Church Phone No.: (856)456-3364 Church Fax No.: (856)456-3812 District Website: www.cogeast.org National Website: www.chog.

org

Highland Park Church of God

Gods People on Gods Mission!

Pastor Bill e-mail: revwddilksjr@juno.com Pastor Ron e-mail: ronaldfchicken@gmail.com Office e-mail: highlandparkcog@yahoo.com Web Site: www.highlandparkcog.org

September 2012

Sun

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri
1

Sat
(John 1)

Regular Sunday Schedule: 9:30 AM Sunday School for All Ages 11:00 AM Morning Worship 5:30 PM Choir Practice 6:00-7:00 PM Jr. High Youth Fellowship 7:30-8:30 PM Sr. High Youth Fellowship

(John 2) 9:30 AM Sunday School Promotions in Sanctuary 11:00 AM Communion and Blessing of the Backpacks

(John 3)

4 (John 4) 9:00 AM Men's Bible Study

(John 5)

6 (John 6) 5:45 PM Rotary 7:30 PM AA Meeting

(John 7)

(John 8)

Noon Retirees Luncheon

Labor Day
(John 10)

10:00 AM Delaware Valley Pastors Mtg. Youth White Water Rafting Trip

9 (John 9) 10 5:30 PM Choir Begins 6:30 PM Trustees Meeting 16

(John 16)

11 (John 11) 12 (John 12) 13 (John 13) 7:00 PM Board of CE 6:30 PM FWAI and 5:45 PM Rotary Meeting 7:30 PM AA Meeting Kids Club

14

(John 14)

15 (John 15) 9:00 AM Mens Breakfast followed by Work Day 22

(Psalm 115)

17

(John 17)

7:00 PM Council Meeting National Back to Church Sunday

18 (John 18) 19 (John 19) 20 (John 20) 1:00 PM Ministerium Mtg. 9:00 AM Men's Bible 5:45 PM Rotary Study 6:30 PM FWAI
6:00 PM Saints Banquet 7:30 PM AA Meeting

21

(John 21)

Autumn Begins 28
(Psalm 120)

23

(Psalm 116)

24

(Psalm 117)

25

(Psalm 118)

26

(Psalm 119:1-88)

27

(Psalm 119:89-176)

29

(Psalm 121)

Carry-In Luncheon

6:30 PM FWAI

7:15 PM AA Meeting Womens Retreat in Sea Isle City

30

(Psalm 122)

Womens Retreat in Sea Isle City

Monthly calendars are subject to change. Please feel free to contact the church office to confirm events.

September 2012

Dear Church Family and friends, As I watched the finals of the Womens Olympic gymnastics, I reflected back on the first perfect score of 10 given to Nadia Elena Comneci, gymnast for Rumania, back in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. Her perfect routine forced upon the gymnastics world a complete revamping the entire scoring system. I watched female USA gymnast McKayla Air Maroney do a perfect vault according to the announcers, with a total possible score of 16.5 she only got 16.223? It is amazing how subjective judging and scoring can be was the announcers comment. He believed that the vault rated a 16.5. I thought the announcers left one point out of the ensuing discussion human beings standards for perfection are all grounded in human perceptions and their limited abilities. I have no doubt that the judges are experts in grading the quality of gymnastic performances. That is why they are there! I know that I am not qualified or capable of making such precise judgments. The judges do not get to replay the vault in slow motion, and judge based on multiple camera angles as the expert announcers do. They judge the vault at live speed and as human beings go, are amazingly accurate in doing so. Do we want to remove the human contribution and element from the scoring process? We have done that in manufacturing robots welding automobiles instead of people welding automobiles. Computer and sensor-driven line calling is used for player challenges at the four major tennis events and is now a standard item. At this point our athletes and society call out for a higher standard for measurement than is humanly possible. Is it wrong to set such a high standard in the pursuit of a perfectly done thing? In Matthew 5:48 Jesus states be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect. That verse has always troubled me how can human perfection be measure against a divine standard? It helps to know that the Greek adjective translated perfect teleios means something quite different. Vines Dictionary of NT Words clarifies this nuance stating that when used of persons it means being physically developed, fully grown; being complete, conveying the idea of goodness without necessary reference to maturity. Bible Scholar, Dr. Kenneth Wuest reflects this in his Greek translation of Matthew 5:48 therefore you shall be complete in your character, even as your heavenly Father is complete in His being. In the context a good (Continued)

