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v WEEKEND,
JULY 26-28, 2003
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A. A
Phil Lambert
Columnist
Good
Friday?
It was 9 o’clock on a Friday
morning when the sounds first
echoed outside the walls of
Jerusalem. It was the sound of
a hammer meeting a nail. The
nail met flesh, A man screamed
in agony. The cycle repeated.
Finally, the nail met the wood
of the cross bar, and the hand
was held in place.
The scene was played over
until the other hand was
secured. Four soldiers then
raised the criminal up and set
the crossbar on a post. The
sounds of the hammer rang out
once again as a single spike was
placed through the man’s feet.
Finally, the hammering
stopped.
The man hung between two
others; a sign above his head
stated both his name and his
crime: “JESUS OF
NAZARETH, KING OF THE
JEWS.” By the time the 3
o’clock hour arrived, it was
over—the man named Jesus
was dead.
Christians proclaim the
events of that day as “Good
Friday.” It seems such an inap
propriate title, doesn’t it?
What could possibly be good
about a day marked by the
pain, suffering, and humiliation
of a crucifixion? What is it
about that dark day in man’s
history that holds such power
and hope for believers around
the world?
Perhaps it can best be
summed up in Jesus’ final
words from the cross—“lt is
finished.” WHAT was finished?
His life? His suffering? No,
when Jesus spoke these three
simple words, it meant that
God’s promise to provide a pay
ment for the sins of the world
was fulfilled.
As a result, a new covenant
was put in place. A covenant
grounded in grace, not in the
observance of the law. Under
the old covenant it was the
blood of goats and bulls and the
ashes of a heifer that served as
the source of sanctification.
Under the new covenant, it is
the blood of Christ.
The high priest was the medi
ator of the old covenant —Jesus
is the mediator of the new. The
high priest was obligated to
offer daily or annual sacrifices
as part of his religious duties.
The same sacrifices would be
offered day after day, year after
year, but they could only serve
as a reminder of sin—those sac
rifices could never fully pay the
sin debt, so the sacrifices had to
be repeated.
The new covenant, however,
is based upon a one-time sacri
fice—the sacrifice of Jesus at
Calvary. This sacrifice does not
have to be repeated. Once was
enough.
Under the old covenant, the
place of worship and sacrifice
was the tabernacle. The inner
room of the tabernacle was
known as the Most Holy Place.
The Most Holy Place was sepa
rated from the next outer room,
the Holy Place, by a curtain.
This curtain served as a divider
that kept everyone but the high
priest from entering the pres
ence of God. Once a year, the
high priest would enter this
sacred room to offer up the sac
rifice for atonement.
That’s why it is significant
when Matthew’s Gospel states
that at the time of Jesus’ death
See LAMBERT, page 10A
Spiritual Living
Ministering in Perry through Backyard Bible Clubs
Youth from Perry
Presbyterian Church are work
ing with youth from Sandhill
Presbyterian Church of
Southern Pines, N. C., doing six
Backyard Bible Clubs around
Houston County.
Eleven youth and two adults
from Sandhill Presbyterian are
visiting for a week in Perry to
assist the 25 youth from Perry.
The visitors are staying with
local families and all the work
ing youth are being fed at the
Youth Center at Perry
Presbyterian by a group of vol
unteers, mostly ladies. This is
Singing is just one of the many activities at the Backyard Bible Club held by the Youth from Perry
Presbyterian Church along with their visitors from Sandhill Presbyterian Church of Southern
Pines, N. Car. Singing are: Katy Jones, Jessica Smith, Alex Pickens, Hannah O’Neal, Alex Barnett,
Bailey Smith, Luke Wojohn, Elijah Wojohn, Hunter Pickens and Adam Barnett.
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Shy boyfriend leaves woman at a loss for words
QUESTION: My boyfriend
doesn’t talk to me very
much. He’s just a very quiet
and shy person. Will he
always be this way? 1 wish
he’d tell me what he’s think
ing and feeling.
DR. DOBSON: Your question
reminds me of a 12-year-old boy
who had never spoken a word.
His parents and siblings
thought he couldn’t talk
because they’d never heard his
voice. Then one day the boy’s
mother placed some soup in
front of him and he ate a spoon
ful. Then he pushed the bowl
away and said, “This is slop,
and I won’t eat any more of it!”
The family was ecstatic. He’d
actually spoken a complete sen
tence. They all jumped around
gleefully, and his father said,
“Why haven’t you ever talked to
us before?”
The boy replied, “Because up
until now, everything has been
OK.”
Maybe your boyfriend will
surprise you one day with a
flurry of words, but 1 doubt it.
Shyness and an introverted per
sonality result primarily from
an inborn temperament that
tends to be very persistent
throughout life. Research shows
that approximately 15 percent
of children are genetically pro
grammed to be somewhat intro
verted like your friend and that
most of them will always be that
way. It appears that some peo
ple just seem to be born “noisy,”
and others prefer to keep their
Story and photos
by Judy Hall
the third year that the young
people from Sandhill have visit
ed Perry. ,
Bible Clubs are being held in
two locations in Perry, one in
Bonaire, one at Robins Air
Force Base, one on Buck Creek
Rd (near Hawkinsville) and one
on Harris Road where most of
the children are Guatemalan.
