Session had previously de-termined that funds would be dedicated to the PCA’s Disaster Response ministry which already has teams in place responding to needs through PCA congregations in the effected area. Nancy is pictured below on the right and is joined from left to right by Sonya Griffith, Kathy Carr, and Ethan and Kassandra Gray.

In the aftermath of the dev-astation caused by Hurri-canes Harvey and Maria in Texas and Florida respec-tively, Nancy Beckman con-ceived of an idea to raise funds for the PCA’s Disas-ter Response efforts. On Friday and Saturday, Sep-tember 22-23, she organ-ized a garage sale in town. Although hastily put to-gether—we announced it in church only one week in

advance—FPC folks and others responded gener-ously with a good quantity and variety of sale items for the event. The residents of Hinckley also responded enthusiastically. Nancy said that shoppers seemed par-ticularly pleased to partici-pate in the fund raising ef-fort. By the time the garage doors were closed on Satur-day, the proceeds had ex-ceeded $1200.00, a very successful sale by any standard.

Nancy wishes to thank all those who helped gener-ously with the garage sale. The

GARAGE SALE FOR HURRICANE RELIEF

THANKSGIVING EVE SERVICE

Preparations are underway for our annual Thanksgiving Eve Praise Service to be held this year on Wednes-day, November 22nd at 7 PM. It has been our custom to encourage participation from numerous members to share in musical presenta-tions during the evening.

Besides the special music selections, the service in-cludes hymn singing, Scrip-ture reading, testimony time, as well as a Thanks-giving meditation from Pas-tor Kevin. During the ser-vice we will also be receiv-ing our annual Thanksgiving offering which in the past

has been dedicated to vari-ous ministry and mission projects both locally and abroad. The Trustees have yet to determine the minis-try targets for the 2017 offering. This will be com-municated soon through our church bulletin and the Pas-tor’s Thanksgiving Letter.

SPECIAL POINTS OF

INTEREST :

The Carrs were on vacation from October 2-16 during which time they visited the Rev. Steve Carr family in Rogers, AR, and Pastor Kevin’s sister and family in Dallas, TX. They worshipped at the Grace RCUS in Rogers on Sundays, Oct. 8 & 15, where son Steve serves as Pastor.

NOTICE! Remember to set your clocks back one hour—spring forward; fall back—this Saturday, Nov. 4th, before you turn in for the night. Central Standard Time begins.

Plan now for our Christmas Outing on Sat., Dec. 9th: Great Northern Union singing group at the North Heights Lutheran Church.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE :

REFORMATION CELE-

BRATES 500 YEARS

2

DALE GRAY CELE-

BRATES 90TH

2

FAITH , HOPE , LOVE 3

NOVEMBER CALEN-

DAR

4

BIBLICAL WISDOM 4

PRESBYTERY UPDATE 5

PASTOR SPEAKS AT

CSN CONFERENCE

5

First Press First Presbyterian Church (PCA)

Volume 38, Issue 10 November 2017

It has been the custom at FPC to observe that last Sunday of October as a time to remem-ber our heritage in the Prot-estant Reformation. On Oct. 31, 1517, Martin Luther pre-sented his 95 theses in protest against the sale of indulgences practiced in the church at that time. The outcome was a recovery of the gospel truth that justification is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, all for the glory of God alone, which is

grounded in Scripture alone. Morning worship featured hymns and Scripture associ-ated with the that era. Pastor Kevin spoke from Romans 5:1, “Therefore being justi-fied by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Morning worship on Oct. 29th, was followed by our fifth Sunday pot-blessing din-ner (see pictures). Included among the many delicious dishes were the “Papal Bull” (pot roast) and the “Diet of Worms” (a gummy worm dessert. Carol Dybvig in par-ticular took a Scandinavian recipe and made it into a for-tune cookie each sporting one

of the 95 theses (see upper right). Carol is picture below to the left with Ana and Sarah Smith. Their sisters Rebekah, Charissa, and Sophia are pic-tured upper left.

Worker, presented later this month.

Also, recognition is due Ben Wiener (left) who won a VFW sauerkraut eating contest. Be-yond that, you’ll have to ask him what that was all about!

Congratulations are in order for Aryanna Puetz (right) who was named Athlete of the Week for her involvement on the girls volleyball team at the Hinckley Finlayson High School. Aryanna is a sopho-more and expected to be one of the anchors on the team in the coming years. Aryanna is also involved in High School drama and will be part of the production, The Miracle

FPC RECOGNIZES 500TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE REFORMATION

CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER !

