Hit the Trail on  

Saddle Ridge Ranch

Vacation Bible School

The adventure begins:

Monday – Friday, August 16 – 20, 2010

6:30-8:30pm

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5

We’ll be roundin’ up some of life’s biggest questions and drivin’ home answers as we explore the wide open spaces on Saddle Ridge Ranch.  Join us as we discover who we are, that God cares about us, God has a plan for us, how we can be like Jesus, and what do we do with all we’ve learned.

In this one-week adventure we will drive home answers through Bible stories, crafts, motivating music, and games.

Creekside Community Church

114 Shamrock Drive

Arlington MN 55307

www.creekside-church.com

www.creeksidecc@frontiernet.net

For kids age 3 through entering grade 6.

For more information, call:

Church Office 507-964-2872

This spring a mother robin built a nest on the railing of our front porch. Within two days, three little blue eggs appeared and less than two weeks after that, three tiny baby birds pecked their way out of the shells. 

They were hungry little beggars from the very first day. Whenever our front door opened, three little beaks opened wide as they stretched their little necks and screamed for food.

Although my girls were usually really good at not touching them, one day, four-year-old Hannah and her friend could not let them go hungry another minute. They fed dandelion stems to the baby birds. When I came out and found the birds chocking, I pulled the weeds out of their mouths.  Unfortunately, one of the babies did not survive.  The next day, only two birds were in the nest. They grew, and, about two weeks after hatching, flew away. 

Mark 10:13-16 tells the account of Jesus inviting young children to come to him after his disciples have tried to send them away.  Jesus told his disciples that the kingdom of God belong to “such as these”. 

Developing a child-like faith can be a challenge, partly because adults have forgotten what this kind of faith is like and partly because it is so blindly trusting.  The baby birds on my front porch were desperate to be fed and attended to. What a picture of how we should desire Christ. When is the last time you were desperate for God?

Children do not have reservations the way adults do when it comes to expressing themselves and asking for what they need. Being fully dependant doesn’t fill them with fear.  God wants us to feel that way about him.

The danger of this kind of faith is that there is no filter.  As adults we must learn to discern good teaching from false teaching. We also have the responsibility to watch out for our little ones and keep them from being filled with dandelion stems.

As we prepare for this year’s VBS we have the incredible opportunity to feed a church full of hungry little birds.  Let’s make sure the menu is full of truth that will stick with them long after they leave our building.  And as we watch these children soak up God’s truth, remember that their childlike faith is a lesson to you as well.

-Andrea Nell

The month of May was Missions month at all of the Alliance Churches throughout the world. One of the foundational values of the Christian and Missionary Alliance is to train, send and support missionaries as commanded in Mathew 28:18-20. 

As part of Missions Month, Creekside had the immense privilege of hosting retired missionary Lillian Phillips on May 31. Lillian and her husband Richard served as missionaries for 17 years in Vietnam before being taken captive and held in a prison camp for eight months by North Vietnamese soldiers during the Vietnam War. After being released, they served 19 years in Burkina Faso.

Missionary life is not easy. That is no secret. Many missionaries live without the comforts that most Americans are accustomed to. But the Phillips endured challenges and heartbreaks, that even seasoned missionaries have not encountered. Narrowly escaping death, losing dear friends and coworkers, spending eight months in a North Vietnamese prison camp as a prisoner of war, and losing everything they owned (not once, but twice) were some of the greatest challenges the Phillips faced in their 26 years as missionaries.

Lillian was a missionary nurse and Richard was a translator who worked with two jungle tribes to translate the Bible into their native languages. In 1962 the first tragedy befell the group of missionaries in Vietnam when Archie Miller and Dr. Vietti were captured by Communist soldiers. They were never seen or heard from again.

1968 brought another tragedy. While Dick and Lillian were out working on a special project, the compound that was their home and base of operations was attacked and six of their friends and fellow missionaries were killed. They were never allowed to go back, and in addition to the loss of their friends, they lost everything they owned.  Although Vietnam had not been an easy place, they stayed to carry on the work their group had started. 

