Church Library

There is a certain satisfaction that comes from setting a goal and achieving it — even more so when that goal requires a yearlong commitment and daily discipline.
As 2007 looms on the horizon, consider making a commitment to read through the Bible during the year.

There are probably as many methods for accomplishing such a task as there are verses in the Bible. Most are free, and you can find them all over the Internet. Your Bible may even contain a reading schedule. Few strategies involve reading the Bible in order from cover to cover. Instead, they either pick Old and New Testament passages for each day or follow a more topical approach.

As an alternative, you might consider using “The Daily Bible," which presents daily Scripture readings in chronological order (or as chronologically as possible given that it isn't always clear when a book was written or what time frame it refers to). “ The Daily Bible" is a New International Version — the preferred version at First Presbyterian Church — so it should be familiar to you. The Bible also features devotional insights that help introduce and guide you through the material.
Reading the Bible with events presented chronologically gives you a greater grasp of the history and helps put events into context. As Dr. Jim Bankhead says, “Context helps determine meaning."

Reading the Gospels and Paul's letters in chronological order paints a new picture of the beginning of Christianity that isn't readily apparent when you pick and choose passages. Admittedly, there is some redundancy, especially when reading the Gospels (as well as 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles), but this version of the Bible does a pretty good job of seamlessly integrating passages from different books.

Where appropriate, the Psalms are integrated into the historical account, while other Psalms and Proverbs are presented topically when they do not refer to any specific historical time. Scriptures are noted in the margin, rather than within the text, so it is not easy to identify specific verses, but you can easily cross-reference with a traditional Bible to find the exact scriptural reference.

Regardless of the method, reading the Bible in its entirety is one of those goals worthy of your time and effort. For those who have struggled to set aside daily time with the Lord, this is the perfect way to develop that habit that will last you a lifetime.

Why not declare 2007 “The Year of the Word"? Instead of pledging to eat healthier or make it to the gym more often, set your New Year's resolution to read through the Bible in one year.

Auto B Good series:
• “Where the Rubber Meets the Road"
• “Taking the High Road"
• “Hitting the Road"
• “A Road Less Traveled"

These have very cute animation and teach several mini-lessons, which last about 10 to 14 minutes each. This is perfect for those really short pre-school attention spans. You could show one instead of the entire DVD because it is broken down into specific topics. Since there are both boy and girl cars, this series will appeal to both sexes. Would be appropriate for early elementary as well as pre-school.

The Roach Approach Series
• “Slingshot Slugger (David and Goliath)"
• “Don't Miss the Boat (Noah's Ark)"
• “The Mane Event (Daniel in the Lion's Den)"

Bugs serve as the main characters in these short, about 35 minutes long, and to-the-point DVDs. They use real-life application to introduce such concepts as bullying and the fact that God is always with you. They are geared toward pre-school/kindergarten ages.

The Horned Avenger series:
• “Brainfreeze — Drawing a Blank"
• “The Battle against Von Boredom"

This series is most suitable for boys from 3 years to first or second grade. It contains scarier looking characters and is not quite as upbeat as some of the other series, but does teach valuable concepts about God.

The two newest VeggieTales
• “Lord of the Beans"
• “Larry Boy and the Bad Apple"

This series is always a winner — great music, wonderful humor and good values. It is suitable for all ages.

‘The Heavenly Man' will change
the way you view worship, Bible

By Tamala McKenzie
Special to The Chimes

I first heard of “The Heavenly Man — The Remarkable True Story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun" by Brother Yun and Paul Hattaway during Christmas when my cousin's 7-year-old-son, Samuel, in his usual matter-of -fact way, told me, “God gives us dreams and visions."
He went on to say God also makes miracles happen, and his dad had read them stories about some very cool miracles. I was intrigued, so I asked my cousin to tell me about the book.

He said the book was a biography of a Chinese Christian (Brother Yun), and he was reading it to his family during their nightly Bible study. He said it did indeed have some accounts of miracles and had helped him to appreciate the blessing of living in a country where we are free to worship openly. Here are some excerpts:

Chapter 2: A Hunger Fulfilled

The Lord called me to follow him at the age of 16. The year was 1974, and the Cultural Revolution was still raging throughout China …
At first I didn't really know who Jesus was, but I'd seen him heal my father and liberate our family. … I earnestly wanted to have a copy of my own Bible. I asked my mother and fellow Christians what a Bible looked like, but no one knew. … Seeing my desperation, my mother remembered an old man who lived in another village. …

The old pastor simply told me, “The Bible is a heavenly book. If you want one, you'll need to fast and pray to the God of heaven. Only He can provide you a heavenly book."

“… every morning and afternoon I ate and drank nothing. Every evening I ate just one small bowl of steamed rice. I cried like a hungry child to his heavenly Father, wanting to be filled with his Word. …

The miraculous story of how God answered his prayer and provided a Bible will amaze you!

FPC Librarian Susan Hagen ordered the book for the church library. Once I started reading, I was amazed! Part of me wanted to keep reading until I had completely finished the book, and the other part wanted to read slowly, so I could absorb every detail of Yun's story.

