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TO BE ADDED OR NOTED IN FUTURE SSB WEEKLY EDITIONS

Support a Nigerian Missionary (Al's info below)
“Four the Master” to “For the Master Music Ministry”
July Business Meeting on 7/27
Info class on July 13, 20, 27

NIGERIAN MISSIONARY:
Some of you may recall that when Al was here, he spoke of his return to Nigeria. He grew up there when his dad was a missionary. One interesting comment on Nigeria: 90% of all Christians killed in the world are in Nigeria. Al shared with us the great news that they have 1,000 men and women trained and ready to be sent as missionaries. They just lack funds. What is amazing is the price tag to send just one is $600... ANNUALLY! I suggested we might have a few folks interested in sending a missionary outright. He has given me the following information:

To support one of these Nigerian missionaries, send your $600.00 check to: Mr. Tony Rondinella, Box 5310, Glendale, CA 91201. Make your check out to Global Teaching Network and ear mark your check EMS Missionary support. They will choose your missionary and send you a tax receipt, bio of the missionary, tribe where he or she is from, and where they will be sent. You will not be able to be in contact the missionary at any time for security reasons. They do ask that you pray for your missionary every day.

STANDING STONE BIBLE

WEEKLY

June 30, 2025

A Point from pastor

224 years ago this week, one of the greatest English documents of all time was signed. Did you know that there is an organization dedicated to the "Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence." (go to dsdi1776.com if you are one of the few). Isn't that interesting? Those who signed the declaration knew that they were committing treason and would face possible execution if caught. Five were captured and tortured before they died. Twelve lost their homes (destroyed by fire). Two lost their sons in the war and another two had sons captured. Nine fought and died from the war. They pledged their very lives in signing. Even so, their descendants live today. It does make me wonder, how do they vote? What are their thoughts on their great-great (a few "greats") grandfather's signature and legacy? Some of these descendants have participated in reading the Declaration in the National Archives. Some participate annually in ringing the Liberty Bell each July fourth. Yet, what do each think about democracy and about our republic? Do they have grave concerns about their family's "independence"?

I'm sure we could research the very vocal ones that might have made public statements. I would be extremely surprised to find more than a few that would have quite differing understandings of liberty than their grandfather who signed. How might we consider our future generations and, furthermore, ensure that our legacy is passed on? As much as so many try to pass on wealth, the most important thing is passing on the most important thing: Our spiritual inheritance in Christ including that faithfulness to Him. Each of us has a responsibility to this. Yes, even if you have no children - you have children at church to safeguard. Give them a LEGACY:

L- Live with integrity and faithfulness. "The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith" (1 Tim. 1:5). Model a faithful life to your children. They do learn to imitate those who have come before them. Give them something good to imitate!

E- Entrust them to God. We all know Proverbs 22:6, Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Our part in that is to "train up" - but never forget that the child's not departing is on God. In a sense, we plant and water and trust God to give the growth (1 Cor. 3:6). Trust God!

G- Give them the gospel. As Psalm 78:4 says, "We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done." We talk of our testimony and family stories of faith. We give them a clear understanding of God's grace, salvation and eternal hope: "Seek first the kingdom of God..." (Matt. 6:33).

A- Anchor them in God's Word. Deuteronomy 6 is among the most well known verse to Jews and is critical to their faith being imparted. "And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and... talk of them... bind them... write them" (Deut. 6:6-9). God's Word should shape your life and it should be a regular part of your discussion with them. Intentionally instruct them!

C- Correct with love. "Bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord" (Eph. 6:4). Both discipline and grace reflect our Father in heaven. Correction is a form of love and trains children to know boundaries. We are after their hearts, not just behavior.

Y- Yield to prayer. I love that Job would "continually" pray for his children (Job 1:5). This may come last on this list but it is really our starting point. Prayer is one of the greatest investments you can make in your kid's lives.

Enjoy the Independence Day celebrations this week. May we remember to pass our country's legacy on to our kids but, most importantly, our legacy of faith. Let us help them to know about true freedom... the freedom in Christ: For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Gal. 5:1).

