February 2008 New Horizons

Healing Daniel's Heart

by Robert C. Van Kooten

"Where have you been?" my wife Jeneé asked me with tears in her eyes. "We have to go to Seattle right away! Something is wrong with the baby's heart." I had just come home from the store, where I had picked up some diapers for our new baby. Upon hearing those words, my heart sank. Our son Daniel was born on July 2, 2003. He had a normal birth and was sleeping, eating, and gaining weight like babies are supposed to do. Jeneé had taken him to the pediatrician for his routine wellness checkup. In that examination, the doctor detected a slight heart murmur, which necessitated a trip to the hospital. Before leaving, we gathered the family together and explained to Calvin (7), Taylor (6), and Aaron (3) that we were taking Daniel to the hospital because something was wrong with his heart. We told them that Oma would stay with them for a few days and that we would let them know what was going to happen. Then I prayed an emotional prayer with all of them. Jeneé, Daniel, and I left for ... Read more

When the Wait Seems Forever

by Patricia E. Clawson

Three days after Anneke Schippers was born, the daughter of Michael and Rachel Schippers had open heart surgery. When that didn't solve the problem, she waited in Loma Linda University Children's Hospital in Loma Linda, California, for four and one-half months for a heart transplant. Then she stayed in recovery another four months. The long, lonely ordeal was very difficult for Michael and Rachel, who ended up staying near the hospital in a Ronald McDonald House for eight months, waiting for an available heart for Anneke and missing Gideon, their two-year-old son. Gideon stayed part of the time with his grandparents, John and Sylvia Mahaffy, in Newberg, Oregon. John is the pastor of Trinity OPC in Newberg, and the Schippers are members there. Knowing that one out of four children die while waiting for a new heart, Anneke's parents spent the time reading and singing to her. And while they rocked her, always careful of the IVs and feeding tubes that kept her alive, they prayed nonstop. People around ... Read more

Love Overcoming Fear of Cancer

by Dan S. Oh

There is not much that I am afraid of in life. I'm not afraid of failing to get my work done. I have no fear of meeting new people. I'm not afraid to deal with people's relationship problems. But I have been afraid of death—not just any death, but death from cancer. The Lord has been dealing with this fear over the last several years. I have wondered whether I would be able to praise and glorify his name, if I were dying of cancer. I was once "comforted" by a friend who told me that he was afraid of drowning. We both laughed. Well, I have been struggling with my health over the last six months. It has been a long journey, with successful surgery to remove a complex cyst on my left kidney. Leading up to this surgery, as one of my friends told me, the Lord was pursuing me. In his great love, God pursued me, by working in the most vulnerable area of my life, so that I would be more like him. How has God pursued me during the last six months? He pursued me with his word. My Palm Treo, where my NIV ... Read more

Helps for Worship #26: The Sermon (Part 1)

by William Shishko

"Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching." (2 Tim. 4:2) One of the greatest impacts of the Protestant Reformation was the re-establishment of the priority of the preached Word of God in the church. The "sermon" (from a Latin term that means "a talk" or "a discourse") became the center of worship, rather than the Eucharist (the Lord's Supper), as in the Roman Mass. The Directory for Worship of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (chapter 3, section 3) gives a powerful statement about the sermon: In the sermon God addresses the congregation by the mouth of his servant. It is a matter of supreme importance that the minister preach only the Word of God, not the wisdom of man, that he declare the whole counsel of God, and that he handle aright the Word of truth. To these ends the sermon must be prepared with the utmost care. Let the session give diligence that no person enter the pulpit concerning whose doctrinal soundness or ... Read more

Twice on Sunday?

by "Uncle Glen"

Dear James, You were probably expecting this letter. Your mother seemed upset Sunday when she told me that you are not going to evening worship. I remember having my share of excuses as a college student, too. I am also aware that many campus ministries provide Bible studies, dormitory fellowship, and the like on Sundays. These are designed with noble intentions. But when it comes to public worship, you should accept no substitutes. Since you are familiar with the case for evening worship, I needn't go into detail. You know that the fourth commandment instructs us to set the whole day apart for rest and worship. You know that Christ did not abrogate the fourth commandment, but transformed it into the Lord's Day or Christian Sabbath. And you well know that it is still a day , not merely a couple of hours on Sunday morning. Most American Protestants understood that until the end of the last century, when this practice fell on hard times. Now it is the minority report, even within some conservative ... Read more