RAIN ON ME Colossians 3:19

Posted on January 31, 2009 
Filed Under Pastor's Blog, Sermons

“Husbands love your wives, and be not bitter against them.” Paul’s second admonition on family ethics is directed toward the men. In fact it would seem he in some way falls in the middle of the ethical practices for the family. In some way he is at the families core having the responsibility to rightly relate to his wife and children. Interestingly the consequences for failing to relate properly are similar. With the wife it is bitterness that sets in and with the children it is discourgement. The difference is the subject. Men become the subject of bitterness while the children become the object of discouragement.

This is hardly new stuff. So, it is not what, but how does one love his wife? Allow me to break it down into four quadrants (there could be more but this plenty for now). B-lessing, E-difying, S-haring, and T-ouching. If the husband focusses on these 4 quadrants as a guide for areas of expressing his love the marital relationship has a great chance of improving.

Perhaps it helps if we have a bedrock perspective from which to approach this. Remember that God created woman for man to be his partner. It was not good that man be alone. So men, God wants you to have a relationship with your wife. The world says we are not relational beings but God says we are. Plus, “God brought the woman to the man.” God gave away the first bride. We as well should see our wives as gifts from God. Unfortunately living in the broken world that we do gifts are often neglected, gotten tired of and replaced. But in marriage we have become ‘one flesh”. The gift has become one with us. To neglect it is to neglect oneself. It is such neglect that turns marriages into brilliant disguises.

God wants your love to rain on your wife that your marriage not become a brilliant disquise. In this text bitterness is the antithesis of love. Bitterness is internal feeding on the silence and attention the man gives it in his mind as he broods over his wife’s failings and shortcomings.

There is plenty of room for blame and this blog is not the arena to address all of the why’s and how’s of fractured marriages. But I would encourage you to give attention to the four quadrants as a help in loving your wife. And I encourage you to communicate with her by asking her for two things you can change to show you love her. Only two! Hey, you have to start somewhere and by focussing on two you can strive for real and lasting change. Then your love will rain on your wife and your marriage will not become a brilliant disguise.           WHB

Weekly Bulletin – February 1, 2009

Posted on January 29, 2009 
Filed Under Weekly Bulletin

THE LORD’S DAY!
February 1, 2009
WELCOME!

PREPARE TO WORSHIP
Dear Lord, please put to rest any turbulence in our spirits so that we may know the full joy of worship.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
If you are visiting us today, please fill out a visitors card & drop it in the offering plate as your contribution today.Thank you.

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 STAY FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL NEXT!

TONIGHT: No Evening Service

THIS WEEK:

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Nomination Note: Todd Smith was elected to work with the Nomination committee for this year’s Annual Business Meeting.

Volunteers Needed – Would you like to visit with some shut-ins, elderly members or new visitors?  We are forming visitation teams who will be on two week rotations. Please see Pastor Justin ASAP if you are interested!

2 Baby Bottles left to fill with change for Life Choices.  When you return the full bottles, please give them to Megan Reed or Terry Johnson. They need to be returned by March 1st.

Thanks for attending FIRST CHRISTIAN, please come again!

Weekly Bulletin – January 25, 2009

Posted on January 22, 2009 
Filed Under Weekly Bulletin

THE LORD’S DAY!
January 25, 2009
WELCOME!

PREPARE TO WORSHIP
Dear God, we come to worship seeking peace that the world can’t give. Please grant us all the benefits of your grace.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
If you are visiting us today, please fill out a visitors card & drop it in the offering plate as your ontribution today.  Thank you.

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 STAY FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL NEXT!

Baby Bottles from Life Choices are available in the foyer. Take one or more home & fill it with change.  The Change for Life campaign helps fund the Center’s programs to assist men & women in crisis pregnancy situations.

TODAY after Sunday School, Olympian Leaders please meet at the Fellowship Center.

TONIGHT :  Institute of Biblical Studies, 6:00 – 7:30 PM

THIS WEEK :
Wed – W.O.L. Olympians/Gophers, 6:30 – Fell. Ctr.
Wed. Night Live, Teens – 6:30 – Chapel
Prayer Meeting – 7:00, Pastor Justin’s SS room.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Address Update:  Roberta Canfield has moved back home to 2181 NY RT 11  Kirkwood, NY  13795

Spring Note: “Say good bye to winter by attending the Spring Dinner Concert at the Montrose Bible Conference, April 3rd, with musical guest, Damaris Carbaugh – see Susan Fisher for tickets and details!”

TV Converter Box Coupon:  If you need a coupon, Terry has a couple of them available in her office worth $40.

Thanks for attending FIRST CHRISTIAN, please come again!

