And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin’ home dad?
I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then son
You know we’ll have a good time then
If you know this song – then you also know it’s kind of depressing.
Often way too true – maybe that makes it even more depressing.
If you don’t know it, check out the words and listen to it at lyrics depot.
The song opens with a boy asking when his father is going to be home. The boy starts to grow up – learns to talk – and soon says –
“I’m gonna be like you dad
You know I’m gonna be like you”
Unfortunately, he does grow up to be just like his father. Eventually, the scene is reversed – the father wants to talk to his son – and the son says –
“What I’d really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please?”
Years later – the father calls his son on the phone – the son says he’s too busy to talk – and the father realizes –
And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
“He’d grown up just like me
My boy was just like me.”
Oops.
I first wrote this in July, 2011. I’m finally getting around to moving it over to this site. As I do, I expect to be making some updates. As I do, I’ll put them in text like this, so you can tell what’s new.
In reviewing this, I noticed there’s something that’s probably important to at least some of you. It’s not always the case that sons or daughters want to grow up to be just like their fathers and mothers. I know for me – my goal was to be nothing like them at all. I hope I’ve succeeded. I believe I have.
At any rate, the scenario described in the song isn’t meant to say that all kids should want to grow up like their parents. Sometimes that’s a good approach – sometimes it isn’t. My goal here was to get to what I will shortly call A deeper issue.
So, if you’re not happy with the starting premise – believe me I totally understand. But please, stay with me here. I hope you’ll find it worth while.
But – is this the way the father wanted it to turn out?
Probably not.
Is this the way the son wanted it to turn out?
Probably not.
But still – it did.
Let’s ask a deeper question –
Is this the way the Father wanted it to turn out?
No.
Is this the way the Son wanted it to turn out?
No.
But still – it did.
Just in case you didn’t catch the difference there – besides the answer changing from “probably not” to “no” – two of the words were capitalized.
Instead of this being about the boy and his father – it’s about God the Father and Jesus the Son.
So what happened?
If everyone wants it to be differently – why wasn’t it?
Well – there’s free will.
And there’s Satan – who definitely does not want it to be different, but wants history to repeat itself – over and over and over.
In the case of the boy and his father – all sorts of things happen.
Maybe the father really has to work all the time to have enough money to live.
Maybe there isn’t even a father – and it’s the mother going through this.
Maybe it’s not a son – maybe it’s a daughter.
Maybe the father has a messed up life already and doesn’t know how to be a good father to his son.
All sorts of things happen to people.
And of course – there’s always the possibility that he was the best father he could be – maybe even a really good father – but the son didn’t realize it or appreciate it. For more on this thought, I invite you to read Lost Son Parable – Parenting 501 which is about the prodigal son and The non-prodigal son which is about someone we hear much about – the prodigal son’s brother.
But the kids often turn out like their parents – just like the son said he would – and like the father (too late) realized he did.
And that’s a problem – but for this article – let’s go to that deeper question –
Is this the way the Father wanted it to turn out?
No.
Is this the way the Son wanted it to turn out?
No.
But still – it did.
Why didn’t it turn out the way the Father and the Son wanted?
Is God a bad Father?
Or is it that we don’t understand.
Is it that God really is the best Father – and we just don’t realize or appreciate it?
My vote is for the latter – we don’t understand.
Not that we ever really will understand in this lifetime – but to even begin to understand takes effort – faith – trust – things like that.
Things that God – our Father – gives us the free will to make the effort / have the faith and trust – or to not do these things.
And then there’s Satan – always ready to try to convince us that none of these things matter – that it’s not worth it to make the effort or have the faith.
Free will and Satan
Remember this exchange from the Garden of Eden?
The Fall of Man
Ge 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
Ge 3:2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”
Ge 3:4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Ge 3:6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
From the very beginning, Satan lied – convincing Adam and Eve that God was trying to suppress their real potential and destiny. A little but of truth – a little bit of untruth – and then an incorrect conclusion. But by then it was too late.
Ge 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Ge 3:8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
Ge 3:10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
Ge 3:11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? ”
Ge 3:12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
Ge 3:13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Then we see – not only was to too late, but Adam and Eve immediately knew they messed up and Adam threw Eve under the bus and blamed God at the same time – “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” That took skill. Unfortunately, it’s not a good skill. Adam and Eve didn’t see that one coming – it wasn’t part of the plan – but it happened.
Is God = God?
Huh? Is God equal to God? Well – not entirely, depending on our point of view.
For one thing – if we’re looking for God the Father to be our only view of “God” – we’ve got a problem.
Really? God isn’t God?
Actually – what I’m saying is that God the Father – isn’t the complete view of God. And if that’s all we look at – we’re missing some really important stuff.
For instance, we can look at what Paul says in Ephesians. Normally, I’d use the NIV, but sometimes Paul is hard to figure out – so here the NASB translation of Ephesians 1:1-14 –
Eph 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight 9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 10 with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him 11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
So you see we have
God – the Father
Jesus – the Son of God
The Holy Spirit – in whom we are sealed with Jesus.
