Unnecessary Baggage
Dave Egner, KneEmail

In 1845, the Franklin Expedition sailed from England to find a passage across the Arctic Ocean.

The crew loaded their two sailing ships with a lot of things they didn't need: a 1,200 volume library, fine china, crystal goblets, and sterling silverware for each officer with his initials engraved on the handles. Amazingly, each ship took only a 12-day supply of coal for their auxiliary steam engines.

The ships became trapped in vast frozen plains of ice. After several months, Lord Franklin died. The men decided to trek to safety in small groups, but none of them survived. One story is especially heartbreaking. Two officers pulled a large sled more than 65 miles across the treacherous ice. When rescuers found their bodies, they discovered that the sled was filled with table silver.

Those men contributed to their own demise by carrying what they didn't need. But don't we sometimes do the same? Don't we drag baggage through life that we don't need? Evil thoughts that hinder us. Bad habits that drag us down. Grudges what we don't let go.

'Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with 50 great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us' -Hebrews 12:1

Sobering Facts About SIN
Author Unknown

One called “sin” the saddest word in the Bible and in human speech. Sin is the fountain of woe, the mother of sorrows, as universal as human nature and as eternal as human history. It can be labeled as "the cause of all war and violence and hatred and sorrow and pain." Sin alienates from God, establishes fellowship with the devil, bring moral perversion, sears the conscience, and ultimately issues in death (Rom. 6:23). There are some things that we all need to know about sin.

1. Sin is made to look attractive. When Eve beheld the "forbidden fruit" she saw that it was good for food, pleasant to the eyes and desired to make one wise (Gen. 3:6). What she did not see was sin's true nature. It brought pain, suffering, death and separation from God. Sins true colors are seldom seen until too late.

2. Sin is fun. The writer of Hebrews commended Moses because he turned his back on the "pleasures" of sin" (Heb. 11:25). Anyone who would suggest that sin is not enjoyable simple does not understand how Satan works. Sin is not only made to look good, but brings some pleasure when pursued.

3. Sin never produces everything it promises. It is enjoyable, but the pleasure is always short-lived ("for a season", Heb. 11). A few minutes of euphoria may result in a lifetime of misery and pain.

4. Sin is destructive. Its destructive effects may be experienced now and throughout eternity. Solomon observed that "the way of the transgressor is hard" (Prov. 13:15). Life is made more difficult because of sin in our lives. If it is not dealt with, it will lead to eternal separation from God (Rom. 6:23).

5. There is forgiveness in Christ, but the scars still remain. Jesus died to save men from the eternal consequences of sin. We never want to downplay the importance of His role. He is the giver of life. Through Him forgiveness is available to every man. But, though forgiven in Christ, the ghosts of a former life of sin often linger to haunt us. The best advice for life was offered by the apostle Paul when he wrote, "Abstain from all appearance of evil" (1 Thess. 5:22).

PM Fellowship
All are invited to meet in the annex, this evening (25th) after the PM services, while we honor the birthdays and anniversaries celebrated in June. Members are asked to bring snacks, finger foods and light fare.

July Calendars
The July edition of the Activities Calendar and Those to Serve List is available today in the foyer. Be sure to get a copy.

Ghana Update
Shirley Bauer provided us with this update from the team in Ghana:

 7 baptisms on Friday .
 Christopher did street preaching on Thursday night.
 Bradley did street preaching Friday night
 Bob is Preaching his first Ghanian funeral Saturday and...
 doing two radio programs on Saturday
 All is going well — the crew is doing fine.

Bob said things are going better than they had hoped.

Who are you voting for today? If your attitude is to let the church die, then you have voted for Satan - the enemy of God. You cast your vote by whether or not you attend and support the work of the church. Will you not join the Lord's people on the Lord's day?