Bethany Baptist Church exists to glorify God by proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord and preparing His people to worship Him forever.
ODIO DIGNISSIM QUI BLANDIT ILDELENIT ISSUE
Retiring For the Glory of God Are you planning for retirement? One ING commercial presses customers to find the answer to the question, “What’s your number?” ING suggests that knowing the exact number of dollars we will need in order to retire will help us to “retire the way we want.” While financial planning is wise, it really is the minor issue regarding our plans for retirement. Retirement years are much more than living comfortably in our remaining time on earth without the danger of running out of money. The reason that the financial issue is comparatively insignificant is that it deals only with our brief time here in a world that is passing away. It is relevant to our lives only for a short period of time. The far greater issue relates to eternity. Much more of our joy rests upon how we are living our lives in faithfulness to God so that He receives glory for all eternity. Retirement years are years full of potential to enjoy God and to fulfill the work He has prepared for us to accomplish in this brief life of ours. With the average life expectancy in the US reaching 78 years and the average retirement age sitting at 67 years, one can expect nearly a decade or more of opportunity for full-time service to God. But someone may protest, “I want to relax in my retirement years!” I know that it sounds great to get up in the morning and have no stressful obligations, no appointments to make, no time constraints . . . to live the rest of our years with freedom to decide each day what we want to do. But is this kind of life really that great? Will we be thankful for that decision when it is time for God to reward
His children for their faithfulness in this life? Is it really better to rust out than to burn out for Christ?
Dr. Ritch Boerckel
Senior Pastor
John Piper’s words ring like a morning alarm to awaken us out of our slumber: I will tell you what a tragedy is. I will show you how to waste your life. Consider a story from the February 1998 edition of Reader’s Digest, which tells about a couple who “took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they cruise on their 30-foot trawler, play softball and collect shells.” At first, when I read it I thought it might be a joke. A spoof on the American Dream. But it wasn’t. Tragically, this was the dream: Come to the end of your life—your one and only precious, God-given life—and let the last great work of your life, before you give an account to your Creator, be this: playing softball and collecting shells. Picture them before Christ at the great day of judgment: ‘Look, Lord. See my shells.’ That is a tragedy. And people today are spending billions of dollars to persuade you to embrace that tragic dream. Over against that, I put my protest: Don’t buy it. Don’t waste your life. Those words set a fire in my heart to live for the glory of God all the way to my last fleeting breath. I realize that if I am Continued on page 2
In This Issue: 3
Over the Coffee Cup Women’s Ministries
4
Missions
5
Holy Land Trip
6
June Calendar
7
Birthdays & Anniversaries
8
Video Opportunity Small Group Leader Love Packages Update
9
Open Hearts, Open Homes Resolved To Singles
10 Children’s Ministry 11 Men’s Breakfast PrimeTime Fellowship Membership Class Legacy Five/Collingsworth The Gospel Institute 12 MusiCamp Vacation Bible School