Numidia Mennonite Bible School - Reflector Yearbook (Numidia, PA)

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VICTORIOUS CHRISTIAN SECTION rrr CHURCH HISTORY and MrssroNs HISTORY OF GOD'S PEOPLE In our study of Mennonite history using the book, Menrzonites in Europe, we found God calling a people separated unto Him- self in times past, even in the same way He is today. It was not long after the church began that decay set in. This was seen in part when the Roman Emperor, Constantine, made Christianity the state religion. This only brought further decay and ushered in the period called the Dark Ages. However, there were several groups which protested the corruption in the church: the Montanists, the Donatists and the Novationists. Later another group stepped out, and in spite of much persecution, a sound movement was established, known as the Waldenses. A sign of awakening took place in the church in the early 1500's when Zwingli and Luther attempted to establish biblical church- es. These soon reverted back again to the state church. However, there were still those with courage to stand for the truth. Men like Grebel, Manz, Blaurock, Sattler and Menno Simons lived and died for the truth and the purity of the faith. These held to the Word of God and endured great per- secution for their faith. The challenge for us today is to live by the same faith of our fathers, that we may come through the tests and trials of our day victorious even as they. -DUANE MILLER CHURCH EXTENSION Isaiah 54:2. Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakesf' Often when we think of missions, we think of a place away from home. We found this is only a part of mission work. Mission work goes into many different areas. In Acts I :8, we find they started first at home then went into the uttermost parts of the earth. Each church should be a mission, and each person has his or her responsibility to fill. Four basic responsibilities or missions of the Church were brought out. The church is to reproduce herself, to bring honor to God, to make the gospel known, and to be the salt of the earth and a light to the world. We discussed several different areas of mission work: Christian day schools, giving out literature, personal work and many others. We cannot pay another person to witness for us. We need to be responsible ourselves if it is going to be effective. -LINDA WADEL T he Lord Is My Shepherd. SECTION IV - PRACTICAL STUDIES LIVING Even in this wicked world in which we live, it is possible to live a victorious Chris- tian life. This is a fact we have to keep be- fore us constantly. When Peter was walk- ing on the water toward Christ, he began to sink when his faith wavered. It is the same with us today. If we begin to doubt, we will sink in defeat. We studied how God has made victory possible, by paying the way for us, in that he has defeated our spiritual enemies, and now arms us for spiritual battle. The lessons following these dealt primarily 31 with man making victory actual. We need to renounce sin and have a singular loyalty to Christ. Spiritual strength is the product of the Christian availing himself of the provi- sions God supplies, and then applying him- self. .Many examples in God's Word are beneficial to us. David was able to defeat Goliath with God's help, even though Goliath seemed to be much stronger than he. . I am again challenged as I see the neces- SIIY of .placing my 'complete trust and confi- dence in God. Victory can be ours as we give our lives over to His control without reservation. -JAMES SENSENIG WI prayf life 2 COIIIII ollf I AS to IU' able I must have mall- gafdl heart subml and U forgir' San fry an many sleepir titude. by fai prayer Let times. The keeper idea th of stew means mind Gospel In I were rg 200ds! Sale o Lord rj' Hland i ODE-leg C0nrinu 55 Chri Him mighr I 3 -0 HC found SIIOUI Ilhah

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FORMATION AND INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE In a day such as this when there are many unsound teachings, we need to have settled in our minds that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and that God said what He meant and meant what He said. The Bible is a pure message, and it is the final revelation of God's words to man. Although there have been other writings found, we believe it is complete, and that we have all that God intended for us. It is authoritative and commands response on our part. Modern scholars try to disprove parts of the Bible by saying man could not write in the time when the first five books of the Bible were written. Writing, we find, is an old art and was used before the flood. We have perfect right to believe that Adam could write. The structure and canonicity is very un- ique. It is certain that the books of the Bible are arranged just the way God wanted them, since Genesis is the book of beginnings and Revelation the book of endings. In the Word we see a definite progression toward a specific goal. The Old Testament types and figures are fulfilled in the New Testament antitype. The Bible is truth, and in it is found the way to life. It is by this Book of Books that all will be judged in the last day. -J oHN HIGH THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST As one views the marvelous and majestic plan of God revealed in the God-man Jesus Christ, he cannot help but burst forth with the declaration of the apostle Paul in Romans 11:33. O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! Foundational to all that we believe con- cerning Jesus Christ is our belief in the virgin birth. To deny this and endeavor to reason around it is to knock the central p11- lars out of our concept of God. We I16Cd to see Christ as Diety being the self expres- sion of God. In our study we took a 'tbird's eyet' view of Christ. preparing for his public ministry in his childhood and youth. His early con- cept of his Fatherls work certainly serves to challenge us to a life of service now. V During the time of his public ministry, the humanity of Christ displays vividly the heart of God, through his expression of com- PaSS10H, Sympathy, anger, and love to man. .By the death of Christ on the cross, He triumphed over sin and Satan and finally cried out, It is finished? Faith places her anchor in the empty tomb for now she sees not a dead body but a risen and ascended Lord. May we take the challenge his life has left, and bow, not to the babe in the man- gdendbut to the crucified, risen and ascended or . -LUKE G. SENSENIG FULFILLED PROPHECY In this class, we looked at various types of prophecies contained in the scriptures and their fulfillment. Many of these prophecies have their fulfillment recorded in the scrip- tures. For others, we must rely on the ac- counts that historians give us. One type of prophecy that we studied were prophecies concerning nations. In these we see God as the One who overrules in setting up and destroying kingdoms. We see that God's time clock works with per- fect accuracy. We also studied Messianic prophecies. In these we see many aspects of Christis life here on earth, also His suffering and death. We also have many prophecies concerning Christ that have not yet been fulfilled. We look forward to the fulfilling of these in the future. We also studied prophecies that are presently being fulfilled. We learned that a good guide to inter- preting unfulfilled prophecy is to consider the wa in which prophecies that are now Y fulfilled were fulfilled. One thing that impressed me in this class was the exactness in which these prophecies were fulfilled. -HAROLD WEAVER 30

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PRAYER LIFE What would we do without the avenue of prayer, that which is as necessary to spiritual life as breath is to physical life, that which connects the unlimited power of heaven to our helplessness? As with all of God's provisions, we need to meet the conditions. Faith that God is able to meet all our needs is necessary. We must pray according to the will of God and have a forgiving spirit toward our fellow man. Also Psalm 66:18 tells us, '6If I re- gard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. We need to come to Jesus humbly submitting to His will, confessing our sins and turning from them, and He will freely forgive and shower His blessings upon us. Satan, the enemy of our souls, is sure to try and hinder our prayers. He comes in many ways, such as the cares of this life, sleepiness during prayer, self sufficient at- titude, etc. But we know that as we walk by faith and obey the Word of God, our prayers will be heard and answered. Let us make use of this privilege at all times. -ELLIS KROPF L,l..i.1-- STEWARDSHIP The dictionary defines a steward as a keeper or person in charge. Often the first idea that comes to our minds when we think of stewardship is money and tithing. It also means our time, talents, health, body and mind possessions, and most of all, the Gospel. In Old Testament times God's people were required to give one-tenth of all their goods to the Levites, and in turn, the Levites gave one-tenth of their possessions to the Lord through a sacritice. It is not a com- mand in the New Testament that we give one-tenth of our goods today, but as God continually gives us many rich blessings, we, as Christian stewards, should want to give Him a tenth and more so that His name might be glorified in us. I Corinthians 4:1 and 2 says, Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. More- over it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. Our main goal in being a Christian steward should be as I Corinthians 10:31 states, Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. -CAROL SHANK SONG LEADERSHIP Serve the Lord with gladnessg come be- fore h1s presence with singing' Psalm 10032, It is UUIY 3 b16SSir1g to be able to f h' the Lord through singing. Singing ijgrielg 1mP0ft21Ht part of church services. It pre- PHTCS the Congregation for the remainder of the service. We were taught, by our enthusiastic teach- Sr, the basic time patterns, the difference between hymns and gospel songs, and what type of song to choose for different occa- sions. As ten students met in Room 2, we took turns leading songs in class while the rest of us watched for mistakes and gave us their constructive criticisms. I believe all of us feel that this course has been a benefit to us in the area of choosing and leading songs. -CLAIR HURSH INTRODUCTION TO CHILD STUDY aMother,,' questioned four-year old Susan, sitting on a chair holding a lunch box, do you think Doris and Donald are off the bus? Do you think they are at school yet'?'l Mother glanced at the clock, UI think so, Susan. Susan hopped off the chair, placed the lunch box on the shelf and picked up a book pretending to read. Imagination is a real part of a child's play. A proper development of imagination and thought patterns in childhood will lead to more constructive creativity in adulthood. Children are discoverers. They learn much by asking questions and observing others. Parents are responsible to provide the proper environment and training to help them de- velop emotionally, physically and spiritually. All children need proper discipline to pro- duce a secure, happy child, one who will blossom into the way of righteousness. In Psalm l27:3 we notice that children are an heritage of the Lord. Jacob recog- nized children as a gift of God's graciousness. God has instituted the home to evangelize the world. As future parents, we need to set our ideals high so that these Hjewelsf' that God may entrust to our care may some day enter into heaven to praise Him eternally. -RUTH KREIDER 32