Knoxville Church

Are you the mother of a teen or pre-teen daugheter?

Then this Article by Virgina Lefler is for you!  Read on to find out more about her new book, Persuing Purity and Spiritual Beauty.

A long time ago…my mom gave me a little plaque which had a picture of two little boys walking down a path. The caption below said “new friends are like silver but old friends are like gold”. Now at the time I had no idea what that meant - I was probably 10 or 11 years old…yeah 30 years ago. As time went on, just as in each persons life, I made new friends along they way and they are special…even precious, like silver. But the longer you have a friend the more valuable they become. Friends like Gary, David, Chris and Ben (who I named my son after) are guys that I do not talk too enough as they live outside of Knoxville but our 35 years of history or so makes them very special to me. Other guys like Richard, Drais, Pat and a host of other Phis hold a special place for over 20 years. Today I got to visit with Wendell who I hope gets to move to Tennessee - we’ve been friends for over 11 years and ellen and I drove for 2 hours down and back to Chattanooga to spend 1 1/2 hours with him at lunch. It was worth it…golden.

Take some time today to contact an old friend - facebook just wont do - give them a call -hear their voice at least and remember that old friends are like gold!

The leadership group of the Knoxville Church has chosen a study series to use as a tool to help us lead our friends to Christ. We will begin working through these together in our next rotation of discipleship training.

The Knoxville Church Study Series

A Virtuous Woman~ Mid-Week #2

Tuesday, August 10, 2010, 9:33:42 PM

Proverbs 31: 10 The passage starts by giving us the overall name of this woman~ Virtuous.  As we continue to unpack the whole scripture, we will see the individual qualities and character that allows her to be named Virtuous with the reputation for being morally excellent.

Virtuous~ Morally excellent, quality of doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong.  Not just being a “good” girl but being “God’s” girl.

                                        I still like being referred to as a “girl” sometimes.

Titus 2: 11-12  For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.  It teaches us to say “NO” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and  to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in theis present age,while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.



2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.



2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test your yourselves.



Why are there so few men seeking women of virtue?  Is it that there are so few virtuous women to be sought?  I know that before I became a true worshiper ( John 4:23-24 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is spirit and his worshipers MUST worship in spirit and truth) I considered virtuous to mean prudish, goody goody, stuck up and simply no fun.  As I have been studying the scriptures, I am getting the perspective that has been missing in my heart.  The truth is that in today’s world” being bad is the new good”. ( quoted by Vicki Courtney) With television shows titled, ” Girls Gone Wild”, “The girls next door” and ” The bad girls club”, it’s no wonder women of virtue seem few and far between.  Of the 28  proverbs that refer to women, 19 make a reference to the “bad girl” describing her as wayward, full of folly, without discretion and a seductress.



The good news for us is that we can learn for ourselves and teach the younger girls in our sphere of influence what God values is a good name and a good reputation.  The Proverbs 31 women is named virtuous and her reputation is one of being morally excellent (not perfection).  Reputation is defined as “the generally accepted estimation of somebody”.  It’s your charcter standing and name as determined by God and others.  You are who you’ve been becoming.  This starts from the beginning of life.  Hebrews 4: 12-13 frequently reminds me of who I really am before God when I am all alone, with no one to impress.  I desire deeply to be authentic regardless of the circumstance or the people around me.  Proverbs 22:1  ” A good name rather to be chosen than great riches.”  Socrates, the Greek philospher states, ” Regard your good name as the richest jewel that can possibly be possessed.  Endever to be what you desire to appear.”   Proverbs 3: 1-4 My son do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.  Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.  Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.  I am so grateful that God cares about who I am from the inside out and is with me every step, every trial and error, every victory to ensure I become the kind of woman that He values and not the kind that the world defines.  I am a work in progress.  Philippians 1: 4-6 ....... being confidant of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.   ellen herbert, being made virtuous, morally excellent, daughter of the King