Scuttlebutt
A Publication of SouthLake Presbyterian Church
13820 Hagers Ferry Road, Huntersville, NC 28078 [email protected]
2014
From the
Associate
Pastor . . .
James’ Teaching Reminds Us of Who?
By Adam Mumpower
Over the past month, it has been a pleasure to preach out of the book of
James. What I love about James is that his teaching is so practical, and as he teaches,
James uses many examples and illustrations to explain his lessons. In fact, in the first
18 verses of chapter 1, James has already given us at least three illustrations:
Verse 6 – the doubting man is like the waves of the sea, driven and tossed
by the wind.
Verse 7 – the doubting man is a double-minded man – he wants to have a
foot in two different camps.
Verse 8 – the rich man who does not acknowledge God is like the grass and
the flowers, for they both will fade away after the scorching of the
sun.
But if we think about it, James’ teaching reminds us of another teacher in the
Bible. In the gospels, there was another man who would always use illustrations and
stories to get his point across. Do you know who this person is? It is none other
than James’ half-brother, the Lord Jesus Christ!
Think about it…whenever Jesus wanted to make His point in teaching a lesson, He would always give us a story or an illustration. For example:
1. When Jesus taught us about God seeking the lost, He said this was like a
2.
3.
shepherd looking for a sheep (Luke 15:1-7) or a woman looking for a coin
(Luke 15:8-10).
When Jesus wanted to teach about the gospel going forward in the world,
He said it was like a sower going out to sow his seed on four different
types of soil: hard, rocky, thorny, and good soil (Matthew 13:1-23).
When Jesus wanted to teach about mercy and how to live the Christian
life, he told the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).
When Jesus wanted to teach about the Judgment, He used the illustration
of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31).
Indeed, Jesus was the master story teller and illustrator. And in much the
same way, his half-brother James picked up on this style of teaching. And as we
move forward in James, the illustrations will continue to come. Get ready to talk
about looking in a mirror (1:23), the clothing that a person wears (2:2), the example
of Abraham (2:23), the bit in the mouth of a horse (3:3), a rudder on a ship (3:4), a
mist that vanishes (4:14), the steadfastness of Job (5:11), and many, many more.
Wishing you all a blessed Christmas,
Adam
The Angel Tree project focuses on connecting children of inmates with their imprisoned parents. We are sponsoring approximately 45 children this year.
All 45 “Angels” were chosen in November
by members of our congregation from our
Angle Tree in the church lobby, each with a
child’s name, age, and gender. Gift ideas were
listed and we asked for each child to receive
two gifts ranging between $15- $25 each. (If
you took an angel—gifts are due back by Sunday, December 7th.)
at 4:00 pm on
December 14, for our combined Angel Tree
Program/Congregational Christmas dinner.
There will be Games, Crafts, Food, Story Telling, Christmas Music and Gifts for the Angel
Tree children. Please RSVP by Wednesday,
December 10, to let us know you are coming;
by email to [email protected]; or sign
up at the table in back of the church on Sunday.
Please help us make Angel Tree
a mission of the church. We are looking for at
least 20 families to serve as hosts to our Angel
Tree guests. We would like to seat you with
an Angel Tree family and ask you to see that
they are comfortable and find their way around
that evening.
If you are interested in volunteering please
contact Tracy deBellis at [email protected]
or text/call 704-560-3267.
SouthLake Faith Promise funds sometimes go beyond the regular monthly support
we give to missionaries and missions organizations. In 2014 we were able to be a
blessing on many occasions for our missionaries’ special needs or projects, such as:
$ 1,000 for Serbian flood relief
$ 500 for Refugee relief in Turkey
$ 400 to help send students on the RUF fall retreat
$ 5,000 as a special gift for the Lake Norman Community
Pregnancy Center
$1,000 as a special boost for one of our missionaries
(the Smallings) deficit
$1,965 in “Meatless Monday” (Pink Pig) to put protein
in the meals at an orphanage we help support
$1,000 to help fund a medical conference in the Ukraine
What a joy to be able to send unexpected funds to help our missionaries
do extra, all thanks to your faithful commitment to the Faith Promise
Program!