In 1975, the Phillips were captured by the North Vietnamese soldiers. After hiding out for two days, as they were brought out onto the street, they did not know what was going to happen to them. Many had been brought out to the street and shot. It was nothing short of a miracle when their lives were spared and they were ordered to get into a car. Over the next eight months they were held in five different prison camps, three of which were deep in the jungles of Vietnam.

In one of the camps there was a shelter of bamboo poles holding up a thatched roof that was about 12×18 feet for all 12 of the prisoners with them.  It was open to the elements and the natural inhabitants, including snakes and scorpions.

Twice a day their small bowls were filled with rice. Occasionally they were given a little broth or spam with their rice.  One of the worst parts of prison camp was the daily interrogations. Lillian said she never got used to being questioned. The hardest time was at night when they went to bed. Lillian would think of her children. When they were captured the Phillips’ four children were ages 6, 9, 11 and 13. They were away at boarding school when their parents were captured. Richard and Lillian had no way of communicating that they were alive. Lillian would wonder where her children were and what they were going through. In the quiet of the night, where Lillian struggled most, Richard whispered scripture to her and it would give her the strength to carry on.

By day, Lillian often spent her free time catching butterflies for her children with a makeshift net made from a plastic bag and a bamboo handle. She caught 35 different varieties of butterflies during her time in the camps. One day, after eight long months, a bus came to the camp and took them to the airport. They had been released. Through all of the tragedy and challenges the Phillips faced, God showed his faithfulness.  “We will never know why God allows some things to happen the way they do. We can only celebrate what He is doing. This is God’s world. It’s God’s plan. We are just workers in His plan,” Lillian Phillips said.

North Vietnam was a closed country that did not allow missionaries. Yet the North Vietnamese captured missionaries and paid for travel, food, and accommodations to get them to North Vietnam.  Then they made the missionaries say why they came to Vietnam.  Prisoners and soldiers heard the message, because the Phillips would respond by telling them that they came to share the Gospel. God brought His message to a closed country through prisoners who were not ashamed to profess their God, even under intense interrogation in a Communist prison camp in the middle of the jungle!   

Matthew 28:18-20 issues the command to go into all nations, but it also offers a promise, “Surely, I am with you always.”  The Phillips’ modeled a life of

Matthew 28:18-20.                                                                                                                                    -Andrea Nell 

SAVE THE DATE

July 17-18:   Men’s Retreat at Danielson’s Cabin in Darwin – Fishing! Boating!  BBQ!

Contact Pastor Ben to sign up! 

Aug. 10-14:  Vacation Bible School– 6:30-8:30pm   

“Studio GO! Game Show”  

 Kids will see how God works in the lives of everyone who trusts Him. And through it all, kids will discover that with Jesus everyone wins! 

You won’t want to miss this!

WEEKLY ACTIVITIES  

WORSHIP—Sundays 10:30 a.m. – Staffed nursery available for 0-3 yrs.

MEN’S STUDY—Book of 2nd John – Thursdays 6:30 p.m. at Dave Gustafson’s

WOMEN’S PRAYER – Thursdays 6:30 p.m. at Creekside

 Please call Creekside at 507-964-2872 if you have questions or are interested in a couples or ladies small group.

Mission & Vision

Creekside’s Mission

Creekside Community Church exists to GO into our world, to MAKE disciples, and to TEACH the saving power of Christ, to encourage with the hope of the cross, and to grow in faith and maturity as God’s Word guides.

Creekside’s Vision

To impact the Kingdom of God by sharing the life-changing love, grace and mercy of Jesus Christ in a real, relevant, and relational manner.

Go.  Make.  Teach.

 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 everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Matthew 28:19-20

Wedding Ring
On August 7, 1999 I made a commitment to love honor and cherish my husband, for better or worse, till death parts us. We stood on the platform in the Crown College Chapel, fractured light in a rainbow of colors filtered down on us through the impressive stained glass that characterizes the chapel. We were surrounded by friends, family and hundreds of flowers and bows. I wore a gown that made me feel like a princess and a crown of pearls encircled my curls.

