Monday, May 19, 2014

Message from Jan Wolfe, Art Teacher



Preach the Word

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

We are all so familiar with 2 Timothy 4: 7, especially at the end of a school year!  I would like to change your focus to 2 Timothy 4: 1-5.   We have been charged to continue to be ministers and give sound teaching.  Too many students come from families that don’t base their lives on sound teaching, and refuse to see the harm it does to themselves and their families.  We become the voice of reason and safe haven in a world of other ‘teachers’ trying to lead our students astray.  As we endure the suffering of having to see students fail because of the choices they make, keep the faith that we have planted seeds for Christ.  Continue to pray for growth of those seeds so that our students may someday be reaped for Christ.  We won’t always know of the harvest, but we can be content in the knowledge that we have planted the seeds.  Leave the rest in God’s hands to water and eventually harvest those students for Him.  And, as always, keep on running the race!

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Message from Carol Stines, Director of International Programs



My favorite book of the Bible is John 9 and my favorite verse is verse 25 “ …I was blind but now I see.”

One thing I love about this verse is that the recently healed blind man knew that standing up for Jesus would get him thrown out of the temple – ostracized by the whole society.  But he did it anyway. 

His parents were scared.  This is how his parents handled being asked…
19 “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”
20 “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
But the healed man had received more than his site – he knew Jesus was the Savior so he didn’t back down…
24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”
25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
And this was the result…
34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.
I cheer that man and hope to meet his in Heaven some day