February 2021
In this Issue: Page 2 – What’s a Satanic Attack Look Like? by Rev. Matt Giesman Page 4 – Summer Vacation Bible School Opportunities- By Rev. Curt Straeter Page 6 – Missionary of the Month Spotlight- Don and Lois Neddenriep Page 8 – Financial Update Page 9 – Women’s Bible Study and Connecting Opportunities
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February 2021
What’s a Satanic Attack look like? By Matt Giesman
What’s a Satanic attack look like? Does everything turn a pale shade of red? Are there strange ghoulish voices and evil, maniacal laughs?
I’m going to suggest, No.
But am I qualified to make such assessments? What expertise do I have? Well, I do have a D.Min. degree. Quick, say that out loud if you’re reading silently. (D.Min.) Did it sound like “demon” a little bit? That’s what one of our deacons thought when I discussed my D.Min. classes one time. (It actually stands for Doctor of Ministry.)
But in all seriousness, I’m not sure I have expertise with demonic and Satanic experiences. I am not an exorcist, and I actually never saw those movies growing up, either. But I have benefited in the past few years from some people in our church who are willing to occasionally say, “This might be Satan attacking us, discouraging us, etc.”
One time, it was an elder’s wife who attributed a rash of health scares in our family to the possibility that Satan was attacking our church during a time of fruitful growth.
Another time, it was an elder who calmly said, “The enemy would like nothing more than to discourage us right now.” That was in response to a question from me, half-rhetorical, about what was going on, why we were having such a rash of funerals in such a short time.
On the one hand, you might ask, “How did they know that those things were Satan’s doing?” Simply put, they didn’t. There was a measure of humility and uncertainty in their voices. But if Satan is a prowling lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5), and if he does indeed have some power to harm us by the sovereign permission of the Lord (see Job, especially the opening chapters), then it is not too much to ask IF Satan MIGHT be attacking us at any one time, especially if the circumstances in question are harmful to the church as a whole and/or to significant leaders in the church.
I’ve said before that I do not enjoy preaching about Satan. Yes, it’s part of preaching, declaring the whole counsel of God. But there is a very odd “coincidence” that I notice on those weeks when I am scheduled to preach about Satan. When I’m scheduled to preach on Satan, I will sometimes be moody, irritable, anxious, and a host of other things that are not normal for me. After one such week, when I had been feeling horrible and out of sorts for several days, I mentioned to my wife, “By the way, I’m preaching on Satan this week.” Her response was basically, “Well, that explains a lot.” It wasn’t the first time we had discussed this phenomenon, and after that “aha!” moment we decided that I am obligated to tell her ahead of time when I’m supposed to preach on Satan.
I realize much of this is anecdotal. This isn’t hard scientific data that could be written up for a journal article or something like that. If that means you take all of this with a grain of salt, then fine. My main goal is for us to take a moment when life seems out of joint and ask what’s going on with us and around us. It might be that there are reasonable explanations for out of the ordinary occurrences. It might also be
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February 2021 the case that Satan loves to capitalize on whatever circumstances arise, doing his best to make something bad out of what God intends for our ultimate good. (Think of that as a sort of corollary of Genesis 45:4-8; 50:20.)
And even if we can’t be sure that any particular circumstance is Satan’s handiwork, we still should be mindful of his possible presence and pray for protection against him. In fact, Jesus told us to pray this way. At least, I’m pretty sure he did. If you survey the different Bible translations of the Lord’s prayer, about half of them translate Matthew 6:13 like this: “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” The other half nuance that word “evil,” with many choosing, “Deliver us from the evil one.” I don’t need to solve that translation issue. (The alternative I mentioned is usually at least featured in a footnote as a possibility.) But I think if Jesus wants us to pray for deliverance from evil, then he probably also wants us to be delivered from the evil one, the source (at least indirectly) of much of the evil we might face in any given day.
So what’s a Satanic attack look like? Well, it doesn’t have to look like some scene you’ve seen in a movie. And it might look rather mundane. You may not know if it’s happening to you at any given time. But you should be praying for God’s protection against Satan and all of his schemes (2 Cor. 2:11), even if you don’t see him lurking around the corner.
