The South Gibson Star-Times serves the towns of Haubstadt, Owensville and Fort Branch.
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B-10 Tuesday, April 12, 2022 South Gibson Star-Times Palm Sunday is here Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the young donkey. In the crowd that day were opponents of Jesus who were alarmed over the shouts of "Hosan- na! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel! " John 12:13. These antagonists were those of whom Jesus said would reject him. This is a reminder to all Christians that Jesus said, "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me be- fore it hated you." John 15:18. Their demand upon Christ? "And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples." Luke 19:39. Jesus was about to get canceled. We are living in a time of unparal- leled social upheaval and change. If you are a Christian or someone who has a moral compass, this change is not for the good. Inflation is soaring along with the cost of food and gas. NATO, which includes the U.S., is at war with Russia. People's confidence in our government and the press are at record lows. The press, along with government talking-heads, insist everything is good when we know things are bad. Soviet dissident Alexander Solz- henitsyn saw this same propaganda in the former Soviet Union. He said, "We know they are lying. They know they are lying. They know that we know they are lying. We know that they know we know they are lying. And still they continue to lie." If this is a charade, then what's be- hind it? In his Mount Olivet discourse (Mt 24, Mark 13, Luke 21). Jesus said cat- aclysmic changes were coming along with deception on a scale humanity has never experienced. The prophet Daniel was told, "And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time." Da 12:1. Are we there yet? When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, it was "the day of reckoning." Hundreds of years be- fore Christ, the prophet Zechariah predicted this day. This was the day the Messiah would show himself at his temple. And what did Jesus hear? Over the noise of an adoring crowd, the religious rulers demanded Jesus quiet his disciples. Jesus' reply was he couldn't: "He answered, I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out." Luke 19: 40. What was Jesus' reaction to this day? "And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes." Luke 19:41-42. His rejection meant big trouble was coming. The cancel culture crowd intends to stifle any discussion that doesn't agree with their agenda. They are rewriting history with their assault on all historical figures they label as racist, too religious, homophobic, and overly white. This crowd believes they can whitewash the past and create a new reality. Jesus warned the people their cancelling of him would lead to BUCKSKIN ST. JOHN'S CHURCH OF BUCKSKIN 8260 E. 900 S., Buckskin Sunday school 9 a.m.; Worship ser- vice 10 :15 a.m. CYNTHIANA FIRST UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST Corner of North and Walnut Sunday worship service 9 a.m. FAIR HAVEN CHRIST FELLOWSHIP Church Street, Cynthiana Mike Douglas, Pastor Phone: 812-724-4735 Sunday morning worship 10 a.m.; Wednesday evening 7 p.m. FORT BRANCH BETHLEHEM GENER AL BAPTIST CHURCH 3208 W 525 S, Fort Branch (CR 325 W off of Hwy. 168) Steve Wilson, Pastor Bible study 9 a.m. Sunday worship 10 a.m. FIRST CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE 601 S. Lincoln, Fort Branch Pastor Bryan Holzappel Sunday school 9:30 a.m. Morning worship 10 :30 a.m. FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 212 West Locust, Fort Branch Pastor Corey Atkins Phone: 812-753-4623 Sunday school 9 a.m.; Worship ser- vice 10 a.m. (Communion first Sun- day); Second Cup of Coffee (ladies' group) all ladies welcome, second Wednesday, 9 a.m. FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF FORT BR ANCH 100 W. Vine St., Fort Branch Rev. John Baylor, Jr., Pastor 812-753-4424 Sunday School 9:30 a.m.; Sunday Worship 10 :30 a.m., nursery pro- vided for preschool age and under. Youth Groups for grades 4-12 meet at 6 p.m. on Sunday evenings, Sept. through May. Details on the church website www.fbfirst.org. HOLY CROSS CATHOLIC CHURCH 200 S. Church St., Fort Branch Fr. Christopher Droste, Pastor Fr. Kenneth Betz and Fr. Luke Hassler, Associate Pastors Joe Siewers and William Brandle, Deacons Saturday Mass 4:30 p.m.; Sunday Mass 8:30 a.m. PROVIDENCE PRIMITIVE BAPTIST CHURCH CR 550 S., NE of Fort Branch Mitch Breidenbaugh, Pastor Sunday school for children and adults at 10 :30 a.m.; worship 11 a.m.; For information, call 