Weekly Bulletin June 29, 2008

Posted on June 26, 2008 
Filed Under Weekly Bulletin

THE LORD’S DAY
June 29, 2008
WELCOME!

With enthusiasm and goodwill, we WELCOME each person to this worship service. We encourage everyone present to reach out with greetings and good cheer to those around them.  Please fill out a visitor card before you leave today.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
   
PRAISING GOD WITH SONG

GIVING TO GOD  Offering  /  SPECIAL MUSIC    

Jr. Church children (ages 4 – 7) may be dismissed. (There will be no Children’s Church during July & August)

HEARING FROM GOD

WORSHIPING GOD IN SONG

____________________

PLEASE JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL, NEXT!
There are classes for every age.
____________________
 
TONIGHT: Family Movie Night – “Amazing Grace” – 6:00 PM / Chapel, PG rating for thematic material involving slavery & mild language. Popcorn & drinks provided, but you may bring your own snacks too.

THIS WEEK

UPCOMING EVENTS

LAST CALL!  Please check out the Lost & Found table in the foyer.  Anything left over after today will be passed on, recycled or tossed!

NEW ADDRESS:  Donald & Gladys Jackson  – Ph.# 607-238-7223 Woodland Manor  505 Clubhouse Rd. Apt. 9E  Vestal, NY 13850

‘Missionary Christmas in July’ already has $960.00.  Please be as generous as you can in helping us reach our goal this year.  Remember your donations are tax deductible & are going to a very good cause.

Active Love Note: Please remember Nellie Markle as she is laid up at home with a mending hip joint. 

Thanks for attending FIRST CHRISTIAN, please come again!

 

Protected: Prayer Requests June 25, 2008

Posted on June 25, 2008 
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THE CHURCH: PRICELESS Acts 20:28

Posted on June 20, 2008 
Filed Under Pastor's Blog, Sermons

Turn the page. Great books are impossible to put down. They beckon us to stay up just a little bit later. On Sunday we turn the page in the life of FCC and the ministry of Pastor Justin amongst us. While he has been with us for some time a new chapter begins in the life of his ministry and our partnership with him as a church. He is beginning the last leg of his educational journey which consists of a pastoral internship. For us he has been Pastor Justin for some time but with his internship he is taking on an expanded role within the ministry. In similar fashion while we have been been supporting him throughout his time here, with his expanded responsibility we expand our support of him financially.

This has been a season of transitions. Last week we highlighted our commitment to build on Trim Street. This week is Pastor Justin’s installment service. Such a service is typical for installing a new pastor. While Justin is not “new” to us he is entering a new phase of his ministry and our relationship to him as a church. Part of the intent with this service is to give Justin a taste of various pastoral experiences. Practically speaking such a service serves to keep before the pastoral staff and the people our high calling before God. Moses warned Israel that once they got into the promise land that they would tend toward taking what they had for granted. They would settle (in ways God had not intended) and the pursuit of God would fall into the monotony of religion.

Paul says, “God purchased the church with his own blood.” A stark reminder of just how high the stakes are for the church. It is a matter of life or death (as Moses said). Our lives and our church is constantly being shaped toward life or death. We are alway trending somewhere even if the road seems to meander a bit. And once something gets in motion, it tends to stay in motion. So, this service is about staying in motion, trending toward life. The life of our church, its mission and Pastor Justin’s presence and contribution to our community of faith. God purchased the church with his own blood. We are priceless. Our responsibility as God’s people is to increase the value of this ministry, not diminish it. May Pastor Justin’s installment service function as a powerful reminder of the two roads that are always before us. A broad road that leads to destruction and a narrow road that leads to eternal life. WHB

Weekly Bulletin June 22, 2008

Posted on June 19, 2008 
Filed Under Weekly Bulletin

THE LORD’S DAY
June 22, 2008
WELCOME!

With enthusiasm and goodwill, we WELCOME each person to this worship service. We encourage everyone present to reach out with greetings and good cheer to those around them.  Please fill out a visitor card before you leave today.

ANNOUNCEMENTS – Installment Service for Pastor Bleuer
 
PRAISING GOD WITH SONG
 One year ago this past week, Cecil Smith went home to heaven. This morning we’re singing some of his favorite songs.

