loch raven press: february 2016

L o c h R a v e n P r e s s F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 6

The Pastor’s Page— Are We Distinguishable?

Keeping Christ

Pre-eminent

In All Things

Missions 3

New Group Studies 4

Evangelism & Outreach 5

Christian Education 7

Women’s Ministries 9

Calendar 11

Inside this issue:

Loch Raven Press L o c h R a v e n P r e s b y t e r i a n C h u r c h , P C A

Continued—page 2

“And they recognized that [Peter and John] had been with Jesus.’”

Acts 4:13b (ESV)

Even if you are not a big fan of football or baseball, it’s hard not to rec-

ognize Baltimore’s team colors—they are distinctive and all around us. Some

uniforms have even become iconic, like the NY Yankee’s pinstripes. Today’s

sports have made it easy to distinguish different teams and their fans, but not

everyone is so easily recognized.

God’s people should be distinguishable. This is not a matter of wear-

ing a uniform, but rather of holding to the Bible and striving together to have

God’s Word shape our beliefs and behavior. The earliest believers were

known as “belonging to the Way” (Acts 9:2; cf. 22:4), and Paul identified him-

self as “a follower of the Way” (Acts 22:14), an obvious reference to Jesus’

statement recorded in John 14:6: “I am the way and the truth and the life.”

As disciples of Jesus we are called to follow Him—to walk or live according to

what Christ has done for us and commands of us. We confess our sin and

guilt, crying out in amazement that God has made a way of salvation by grace

through faith in Jesus; we confess the Name of Jesus as the only way provided

for salvation; and we gratefully confess that we are not our own, we have

been born again by the Spirit and gladly offer our bodies as “living sacrific-

es” (see Rom. 12:1) to God.

This pattern of Guilt, Grace, Gratitude is found not only in The Heidel-

berg Catechism, but as we were recently reminded by Michael Kersten at a

Wednesday prayer meeting, is seen in Romans and can aptly be called “Sin,

Salvation, Service.” The catechism’s questions 3-11 expose our experience of

sin and misery and can be compared to Rom. 1-3:20; questions 12-85 explore

God’s gracious redemption in Christ through faith (Rom. 3:21-11:36); and the

final part—questions 86-129—explain true gratitude for God’s mercy in deliv-

ering us and correspond to Paul’s theme in Rom. 12-16. What a wonderful

and profitable focus for us this year! Please take advantage of one of the

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Special Events

Mark Your Calendars

Friday , February 5

6:00 PM

Pot Luck Supper followed by

the Annual Congregational

Business Meeting

Sunday, February 21

7:00 PM

An Evening of Worship

small groups meeting to discuss this Biblical symbol of the Faith.

Are you familiar with the next verse of Romans 12? “Do not

conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed

by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and ap-

prove what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (NIV) If

we are walking in the Way instead of conforming to the way of the

world, people will notice—we will be distinguishable! Thankful, obedi-

ent service to God, in light of God’s mercy and our new life in Christ,

is, I trust, our common aim, both individually and corporately. Being

transformed by the renewing of your mind requires making the ordi-

nary means of grace—that is, the Word and Prayer—a priority in your

life. God has placed you in our Church family for a reason; you are

part of a body and we each have a measure of responsibility to one

another. God’s work of grace and growth in your life is for the help

of others too, not just yourself. Our Heidelberg discussions are for our

entire Body’s health. As God strengthens our faith and His grace in

our lives is made manifest in our obedience, others will notice. No

longer will we as Christians be indistinguishable from the unbelieving

world around us, but as noticeable as a Raven’s fan in Pittsburgh. And

that will be a good thing! Perhaps then, in God’s good providence,

someone might come up to us, as they did to Philip, and say to us, “we

would like to see Jesus” (Jn. 12:21) because they know that we know

Him.

One of my prayers for us in 2016 is that we move forward to-

gether in the Faith, better understanding what Scripture teaches us

and how Biblical truth can be for our comfort in life and in death. Let’s

embrace this catechism, a ‘book of comfort’ and in so doing show our

love to God and His Word upon which it is based. And let us do this

together!

