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Wading River Baptist Church P.O. Box 438, 1635 Wading River-Manor Road, Wading River, NY 11792

(631) 929-3512; 929-6022 www.wrbc.us office@wrbc.us

AAfffflliiccttiioonn:: TThhee WWiissddoomm ooff JJoohhnn BBuunnyyaann “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that

the testing of your faith produces endurance” (James 1:2).

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, a storm that may prove the costliest in American history, we have seen hundreds of visual images of horrific devastation and hu-man suffering. To one degree or an-other, all of us at WRBC were personally touched by the storm, and many of us have relatives whose property was dam-aged more extensively than was our own. This has made it much more vivid to us than was, for example, Hurricane Katrina. It’s only a reminder, however, that much of the world lives in perpetual misery. While we stand amazed, and some of us probably somewhat perplexed, at the awesome display of God’s power, what impacts us most profoundly is the wide-spread and heart-wrenching human suf-fering. Many people lost everything. In the weeks to come, after the initial shock has worn off, many will experience deep depression and despair; many will have to face frustration, anxiety, desperation, and ultimately bitterness and anger, much of it directed towards a God about whom they otherwise rarely even think. At times like this, we Christians who hold to the inerrant and all-sufficient revelation of Scripture, may also find ourselves groping for answers. We know that our Almighty God is infinitely wise and that He does everything according to His will (I always go back to Isaiah 46:8-10). We know that His purposes will stand and no human authority—no na-tion or head of state on earth—can pre-vent Him from accomplishing them. Still, there are times when His provi-dence hurts. That’s not true just for na-tions, but is also true in our personal

lives. Pain is never pleasant, but at one time or another, we all experience it. What is the Lord trying to teach us? In order to answer this question again, let’s travel back in Christian history to the seventeenth century. Perhaps you are familiar with the name John Bunyan. Bunyan was an English Baptist who lived from 1628 until 1688. He made his living as a tinker (usually an itin-erant peddler and repairer of pots and utensils). Although barely educated, he was marked by a profound spiritual sen-sitivity. As a young man, Bunyan served in the Parliamentary army and was a lay preacher during Cromwell’s Common-wealth. During the Restoration of the monarchy, however, he was imprisoned for preaching his non-conformist biblical convictions, an imprisonment that lasted for twelve years. He was offered free-dom if he would agree to stop preaching, but he refused, saying, “If I am freed to-day I will preach tomorrow.” During his imprisonment, Bunyan wrote the incomparable allegory, The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678), a book that served as the prototype for the English novel. His 1666 autobiography is nearly as famous (Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners), as is his other well-known allegory, The Holy War. Little educated as he was, John Bun-yan was a man who knew his Bible and

was profoundly righteous. He was also a man who knew suffering first-hand. Throughout his writings he addressed the problem of affliction in the life of a believer. Consider some of his observa-tions on the value of suffering and hard-ship in the life of a Christian. 1. Suffering is compounded by sin. Sin obscures a believer’s sensitivity to that which God is accomplishing through his suffering. In fact, sometimes, our suffering is a disciplinary chastening for sin. When God allows us to endure test-ing, therefore, we will fare much better if sin is not obstructing our relationship to the Lord. Bunyan put it this way: “Noth-ing can render affliction so insupport-able as the load of sin: would you, therefore, be fitted for afflictions, be sure to get the burden of your sins laid aside, and then what afflictions soever you may meet with will be very easy to you.” It is much easier to handle hard-ship when our minds a free from the guilt of disobeying God and being out of fellowship with Him. So our first course of action under affliction is soul-searching, confession, and repentance. 2. Suffering strengthens us. In the wise providence of God, our pain is cal-culated to increase our spiritual stamina. Here is how Bunyan describes it: “If thou canst hear and bear the rod of af-fliction which God shall lay upon thee, remember this lesson—thou art beaten that thou mayest be better.” That’s the point James makes when he urges us to consider it all joy when we encounter various trials. The reason is that the testing of our faith produces endurance (perseverance). Paul says much the