GIVING TO GOD  Offering  /  SPECIAL MUSIC    

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

HEARING FROM GOD 

PRAYER OF DEDICATION

WORSHIPING GOD IN SONG

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

TODAY: Please join us for a celebration lunch at the Fellowship Ctr. after Sunday School to welcome Pastor Justin Bleuer.
 
TONIGHT: No Evening Service

THIS WEEK

UPCOMING EVENTS

UPCOMING SERMON SERIES: Life’s Biggest Questions (God’s answers to life’s biggest questions)

Congratulations to our 2008 College Graduates: Alicia Dailey & Brad Fisher

NEW ADDRESS:  Donald & Gladys Jackson  – Ph.# 607-238-7223
                         Woodland Manor   
                         505 Clubhouse Rd. Apt. 9E 
                         Vestal, NY 13850

Thanks for attending FIRST CHRISTIAN, please come again!

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Posted on June 19, 2008 
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Weekly Bulletin June 15, 2008

Posted on June 12, 2008 
Filed Under Weekly Bulletin

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY
June 15, 2008
WELCOME!

With enthusiasm and goodwill, we WELCOME each person to this worship service. We encourage everyone present to reach out with greetings and good cheer to those around them.  Please fill out a visitor card before you leave today.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

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.

TONIGHT: No Evening Service

THIS WEEK

UPCOMING EVENTS

UPCOMING SERMON SERIES: Life’s Biggest Questions (God’s answers to life’s biggest questions)

Congratulation to our  2008 HIGH SCHOOL GRADS: Brionna Bronson ~ Jessica Roe ~ Brittany Wasson

MISSIONARY CHRISTMAS IN JULY:
 There is a box in the foyer for your contributions for our Missionary Christmas Gifts. Pick up a “Mission Offering” envelope to use if you would like a receipt for your contribution.

PLEASE NOTE: There will be no Jr. Church during the months of July & August.

DIRECTORY NOTE: It’s time to update our church directory.  If you have any changes you would like me to make or if your name, address, phone number & e-mail address are not in the directory, please submit via e-mail to fcckirkwood@juno.com or turn it in to the secretary’s office.

THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING FIRST CHRISTIAN, PLEASE COME AGAIN!

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Posted on June 12, 2008 
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LILIES OF THE FIELD 2 Samuel 6:1-23

Posted on June 12, 2008 
Filed Under Pastor's Blog, Sermons

Even God cares for the lilies of the field, so says Jesus in Matthew 6. Of course “Lilies of The Field” is also the title of a early 60′s movie about a wandering day-laborer (Homer Smith) who happens upon a small convent of nuns. He is roped into doing odd jobs for them and eventually takes on the monumental task of building the nuns a chapel. It’s nothing like what you see on television today; black and white, surreal scenes rather than over-stimulating, child-like rather than complex story lines. It is a breath of fresh air. The movie is so simplistic if you are not careful you will miss the undercurrent of the visual text. You see it’s the early sixties, Homer Smith is an African-American and the 5 nuns are East Germans who can’t speak a lick of English. It is a story about working together, the turbulent nature of man’s free will and the reality of God’s will.

Which got me thinking about the dangerous duty of moving God. In 2 Samuel 6 David takes on the monumental task of moving God; specifically the ark of the covenant. David is in the process of consolidating and centralizing his kingdom. Jerusalem has become the new capitol, old wound are healing after the debacle of Saul’s leadership and David is thinking about the future. Of import to him is the exaltation of God and the unity of God’s people. There is the matter of the ark of the covenant. For the last 100 years the ark has been an afterthought. It has resided in various locations including the land of the Philistines and people’s homes. Also of note is that the tabernacle (tent) and the ark have been separate all this time. David has moved to rectify this separation. The tabernacle has been erected in Jerusalem and waits for the ark of the covenant. David has to see to the movement of God.

Perhaps we have looked at out own situation from the wrong perspective (at least to some degree). Over the last few years we have talked about moving and building a new church. It’s always about “us,” the people of God and what it means to us, will do to us, and cost us. Obviously David had legitimate goals for Israel. A central worship center which would serve to help unify the people and set a precedent for God’s holiness. By centralizing the worship David was seeking to set the precedent as to where and how one worships God. All this was fitting to the Mosaic Law. David was in effect only doing what he was told by the text of his forefathers.