(Continued) character is what is indicated. I am reminded that as a human being, I can never physically outdo a computerized judging system. Nor can I reach the level of divine spirituality, justice, mercy or a host of other ethical qualities. What we can do is fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher (same Greek root telos) of our faith and seek to live and walk as Jesus did. That is one of the reasons that Jesus was sent by God to Earth, so that humanity could see that God was not trying to critically and condescendingly judge us, but to lovingly illustrate and help us to live richer and fuller lives by following his good example. One of my favorite Star Trek, Next Generation episodes is when Data, an artificial life form created by a human cyberneticist Dr. Soong, procreates by making an android daughter, named Lull. Commander Data has always aspired to be human (like his maker) and shares with his daughter that while he knows he will never achieve full humanity that he presses on toward that goal. His fledgling daughter questions the logic of continuing to do this, since he will never be able to attain his goal. He tells her that he has learned that the rewards and benefits come through the making the effort toward the goal, and not the attaining of the goal itself. The effort itself yields its own rewards. I think that is what Jesus calls us to do as well in Matthew 5:48, and what Paul alludes to in 1 Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. We can never be Jesus or God but we can commit our lives toward that goal, and reap the rewards that come from the effort itself. We should aspire to be Christ-like (the Holy Spirit helps us 2 Corinthians 3:18). Then one day, the righteous judge, will additionally reward us for that effort when we stand before our Lord (2 Timothy 4:7-8). In His Steps,

Pastor Bill

Save the Date!

Saints Prison Ministry Anniversary Gala 6:00 PM, Thursday, September 20

Special Thanks . . .
Dear Ms. Kumpel and Young Adults of the Highland Park Church of God, Thank you for taking the time to host an ice cream party for our families and their children - they looked forward to it all week! We truly appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to entertain our kids in such a delicious way! Being away from home to receive medical care is tough for many of our guests, but the kindness and generosity that groups like yours show makes their stay a lot better! Once again, thank you for volunteering and we hope to see you again soon! Sonia A. Mixter Guzman - House Manager Ronald McDonald House of SNJ "Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart." -Unknown Thank you so much for the personalized Bible. It was a very generous gift. It will help guide me in my future years. Thank you for thinking of me. Love, Lauren Schepacarter Dear Pastor Bill and Congregation, I hope Youre having a great summer! Please greet all of our friends in Gloucester City. Thank you, especially, for the churchs support this year for Children of Promise, God continues to bless and expand our outreach. Chuck Wanner, Development Director Dear HPCOG, First Church of God Albuquerque is grateful for your recent support in a contribution. The advance you sent of 12-month sponsorship at the $25 requested assisted the church greatly. Our ministry is growing steadily in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Thanks for remembering us in your prayers concerning our ministry here. Blessing, Pastor Helen Brown-Mulima Dear Rev. Dilks and the Church of God, We are ever so grateful for your generous donation of $75 in response to our Mothers Day Carnation Sale. Your support makes it possible for us to continue providing our free services, which now includes ultra-sound imaging. Thank you for being one of our loyal friends. Sincerely, Denis Cocciolone, President

Women's Annual Retreat in Sea Isle City

I just know there are some of you out there that have been wishing for an opportunity to get away without the kids and husbands, or perhaps you need a change of scenery. Some of you may have even tried Calgon hoping the commercial might be true and it really does "take you away." Well ladies, you are in luck! The last weekend in September, 28-30, I will be opening my home in Sea Isle City once again to any of you that would like to get away from home for a bit and just enjoy some salt air and some great fellowship with some sisters in the Lord and also with God. As always Deb Conner will be planning some great devotional times for us, and I will be searching for a place that we can go out to eat on Saturday evening. Other than dinner Saturday and going out for pizza or sandwiches on Friday evening, there is really no other cost. We do ask that you consider chipping in some food or beverages for the rest of our meals, but you can sign up for as little or much as you would like. We have been doing this annually for many years now and God has always blessed us and has been a part of our fellowship. So forget about the Calgon and just come on down. I will be happy to welcome you. If you would like more information then feel free to speak to me, Deb, or Sandy. Watch for a sign up sheet in the narthex mid-September. Gloria

Junior Ushers
As we all have noticed during the morning worship services, we have children participating by helping to collect the offering. This gives the children an opportunity to serve in some wayeven though many of them are young. It is a way of teaching service for the Lord thus beginning to train them up. Hopefully, as they get older, they will look for other ways to serve. Junior Ushering is open to all children from first grade through high school. If you think your child might be interested in serving then please let Mrs. Ritchie know. It is a popular ministry with the kids and she will be more than happy to put your child on the schedule.

Mark Your Calendar: Sunday School Promotions September 2nd, 9:30 AM All classes will meet in the Sanctuary.