DALE GRAY TURNS 90!

day as he turns 90 on Satur-day, Nov. 4th. He began milking cows and farming the land east, west, and north of the church in 1950, raising his family in the home in which he currently resides just be-hind the church. In the late

1990s, the Grays donated the seven acres of land the church is currently on in memory of the late son, Dale Gray, Jr. Dale is a Ruling Elder Emeri-tus. He is pictured with is wife, Marlene, of 64 years. The family of FPC wishes

Dale Gray a very happy birth-

Pastor Kevin has released a new

47 page booklet entitled, What is Man? Discovering the True Nature of Humanity. The

booklet is a follow-up to What is God? Discovering the True Nature of Deity produced last

year. Individual copies are on the

literature rack or may be received

free of charge by calling the

church office. Quantities can be

purchased for $2.00 a piece.

Page 2 FIRST PRESS

Gene Rootkie

Pastor Paul Walker

Richard and Janice DeGrote

Christianity in Three Words—Pt. II

Last month, we considered the idea that Christianity can be summarizeed with three simple words—faith, hope, and love. This month we will continue by ex-ploring the first word—faith. The word faith in Scripture is used in at least two different ways. Sometimes it is objective in referring to the idea of a creed, that being, the articles of belief. Other times it is sub-jective referring rather to the response an individual has toward the promises of God. We will look at the former use this month.

A creed (from the Latin credo meaning “I believe”) is a summary statement of central Christian truths. Such a summary can be called the teachings of the Christian Faith. This use of the word “faith” does not be-tray one’s disposition toward these truths, only that they embody the central tenants of the Christian religion.

Perhaps the clearest use of “faith” in this way is found in the small letter of Jude. Here Jude sets out to write an encouraging word regarding those precious truths he shared with his audience. However, for some reason he felt compelled to redirect his emphasis. He says, “Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). Faith here concerns the fundamental truths of Christianity. Jude recognizes that these truths are always at risk of being attacked or forgotten and thus he calls his readers to “contend for the faith” lest they lose sight of what is impor-tant. He also recognizes there is a finality or completeness or definition to what Christians actually believe. In other words, he refers to Christianity as “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” Elsewhere in Scripture, Paul speaks of having “fought the good fight of faith” (2 Tim. 4:7; cf. 1 Tim. 6:12) during his life-long struggle of proclaiming and defending gospel truth. And again, he notes how the Philippians shared in this endeavor when he expressed his longing that they be found “standing firm in one spirit, with one mind

striving side by side for the faith of the gospel” (Phil. 1:27). These texts all refer the body of truth held by Christians rather than a person’s heart disposition toward those truths.

This raises an important question. What then are the core teachings of the Christian faith? What is The Faith that was once for all delivered to the saints? Over the centu-ries the church has summarized what it regards as The Faith in various creeds, con-fessions, and catechisms. In the creeds, there is broad agreement among all Chris-tians. Among Protestants in particular, there is broad agreement expressed in those confessions and catechisms emerging from the Reformation period. The cate-chisms of the Reformation typically are summaries of the Apostles’ Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Lord’s Prayer as expressions of The Faith.

Clearly, the wisdom our forefathers left in these symbols provide us a wonderful leg-acy in this regard. More importantly, how-ever, the Scriptures provide indicators regarding that which is central. I would insist that any right expression of the Christian faith must account for at least three important biblical ideas. First, it must account for the triune nature of the Godhead. To be sure, all true Christians believe in one God. But they also recog-nize that there is a divine relationship be-tween the persons of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In fact, the importance of this article of faith is seen every time a soul is identified with the church on earth through baptism with water “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19). The very name of the Triune God is placed upon them, so to speak. Christians are similarly and rou-tinely blessed in their worship gatherings with these words: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ the love of God and the fel-lowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor. 13:14). This should be suffi-cient to show that the Christian faith is a Trinitarian faith.