When my grandfather, Paul Wood invited Dave to place the ring on my finger, Dave reached for my gloved hand and tried to pull the ring finger of the glove so my finger could slip out of the slit we had cut. Only he had the wrong hand. He battled the glove, trying to release my finger as I whispered through my smile, “Wrong hand …. That’s the wrong hand.” By the time he got the message, both of my long white gloves were uncomfortably misplaced, but the vows were said and the rings were in place.

In the end it wasn’t the flowers, the dress, the stained glass or the 350 guests that mattered. The commitment we made, and the rings we exchanged are the enduring elements of that wonderful day.

Almost two years ago, the diamond in my wedding ring came loose. I took the ring off and put it in a bag in my purse so I would not loose the gem before I could make it to the jeweler who was to repair it. Somewhere between putting the ring in my purse at home and arriving at the jeweler to have it repaired, the ring was lost. I don’t know if it fell out of my purse or was stolen, but one way or another, my ring is gone. I have never found it.

Thankfully, Dave and I are not married because we wear rings. We are married because we said vows of commitment not only to each other, but before God and 350 witnesses. My precious ring was a symbol of that commitment. It was the way I showed the rest of the world that I had promised my life to someone. I have a new ring now that accomplishes that purpose and no matter what the ring looks like, my commitment has not changed.

Easter Sunday was a special day at Creekside. Not only was it the day we remembered Christ’s triumph over sin and death, it also marked the baptism of five believers.

In a way, a baptism ceremony is a bit like a wedding ceremony. It is the day that a person publically professes and makes a commitment to follow Christ. It is not necessarily the day they decided to follow Christ. That day could be considered the acceptance of Christ’s proposal.

The day Christ rose from the dead was the day God made a way for us to be with Him forever. Isiah, Jeremiah and even Jesus himself refers to the body of believers as the pure bride of God. (Is. 62:5; Jer. 2:2; Jn. 3:29) But before we can become the bride of Christ, we must accept his proposal.

John 3:16-17 may be a familiar passage, but that does not diminish its meaning. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For Christ was not sent into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” Condemnation and death is the fate we deserve because we have sinned against God, but God created us and He loves us so much that he was willing to sacrifice his only son so that you could spend eternity with Him.

On Easter Sunday, each of the believers being baptized gave a testimony telling of their spiritual journey and their commitment to Christ. Each of them accepted Christ’s proposal because they were captured by the power of God’s love. Committing their lives to serve God until the day they are delivered to their eternal home in heaven is a direct response to Christ’s proposal. Baptism is a public profession of the faith and repentance that took place at their acceptance of His proposal.

Christ’s sacrifice was the ultimate display of love and his resurrection was the ultimate display of power. All of it was for you. Christ’s proposal is for you. He is whispering to your soul, “I love you and I want you to spend your life with me. I want you to trust me and love me and I want to guide you and provide for you.” He already died for you. Now you have the chance to live for Him. Please contact Pastor Ben Lane if you need more information about having a personal relationship with Christ or about baptism.                                                                                                             -Andrea Nell

Mission & Vision

Come as you are… Leave Transformed!

Creekside’s Mission
Creekside Community Church exists to GO into our world, to MAKE disciples, and to TEACH the saving power of Christ, to encourage with the hope of the cross, and to grow in faith and maturity as God’s Word guides.

Creekside’s Vision
To impact the Kingdom of God by sharing the life-changing love, grace and mercy of Jesus Christ in a real, relevant, and relational manner.

Go. Make. Teach.
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 everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to thevery end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20

PLEASE JOIN US
Sun., May 3: 10:30 a.m. AWANA Award Sunday

PLEASE NOTE
The Ladies Tea scheduled for May 2 has been postponed until further notice.
Creekside’s VBS will be held the week of August 2-6 this year.
Watch the Creekside Gazette for the latest information on these exciting events!

