Pleasant Times

imes
Volume 1, Issue 1 News ffrom Mt Pleasant Christian Church February 2010

A Second Glance…
JR and Amber Ludlow both attended Edgewood
High School. Amber graduated in 1999 and JR in
2000. The night that JR graduated they met each
other through mutual friends. After graduating, JR
moved to Colorado the very next day to start a
new job. During the summer they kept in touch
while he was out west and by the end of August Passing Fad or Enduring Truth
he decided to move back home to Indiana. They By Pastor Jon
have been together ever since.

Ass I write this I am sitting in a busy, public

With the newest
addition of Finn they now have four children:
Jackson, Madison, Sophie and Finn. JR works as
a form carpenter for Walsh Construction and as a
Cub Master at Stinesville Elementary school.
Amber is a stay at home mom and the ring leader.
Their family started attending Mt. Pleasant in April
of 2008 and was most impressed with the warm
and friendlyy atmosphere which helped them to
instantly feel a part of the church. JR and Amber
also appreciate the Bible teaching which helps
them feel a deeper connection to God and they
want to raise their children to know and love God.
Between January 2009 and February 2010 the
Mt Pleasant’s Food Pantry has been able to help at least
twenty one grateful families.. Thanks to all who have given.
Let’s see how many more we can help throughout 2010!
place and it's interesting to look around and see
all the fads that people follow. Everything from
bottled water, four dollar cups of coffee, baggy
jeans, to really big sunglasses.
sunglas The one thing
that those who have been around for more than
10 years know is that fads come and go. If we
want to have our feet firmly planted on truth we
should heed the advice given by U.S. General
George Marshall when he said, "We must stop
setting our sights by the light of each passing
ship; instead we must set our course by the
stars."
For thousands of years the church has not been
one to follow fads. However, recently there has
been a disturbing trend of many followers of
Christ planting their feet on a fad instead of the
truth. It seems that within the last few years
many fads have crept up in the church, some
are still around and many are just memories. A
few of those include: Promise Keepers, the Left

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Behind Series, The Prayer of Jabez, the
Purpose Driven Life, and seeker sensitive
services. Many churches even advertised and
preached sermons using the book "The
Purpose Driven Life" as the primary resource
for the forty day campaign. The theology of
countless Christians has been shaped more by
the fictional Left Behind Series than the Word
of God.
Trends are nothing new, they have been
around since the beginning of time. The Bible
teaches that Israel wanted a king because
other nations had a King (1 Samuel 8:5) just
like I want a four dollar drink like everyone
around me is drinking. The Apostle Paul even
gave young Timothy instruction to preach the
Word if its in season or out of season
(2 Timothy 4:2). This indicates that even in
Paul's time some things came and went. As
followers of Jesus we have to make a personal
choice to either follow a passing fad or to
stand on the enduring truth. As you make
that choice for yourself there are a couple of
things that we must know from scripture that
will help us to make the right choice.
First, fads are temporary. What is in style
today will not be in style tomorrow. Even
though it may be popular and draw a large
crowd to preach through the most popular
Christian book of the week, that same book
will be a vague memory in a year or two. On
five different occasions Jesus made the
statement that heaven and earth were going
to pass away but the Law and Word of God
were going to last for all of eternity. The same
truth that Paul preached at Mars Hill among
all the altars of false Gods that had the power
to change lives is the same message that has
stood the test of time and changed millions of
lives throughout history. It should be noted
that there is nothing wrong with bottled water
or the choice of in style clothing, spiritually
speaking, but if it draws attention away from
the truth the right choice will always be to
choose truth. It may not always draw the
biggest crowd or bring in the most resources,
but success in the ministry is not measured by
the bottom line but rather stepping over the
finish line and hearing God say, "Well done."
.
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The Bible warns against following anything that
causes us to put the truth on the back burner.
Paul writing to the Romans said, "And be not
conformed to this world: but be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that ye may
prove what is the good, and acceptable, and
perfect, will of God" (Romans 12:2). One may
even suggest from this verse that in our
attempts to follow the world and be like the
world that doing so would keep us from the will
of God in our lives. In order to not get wrapped
up in the hysteria of the latest spiritual fads
that come our way we have an obligation to
keep our minds renewed so that we might be
more like Christ than the world that we live in.
After all, the ultimate goal of every believer is
not to be blend in with the world but to be a
peculiar person on the pilgrimage through this
world to the promise land that awaits us at the
end of this journey (1 Peter 2:9).
The enduring truth is not just facts about God,
but it is the person of Jesus Christ. The Apostle
John said, "The word became flesh and dwelt
among us." Jesus said, "I am the way, the
truth and the life." The Bible has been given to
us so that we might know our Lord and savior
and build a more personal relationship with
him. With that in mind anything that takes our
attention off of the Bible causes a division in
the relationship that we have with our Jesus.
This is not to say that we can never change the
order of services, or that the Left Behind books
weren't entertaining, but only the Word of God
that tells us more about Jesus is to be elevated
in our worship as the absolute truth that
endures the ages. The writer of Hebrews said,
"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today
and forever." (Hebrews 13:8). Because of this
truth I know that He is not going to change his
mind on me and that following Him is not
another passing fad.
So the next time that everyone seems to be
jumping on the bandwagon, take a step back
and ask yourself the important questions. Does
this trend cause me to compromise my faith?
Would following the crowd take my focus off of
Jesus who is the enduring truth? Now I think I
will buy a one dollar coke and let everyone else
around me drink the four dollar coffee.

Celebrating February’s Birthdays
Great Truths About Life That Little Children Have Learned
* No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.
* When your mom is mad at your dad, don't let her brush
your hair.
* Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
* You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
* Reading what people write on desks can teach you a lot.
* Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.

Phil Wampler Feb 2

Walter Wampler Feb 2
Jacob Jones Feb 4
Ruth Olsen Feb 9
Erma Hovious Feb 16
Ann Acuff Feb 21
Charlie Scott Feb 21
Joyce Anderson Feb 21
Dorothy Elliott Feb 22
Rodney Day Feb 23
David Neal Feb 28
* Puppies still have bad breath even after eating a tic tacs.
Anniversaries for February
* Never hold a dustbuster and a cat at the same time.
* School lunches stick to the wall.
Bob & Ginger Long Feb 16th
* You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
JR & Amber Ludlow Feb 22
* Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
Lonnie & Joyce Anderson Feb 22
* The best place to be when you are sad is in Grandma's
lap.

Have a Recipe you’d like to share?

Email Trish Day at daydream@bluemarble.net

Mt. Pleasant Christian Church

3191 W. Burma Rd
Gosport IN 47433

www. MyChristianChurch.org

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