Month: January 2014

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All-Church Bowl-a-Rama

The youth are sponsoring an All-Church Bowl-a-Rama (I’m open to suggestions for punctuation and spelling on that phrase) on February 23, 2014 from 1-5 pm at Green Acres Bowling. The cost is is $10 for all you can bowl.

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This Sunday's Sermon

This coming Sunday, I’ll be preaching a sermon titled “The Great Requirement” on Micah 6.1-8. Consider this your invitation to read ahead.

 

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Table Talk About "The Fall" This Wednesday

We’ll be having our second session of “Table Talk” this Wednesday at 5:45 pm after the Wonderful Wednesday meal. We had a great time last week and are looking forward to this week’s discussion of “The Fall.” You can read Genesis 2.4b-3.24 if you want to work ahead.

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Voice of the Day: Brendan James

Below is the official music video of a song by Brendan James called “Simplify.” I love the line in the refrain that says “Stop for a minute, wipe the progress from our eyes … dream like we’ve never dreamed, for less, not more, this time …” It’s a great line that expresses the call of Christian simplicity.

Link: http://goo.gl/7BAHd1

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Card-Making Ministry Up and Running

Velda Becker has jump started a card making ministry to construct hand crafted cards for use by our prayer partners, prayer vigil team, and other card ministries. They are personalized, wonderful, and much better than anything we could buy in a store.

Today, Velda sent us the following update to share:

“The card-making ministry is up and running!  The group meets every Thursday morning at 9:00 in Room 200, and could use more help!  Novice and experienced paper crafters are welcome.  These cards will be used by our Prayer Partners and Prayer Vigil teams to comfort and show caring to those in need.  Join us for fellowship and creativity!”

We’ll have some samples on display this Sunday. Make sure you take the time to see them.

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North Entrance to the Parking Lot Closed

Due to the extremely cold weather, the concrete used to repair the parking lot has not finished curing yet. The north entrance and the drop-off lane will remain closed until Saturday. Our apologies for any inconvenience.

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Youth Superbowl Food Drive and Fundraiser

Received from Wendy Robinson:

Who do are you rooting for? The Broncos or the Seahawks?

Either way, you can help your team win the 7th Annual Abilene Area Food & Clothing Center (AAFCC) Super Giving Bowl by donating nonperishable food items such as canned goods, peanut butter, crackers, instant noodles, etc. Place the items in the box of the team that you want to win. (There will be a box for each team in the Narthex outside the doors to the sanctuary.)

Or if you’re not as much for one team as you are against the other, you can make the other team lose by placing paper goods like paper towels, toilet paper or tissues in their box. For every item you put in, the given team will lose points.

In addition to all of this, the youth are here to take care of you during the big game by providing Super Sub Sandwiches made to order. Order forms are available in the Narthex. All orders need to be in the office by January 30, 2014. Your sandwiches will be ready for pick up after church on February 2, 2014. This way you won’t have to miss any of the million dollar commercials.

Thank You!

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"Table Talk" Starts Tomorrow

A friendly reminder that we’ll be starting “Table Talk” tomorrow. This is a great new program after the Wonderful Wednesday meal. Table Talk will help facilitate study and conversation about key stories of the Bible. The stories are basic enough for new Christians, yet have enough unexpected flair to engage the seasoned Bible reader.

Here are the Bible stories for the first six Table Talk Discussions:

  • Creation
  • The Fall
  • The Flood
  • Father Abraham
  • Ten Words (The Ten Commandments)
  • The Great Commandment

Sessions will begin at approximately 5:45 pm, with the telling of the story, followed by questions and discussion around the tables.

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Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I’ve titled this post “Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” because I want to emphasize something that is often overlooked or obscured in our celebration of today’s national holiday. What is commonly overlooked or obscured is the religious nature of the civil rights movement; the way that faith in general, and Christian faith in particular, undergirded and provided the foundation for what was accomplished. Before he was a civil rights leader, before he rose to national prominence, before he had a federal holiday named after him, Martin Luther King was a pastor. For that reason it seems appropriate to share this quote from one of his many sermons:

“Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, ‘Love your enemies.’ It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. That’s why Jesus says, ‘Love your enemies.’ Because if you hate your enemies, you have no way to redeem and to transform your enemies. But if you love your enemies, you will discover that at the very root of love is the power of redemption. You just keep loving people and keep loving them, even though they’re mistreating you. Here’s the person who is a neighbor, and this person is doing something wrong to you and all of that. Just keep being friendly to that person. Keep loving them. Don’t do anything to embarrass them. Just keep loving them, and they can’t stand it too long. Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning. They react with bitterness because they’re mad because you love them like that. They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes they’ll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. That’s love, you see. It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love. There’s something about love that builds up and is creative. There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive. So love your enemies.”

— Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “Loving Your Enemies,”
delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery Alabama, November 17, 1957.