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February 2021
Summer Vacation Bible School Opportunities By Rev. Curt Straeter
Are you talking about Summer VBS already? Yes I am! It is important to get excited early, and prepare yourselves for supporting this Summer’s VBS opportunities…that’s right, plural…we are excited to promote TWO VBS’s this year, with participation opportunities for both children and teens. In order of appearance, the first will be…
WINGS LIKE EAGLES (Early June): WLE is an independent, Christian-run horse vaulting camp that incorporates Bible teaching. It is essentially a VBS for roughly ages 6 to 13, but with horses. Also, ages 14 to 18 are the leaders! Like a typical VBS, there is singing, a devotion, snack time, and a game station. But instead of moving to other typical VBS stations (i.e. crafts or a “storyteller” time), children learn simple horse vaults. Horse vaulting is essentially gymnastics or static poses on a moving horse.
While adults are on site and overseeing, the teens are put in charge of running all of the stations, including the devotionals. This develops teaching and leadership skills. High school staff also must attend the theological preparation prior to camp. Last year, WLE asked me to lead the staff Bible studies, and I led a six-lesson series, “What Is the Gospel?” Andy Larsen performs “The Prince” vault
Neither high school staff nor young campers need to have any experience with horses or horse vaulting prior to camp. There is a separate safety & handling training for the teen staff in addition to preparatory bible studies.
WLE is held at a local horse ranch in Monument, the residence of Duncan & Michele Bremer. Several families participate that are within or connected to FPC in some way. The camp has two separate iterations of 6 days (Saturday is a horse vaulting “performance” day where all families are invited), and the 6 day iterations are slated to likely occur in early June…More confirmation on that is pending.
SUMMER FUNNER (July 12-16): Summer Funner is an established (over 25 years) non-profit that has approximately fifteen original Biblically-based musicals. It is a 5-day, theater style VBS where students ages 4-18 rehearse a Bible centered musical which culminates in a performance on the last day.
Participants rotate through stations to practice choreography, rehearse lines, enjoy a snack, create theme-related crafts, learn basic drama skills, and hear Bible truths that support the theme of the show. Students are divided into age groups and led by teen participants through the stations. Teen leaders are mentored in Christian leadership as they begin each morning with a devotion and prayer time before younger students arrive. This year’s show title & shirt
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February 2021
The beauty of this style of theater is that it welcomes and encourages students with little to no theater experience, but is still enjoyable to those who appreciate theater. At minimum, each participant is given one or two lines, while teens or more experienced participants may play a larger role. All students learn the songs and sing/dance together for the performance.
The goal of this style of VBS is to create an engaging, Christ-exalting experience where the children are encouraged to learn basic tenants of the Bible (maybe for the first time) that will hopefully stick with their hearts for years to come.
Unlike WLE, Summer Funner will be held on site at the church building.
COSTS: We plan to offer participation in each program for $25 per participant. For both programs, this includes a shirt as well as all of the other materials (and horses!) used in the VBS events. The actual cost of both VBS programs is significantly higher. FPC is subsidizing some cost, and there is also a regular donation “auction” at the end of the WLE performances on Saturday which is meant to help soften the cost of maintaining the horses for WLE. If anyone has any financial difficulties that prohibit participation, please reach out to me!
The FPC Christian Education Team is very excited to promote involvement in both of these VBS opportunities. Above all, we pray that God would use it to glorify himself by drawing little children and teens to himself in repentance and faith, and in sanctifying them, training them, and using them to proclaim his name among all nations for the work he has wrought through the life and death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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February 2021
Missionaries of the Month Don and Lois Neddinriep
January 8, 2021 Dear Friends,
Don: “This cancer journey is really something, isn’t it?”
Stranger at the cancer center: “Yes, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. It has changed my life.”
I was stunned. And rebuked. Once again my view of God and my response Lois’ dad passed away on September 28th at the age of 105. He to suffering had been challenged. Once was a world-class engineer and a diligent steward of what God had entrusted to him. My fondest memory was when he walked Lois again I submitted to God’s purposes and down the aisle 44 years ago. We held a memorial service via Zoom timing for my life. Once again I cried with family and friends from five countries joining in. out for God’s mercy and grace.
