Dave Sheldon, who attends Providence Church, and his daughter Keri have just published the book they have been working on together for the last several months.  The book is entitled "Resolute: An Unwavering Stance on the Truth of God's Word."

Here is a summation of the book as taken from their website:

This past week a YouTube video of twin boys native to Ashland went viral.  The video shows them calling their father to tell him that they have become homosexuals.  Because the video is being celebrated and given radical attention world-wide, we wish to direct your attention to the following audio which was presented in February of 2013 by our elder, Jim Deweese.  

The message is entitled, "Same Sex Marriage: Does it Matter?" While it focuses mainly on the contemporary challenge to the traditional family and the covenant institution of marriage, it does serve well to expresses that homosexuality is a grievous sin against God.

We hope that the Biblical rule for sexuality (i.e. man's having been designed to express his God given sexual yearnings in the bond of marriage with a woman), will be heeded by all in Ashland and that true repentance will be granted to these boys.

We have another great opportunity to report! Not only is Jim speaking to a Tea Party meeting today, on Wednesday our elder Mark Hamilton will be speaking to the Coalition, a conservative political action group in Ashland.  Mark was asked to speak on the topic of "God and country."

The meeting will be held at the Eagles Club, which is located at 400 Eastlake Drive, at noon.

On Monday our elder, Judge Jim Deweese, will be the featured speaker at a Mansfield North Central Ohio Tea Party forum.  Jim will be speaking on the first amendment and answering questions.  

The announcement, which appeared in the Mansfield News Journal, provides some background...

The meeting is scheduled to run from 7 to 9 p.m. and will take place at Wyandotte Senior Center, 1164 Wyandotte.

Raylene Hlavaty, deserves recognition for her labors in the gospel work.  It might not seem like much to many, but in her own way she is holding forth the banner of Christ.  

For the last several years Raylene has been involved chautauqua style acts.  One of her characters is the great hymnist, Fanny Crosby.  Raylene dresses in full costume and narrates Crosby's life story.  During her presentation she integrates some of Crosby's hymns.  

Raylene has performed many times throughout the Mid-Ohio region.  Each time she does she has opportunity to witness to Christ through the faith of Fanny Crosby and through the songs that Crosby wrote.

If you have not seen this program, or if you would like to schedule Raylene to come and perform for your event, visit her website:  Timeless Voices Ohio.

The hit Disney movie, Frozen, has taken the US by storm and it’s hit song, “Let It Go!” can be heard on every elementary school playground around the country.  Even my 2 yr old could sing some of the song before she ever saw the movie!  

As I heard bits of the lyrics float past my ears, something didn’t sit right with me.  But, I decided to hold judgment until I heard the song in the context of the entire movie.  This weekend, my girls and I watched Frozen together and “Let It Go!” struck me as a song that espoused a lot of popular philosophies about a life contrary to the Bible’s teaching.  I decided to look at 3 main themes and dissect them in light of the Bible.

First, Elsa laments the fact that she’s always had to be the “good girl.”  “Don’t let them in, don’t let them see, be the good girl you always have to be” and “Let it go!  That perfect girl is gone!”  

I do believe that this is a cry of a lot of children in the church today.  As Christian parents, we have done our children a great disservice if we have only emphasized outward behavior without a heart turned to Christ.  Our children need to know that they can’t be the “good girl” or the “good boy” because we are all infested with sin.  We need to be constantly pointing our children to Jesus as their Savior and Redeemer who alone is good and perfect.  We all need to be humble enough to confess our sins to God and to one another (James 5:16, I John 1:8-10), not pretending to be without sin like the Pharisees (Mt. 23:23-28).   

I feel badly for Elsa and her situation and can only pray that my girls will not feel this need to put on “perfect airs”, but instead will put on Christ.

Then, we get to the heart of the song, the rousing “let it go” chorus.  The music crescendos as Elsa sings “Let it go, let it go, Turn away and slam the door. I don’t care what they’re going to say…”  I’m assuming that Elsa is letting go of her gift/curse of freezing things.  Are we supposed to just let go of whatever is “trapped” inside of us?  Is that being true to ourselves?  

The Bible encourages self-control (Gal. 5:16, 5:22-25) which seems the antithesis of letting it go.  In my own observations of myself and other people, letting go of inhibitions only leads to sorrow.  Elsa also says she doesn’t care what people are going to say, which is a very prevalent thought pattern today.  “Be true to yourself and don’t worry about anyone else” is what we often hear.  