“ The Heavenly Man" is a book I will never forget. The Chinese converts in these stories had no idea who Jesus Christ was, yet they served them. They did not place limits on what He was able to do in their lives, instead they received Him with the innocence of children.
God is working miracles every day, even in places where people are not allowed to seek Him openly. If you would like to read stories about miraculous healing, dreams and visions that saved Yun and his family from capture by Chinese authorities and more, check out “The Heavenly Man."

You will never take a weekly worship service, a Bible or fellowship with other Christians for granted again.

‘The Five Love Languages' will
help you show love to partner

Editor's Note: Gary Chapman's “The Five Love Languages" is available in the church library.

By Dorsey Wilmarth
Chimes Editor

Je t'aime.

Te amo.

Ich liebe dich.

These words mean the same thing, but if you don't speak the language, you don't get the message — I love you. While we all understand that love is an incredibly complex emotion, what we don't understand intuitively is that we all have different ways of expressing love and recognizing love when it is shown to us.

In his book “The Five Love Languages," author Gary Chapman proposes that we each have a primary love language — a language that when “spoken" lets us know that we are loved. If our partner fails to converse in our love language, we may not get the message.
Chapman's five languages are:

1. Words of affirmation – Using encouragement, compliments, words of appreciation and affirmation to express love.

2. Quality time – Freeing up one of your most precious commodities to spend with the one you love.

3. Receiving gifts – Giving gifts as physical tokens of affection that say “he is thinking of me" or “she remembered."

4. Acts of service – Doing things that you know your partner would like you to do.

5. Physical touch – Touching, kissing, holding hands and making love are some of the most powerful ways to communicate love.

Chapman readily admits that we each crave all of these demonstrations of love, but he maintains that each of us has a primary language that is more important than any other. Often, our primary love language can be traced back to our upbringing. At first glance, Chapman's book may seem overly simplistic, but don't be tempted to dismiss it. Sometimes the truth is staring us right in the face all the time, but we don't see it.

After reading this book, you will not only be able to identify your love language but you should also be able to identify your partner's love language. With that knowledge, though, comes great responsibility because if we know that our partner speaks a different language than we are used to showing or are uncomfortable showing, we must learn a new language. Only then can we hope to keep our partner's “emotional love tank" full.

If you want to get the most out of your relationship … if you want to show your partner that you love her in the way that she cannot fail to see … if you are committed to filling his emotional love tank until it overflows … you and your partner owe it to each other to read this book.

Mission Statement

To know Jesus Christ and to make Him known by providing reading and listening material, which provides information for growth, enrichment, inspiration, education.

The objectives of the library are:

To encourage Christian growth for lay people through materials relating to the study of the Bible, the devotional life, and everyday existence;
To furnish educational materials for church school teachers and students;
To introduce children to the enjoyment of reading and to furnish books and materials which will give them, not only pleasure, but the foundations for Christian influences in forming their lives;
To provide scholarly materials for the pastor and other professionals on the staff; and
To make available comfortable reading atmosphere for people who are not otherwise engaged in attending worship services and/or other church functions.
Policies and procedures for operating the library will be determined by the librarian and the library committee.

The Mission Statement for the library shall be a basic guideline for the addition of books, audiovisual materials, and computer software for the church library that meets the needs and interest of the staff and congregation. In the following statements, the term material shall mean books, pamphlets, magazines, audiovisuals, or computer software designed for circulation among the congregation.

The librarian, under the general supervision of the library committee, must be prepared to answer to the library committee for the materials included in the library.

Every item in the library should qualify for inclusion according to at least one of the following criteria:

Material consistent with Presbyterian doctrine will be included in the library collection.
Material must be in good physical condition.
Material must be written sincerely and honestly, comparing favorably with other books on the same related subject.
Material, either in single copy or quantity, which the committee feels is not in the best interest of this congregation will not be included.
Material may be acquired as gifts or by purchasing. The same principles shall apply to the acceptance of gifts to the library as are applied to the purchase of materials. (See Donation and Gift Policy.)
Material requests shall be made by using the Materials Request Form and will be acted on by the library committee. The form may be picked up in the library or accessed on the church's web page.
Material that is recommended to be added shall be sought from the church staff, members of the congregation; the church librarian and the library committee.
Material that is fiction or light reading may be included, but not emphasized. The selection of fiction shall be judged especially by the content, sincerity, and purpose of the novelist.
Material that has literary quality and factual accuracy is to be of major importance, regardless of the sacredness of the subject.
Material about other religions may be included. Such materials must be considered on its own individual merits.

Material selection is an ongoing process, which shall include the removal of materials no longer appropriate and the replacement of lost and worn materials still of education value.

Click here for a downloadable version of the material request form.

Gifts and donations to the First Presbyterian Church library are accepted with gratitude. However, placement of gifts and donations is subject to the discretion of the church librarian and the library committee, in consultation with the pastoral staff. All gifts and donations will be reviewed for appropriateness and are subject to the same selection criteria as are purchased materials.

Materials not added will be distributed elsewhere or disposed of in the best manner possible.

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