Second, it must account for the central place Christ Jesus is given in Scripture (cf. Luke 24:27; John 5:39). Without ques-

tion, the Christian faith is a Christ-centered and Christ-exalting faith. Christi-anity is all about the Christ! The Lord Je-sus is repeatedly brought forward as the particular object of our affections. For example, in Christ we see God—“In him the whole fullness of deity dwells bod-ily” (Col. 2:9). In Christ there is salva-tion—“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses” (Eph. 1:7). In Christ there is life—“Lord...you have the words of eter-nal life” (John 6:68). Paul would point out to the Corinthians that from the very be-ginning he determined to know nothing among them “except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2) Later he argued that the things of “first importance” must be nothing more or less than these: “That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4). Fur-thermore, the most basic purpose of the Lord’s Supper repeatedly observed within Christian assemblies concerns an occasion for believers to remember Jesus and “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor. 24-26).

Third, The Faith must also account for how the benefits of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection are received by an individual. Those benefits being such things as for-giveness, joy in the Holy Spirit, assurance of God’s love, and life eternal. If there is broad agreement on the first two articles of faith mentioned above, sadly the last is a different story. There seems always to have been confusion regarding how a per-son receives God’s gracious blessings. Most commonly people imagine they can earn God’s favor by living well and being kind to others. Although we don’t dis-courage such things, this clearly is wrong headed. The Scriptures teach that “he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy” (Titus 3:5). To understand how we receive God’s gracious gifts leads us into second use of the word “faith” which we will discuss next month.

Volume 38, Issue 10 Page 3

less!

Paul begins his exposition of gospel truth in Romans with an indictment on the world’s foolery. “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighte-ousness of men, who by their unrighteous-ness suppress the truth” (Rom. 1:18). Trac-ing sin’s inevitable decline in life and culture (cf. Rom. 1:18-32) he concludes saying, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23) and “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). That is why, inciden-tally, we need wisdom from another source, of another kind altogether. We need the Wisdom of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, this Wisdom appears to the world as foolishness. Worldliness turns true Wisdom on its head, as Isaiah has said, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil” (Isa. 5:20). Paul teases this out as he addresses the foolery of the Corinthians:

For consider your calling, brother: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctifi-cation and redemption, so that, as it is written,

The Book of Proverbs is more often than not read as a book of Law akin to the Ten Com-mandments. It is cherished by many only for the tips and suggestions it offers regarding how to live better and more productively. To be sure, there is much counsel of this sort in Proverbs. However, I would argue that in reality it is a gospel invitation to leave the world of foolery and flee to him who is the Wisdom of God. The Apostles were commit-ted to preaching Christ as “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24). Thus when I visit the Book of Proverbs, I see him who is Wisdom incarnate, not merely as an example for living but as my only sure hope and strength.

Last month we considered this gospel invita-tion in the voice of Proverbs' woman Wis-dom. But there is another woman—the voice of woman Folly:

The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house; she takes a seat on the highest places of the town, calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way, “Whoever is sim-ple, let him turn in here!” (Proverbs 9:13-16).

This woman is alluring but deadly (Pro. 7:1-27). Her enticements offer instant gratifica-tion, but he who succumbs to her tempta-tions “does not know that it will cost him his life” (Pro. 7:23). The Psalmist insists, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psa. 14:1). Thus her ways are god-

“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Cor. 1:26-31).

As we live for Christ, we will in some measure grow in living like Christ. Proverbs can help us in this regard. If we live for the world’s foolishness, we will live in increasing measure in worldli-ness and self-destruction. Prov-erbs also points this out. Jesus criticized the Pharisees when he said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them [that is, mere obedience to them] you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness of me,” (John 5:39; cf. Matt. 22:29). Proverbs is among those Scriptures that witness to Him. If this is true, we are on good ground for seeing the gospel in this precious book. Proverbs is an invitation to look to Jesus as the Wisdom of God.

B IBLICAL W ISDOM : CHRIST OUR W ISDOM

SCHEDULE OF

EVENTS

1, 8, 15, 29—Release Time; Dinner-for-a-Dollar, 6 PM; Covenant Kids and Youth Fellowship, 6:30 PM; Choir Practice, 7:30 PM.

4—Central Standard Time begins. Set clocks back one hour at night!

5—Communion Sunday

5, 12, 19, 26—Sunday Evening Bible Study, 6:30 PM

7—WIC Bible Study.

8—WIC Sewing, 9 AM.

11—WIC will be packing Shoeboxes beginning at 9 AM.

12—Trustee Meeting, 11:15 AM

13—Session Meeting, 7 PM.

22—Thanksgiving Eve Service—praise, songs, testimonies, and more.

26—First Sunday of Advent.