Should we as Christians care what people think of us?  My study of Scripture and an article by John Piper leads me to say “Yes” and “No”.  If people are saying things against us because of our walk for Christ and stands we take for His Kingdom, then no, we don’t care what the world says (Gal. 1:10, I Thess. 2:4, I Tim 3:2).  However, the Bible does put some importance on what others perceive about us (Prov. 22:1, Rom 15:1-2, I Peter 2:12).  As John Piper stated, the most important question we can ask of ourselves is, “Is Christ honored in our lives?” (Phil. 1:19-20).  So, Elsa lets it go, but she is still miserable, trapped in her ice castle.  Doesn’t sound so exhilarating does it?  

Finally, Elsa claims “it’s time to see what I can do, to test the limits and break through, No right, no wrong, no rules for me, I’m free!”  I would hope this would make any Christian squirm.  This statement is what feminists, homosexual activists, atheists, and many other groups want us (and our children) to believe.  Their theory is that rules constrain you and keep you from happiness.  Is this what God tell us in His Word?  

No, in John 8:31-36, Jesus talks about by abiding in His Word, we will know the truth and that is what sets us free.  He goes on to talk about being a slave to sin and that Christ comes to set us free from this bondage.  Romans 6:16-23 also talks about being slaves to sin until Christ changes us and we become slaves to righteousness.  Our all-knowing, all-powerful sovereign God has given us rules to live by, not to makes our lives miserable but to give us a full life. 

I’m sure all of us can personally attest to the misery we feel when we live how we want, whether it’s letting our anger take control or eating too much or worrying about the future.  We can also tell sobering stories of friends and family who threw off all inhibitions and are now realizing that their choices weren’t as freeing as they first thought.   I believe this is shown in the movie – Elsa ends up needing Anna and the others and she experiences great joy when they are reunited.  I don’t think “Let It Go” would make a good finale song in the movie, because Elsa found the emptiness of her life following the philosophy she promoted.

So now what?  Am I banning all things Frozen from my house?  No!  I plan on using these observations as lessons to go over with my girls.  I want to hear their opinions and see if they can discern what the Bible says.  I want to hear if they feel trapped trying to be the “good pastors kids.”  Then, I'll encourage them that the things they need to be letting go of are things like our selfishness, greed, envy, unkind words, etc. 

And as they try to do this, they need to continue to flee to Christ, the only One who will never let them go. 

[This is a special guest post by Elizabeth Timmons, who is member of Providence Church.]

We at Providence church want to help you grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. But we don't think we are the only church in the Ashland, Mansfield, or Wooster areas.  

As a matter of fact, if you are hindered from connecting with Providence, we'll help you find a godly church where your soul with profit spiritually.  

We know that Christ honoring churches are few and far between in the Mid Ohio area, and it can be tough finding a local body of believers with which to fellowship.

To that end, we are putting together a series of posts on "Choosing the Right Church."  Over the next couple of posts, we will be highlighting a few of the top priorities that you should keep in mind when choosing a church.

We want to kick it off by reminding you that a godly church will be one that honors God's word.  Of course, no false church is going to come out and say, "Hey, we don't really give a whoot about God's word here."  So its important to understand what makes for a church that really respects God's word.

A church that takes the Bible seriously will be a church that is dedicated to reading it during their services.  And we are not talking about a fleeting verse or two here or there.  A service should have at least one hearty Scripture reading.  

If a church really believes that "All Scripture is useful for teaching, rebuking, and training in righteousness," and is convicted that God's word "does not return void," then it logically follows that they will integrate significant portions of it into their services.

Think of it this way:  If you go to a restaurant, you should expect to get some food.  If you go to church, you should expect to hear from God.

God speaks to us through His word, the Bible, and any church that isn't opening the Bible and reading a good deal of it each Sunday cannot be said to be listening to God.

The latest Providence Church newsletter has just come out.  This issue takes a brief look at the doctrine of vocation.

Christianity is unique among religions because it exalts work and gives it dignity. Reformed Theology has historically been distinctive too, because it puts an emphasis on bringing all of life under the lordship of Christ.

Why is this issue entitled, "Get Out & Spread the Manure"?  Well, you'll just have to read it to find out!

We've been looking at the humiliation of Christ as it is summarized in The Apostles' Creed.  We've talked about his birth, sufferings, and crucifixion.  But it is interesting to note that the Creed does not fail to mention that Christ actually died and, to prove such, was buried.  

In this we are reminded that Christ became “maximus peccar,” the supreme sinner, and bore the wages of sin.  He not only suffered extreme torment, but he met the full penalty that was intended for man's disobedience.

One may wonder why it was necessary that all this happen to our Lord.  Some who are of an atheistic stripe have said that this amounts to nothing other than a grotesque God because He has His own Son killed.  

Yet we must remember that this is necessary for salvation.  The justice of God had to be appeased.  The penalty of sin is death and it was incumbent upon Christ to pay that penalty in the full if redemption was to be provided.