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same thing in Romans 5:3-5, where he observes that this endurance leads to proven character, which produces the hope which does not disappoint. Suffer-ing is valuable character formation that builds spiritual backbone and fortifies our convictions, enabling us to see through disaster to the benefit God has designed for us in permitting it. 3. Suffering separates us. We all know that there is a pervasive superfici-ality masquerading as genuine Christian-ity today. Many people glibly profess to be Christians, but the overwhelming ma-jority never back up their profession with any substantive evidence in their lives. We know, however, that when such peo-ple undergo hardship, it is not unusual that they walk away from the church and even from religion altogether. Suffering is therefore an instrument by which God winnows those who profess Christianity. Here are Bunyan’s words: “The Lord useth his flail of tribulation to separate the chaff from the wheat.” Affliction distinguishes the genuine from the hypo-critical. 4. Suffering is enlightening. Sim-ply put, hardship opens our eyes. Afflic-

tion has a way of reordering our priorities. When we are in pain, we find that there are many things in our lives that just don’t matter anymore. The really important

things in life—including our spiritual priorities—come front and center. Bun-

yan contemplated this truth while sitting in Bedford jail, and it emerges constantly in The Pilgrim’s Progress. He writes: “The school of the cross is the school of light; it discovers the world’s vanity, baseness, and wickedness, and lets us see more of God’s mind. Out of dark affliction comes a spiritual light.” By affliction we learn what is of first impor-tance to God. Thus . . . 5. Suffering purifies us. When we are hurting, we generally have no use for the superficialities, frivolities, and indul-gences of sin. As children under our par-ents’ discipline, pain forced us to reckon with our bad behavior. So it is with us as children of God. Bunyan points out: “Did we heartily renounce the pleasures of this world, we should be very little troubled for our afflictions; that which renders an afflicted state so insupport-able to many is because they are too much addicted to the pleasures of this life, and so cannot endure that which makes a separation between them.” Thus, it is much like the problem faced by those suffering from substance abuse. As long as we are addicted to the sinful pleasures of the world, being forcibly deprived of them is almost unbearable. We have to go through withdrawal, and the agony of that process may generate frustration, irritability, anger, and bit-terness. But once we are free, we are more holy and better equipped to love and serve the Lord acceptably. There-fore . . . 6. Suffering leads us to a deeper experience of God’s love. We know that God loves us; we can all quote the bibli-cal truth that “God is love.” Knowing it, however, is not the same as experiencing

it. When, for example, 80% of the WRBC family did not lose power in Sandy while 90% of Long Island did, and no one in the church experienced any significant damage while many others did, we can see God’s love to us. When a loved one approaches death’s door, only to experience an unanticipated recovery, does not the love of God appear more vividly? When a prayer is answered after a long delay, and the Lord does for us above and beyond anything we could ever have imagined (Eph 3:20), does that not accentuate the love of God in a new way? That’s why Bunyan observes: “In times of affliction we commonly meet with the sweetest experiences of the love of God.” These precious spiritual realities are why we Christians don’t react as bitterly to disasters and hardships as do unbe-lievers who have no sensitivity to the operation of God’s wise providence. Be-cause they do not believe in Him, the world cannot understand what God is doing. But we have eyes to see. We do not enjoy tragedies or catastrophes, and sometimes we don’t react as patiently as we should. Nonetheless, God’s word to us is, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials.”

—Pastor Ron Glass

Note: If you have never done so, you might want to take the time to read Bunyan’s great The Pilgrim’s Progress. Don’t let the Elizabethan English discourage you. It’s really not that hard to understand. The great preacher C. H. Spurgeon suggested reading it once a year (he did). It will do your soul good!

MMiissssiioonnaarriieess ooff tthhee MMoonntthh –– MMaarrvviinn aanndd DDeenniissee RRoobbiinnssoonn

The news media constantly reminds us how the poverty in the United States is growing and more people than ever are on government assistance. This leaves the mission field wide open in the United States with the need of getting the Word out to these people not only in their need of monetary assistance but in need of Jesus Christ in their lives.

What a true blessing Marvin & De-nise are as they have been given the op-portunity to bring Christ and His mes-sage of hope and redemption to people living in suburban government-subsidized housing developments and within the inner city of Rochester. They are certainly striving to take a bite out of these growing statistics of poverty.

Rochester is located 360 miles northwest of Coney Island, Brooklyn, where the Robinsons used to minister for 21 years. In the spring of this year, WRBC’s Missions Committee leaders, Mike & Diane Pandolfini, visited with the

Robinsons and shared some typical daily schedules. There are ladies’ Bible stud-ies as well as the devotionals for the men that are in rehab at the Open Door Mis-sion. Whether it is for drug therapy, al-cohol awareness or anger management, there is a strict daily schedule of encour-agement for these men and if they do not progress forward in the program, they are asked to leave.

Another program is the handing out of clothing and food being donated by various churches, a local supermarket, and even individuals willing to help out. Preceding the handouts, a time of Bible

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study takes place, again it is a time of encouragement for these poverty-stricken people.

Marvin & Denise invite church groups to visit with opportunities to minister along with them in Bible Clubs for children, open evangelism and in projects for the elderly. The Robinsons make regular visits to nursing homes,

senior living facilities and the local county jail. In spite of some health is-sues, the Robinsons keep a full schedule ministering to the people of Rochester.

Their mission is 80% funded and, like most of our missionaries, they are affected by the slowing of the economy. Please continue to pray for Marvin & Denise and for the Rochester Family

Mission Center. Also pray for their chil-dren, Paul (and wife Erica and their two precious children) and Maria.

⎯ Joan Tyska

GGeettttiinngg BBeetttteerr AAccqquuaaiinntteedd wwiitthh HHeelleenn EEllaammaa CChhrriissttiiaann LLaannee BBrryyaann

WRBC has been ac-

quainted with Helen Elama Chris-tian Lane Bryan for 17 years as she worships at

the WRBC every Lord’s Day and attends most of the fellowshipping events. But in those 17 years of getting acquainted with Helen Bryan, we have never really gotten to know the real Helen until now as revealed at her 90th birthday party in the following biography of Helen shared with the WRBC by her family.

Helen Bryan was born on October 2o, 1922, in Harlem, NY, to parents Jo-hannes and Elama Christian. Johannes was educated in England and served in the military aboard the SS Henry Homes vessel. He was the first black officer managing an all-black crew. During his official travels as an officer, Johannes met and married Elama Linzey, a Dutch/Saban and together forged ahead to create a life centered on their faith, family and the future. They went on to have eight children: Charles, Elaine and Albert born in St. Thomas; and George, Helen, Johannes, Ela and Esther born in Harlem and the Bronx.

Helen’s entire childhood was always centered on the message and direction for Christian living as a model for the family. The family was always active and in leadership positions in the church. The children grew up steeped in the Sal-vation Army mission “to preach the gos-pel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in his name without discrimina-tion.” They attended the famed Harlem Temple Corps located on Lenox Ave. at 135th St.

When she was 12 to 16 years old, Helen attended summer camp at Star

Lake Camp forging many bonds and cre-ating many precious memories.

When the family moved to the Bronx, the family split their time be-tween the Salvation Army Harlem Tem-ple Corps and Zion Apostolic Church, a storefront apostolic church headed by Rev. Mary Cummings, a family friend and staunch Biblical instructor. The message of Christ and the tenets of the Bible were lived out and modeled in the clothes the Christian children wore, their speech and work habits. She stayed a member and was active in both churches leading up to her relocation to Long Is-land in the 1980’s.

