The South Gibson Star-Times serves the towns of Haubstadt, Owensville and Fort Branch.
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1477591
CHURCH Joseph had gone through some quite rough patches in his life, and those, fairly recently. He had been thrown into a pit in the wilderness; lifted out of it, only to be sold to a group of Ishmaelites traveling in caravan from Gilead to Egypt; sold there as a slave (well, it could have been worse--he was made a house-slave, not put to work in the fields, or in one of Pharaoh's brick manufacturing facilities); got into trouble with management at that lo- cation; and ended up in prison; but so successfully networked in that loca- tion that he received a recommenda- tion to work at the royal court. That was the break which brought him forth to a quite spacious place. Now, he has been set over all the land of Egypt, and over its ruler's house. Now, he is the crack admin- istrator charged with making prepa- rations against the approaching fam- ine. Not only has Joseph acquired meaningful work, the compensation for that job wasn't bad, either. Now, he is clothed in garments of fine linen and wears a gold chain about his neck. Now, his transport is the second-best chariot from Pha- raoh's carriage-house, and folk on the waysides are called upon to bow the knee as he passes by. More: he has been given as wife the daughter of the priest of On, one Asenath, and their union has been blessed with two sons. Joseph's fam- ily, we recall, was given to bestowing upon their sons names which carried meaning. So Joseph named his sec- ond son "Ephraim," explaining, "God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction." With all that Joseph had going for him at that time, what is all this about "land of my affliction"? At that point, what had he to feel afflicted about? Or perhaps that was intended as a reference in the past tense. This idea of "affliction" and the idea of "fruitfulness" were the two concepts that Joseph chose to me- morialize in the name that he gave to his second born son. Now, as we read the Scriptures, we learn of many prophets, apostles, and martyrs who were not having a particularly pleasant time of it. They were definitely under afflic- tion, but the meaningfulness of their work, the fact that they could be fruitful in the midst of all this afflic- tion, made it all worth while. Which brings us to the persons of our own day who are joining in what is being called the "Great Res- ignation," or those who are simply becoming "Quiet Quitters." These folks seem to feel them- selves as afflicted as Joseph pro- claimed himself to be. Those persons joining in the "Great Resignation" seem to have arrived at the conclusion that their present situations will never provide enough in the way of wages, satisfac- tor y working conditions, or opportu- nities for advancement to make that organization worthy of any loyalty on their parts. So off they go--and good luck to them--in hopes of securing better positions. The "Quiet Quitters," on the oth- er hand, aren't going anywhere. Day after day, they punch in at the same old stand, there to do no more than what they feel they are being paid for. They will exhibit neither inter- est, nor enthusiasm, nor initiative, but rather, will perform just well enough to ensure that at the end of the pay-period, there will be put into their hand a check large enough to provide them with bread, thread, and a roof overhead. Well, what does the worker de- ser ve, for all his toil under the sun? In a perfect world, there would be opportunities to well-steward one's God-given gifts, and to nudge the world along at least a bit toward a better existence for ever yone on it. In the quite-imperfect world in which we actually live, I suspect that at least the majority of jobs fail to pro- vide such opportunities. The next necessity, therefore, might be to untangle our identities from whatever job we might hold. While being a brain surgeon prob- ably does more good in the world than being, say, an office-worker in a soda-pop bottling plant, no job de- ser ves to subsume a person's entire identity. We have our vocations within our families and as citizens within our communities and the larger world. Thus, however limited and afflict- ed we may feel in our employment, there are still many quarters avail- able within which we may achieve fruitfulness. We are at war Satan is at war with the church and the saints. This is not recent news. The prophet Daniel and John in Rev- elation declares this as fact. Unfor- tunately, there are many Christians who do not believe there is a devil or Satan. They scoff at the mention of a devil and poke fun at such a medieval notion. For the rest of us who believe Satan exists, rough waters are ahead. Peter says the devil is our adversar y and walks about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. From what I can tell, he's having a smor- gasbord feast. The progressive culture is at war with the church and any Christian who espouses what they term as out- of-date old-fashioned views of scrip- ture and morality. They worship at the altar of modern pseudoscience. They proclaim science has irrefut- ably delivered humanity from the darkness of medieval superstitions about God and the devil. Sigmund Freud described God as an illusion. An infantile need. He said humanity has progressed to where religion can be abandoned in favor of science and reason. Science asserts males can be fe- males and females can be males. One can even have no sexual orientation or hundreds. Schools are allowing children to identify as animals. Kin- dergarten aged children are being asked what sex do you want to be? Young adults with confused gender identities are being encouraged