The Ohio Independent Baptist, April 1962

• een Dave Gowor editor Tempie Baptist Church Gallia and Waller Streets , Portsmouth , Ohio Jerry Bonzo, assistant editor . . Youth leaders pastors, and young people send us news and ,deas ... JERRY BONZO How's Your Joy? \\ c ,, "-'tllli l1k.c tt) t,\k.c ,\ m1nt1tc f , )ttt ,.1n1-f),l .. k.cJ chctit1lc. teenage tr1c11ti,. tl1 '011~tLic1) t11 ··happinc ra t111g ·· 11 pe ple. and e pcciall th<.) c )f u '" ,, ho are jt1 t appr aching .1dt1lth J. earch f r j ) a nd happi– nc" . ho,e \\ h a re a, ·ed kno\v that l,1 ting pea and jo) c me o nly when on h a put hi .. faith in J e u hri t. th n f od ,, ho lived. died. and ro~e again to pr , 1 ide the onl)' way in to heaven for all lo t inner . God intended for Hi people to be the happie t people in the world. He ne,,er mea nt for Chri tian to have per onalitie ugge tive of a dill pickle r of ~la ude the 1 1ule. The Bible c mmand u in Phil. 4: 4, ' Rejoice 1n the Lord alwa 1 r and again I ay, Rejoice." In I Peter l: 8 we read. ··\\thorn not een. ye love; in whom, though nov. 1 ·e ee him not yet be– lie\ ing. 1 ·e rejoice with joy un peak– able a nd full of glory: . Chri t Him- el£ proclaimed, "The e thing have I poken unto you, that m y joy might remain in ) 'OU, a nd tha t your joy might be full.,. in John 15: 11. H o v.,ever, the ad truth i tha t many Chri tia n aren't joyful. They, a did D avid of old, have lo t the joy of their a lva tion . Before we ay any– thing further, let u m ake one thing clear. You cannot lo e your salva– tion! God h a promi ed everla ting, eternal. never-ending life, a nd tha t mean ju t "" h a t it ay . But a Chri tian can lo e the joy of hi a l– , ation. David pra ys to God \\ 1 hat bring about thi lo of jo 1 ? Again let u refer to D avid and the -1 t P alm. In ver e 12 D avid crie out to God to re tore, or return, the jO}' of alvation. Therefore we can ju tl}' a ume that hi joy mu t have departed. or it would not have been nece ar) to ha've it returned. Here 1 one of the great Bible character 10 a condition in Vt hich \.ve ometime find ourselves. The cau e of D avid' lo wa the ame a the cau e of our PAGE 12 APRIL, 1962 l c t u · 1 k a t ver.. c 3 of thi ame cha pter \\ here we find the an wer to the ques ti n of wh \.Ve have lo t our j }' · D avid ay . "'For I acknowledge m ) ' tran gre ion : and my in i ever bef re me." veryone whether a hri ti an or not in daily . A hri tian we are to trive to b e in– le but of cour e we cannot attain th i perfectio n h er e o n ea rth. If we fail to confe our in and to a k forgivene , d ai ly, we develop a ' 'guilt complex' ' and our in h aunt u continually, ju t a David haunt– ed him. To tate it in other term , we lo e the joy of our salvation. Promise to forgive Thi i a ad ituation but prai e God h e provide a second chance. R emember I John 1 :9 ·If we confess o ur in , h e i faithful and ju t to forg ive u our in , and to clean e u s f rom a ll unrighteou n e ." The ver e read ·'all unrighteou nes ", not ju t the in we committed before we were aved , but ALL in . Have you lost the joy you h ad when you were fir t aved ? D o you long for the peace of heart you once h ad ? If o, why not drop to your knee right now and a k God forgivene remembering that H e ha promi ed to forgive. Ten Commandments for Teen-Agers l ) D o n t let your p arent down· The)' brought you up. 2) Be humble enough to obey· You may give order omeday. 3) Choo e companion with care; You becom e what they are. 4) Choo e only a date Who would make a good m ·a te. 5) Guard your thought · What you think, you are. 6) Be m a ter of your h abit , Or they will m a ter you . 7 ) Don t be a how-off when you drive· D rive wi th afety a nd a rrive. DAVE GOWER 8) D o n ' t le t the crowd pres ure you. la nd for 5ome thing, or you ' ll fall for a nything. 9) Go to church faithfully; M ake the week' first tep the church tep . 10) To hri t be always true; He gave Hi all for you. Tl1e M enno11ite Hour Youth group shows increase in attendance The month of January showed an increa e in the average attendance of the Sunday evening youth groups a t Temple Bapti t Church, Ports– mouth bringing it up to 59. The adult group averaged 18 in attend– ance. The Junior High youth group met at the home of Mr. and Mr . Dennis H all on Grandview Avenue on Sun– day for a time of fellow hip after the evening church ervice. The Seniors met on Sunday even– ing, at the home of Mrs. lone Sa– grave on Gay Street. One of the highlight of the Senior Fellow hip wa the howing of movie taken when the agrave were on vacation in the We t. A number of our young people have been intere ted in re-activating the prayer group on Wednesday even– ing a nd beginning in February we will h ave our prayer group again for all the young people. We tru t that m a ny of them will take a dvantage of thi plendid opportunity of meeting and praying for our church, our mini try and for their own live and need . On February 2nd the following young people went with Mr . Curcio to Cedarville College to vi it for the day· Becky Crabtree, Ken Curcio. H a rold George, Marilou Goddard, Ken Griffith Larry McDaniel, Wayne Miller Charle Pin on II Stephen mith and Barry Vance. The OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST