Whidbey Presbyterian Church

Fun on Fridays: Happy 4th of July

Help your children make some 4th of July crafts!

View the original Declaration of Independence!

Check out some fun flag facts!

Read about some fun facts about our Presidents!

Check out the history behind our patriotic songs!

Thoughtful Thursdays

Photo credit:  www.christianphotos.net

"The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying him forever."

~John Piper

VBS Day 5: God is UNFORGETTABLE!

And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
1 John 4:1

What a great week!  This week we learned:

*Gideon didn't need a huge army...God took care of him.
*Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego weren't alone in the hot furnace.
*Paul and Silas could escape from jail, but didn't until their work was done.
*Elijah heard God in a whisper, not in the wind, fire, and earthquake.
*Jesus was born to save us.

Every day we took an offering to the "Good News, Less Pain, in the Ukraine!"  Meaning that the money went to kids living in orphanages in the Ukraine.  They would get a Bible in their own language and vitamins to stay healthy.  Our grand total at the end of the week?  $310.63!  That means that we helped over 24 kids! 

You can click here to see what we did this week!

Thanks to all who volunteered this week!  Everyone had a great time!

VBS Day 4: God is UNPREDICTABLE!

Be still and know that I am God.
Psalm 46:10

Day 3: God is UNCONTAINABLE!

Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.

Acts 16:31

VBS Day 2: God is UNMATCHABLE!

How awesome is the LORD Most High,
       the great King over all the earth!

Psalm 47:2

VBS Day 1: God is UNDEFEATABLE!

It is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's.
1 Samuel 17:47

Today we learned about the story of Gideon and how his army defeated the Midianite army with God's help!

The kids are all having a blast!  Look for more pictures to be posted this week!

Wildwood Forest

Come join the adventure with us at the Wildwood Forest Vacation Bible School on June 22-26th from 9am to 12pm.  Wildwood Forest is an exciting and mysterious place of discovery.  Kids will learn about the incredible nature of God and his love for them.  These young adveturers will discover surprises at every corner as they discover God's character through stories, dramas, songs, games, bible memory, science experiments, and crafts!  Kids will learn more about our Creator and what it means to follow Christ.  Ages Pre-school-5th grade are welcome.  If you have any questions, please contact the church office at 679-3579.

Thoughtful Thursdays

Nobody seriously believes the universe was made by God without being persuaded that He takes care of His works."

John Calvin

Week 15. Acts 11:19-30: So that’s why we call it Barnabas...

Archive of past lessons from his series can be found here.

This is week 15 of our journey through The Acts of the Apostles. Click here to read Acts 11:19-30 & return here to read my thoughts and to post your own.

In our reading this week, Luke is urgent to show that the mission of Cornelius was not a one time exception - but a part of a worldwide movement of the Holy Spirit. 

The fanatical Sanhedrin in Jerusalem had driven themselves crazy by doing everything in their power to stomp out this fire that had began burning at Pentecost. Yet their opposition had done nothing but scattered the sparks. The fire is now burning as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. While it may seem ironic, the persecution of the church is what spread its witness.

The story now moves to Antioch - believed to be the third largest city in the world, following Rome and Alexandria. It would be considered a melting pot today. The confluence of East and West led to a unique blending of Greek and Eastern cultures. At this time, the city was already 5 centuries old and the headquarters of the Roman eastern legions. This cosmopolitan port and soldiers town was legendary for evil living.  The city was notorious for its lax sexual morals. But a new chapter in the city’s history was about to begin, for Antioch was about to become the metropolis of Gentile Christianity.

To this point, the Christians who had fled Jerusalem had restricted their evangelism to the Jewish communities of the various places they came. But in Antioch, some fired up Jesus lovers would take a huge step forward. If the gospel message was so good for Jews, would it also not be good for Gentiles? An Ethiopian eunuch might have become a Christian on the Gaza road, and a Roman centurion and his household might have believed the gospel in his Caesarean home as apostles unfolded it to them, but this scale of Gentile evangelization in Antioch was entirely new.

This new evangelism was met with instant success. The Gentiles took to the Christian message in large numbers. The leaders in Jerusalem recognized the novelty of this situation and they sent a delegate to Antioch. They choose their most gracious member, our old friend Barnabas. (The same guy from chapters 4 and 9.)

Barnabas most likely found Christ along with Stephen and Philip in the first apostolic evangelism. He is unselfish, large-hearted, and known as the “son of encouragement”. When he arrived, his generous spirit was filled with joy at what he found - the grace of God in action, bringing blessing to Jews & Gentiles alike. 

The saints in Antioch had begun well, what they needed was encouragement to persevere to carry on in their loyal service and obedience to Jesus. Barnabas did just that, and lived up to his name, giving all the encouragement he could to the missionaries and converts alike. The presence of a man of such high reputation, sterling  character, deep faith, and oozing with the Holy Spirit gave them the stimulus they needed to work even more vigorously. An the number of converts continued to increase rapidly.

While Barnabas was there, he began to realize he would need a colleague to assist in overseeing the ministry. Remember last week when we talked about needing more moments in the church when people say:

“Whoa, what just a minute, what in the world is going on here and why are we doing it?”

Imagine Barnabas: “You know who would be awesome at reaching the Gentiles? Saul. Yes, that Saul - the former Christ-follower killer/Jewish scholar/Pharisee.” 

Can you see how this was another one of those - “You’ve got some explaining to do” moments.

It has been years since Saul had met Jesus on that road to Damascus. Barnabas just had to locate him first. Barnabas believed in Saul, cheered for him, went and found him, and said come on, Jesus is not done with you. 

Not only that, Barnabas also had to stand with Saul and vouch for him in front of all his friends. 

I need a Barnabas in my life. I can think of many people in my journey who have played this role for me. I pray for many more people to be Barnabas to me. And I do my best to be Barnabas for as many others as I can. 

What about you, who is Barnabas in your life? 

When is the last time you were Barnabas to someone else?

For as we strive to be like Barnabas, we are really being just Jesus.

Encourage someone today. I'd love to hear how it goes.

-Justin-