That this may be, by God’s grace, for our good and God’s glory is my

prayer.

Pastor Milligan

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MISSION POSSIBLE February, 2016

Ministries to Muslims

All of this material is quoted from a letter written by

Don McCurry on December 31, 2015.

“DOES PRAYER WORK?

“Jesus said to those who abide in Him,

‘Whatever you ask the Father in my Name, He may

give it to you, ‘(John 15:16). We have been asking the

Father for Muslims to come to Jesus for a long time. Is

it happening?

“According to the survey done by Miller and

Johnstone as reported in the Interdisciplinary Journal of

Research on Religion, Volume 11, Article 10, 2015, in

the article entitled ‘Believers in Christ from a Muslim

background: A Global Census, from 1960 to 2010,’ the

number of Muslims turning to Christ is close to

10,000,000. Surprised? You bet. And due to the cur-

rent brutality of Islamic insurgents, the number has in-

creased dramatically in the last five years. We believe

that there is a direct correlation between our prayers for

Muslims and the harvesting going on among them. We

must not let up. We press on in prayer.”

“THE PUNJABI TRANSLATION PROJECT

100,000,000 Punjabis in Pakistan with no Bible

in their mother tongue. The project is underway.

Thank you who prayed and who have invested in bring-

ing the Word of God to these unreached millions.

Oral translation passages are being field tested as we

write. Long term, the goal is to get the whole Bible in-

to a written version....Pray in faith for a great harvest

among these long-suffering people. And just as im-

portant, you may give to this momentous project to

make it happen. Make checks payable to: “TEAM.”

Designate on the check, Oral Punjabi Translation Pro-

ject, Account #552274. And send to : TEAM-USA,

PO Box 1986, Grapevine, Texas, 76099-1986.

“And pray for David Davis who will be in Pakistan,

January 6-16. David is a veteran missionary to Paki-

stan, who knows the Punjab inside out and he will be

overseeing this project.”

A YEAR END REPORT

“Rejoice with us in the ministries the Lord has

given. If you followed us with your prayers through

the year, then you invested in the teaching of various

classes on Perspectives on the World Christian Move-

ment in 14 USA cities in the states of Louisiana, Colo-

rado, Kansas, and Oklahoma. You also invested in the

ministries of teaching ‘ Encountering the World of Is-

lam,’ in Costa Mesa and San Diego, CA. Overseas,

you were with us in the Spirit in training programs in

Costa Rica [2], Jordan, Egypt, Belgium and Mexico.

Other programs took us to Texas, Minnesota, Virginia,

and Maryland. Your prayers matter.”

JANUARY 2016

“January 19—30, I will be involved in a train-

ing program in Chiang Mai Thailand, where I will meet

70 workers coming out of China. About 20% of them

work with Muslims. The other 80% will now be sensi-

tized to orient their work to include the 100,000,000

Muslims in China. Along the way, I will get to visit

our youngest daughter and her husband in Roi Et, Thai-

land. This is an arduous trip, 20 some hours travel each

way. Pray that I will be protected from any kind of

sickness due to fatigue. Mary Jo will be staying with

dear friends from our local church while I am away.

Do pray for healing for her arthritically riddled back.”

“With much love and gratitude,

Don and Mary Jo McCurry”

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“. . . they took note that these men had been with

Jesus.” (Acts 4:13 NIV)

How will people know that we’ve been with Jesus? Are

we spending time in the Word and in Prayer together

as disciples?

We have a chance to strengthen our Body with regular

times together studying God’s Word as we discuss The

Heidelberg Catechism and pray. PLEASE take ad-

vantage of this opportunity!

You might not think you have time – but one of our

groups is meeting only twice a month! Can’t you find

or take 2 ½ hours for discipleship?

You may think you don’t need it, perhaps you’ve been

a believer a long time —but all of us benefit by being

reminded and discussing again things we already

know, and Biblical truths are so rich and deep that

there is always more for us to learn and apply!

