Vol. 10 No. 5
May 2016
The Cascade Connection
A Newsletter to Inform and Equip the Body of Believers at Cascade Bible Church
A Word from Your Pastor
God has given a special gift to mankind that is often underappreciated and underused. This gift should be
encouraged, developed and practiced, but also must be guided, limited and
controlled. Best when started at a very young age, it can powerfully influence the
hearts and minds of people for good, but sadly also for evil. The message it can
carry will at times educate, inspire and lead in worship, but may additionally be
used to confuse, deceive and draw individuals away from God. Given specifically
to mankind by our Creator, it is for humans - never seen in God's Word as being
used by angels or animals. What, you may be asking, is this precious gift? It is
singing... a unique "language" that allows sons of Adam and daughters of Eve to
uniquely communicate, celebrate, motivate, testify, inspire and entertain.
Our best guess is that singing beautifully filled the Garden of Eden, but we know that music impacted all
aspects of life on earth over the last 6,000 years and will be an integral part of eternity
with our Lord. It has: majestically pervaded the temples of God and the courts of kings;
powerfully influenced the meetings of evangelists and the speeches of dictators; and
emotionally changed the hearts of teenagers and the romance of lovers.
Singing/music can set a mood, improve an elevator, bring a tear, cause a daydream,
inspire a dance, soothe a baby, convey a message, unify a nation, drive a war, direct a
march, energize a movie and best of all, praise our Lord - expressing deep love for our
Savior. We must use music to...
"Come before Him [Yahweh] with joyful singing."
(Psalm 100:2)
We are presently seeking an assistant pastor who will oversee the music ministry at
CBC. This man must have a balance of godliness, sound doctrine and musical ability.
Singing is very significant in God's church, bearing a supportive roll in two areas:
(1) musically allowing the Holy Spirit to convey God's truth into the receptive hearts of
believers, and (2) uniquely providing a channel for believers to personally express those
truths back to God. Some have never physically learned the language, but those who are
truly tone-deaf are rare. Others have never spiritually learned the value, or God's desire
that we sing, but this too can be taught and developed. We are commanded to "make a
joyful noise unto Him with psalms" (Ps. 95:2 - KJV).
Although singing is underappreciated and undervalued these days, believers need to set an example and
purposefully use this special gift to glorify God. Scripture takes music for
granted and reveals its role from Genesis to Revelation, especially in the
Psalms. We are to be "speaking to one another in psalms, hymns and
spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord"
(Eph. 5:19). We are to be "teaching and admonishing one another with psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to
God" (Col. 3:16). When cheerful, we are to "sing praises" (James 5:13). And
one day when with we are with Lord, we will sing "a new song before the
throne" (Rev. 5:9). Let's start practicing now and get ready for that day - it’s not
very far away! "Sing to the Lord" (Ps. 96:1-2).
Jack Ebner
Focus on Ministry ---------------------------------------------------------------------------Assistant Pastor Update – We have narrowed down our search to one candidate, who
will be coming with his family the first weekend in June. Justin Stewart, his wife Sarah and
their three children, Laura, Payton and Genevieve will be visiting from Wyoming on June
4th and 5th. The weekend will include some of our regular activities, ministry from the
Stewarts (Sat.pm/Sun.am), and some social times to allow for building relationships and
getting to know each other. Make plans to join us.
As of the end of April, we have over, $33,238.00 in the account for a new Assistant pastor. As we continue to
look for God's wisdom for this ministry, please be seeking Him daily in prayer. A home will be provided, and the
designated funds will first be used toward the $24,000 initial base salary each year, and all additional funds will
be used for the Assistant Pastor's other needs - candidating, moving expenses, health care, Mission House
utilities, etc. Thank you for continuing to pray with us.
Administrator News ------------------------------------------------------------------------A few things to share:
 Wi-Fi – We have hopefully reached a stable solution to our Wi-Fi issues. If you can’t get a good signal with
the CBC connection, try the CBC-5G connection using the same password. We will continue to work on
getting good wireless access for the Mission House.
 Make sure you visit our web site at: http://cascadebiblechurch.org/. We
strive to maintain a current calendar and keep the newsletters posted there.
Church Growth -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Most of us would agree that the number of people here on Sundays is dropping. The cause seems to be mostly
life’s events such as illnesses later in life and moving to other areas, rather than people
just packing up their things and leaving over problems. At the same time, though, we see
people growing in their walk with the Lord. However, at a recent Men’s’ Discipleship we
discussed what we are doing about this reduction in numbers here at Cascade Bible
Church. One discussion topic was the need for us to make disciples as we are
commanded in Matthew 28:18-20. A quick poll of the men in the room indicated that
almost none of us were actively discipling someone one-on-one.
On Tuesday nights the Bible study has been going through a video series by Way of The Master on how to
witness to difficult groups. What’s being shared by attendees there is that we don’t open up enough (we aren’t
bold enough) to share Christ with others. One part of the material suggests firemen are a good example of how
we should be. When they pull up to the fire, they don’t necessarily feel like getting out of the truck to fight the fire
because they know they might be burned. However, firemen DO get out of the truck because they know it’s what
they are required to do. We need to see our role of discipling and sharing God’s word as, not what we feel like
doing, but what God requires us to do.
Missions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Remember to regularly keep these folks in prayer and provide support as the Lord leads:
Michael and Jonna Payne continue to need prayer as they minister to military members
and their families in these days of great stress and demand on them. They will be back in
the States this fall and will be based out of the Denver, Colorado area.
Persecuted believers around the world need our prayers as they love God and seek to
tell others about Him, but receive resistance, opposition and bodily harm for doing so.
Colombia Grace (the Harpoles and Riffles) please continue to pray for the Lord’s
leading in their ministry, outreach, and teaching as they seek to minister in God’s will.
Continue in Prayer --------------------------------------------------------------------------Please continue to pray regularly for the spiritual and physical needs below, asking for God’s will to be done.
Don’t forget to praise God for His continued blessing and opportunities He provides for our benefit.
 The assistant pastor that God wants us to have. We are looking at an individual who will come and visit
so we can meet him and his family. Justin Stewart and his family plan to visit us June 4th - 5th. Put these
dates on your calendar with a Saturday night question and answer time, as well as a time of singing and
Sunday morning music followed by a Pot-blessing. There have been no commitments on either part at this
time. We are just getting to know one another and see where God will lead.
 For more among us willing to share the ministries load by stepping up to serve in one of
very many areas in this body.
 Boldness and maturity for each one of us to not only share the gospel, but to follow-up
and disciple believers.
 Continued wisdom and patience for many of us dealing with aging parents, siblings, etc.
 Those among us suffering with cancer and other physical challenges.
Jim Stone
Cascade Bible Church
P.O. Box 580
La Pine Oregon 97739
"Come before Him [Yahweh] with joyful singing."
(Psalm 100:2)