WEEKLY ACTIVITIES
WORSHIP—Sundays 10:30 a.m. Staffed nursery available for 0-3 yrs.
SUNDAY SCHOOL—AWANA Will resume in fall.
MEN’S STUDY—Book of 1st Peter Thursdays 6:30 p.m. at Dave G’s

Please call Creekside at 507-964-2872 if you have questions or are interested in a couples or ladies small group.

Have you ever felt worthless? I sure have. Part of growing in Christ is finding out who you are in Christ. A particular story has presented itself before me several times in the past months, prompting me to explore the implications it has on our lives today.

Matthew Chapter 16:13b-18 states “[Jesus] was asking the disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him. “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it”.

When Jesus first addressed Simon, he referred to him as Simon Barjona. Bar means “son of”, so Jesus was defining who Simon knew himself to be Simon, son of Jona. Simon’s display of faith prompted Jesus to define who he was through God’s eyes, even to the point of renaming him. Peter, or Petros in the Greek, is the name Jesus bestowed upon Simon. Jesus continues to say that God will build his church on this rock. I have many times heard that Peter or Petros means rock, but Petros in the Greek actually means a piece of a bigger rock. Continuing to evaluate the passage, when Jesus said that he would build His church on this rock, the word used in the Greek is Petra which means; boulder.

According to the Greek, Peter is being called a piece of the Big Rock (Petra). One of the many names for God in the scriptures is “Rock of Ages”. In this passage, Petra is referring to God. Jesus began his address by referring to Peter as the son of Jona and ended it by naming him a part of God’s rock.

In recent weeks, Pastor Ben Lane has been guiding Creekside parishioners through a series that explores what scripture says about who we are in Christ. In his message a few weeks ago, he shared the following incite. God is the big rock, but He is not just any rock. He is the Rock of Ages. He is the forever rock. He is the strongest, most beautiful and most valuable rock.

Please take a look at this photo:

Now to some, this picture may mean nothing – it’s just a picture of a sparkly rock. To others, this rock may even get overlooked or deemed as worthless. However, this seemingly benign rock was discovered in 1970 and still to this day, it is one of the largest diamonds ever found, weighing in at an astonishing 620 karats. Now, as cool as this is and as valuable as this diamond is in its raw condition; its true worth is not actually revealed until this diamond is cut, shaped, sanded and refined – giving us a finished stone that looks like the photo below.

When a person does pretty much the exact same thing over and over again for a very long time, soon what that person does, becomes natural and instinctive.  Meaning, they do things without really thinking about them or thinking through what they’re doing.  I believe the same also applies to a large body or group of people.  Meaning, when a body or group of people do the exact same thing for a very long time, they end up getting the same results as an individual. 

These behaviors both individually and collectively in themselves are not bad; that is, unless they interfere or replace Christ and Biblical realities.  Thus, when we as individuals, or as a body, start to manage our expectations based on what we think and feel, rather than, on what we know as God’s truth, then essentially we replace God’s realities and expectations with our own.  In truth, when expectations are managed by feelings and personal intellect, we have reduced Christ from LORD and SAVIOR to merely a “911″ God in of a God who we can have a daily, personal relationship with. 

Now, both the Old and New Testaments are filled with examples of this and over the course of my next several postings I will highlight some of these examples.  For now, I would merely like to draw your attention to John 3:17 (NIV) which simple states: Jesus did not come to condemn the world but rather, to save it.  Simply put: Jesus came to save you and I.  As simple as this sounds, during Jesus’ time (and still today) many struggle with this truth because they have different expectations.   Expectations that said, Jesus was supposed to judge rather than save.  Hence, they fell into the trap of relying on what they felt and thought, rather than the truth.  In turn, they fell into the trap that said their reality and expectations were more important than God’s.  This then only left one conclusion, the rejection of Jesus all together.

So, what are your expectations of Jesus and what are you basing them on?  More importantly, have you rejected Christ because of your thought habits and feelings?  Friends, may you know that God loves you and He sent His Son not to judge you but so He could be with you forever.