ALL - you may take part in a training program beginning Saturday July 12 at 9am. This will be a six-week series with sessions each week - an hour and a half video sessions (with limited discussion).

For all at SSB: You may take part in a training program titled "Shepherding a Child's Heart" beginning Saturday July 12 at 9am. This will be a six-week series with sessions each week - an hour and a half video sessions (with limited discussion). A great benefit, especially for parents, in passing this legacy on to the next generation

Church Notes...

SAFETY TRAINING

• Annually, we make available "Safety Training" sessions
• Safety training is for anyone at SSB who regularly works with children and teens. This includes those who may only help with VBS, Creation Days kid's activities, as well as ushers and the security team.
• To be eligible to work with children/teens after this summer, you will be required to attend one of the sessions.
• The last 2025 sessions this summer is tonight, Monday evening, at 7pm
• If you realize neither date will work, please let the church office know.

LIGHThouse News

LIGHThouse Calendar

THIS WEEK

Here are the highlights of classes and events THIS week

TLT, Teen Life Truths - This 10-week study of basic life principles for those entering 6th grade continues Wednesday night, from 6:30 to 8:00pm. Older grades may also join in. After TLT, they will join with the LIGHThouse.

Safety Training - The final safety training session is this tonight (Monday night) at 7pm. Anyone at SSB who works with children and teens must attend a safety training session. This is also a necessity for ushers, security team, those who might help with VBS and is just generally good for all.

Communion / Pot Trust - Sunday morning we will share at the Lord's Supper. Prepare. After worship service, we will join in a "pot trust" meal... prepare a dish to share.

Baptism Class - You? We may offer a baptism class in the near future . . . Let one of the pastors know if you have an interest in learning more.

upcoming events

Make note of the classes and events available in the near future

VBS - Vacation Bible School is NEXT WEEK, July 7-10, from 9:39 to 11:45 am. You may learn more and find the registration form HERE. Plan now for your kiddo to attend. We will also need a good-sized crew of middle to high school students to help - or even a few of you "older than high-school" folks (hint-hint). Talk to PKW for more info about helping.

Bible Memory - A Knowing the Word class will be held during Sunday school in July - talk to Ken Begg for more information.

Information Class - Those interested in learning more about SSB, her history and future, as well as learning more of membership may join a 3-session information class beginning July 13 during the SS hour (8:45 am).

Parenting Class - Parents, we will work through Tedd Tripp's updated video teaching, "Shepherding Your Child's Heart," on Saturday mornings beginning in July. These six sessions will be July 12, 19, 26, and August 2, 16 and 23 (no class on 8/9). 9:00 to 10:30 am. Childcare will be available. This will be a great aid in helping you parent with a focus of leading your children to Jesus.

July Business Meeting - July 27... We occasionally have a brief summer business meeting to provide updates. Plan on attending after the worship service for a meeting that morning.

In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

- John 14:2

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ

- Philippians 3:20

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

- 2 Corinthians 5:1

the Lord's day

Youth Sunday! I hope you encouraged several as you saw them serving you yesterday . . . or do so this upcoming week. I look forward to this younger generation more and more leading as they more and more follow after our Lord!

Pastor Tim shared the message from Joshua 10 about the sun standing still. Wow! God has the power! As He fought for Israel, so He fights for you. Are we so confident in God that we would pray like Joshua for the sun to stand still? Are we like the Gibeonites - in need of rescue? God can bring us to a deeper understanding of Christ in our struggles, in our blessings and through what God has done. Stand with Christ!

View Past Worship Services

Did You Know?

The Youth begin their summer hours this month. LGt will meet from 6 to 9pm beginning this Sunday. LIGHThouse (not meeting this Wednesday night) will meet from 7 to 9 beginning on June 11th. TLT will still meet on June 4 at 6:30pm.

Who is Worthy?

