Lil Brother
New member
Three years have come and gone since members of the First Presbyterian of Benton asked me to serve on the Board of Deacons. Our church was going through major changes at this time; we had a man named Reinhold Schmitz as our interum pastor and loved every minute of it, but we were still searching everywhere for new blood to guide our church in the right direction. "Reiny" as he liked to be called was a wonderful God-fearing man who had come out of retirement to pastor our church until we found one. Reiny was weary and tired and I would have loved to have had him as a pastor when he was 35 or 40 years old.
Almost 3 years went by when God brought us Kris Crawford. SHE was 40ish and seemed to know her stuff. Since her coming to Benton over 10 months ago, we have gained at least 15 new members. We seemed to have replenished our younger crowd with kids running in all directions.
Kris has wonderful ideas and knows who she is and what she stands for. I was recently asked to remain on the Board of Deacons for another 3 years and when I said yes, the training began. It seems as though the first time I was asked to serve, the training class was about 30 minutes with Reiny, but this time we had about 8 hours of pretty intense "Presbyterian" training. Our church has a Constitution which consists of 2 parts, the Book of Confessions and the Book of Order. The Presbyterian Church(USA) states its faith and bears witness to Gods grace in Jesus Christ in the Creeds and confessions in the Book of Confessions. In these, we declare to our members and to the world who and what we are, what we believe, and what we resolve to do. We read A Brief Statement of Faith alot in our church and most of us know it by heart.
While going through class this time, we were asked to write our own personal Brief Statement of Faith and I would like to share mine with you. We were ask to comment on God the Creator, God the Redeemer, and God the Sustainer and what they meant to us.
God the Creator, 1/3 of the Trinity. Maker of all, the infinite intelligence who breathes life into every living thing. He is Pure and Holy and Totally Awesome. He formed me in the womb and knew me before I was born. My Faith is built upon my belief that God created me for a reason and is in control of my life.
Sometimes it takes a series of events to turn it all over to God. After being born with chicken pox and pneumonia and surviving, then contracting influenza meningitis at age 5 and suffering through many years of chronic drug and alcohol abuse, I let God the Creator take complete control of my life when I was diagnosed with Hepatitis C over 2 1/2 years ago. I knew that I had survived all of this for a reason, one that maybe God the Creator only knew, but I finally turned my whole life over to him and let him "drive for a change". He has truly blessed me since that day. I believe that if God the Creator can create a one-celled organism, he can also create a new liver for me.(...and he has!)
God the Redeemer, the second part of the Trinity. God the Creator sent us his son, Jesus Christ to die for our sins because he loves us so. Jesus came to this world of ours to show us how to live our lives--by example. We must pray for our enemies and help the poor and oppressed. It is our mission in life as Christians, to lead people to God the Creator through God the Redeemer. By his stripes, I will be healed.
God the Sustainer, the third part of the Trinity. God the Sustainer is the driving force inside of me that keeps me on the right track and helps me do the things I do, like being an officer of the church and performing on week-ends at "The Witness". He also reminds me to write the check that I pledged to give him even when I dont think I have it. He gives me strength and hope when I need it most. I found out a long time ago, that when I have a greater Faith in God, my life runs smoother.
God the Creator made it easier for us to understand him when he made God the Redeemer,(Jesus), and God the Sustainer, (the Holy Spirit), I believe that we should seek direction from the Trinity every day of our life by reading his word and setting good examples.The Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer are three persons in one, completing the Trinity. All are separate, but equal. I seek guidance, protection, and direction from all three on a daily basis. There is power in the Trinity and our walk with God depends on an equal balance between the three.
Thanks for listening...
Peace and Love,
Lil Brother
Almost 3 years went by when God brought us Kris Crawford. SHE was 40ish and seemed to know her stuff. Since her coming to Benton over 10 months ago, we have gained at least 15 new members. We seemed to have replenished our younger crowd with kids running in all directions.
Kris has wonderful ideas and knows who she is and what she stands for. I was recently asked to remain on the Board of Deacons for another 3 years and when I said yes, the training began. It seems as though the first time I was asked to serve, the training class was about 30 minutes with Reiny, but this time we had about 8 hours of pretty intense "Presbyterian" training. Our church has a Constitution which consists of 2 parts, the Book of Confessions and the Book of Order. The Presbyterian Church(USA) states its faith and bears witness to Gods grace in Jesus Christ in the Creeds and confessions in the Book of Confessions. In these, we declare to our members and to the world who and what we are, what we believe, and what we resolve to do. We read A Brief Statement of Faith alot in our church and most of us know it by heart.
While going through class this time, we were asked to write our own personal Brief Statement of Faith and I would like to share mine with you. We were ask to comment on God the Creator, God the Redeemer, and God the Sustainer and what they meant to us.
God the Creator, 1/3 of the Trinity. Maker of all, the infinite intelligence who breathes life into every living thing. He is Pure and Holy and Totally Awesome. He formed me in the womb and knew me before I was born. My Faith is built upon my belief that God created me for a reason and is in control of my life.
Sometimes it takes a series of events to turn it all over to God. After being born with chicken pox and pneumonia and surviving, then contracting influenza meningitis at age 5 and suffering through many years of chronic drug and alcohol abuse, I let God the Creator take complete control of my life when I was diagnosed with Hepatitis C over 2 1/2 years ago. I knew that I had survived all of this for a reason, one that maybe God the Creator only knew, but I finally turned my whole life over to him and let him "drive for a change". He has truly blessed me since that day. I believe that if God the Creator can create a one-celled organism, he can also create a new liver for me.(...and he has!)
God the Redeemer, the second part of the Trinity. God the Creator sent us his son, Jesus Christ to die for our sins because he loves us so. Jesus came to this world of ours to show us how to live our lives--by example. We must pray for our enemies and help the poor and oppressed. It is our mission in life as Christians, to lead people to God the Creator through God the Redeemer. By his stripes, I will be healed.
God the Sustainer, the third part of the Trinity. God the Sustainer is the driving force inside of me that keeps me on the right track and helps me do the things I do, like being an officer of the church and performing on week-ends at "The Witness". He also reminds me to write the check that I pledged to give him even when I dont think I have it. He gives me strength and hope when I need it most. I found out a long time ago, that when I have a greater Faith in God, my life runs smoother.
God the Creator made it easier for us to understand him when he made God the Redeemer,(Jesus), and God the Sustainer, (the Holy Spirit), I believe that we should seek direction from the Trinity every day of our life by reading his word and setting good examples.The Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer are three persons in one, completing the Trinity. All are separate, but equal. I seek guidance, protection, and direction from all three on a daily basis. There is power in the Trinity and our walk with God depends on an equal balance between the three.
Thanks for listening...
Peace and Love,
Lil Brother