to consider gender reassignment sur- ger y; and they give young children puberty blockers to preempt natural development. If this immoral conduct continues unabated, what comes next? There will be a next! The progressive left demands ev- er yone embrace their political, social, or religious dogmas or else. Progres- sives are using their coercive voice in the corporate workplace, schools, businesses, government, and the militar y to silence opposition. Par- ents are being arrested and hauled to jail for criticizing outrageous school policies in public meetings. People who dare challenge public officials over this progressive wave are being classified domestic terrorists. Recent polls show a good num- ber of employees say they are afraid to share their opinions at work lest they be fired. Federal and state law protects most employees against reli- gious discrimination or harassment. But schools, colleges, and other workplaces are firing first and mak- ing the former employee litigate for damages on the unemployment line. The gloves are off. If you hold outdated Christian beliefs, you are on notice. They are coming after you. A private Christian school in Flori- da is receiving death threats because they continue to uphold long-stand- ing Christian beliefs about sexual behavior and marriage. They have a long-held policy that says students do not partake in sexual behavior outside of marriage. School policy states students will only be identified by their biological sex. Any student found taking part in gay or transgen- der lifestyles will be asked to leave the school immediately. Progressive activists are outraged. Private schools may not digress from the current narrative. Students from Seattle Pacific Uni- South Gibson Church Services 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 ser vice 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 Br yan 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 Sunday); Second Cup of Coffee (la- dies' group) all ladies welcome, sec- ond 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., nurser y 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. Gary Kaiser Pastor Joe Siewers, Deacon 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. Chris Forler, 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 ser- vices 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Ver tical Kids children's ministr y available during both ser vices for children from bir th to fifth grade. Ignite Ministr y is 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednes- days 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 Prayer 208 West Street, Haubstadt Adam and Lindsay Ping Phone: 812-215-9003 Sunday morning ser vice 10 a.m.; Children's Sunday school during ser vice; Food Pantr y open first and third Wednesdays of the month from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Ever yone 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 ser vices 5:30 p.m.; Sunday worship ser vices 8 a.m. and 10:15 a.m.; Sunday school 9:10 a.m. ST. JAMES CATHOLIC CHURCH Old Princeton Rd., Haubstadt Fr. Andrew Thomas, Admistrator Fr. Kenneth Betz, Parochial Bicar William Brandle, Deacon 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. Andrew Thomas, Admistrator Fr. Kenneth Betz, Parochial Bicar William Brandle, Deacon 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 Points to Ponder By Curtis Bond Two Minutes With the Bible By Pastor Ricky Kurth Reflections From the Page By Cleoramae G. Stunkel Did Paul lose his ability to heal? "We say that Paul lost his ability to heal since he didn't heal anyone in his later ministr y. But is this a good proof? If he was in pris- on during his later ministr y, how could he have healed anyone?" Well, first of all, people in prison need healing just as much as other people! Sometimes even more so, due to the harsh conditions found in prisons in those days, and the "stripes" and other beatings that were often laid on Roman prison- ers (Acts 16:23; 18:17). But Paul was under a sor t of house arrest during his first impris- onment, as we see in Acts 28:30: "And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and re- ceived all that came in unto him." Under this house arrest type of incarceration, he was able to re- ceive "all that came in unto him." That would have af forded him plenty of oppor tunity to heal peo- ple if he still had that ability. And he seemed to be in the same kind of bonds during his second impris- onment, with people being able to visit him, and even stay with him (2 Tim. 4:9-13). We know he lost his power to heal during his first imprisonment, however, when he gave Timothy medical advice (1 Tim. 5:23) in- stead of sending him a blessed handkerchief as he'd done before (Acts 19:11,12). And during his sec- ond imprisonment, he mentioned having to leave a beloved co-work- er behind "sick" in between his two incarcerations (2 Tim. 4:20). Insight By Dave Ingler Making Disciples of Jesus "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey ever ything I have com- manded you." (Matthew 28:19-20) Is making disciples of Jesus Christ the priority of your life? If not, you may find that protecting your pride and the desire to be viewed as right is your utmost importance. By hav- ing these priorities reversed one may be right in their beliefs but destined for failure in their outreach to others. It does not take a lot of discern- ment to realize that many people are more interested in making disciples to their way of thinking rather than making disciples of Jesus. However, we must often make the confession that we find ourselves doing the same thing. B-4 Tuesday, August 30, 2022 South Gibson Star-Times See INSIGHT on page 5 See PONDER on page 5 See CHURCH on page 5