Scripture speaks of both a holiness we already possess in Christ before God and a holiness in which we are to grow more and more. The first is the result of the work of Christ for us; the second is the result of the work of the Holy Spirit in us. The first is perfect and complete and is ours the moment we trust Christ; the second is progressive and incomplete as long as we are in this life. The objective holiness we have in Christ and the subjective holiness produced by the Holy Spirit are both gifts of God’s grace and are both appropriated by faith.

Jerry Bridges

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Dairy		Appetizer	12	Servings

INGREDIENTS

5	sl	Crisp bacon; crumbled
2 1/2	c	Grated Cheddar cheese
5		Green onions with tops; finely chopped
1	c	Sour cream

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix bacon, cheese and onion with sour cream until well blended. Serve with
Olive Bread Ring (See recipe). May also be served separately with crackers.
NANCY COUCH LEE
(MRS. JAMES M. JR.)
From <Traditions: A Taste of the Good Life>, by the Little Rock (AR) Junior
League.  Downloaded from Glen's MM Recipe Archive,
http://www.erols.com/hosey.

A Message from our Provider:

“This is the day the Lord has made! Be glad!”

A few words to those among us who have homosexual desires: 1. Acknowledge the presence and pain of a disordered sexuality, with all the ambiguity of where it came from – much like other disorders and disabilities – and do not define your God-given personhood by your disordered sexuality. 2. Put your faith in Christ alone for the forgiveness of all your sins and for the gift of God’s righteousness and for the fulfillment of all his promises to you (Romans 1:16-17). The only sinner who can successfully battle his sins is a justified sinner. In other words, you fight against sexual sins from relationship, not for a relationship. 3. Begin to reorder your entire life around the centrality of the glory of God as your highest treasure. Homosexual sinning, like all other sinning, is an echo of exchanging the glory of God for other things. So restore the sun of God’s glory to its place at the center of your soul and all the planets of your desires will begin to return to their God-given orbit. 4. Resolve to live a chaste and, if necessary, celibate life by the power of God's Spirit, with the confidence that if God does not heal now, he will in the age to come; and all the patience of purity of will be worth it (Romans 8:18). May God grant all the single people (and married!) at Bethlehem a passion for purity. 5. Seek wholesome friendships with both sexes, especially in groups… The more we do things in groups rather than pairs, the more opportunities we create for wholesome non-sexual relationships. 6. …There are ministries like Outposts here in our cities that have insights and experience and encouragement and Biblical counsel from a depth of awareness that goes beyond what most of us can bring. This may be something God would use in your life. 7. Take a bold and compassionate stand for truth…and hold up God’s purposes for human sexuality, namely, as an expression of Christ’s love for the Church dramatized in the covenant love of marriage between one man and one woman.

John Piper