Weekly Bulletin – February 3, 2008

Posted on January 31, 2008 
Filed Under Weekly Bulletin

THE LORD’S DAY
February 3, 2008
WELCOME!
We extend a kind welcome to all who are present. If you are visiting us today, please fill out a visitor card, found in the pew pocket. We invite you to inquire about our church’s activities and ministries. May your attendance today be a wonderful blessing.

ANNOUNCEMENTS – Todd Smith has been elected to the nominating committee, bring your recommendations to him for an elected position within the church.  He will present them to the board.

PRAISING GOD WITH SONG

GIVING TO GOD  Offering  /  SPECIAL MUSIC

Jr. Church children (ages 4 – 7) may be dismissed.

HEARING FROM GOD

WORSHIPING GOD IN SONG

COMMUNION

PLEASE JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL, NEXT!
There are classes for every age.

TONIGHT: No Evening Service

THIS WEEK:

UPCOMING EVENTS:

FOUND! Large jack knife in leather case, on the secretary’s desk.  Cake Pan, casserole dish, books, various other dishes & clothes, on the coat rack.  Please retrieve the above articles this week or look for them in the new LOST & FOUND room in the basement next week.

Thanks for attending First Christian, please come again!

LEAVING A LEGACY (SURVIVORMAN)

Posted on January 31, 2008 
Filed Under Pastor's Blog, Sermons

Survivorman has come in from out of the cold and the stewardship series has come to a close. I am certain that a sense of legacy has to be embraced by the Church if we are to produce authentic followers of Christ. How one uses their time/treasure/talent is one of the best barometers of a person’s sincerity in following Christ. Our enemy is self-gratification/indulgence and entitlement mentalities. Our young people are indoctrinated into this philosophy of life almost from the moment they emerge from the womb. Our work is cut out for us. I realize as a parent it is always our desire for our kids to have a better life than we did. But what constitutes a “better life”? If we see that as more/better stuff then we are a far cry from following Jesus. If we see that in regards to being better stewards then we are standing in line with Jesus. There’s lots I did not get to say in this series or the last sermon (time never affords itself). So below is a list of suggestions (some quite controversial for our whining culture).

1. Don’t give your kids an allowance (why are you paying them for cleaning their room, do you get paid for all the work you do around the house? I didn’t think so.)

2. Make your kids tithe (You make them go to school, brush their teeth, eat their beets don’t you? Don’t insult my intelligence and say I’m mean. Maybe parents are just lazy.)

3. Don’t leave your inheritance to godless children (you wouldn’t give $100,000 to a drug addict would you? Of course not. Why give God’s money to godless children. This is a no brainer. So what if they hate you, you’re dead anyways.)

4. You might give your inheritance incrementally to your kids while you are still alive. (At least you get to see them enjoy/use it)

5. Teach money management to your kids. (You will teach them to ride a bike, shoot a firearm, hit a baseball and take out the trash. Why not how to give/save/spend?)

I better stop before the ACLU or angry congregants come after me :)         WHB

Protected: Prayer Sheet – January 30, 2008

Posted on January 30, 2008 
Filed Under Prayer Requests

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“WNL” Duct tape night-February 6th

Posted on January 28, 2008 
Filed Under Teen Happenings

All games will involve duct tape.  Display your duct tape and earn extra points.

“WNL” Up Coming Events

Posted on January 26, 2008 
Filed Under Teen Happenings

March-Cafe

Weekly Bulletin – January 27, 2008

Posted on January 24, 2008 
Filed Under Weekly Bulletin

THE LORD’S DAY
January 27, 2008
WELCOME!
We extend a kind welcome to all who are present. If you are visiting us today, please fill out a visitor card, found in the pew pocket. We invite you to inquire about our church’s activities and ministries. May your attendance today be a wonderful blessing.

ANNOUNCEMENTS – Todd Smith has been elected to the nominating committee, bring your recommendations to him for an elected position within the church.  He will present them to the board.

PRAISING GOD WITH SONG

GIVING TO GOD  Offering  /  SPECIAL MUSIC    

Jr. Church children (ages 4 – 7) may be dismissed.

HEARING FROM GOD

WORSHIPING GOD IN SONG

PLEASE JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL, NEXT!
There are classes for every age.

Stewardship Month – See the “Books of the Month” in our library.  Books to help you with your financial woes, books to help you set up a budget. Books for young couples, singles & parents. Check us out today!

TONIGHT: COLLEGE & CAREER MEETING, 6:00 @ Will & Kristy’s apartment at Davis College

THIS WEEK:
Tue ~ Church Work Night, 6:00 PM.
Wed ~ Wed. Night Live – 6:30 PM in the Chapel
         ~Olympians – 6:30 PM in the Fellowship Ctr.
         ~Bible Study/Prayer Meeting – 7:00 PM in Pastor’s   S.S.room.

FEB 3 – COMMUNION SERVICE

FEB 9 – LADIES BOOK CLUB BREAKFAST, 9:00 am @ Terry’s, please RSVP if possible, so I know how many are coming.

FEB 17 – BABY SHOWER, 2:00 – 4:00, to benefit Life Choices (formerly All Women’s Help Ctr). See the insert.