All of these are “parts” of God – what’s called a “Triune God”.
Webster defines “triune” as
triune (adjective)
three in one:
a : of or relating to the Trinity 〈the triune God〉
b : consisting of three parts, members, or aspects
So we see it’s one God – with three parts.
Without getting deep into the differences between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (which is for another article) – I’ll just show you a couple of places where Jesus’ own words shows us this relationship.
Rest for the Weary Rest for the Weary
Mt 11:25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.
Mt 11:27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Mt 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Jesus says here that everything has been committed to Him by His Father. Let’s take a look at the Greek word used in the Bible that was translated as “committed”. These days “committed” means many things other than just what it meant in Jesus’ time.
3860 παραδίδωμι [paradidomi /par·ad·id·o·mee/] v. From 3844 and 1325; TDNT 2:169; TDNTA 166; GK 4140; 121 occurrences; AV translates as “deliver” 53 times, “betray” 40 times, “deliver up” 10 times, “give” four times, “give up” four times, “give over” twice, “commit” twice, and translated miscellaneously six times. 1 to give into the hands (of another). 2 to give over into (one’s) power or use. 2A to deliver to one something to keep, use, take care of, manage. 2B to deliver up one to custody, to be judged, condemned, punished, scourged, tormented, put to death. 2C to deliver up treacherously. 2C1 by betrayal to cause one to be taken. 2C2 to deliver one to be taught, moulded. 3 to commit, to commend. 4 to deliver verbally. 4A commands, rites. 4B to deliver by narrating, to report. 5 to permit allow. 5A when the fruit will allow that is when its ripeness permits. 5B gives itself up, presents itself. 1Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.
Given the context, the reasonable interpretation of what Jesus said is the God the Father, gave everything to Jesus, God the Son.
And yet, we’re about to say that there are things The Father knows that Jesus doesn’t.
The Day and Hour Unknown
Mt 24:36 “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
Mt 24:42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
Even though the God the Father, gave everything to Jesus, God the Son – Jesus was not told by His Father when the end would come.
The Shepherd and His Flock
Jn 10:1 “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.
Jn 10:7 Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Jn 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
Jn 10:14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
In our final look at the God the Father and God the Son, we see that the Father commands the Son on what He should do.
The Great Commission
Mt 28:16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
As part of the Great Commission, Jesus very clearly tells us about the three persons of God – telling us to baptize people in all three names. All one God – and yet each distinct in a way that we do not understand.
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
Jn 14:15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”
In another statement from Jesus, we see the clear distinction between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
All of this points to one God – one God who has chosen, for whatever reason, to communicate / interact with us in three different ways. Looking at the progression from the Old Testament to the New Testament – it makes sense, in a certain way.
Even in the Old Testament, there is a “clear” statement that God is plural in some fashion. Not that there is more than one God – but that God Himself is somehow more than what we can understand. The Bible starts off with –
Ge 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
The Hebrew word for God is plural!
430 אֱלֹהִים [ʾelohiym /el·o·heem/] n m p. Plural of 433; TWOT 93c; GK 466; 2606 occurrences; AV translates as “God” 2346 times, “god” 244 times, “judge” five times, “GOD” once, “goddess” twice, “great” twice, “mighty” twice, “angels” once, “exceeding” once, “God-ward + 4136” once, and “godly” once. 1 (plural). 1A rulers, judges. 1B divine ones. 1C angels. 1D gods. 2 (plural intensive—singular meaning). 2A god, goddess. 2B godlike one. 2C works or special possessions of God. 2D the (true) God. 2E God. Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.
This word – אֱלֹהִים – translated as God – is used over 1000 times in the NIV Old Testament. The Hebrew people knew it was plural and accepted it as the name for their One God.
Now – let’s go back and look at that “deeper question” again, with that in mind –
The original question –
Is this the way the Father wanted it to turn out?
No.
Is this the way the Son wanted it to turn out?
No.
But still – it did.
– now becomes –
Is this the way God the Father wanted it to turn out?
No.
Is this the way God the Son wanted it to turn out?
No.
But still – it did.
It could be considered redundant – or it could be considered repeated for emphasis.
Let’s say it’s repeated for emphasis.
God didn’t want it to turn out this way.
Next step – take the two sets of questions – and put them together – looking at us as the children of God –
Is this the way the God the Father wanted it to turn out?
No.
Is this the way the children of God wanted it to turn out?
No.
But still – it did.
So now – what’s the problem with this question?
How come it didn’t turn out the way the Father wanted?
Maybe – and I’d think more than just maybe – it’s because we don’t look at it correctly
This is the wrong question.
The question should be –
Is this the way God wanted it to turn out?
No.
Is this the way the children of God wanted it to turn out?
No.
But still – it did.
This time I substituted “God” for “Father” – considering all of God, not just the “Father” view.
And I think that difference between asking the question in terms of “The Father” versus in terms of “God” is huge.
