Irondale Church

is a place of
promise to grow
and belong

Irondale Church News

V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1
May 2017
N e w s l e tt e r D a t e

Pray Always:
We Can Believe The Bible
Pastor David Recently I ran across a blog is worthy of worship. about 6,000 years of real data
and Colleen that raised some thoughts as available to us. When people
I read it. It was written by a The reason I bring this up start throwing numbers
Community guy named John Pavlovitz. is to point to a problem I see around in the millions, I start
Soup He titled his article, 10 growing in our society today. thinking they dont under-
Things This Christian Doesnt Quite simply it is a losing of stand how loooooooong a
Our outreach Believe About The Bible. million really is.
Here are the 10 things with- As much as I am tempted
and witness
out his explanations: to shred this blogs
to our com- thoughts, little is gained
munity 1) I dont believe the Bible from reply and reaction.
was dictated by God. So rather than covering
Busy Hands 2) I dont believe the Bible everything Pavlovitz
explains the time and doesnt believe, I thought
People strug- manner of earths crea- our time would be better
gling with tion and population accu- the bearings on God and re- spent covering some things
rately. placing it with a bearing on we can believe in.
illness
3) I dont believe the Bible our own thoughts. Mr. Pav-
accurately represents lovitz wrote, I dont believe, 1) The Bible is believable
Young fami- but there are no facts to sub- because of its unity.
women for the times we
lies and sin- in which we live. stantiate why he doesnt be- Even though it is really
gle parent 4) I dont believe the Bible lieve. He just sorts through sixty six individual books,
families has much of conse- his own thoughts and experi- written on three conti-
quence to say about gen- ences and plops down an nents, in three different
Those strug- der identity and sexual answer. The thoughts I read languages, over a period
gling with orientation. in his article and the thoughts of approximately 1500
5) I dont believe the Bible I hear as many have personal- years, by more than 40
addiction
provides a unified, con- ly shared their thoughts on authors who came from
sistent message regard- life, love and God with me many walks of life, the
Schools: ing marriage, war, vio- seem to be coming more and Bible remains one unified
students, lence, or sex. more from current trends book from beginning to
staff, admin- 6) I dont believe the Bible and less and less from end without contradic-
istrators is without error. thoughts thousands of years tion. This unity is unique
7) I dont believe the Bible old. from all other books and
Missionaries is the only source The blog says, I dont is evidence of the divine
through which we hear believe the Bible was dictated origin of the words which
or experience God. by God. Well it wasnt dic- God moved men to rec-
Homeless,
8) I dont believe the Bible tated by Godit was inspired ord.
helpless,
should guide our govern- by God. The blog also says 2) The Bible is believable
ment. that science shows the earth because of the prophe-
9) I dont believe the Bible to be much older than the cies contained within its
can be objectively inter- Bible claims. Really? There pages. The Bible contains
preted or evaluated. are a lot of us that are still hundreds of detailed
10) I dont believe the Bible out on that one. We have prophecies relating to
 P a g e 2
We Can Believe The Bible, continued
Thanks to Pastor David ,
Gary Price and Sherry Boyd
for these pictures from our
Easter celebration
Jesus Loves Me, This I Know
3) The Bible is believable
children sing at Easter Service
nations, cities, and it is allowed to do its
mankind. Other proph- work in a persons life.
ecies concern the com- 4) We can believe the
ing of the Messiah, the Bible because of its
Savior of all who would historicity. Because
believe in Him. Unlike the Bible details histor-
the prophecies found ical events, its truthful
in other religious ness and accuracy are
books, biblical prophe- subject to verification
cies are extremely det- like any other historical
ailed. There are over document. Through
three hundred prophe- both archaeological
cies concerning Jesus evidences and other
Christ in the Old Testa- writings, the historical
ment. Foretelling accounts of the Bible
where He would be have been proven time
born and His lineage, and time again to be
how He would die and accurate and true. In
that He would rise fact, all the archaeo-
again. There simply is logical and manuscript
no logical way to ex- evidence supporting
plain the fulfilled the Bible makes it the
prophecies in the Bible best-documented book
other than by divine from the ancient
origin. world. The fact that
the Bible accurately
because of its unique and truthfully records
authority and power. historically verifiable
The Bibles authority is events is a great indica-
unlike any other book tion of its truthfulness
ever written. This au- when dealing with reli-
thority and power are gious subjects and doc-
best seen in the way trines and helps sub-
countless lives have stantiate its claim to be
been transformed by the very Word of God.
the supernatural pow- 5) The Bible is believable
