Family Update June 2025
Greetings, Saints of King's Church!
Happy June, and all that summer promises to bring you in the next few months. In addition to warmer days, longer evenings, BBQ, recreational water, and fresh outdoor air, we hope you also find ways to enjoy life together through summer margin, upcoming events below, and creative ways to love your neighbor (see the devotional). Also, this month's book review promises to be timely for summer reading, and our 2nd anniversary celebration promises to be a real "hootenanny" of a time :). Blessings on your scrolling below!
Devotional Fuel For Life And Joy
The apostle Paul ends Romans 14 with what might sound like a rather severe statement: “But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.” “Really?!”, we might object,"Whatever we do is sin, if it’s done without faith? And since when does God care whether I’m eating a salad or a steak?” Such small moments of our lives can feel burdensome if we read passages like this too quickly. In fact, with just a moment’s thought, the objection seems to get stronger: most of us can think of a few people who are among the most generous and kind-hearted we’ve known, who are not Christians. Paul’s statement would seem to condemn them out of hand simply because they don’t believe the gospel. But before our condemnation of the apostle begins, let’s consider this issue of faith from another angle.
If the absence of faith is cause for condemnation, then the presence of faith redeems, yes? As the author of Hebrews says, “…without faith it is impossible to please [God]…” (Heb. 11:6), while the rest of Chapter 11 in Hebrews goes on to commend the faith of so many Old Testament saints (some of whom cause our eyebrows to rise slightly). Back to our passage: What does it say about the versatility of faith that something as plain as eating becomes an occasion for condemnation or salvation? Well, it says that faith is the kind of thing that can turn even eating into a glorious act of good. In other words, if something so ordinary and plain as eating can be done in a condemning manner, then it can be done in a redeeming manner as well. In fact (and this is the glory!), it is the nature of faith that it can turn just about any human pursuit into a God-glorifying act of kindness!
This is not just good news, it is glorious news (!) because it means that there are virtually no restrictions on how creatively we can express faith in God, and (as a consequence) love toward others. Think of it: when done in faith, even eating is a way to love your neighbor!
If the absence of faith is cause for condemnation, then the presence of faith redeems, yes? As the author of Hebrews says, “…without faith it is impossible to please [God]…” (Heb. 11:6), while the rest of Chapter 11 in Hebrews goes on to commend the faith of so many Old Testament saints (some of whom cause our eyebrows to rise slightly). Back to our passage: What does it say about the versatility of faith that something as plain as eating becomes an occasion for condemnation or salvation? Well, it says that faith is the kind of thing that can turn even eating into a glorious act of good. In other words, if something so ordinary and plain as eating can be done in a condemning manner, then it can be done in a redeeming manner as well. In fact (and this is the glory!), it is the nature of faith that it can turn just about any human pursuit into a God-glorifying act of kindness!
This is not just good news, it is glorious news (!) because it means that there are virtually no restrictions on how creatively we can express faith in God, and (as a consequence) love toward others. Think of it: when done in faith, even eating is a way to love your neighbor!
Table Talk Question
As you go about your day (think “…when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way…”, Deut. 6:7), there are perhaps several thousand “little” things you could do for others that you already do either “in faith” or not. Sometimes the thing to do is your daughter’s chore, so that she knows you were thinking of how busy she’s been lately. Or, conversely, sometimes the thing to do is gently reminder her to go do her chore because she still has room to grow in learning faithfulness and responsibility. There is a time for everything: a time to mow, and not mow; a time to remind and a time to apply consequences; a time to initiate and a time to wait. And none of them is “always” right. And this is the blessing: God gives us a myriad of options every day of ways to love each other, in faith that He will do good to those whom we are loving. This kind of freedom comes with responsibility, but it also comes with no limit of ways we could do good to others.
Catechism At Home
Lord’s Day 27
WSC Q. 53. Which is the third commandment?
A. The third commandment is, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”
WSC Q. 54. What is required in the third commandment?
A. The third commandment requires the holy and reverend use of God's names, titles, attributes, ordinances, Word, and works.
WSC Q. 55. What is forbidden in the third commandment?
A. The third commandment forbids all profaning or abusing of anything whereby God makes himself known.
WSC Q. 56. What is the reason annexed to the third commandment?
A. The reason annexed to the third commandment is, that however the breakers of this commandment may escape punishment from men, yet the Lord our God will not suffer them to escape his righteous judgment.