FEB 24 – NEW SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS, Pastor Bill will be leading a 4 week mini series on Islam. If you would like to attend, you need to sign up, space is limited.

$$ TITHE RECEIPT $$
 If you would like to receive a receipt at the end of the year for your tithes, you MUST use an offering envelope (available in the foyer).  You also must record your name & gift amount on the envelope.  At the end of the year you will receive the envelopes back along with a receipt for the total offerings recorded on them.

THINK SPRING & FASCAR (like Nascar)
 An Olympian sponsored event coming on Sat., April 19, 2008.  A great out-reach for the community for ages 4-99.  We will need your help to put it all together.  Many volunteers will make for a great event.  Details will be forthcoming!  Look for the road signs!

Thanks for attending First Christian, please come again! 

CHRIST THE LORD (OUT OF EGYPT) by Anne Rice

Posted on January 24, 2008 
Filed Under Book Review

Yes, you did see the name Anne Rice. The vampire mistress herself (as I like to refer to her). Rice has made a name for herself (and a ton of money) writing horror/thriller/vampire stuff. So, what is she doing writing and me doing reading a book called “Christ the Lord.” One thing at a time now. What is this book anyway.

Well, this is a book about the childhood of Jesus. Specifically his return from Egypt to Nazareth. In her book Jesus is 7ish in age and it chronicles his process of self-discovery. Who am I and what am I doing here? That of course makes for some deep theological currents. For instance, how soon did Jesus know he was the Son of God? As an infant? When he turned 5, 12 or 17? This is more complicated than one might think. We have systematic theology to help us and confuse us on this one. Let us try and put that aside and answer the question, “is this a good book to read?” My answer is absolutely with reservation. If you know nothing of the gospels as the authoritative word of God then this book may confuse you. Rice is trying to fill in the gaps of Jesus’ youth of which the gospels say next to nothing (with the exception of a blurb from Luke). If you love Jesus and have a knowledge of the gospels then you might enjoy this book. I found it inspiring and thought-provoking. On several occasions I could have been brought to tears if I had allowed myself. It has also given Shannon and I lots to talk about which is always devotionally stimulating.

What you need to keep in mind is that Anne is Roman Catholic. A faith to which she has returned after many years. She claims a sort of conversion and surrender to Christ. The end of the book where she explains why she wrote it is as fascinating as the novel itself. As a student of the Bible and its culture I affirm her historical framework. I have a few questions about her understanding of Torah (but it is not a huge issue). You also need to know that as a Roman Catholic she relies upon the Apocrypha for some information. This attests to her use of childhood miracles by Jesus (part of Aocryphal tradition).

I guess that tells you why she wrote the book. In her coming to/return to Christ she wanted to research and write about her Lord. Her research for the book was quite extensive and she likely referred to evangelical scholars more so than Roman Catholic.

This book reads quietly and sneaks up on you in a powerful way. Rice is a great writer who takes some issues that theologians pontificate about (myself included) and explores them in a very humble and human fashion. She takes you on a contemplative inductive quest for Jesus. In the book as he discovers himself, you discover him (I reckon she planned it that way). For an analytical, philosophical, dogmatic, objectively oriented person like myself, it took me back to a simpler, childlike faith. And that’s a good thing. I reckon this is a book I will read again.              WHB

FIRE IN THE DESERT (SURVIVORMAN)

Posted on January 23, 2008 
Filed Under Pastor's Blog, Sermons

Jesus became poor that we might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9). The grace of God is the poverty of Jesus. Rarely the way we think of Christ. Rarely what we consider when we contemplate our finances and accountability to God. Yet the poverty of Jesus is at the heart of Paul’s theology of stewardship. Through the poverty of Jesus we become rich.

Those riches are in Christ. He becomes our hope, peace, reconciliation, forgiveness and justification before God the Father. “He who knew no sin became sin for us.” What rocks me about this text is the way God puts the cross at the center of the way I look at money. I find this passage to be extremely liberating in the way I look at my resources. Not only can I not out give God . But I want to give freely, willingly, joyfully and abundantly. I anticipate that for one who is not truly a follower of Jesus this text could be irritating. I can hear the cynic now. But for one who is in Christ these are words of mercy and love. It puts the Lordship of Christ and our depraved world and lives in perspective. May Christ be our treasure. Because “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Protected: Prayer Sheet – January 23, 2008

Posted on January 23, 2008 
Filed Under Prayer Requests

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Streams In the Desert (Survivorman)

Posted on January 18, 2008 
Filed Under Pastor's Blog, Sermons

There is a mythology of giving and I fear the evangelical population has embraced it. I tire of reading George Barna and his endless surveys of so called “evangelicals” and “born again Christians.” I say, “so called” because so many of the people Barna polls don’t believe anything. While the hallmark of biblical faith is the idea that faith has an object. That object is the person of Jesus Christ as revealed in Scripture. A magnified, glorified, holy, supreme and sovereign Savior who is the champion of our salvation. It is this Jesus who Paul turns to as the source of the stream of grace that you and I can live in and experience. He is the grace which deconstructs the mythology that has strangled the glory of stewardship and making Christ our treasure.

In the text of 2 Corinthians 8 we learn that giving can be done with joy not pain. That giving can be done by the poor and oppressed not only the rich. That giving can be done not to absolve oneself of responsibility but to invest oneself in responsibility.  We learn that stewardship is not about throwing money at problems (that’s what our liberal/socialist government does) but about offering ourselves up to God (Romans 12:1) and living in the stream of God’s grace. And it is in this stream that we discover that you can never out-give God.              WHB

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