812-753-3386. ST. LUCAS UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST 6777 S. 350 East, Fort Branch Pastor John Heumann Sunday school 9:30 a.m.; Sunday worship 10 :30 a.m. ST. BERNARD CATHOLIC CHURCH SNAKE RUN 5342 E. SR 168 (East of Fort Branch) 812-753-4568 Fr. Gary Kaiser, Pastor Sunday Mass 8:30 a.m. ST. PAUL'S UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST 4222 E. SR 168, Fort Branch Pastor John Heumann Sunday worship 9 a.m.; Sunday school 10 :15 a.m. VERTICAL CHURCH Coal Mine Rd., Fort Branch Rich Clark, Pastor Sunday morning worship services 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Vertical Kids chil- dren's ministry available during both services for children from birth to fifth grade. Ignite Ministry is 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays for students in sixth-eighth grades. WESLEYAN CHURCH 202 E. Vine St., Fort Branch Sunday school from 9:30 to 10 :30 a.m.; Sunday worship, 10 :30 a.m.; Sunday evening worship 6:30 p.m.; Wednesday evening adult Bible study, 6:30 p.m., GIG (Growing in God) Club for ages 5 to 11 (available while school is in session), Teen Group for ages 12 and up. For more information call the church at 812- 677-5007. HAUBSTADT NEW LIBERTY CHRISTIAN CHURCH Hwy. 68 between Cynthiana and Haubstadt Gordon Jones, Pastor Services Sunday 10 :30 a.m. NEW LIFE HOUSE OF PR AYER 208 West Street, Haubstadt Adam and Lindsay Ping Phone: 812-215 -9003 Sunday morning service 10 a.m.; Children's Sunday school during ser- vice; Food Pantry open first and third Wednesdays of the month from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Everyone welcome! IMMANUEL LUTHER AN CHURCH (LCMS) 1-1/2 miles south of I-64 and U.S. 41, Volkman Rd. Rev. Kirk Horstmeyer Saturday evening services 5:30 p.m.; Sunday worship services 8 a.m. and 10 :15 a.m.; Sunday school 9:10 a.m. ST. JAMES CATHOLIC CHURCH Old Princeton Rd., Haubstadt Fr. Christopher Droste, Pastor Fr. Kenneth Betz and Fr. Luke Hassler, Associate Pastors Joe Siewers and William Brandle, Deacons Saturday Mass 5 p.m.; Sunday Masses 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. STS. PETER AND PAUL CATHOLIC CHURCH 201 Vine St., Haubstadt Fr. Christopher Droste, Pastor Fr. Kenneth Betz and Fr. Luke Hassler, Associate Pastors Joe Siewers and William Brandle, Deacons Saturday Mass 5 p.m.; Sunday Masses 7 and 10 a.m. ZION UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST Second and Elm St., Elberfeld Rev. Paul Fraser Sunday school 9 a.m.; worship ser- vice 10 a.m. LYNNVILLE BARNET T CHAPEL Stanley Road, Lynnville Don Williams, Pastor reflections From the Page By Cleoramae G. Stunkel See CHURCH on page 11 South Gibson Church Services Readers who were in attendance at certain church camps during summers of certain decades proba- bly spent some of that time sitting around campfires singing "They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love." If you were one of those campers, then you may remember the prom- ise, made in the second stanza, that we would "guard each man's dignity." That has a definite "Sixties-and- since" vibe to it, does it not? How all the more interesting, then, to find in Moses' farewell sermon, as it is preserved in Deuteronomy, the following two passages: In the 24th chapter, we read, "When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not go in- to his house to fetch his pledge. You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you." In the chapter which follows, a rea- son for that sort of deference is stat- ed. If a guilty man " ... deserves to be beaten, the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten in his pres- ence with a number of stripes in pro- portion to his offence. Forty stripes may be given him, but not more; lest, if one should go on to beat him with more stripes than these, your broth- er be degraded in your sight." A command, some 33 centuries ago; at least an aspiration, in recent decades. But what shall we say of our pres- ent time? How much concern is gen- erally shown for maintaining the dig- nity of the other, for insuring that the brother or sister is not degraded? For no "better" reason than that the other is a fellow human be- ing, they are deserving of at least base-level respect. Even politicians — Thomas Jeffer- son as one instance — occasionally understood this. When he wrote the Declaration of Independence, Jeffer- son affirmed that it was self-evident that all are created equal, and fur- ther, that it is the Creator who has endowed them with certain inalien- able rights. Among those rights, Jefferson listed "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." The