9—Annual Christmas Outing to hear the Great Northern Union at North Heights Lutheran Church.

NOVEMBER 2017

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

29 30 31 1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28 29 30 1 2

Page 4 FIRST PRESS

As a follow-up to the Septem-ber Newsletter’s Presbytery report, the following correc-tion is noted. Pastor Kevin’s Candidates and Credentials examined and presented

Brennan McCaf-ferty and Mike Johnson as candi-dates to be taken under

care. Both were approved. Also, Rev. Pat Morgan’s dis-missal from Germantown PCA was approved. He will be moving to Janesville, WI,

with his wife, Heidi, to serve the Janesville OPC congrega-tion.

On the morning following Presbytery, the Carrs were invited to the home of Pastor Nathan Lee for breakfast and fellowship. The Carrs are pictured on Pastor Lee’s deck overlooking the Duluth Har-bor with Pastor Art and Janet Sartorius from Rapid City, SD, Pastor Morgan, and RE Austin Brummer from Rapid City, SD.

attend due a scheduling con-flict. FPC delegates were Ben Wiener and Robert Sikkink. Deb Wiener attended as the camp’s bookkeeper, along

On Tuesday evening, Octo-ber 24th, FPC hosted the semi-annual meeting of the Grindstone Lake Bible Camp. Pastor Kevin was unable to

with Wayne Golly. Ben was elected to another term on the Camp Board. Ginnie Rootkie organized a dessert following the meeting.

UPDATE ON THE SEPTEMBER PRESBYTERY

FPC HOSTS GLBC SEMI-ANNUAL MEETING

PASTOR SPEAKS AT MINISTER ’S CONFERENCE IN CROSBY

conference was Small Churches; Big Problems which ad-dressed the unique problems of minis-try in small town and rural church.

Pastor Kevin was last on the venue

speaking from 1 Cor. 2:2. His message was entitled, Eyes Straight Ahead: Keeping Focused on What Really Matters. The conference attracted some 50 attendees from as far away as Grand Maris, MN, and Bar-nes, WI. Pictured to the up-per right are the speakers and hosts. From left to right are Pastors:

Randy Reed, speaker (Negaunee, MI).

Joe Reed, host, Lewis Lake Covenant Church.

Paul Walker, speaker, brother-in-law to Ginnie Rootkie, Grand Junction, CO.

Eric Anderson, host, Life-spring Church, Crosby, MN.

Ivan Fiske, speaker, Quamba Baptist Church.

Kevin Carr, speaker, FPC.

On Friday, Oct. 27, Pastor Kevin joined three other speakers at the Lifespring Church in Crosby, MN, for a minister’s conference hosted by the Common Slaves Net-work (CSN). CSN is a net-work of confessional minis-ters committed to preaching and promoting the doctrines of grace in their churches and beyond. The theme of the

CENTRAL STANDARD

T IME BEGINS THIS

WEEKEND . SET YOUR

CLOCKS BACK ONE

HOUR THIS

SATURDAY NIGHT !

The family of FPC extends congratulations to Pastor Nathan Lee of Grace PCA, Du-

luth, and Ms. Katheryn Blankenship of Indian-

apolis, IN, on their October 10th engage-ment. Pastor Lee an-

nounced the joyful news to his congregation on Sunday, October 22. The couple met at a prayer meeting last

April in Jackson, MS, which was hosted by the

church Pastor Lee attended while in Semi-nary. Ms. Blankenship is a member of the 2nd

Reformed Presbyterian Church (RPCNA) in

Indianapolis. A wedding date has been set for Saturday morning,

February 3rd, 2018. Pastor Kevin has been given permission by the

Session to fill the pulpit at Grace Duluth on

February 11 while the couple are on their

honeymoon.

Volume 38, Issue 10 Page 5

NON-PROFIT ORG.

PERMIT #30

HINCKLEY, MN 55037

ADDRESS SERVICES REQUESTED

Phone:: 320-384-6440 Pastor’s Email: kevincarr157@gmail.com

Church’s Email: firstpreshinckley@gmail.com November 2017

F IRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

(PCA)

“TRUE TO THE SCRIPTURES, THE

REFORMED FAITH, AND THE GREAT

First Presbyterian Church is a member congregation of the

Presbyterian Church in America

W E ’RE ON THE WEB :

WWW . FIRSTPRESH INCKLEY . ORG

P, O. Box 157 Hinckley, MN 55037