UPDATES

Posted on January 22, 2009 
Filed Under Announcements, Pastor's Blog

Most of us are pretty hunkered down in this cold spell. One good thing abou it is that it limits what you are able to do. I have been able to get a lot of reading in lately. I am just about through Exodus. One of the amazing things is that Moses and the elders get to have dinner with God up on the mountain. Despite that incredible experience they still rebel and worship the golden calf. You would think something like that would be enough to keep us faithful. We seem to have short memories.

As far as other reading goes. I just finished What’s the Shape of Narrative Preaching. At the end of December I flew through Jesus Wants to Save Christians Too (that was different). A couple of weeks ago I wrapped up  Unchristian, What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity and I’m working my way through They like Jesus but Hate the Church. It all makes for interesting and controversial reading. I will have to come up for air soon and walk away from the books for a while.

Don’t forget that the Institute of Biblical Studies starts up this weekend. Sunday night at 6pm. We are starting the History of Israsel and will be focussing our attention on Joshua, Judges and Ruth. Definitely a different flavor as the discussion is more involved. We work on grasping the meaning/intent of the text and extrapolating a biblical theology from it. Is there more to Jericho than what you already think? What was the athor of Judges trying to accomplish? How did Israel’s moral and spiritual decay affect the role of women in the nation? All of this is there (in the text) but you will have to show up to find out. See you there.            WHB

Protected: Prayer Requests – October 15, 2008

Posted on January 21, 2009 
Filed Under Prayer Requests

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Weekly Bulletin – January 18, 2009

Posted on January 15, 2009 
Filed Under Weekly Bulletin

THE LORD’S DAY!

January 18, 2009

WELCOME!

PREPARE TO WORSHIP

May we follow your will rather than our personal desires in this new year, dear Lord. Make us restless until we surrender completely to you.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

If you are visiting us today, please fill out a visitors card & drop it in the offering plate as your contribution today. Thank you.

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 STAY FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL NEXT!

Page 1

TODAY: FCC Members please meet in the Chapel at the beginning of SS to elect someone for the Nominating Committee.

Last Chance to submit your Budget Letter.

Baby Bottles from Life Choices are available in the foyer. Take one

home & fill it with change. The Change for Life campaign helps fund the Center’s programs to assist men & women in crisis pregnancy situations.

TONIGHT : Teen Bowling @ Sunset Lanes, 7:30. See details on the sheet in the foyer.

THIS WEEK :

Mon – Deacon’s Meeting

Wed – W.O.L. Olympians/Gophers, 6:30 – Fell. Ctr.

Wed. Night Live, Teens – 6:30 – Chapel

Prayer Meeting – 7:00, Pastor Justin’s SS room.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Jan 25 – Institute of Biblical Studies, 6:00 – 7:30 PM.

-Olympians Leader’s Meeting after SS @ the Fell. Ctr.

Feb 07 – Teen Leader’s Meeting, 7:00 PM

Feb 08 – Institute of Biblical Studies, 6:00 – 7:30 PM

Feb 22 – Institute of Biblical Studies, 6:00 – 7:30 PM

____________________________

Thanks for attending FIRST CHRISTIAN, please come again!

Page 2

DELIVERANCE Colossians 3:1-14

Posted on January 10, 2009 
Filed Under Pastor's Blog, Sermons

Life is a river by which we all follow the same course from life to death. But the river is wide enough and deep enough that our experiences are such that our lives hardly look the same. Do you remember our sermon series “A Slow Fade”? Yes, it has returned. Our study of the ethics of the Christian life in light of Colossians. Our current focus is on the body of Christ and the ethics of the church community. How are we supposed to act? What are we supposed to do?

In Colossians chapter 3 Paul lays out a series of exhortations that the church is to apply. When practiced appropriately they embody the church. They become our qualitites or characteristics. Paul makes the applications by use of two terms: “Put on/put off” and “let”. The put on/put offf formula dominates the dialogue. Paul’s use of “let” comes in at the tailend of the conversation (see v.15-17). Our focus will be on the “put on/put off” formula for this study.

There are three primary appeals: pursue holiness (5-11), pursue tolerance (12-13) and pursue forgiveness (13-14). Take note that each application gives birth to the other. That is holiness begets tolerance. Look at the text; “put away anger, wrath malice” (8) “put on compassionate hearts, kindness, humility…. bearing with one another” (12-13). And tolerance leads to forgiveness. The climax is Paul’s ethical/theological appeal to Christ’s forgiving us as the impetus for us to do what Christ has already done for us. The Cross of Christ rises above the ethical landscape and becomes the foundational truth and driving force for what the church should do and be. To put it simply it answers the question of “why”. Those of us who are united with Christ through his death and resurrection are expected to do these things. To be like Christ.