Blessing of the Backpacks

Be sure to bring your backpacks to church on Sunday, September 2nd for the Blessing of the Backpacks (during morning worship).

Gems of Wisdom from Our Seniors Two tragedies in life: 1. Not getting your hearts desire. 2. Getting your hearts desire. Darlene Brown

FAITH WITH AN IMPACT EVENINGS TO BEGIN IN SEPTEMBER!!!

Many of you have not taken advantage of this wonderful opportunity to join in food, fellowship, some learning and some fun that these evenings have offered in the past. The food is free (no cooking after working all day), the lessons are planned by other people for Bible study nights (so you can just sit and listen), babysitting is provided if you need it, and many weeks offer opportunities for you to share together as a family or to share with the church family if you have no family to bring. All in all it is a WIN-WIN situation. How often can you win something today without having strings attached? Below is the schedule for the month of September. Marking your calendar is the first step and the second step is just as easy. Just come on out! Wednesday, September 12thPizza served at 6:30 and Kid's Club begins at 7:00 for grades K-6. As was stated, babysitting is available for younger ones. Pastor Ron will be taking the youth to the youth house for a special activity (grades 7-12), and the adults will enjoy some quiet time in study at the Old Fishin' Hole with Andy Griffith. Wednesday, September 19thHoagies, Hymns, and Him is the theme for the evening. Yes, we are going to divide into teams after we eat and play Name That Hymn. This has been great fun in the past so we decided to do it again. Plan for some laughter and some good listening. Wednesday, September 26thThis is an evening EVERYONE will want to attend. All ages will come together after our light supper of salad and baked ziti and we will play Candy Bar Bingo!! If you have not done this in the past, you will want to come out and just enjoy. It is a great time of fellowship for everyone. Now doesn't this all sound great? Of course it does. Pastor Bill and everyone involved look forward to greeting you on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 beginning on September 12th.

KID'S CLUB
Wow, it is so hard to believe that school is about to start and we are all thinking about getting back on schedules again. Speaking of schedules, you will want to mark your calendar for the first Kid's Club meeting that is being planned for September 12th during our Faith With an Impact Evening. (see that article) We are going to do some focusing on the Ten Commandments this year. As we look around today we sometimes wonder if some children and adults have ever learned or think of these guidelines that the Lord has given to us for living our lives. In Mrs. Ritchie's Class (grades K-3), she is asking kids to come wearing pj's and to bring a small pillow. We are going to gather round the indoor campfire as we listen to a special story from our Bible about a dream that someone had. Grades 4-6 will be meeting with Ms. Canning and her emphasis will be the same. She may share in a letter that she will be sending to all of the children as to the specifics. That is Wednesday, September 12th, at 6:30 for pizza and 7:00 for Kid's Club. If you cannot bring your child for the meal then just drop them off at 7:00. Please remember that friends are always welcome.

September

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WHO: Youth grades7th-L?th

WHAT: White Woter Roftingl

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8th WHEN: SePtember

REMINDER.S: *Foith With An Impoct Wednesdoy 72'h,lgth &26'h Night Ministry September - Dinner Provided 6:30pm-8pm Join us for Food,Funond Fellowshif, *The Youth 6roup will be meetingeoch Sundoy ot night in September the Youth House (7ihond 8thgrodes):6pm-7pm Junior High Zth 7:3Opm-8:30pm SeniorHigh (9'h-1 grode-s):

$eptember

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Don'tMissthe YouthFollKickOff Event!
WHO: Youth grodes/h.L?th

WHAT: White Woter Rofting!

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On WHERE: the

PA h RiverGorge Jim Thorpe,

*Meetof the Church 8:30om returnoround 8:30pm ot ond 6roup ottending Youth "$35 peryouthwhohosbeen *RSVP Postor ASAP: RonoldFChicken@gmoil.com to Ron

8th WHEN: SePtember

REMINDE&S: *Foith With An Impoct Wednesdcy 72'h,lgth &26'h Night Ministry September - Dinner Provided 6:30pm-8pm Join us for Food,Funand Fellowshil *The Youth 6roup will be meetingeoch Sundoy ot night in September the Youth House (7thond 8thgrodes):6pm-7pm Junior High Zth 7:30pm-8:30pm SeniorHigh (9'h-1 grode-s):

Are You Ready For

Featuring: Pastor Dennis Huebner When: Sunday, October 14th 11am & 6:30pm, Monday, October 15th 6:30pm Tuesday, October 16th 6:30pm Wednesday, October 17th 6:30pm Where: Highland Park Church of God 111 Baynes Avenue, Gloucester City