Helen attended grade school at PS 89; middle school at PS 39; Jr. High at PS 60 and finishing her education at Theodore Roosevelt High School leaving H.S. in the 11th grade when WWII started and moved from Harlem to live with Un-cle Henry Linzey (her mother’s brother) in Newark N.J. There she lived until she was 21 years old, working to support the war effort at the defense plant manufac-turing and operating national radio sys-tems.

During her entire childhood, Mama Elama and Papa Johannes sent her regu-larly to tap dance and violin lessons at a Music School in Har-lem. Her violin in-structor was Uncle Chester (her father’s brother). As a teen, Helen was an avid jitterbug and lindy-hop dancer, and at 16 years old weighing a svelte 98 pounds, won a regional jitter-bug contest and was offered a movie deal for “A Day at the Movies” with the RKO management company featuring the Marx Brothers. But her father, due to his strict religious code, forbade her to go to California to pursue a movie career. She stayed in NY and continued her educa-tion which was very important to Papa.

Because education was important to Papa, Helen is proud to say that all of her family members had a profession and were educated.

At 20 years old, she met and mar-ried Edward Nathanial Lane on Septem-ber 5, 1943. He was a southerner from South Carolina and someone that Helen loved very dearly. They had only one child together, Edward Lane, Jr. Helen & Edward were married for 2 years. Sadly, Edward did not live long enough to enjoy their five grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.

After the war effort ended, Helen at the age of 21 worked at the Joint Disease Center in Harlem for five years; worked for “Chock Full O’ Nuts” on Fifth Ave for 5 years getting a raise under then owner/general manager Jackie Robinson and finally in 1953 began a 31 year career as a technology trainer at the U.S. Post Office on 34th St. in Manhat-tan working nights and traveling to Long Island on the week-ends to visit her par-ents, who in the 1940’s bought a house in Gordon Heights.

In 1957, Helen met and married Hugh Randolph Bryan, a Caribbean from St. Thomas and an officer in the Navy. In their 10 years of marriage, Hugh brought home treasures from all over the world from places such as the Philippines, Af-rica, China and India.

Helen relocated to Long Island in

the 1980’s where she became a member of Community Baptist Church in Gordon Heights. Upon her retirement, Helen

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made her final move to Leisure Village in Ridge, NY bringing her to WRBC where she became a member.

Throughout Helen’s life, she has col-lected some very priceless memories. In 1963 Helen was invited to the Waldorf-Astoria for a formal ball for black mil-lionaires. The NY City Mayor was in at-tendance as well as many of the black elite. On her 50th birthday vacation, Helen traveled to reconnect with the family in St. Thomas and Puerto Rico on the famed SS Rotterdam. In the 1990’s Helen was invited to take communion by Cardinal Edward Egan at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. While working at the Post Office, Helen led a strike that could have

landed her in jail except for the fore warning to leave and hide on the reser-vation.

Impressive in Helen’s life is the posi-tion that Helen earned in her family. Helen became the beloved Matriarch of the family as she mentored and assisted all that were in need. So many family members shared stories of how Helen was always there to help them over their hurdles. It brought strength to the family that still is strong and growing.

Helen also brought strength to her church family as she took on leadership positions. She was a deaconess and men-tored many others to follow.

Now at the WRBC, Helen continues her legacy with those special “Helen” moments that only Helen can give. As she sits in her 4th row pew, she remains a constant encouragement to Pastor Glass with her charismatic responses each Lord’s Day service. Her Afri-can/American appeal offers many oppor-tunities to speak at each of WRBC’s fel-lowshipping functions. Now at 90 years old, Helen is still energetic, vibrant and full of life offering those special moments to remember.

⎯ Joan Tyska

A Month in Review

Be patient, then, brothers, until

the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the au-tumn and spring rains (James 5:7).

November 4th the clocks turned back shortening our daylight hours; rearranging the summer itinerary as the farm equipment is put away to the sheds and garages for repair. October has been a harbinger of things to come as God continues to show us His amaz-ing ability to paint the landscape in such glorious colors in preparation for the winter solstice and the hardness that it brings.

