Sunday, September 05, 2010
West Overland Bible Church

THE WEST OVERLAND OBSERVER 

Yieldedness to God

In a church service one Sunday, the offering plate came to a little girl at the end of a row. She took the plate, put it down on the floor and stood in it. When the usher asked her what she was doing, she responded, "In Sunday School, I learned that I was supposed to give myself to God." The actions of that little girl illustrate the truth that we are to totally yield ourselves to God. This dedication to God is described in Romans 12:1-2 where we will find three components of a yielded life.

The first component of a yielded life is dedication to God. Paul urged believers to present their bodies to God as a living sacrifice. The word present is translated yield in Romans 6:13, 19. It was a sacrificial term for offering a sacrifice. This dedication recognizes Christ’s authority and lordship and involves submitting fully to Him. We give Him all the keys to our lives, and like our Savior we say, "Not my will, but Thy will be done." This decision is the appropriate response of every believer in light of Who Christ is and the great salvation He has given us when we trusted in Him. Every believer should live for God and obey God’s will. Failure to do so is disobedience to the Lord.

In order to follow through with our commitment to follow Christ, our yieldedness will lead us to a continual life of separation from the world. Paul commanded us to avoid being "conformed" to the world. In this passage the world refers to the culture of a society that is in opposition to the beliefs, values, and morals of the Word of God. To be conformed to the world means to be shaped or molded according to the fashion of the world so that our thinking and living reflects the beliefs, values, and morals of the world (1 Peter 1:14). Yieldedness to God requires separation from all forms of worldliness (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15).

The final component to a yielded life is transformation. Transformation involves the changes the Holy Spirit brings about in a believer’s life as we yield to His control (2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 4:22-24). This spiritual metamorphosis involves changes in our internal attitudes, values, and priorities, as well as our external actions. The believer begins a radical transformation of replacing the deeds of the old life (before salvation) with the fruit of the new life produced by the Spirit of God after salvation. The result is the believer practices the perfect will of God.

Have you ever totally yielded yourself to God? Are you refusing to be conformed to the world? Are you being renewed and transformed by the Holy Spirit? As Elisha Hoffman, the hymn writer, phrased it, "Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid: Your heart does the Spirit control? You can only be blest and have peace and sweet rest as you yield Him your body and soul."

Pastor Kerry M. Johnson

Focus on Missions 

Chris and Patti Allinger and their family (Joshua, Nathan, Luke, and Matthew) are missionaries in Provo, Utah with Biblical Ministries Worldwide. Their motto is "Reaching the heart of Mormonland with the Gospel through radio." The Allingers work with KEYY, which is the only Christian radio station that offers a majority of Gospel preaching and teaching programs. The radio ministry is in the process of expanding as equipment is being purchased and contracts are being finalized for a repeater station in Richfield. When praying for the radio ministry please pray for the following items: first, that people would tune in to the radio station; second, that they would recognize the difference between true Christianity and the false gospels on other stations; third, that the listeners would choose to believe the truth of the gospel; and fourth, that Christian listeners would be strengthened in their walk with the Lord. The Allingers are also involved in the ministries of the Provo Bible Church. Chris has been involved in teaching an adult/teen Sunday School class and Patti has taught the Children’s Sunday School class. Joshua and Nathan are now students at Appalachian Bible College in West Virginia.

               

                     Vacation Bible School

We had a great week at Vacation Bible School, June 22-26, 2009. We had 84 children enrolled in our VBS with a high attendance of 69 for the week. Our Missions Project for the week was an offering for Wheels for the World, a ministry of Joni & Friends, that provides wheelchairs for people around the world. Along with the gift of a wheelchair, the workers also share the gospel of Christ and they have had many people trust the Lord. Our offering total for the week was $866.03. Most importantly of all we were able to share the gospel with these young people and we had 11 decisions to trust Christ. Thanks to all of the volunteers who worked in VBS and at the VBS picnic on Sunday, June 28, 2009

 

Awana News

Summer is almost over and some of you have already gone back to school. Awana will begin on Wednesday, September 2, 2009. We will meet each Wednesday evening from 6:45 to 8:30 p.m. On Wednesday we have clubs for children age 3 up through the 8th grade. We are looking forward to a great year and we want you to be a part of it. So come join us on September 2nd for the opening night of Awana!

80th Anniversary Celebration

We are so grateful to the Lord for the 80 years of ministry of West Overland Bible Church. To God be the glory! On September 13, 2009 we will celebrate our church’s 80th anniversary. We will have a potluck dinner after the morning service, so please join us as we remember and rejoice over what the Lord has done at WOBC. For the potluck dinner just bring enough food to feed your family and a few others and we will enjoy the wide variety of dishes. The church will provide the beverages and place settings.