Lord’s Day 28
WSC Q. 57. Which is the fourth commandment?
A. The fourth commandment is, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”
WSC Q. 58. What is required in the fourth commandment?
A. The fourth commandment requires the keeping holy to God such set times as he has appointed in his Word; expressly one whole day in seven, to be a holy Sabbath to himself.
WSC Q. 59. Which day of the seven has God appointed to be the weekly Sabbath?
A. From the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, God appointed the seventh day of the week to be the weekly Sabbath; and the first day of the week ever since, to continue to the end of the world, which is the Christian Sabbath.
Lord’s Day 29
WSC Q. 60. How is the Sabbath to be sanctified?
A. The Sabbath is to be sanctified by a holy resting all that day, even from such worldly employments as are lawful on other days; and spending the day in the public and private exercises of God's worship, in assisting the poor and needy, and in fellowship with the people of God.
WSC Q. 61. What is forbidden in the fourth commandment?
A. The fourth commandment forbids the omission, or careless performance, of the duties required, and the profaning the day by idleness, or doing that which is in itself sinful, or by unnecessary thoughts, words, or works, about our worldly employments.
WSC Q. 62. What are the reasons annexed to the fourth commandment?
A. The reasons annexed to the fourth commandment are, God's allowing us six days of the week for our own employments, his challenging a special propriety in the seventh, his own example, and his blessing the Sabbath day.
Lord’s Day 30
WSC Q. 63. Which is the fifth commandment?
A. The fifth commandment is, “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”
WSC Q. 64. What is required in the fifth commandment?
A. The fifth commandment requires the preserving the honor, and performing the duties, belonging to everyone in their several places and relations, as superiors, inferiors, or equals.
WSC Q. 65. What is forbidden in the fifth commandment?
A. The fifth commandment forbids the neglecting of, or doing anything against, the honor and duty which belongs to everyone in their several places and relations.
WSC Q. 66. What is the reason annexed to the fifth commandment?
A. The reason annexed to the fifth commandment is, a promise of long life and prosperity (as far as it shall serve for God's glory and their own good) to all such as keep this commandment.
Lord’s Day 31
WSC Q. 67. Which is the sixth commandment?
A. The sixth commandment is, “You shall not murder.”
WSC Q. 68. What is required in the sixth commandment?
A. The sixth commandment requires all lawful endeavors to preserve our own life, and the life of others.
WSC Q. 69. What is forbidden in the sixth commandment?
A. The sixth commandment forbids the taking away of our own life, or the life of our neighbor, unjustly, or whatsoever tends thereunto.
WSC Q. 53. Which is the third commandment?
A. The third commandment is, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”
WSC Q. 54. What is required in the third commandment?
A. The third commandment requires the holy and reverend use of God's names, titles, attributes, ordinances, Word, and works.
WSC Q. 55. What is forbidden in the third commandment?
A. The third commandment forbids all profaning or abusing of anything whereby God makes himself known.
WSC Q. 56. What is the reason annexed to the third commandment?
A. The reason annexed to the third commandment is, that however the breakers of this commandment may escape punishment from men, yet the Lord our God will not suffer them to escape his righteous judgment.
Lord’s Day 28
WSC Q. 57. Which is the fourth commandment?
A. The fourth commandment is, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”
WSC Q. 58. What is required in the fourth commandment?
A. The fourth commandment requires the keeping holy to God such set times as he has appointed in his Word; expressly one whole day in seven, to be a holy Sabbath to himself.
WSC Q. 59. Which day of the seven has God appointed to be the weekly Sabbath?
A. From the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, God appointed the seventh day of the week to be the weekly Sabbath; and the first day of the week ever since, to continue to the end of the world, which is the Christian Sabbath.
Lord’s Day 29
WSC Q. 60. How is the Sabbath to be sanctified?
A. The Sabbath is to be sanctified by a holy resting all that day, even from such worldly employments as are lawful on other days; and spending the day in the public and private exercises of God's worship, in assisting the poor and needy, and in fellowship with the people of God.
WSC Q. 61. What is forbidden in the fourth commandment?
A. The fourth commandment forbids the omission, or careless performance, of the duties required, and the profaning the day by idleness, or doing that which is in itself sinful, or by unnecessary thoughts, words, or works, about our worldly employments.
