Zion s Outpost Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ 6300 Tarrytown, Park City, Kansas 67219 April 2004 Theme for 2004: Humbling Ourselves to Become as Little Children C laire Burford was one of twenty-six high school seniors recently awarded Friends University's Presidential Scholarship for the 2004-05 academic year. This is the highest academic scholarship awarded by the university. Claire is currently attending Friends as an Early Admit student and hopes to pursue her studies there this fall. Dwight and Pam Burford cordially invite the congregation to attend an open house for Claire in recognition of her graduation from high school. This will be held at Botanica on Sunday, May 16, 2004, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. E lder Jim Bailey from the South Crysler Restoration Branch came to Wichita to teach classes for the priesthood of Zion s Outpost on March 6, 2004. Brother Bailey is an experienced marriage counselor. He and his wife have worked with many couples to heal marital problems and strengthen marriages. He has helped develop Sunday School lessons to teach church youth about marriage and dating. He has also developed a detailed pre-marital instruction program that is utilized in his congregation. Brother Bailey s class was an introduction to counseling techniques. After a morning of classes, our conversation continued through a lunch at the local Cracker Barrel restaurant. D eacon Scott Smith preached on March 14, 2004. This was his first sermon since his ordination. Scott is attending Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, MO. He was home to visit his family. Scott spoke on the topic of baptism. His showed the method of baptism (immersion), the meaning of baptism (a sign of the covenant) and its necessity (obedience to the commandment of the Lord). He also showed that this is a necessary part of following Jesus in fulfilling all righteousness. It was an inspiring and encouraging morning of worship. Scott Smith preaching on March 14, 2004 M ary Robinson was dismissed from the hospital on March 9, 2004. She still has a long period of healing ahead of her, but she is glad to be home again. Visits and calls Page -1-
are still appreciated by Sister Robinson. T he Sunday night class has been studying The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. We have learned many useful things from this class. There are two sessions left in this class. A twelve lesson series from Answers in Genesis will begin on Sunday evening, April 25. This class is a combination of video taped lectures by Ken Ham and discussion by the class members on the subjects covered. You are encoura ged to prepare by reading the first eleven chapters of Genesis. This class is currently being used in the Junior High/Senior High class on Sunday mornings and has been received very well. A workbook, with an outline of each class, will be provided for each student. The Sunday evening class meets at 5:00pm of each week except on the third Sunday of the month. A very productive workday was held at the church on Saturday, March 20, 2004. Several people assisted in a variety of chores around the church. Special attention was given to cleaning the pew cushions and other areas. The toilet in the women s bathroom downstairs was replaced. The handrails on the front porch were painted. The mulch around the trees in the yard was turned. One half of the sanctuary lights were replaced with newer, quieter and more efficient units. The area above the light boxes was painted white to improve the lighting as well. We were not able to treat the church yard with weed and feed because of the gusty winds. M onthly priesthood meetings for worship and study will be held on the second Thursday of each month. Meetings begin at 7:30 pm. Because of the Elders Conference in Independence, MO on April 4-9, the April meeting will be held on April 1. I nformation about many reunions and summer camps has been posted on the bulletin board at the church. These make wonderful times of worship, fellowship, study and fun. T he annual vacation church school at Zion s Outpost will be held in the spring this year. It is officially called Vacation Soldier School (VSS) and meets May 24-28 from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm. This may give you a hint on the theme of this years event. The theme is Soldiers of Christ, ARISE! All of the lessons and activities will be centered on the Armor of God. Our central verse for study is Ephesians 6:11-18. C ongratulations to Jacob Burford who turned th eight years old on March 18. Jacob has expressed his desire to be baptized. The date of his baptism has not yet been determined. Others who may have been contemplating baptism may wish to speak with a member of the priesthood. D aylight Savings time begi ns on Sunday April 4, 2004. Be sure to mark your calendars and prepare to spring ahead an hour. We want to see at church on time for Palm Sunday. E aster Sunday services will follow the format and schedule of the past few years. The Sunrise Service will begins at 8:00 am. Breakfast will follow about 9:00 am. After an abbreviated Sunday School hour, a worship and preaching service will begin 11:00 am. Page -2-