er of Gods Word. Drug because of the integri-
addicts have been ty of its human au-
cured by it, homosexu- thors. God used men
als set free by it, dere- and women from many
licts and deadbeats walks of life to record
transformed by it, His words. When we
hardened criminals consider how they
reformed by it, sinners lived and how they
rebuked by it, and hate faced death testifies
turned to love by it. that these ordinary yet
The Bible does possess honest people truly
a dynamic and trans believed God had spo-
forming power that is ken to them. The men
only possible because who wrote the New
it is truly Gods Word. Testament and many
Does it work every hundreds of other bel-
time? Some would say ievers (1 Corinthians
no, but others would 15:6) knew the truth of
say it works every time their message because
they had seen and
spent time with Jesus
Christ after He had
risen from the dead.
Seeing the risen Christ
had a tremendous im-
pact on them. They
went from hiding in
fear to being willing to
die for the message
God had revealed to
them. Their lives and
deaths help to con-
vince us that the Bible
truly is Gods Word.
6) We can believe the
Bible because has been
indestructible. The
Bible has suffered
more vicious attacks
and attempts to de-
stroy it than any other
book in history. From
early Roman Emperors,
through communist
dictators and on to
modern-day atheists
and agnostics, the Bi-
ble has withstood and
outlasted all of its
attackers and is still
today the most widely
published book in the
world.
Throughout time, skep-
tics have regarded the Bible
as mythological, but arche-
ology has confirmed it as
historical. Opponents have
attacked its teaching as
primitive and outdated, but
its moral and legal concepts
and teachings have had a
positive influence on socie-
ties and cultures through-
out the world. It continues
to be attacked by pseudo-
science, psychology, pro-
gressive thinkers and politi-
cal movements, yet it re-
mains just as true and rele-
vant today as it was when it
was first written. It is a
book that has transformed
countless lives and cultures
We Can Believe the Bible, continued
throughout the last 2000 years.
No matter how its opponents
try to attack, destroy, or dis-
credit it, the Bible remains; its
effect and impact on lives is
unmistakable. The accuracy
which has been preserved de-
spite attempts to corrupt,
attack, or destroy it is clear tes-
timony to the fact that the Bible
is truly Gods Word and is su-
pernaturally protected by Him.
It should not surprise us that,
You can Learn a lot From a Dachshund
or
Looking at Others Lives from Their Perspective
How often do we judge
people from our own perspec-
tive without ever looking
through their eyes at the world
they live in?
Its easy to feel justified
when we see someone elses
blatant wrongs or poor deci-
sions and then decide how to
judge the, the person they are,
the person they should be and
then decide they deserve what
they get out of life.
What tells a miniscule little
dachshund whose belly is less
than 4 inches off the floor that
she can leap up on top of her
kennel thats height is some-
where around 20 inches or
even up on the couches and
recliners? What causes her to
fearlessly give it a go? I
watched her this morning as
she leapt up on one of her fa-
vorite spots in the morning sun.
In less than a blink of an
eye she hurled herself deftly up,
and onto her kennel, without a
pause or a run at it. Flat foot-
ed, she swiftly and accurately
accomplished her goal. The
choice sunny spot was hers till
the sun drifted over the house
and out of range.
Inch by inch our lives and
no matter how the Bible is
attacked, it always comes out
unchanged and unscathed.
After all, Jesus said, Heaven
and earth will pass away, but
my words will never pass
away (Mark 13:31). After look-
ing at the evidence, one can say
without a doubt that, yes, the
Bible is truly Gods Word.
When you look at your
moral compass to find your
others are walked out here on
earth at our own paces and
theirs, yet we judge others
when their walk does not
match our own. Sure that they
are falling behind or even failing
in their Christian walk or
growth.
Seldom do we see what
impedes them and how far they
have come, after all in a sense
we live in our
arrivedness (yep I just made
up that word). Its so easy to
feel a little smug, that we have
not made those same mistakes
in our own life.
Our job is to be on each
others team cheering them on,
lending a hand where we can
and quietly helping, without
telling others of what a grand
great thing we are doing for
them, protecting them from
judgement and letting our gift
be just that, a gift.
The Lord is constantly, qui-
etly, changing our direction and
perspective all the while pro-
tecting our dignity and not
shaming us in any way.
In the song, They Will
Know We Are Christians By Our
Love, there is a line that says:
We will guard each mans dig-
P a g e 3
bearings on life, make sure you
are looking at the truth. Social
climates change but the word
of the Lord will stand forever
(Ish 40:8).
Dont settle for a substitute,
-Pastor David
(Resources cited from Got
Questions Ministries, accessed
Apr. 21, 2017, "Is the Bible truly
God's Word?")
nity and save each mans
pride....If we love in a way that
doesnt seem loving to the per-
