Contact Us 1620 South FM 2869 Holly Lake Ranch, TX 75765 903-769-3501 Website: hollytreechapel.com mail: hollytreechapel@gmail.com Pastor: Dr. Tim Mink We seek to glorify God as the Gospel of Jesus Christ transforms our lives, our church, our community, and our world. P A S T O R Holly Tree Chapel Newsletter May 2017 The month of May reminds us of our mothers, and the other mothers in our lives. For me, it reminds me of my mother, Mariana, as well as my wonderful wife Hope. When Hope was completing her master s degree at Dallas Theological Seminary, she wrote her final thesis on the subject of the excellent wife as described in Proverbs 31:10-31. I don t have room to quote the entire passage here, but it begins, An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. 11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain. 12 She does him good and not evil All the days of her life. Verses 29-31 wrap up the passage by saying, "Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all." 30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. 31 Give her the product of her hands, And let her works praise her in the gates. In this passage in Proverbs, God presents us with His description and estimation of what a godly wife and mother looks like. We are given a glimpse of a woman who is a wife and mother, and one who diligently cares for her household. She cares for the extended family unit including servants, business associates, and those she serves in her community. God praises this woman as "excellent" (NASB) or "of noble character" (NIV) or "virtuous" (KJV). The word "excellent" (vs. 10) is the Hebrew word chayil which means "strength, or efficiency." This word is translated in other passages of Scripture as "able" (5 times), "strength" (10 times), "army" (82 times), "valiant" (over 40 times), and "capable" (3 times) (NASB). In the context of Proverbs 31, it refers to moral strength, but also includes domestic ability and efficiency.
Five qualities are mentioned: 1. She is a devoted wife (vss. 11, 12, 23). She is one who has the confidence of her husband, who seeks his welfare, and enhances his reputation. 2. She is a disciplined partner (vss. 13-17, 18b, 19, 22, 24). She is a willing worker, a wise shopper and planner who is able to minister to her family because she keeps herself fit spiritually and physically (cf. vs. 18a, 25). 3. She is a dutiful servant to the needy and the poor (vs. 20). She has a vision for ministry not only to herself and her own Alert family Academy but to her society. 4. She is a dependable mother $500 (vss. 15, 21, 27). She is devoted to the needs of her family. She is well groomed, attractive, organized, and disciplined and as such, is a testimony to her children. Her home is well cared for. 5. She is scripturally and doctrinally sound (vs. 26, 18). She is a woman full of God's wisdom. She shares her Biblical knowledge with her husband and children. She prays diligently for them- --and with them. After reading Proverbs 31:10-31, you may be saying, Well, after reading this description, I give up! This doesn't describe a woman, it describes superwoman!" No, it describes a Christian wife and mother. It describes a woman who is living in a supernatural way with a supernatural God, living in a way that pleases Him. I praise God for my mother---and also for the mother of my six sons. Both modeled Proverbs 31, and are a testimony to the goodness of God. Our family rises up and calls them blessed. We thank God upon every remembrance of you! (Philippians 1:3) Honor the mothers in your life this month. Pastor Tim
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Things only a Bible Mother would say Samson! Get your hand out of that lion. You don t know where it s been! David! I told you not to play in the house with that sling! Go practice your harp. We pay good money for those lessons! Abraham! Stop wandering around the countryside and get home for supper! Shadrach, Mecshach and Abednego! I told you never to play with fire! Cain! Get off your brother! You re going to kill him some day! Noah! No, you can t keep them. I told you, don t bring home any more strays! Gideon! Have you been hiding in that wine press again? Look at your clothes! Judas! Have you been in my purse again?
M M B R N W S Bob & Barbara Davis 5/5 Russ & Jeanette Bruner 5/7 Robby & Gale Tucker 5/24 MN S FRIDAY BIBL STUDY Men s Bible Study begins each Friday at 7:50 a.m. The men are currently studying in the book of Isaiah. Gentlemen of Holly Tree Chapel Our usher teams are in need of assistance. We are looking for men to usher on Sundays. If the Holy Spirit moves you, and you could pre-dedicate one Sunday or more a month to help us it would be a blessing. For information on joining the usher team, please contact any of us: Usher Captain Leon Ward 903-769-4006 Usher Captain Jim Armstrong 903-769-4493 ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL We invite you to join us each Sunday morning at 8:45 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall for spiritual growth and fellowship. Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever give to God, that God should repay him? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen Holly Tree Chapel 2017 Board of Deacons Jeannette Pyle Secretary Francine vans - Treasurer Suzan Armstrong Dennis Bowman Nancy Weaver Dr. Tim Mink, Pastor
Dear Ones! It is with happiness that I share another benevolence family with you who are recipients of support from HTC. God bless you for your generosity in giving. Please read an update from the Ulibarris below. Nancy Weaver (Benevolence Chairman) Dear Friends, Greetings from Gulu, Uganda in the northern part of Uganda. Today we got some much needed rain as the country has been dealing with some water shortages these last couple of months. Pray that God continues sending the much needed rain. We are writing this quick news flash to update you on our plans for the next month or so. As many of you know we committed to serve in Uganda with our mission organization, Action International Ministries, for one year in order to allow another missionary family time to take a much needed furlough from this field. As it turns out things did not go as any of us planned, but we know and trust what God has for each one of us. So our year commitment is up and we are in process of coming back to the U.S. for at least a few months, specifically for our son s wedding in June. However, as we mentioned in our last newsletter, we are still talking with our agency about possible further service in Uganda; but it is not certain because of many things. As it turns out we will be leaving Uganda on April 26 th and headed to the U.S. for now. Our last day at the ministry is Monday. Please pray for us and the office staff and the school and the teachers and students as we leave, with heavy hearts, our African brothers and sisters to continue the ministries without us. We are thankful that our mission s Africa Regional Coordinator Nelson Reed and his wife Linda, are here to help the team out in our absence until the end of May. Please pray for them and the whole team of ACTION Uganda. Many have been asking when we will be in the states and what are we doing. So we are sending out this preliminary schedule so that you can know where we will be in the coming months while we are in the U.S., in hopes that we can visit with you personally and share about the ministry in Uganda and all that God has taught us this year. We will be in Texas from May 19 until approximately July with a brief visit to Colorado in June to visit family. Please contact us to set up a time to visit. Charles & Bridget Ulibarri B N V O L N C June 19-23 Join the arctic adventure at the top of the world.