ensuring of life and liberty for all is very much the task of civic gov- ernance. It is not for nothing that one of the prime titles for rulers in Biblical times was "shepherd." The most fa- miliar Psalm, written by David, who was shepherd before he was king, references two tasks necessary for the welfare of the flock: there must be made available both sustance and protection — in this case, protection from lion and bear. There needs to be in place, then, an economic system that will pro- vide opportunity for all to secure the material needs of life. That we may have the liberty, the security, to en- joy those things, protection, in the form of military and police forces, is maintained. But notice, that Jefferson listed "life and liberty" as among the in- alienable rights. He must not, there- fore, have considered his enumera- tion exhaustive. So what else is it that we need, if our pursuit of happiness is not to be impeded? Perhaps, freedom from the sort of incivilities that have become so common in present public discourse, things such as contempt, derision, in- solence, contumely, disdain, spiteful- ness, snide commentary, and gener- alized snark. Directing those sorts of things to- ward others certainly has nothing to do with guarding the dignity of the neighbor. It may be that we see no reason The wonder of God Insight By Dave Ingler "…In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the wa- ter, and they obey him." (Luke 8:25) Wherever Jesus went, those who experienced His presence and pow- er could only respond with awe and wonder as they witnessed the mir- acles of God in their midst. Those who were anxiously waiting for God's prophet now saw the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers cleansed, the deaf hear and the dead rise. What astonishment must have raced through their minds as they tried to piece together the prophe- cies that they had heard and the un- explainable events they were now witnessing. Could it be that this Je- sus was indeed the Anointed One— the Christ, the Messiah? Were they really in the presence of the prom- ised One who would be a Priest greater than Melchizedek, a Proph- et greater than Moses and a King greater than David? Had God's deliv- erer finally arrived? Were the words of the Prophet Isaiah fulfilled before their very eyes? "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the gov- ernment will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsel- Points to Ponder By Curtis Bond See POINTS on page 11 See REFLECTIONS on page 11 See INSIGHT on page 11 See MINUTES on page 11 Two Minutes With the Bible By Pastor Ricky Kurth The intent of the Ten "Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith un- feigned" (I Timothy 1:5). "The commandment" here is a ref- erence to the ten commandments, commandments which God sees as one ( James 2:10,11). The "end" of the commandment refers to the goal or intent of the ten commandments. We use the word "end" that way when we ask, "To what end are you doing what you are doing? " God's goal in giving the ten commandments was chari- ty, a Bible word for love. God's goal in giving the commandments was to get men to love God and their neigh- bor. If you love God, you won't take His name in vain, and if you love your neighbor, you certainly won't bear false witness to him or steal his stuff! But the intent of the ten command- ments wasn't just to get people to love God and their neighbor. It was to get them to love "out of a pure heart," and the only people who have a pure heart are saved people (Psalms 24:3,4). That's why the Lord said, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). So God's goal in giving the ten commandments was to get everyone saved and obey- ing them out of a pure (saved) heart. Now don't get me wrong, God ap- proves when unsaved people obey His commandments. We know this because that's what will happen in the millennial kingdom! The king- dom will begin with the deaths of all of earth's unbelievers at the battle of Armageddon. No one but the pure in heart will enter the kingdom that Christ will then establish on earth. But the saved people who enter the kingdom will then bear children who must themselves choose to be saved. And the majority of children in Upcoming Events Mackey Church of the Nazarene Easter play April 15-17 Mackey Church of the Naza- rene will present "God's Master- piece: A portrait of the life that changed humanity" at 6:30 p.m. CDT on Friday, April 15; and 6 p.m. CDT on Saturday, April 16 and Sunday, April 17. All are welcomed to this free event at 9612 E. Main Street, Mackey. For more information, visit mackeynaz.org.