WSC Q. 62. What are the reasons annexed to the fourth commandment?
A. The reasons annexed to the fourth commandment are, God's allowing us six days of the week for our own employments, his challenging a special propriety in the seventh, his own example, and his blessing the Sabbath day.
Lord’s Day 30
WSC Q. 63. Which is the fifth commandment?
A. The fifth commandment is, “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”
WSC Q. 64. What is required in the fifth commandment?
A. The fifth commandment requires the preserving the honor, and performing the duties, belonging to everyone in their several places and relations, as superiors, inferiors, or equals.
WSC Q. 65. What is forbidden in the fifth commandment?
A. The fifth commandment forbids the neglecting of, or doing anything against, the honor and duty which belongs to everyone in their several places and relations.
WSC Q. 66. What is the reason annexed to the fifth commandment?
A. The reason annexed to the fifth commandment is, a promise of long life and prosperity (as far as it shall serve for God's glory and their own good) to all such as keep this commandment.
Lord’s Day 31
WSC Q. 67. Which is the sixth commandment?
A. The sixth commandment is, “You shall not murder.”
WSC Q. 68. What is required in the sixth commandment?
A. The sixth commandment requires all lawful endeavors to preserve our own life, and the life of others.
WSC Q. 69. What is forbidden in the sixth commandment?
A. The sixth commandment forbids the taking away of our own life, or the life of our neighbor, unjustly, or whatsoever tends thereunto.
Elder Report
Pulpit Supply
Here is a schedule of who will be filling our pulpit for the next several weeks. Please consider praying for them as they prepare to minister to us in word and prayer.
June 1: Ben Tate
June 8: Roy Atwood
June 15: Mike Niam
June 22: Chase Fluhart
June 29: Chase Fluhart
Scripture Readers
June 1: Tim Ansett, Psalm 110, Acts 1:1-14
June 8: Warren Lewis, Ps 104:1-4, 24-35, Acts 2:1-21
June 15: Merrill Miller, Psalm 149, John 16:5-28
June 22: Ben Palpant, Ps 81:1-16, Heb 11:23-12:4
June 29: Ben Tate, 1 Kng 17:8-24, Luke 7:11-23
Here is a schedule of who will be filling our pulpit for the next several weeks. Please consider praying for them as they prepare to minister to us in word and prayer.
June 1: Ben Tate
June 8: Roy Atwood
June 15: Mike Niam
June 22: Chase Fluhart
June 29: Chase Fluhart
Scripture Readers
June 1: Tim Ansett, Psalm 110, Acts 1:1-14
June 8: Warren Lewis, Ps 104:1-4, 24-35, Acts 2:1-21
June 15: Merrill Miller, Psalm 149, John 16:5-28
June 22: Ben Palpant, Ps 81:1-16, Heb 11:23-12:4
June 29: Ben Tate, 1 Kng 17:8-24, Luke 7:11-23
Prayers of the Saints
"Give Thanks To The Lord!"
"Make your requests known..."
Please send prayers of praise and request to ben.tate@kingschurchcrec.com
- Leadership Growth at King's Church - give thanks for our elders and deacons, particularly in the ways they are gifted and use their gifts for the sake of the body.
- Recent Births - Beata Kuntz, William Tate, Isabelle Williams, Isabella Woodin
- Pulpit Supply - give thanks for the many men willing and scheduled to preach each week!
- Health - praise for healthy pregnancy for Baylee Woodin and birth of Isabella Woodin (given health concerns for Baylee).
- Naomi Brodersen - praise God for quality treatment, healing, and healthy perspective.
"Make your requests known..."
- The King's Church session - for their faithful prayers for and service to the congregation, and clear, honest, and fruitful discussion of many issues facing our young congregation: leadership, membership, shepherding, ministries, budget, outreach, etc.
- The King's Church Steering Committee - continued wisdom, clear thinking, discernment in making decisions about worship, finances, and community-building.
- Christ Church Spokane - pray for grace and wisdom to reorganize roles and responsibilities as they seek to establish and grow the congregation and its impact on their community in Spokane for Christ's sake.
- Holy Covenant Church - pray for grace and wisdom to identify and fill administrative and shepherding needs as they seek to establish and grow their congregation and their impact on north Spokane for Christ's sake.
- Pulpit Supply - pray for the Spirit to lead our preachers both in their preparation and in their delivery of God's word, and pray for their well-being (and their families') as they receive this role on top of their vocational duties.