True Love
Love has become a token word in today’s society. It’s the subject of songs, books, poems, movies, even advertisements. We say we love our coffee, our favorite TV show and our friend’s newest haircut. Sometimes people use love as a tool for manipulation, saying “if you loved me, you would …” People fall in love during a romantic relationship, but as soon as a breakup occurs, the love seems to evaporate. This version of love that has become an icon in popular culture is about how it makes you feel and how it benefits you. This view is deeply flawed and unsubstantiated according to the Bible.

A quick look at a few of the things the Bible says about love may help us better understand what true love is. In I John 4:8 The Bible tells us that “God is love.” Song of Solomon 8:6 states, “Love is as strong as death.” In I Corinthians 13 Paul describes love as “the most excellent way” ending his comments with this statement, “And now these three remain, faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” John 15:13 states, “True love knows no one but this, that he lay down his life for his friend.” In Luke 10:27 Jesus named these as God’s greatest commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength,” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” In Ephesians 5:25 Husbands are instructed to love their wives as Christ loved the church. We are even told in Matthew 5:44 to love our enemies. These are only a small fraction of the times when the Bible mentions love.

If God is love, then it is impossible to know true love without knowing God. John explains this concept in I John 4:7, “Love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” True love requires your heart, soul, mind and strength. True love is worth dying for, thus also worth living for. True love is powerful. True love is not a fickle emotion. It is not dependant on performance or merit. It is entirely unselfish. In other words, its not about us. It’s a choice, not a feeling. The Bible describes Agape—True, everlasting, unconditional, selfless love. It’s a lifestyle that can only be achieved through an intimate personal relationship with God through Christ. If God is love, then we love by projecting Him within us. Only then can we love as Christ loved. Only then can we love our neighbors and our enemies. Only then can we truly love God. Only then is love as strong as death.
-Andrea Nell

WEEKLY ACTIVITIES
WORSHIP Sundays 10:30 a.m. Staffed nursery available for 0-3 yrs.
SUNDAY SCHOOL – AWANA Sundays 9:30 a.m.
MEN’S STUDY – Book of James Thursdays 6:30 p.m. at Dave G’s
WOMEN’S STUDY – Believing God by Beth Moore Thursdays 6:30 p.m. Beginning Feb. 19

PLEASE JOIN US
Saturday, Feb. 14: 9:30 a.m. Open Heart, Open Arms Women’s Brunch – Tickets $10.00
Thursday, Feb. 19: 6:30 p.m. New Women’s Study will begin. Call or email us for more details.
Fri.-Sun. Feb. 27-Mar. 1: Alliance Men’s Retreat at Big Sandy Camp

Mission & Vision
Creekside’s Mission: Creekside Community Church exists to GO into our world, to MAKE disciples, and to TEACH the saving power of Christ, to encourage with the hope of the cross, and to grow in faith and maturity as God’s Word guides.
Creekside’s Vision: To impact the Kingdom of God by sharing the life-changing love, grace and mercy of Jesus Christ in a real, relevant, and relational manner.
Go. Make. Teach. – 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 everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20

Please call Creekside at 507-964-2872 if you have questions or are interested in a small group.

Why? Because early believers often referred to themselves as believers or followers in the “Way” as a means of spiritual identification. And in doing so, they openly admitted that they were followers on a journey, instead of someone who has arrived.

To some, this is a trivial matter, but I believe there is a great lesson here and that is – do you want to be known by a title that you’ve never earned or do you want to be recognized by the “Way” Christ Jesus demonstrates Himself in your life? Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth and the life…” (John 14:6 NIV) and if Jesus is the “Way”, then all other “ways” are flawed. We need to follow Jesus’ leading, rather than be something that we can’t easily identify.

Here’s my point: maybe… just maybe it’s more important to know and to follow the “Way” rather than, to be or hold a title that we’ve never earned. Friends, our spiritual freedom doesn’t come from a title or man-made standards that we’ll never live up to. Instead, it comes from Jesus, who is the “Way”, the “Truth”, and the “Life” and it comes from choosing to follow Him.

Watch the clip below and let me know what you believe when it comes to being Christian vs. Christ Follower.

Check out 1 Samuel 17 to see for yourself and add your comments.