Maybe you are already committed to an in-depth Bible

study—but this is special to our congregation, it’s

something we are doing together as a church! We are

using this catechism every week in worship and each

of us members has promised to support the church in

its worship and work to the best of our ability, here’s

an opportunity to support the body and grow together.

Possibly this feels a bit strange, we are comfortable

with Sunday School, but we might not know everyone

else who will be in the group—but isn’t it wonderful

that we’ll be able to meet new people as we learn

about our faith! We hope that these gatherings are

inter-generational, men and women, singles and fami-

lies all joining together to study and pray.

We have several different places to meet, so almost

everyone will find somewhere fairly close we hope.

And we’ll be careful of the time too, so that as we start

on time, we’ll also end punctually. Although if you

want to stay and fellowship, that might be possible,

too!

Let’s put the church first and pray for God’s special

blessing as we study, pray, and grow together in 2016!

Here are the opportunities throughout the week**:

SUNDAY evening – Michael Kersten (beginning 2/7)

Email: [email protected]

MONDAY evening -- Brian Sweeney (beginning 2/8)


MONDAY 7PM – Nadim Warsal (beginning 2/22)


TUESDAY 2:00 – 2:45PM – David Milligan

Church House after the prayer meeting


WEDNESDAY 7-8PM – David Milligan

Church choir room

2nd & 4th WEDNESDAYS 6:45-8PM – Leland Knight


(beginning 2/10)

*Locations & Phone Numbers redacted

from online version of newsletter! Please

call church office for information.

Heidelberg Catechism Study Groups

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The Greatest Love

Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love – Isaac -- and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a

burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” (Genesis 22:2)

There are many types of love in the world --- romantic love, marital love, erotic love, brotherly love, ma-

ternal love, patriotic love, family love, and love for all kinds of things --- pets, food, money, sports, and on and on

and on. But what is the greatest love?

Love is probably the greatest word of the Bible, and, by the principle of first mention of important biblical

words, the first time the word “love” occurs should be a key to its use all through the Bible. Rather surprisingly,

love is first encountered here in our text, speaking of the love of a father for his son, of Abraham for Isaac, the son

of promise. Furthermore, the father is being told by the very God who made the promise to offer his beloved son

as a sacrifice!

From the New Testament (see Hebrews 11:17-18), we know that this entire scene is a remarkable type of

the heavenly Father and His willingness to offer His own beloved Son in sacrifice for the sin of the world. This

tells us that the love of this human father for his human son is an earthly picture of the great eternal love of the

Father in heaven for His only begotten Son.

And that means that this love of God the Father for God the Son is the ultimate source of all love, for that

love was being exercised before the world began. When Jesus prayed to His Father the night before His sacrificial

death, He confirmed this great truth when He prayed; “…you loved me before the creation of the world.” (John

17:24b). Indeed, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1John 4:8), and the eternal

love within the triune Godhead is the fountainhead of all true human love here on Earth.

Taken from Days of Praise: 02.14.2016. Institute for Creation Research: Henry M. Morris, Ph.D. All scripture is

from the NIV translation and edited by Chuck Holzman.

This devotion is brought to you by the Evangelism and Outreach Committee and those of the Harvesters* who are

dedicated to sharing the gospel. (*see the following page for more information about the Harvesters)

Editor’s Note (CH):

How many times have you shared God’s love with someone since January 1, 2016?

“Evangelism is not persuading people to make a decision; it is not proving that God exists, or making out a good

case for the truth of Christianity; it is not inviting someone to a meeting; it is not exposing the contemporary di-

lemma, or arousing interest in Christianity; it is not wearing a badge saying, ‘Jesus Saves!’ Some of these things

may be right and good in their place, but none of them should be confused with evangelism. To evangelize is to

declare on the authority of God what He has done to save sinners, to warn people of their lost condition, to direct

them to repent, and to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

John Cheeseman: Saving Grace, 1999, p.113, by permission Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA

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Tidings from the IRS

1. On December 14, 2015, we received a Notice from the Internal Revenue Service acknowledging

that LRPC did not owe the IRS anything.

2. On December 28, we received a Notice advising us that the IRS has issued a “Certificate of Release

of Federal Tax Lien.” The IRS had filed such a lien against LRPC in November 2014 with the Balti-

more County Court system.