- Pastoral Search - pray that God would provide a pastor in his good timing
- Expectant Mothers - Dawn Blasberg, Anelie DesRoches, Mary Maus, Julia McMahon, Mia Murtha, Jenna Trotter
- Upcoming Marriages - Mia Welch & Caleb Jarvis
- DesRoches Family - pray for the extended family as they grieve the loss of Emmie DesRoches (Ryan & Katie's niece)
- Lauren Hartke (Brittany's mother) - pray for courage and hope as she undergoes treatment for the reoccurrence of her cancer.
- Gui Mezavilla - pray for the success of Gui's education as he trains to become a pilot at Moody Aviation School and continues to raise support.
- Military - pray for Christians serving in the Armed Forces, specifically Marshall Clinkscales, Jim Doster, Justus Grammer, Jed Murtha
Please send prayers of praise and request to ben.tate@kingschurchcrec.com
Digging for Diamonds
This month's book review is supplied by Brittany Hartke, for which we are grateful. If there is a book you have found valuable and think deserves a wider audience, and you would like to be instrumental in giving it that wider audience, please contact Ben Tate.
The Awakening of Miss Prim, by Natalia Sanmartin Fenollara
by Brittany Harke
Allow me to introduce you to the Man in the Wing Chair: because of this young man’s tenacity and an old monk’s wisdom, the community of San Ireneo de Arnois is so distinctly different. It is not a magical place. No, the difference lies in what they value. San Ireneo is “a flourishing colony of exiles from the modern world seeking a simple, rural life”.
I will confess: my first attraction to this book was shallow. The cover says charming, the friend’s bookshelf said wholesome - so I snuggled in for Sunday reading. Oh my! Charming and wholesome it certainly is, but it is most essentially beautiful and about Love.
The plot begins with this advertisement:
“Wanted: a feminine spirit quite undaunted by the world to work as a librarian for a gentleman and his books. Able to live with dogs and children. Preferable without work experience. Graduates and postgraduates need not apply.”
Would you apply? This is the first question the novel poses. And this is one of the strengths of fiction that this novel does remarkably well, and, therefore, subtly. Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera, in her debut novel, The Awakening of Miss Prim, escorts the reader through a test. She will hold up a mirror to show you yourself. Would I do that? Should I do that? Could I do that? A good novel will niggle beneath your story grip, and I suggest this one does.
A second aspect of masterful fiction which this novel does well is posit the good life. The community of San Ireneo has curated a life truly undaunted by the world. As the reader you get to observe, ponder, see. This is a book to taste. No pencil. No notes. No quiz. Just taste. Just see. And when you do, let's get coffee and talk about it.
The Awakening of Miss Prim, by Natalia Sanmartin Fenollara
by Brittany Harke
Allow me to introduce you to the Man in the Wing Chair: because of this young man’s tenacity and an old monk’s wisdom, the community of San Ireneo de Arnois is so distinctly different. It is not a magical place. No, the difference lies in what they value. San Ireneo is “a flourishing colony of exiles from the modern world seeking a simple, rural life”.
I will confess: my first attraction to this book was shallow. The cover says charming, the friend’s bookshelf said wholesome - so I snuggled in for Sunday reading. Oh my! Charming and wholesome it certainly is, but it is most essentially beautiful and about Love.
The plot begins with this advertisement:
“Wanted: a feminine spirit quite undaunted by the world to work as a librarian for a gentleman and his books. Able to live with dogs and children. Preferable without work experience. Graduates and postgraduates need not apply.”
Would you apply? This is the first question the novel poses. And this is one of the strengths of fiction that this novel does remarkably well, and, therefore, subtly. Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera, in her debut novel, The Awakening of Miss Prim, escorts the reader through a test. She will hold up a mirror to show you yourself. Would I do that? Should I do that? Could I do that? A good novel will niggle beneath your story grip, and I suggest this one does.
A second aspect of masterful fiction which this novel does well is posit the good life. The community of San Ireneo has curated a life truly undaunted by the world. As the reader you get to observe, ponder, see. This is a book to taste. No pencil. No notes. No quiz. Just taste. Just see. And when you do, let's get coffee and talk about it.
Prayers to Pray at Home
Ephesians 1:15-21
Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
~ the apostle Paul
Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
~ the apostle Paul
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