son we are giving our love to,
we need to ask, Why? Being
part of a team means to be in
agreement with conduct that is
acceptable to the whole team,
not just our self.
Jesus himself was humble
in who He declared Himself to
be.
Jesus said in John 13:35
NLT, Your love for one another
will prove to the world that
you are my disciples.
In Romans 12:3 NIV, For
by the grace given me I say to
every one of you: Do not think
of yourself more highly than
you ought, but rather think of
yourself with sober judgement,
in accordance with the faith
God has distributed to each of
you.
Although Jesus was God in
the flesh He was represented
by Paul in Philippians 2:5,6, 7
NKJV, 5Let this mind be in you
which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who being in the form of
God, did not consider it rob-
bery to be equal with God, 7,
but made himself of no reputa-
tion, taking the form of a bond
 You Can Learn a Lot From a Dachshund, continued
Servant, and coming in the
likeness of men. He gave up
His most high privilege and
position to serve us in His
great love.
A little farm wisdom
here: Our rooster named
Roo, will find some choice
morsel or
16 Letthe word snacks I toss
out to them.
of Christ dwell Hell call to the
flock of hens to
in you richly, come and see
this great treas-
teaching and ure he has
found. He
admonishing could just gob-
ble it up for his
one another in own enjoy-
ment, claim the prize if you
all wisdom, will. He does not do this; he
sees that all who come see
singing psalms what he has found for them.
These hens have learned
and hymns and that they can trust him to be
about their best interests.
spiritual songs, The other day an eagle cir-
cled over his small flock and
with thankful- without a loud cry to them he
ness in your hurriedly got them all to
safety in the chicken house
hearts to God. and three that were too far
away slipped silently under
sword ferns not making a
Colossians peep. He somehow commu-
nicated with a quiet voice or
3:16 action I was unable to detect.
As soon as the eagle had
nested in a tree across the
road, the three hens I now
herded into their house as
well. Normally these hens
resist being put in but not
this time. They never resist-
ed or squawked. Their leader
had shown them the way and
had lovingly served them and
so they changed their plans
and went in to safety.
Three but mostly two of
these hens are who I refer to
as the rebels...they always
take their time, getting out of
the hen house or getting into
it. The other night I observed
one of them who did not
want to go in at all. It was
dusk and well past time to
close the roost. First the
rooster came out and said
rooster words to her; she
ignored him. Then one of the
small little gold
hens came out
and made nois-
es Ive never
heard them
make be-
fore...just like
she was chew-
ing her out. In
English I would
suppose it went
something like
this: GET IN HERE YOU NIN-
NY, YOURE PUTTING US ALL
AT RISK! She went right in.
Right or wrong this is how the
scenario played out. She had
been asked to get in the
house by the rooster, but that
failing the little whippersnap-
per of a hen chewed her out
in no uncertain terms.
This hen had that oppor-
tunity to lovingly respond but
like us with the Lord and His
ways we resist and want to
do things on our own terms.
She should have followed
the rooster in...she would
have had more of her dignity
in tact.
Loving others to Christ in
gentle Others centered
ways proves we can be trust-
ed. Quietly serving alongside
them in their walk protecting
their personhood, looking
from their perspective with-
out preconceived notions
about how they should be.
Gently offering support trying
all the while to keep intact
their dignity is the Christ like
service He requires of us.
Sometimes you will still
be mistaken no matter how
gently or what steps you take
to protect them. Remember
that Jesus risked all; walked
among us, drew close and for
this unmeasurable act of love,
was crucified. Just like Jesus
who came to earth and experi-
enced life from our level, let
yourself into the perspective
others live at, look closely at
how you serve. The lord, all
the while preparing to give His
life for us, never pushed us
away or condemned us, He let
us grow and mature at our
own pace.
At night when the chicken
house door is latched shut
there is a perception of safety,
even though a wise bear or
coyote could move the latch.
They have been entrusted to
my care at this point and I
must be careful to do all I can
to protect them.
Like the little dachshund
dont be afraid to risk all to
gain your goals.
Serve quietly, love abun-
dantly, give all your heart...He
did.
Happy Blessed Spring,
Love, Colleen
Mothers Day
Mothers Day is Sunday, May
14 this year. Melissa and
Shirley have planned a Salad
Bar luncheon for after church
to celebrate, so plan to stay
and enjoy the company of our
church family, and some deli-
cious salads!
Lawn Mowing
Mowing season is starting. I
would like to mow around the
church and Annex every week
and East end every other
week. Any one who wants to
mow let me know, all volun-
teers are welcome.
-Dave Eddie
 May 2017
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5 6
4-6:30 Com- No OPHC 8-4 OPHC 1 pm Revival
munity Soup Prayer
7 pm Elders 11 am Prayer