The parents of the children on
Harris Road work at Cagle’s
poultry-processing plant.
Jr
Dr. James Dobson
Focus on the Family
www.family.org
thoughts to themselves. Your
boyfriend may be one of the lat
ter. If you choose to marry him,
I hope you’ll do so with your
eyes wide open. You’re probably
not going to change him. Many
women fall in love with the
strong, silent type and then
resent their men for the rest of
their lives because they won’t
talk to them.
QUESTION: I’m the
boyfriend who doesn’t talk
very much. I’ve been that
way all of my life. Part of
the problem is that I just
don’t like to reveal what I’m
feeling. But also, I don’t
know how to talk to people.
I get really uncomfortable
when I’m with people and
I’m expected to say things.
Can you give me some hints
about how to express
myself?
I)R. DOBSON: It might help
you to understand the basics of
Singing, Bible stories, mission
stories, craft and playing are all
part of the Backyard Bible
Clubs. The mission stories this
year are based on the life of
Corbie ten Boom.
The youth are using their
afternoons to clean on the
nature trail at Rozar Park and
are painting a house for a resi
dent on W.F. Ragin Drive.
The Sandhill Youth returned
home on Saturday morning.
Rev. Parker Agnew, Pastor of
Student and Family Ministry,
supervised the youth activities
during this very busy week.
good conversation. Let me ask
you to imagine that the two of
us are facing each other about
eight feet apart. You have four
tennis balls in your hands, and
you toss one of them to me.
Instead of throwing the ball
back, however, I hold it and wait
for you to toss another to me.
Eventually, all four balls are in
my hands. We stand there look
ing at each other awkwardly
and wondering what to do next.
The game is over.
Good conversation is some
thing like that game of catch.
One person throws an idea or a
comment to the other, and he or
she then tosses it back. But if
that second person doesn’t
return it, the game ends. Both
players feel awkward and wish
they could be somewhere else.
Let me illustrate further.
Suppose I say to my son when
he comes home in the after
noon, “How did it go in school
today?” If he answers, “Fine,”
he has caught the ball and held
it. We have nothing more to say
to each other unless I can come
up with another comment
another “ball” to throw to him.
But if my son says, “I had a
good day because I got an A on
my history test,” he has caught
the ball and thrown it back. I
can then say, “Was it a difficult
test?” or “Did you study hard
for it?” or “I’ll bet you’re proud
of yourself.”
If my son replies, “Yes,” he
has wrecked the game again. To
keep the conversation going, he
f
Alex Pickens, Hannah O’Neal and Jessica Smith (in back) kneel
by the caterpillars they made at the Backyard Bible Club.
HH; •
.4;:,: ;.. '•<*» •/*.'»
Pausing from their duties at the Backyard Bible Club are (left to
right) youth leaders J.T. Tomberlin, Patrick Coussens, Adam
Carroll, Liza Pierce and Amanda Story.
Pausing from their ball game
are, front row, from left,
Cassundra Tebben, Ryan
Sichelsteil, Bo Sichelsteil,
Austin Andrews, Brendon
Sichelsteil and Giles Amos.
Back row: Katie Cross from
Sandhill, Alex Shelton, Alisssa
Stillwell, Caroline Amos,
William Amos and Nick
Shelton.
needs to throw back something
of substance, such as, “It was a
tough exam, but it was fair.”
Then our “game” can continue.
As for your relationship with
a future wife, it won’t be
enough to just throw the ball
back to her. She’s going to want
you to be more intimate than
that. She’ll need to know how
you feel about her, what you
dream about, things that upset
you, what you’d like her to do,
etc. You can learn to put these
thoughts into words, even
though you will probably never
be a big talker. I suggest that
you push yourself in this direc
tion rather than saying, “That’s
just how I am.” Your wife will
probably have to make some
changes to accommodate you,
too.
That’s what a good marriage
is all about.
Dr. Dobson is president of the
nonprofit organization Focus on
the Family, P.O. Box 444,
Colorado Springs, CO. 80903;
or www.family.org. Questions
and answers are excerpted from
“The Complete Marriage and
Family Home Reference Guide, ”
published by Tyndale House.
Dr. Dobson is brought to you
by WCOP 99.9 FM. You can
hear Dr. Dobson Monday -
Saturday at 11:30 a.m., 8 p.m.,
Sat. 8 p.m.
rfrf weotp 99.9 FM
PAGE 9A
mump*^ \
Earline Cole
Reflections
maryhoh 17 @j uno.com
Call
'lime Out!’
“Time Out!” in the world of
sports is an important period
when athletes get together with
their coach to discuss errors
and improvements, with inten
tions of winning the game.
“Time out,” is also called when
a player has been injured and
needs attention.
“Time out,” is an important
period in the life of Christianity.
It is during this period that we
gain strength and courage to
overcome errors of the past. It
is during “time out” that we
receive guidance toward
improvements leading to being
a winner in the game of life.
It is during “time out” that
God administers to specific
needs, providing spiritual heal
ing and added vitality.
We can call “time out” at any
time we choose. It might be at
the days beginning or end. It
might be in the middle of the
day or night. Whatever the
time, wherever the place, God
will come to our aid. Life will
take on new meaning and we
will have the assurance of being
on the winning team.
"He will give His people
strength. He will bless them
with peace.” -Psalms 29:11,
Living Bible.