SUNDAY, JULY 30, 6PM, FAITH CHURCH FELLOWSHIP HALL

Don’t miss what will be an evening to remember as 2-time Grammy winner Ashley Cleveland plays for the Faith Church Coffeehouse on July 30.

Faith Church Cofffeehouse is a free monthly event given as a service to our community. Don’t worry, we’re not going to be using this event to preach at you (you can visit us on a Sunday for that!) – we just want you to come out and have a wonderful time of great music, great food and great people. It’s just our way of saying ‘hello’ to the neighborhood. We hope you can join us!

Also, if you’re a parent of young children – we can understand how difficult it is to get out so we provide nursery up to age 5 and a special, supervised event for kids 5 and over. Our nursery is actually connected to the fellowship hall, where the coffeehouse is held so it is very easy to check in on the little ones! Check out the flyer below for specifics on the kids event.

For more information on Ashley and free mp3 downloads please visit: www.ashleycleveland.com

Download our flyer:COFFEEHOUSE INVITE JUL-AUG06.pdf

Kid’s event information: 7-30-06 Coffeehouse Kids Event.pdf

Light and Salt? (Lessons from two old forts)
Rev. Jerry Hoek

On the Fourth of July this year, Claire and I went with our son Matt to a couple of historic places of interest around Nashville. We visited Fort Granger in Franklin and then ended up at Fort Negley next to Greer Stadium near downtown Nashville.

In both forts, you can see the earthen walls and the ditches which were part of the fortifications. While trees now cover most of the area, you can still see out over the surrounding landscapes from both forts and see where the battles of Franklin and Nashville occurred. From these vantage points, cannon shot their shells about a mile or two into where the battle was actually being fought.

What struck me as we visited these sites is that while both were involved in significant battles, the forts themselves were never really attacked. The defenses were all ready, but no shots were actually fired on the forts themselves. While they could see the battle below them, the soldiers in those forts only participated by lobbing shells into the fighting. The real and brutal fighting was done on the battle lines and in the trenches.

My point in writing about this? It is easy for the church to be on the high ground in well defended positions. From that vantage point we can see the struggles that are going around us, and may even weigh in occasionally, but it is easy to remain above the fray. Occasionally, God allows some shots to come in among us just to remind us that we are in a struggle.

We are in a war between the kingdom of God and the powers of evil. Now we know from the Bible that the victory is God’s and we will share in that victory. The outcome is not in doubt. Nonetheless, we need to hear a call for us to not just stay in the safe forts and refuges on the high ground. We have to get down from the heights and get into the battle.

There is a place and a roll for everyone as we do this. For some it may be simply talking to our non-churched neighbors and inviting them to our church. For others it may be making sure that when we have visitors at our worship services, we make them feel welcome by talking with them and helping them in any way we can. For others it may be helping with our Coffeehouse food or talking with the visitors we have there.

The point is that we can’t really get involved in the work of the church when sitting on a hill. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” We are to let the light of Christ shine to everyone around us.

However, we should also remember that just before this, Jesus also said, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” Salt in the saltshaker does no good. Salt needs to get out and mingle and mix with the people we are called to have an influence on. We are good at being a light on the hill. Now let’s work more at being the salt.

Pastor Jerry

July 2006