September 30, 2012: Another cof-fee hour for another chance to fellow-ship with one another and to welcome new friends to the special WRBC circle of brothers and sisters of Christ. The scheduled coffee hour was the perfect format to become better acquainted and to become fa-miliar with the needs of one an-other. Getting bet-ter acquainted are Marcelle Ritzmann and LaTaesha O’Neil, a young single mom that found the WRBC when she brought her son, Taylor, to participate in VBS giving LaTaesha a window of opportunity to volunteer in the kitchen.

October 7, 2012: What a wonderful

surprise it was when 4-year-old Jake Petraske (Jim & Janet Perry’s grand-son) walked in the door of WRBC to show us the progress he had made since his surgery back in August. If you remember, WRBC had been faithfully praying for Jake when he had his “Su-per Hip 2” surgery (the reconstruction and stabilization of his hip socket and knee). Jake will need future surgeries as they explore leg lengthening sur-gery; the first maybe in about 3 years. Please keep this sweet little boy in your prayers as he continues to heal and prepares himself for future surgeries.

October 13, 2012 was Pastor Ap-preciation Day in the Pastor Apprecia-tion Month of October. Scripture states: We ask you, brothers, to re-spect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admon-ish you and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13).

Sometimes we take our Pastors for granted and forget to thank them for the rigid schedule they keep and the responsibilities they take on far be-yond the pulpit. Maybe we need a

“Hallmark” Day to bring the apprecia-tion to the surface that is already there in all of us. We are so blessed at the WRBC to have Pastor Glass, who is not afraid to preach the truth of the Scrip-tures in a comprehensive way, appli-cable to our daily lives. Thank you, Pastor Glass, for your faithful service to WRBC.

October 21, 2012 was a day that

Helen Bryan will not soon forget. It was a day smack in the middle of a 4-day celebration of Mrs. Bryan’s 90th birthday celebration. Her Bible study group celebrated with her on Friday. Her immediate family, some arriving from Ohio, celebrated with her on her birthday – Saturday. Her church fam-ily, along with some of her immediate family and friends from Leisure Vil-lage, celebrated with her after the Lord’s Day service in the Fellowship Hall with an elaborate coffee hour. And if that was not enough, she had one more party with her Leisure Vil-lage friends on Monday.

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The four-day celebration gave her an abundance of love and respect but left her quite overwhelmed with the num-ber of flowers, corsages and gifts. One of her biggest joys was having her nephew from Ohio, Reverend Dr. Jo-hannes J. Christian at her side, along with other family members. Reverend Christian was introduced to WRBC back in 2001 as the church prayed for his recovery when a rock was thrown through the windshield of his car, striking him in the head causing severe damage including blindness. His re-covery has been amazing as well as his forgiveness of the young boy that threw the rock.

As for the coffee hour, heroes and homemade side dishes were the menu of the day and of course a birthday cake for Mrs. Bryan. A biography of Mrs. Bryan provided by her family was read by Pastor Glass providing a more in-depth understanding of her; you will find a shortened version of it in-cluded in this month’s edition of The Beacon. Liz Hyland sang Mrs. Bryan’s favorite hymn, Amazing Grace. A PowerPoint presentation also was pre-sented on the big screen reflecting the life of Mrs. Bryan with pictures of her early life.

Also on October 21st and most ex-citing was seeing Pastor Noel Fausti-norio back at WRBC for a few months to visit with his family, WRBC and to be checked out medically.

Another pleasant surprise on Oc-

tober 21st was welcoming back Ed Tolf for a visit as he combined a business trip to NY with a bit of pleasure allow-ing him to attend the Lord’s Day ser-vice and the coffee hour afterwards. Being that Ed & Denise Tolf are in the

process of moving to Texas, the time spent with the Tolfs is becoming most valued as time is short for them in NY. Doug Heuzey and Dennis Tyska espe-cially shared some special time in the western spirit with the resident cow-boy. For Doug Heuzey, he had just returned from a short Arizona vacation where he acquired a new cowboy hat bonding him to the circle of WRBC’s cowboys.

