here are many mixed emotions in Marshfield and Webster County this week. Students, teachers, nurses, bus drivers, and administrators have been busily getting ready for the upcoming months of school. Some face the days ahead with joy and expectation while others dread getting back into the routine of daily school life. What a blessing! We live where children have the opportunity to go and learn, if they will. For some starting school again may mean going back to their desk at home or the kitchen table. The stakes in either case couldn't be higher. Everybody has to learn more than they know right now or they will have to be cared for rather than being those who care for others. The unequipped can't help others or themselves.

At Hillside we support and pray for all those involved in education at every level. Several in our congregation are either teaching in school or involved directly in support services. Others teach their children at home. Both groups have tremendous responsibilities and challenges. They need our prayers. Parents carry the weight of the outcome of their children's education. They have to know how things are going and be willing to do what it takes to ensure success. They also need our prayers. Whether we have direct involvement with students or not isn't what should determine our faithfulness in supporting the institutions of learning around us and those involved there. We must be faithful in prayer and support because lives, futures and souls are at stake.

The time people allow for Christian education each week is much less than that for general education. Doesn't it follow that time spent in Sunday School or Bible Study is even more precious? We Christians can't afford to waste a minute of anyone's time studying things that aren't in the Word or that don't directly cause spiritual growth. Paul, in first Corinthians, wrote that we are to have the mind of Christ. We don't have time to teach theories or speculations about the latest Christian fad or some ancient man-made tradition. God's Word is the purest source of the truth and lets us get to know Jesus and more about Him more efficiently than anything else. We have to be ruthless and demand the truth spoken in love. Some things are nice to know. Some things are critical to know. Christians get weak when they loose sight of the truth. After all, Jesus is the One who said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through me". Education is vital to our society and to our ability to understand and grow in our faith in the One who saves.

We are glad to be able to offer teaching at Hillside Christian Church that isn't just "about the Bible", but is the Bible. Bible college graduates who know how to express God's Word in the level of those being taught write our children's lessons. The songs and activities are tied to the central lesson for the day and help reinforce what's important for children to remember. Teen through adult classes are all taught with Bibles open and read. If you want the "Real Thing", bring your Bible and join us.