December 2015 Missions Committee Update ~
News from the Missions field:
As we continue our Faith Promise Campaign for 2015, we’d like to
share the following portion of a report from our missionaries, Jim and
Marianna Peipon, with Ukraine Medical Outreach. This conference reached
hundreds of students in medicine, nursing, dentistry and pharmacy from over
30 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Keep in mind that it also
took place (in October) despite all the recent fighting and current political
turmoil in Ukraine…See what God can do when we “have a little faith!”
Greetings to All,
By your financial contributions and prayers God allowed you to partner with Ukraine
Medical Outreach and the student local organizing committee to do something extraordinary
in Odessa, Ukraine last weekend. All present witnessed how God enabled this conference to
even happen.
As I write it is 1 pm on Friday afternoon in Ukraine. This time last week over 350
students were arriving along with 13 speakers, and we were not sure where the conference
would be held.
Just two days before, the Odessa National Medical Institution withdrew their permission to hold the event at their facility. It seems this was probably an interdepartmental political struggle. The Rector who had given permission was in the ATO zone (Anti-Terrorist
Operation) and those left in charge decided to take advantage of this fact. On the day before
the conference began and after multiple phone calls and visiting several venues, we went to
bed not knowing how and where and if the conference would even take place.
Just one hour before the opening, a contract was signed, the venue was secured and the
show started on time. However, now we had to pay for the venue, money that was not in the
budget. All the speakers were touched when the students in Odessa raised $600 on their
own to make up for the deficit in just 24 hours. The speakers agreed to make up any additional deficit. Wow!!
One of our speakers arrived in Ukraine but lost her passport somewhere between
Frankfurt and Kyiv. She was not allowed to enter the country and was sent back to Germany,
but not before spending 24 hours at Borispol Airport in Kyiv. Continued - Column 2
As the conference began the real
spiritual battle.with the Bible devotional,
the Muslim students began talking loudly. There were about 60 Iraqis and 20
more from other Muslim countries. We
all realized the real battle was for the
hearts and souls of these students. We
had been so lulled into thinking God's
blessings with solutions to our transportation, venue and financial challenges
that we ignored praying for these students. This was
Thereafter, everyone settled down.
There were lots of good discussions in
the hallways and during the master classes, which we pray will have eternal
consequences not only for the students
but their patients as well…
Thank you God for your faithfulness. Thank you Holy Spirit for your
obvious presence. Thank you, Jesus, for
being the author and perfecter of our
faith.
Thanks again to you who have
contributed to make this conference possible. A fuller report and pictures will
be sent when available. Your continued
prayer for those in attendance is greatly
appreciated.
By His grace and for His Glory,
Jim
Advisor to the LOC for Odessa 2014
President and Medical Director
Ukraine Medical Outreach, Inc.
Watch the Missions bulletin board (across
from the nurseries) for more conference news
and photos, as well as information and updates from our missionaries all around the
globe.
Moravian Love Feast
At SouthLake Church
Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014
5:30 — 6:30 pm
We invite you to come and be a
part of the fellowship, sing Christmas
Carols, and enjoy the unrehearsed
traditional Christmas pageant performed by our children. Moravian
sugar cake, coffee and hot chocolate
will be served.
Make this a part of your Christmas celebration as we rejoice in the
birth of Jesus together!
Looking back and looking forward
By Dan Doll
At the end of October SouthLake had its annual Reformation Day festival
and it was a tremendous success! It was great to see the youth and small children
dressed up as Bible characters and celebrating the day the Reformation started!
Reformation Day is the celebration of the day that the Protestant Reformation was started. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther, a monk in the Roman
Catholic Church, wrote 95 theses. This was a collection of offences that Luther
knew the Roman Catholic Church was committing against what is taught in the
Bible. He claimed that the Church needed to reform in order to follow what was
taught in scripture. While each of these theses had a specific purpose, they could
be summed up in four phrases, now known as the five Solas. Sola Fide¸ by Faith
alone, Sola Scriptura, by Scripture alone, Solus Christus, though Christ alone, Sola Gratia, by Grace alone, and lastly Soli Deo Gloria, Glory to God alone. These
five emphases became the heart of the Protestant Reformation and to this day are
upheld by the Protestant Church.