Hosea, the son of Beeri, was the first of the minor prophets. He preached probably beginning around the mid 700’s BC and prophesied for over 50 years. At God’s command, he took Gomer, a harlot, as his wife. They had two sons and a daughter. Yet, Gomer was unfaithful. She became an object lesson to Israel illustrating their infidelity to God. Israel’s relationship to God was like a marriage and Israel had been unfaith to Him - an adulteress. Hosea calls Israel to repentance but it is clear he knows there will not be a positive response. Judgement will come! God’s punishment would certainly fit Israel’s crimes but, in God’s mercy, each punishment was disciplinary – God’s desire was to turn Israel back to Him. Just as Hosea could be reconciled to his wife, so can Israel be, ultimately, restored. God is willing to take back even the most wayward one… Yes, this includes you and I. He has loved us with an everlasting love. God is worthy!

This Month in Christian History

June 4, 1985
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Wallace v. Jaffree that Alabama's statute authorizing a one-minute period of silence in public schools "for meditation or voluntary prayer" violated the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. This decision rendered the law unconstitutional.

By striking down the law, the Court essentially reinforced the notion that prayer and acknowledgment of God have no place in public life. Scripture teaches that God's authority extends over all spheres of life, including government and education (Colossians 1:16–17). When public institutions deny that authority, they place human judgment above divine truth.

Additionally, the Court claimed to be protecting religious neutrality, but in practice, excluding prayer from schools promotes a secular worldview, which is itself a belief system. Jesus warned about the dangers of neutrality toward God: “Whoever is not with me is against me” (Matthew 12:30). Denying prayer is not neutrality—it’s an affirmation of secular humanism as the default worldview.

The Wallace v. Jaffree ruling symbolized a key turning point in the broader cultural shift away from Christian values in public life. What was once a society that openly honored God in schools and public institutions increasingly became hostile to public expressions of faith.

From a biblical standpoint, this is a clear sign of spiritual rebellion and moral decay—placing man’s authority above God’s sovereignty.

Be the Church

The Third Step

We have considered the first two steps of discipleship. After investigating a rabbi and deciding to follow him, disciples would next immerse themselves into a deep relationship with him. They went alongside of him, obeying and becoming like him. This is our walk with Jesus. In addition to this, disciples do one more thing.

They live as one on a mission. In a very real sense, Christ was the greatest missionary. A missionary is one sent on a mission. He left His home, position, safety, and all that was His to carry out an assignment. He was sent to make disciples. To follow Jesus means we must also follow this example. Although not every one of us will be called to completely abandon our lives and go live among foreign peoples, as disciples, we are called to completely abandon our lives and live among foreign peoples. . . as an ambassador for Christ, the moment we are saved, we become a foreigner amongst what was once our people. We are to be as workers sent out into the harvest – confessing Jesus as Lord (Rom. 10:8-17), defending the hope of Christ (1 Pet. 3:15), answering people with the mystery of Christ (Col. 4:2-6), gently correcting those who oppose godliness (2 Tim. 2:22-26), persuading them to fear the Lord (2 Cor. 5:6-11) and contending for the faith (Jude 3). Live as one on a mission for God!

BIG Words

Immutability

See Numbers 23:19; Isaiah 40:28; Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8; James 1:17. “Immutable” means “unchanging” or “unalterable.” God is immutable. Perhaps immutability is best expressed this way: God is the same. Charnock wrote “He could not be the same if he could be changed into any other thing than what he is.” You are the same, and your years have no end (Psalm 102:27). God’s immutability is an expression of His perfection. Change implies something might become better or worse. Although we might see in Scripture that God “changes his mind” (Gen. 6:6; Exo. 32:14; Jonah 3:4), these are examples of anthropomorphism (see “Big Words,” SSB Weekly, Jan 30, 2023). These are human characteristics applied to God that we might better understand Him (e.g. when we read of God’s “hand”). God adapts His treatment of us in response to our variation, our actions and character. Thus, God was to destroy Nineveh in 40-days but they repented. God’s character remained immutable throughout. God is the same!

The Moral of the story

Although Baltimore held a 3-0 lead going into the 4th inning, the game against the Texas Rangers on August 22, 2007 drastically changed. The Rangers scored five runs in the fifth inning, followed by another nine in the sixth. Another ten runs in the 8th inning would take the teams, going into the 9th inning, to a score of 24-3.