7 8 9 10 11 12 13
4-6:30 Com- 8-4 OPHC 11 am Prayer 1 pm Revival 8 am Mens
munity Soup Prayer Breakfast Cafe
7 pm Council

14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Mothers Day 4-6:30 Com- 8-4 OPHC 11 am Prayer 1 pm Revival 10 am Busy
Salad Bar munity Soup Prayer Hands

21 22 23 24 25 26 27
4-6:30 Com- 8-4 OPHC 11 am Prayer 1 pm Revival 8 am Mens
munity Soup Prayer Breakfast
IHOP

28 29 30 31
Memorial Day 4-6:30 Com- 8-4 OPHC
munity Soup

Sunday Schedule: May Birthdays & Anniversaries

9:30 Sunday School, 2. Troy & Melissa Norman

10:30 Worship, 7. River Crandall

Coffee hour, 8. Roger Horner

6:30 Evening Bible Study 11. Carl Johnson

14. Janice Hundtoft

Duty Roster for May: 20. Eliana Montgomery

Nursery Clean Greet Kids Church 21. Betty Judkins

5/7: Mary Jim/John Jamison Kitty 23. Mike Anderson

5/14: Joy Roger/Don Eddie Jim 24. Melissa Norman

5/21: Christine Noble Noble Dave 26. Bill Plice

5/2/: Russea Conklin Glessing Shirley 20. Christi Hundtoft

31. John Ludwig

Irondale Church is a place of promise to belong and grow Pastor & Wife: David & Colleen Hodgin , Associate Pastor:
Troy Norman, Visitation Pastor: Chuck Gadbaw
IRONDALE CHURCH Elders: Dave Noble, John Jamison, Fritz Gordon, LeRoy
PO BOX 959 Glessing, Dave Eddie
681 IRONDALE ROAD Council: Colleen Hodgin-Youth, Shirley Gadbaw & Melissa
PORT HADLOCK, WA 98339 Norman-Fellowship, Mary Noble-Finance, Troy Norman-
irondalechurch@gmail.com Worship, Su Tipton,-Missions, Jim Wilcox-Interior Property,
On the web at irondalechurch.org Kim Wilcox-Treasurer
360-385-1720

Sunday: 9:30 Sunday School, 10:30 Worship, Childrens

Church & Nursery; Coffee Hour, 6:30 Evening Bible Study
Tuesday: 4-6:30 Community Soup
Wednesday: 2:40-5:00 Kids Club ages 4through grade 5
Thursday: 11:00 Prayer Hour
Friday: 1:00 Revival Prayer
2nd Saturday: 8:00 Mens breakfast at Chimacum Caf
3rd Saturday: 10:00 Busy Hands Quilts for Foster Kids
4th Saturday: 8:00 Mens Breakfast at IHOP (Irondale House
of Praise)

Irondale Church
PO Box 959
Port Hadlock, WA 98339