Bible Bee

Bible Bee coming soon!

"Governed by a biblical worldview…" is how the Community Issues Committee begins its mission statement.

All too often, the Church tends to fall short of the role our Creator intends for us because we simply haven't invested enough time in His Word.  As a result, we do not have a sufficiently clear biblical worldview from which to direct our leadership, guide our purposes, and conduct our lives.

As adults, we have some catching up to do.  Westside has received commitments from hundreds of members to read thru the Bible in 2009… what a blessing.

For our children, we'd like to make everyone aware of a new and exciting way to advance their learning of the Bible this year – it is the "National Bible Bee" competition.

This competition is happening nationwide but there is a Local Bible Bee Contest happening September 12^th to qualify for the national competition on November 5^th-6^th.

To enter the contest, you must enroll your child by the registration deadline of APRIL 30^th.

To enroll in the course or to find out how to help with the Local Bible Bee Contest in Gainesville, contact Steve Westbrooks at (385) 559-3173 or biblebeegainesvillefl@yahoo.com.

You'll need to receive a code from him to enter on the www.biblebee.org website which just informs the National Bible Bee folks that the contestant has been approved for the local contest by the local representative.

Just imagine the lifelong benefits to your children of truly studying the bible this summer instead of watching a few more hours of tv each week. Steve's hoping to have 120 contestants in the local contest… let's show him he should have aimed even higher! 

 Stan Higginbotham

 

Point of View

Point of View

In thinking back on the Amendment One campaign it struck me how the same words can mean something entirely different to different people depending on your point of view.  Case in point:  the word discrimination. The anti-amendment forces used the word like a club, conjuring up images of people being driven from their homes and losing their jobs due to their sexual orientation. Their goal is to eliminate discrimination.

Yet, as Christians, we are called to constantly discriminate between right and wrong, good and evil. In Isaiah 5:20 it says "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil".   The Bible is the standard of truth that we use to discern what is right and wrong. The Gender Identity ordinance is clearly wrong on many levels and it is our duty as "discriminating" Christians to oppose it.

That brings us to another heavily coded word - tolerance. As Pastor Gary said recently - "We will have what we will tolerate".  He didn't mean that in a positive way. The Old Testament Jews tried to tolerate the pagan nations that inhabited the Promised Land instead of driving them out as God commanded, and incurred God's wrath as a result. The secular humanist worldview that pervades Gainesville today would also like us to tolerate everyone and everything. If we do, the results will be the same.

Have you ever stopped to think that, if you really believe Jesus' words "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, and no one comes to the Father, except through Me" (Jn 14:6) - tolerance is just a way for Satan to reap a huge harvest of souls.  If he can just get us to "live and let live",  don't rock the boat, and keep the gospel to ourselves;  fewer people will be won for Christ.  That's always Satan's plan. 

Jesus never tolerated sin, but He did tolerate sinners, with the goal of bringing them to repentance. We can all thank God for that, and follow His example.

The reason I am continuing to harp on this subject is the battle is not over.  The Alachua county Equal Opportunity Commission is also considering a Gender Identity ordinace, and will discuss the status of their work during their next meeting on April 15. You can rest assured that I and the other members of Citizens for Good Public Policy will be watching closely. 

We should also be watching closely the end of the Florida Legislative session. There are many bad bills under consideration each year. Thankfully, most do not get passed, but sometimes its necessary to contact your local representative or Senator to make your voice heard.

An excellent organization is the Florida Family Research Council - http://www.flfamily.org/index.php - which is affiliated with Dr. James Dobson's Focus on the Family organization. Go to their website and click on Legislative Updates, and you will get a good picture of what is happening in Tallahassee at this critical time of year.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."    Edmund Burke