Mother Church from page 1
Puritan authors regularly utilized the nourishing metaphor of motherhood , portraying the believer as a child nursing at the breasts of mother church , those breasts representing the means of grace . “ Lie sucking at this breast ,” says William Gurnall ( 1617- 1679 ) of the ordinances of the church in his classic The Christian in Complete Armour , “ and that often .” John Cotton ( 1584-1652 ), minister of First Church , Boston , published in 1646 a catechism for children entitled Milk for Babes : Drawn Out of the Breasts of Both Testaments , a work which remained in print for over 200 years . This is typical of post-Reformation Protestantism . The Apostle Paul himself utilizes this metaphor in describing his own ministry .
But we were gentle among you , like a nursing mother taking care of her own children . ( 1 Thess 2:7 )
Believers are likened to “ newborn infants ” who “ long for pure spiritual milk ” which , of course , newborns access from their mothers ( 1 Peter 2:2 ). The metaphor of mother church , from which believers draw their vital sustenance , is fully justified from Scripture . Mother church conceives and carries us and bears us in her womb and feeds us at her breasts . Her love for us , our dependence upon her , and our indebtedness to her demands our loving affection in return . What we owe to our natural mothers we owe to our spiritual mother as well . This means not merely an annual “ Mother ’ s Day ” card . It means a consistent pattern of gratitude , care , provision , and service . A higher doctrine of the visible church , lest it be the overwrought Roman Catholic , is hardly imaginable . D . G . Hart , in his book Recovering Mother Kirk , rightly urges Presbyterians “ to abandon the notion of the church as personal trainer ” and to recover “ Calvin ’ s idea of the church as mother .”
— TLJ
MISSIONS MINISTRY
40 DAYS FOR LIFE
Independent Presbyterian Church participated in the 40 Days for Life Campaign . Last year the campaign began on September 27th . I wondered , how did this campaign begin ? What I learned encouraged me and I hope that it may encourage many of you as well .
Bryan / College Station , Texas , home to Texas A & M University , held the first 40 Days of Life Campaign . In 1998 , one woman ’ s response to the Planned Parenthood announcement of a new clinic soon to open in Bryan Valley resulted in 60 churches joining together to prevent the establishment of this facility . These determined Pro-Life advocates formed the Brazos Valley Coalition for Life and began the work of opposing Planned Parenthood in their community . Despite their efforts , the clinic opened in short time .
In 2004 , four members of the Brazos Valley Coalition decided to meet for one hour of prayer . What should they do to bring an end to abortion in their city ? How would God use them to bring a message of the truth about the unborn to their neighbors ? Compelled to begin the 40 Days for Life , these four outlined three clear objectives :
1 ) Prayer and Fasting 2 ) Community Outreach 3 ) Constant , Peaceful , Vigil
They knew that there was a possibility that the four of them would be the only participants , but they committed to seeing the 960-hour , 40-day vigil out themselves . To their joy , God sent over 1,000 volunteers . This host of faithful , hardworking servants put their hands to the task of reaching 25,000 homes with the message of protecting our unborn , our most vulnerable family members , in addition to praying . They witnessed a 28 % reduction in local abortions that year .
In the years since , the 40 Days of Life has grown into a global event that includes 44 countries . Their website listed ( at the time of writing this ) the number of infants rescued since it began as 13,417 along with 90 abortion clinics that have closed and 154 abortion workers who have professed faith in Christ and left behind their careers in the abortion industry . And what about that Planned Parenthood Clinic that fueled that one woman ’ s determination to keep abortion away from Bryan Valley ? It closed in 2013 and two former abortionists opened their practice in that building .
It is evident that fervent prayer and commitment pleases the Lord . After the manner of the coalition in Texas , members of Independent Presbyterian Church went to the clinic in Savannah on Thursday , October 12th . They prayed and shared the Gospel in peaceful vigil and community outreach . A few people accepted reading material , but most refused to stop . The laborers stayed through the heat and the heartache all day long . They represented us well . I was encouraged to read about this campaign , and I was encouraged by the involvement of our own Moral Concerns Committee and this congregation .
Submitted by Amy Orellana
PAGE 2 FEBRUARY 2018 IPC