The Father – that’s one of the three views of the whole view of God – at least the whole view of what we can see. The reality is that He’s even bigger than we can begin to imagine – but if we ignore 2/3 of the little bit that we can see – we’re missing a lot.
Now – with that in mind – let’s look at the song again.
The boy is disappointed because his father isn’t around.
The boy wants to know when his father is coming back.
The boy grows up in the image of his father – at least the way he sees his father – because that’s what he knows – it’s how he learned to be a father.
Back to us and God the Father versus God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We’re disappointed because our Father isn’t around – not that we can “see”.
We want to know when our Father is coming back.
We grow up hearing things like God doesn’t exist – or that God is dead – because God the Father doesn’t exist the way we want Him to – so we grow up in the image of Him that we see. We don’t have His goodness or His love – because we don’t see it in Him – because we don’t see Him – we don’t see our “Father”.
The thing is – if we take the concept of the Triune God – look at what Paul says – look at the whole image of Himself that God has given us – we find that these things just aren’t true.
First off – waiting for the Father to come back – that’s the wrong thing. It’s the Son who’s coming back. To ignore Jesus as the Son of God – is to not have the hope that we should have in what that means when He does return – what it means that He died and rose again – that He conquered death and has promised to do the same for all of us who believe in Him. That’s huge.
This was actually promised, by God the Father, way back in Genesis, as the portion of the serpents punishment for tricking Eve and Adam into eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil –
Ge 3:14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all the livestock
and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
Ge 3:15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
While not obvious at the time, this is a reference to Jesus. It is obvious that someone is going to eventually do something about what had just happened, although we don’t find out until later in the Bible that this is Jesus.
Second – to say that the Father isn’t here with us – is to ignore that the Holy Spirit is with us. That 1/3 of the views of God given to us by way of Jesus’ request to the Father – Jesus, the Son of God – while He was here on earth. To ignore that part of God is to believe that the Father abandoned us – with no hope – no comfort – while we’re here on earth.
So – if we look at only the Father – ignore the Son and the Holy Spirit – no wonder people think life is so hopeless and so pointless.
Remember what we looked at earlier –
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
Jn 14:15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”
If that’s the way we look at life – then we think we have a father – someone who created us – left us here on this lonely little planet all by ourselves – orphans dumped in some little corner of the universe . And – not only did he leave us here – not caring what’s become of us – he’s never coming back – because we’re not worth the effort – or else because he died without leaving anything behind to care for us after his death.
Wow – that is depressing.
At least it is if you believe it.
It would be if it were true.
But it’s not true.
Again – the question –
Is this the way God wanted it to turn out?
No.
Is this the way the children of God wanted it to turn out?
No.
But still – it did.
Why does it still turn out this way – sometimes – too often?
Free will – and Satan.
The free will part – that’s not so hard to figure. If God made us as little robots – just quietly and peacefully doing what He wanted us to do – there’s no love there. In fact – no feeling at all. To me – that’s just as depressing as having no hope. There’s no joy – just mindless following.
The Satan part – I’m hoping to find out more about that in Heaven. I just don’t get it – why that happened. I have enough faith and trust in God to assume He has a good reason for it. But I don’t have a clue as to why. Maybe it’s a necessary consequence of free will? I think so, but I really just don’t know.
But what we can know is what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit in John 14:15-31, some of which we’ve already looked at –
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
Jn 14:15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”
Jn 14:22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
Jn 14:23 Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
Jn 14:25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Jn 14:28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, 31 but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
“Come now; let us leave.”
So we see, as we’ve touched on previously, bit by bit – God The Father has not left us alone. God the Son is coming back. God the Holy Spirit is here now.
In the song, the little boy who didn’t have his father to teach him to talk or to walk – to throw a ball – to do much of anything – he grew up just like his father.
And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin’ home dad?
I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then son
You know we’ll have a good time then
…
And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin’ home son?
I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then son
You know we’ll have a good time then
And so it went full circle – the father asking the same question as his son – and having the same answer.
Will they ever get together?
Who knows. Maybe – maybe not.
But it doesn’t have to be that way with us and our Father – not if we look at the whole image of Him – as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We can grow up in His image.
He is with us now – He is returning – He has not left us or even ignored us.
He just gave us the free will to ignore Him – for now.
If we choose not to ignore Him – if we try to live in His image – then we have the promise in John 14:1-6 –
Jesus Comforts His Disciples
Jn 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Jesus the Way to the Father
Jn 14:5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jn 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
These are some of my favorite verses in the Bible.
These are the ones I hope to actually experience – to be in the Father’s dwelling place.
And I can get to the Father’s house with the help of the Holy Spirit and because of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Son.
God – the whole God.
That’s my God.
I pray He’s yours too.
I pray that one day we will meet in His dwelling place.
In the end, if your father was like God – by all means, be like both of them.
but if you’re father wasn’t anything like God – please, don’t hold that against God.
Footnotes
- 1Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.