The Meaning of Easter By Ernest E. Crownover The Christian world has come to regard Easter as an occasion for fashion parades, gentle rabbits, and rousing hunts for rainbow colored eggs. No longer a holy day, it has deteriorated into a holiday. The children are delighted by the day's festivities, and the parents are glad to spend a day in casual affairs. It was not this way that first Easter morning when the gates of death were opened for all humanity, and the ascendant star of some previous thirty-three years became an incandescent sun holding all human relations with each other and with God in orbit by the power of one law, the law of right. No, it was different that first Easter morn, for after the three days of dark and smothering doubt, the dawning of truth began in the minds of the disciples when Jesus stood before them. This was not the Jesus of prophecy, but the Jesus of fulfillment. And in the resurrected Jesus, now ever living, the gospel of life should never die. The supreme achievement of creation, man, wrought in the image of God, had long been spiritually dead. When Jesus came forth from the grave he brought forth with him a vast concourse of sons and daughters. begotten into life purposefully begotten, brought forth into the opportunity of unity in a household of faith, Jesus himself the chief cornerstone. Now men might not only appear in the image of God, but grow also into his likeness. As comprehension began to stir in the minds of the disciples as a result of the receiving of a new gift, the gift of the Holy Ghost, they began to grasp the purposes of God and his Son. In the remembrance effected by this gift, they saw from the vantage point of new spiritual heights that Christ had set an objective before mankind, and had charted the course for its attainment. Eternal life is the goal, and obedience to Christ through the gospel is the only pathway. This was acceptable to his followers, and they marched through the disagreements and failures of the following decades to such success that ten of the original twelve apostles met death by violent hands, so like Christ's was their ministry, and so alike the general reaction of the people to it. Whereas before this time men died without hope, being under the law, they now died in Christ. And they came to see death as but a doorway the en-trance to an enlarged sphere of existence and activity. The first easter called men to the assumption of a new life a life glorious in concept, practical in all aspects, and divine in nature. God has "gone all out" in his plan to effect man's salvation. The book of life is open. It is a publication of glad tidings. The publisher is God. The copyright is in the name of the cross, and the flyleaf states that the work is dedicated to the proposition that all righteous men, by the grace of Calvary, shall be transformed into newness of life. At this new Easter season, we, too, would see Jesus. But if we would see Jesus, we must see him through the eye of the soul, and soul-vision comes after the tempest of storm, after the scourge of fear, after the whip of despair. Soulvision comes only to the worthy, and the finite veil is drawn away not after the first hour of prayer, nor the second hour, but the hours which follow after. Jesus is seen by a light which is inside the soul, and the love we hold for our fellow man is the fuel of this lamp. The flame of the lamp of righteousness cannot be extinguished; its fuel flows forever from the bosom of the Son of God. No man who carries this lamp in the one hand, may carry sin in the other hand, for sin gives off a deadly fume which darkens the soul and blinds the eye, and stills the still small voice of hope. He who would see jesus must look upward to the high cross, for this generation has again lifted him up; again he wears the crown of thorns. And before he may be seen on his tree, the seeker Page -3-
must bear with him the means of taking the Savior down, and must bear for him a new crown of authority. For he cannot be seen unless given authority to rule in the finder's life. Neither may he be observed if the seeker stands before the cross alone, for somehow he may be discerned only when the seeker has brought his brother to stand by his side. And where may his cross be found? Out by the highway, or perhaps near the byway. Mayhap just next door. Certain it is that he is close by and he has been nailed there so long! Who is too busy to go find him? Who will have more time tomorrow, and will ex-plain to God's son that today held too many other things for time to be found to wait upon him? Nay, his was a personal death he died for you. And Page -4-
(From page 3) his was a personal resurrection he returned from the grave that you might live again. Today is a day for taking down crosses; tomorrow another will have taken him down, and your life will be left desolate. Then fly to the cross, he awaits you there. Easter means for all that the principles for which Jesus died became eternal with him. Under his supervision, mankind may proceed into newness of life. He will grant to the worthy the spirit of heaven which leads into all truth, and gives the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of his law. His gospel is the power of God for our salvation. Let it take hold; nowhere may such happiness be found as in the temple of the holy one. The blessings of the gospel and the gifts of the spirit minister to every need, and give us power to become the sons of God. When the angels rolled the stone away from Jesus' tomb, the light of God's heaven flooded that sepulcher, converting it into a cradle of new life for all men. God took heaven's greatest disaster and turned it into creation's climactic victory. Every day is Easter to the spiritually awake. Man was born out of the heart of God, and his home shall be with God forever. Yes, Easter means all this. Easter is at the center of our being. Today is a day for hunting Easter crosses. How busy are you today? Zion s Outpost 6300 Tarrytown Park City, KS 67219 April Newsletter 2004 TO: Page -5-