Reformation Day is celebrated because of the reformation of the Church ,
not a replacement of Halloween, but rather to commemorate a day that celebrates
our Protestant Christian Heritage on the day that it began. This is a day like that
of Christmas and Easter—which celebrate what Christ has done. Christmas and
Easter are celebrated because Christ became God incarnate, lived a perfect life,
was crucified, died, was buried, and then rose again from the dead. Reformation
day is celebrated because God used Luther to purify the Church, to reform it so
that we would focus through the Bible on what God has done through his son,
Jesus.
This is why I get so excited when Reformation Day comes around. It is a
reminder of the day when we refocused our eyes on our faith in Christ alone, by
grace alone, shown in Scripture alone, giving glory to God alone.
Continued on page 4
The Youth Ministry has presented the Reformation Day festival in
the past and will continue to do so in
the future, so that future generations
of children, youth, and adults can see
the foundations on which we base our
faith. But our faith is not just in the
past. It is also living authentic faith in
the present. This is why we must not
just sit back, relax and celebrate what
God did thousands of years ago, but
also to do his work for the Kingdom
in the present.
In December, the
Youth
will assist
SouthLake’s Angel
Tree ministry. This
ministry serves the
children of parents in
prison, by giving
them presents. This
year, on Dec. 14, the
Youth will be helping with the Angel Tree/Congregational
Christmas dinner , in its preparation and
execution. We will also be wrapping the
presents and helping give them to the families. This has been a long-time worthy
tradition of SouthLake —one I hope to see
continue. This is just another way for the
Youth to live out their authentic faith.
Looking back and
looking forward
Christmas Memories…
By Dan Doll (Continued from page 3)
One of the ways our Youth are living out
their authentic faith is in their newest mission’s
project with the Pregnancy Center of Lake Norman.
I wrote about their project in the last newsletter, but
I want to give you an update on how it went.
In the past, the Church as a whole has partnered with this great ministry. But this year, the
Youth decided to help the Lake Norman Pregnancy
Center as well through their own gifts and abilities.
In the middle of November, the Youth came together and bought items needed for the Pregnancy Center. They wrote cards of encouragement to the
mothers telling of God’s love for them and a short
Gospel message. These cards and the items were
then taken to the Pregnancy Center. While there,
the Youth were taught more about the Pregnancy
Center itself. They learned ways they could help in
the future and how they can tell others about this
needed ministry.
As we go into the heart of these winter
months, I encourage you to be involved in the
Youth Ministry. Being “involved” does not mean
you have to be a youth, ‘though that always helps .
. . but rather that you 1) see the need to be involved, 2) want to see the gospel taught, and 3)
have the desire to see our youth grow in grace. We
are always looking for more people to join our ministry. We need more youth to attend our weekly
and monthly events, more adults to assist with the
discipleship of the youth, and more prayer warriors
to pray for the youth on a consistent basis.
Thank you all for any support you are giving or may give. If you would like to be a part of,
or know more about SouthLake’s Youth Ministry,
please contact Dan Doll.
by Frances Hampton
It seems so long ago when we had
a first baby at our house on Christmas Day.
And it was a long time… almost 60 years.
Our first-born will soon be 59, and this
son, Rick, is now a grandfather of four.
His latest one (my 7th great grandchild)
was born on November 10th. His name is
Thomas Killian Rochelle, and he has a big
sister, Rosie, who is two years old.
They’ll be making Christmas memories of their own this year, but I remember well our first Christmas with Rick. Although he was only about six months old,
Bud rushed out to buy him an electric
train! (You can guess who that was for.)
We had three more sons and that electric train encircled our Christmas tree
every year as we added more cars to it.
As the boys grew, Bud added other toys that he enjoyed, like Lincoln
Logs and Legos building blocks. Also Tonka toys were a hit, and last year my
four great-grandsons received these from me.