I suppose the funny thing is how it all flows. One does not usually see tolerance flowing out of holiness. Unfortunately it often seems to breed intolerance. So perhaps we have to wrestle a lot more with not just how holiness acts but how do holy people think and feel toward others. And perhaps tolerance is not real until we are walking in forgiveness of each other.

I never saw how heavy this text was until I meditated on it long and hard and tried to see myself doing this stuff with other people. Some of whom I do not care for. To do this stuff in the community of Christ and humble myself not just before God but before all people. Life really does become a slow fade without diligent self-assessment of our souls. How quickly humility turns into pride and holiness into self-righteousness.

My analogy for Sunday’s sermon is white-water rafting. The church is the raft and we are all in this thing together. Trying to get down the river in one piece. Trying to keep it together and get through the rapids (hard times) of life. I’ve been white-water rafting. And I’ve had the experience of all of us being tossed out of the boat, bobbing up and down in the churning water, praying to God you don’t drown (and then laughing hysterically that you lived and talking about how that was so cool). God expects us to do this together. Ride the river of life to deliverance. Only through hard work and teamwork can our raft (FCC) make it down the river in one piece. It is imperative that we work hard to keep each other in the boat.                        WHB

A SLOW START

Posted on January 10, 2009 
Filed Under Announcements

Well, we are getting a slow start around here this year. As you can see there have been a lack of updates and regular, weekly posting. Unfortunately our secretary has been back in the hospital. So she needs your prayers. Her health is more important than our webpage. So, we have no bulletin, updated prayer requests or announcements. I will make a brief plug for the Bible Institute which will be starting back up on January 25th. We will be studying History of Israel (former prophets). Most of our time will be spent in Joshua, judges and Ruth. I’m excited about it. There is some incredible stuff in there. Sp please pray for Terry and things will get back to normal in the near future. God bless.             WHB

FOR SINNER’S SAKE Hebrews 12:1-17

Posted on January 3, 2009 
Filed Under Pastor's Blog, Sermons

‘I’m the worst sinner I know. Sure we are going to get into a big argument now about how you’re worse than I am. Or we can argue about big sins versus little sins. But at the end of the day I know only a fraction of your life and your sin. On the other hand I am well acquainted with all my sin. So I still say, “I’m the worst sinner I know.” C.J. Mahaney said, “we need to be acutely aware of the doctrine of sin in our own lives.” He got me thinking and I found myself in Hebrews 12.  A text which calls us to move ahead in our walk with God. In large part by addressing sin and walking in obedience. God wants you to move in the new year. Even if it’s likea glacier.

This text helps us see how that happens. First, this is a text with a motivational feel to it. God isn’t trying to drag you down but build you up. This is a text of hope. The text has teeth. The call is to persevere, hang in there. Keep on keeping on in your walk with Christ. The brutal reality is that all this takes place in the face of our sin. Spiritual growth is accompanied with conflict. That is conflict with our sin. We are in essence at war with it. And what often gets missed about this text is its communal nature. Sure, everyone talks about this “cloud of witnesses” (that would be the folks from Hebrews 11). But the real point of emphasis is the people in your own  church. “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs  up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled” (14-15). There is a deep communal feel to this text. If you could imagine that your church is a military squad who has gone into battle. In an intense firefight if you are the only one”winning” while the rest of your team gets wiped out, eventually you’ll go down too. The goal is not to be the last man standing. The goal is to be the Church, Christ’s body standing. Or to use the language of Hebrews 12; enduring.

There are four things we need to do this year if we want to endure as a community in Christ. The first is go to war against the sin in your life. It will give you no quarter, nor should you give it. Second, we need to see each other through the lens of humility. Remember, I don’t know about you but, “I’m the worst sinner I know.” Third, encourage others in their faith journey. If you stuggle say something face to face, then send a card or you’re into facebook use it as a tool to build up others. You don’t have to say a lot. just a few words that matter. Sometimes I think the church is just pretending there is a huge elephant in the room. And the elephant is all the pain, suffering, trial and struggle that we are going through. We just don’t dare say anything about it. And finally, focus in Jesus. That’s what the text tells us to do anyways (see v. 2-3). He has to be the focal point of our lives. We’ll get nowhere without him.                 WHB

Weekly Bulletin – January 4, 2009

Posted on January 1, 2009 
Filed Under Weekly Bulletin

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
January 4, 2009
WELCOME!

PREPARE TO WORSHIP 
 As we begin the new year, loving Creator, give us guidance and the willingness to follow where You lead.

ANNOUNCEMENTS 
 If you are visiting us today, please fill out a visitors card & drop it in the offering plate as your contribution today. Thank you.

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 STAY FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL NEXT!

TONIGHT :  No Evening Service

THIS WEEK :

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Offering Envelopes for 2009 available on the shelf under the bulletin board. 

Church Ministries need volunteers: