Saturday, May 27, 2006

Cultural Christianity

I saw this quote by J. C. Ryle the other day, and thought it was worth "chewing on" for awhile. Just how much of Christ in my life is enough? It seems that it is easier to fall in love with a church than it is to fall in love with its Head. Read on, and let me know what you think.
“There is a common worldly kind of Christianity in this day, which many have, and think they have enough. This cheap Christianity . . .offends nobody, requires no sacrifice, costs nothing, and is worth nothing!”
--J. C. Ryle

Spotlight on Missions


For over a year, New Tribes missionaries Paul and Susan Boothby have been sending us regular email updates telling us about the work God has been doing among the Gende people of Papua New Guinea.
We have prayed with them through discouragment and setbacks, tribal violence, sickness and the death of a parent. We have also been privileged to rejoice with them as they have recently seen some of these people who had no hope turn to Christ and become new people in Him. What a miracle of God!
In just a few weeks the Boothby's will join us for our Spotlight on Missions--Live Update. If you are in the area and would like to hear what God has done, and is continuing to do in PNG, stop in--We'd love to see you.
Events include:
Saturday, June 10--7:30 a.m. Men's Breakfast with Paul Boothby at Kislewski's--Call 564-4299 to reserve your eggs!
Sunday, June 11--6:30 p.m. "From Darkness Into Light"--Live follow up on the Gende people with Paul & Susan--Come see what is "new" in Papua "New" Guinea. Ice cream social at Living Hope Bible Church will follow. Bring a friend.
Monday, June 12--6:30 p.m. Dessert/Coffee Hour for Ladies Only--Susan Boothby and her daughters will take us into the world of the Gende ladies and also tell us what it is like for a family to be separated when children live at an MK school. Women and girls of the community are invited to join us at Living Hope for our final spotlight on missions.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Wisconsin Farm Technology Days--Here We Come!

God uses people of all ages and abilities in His work. Tonight's work project for Wisconsin Farm Technology Days saw children as young as 4 and 5 years old working alongside their parents and grandparents as we completed another 600 walking sticks. Nearly 1300 gospel walking sticks have been drilled, sanded and tagged with plastic beads representing God's wonderful plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. Just as God offers His salvation as a free gift, the walking sticks will be given--free--to those attending the farm show July 11-13 at Quonset Farms near Gibbsville. Ya'll come and see us there at the Fellowship of Christian Farmers tent. We'd love to explain how you can receive the greatest gift in the world.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Living Hope Family "Assembles"






The ladies enjoy Living Hope's version of the old-fashioned quilting bee....with slivers!

Sunday, May 7, saw the Living Hope family congregating at the Wynveen Farm to begin assembling the walking sticks. There were still sticks to be sanded and more beads to lace, but the time had come to "build" the sticks.

While several of the men continued sanding sticks, others worked the transport route, carrying sanded and unsanded sticks to work stations.



From counting and stringing beads to drilling holes, sanding, assembling the finished walking sticks, this has truly been a project for the whole family.
We have one more work night for Sunday, May 21 scheduled to try to finish up the remaining sticks. If you would like to be involved in this cooperative outreach with the Fellowship of Christian Farmers, or would like more information about the walking stick ministry, you can find it at our church website at http://www.livinghopebiblechurch.org/index.htm

Labor for the Lord



We arranged to have a local sawmill, Ongna Wood Products of rural Sheboygan Falls, cut 1400 walking sticks for us...but there was still plenty of work to be done....
Each stick needed to have a hole drilled 1" down from the top end to accept the beaded lace. Then the tops had to be sanded down to prevent "sliver damage" to the recipients. Young and old both learned how to safely use power tools in the work of the Lord.

From Soup to Sawdust





The ongoing saga of the Gospel Walking Sticks....
Friends from other churches, including Calvary of Sheboygan, joined the Living Hope family on Sunday, March 26, for an old-fashioned soup supper before we again tackled beads and leather.
Again, we were able to complete about 700 beaded laces toward our goal of 1400 completed walking sticks.
God is so good!!

Gospel Walking Sticks






Living Hope Bible Church members and friends will be working in conjunction with the Fellowship of Christian Farmers to share the Good News of Jesus Christ at the 2006 Wisconsin Farm Technology Days event to be held July 11-13 near Gibbsville, WI. They will distribute free walking sticks to event attendees and will present God's plan of salvation with each stick.
On January 29, church members met for a "Famine Feast" of bread and water before they began work on producing the Gospel Walking Sticks. Family members of all ages worked together to string colored beads on leather laces to be assembled later into the finished sticks. Each of the colored beads represent components of the gospel presentation. About 700 laces were completed during that first work session.

WHERE WE LIVE

Our Mission...
Living Hope Bible Church is an Independent Bible Church. Our goal is to preach the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, both in our local Oostburg, Wisconsin, area and throughout the world. To that end, Living Hope Bible Church offers weekly Sunday worship, Sunday School, mid-week Bible study, fellowship activities, and community outreach. We support missionary outreach through prayer, through financial support, and by sending out missionaries from our own fellowship.
Our Location...
Living Hope Bible Church meets 2 1/2 miles directly north of Oostburg, Wisconsin, at N3595 E County Road A (Former St. George School at 6 Corners, intersection of Hwys V, A, OO and Van Treeck Trail). We are 3 1/2 miles south of Deer Trace Kohler, and about 2 miles west of I-43, just off Hwy V. Living Hope Bible Church is conveniently located for visitors from Kohler Andrae State Park, as well as those from the surrounding communities.
Our Blog...
You can get to know us and see what God is doing through Living Hope Bible Church. It is our hope that you will be challenged and blessed by the fact that God uses insignificant people in out-of-the-way places to accomplish His work. If you'd like more information about us, our church website can be found at http://www.livinghopebiblechurch.org/index.htm