My own Christmas memories of my childhood include tangerines,
nuts, raisins (on the stem) and chocolate drops. Mama always made a fruit
cake on Thanksgiving that we cut on Christmas Day. It was stored in a wooden cheese box, and fresh apples were cut and placed in it to keep it moist.
Sometimes she added a little wine.
As many of you know, I am at present staying with Vera, my 99-yearold sister. As I watch her cook, I am reminded of our holiday foods—turkey,
dressing, sweet potato and pumpkin pies, plus chicken ‘n dumplings. She says
she started helping Mama in the kitchen when she was five years old and has
been cooking ever since.
Christmas, of course, is the time we celebrate the birth of Christ and
we rejoice that He came into our world to save us from our sins. May you
each have a blessed Christmas at your house and may the new year be filled
with hope and promise.
Exciting News: We're Moving Uptown!
As of December 2014, our lease agreement with Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Schools will expire. The Lord has faithfully made provision for Brookstone to lease space at First Baptist Church on
South Davidson Street. Our actual move date is December 12, 2014, but we are seeking volunteers to help on several
dates prior to that.
If you would like to volunteer please contact Mark Hawkins at [email protected] or
Nancy Turbeville at nancy.turbeville@brookstone schools.org, or 704-392-6330.
****** we need boxes ! ************ (all sizes)
Elder Prayer
7
14
21
28
Mickey Eldridge
Bob Ernsberger
Phil Horton
Greg Howard
Elder Communion Setup
7 Mickey Eldridge
Greeters
7
14
21
28
Dan & Kim Blackwelder
Cliff & Rebecca Frost
Sylvia Apgar
Bill & Natasha Kearney
Offering Teams
7
14
21
28
Team 1 (Jim Reeves*, Dan Houser*, Mike Bowers, David Benson)
Team 2 (Jed Belvin*, Scott Sweitzer*, Steven Green, Steve Malloy)
Team 3 (Alan White*, Guy Mouton*, Velasco Gomez, Rich Handel, James Hall)
Team 4 (Dennis Moore*, Mark Collins*, Steve Ancona, Ron Simons)
Nursery Volunteers
WORSHIP
7
14
21
28
SUNDAY SCHOOL
Deirdre Mumpower
The Moores
Mark & Kim Collins
Drew & Jacki Collins
Deirdre Mumpoer
Mary & Rachael Davis
The Barnas
The Dosseys
Deirdre Mumpower
The Ashers
The Belvins
Tracy DeBellis
Deirdre Mumpower
Neal & Mary Kearney
The Sweitzers
The Reeves
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that
from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving
the Lord Christ.”
Colossians 3: 23-24
2014
Sunday
Monday
1
Tuesday
2
Wednesday
3
November 30
9:30-11:30 am Ladies Bible Study
8:00 am
Deacons Meeting
6:30—7:30 pm
Midweek Church
Services
Thursday
4
Friday
5
8
9
9:30 am Worship/
Communion
10
9:30-11:30 am Ladies Bible Study
6
8:00 am
Men of Iron
Breakfast
Fellowship Hall
Studying
“Every Good
Endeavor” Read
chapters 5-6
Pioneer Clubs for
children ages
4-6th grade &
Youth Group
7
Saturday
11
12
13
18
19
20
25
26
27
6:30—7:30 pm
Midweek Church
Services
5:30-7:30 pm
Youth Ministry
Pioneer Clubs for
children ages
4-6th grade &
Youth Group
14
15
16
17
9:30 am
Worship Service
No Ladies
Bible Study
10:45 am
Sunday School
No Midweek
Services
4:00 pm
Angel Tree Program and Congregational Christmas
Dinner
6:00 pm
Session Meeting
22
21
23
9:30 am
Worship Service
5:30 –6:30 pm
Moravian
Lovefeast
Candle Service
10:45 am
Sunday School
28
30
9:30 am
Worship
10:45 am
Sunday
School
24
31
CHRISTMAS
DAY