This was a home game for Baltimore. Any thoughts on the number of fans that were still watching by the ninth inning? They knew it. The players knew it. The game was over. There was no way the Orioles could come back from 24 to 3. Disaster!

What if, though, by some magic or miracle, they could have returned the game to 0-0 going into the ninth inning? The players would have been hopeful again. Baltimore, as the home team, might have played with some intensity, cheered on by hopeful fans.

Resetting the score in a bad game is the way forgiveness with God works. Forgiveness restores our hope. Many feel hopelessly defeated because of sin. But the gospel does an amazing thing. Even with a hopeless score, Jesus is able to reset the score again. When our sins are forgiven, we have a clean start, a whole new ball game, with renewed hope. And, a guaranteed victory! “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Cor. 5:16-17).

• Do you not care that we are perishing? Mark 4:35-41

Does God care that we are perishing? First of all, He is in the boat with us!!! Think about that. The disciples cried out to Jesus that they were perishing, implying that He didn’t care. Yet, if they perished, He would too! For fear of the storm, they woke Jesus up. Obviously, we don’t have to wake Jesus up but think how privileged we are to have no fear to approach him with our fears. This is a God who is not afraid of the things we are afraid of. The disciples woke Him up. Jesus then first rebuked the storm, and second, rebuked the disciples. God will address the things we are fearful of. He will calm our storms and restore the peace in our lives.

Why were the disciples rebuked as having no faith? Didn’t it show faith that by waking Jesus He would take care of the storm? They didn’t fully know or trust that He could take care of the storm. This is obvious by their great fear after He calmed the storm. They were afraid of this power He displayed. MacArthur wrote, “The only thing more terrifying than having a storm outside the boat was having God in the boat!” The disciples perhaps had enough trust in Jesus that they did wake Him.

Jesus is the one who not only cares when we feel like we are perishing, He is in the boat with us. We must trust in the One who not only delivers us from storms but delivers us through them.

A Joyful Heart

Wives. Your husbands do sometimes drink directly from the milk jug. Out of either guilt or just to save you the frustration of needing to respond to it, most men only do this late at night when you are fast asleep. You are welcome. My wife can trust that I am an exception to this habit. I’m just not a milk drinker. I just don’t like the taste of milk. . . by itself. Oh, I’ll drink it on cereal, of course. I’m not a lunatic.

Hopefully, wives, you are not too terribly offended at your husband right now. If he begins to drink from the milk jug while at other people’s houses, then you should say something. In defense of your husband, the hosts probably did say “make yourself at home.”

Husbands. Your wife does things you are also unaware of. I think. I just haven’t seen my wife do those things yet. So, a bit of guesswork here. She might also be a sleeper CIA agent. In a way, we all are like that, living double lives – without the badge.

Double lives. How many live one way at church or with family and another behind closed doors? How many Christians are given to gossip, profanity, sinful anger, lust, gluttony or a list of other sins? We too often lead double lives. This always eventually leads to pain. James 1:8 says that a double-minded man is “unstable in all his ways.” James continues by sharing about the sins of partiality, empty faith, poisonous talk, and worldliness. He should know. After all, James drank milk straight from the jug as well. But James also gives us hope. The hope is framed in the grace of God. That same grace that saves us also can draw us away from sinful practices. James says that God “gives more grace. Therefore, it says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:6-8).

God is willing to cleanse us if we draw near to Him. As we do, the double-mindedness diminishes as our minds become like Christ. So, drink in God’s grace. And, men, next time, grab a glass to drink your milk.

“Hebrews praises faith and attributes to faith wonderful acts, effects, and fruits. To commend faith, the apostle describes the experience of the Old Testament saints... but note, the crown is set upon the head of faith... It should be our principal care to get faith and maintain it. Of all graces it is the most excellent, and of all graces it is the most assaulted. The malice and spite of Satan is against your faith (note Luke 22:31-32).”

- Thomas Manton

Prayer Prods

Mary T - as she recovers, hospital then care home
Several with cancer concerns: Joyce, Ron, Kathie, Peggy, Joe, Tami, Kathy, and Joanie
Laurie H as she works that new knee
CEF Summer Club at SSB this week. VBS planning for July

Weekly Prayer Prods