The good news is that my cancer has receded, my kidney function is stable and my covid symptoms have been mild.
We continue to adjust the dosage of my meds so that we are fighting the cancer while avoiding debilitating side effects.
Please continue to pray that I would be faithful to the end – whenever that is. We enjoyed a covid-style Thanksgiving dinner: outside, under comforters, with space heaters, socially distanced from our hosts across the table. Nothing like congealed gravy to remind Thank you for your care and concern. us of these weird days in which we live.
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February 2021
As I write this, Lois is helping to lead a weekend conference for new missionary candidates.
We have about 50 people waiting to get overseas. Please pray for:
- Their spiritual roots to go deep
into Christ. - Their pre-departure It was great to have our family together between Christmas and New Year’s! Those three young Neddenriep boys sure preparations. have a lot of energy!!!!! - Their full funding. - Covid to be eradicated in their host countries so they can
actually get to the field.
Please also pray that our current missionaries overseas would be used by God to:
- Reach those who don’t know Jesus. - Disciple new believers. - Train new disciplemakers. - Expand His Kingdom. God is faithful to his promises to meet Last summer our kids gave me a recliner. Our all of our needs. We are richly blessed daughter-in-law named it “a meeting.” The name comes in handy: and deeply grateful. Thank you for “Don can’t come to phone right now. He’s in ‘a partnering with us! meeting’.” “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get to ‘a meeting’.”
In Christ alone, I no longer feel guilty for sleeping in ‘a meeting’.
Keep smiling! Don
2104 Sussex Lane Colorado Springs, CO 80909 719-597-6943 [email protected]
Caring Bridge: www.caringbridge.org/visit/donneddenriep
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February 2021
Financial Report Prepared by our Treasurer Dale Giebink
Oct-20 Nov-20 Dec-20 YTD YTD Budget
Giving General $ 56,532 $ 51,198 $ 93,688 $ 366,955 $ 334,998 Benevolence $ 970 $ 852 $ 2,770 $ 7,478 Other Income $ 10,806 $ 7,292 $ 12,148 $ 102,689 Total Giving $ 68,308 $ 59,341 $ 108,607 $ 477,123
Expenses Operating $ 51,416 $ 43,021 $ 56,485 $ 284,028 $ 299,766 Missions $ 6,875 $ 15,475 $ 6,875 $ 51,450 $ 43,998 Total Expenses $ 58,291 $ 58,495 $ 63,360 $ 335,478 $ 343,764 Reserve (Deficit) $ 10,017 $ 846 $ 45,247 $ 141,644
Balances General Fund $ 434,545 $ 438,236 $ 476,325 Benevolence Fund $ 18,970 $ 17,717 $ 18,256 Missions Fund $ 14,153 $ 5,902 $ 7,253 King Vis Fund $ 5,572 $ 5,822 $ 6,137 Building Fund $ (2,557) $ (12,620) $ (12,620) Asset Repl Fund $ 228,253 $ 235,048 $ 241,782 Covid Fund $ 32,656 $ 32,846 $ 32,926 Church Plant Fund $ 237,480 $ 236,315 $ 234,454 YTD numbers are for fiscal year 2021, beginning 1 July 2020
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February 2021
Winter 2021 FPC Women’s Bible Study & Connecting Opportunities
The Tuesday morning Bible study group is studying Philippians, by John Mac Arthur. The book can be obtained from Judy Childers, [email protected], and the cost is $7.00. The group meets 9:30 – 11:15 am, in person at Forestgate, (with masks and social distancing). Coming soon – nursery care during the study! Watch the weekly bulletin for more details forthcoming.
The Wednesday morning Bible study group is studying Habakkuk:Remembering God's Faithfulness When He Seems Silent, by Dannah Gresh. Ladies who wish to participate should email Paula Randall at [email protected]. Participants should order their own book. This Zoom study meets from 9:00-10:30 a.m.
Also, there are still opportunities available for a Titus 2 mentoring experience. These can be small groups of 1 – 3, larger groups, or, a one-to-one relationship with a mentor. These relationships can be invaluable as we navigate challenging times! To sign up, or for more information, please email Connie Harrington at [email protected] or Mindy Mitchell at [email protected].
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