Looking forward to next month

with the Sunday night Bible Studies starting up and another Senior Lunch-eon that will take place on November 10, 2012. Don’t forget to mark your calendars. May God continue His blessings on you and WRBC?

⎯ Joan Tyska

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HUMANISM VERSUS BIBLICAL CHRISTIANITY

Confucius gave us a good defini-tion of modern humanism when he stated, “The measure of man is man.” We alone are responsible for our fate. Sartre said, “If I have done away with God the Father, someone is needed to invent values…life has no meaning a priori … it is up to you to give it a meaning, and value is nothing but the meaning that you choose.” In response to this Walter Lippmann states, “With this, Sartre has done away not only with God the Father, but with the recognition that be-yond our private worlds there is a public world to which we belong. If what is good, what is right, what is true is only what the individual “chooses” to “ invent”, then we are outside the traditions of civility. Fur-ther on Lippmann states, “Thus they reject the concept of ‘truth’ as something de-pendent on facts largely outside of human control,” which as Bertrand Russell says, “has been one of the ways in which phi-

losophy hitherto has inculcated the ele-ment of humility. When this check on pride is removed, a further step is taken on the road to a certain kind of madness--the in-toxication of power which invaded philoso-phy with Fichte--and to which modern men, whether the philosophers or not are prone. I am persuaded that this intoxica-tion is the greatest danger of our time, and any philosophy which however uninten-tionally contributes to it is increasing the danger of vast social disaster.” An article was printed in the Wall Street Journal on Aug. 5, 2008 that re-viewed the life of Solzhenitsyn. Several quotes were printed that I believe are worth remembering. In his acceptance speech for the 1970 Nobel literature prize, he said, “The timid civilized world has found nothing with which to oppose the onslaught of a sudden revival of barefaced barbarity other than concessions and smiles.” Solzhenitsyn warned of “an at-mosphere of moral mediocrity, paralyzing

man’s noblest impulses,” and a “tilt of free-dom in the direction of evil… evidently born primarily out of a humanistic and benevolent concept according to which there is no evil inherent to human nature.” His own prison camp experience after World War II told him that evil was only too real and had to be confronted.

Many of the quotes I have used have come from generic Christians or from those who don’t even profess to be Chris-tians, and yet they are more aware of the threat of humanism than some Christians are. Why should that be? Remember, natu-ralism is an integral part of humanism. Let me quote from C.S. Lewis’s book (Mira-cles)---“Naturalistic assumptions, beggings of the questions such as that which I noted on the first page of this book, will meet you on every side---even from the pens of cler-gymen. This does not mean (as I was once tempted to suspect) that these clergymen are disguised apostates who deliberately exploit the position and the livelihood

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given them by the Christian Church to un-dermine Christianity. It comes partly from what we may call a “hangover.” We all have naturalism in our bones and even conver-sion does not at once work the infection out of our system. Its assumptions rush back upon the mind the moment vigilance is relaxed.” The “continental divide” is de-fined in the American Heritage Dictionary as “an extensive stretch of high ground from each side of which the river systems of the continent flow in opposite direc-tions.” The divide between humanism and Biblical Christianity is similar. By now we should have a pretty good idea as to what humanism is and how it grew into a mod-ern humanist movement, and became our state religion. If we wish to be at all effec-tive in our stand against humanism, we have to rid ourselves of all the distractions that this world constantly showers on us, and focus with laser-like intensity on the person of Jesus Christ. Let me quote from C.S. Lewis’s “Mere Christianity.” “I am trying here to prevent any-one saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.’ That is the one thing that we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a luna-tic⎯on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg⎯or he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not in-tend to.” The minute we acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God, the God of the Bible, who is creator, who is sovereign, omnipo-tent, omniscient and omnipresent, we will have placed ourselves in opposition to hu-manism. By insisting that they rule them-selves, apart from the rule of God, they fall under the rule of Satan. The peace that Jesus made possi-ble is peace between man and God. Our sins made it impossible to have peace with God. The death of Christ on the cross made peace with God possible but created divi-sion between men. Luke 12:49-53⎯“I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! Do you sup-pose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two, and two against three. They will be divided, father against son, and son against father; mother