But the ark was where God had chosen to reside. In some sense David was moving God. Perhaps our own visions and dreams are as much about moving God as ourselves. 2 Samuel 6 unfolds the danger involved in such an endeavor as well as to the new roles and responsibilities that comes with it. For a new era of Israel’s history to begin David had to move God. We find ourselves in just such a place. For a new era of FCC’s history to begin we have to move God. Thankfully, if God cares for the lilies of the field then he must care about the progress of our ministry.                   WHB

WHOSE BLOOD? Hebrews 12:1-11

Posted on June 5, 2008 
Filed Under Pastor's Blog, Sermons

“Take it, it’s for you.” The table is set. A holy meal awaits us. Christ waits for us. Like a master chef he anticipates how we will respond to him as the meal. Communion Sunday is upon us. Our text is not a communion passage per-se and yet the whole text of Hebrews is built upon the atoning work of Christ. Hebrews itself is a “communal” text. The consummative act of Christ in the cross for his community as a motivating force in the believers life to be holy.

Our text is a classic one. “Lay aside the weight, and the sin that so easily ensnares us and run the race…. looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” Several things resonate from this text. One is the expectation that God has of us to run the race (live the Christian life). Another is that we have a hard time staying in the game. We lose heart and even forget what God is doing in our lives. The truth is probably that we are busy telling God what he is supposed to be doing in my life. The verse that really grabbed my attention in preparing for communion though was verse 4. “In your struggle against sin you have not yet had to resist to the point of shedding your blood.” That’s his (Christ’s) blood you see, not yours. This text rages against the heretical Christianity that dominates the American landscape. A Christianity that seeks to manipulate and control God. Here we are rather bluntly reminded that our pain and suffering can not match that of Christ. And that our pain God uses to bring us to share in Christ’s holiness (v. 11).

That is the point of our pain. That we share in Christ’s holiness. Yet we insist on short cuts or quit the race altogether. The beauty of communion is that it beckons us to live in suspense. Jesus said, he would not drink of the vine until it had been fulfilled in the kingdom of God. The implication being that Jesus has only taken communion once (with his disciples). He will not take it again until the kingdom comes. He watches and waits. On Sunday he will watch us. And we must remember, that’s his blood we see and not our own. Our suspense is the pain-filled anticipation of the holiness of God. A holiness in which we share by his grace through the shed blood of his cross. WHB

Weekly Bulletin June 8, 2008

Posted on June 5, 2008 
Filed Under Weekly Bulletin

THE LORD’S DAY
June 8, 2008
WELCOME!

With enthusiasm and goodwill, we WELCOME each person to this worship service. We encourage everyone present to reach out with greetings and good cheer to those around them.  Please fill out a visitor card before you leave today.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

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

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
 
PLEASE JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL, NEXT!
There are classes for every age.
Adult classes in the main auditorium & in the Chapel.
Ushers can direct you & your children to a class.

TODAY: Soccer Camp meeting after Sunday School in the chapel.
Please come to help us brainstorm! Anyone who can volunteer please sign-up on the back table in the foyer! Any questions see Pastor Justin or Todd.

TONIGHT: No Evening Service

THIS WEEK

UPCOMING EVENTS

UPCOMING SERMON SERIES: Life’s Biggest Questions (God’s answers to life’s biggest questions)

FCC 2008 HIGH SCHOOL GRADS: Brionna Bronson ~ Jessica Roe ~ Brittany Wasson

MISSIONARY CHRISTMAS IN JULY: There is a box in the foyer for your contributions for our Missionary Christmas Gifts. Pick up a “Mission Offering” envelope to use if you would like a receipt for your contribution.

PLEASE NOTE: There will be no Jr. Church during the months of July & August.

DIRECTORY NOTE: It’s time to update our church directory.  If you have any changes you would like me to make or if your name, address, phone number & e-mail address are not in the directory, please submit via e-mail to fcckirkwood@juno.com or turn it in to the secretary’s office.

 

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