clicking on the logo for Colossians, then selecting the logo with the date stamp for the sermon you missed. It’s that simple. http://www.fellowshipbible.us

Bible Quiz Question of the Month What are the two shortest books of the Bible by word count? Answer to May Quiz Identify the speaker and the one spoken to in the following quote from the Old Testament: “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.” Balaam spoke these words to his donkey (Numbers 22)

The Library Corner All the books reviewed in the Oracle are found in our church library. If you would like to review a book for publication in the Oracle, just let Chuck Davis know.

Chasing Sunsets

by Karen Kingsbury

Many times a long-time Christian may wonder if some circumstance in his or her life was aided by an angel’s intervention. In this book the action takes place on two planes. There perhaps will be a baby born who would be a great man of God who would bring many to Christ over his lifetime; however, he has only about a two percent chance of being born. A team of two angels is sent to earth with the difficult task of keeping the potential father and mother safe and to keep obstacles out of their path that would separate them. Since the plot centers on Mary Catherine, a young woman who needs a heart transplant and Dwayne Davis, a baseball star, the reader will temporally forget the angels in the background. Dwayne wants to do something with his money that will make a difference and so he funds a youth center in a neighborhood where gangs have snapped up the youth in past years. Mary Catherine and her roommate volunteer to work there. To become a member of this gang, a candidate must kill two people: a member of the opposing gang and then a prominent member of the community. If you are good at thinking ahead in these stories, yes, Dwayne Davis is targeted, and

one of the angels takes the form of a police officer to turn the gang away from the rendezvous where Dwayne would be shot. What should be done about Dwayne’s girlfriend, and about Mary Catherine’s heart condition that keeps her from thinking about romance? The action is fast-paced and you will find it difficult to put this book down.

[Reviewed by Barbara Davis]

Words Worth Considering “Good intentions and earnest effort are not enough. Only Jesus can make an otherwise futile life productive.” ~(Chuck Swindoll, Pastor)

Facts and Figures Missions Giving Month of April $ 17,535 Calendar Year 2016 80,065 Building Fund Balance $ 25,549 -----------------------------------------------------------

Service Times and Church Activities Sundays Sunday School 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. Regular Sunday Worship 10:45 a.m. Evening Worship 6:00 p.m.

During the Week AWANA Wed. 6:30 – 8:15 p.m. Prayer/Bible Studies Wed. 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Men’s Bible Study Saturday 8:00 a.m. Ladies Fellowship* 9:30 a.m. *Ladies’ Fellowship meets on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month. Determining God's Will