against daughter, and daughter against mother; mother in-law against daughter in-law, and daughter in-law against mother in-law.” Humanism is the name that the natural man has appropriated for himself. He refuses God’s offer of salvation because he feels that he has no need for it. He has chosen darkness and he has no idea of the consequences of that choice. Rom. 1:28-32⎯ “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, de-ceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.” I don’t believe that the Christian community is aware of the extent to which humanism has taken over our institutions. Eugenie C. Scott, Executive Director, Na-tional Center for Science Education, is one of many rabid Darwinists who you would find blocking the doorway of any school in the country if you try to introduce Intelli-gent Design, Abrupt Appearance, Creation-ism or Darwin-doubting of any kind into the Hallowed Halls of Education. I have written a little allegory that I believe reflects the state of denial that is prevalent in the modern church. A Tale of Faithful Guard Dogs Once upon a time in once upon a place. An elderly couple enjoyed a tranquil existence, caring for a small flock of sheep. The sale of sheep’s wool provided the means to buy materials to keep their small cottage in repair, with enough left over for a few simple pleasures. Their love extended to both God and to one another, and their days blended together in contentment and joy. Let’s call this lovely couple David and Lucille Dombrowski. One day, Lucile began to worry. What if even one of their sheep was to be eaten by a predator? Wolves had once roamed in this area even though many generations had passed since the last wolf had been seen. Lucille felt silly voicing her concerns to her husband, but finally a day came when she made her fears known to him. “Don’t worry your pretty little head, ” David exclaimed. David went directly to the Humanist Kennels and bought a huge guard dog named Aclu. With Aclu guarding the sheep that night, they both slept soundly. When they awoke in the morning, their joy turned to horror. One of their favorite sheep lay partially devoured, right in front of their cottage. Aclu stood nearby with blood spread across

his muzzle. “Oh David,” Lucille cried, “Our poor dear Freespeech has been killed and Constitution is still alive but his first and fourteenth amendments are so entangled that neither organ is functioning properly! Our adorable, faithful Aclu is full of blood from fighting those terrible wolves.” “Don’t worry,” David replied, “Aclu will need help, and I know where to get it.” Mr. Kurts, the manager of the ken-nel, was a kind man and offered to donate many more dogs to guard the sheep. Al-though Aclu seemed to be the alpha male of the pack, many more fine dogs were added, including Aaas, Nea, Paw, and Aha, to name but a few. As more dogs were added, evidence of wolf attacks mounted. At last, tired, weak and without any means of sub-sistence, the Dombrowskis were left with nothing more than their faithful, noble guard dogs. No one knows what became of the Dombrowskis, but their guard dogs are fat and well, presumably from eating wolves. Suggested Reading BROAD PERSPECTIVE

“In The Minds Of Men” by Ian T. Taylor

“The Origin Of The Species Revis-ited” Vol. 1&2 by W. R. Bird

“Darwin’s Enigma” by Luther D. Sunderland

“Evolution: A Theory in Crisis” by Michael Denton

“Origins and Destiny” by Dr. Robert Gange BIOLOGY “Darwin’s Black Box” by Michael J. Behe “The Natural Sciences Know Nothing Of Evolution” By A.E. Wilder-Smith “The Greatest Hoax on Earth? Refuting Dawkins On Evolution” By Jona-than Sarfati SOCIAL “The A.C.L.U. VS America” by Alan Sears and Craig Osten “Slaughter of the Dissidents” by Dr. Jerry Bergman

⎯ Bill Mallman

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The Lord’s Day Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 8:30 AM

Ladies Prayer – Joan Tyska (727-5998)