3. On January 11, 2016, we received a check from the IRS in the amount of $302.18 relating to a claim

which we had filed with them in July of 2011.

Conclusion: We are now “free and clear” of any claims asserted by the IRS.

Austin Kenly, Church Treasurer

(editor’s note: Thanks to Austin and Michael Kersten for all the time and effort it took against layers of government

bureaucracy to get this straightened out.)

Harvesters

On the previous page, Chuck Holzman refers to the Harvesters, as part of

the Evangelism and Outreach Committee of LRPC. Seventeen people from

our church (as well as people from other churches) attended the Opera-

tion Timothy seminar led by Rev. Chris Peeler last year. These people re-

ceived training in sharing their faith with others. If you are interested in

learning more about how to share the Good News of Christ with others,

please see Chuck.

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Even if you’re not involved in teaching children, please read Jo’s summary of learning styles. You might

find yourself described and you might see how you can relate better to people with whom you work—

either in your job or on a committee here at LRPC!

Sunday School Scoop

Last month I introduced a book by Cynthia Tobias, The Way They Learn. To review, there are four

major learning styles, Perception (concrete and abstract) and Ordering (sequential and random). The

four groups are broken down like this: Concrete Sequential, Abstract Sequential, Abstract Random

and Concrete Random.

Concrete Sequential people look at the facts, work systematically, have trouble working in

groups or a disorganized environment. Their questions focus on facts, when the project is due and

what it should like. (This is ME to a T!)

Abstract Sequential people look for the underlying principles. They will gather data before

making decisions, learn more by watching as they use logical reasoning. It is hard for them to deal

with repeating tasks over and over, being diplomatic and they usually ask, “How do I know it’s true?

Have we looked at all the possibilities?”

The Abstract Random person looks for personal relevance, and finds it easy to understand other’s

feelings and emotions. They seek to bring harmony to the group. He prefers to personalize learning,

broad principles and decides with the heart, not the head. He has trouble with competition, giving

exact details or focusing on one thing at a time. The reason for learning is “What does it have to do

with me and can I make a difference?”

Finally, the Concrete Random person looks for competing reasons, yet will inspire others to take ac-

tions, sees many options and might take risks. Insight, instinct and real-life experiences help him/

her learn. It’s difficult for him/her to have restrictions, do formal reports, or redo anything once it’s

done. They will usually ask, “How much of this is really necessary?”

These four models can help you help your child as he/she goes through their school years. Not all

children do their homework in the same way. Where they study, noise levels, room temperature, eat-

ing and even the time of day all play a part in their getting homework done without a fight.

One other aspect in learning is “How do we remember?” Is your child an auditory learner (need to

hear themselves read to or read aloud for comprehension), a visual learner (illustrations and seeing

the teacher is important) or a kinesthetic learner (hands on, do it themselves, body in motion) learn-

ing?

This is a very brief review, but I would encourage you to read the book if you and your children are

struggling over school and learning.

JoAnn Beck

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WOMEN’S MINISTRY SURVEY*

1. We want to serve you. Please mark the activities in which you would most like to participate in future

women’s events at Loch Raven:

2. Bible and Book Studies -Please mark one:

□ I currently participate in a monthly book study/circle meeting.

□ I would like to participate in a weekly book study/circle meeting and am available ( check all that apply):

__ Monday __ Daytime __ Evening

__ Tuesday __ Daytime __ Evening

__ Wednesday __ Daytime __ Evening

__ Thursday __ Daytime __ Evening

__ Friday __ Daytime __ Evening

Name ________________________________________________

□ I am not interested in joining a book study at this time.

3. We need more planners and helpers to continue offering women’s ministries at our church. If you are

able to help, please fill out this section:

□ I would like to be on the planning committee (meets ~4 times/year)

□ I would like to plan 1-2 specific events for the women’s ministry each year.

□ I would like to help with event set-up/preparation for activities as needed.

□ I would like to talk to someone on the committee to learn more about the work involved.

Name: ___________________________________________

Phone: _________________ Email: ____________________

□Group Teas

□Christmas Tea

□Fitness Seminars

□Retreats & speakers

□Joint meals

□Book studies

□Movie nights

□____________________

□____________________

□Day trips, for example:

□___________________

□___________________

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Loch Raven Women and Friends—Please consider registering for this event at our sister PCA church.

Registration forms will be available in the narthex.

10


Group Date & Time Circle Leaders Hostess/Location Book

Elizabeth 9:30 a.m.

February 26 Debbie Soukup

TBA What’s So Amazing

About Grace?

Esther 1:00 PM

February 15 Joanne

Stevenson Church Library Abiding in Christ

Hannah 7:15 PM

February 25 Magda Warsal &

Eileen Royce Sandy Magsamen Live a Praying Life

Lydia 5:30 PM

February 19 Kathy Fagan Kathy Fagan

Jesus Outside the Lines

Rebekah 10:30 AM

February 11 Sharon Mariani

TBA Judges

Ruth 10:00 AM

February 11 Janet

Whitekettle TBA Abiding in Christ

Young Women 7:00 PM

February 9 & 22 Sue Milligan TBA

Son of David: Seeing Jesus in the Histori-

cal Books

Women’s Ministries

February Bible Studies

Letters Dear Loch Raven Friends,

Thank you so much for the prayers, cards, calls and visits before and during my

recovery from hip surgery.

The recovery has been slow with one set-back. Slowly and surely I will be back

to doing what I enjoy and most of that involves Loch Raven Church.

Until I can thank you in person! Joan Higdon

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February 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2

1PM

Prayer Meeting

1:30 pm

Missions Com. Mtg

2PM

Heidelberg Study

6:15 PM

TOPS

3 7PM

Heidelberg Study

8PM

Young Men’s

Bible Study

4 7PM

Praise Team

7:45 PM

Choir Practice

8PM

Remedy Practice

5 6PM

Pot Luck Dinner

followed by

Annual

Congregational

Meeting

6

7 After Service

Christian Ed Mtg.

8 7PM

Deacon And

Trustee Meetings

9 1PM

Prayer Meeting

2PM

Heidelberg Study

6:15 PM

TOPS

7PM

Men’s Bible Study

10 7PM

Heidelberg Study

11 7PM

Praise Team

7:45 PM

Choir Practice

8PM

Remedy Practice

12 13

14 15 16 1PM

Prayer Meeting

2PM

Heidelberg Study

6:15 PM

TOPS

8PM

Remedy Practice

17 7PM

Heidelberg Study

8PM

Young Men’s

Bible Study

18 7PM

Praise Team

7:45 PM

Choir Practice

8PM

Remedy Practice

19 20

21 7PM

AN EVENING OF

WORSHIP

22 23 1PM

Prayer Meeting

2PM

Heidelberg Study

6:15 PM

TOPS

7PM

Men’s Bible Study

24 7PM

Heidelberg Study

25 7PM

Praise Team

7:45 PM

Choir Practice

26 27

28 COMMUNION

29

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Loch Raven Presbyterian Church exists to glorify God and make known His eternal and unchanging purpose,

fulfilled through a living relationship with Jesus Christ.

LOCH RAVEN PCA


Website: www.lochravenpca.org

Office Phone: 410-661-5777

Fax: 410-661-0065

Rev. W. David Milligan

Pastor

Ms. Cynthia Tsai

Accompanist

Mr. Austin Kenly

Church Treasurer

Mrs. Lee Goon

Asst. Treasurer

SUNDAY WORSHIP

9:30 a.m. – Sunday School

11:00 a.m. – Worship Service

PRAYER MEETINGS

Sundays at 9 and 10 a.m.

Tuesdays at 1:00 p.m.

Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m.

Church Office Hours

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday

9:00 to 3:00

The Office is closed on Monday and

Friday.

Mrs. Brea Duty, Mr. Karl Mangels

Administrative Assistants

Loch Raven Presbyterian Church

9318 Old Harford Road

Baltimore, MD 21234

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.lochravenpca.org

loch raven press: february 2016

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