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4 9:45 AM Sunday

School – Pastor Glass

11:00 AM Morning Worship Service

6:00 PM Bible Study

5 6 7 7:00 PM

Prayer Meeting and Exposition of Psalm 119 (Part 5)

8 8:30 AM

Ladies Prayer

9 10 1:00 PM

Senior Saints “Giving Thanks for Family”

11 9:45 AM Sunday

School – Pastor Glass

11:00 AM Service (Pastor Glass begins exposition of Gospel of Matthew)

6:00 PM Bible Study

12 13 7:00 PM

Board of Deacons

14 7:00 PM

Prayer Meeting and Exposition of Psalm 119 (Part 6)

15 8:30 AM

Ladies Prayer 16 17

18 9:45 AM Sunday

School – Pastor Glass

11:00 AM Morning Worship Service

6:00 PM Bible Study

19 20 21 7:00 PM Thanksgiving Eve Service

22 8:30 AM

Ladies Prayer

Thanksgiving Day

23 24

25 9:45 AM Sunday

School – Pastor Glass

11:00 AM Morning Worship Service

6:00 PM Bible Study

26 27 28 7:00 PM

Prayer Meeting and Exposition of Psalm 119 (Part 7)

29 8:30 AM

Ladies Prayer 30

NNoovveemmbbeerr Bible Quiz Questions 1) Who angered God by just touching the ark of God and was smote for this error?

2) Which king sought physicians and not the Lord for his disease of the feet?

3) Who was the queen who refused the king’s command to be brought in before him?

4) Who, upon hearing the king was slain, killed all of the king’s seed, in order to personally reign over the land?

5) Who pretended to be sick so that he could lie with his sister?

Bonus: This, which could never float, was supernaturally made to float after falling into the water. ⎯ Dennis Tyska

OOccttoobbeerr Bible Quiz Answers 1) Isaiah (Isaiah 20:3).

2) Sarah (Genesis 18:10-12).

3) Miriam (Exodus 15:20).

4) Stephen (Acts 7:59-60).

5) “Be fruitful, and multiply” (Genesis 1:28). Other valid answers: Genesis 1:3; 2:16; Matthew 22:37- 38; Mark 12:29-30.

Bonus: King Og of Bashan (Deuteronomy 3:11).

Congratulations to Dennis Tyska and Virginia Sylvester for submitting all five correct answers plus the bonus to the October Bible Quiz!

TThhee BBiirrtthhddaayy CCoorrnneerr November 2nd – Liz Hyland November 13th – Sarah Hart November 15th – Marie Caputo November 16th – Carl Chapman November 16th – Elfriede Kirchberger November 19th – Reeva Bellard November 19th – Ilda DeRosario November 21st – Ed Tolf November 23rd – Sylvena Ingoglia November 23rd – Peter Albrecht November 25th – Kathleen Fitzgerald November 29th – Cathy Perez November 30th – Chris Hallstrom

TThhee AAnnnniivveerrssaarryy CCoorrnneerr November 1st – Jim & Janet Perry November 20th – Ray & Carol Fitzgerald November 23rd – Chris & Jackie Hallstrom

November 29th – Ed & Denise Tolf

Bible Study (led by Pastor Glass) 6:00 PM on the Lord’s Day Hallstrom home (886-1334)

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PO Box 438 Wading River, NY 11792

Our Purpose 1. To glorify God through sharing the good news of salvation by God’s sovereign grace through faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

2. To nurture believers through a strong program of Christian educa-tion, youth ministries, and expository Biblical preaching.

3. To provide an opportunity for Biblical worship, service, and fellow-ship.

4. To extend our ministry through-out America and around the world through participation in home and foreign missions.

WRBC is affiliated with the Conserva-tive Baptist Association of America and the Conservative Baptist Mission to the Northeast.

Wading River Baptist Church

• For the Exaltation of God in All Things

• For the Proclamation of Faith in Christ

• For the Transformation of God’s People