June 17, 2007
Thought for the day -- June 17th
A man's children and his garden both reflect the amount of weeding done during the growing season.
~ Anonymous
~ Anonymous
June 15, 2007
Thought for the Day -- June 16th
My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass." "We're not raising grass," my dad would reply, "we're raising boys."
--Harmon Killebrew
--Harmon Killebrew
Thought for the day -- June 15th
"The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection. And we must not select a few favorite passages to the exclusion of others. Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian."
--AW. Tozer
--AW. Tozer
June 14, 2007
We have it so easy...
Rick Dugan had this post at his blog. It amazes me and yet it doesn't that word about these things doesn't get around. Think about it for a minute, this would be the equivalent of the Sunday School class that meets in the gym just "disappearing". We need to be in prayer for our brothers and sisters in Iraq and other places unfriendly to the gospel around the globe. Here's and excerpt from the email Rick got... take note of the fact that they still have an attitude of praise.
Being at church was wonderful as usual. I so love these people and the worship was wonderful as usual all of the children were delightful. Then it came to the point in the service where people tell me what has happened. The news today was not good, I listened to the stories of murder, beating and kidnapping. The final toll of kidnaps this week of people connected with of members of the church is 27. None have been returned. In the past week alone the attacks on Christians has seriously escalated. This was mentioned the other day at a meeting, they talked and talked and did nothing. There is so much talking here and such little action. At the moment most of the Christians have moved from Dora and are now living in Churches in Kerada. They do not even have enough food. We are the only Christian group working here and have given away every penny we have and have no more left. People always tell me they can and only want to support projects. There is no understanding of the extent of the crisis we are in. There is Chaos all around. We are in war, there is slaughter, massacre and death all around. Normality no longer exists, there are no projects, no plans just the attempt to live each day.
This is the reality of the crisis we are in. Yet as I talked to our people this morning there was a profound trust and belief in G-d our Father our protector, the One we Love. When you have lost every thing you realise all you have left is Jesus. That is all we have and it is everything
Being at church was wonderful as usual. I so love these people and the worship was wonderful as usual all of the children were delightful. Then it came to the point in the service where people tell me what has happened. The news today was not good, I listened to the stories of murder, beating and kidnapping. The final toll of kidnaps this week of people connected with of members of the church is 27. None have been returned. In the past week alone the attacks on Christians has seriously escalated. This was mentioned the other day at a meeting, they talked and talked and did nothing. There is so much talking here and such little action. At the moment most of the Christians have moved from Dora and are now living in Churches in Kerada. They do not even have enough food. We are the only Christian group working here and have given away every penny we have and have no more left. People always tell me they can and only want to support projects. There is no understanding of the extent of the crisis we are in. There is Chaos all around. We are in war, there is slaughter, massacre and death all around. Normality no longer exists, there are no projects, no plans just the attempt to live each day.
This is the reality of the crisis we are in. Yet as I talked to our people this morning there was a profound trust and belief in G-d our Father our protector, the One we Love. When you have lost every thing you realise all you have left is Jesus. That is all we have and it is everything
Thought for the day --- June 14th
Jesus reminds us that unless a seed first dies, it cannot produce life. He tells us that unless we lose our own lives, we will never live. It should be of no surprise to us when the church awakens an apostolic ethos, she will be committed to giving herself away that others may live.
--- Erwin McManus
--- Erwin McManus
June 9, 2007
Thought for the Day -- June 9th
What we practice, not (save at rare intervals) what we preach, is usually our great contribution to the conversion of others.
--- C.S. Lewis
--- C.S. Lewis
June 8, 2007
Job 19:25 -- Truth in the face of Devastation
Job 19:25 (New International Version)
I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth
I got to thinking about this verse. How powerful a statement it is that it was spoken in the Old Testament; by Job no less. The man who by human standards would have had the most reasons to tell God to go jump in the creek. Yet he never complained about the trials and destruction that surrounded him. He desired to know if there was anything he had done that had caused a breach in his relationship with God. I have to believe that it was having truth like this firmly rooted in his life that allowed him to focus on God.
Two things I want to take away from this:
1- DO we have Truth rooted firmly in our lives? How well do we know the truth? How much effort have we put into making those truths relevant to our current situations. Too many have a set of beliefs for their brain and for show and another for practical purposes. This is why the truth was revealed to us! So that we could live a victorious life.
2- Do you truly grasp the depth of that verse? The Redeemer is ALIVE! All that he said is true and can be trusted to come true. Not just select pieces and parts. Not only is he alive and well but he will rule over the earth. That is the God we serve. Following Jesus is not for wimps. The fact is that in light of the gift that has been given, anything that we might call "sacrifice" looks insignificant and meaningless. It's true that in this life we will go through some pretty awful things that we most likely will never be able to understand. (Fill in your own blank here with selected trial) Yet we serve a God who is powerful enough to do miracles in our lives but loving and practical enough to know which things we should go through in order to be more useful to him. It's time to live in practical terms as the three Hebrews did in Daniel chapter 3 (known to a whole generation of kids as Rack, Shack, and Benny). Faced with the biggest trial imaginable; this was their response:
If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
There are times after reading certain passages of Scripture we can feel like we did when we left the theatre after seeing a movie like Rocky for the first time. Ready to live victoriously and take on the world!!!!!
I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth
I got to thinking about this verse. How powerful a statement it is that it was spoken in the Old Testament; by Job no less. The man who by human standards would have had the most reasons to tell God to go jump in the creek. Yet he never complained about the trials and destruction that surrounded him. He desired to know if there was anything he had done that had caused a breach in his relationship with God. I have to believe that it was having truth like this firmly rooted in his life that allowed him to focus on God.
Two things I want to take away from this:
1- DO we have Truth rooted firmly in our lives? How well do we know the truth? How much effort have we put into making those truths relevant to our current situations. Too many have a set of beliefs for their brain and for show and another for practical purposes. This is why the truth was revealed to us! So that we could live a victorious life.
2- Do you truly grasp the depth of that verse? The Redeemer is ALIVE! All that he said is true and can be trusted to come true. Not just select pieces and parts. Not only is he alive and well but he will rule over the earth. That is the God we serve. Following Jesus is not for wimps. The fact is that in light of the gift that has been given, anything that we might call "sacrifice" looks insignificant and meaningless. It's true that in this life we will go through some pretty awful things that we most likely will never be able to understand. (Fill in your own blank here with selected trial) Yet we serve a God who is powerful enough to do miracles in our lives but loving and practical enough to know which things we should go through in order to be more useful to him. It's time to live in practical terms as the three Hebrews did in Daniel chapter 3 (known to a whole generation of kids as Rack, Shack, and Benny). Faced with the biggest trial imaginable; this was their response:
If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
There are times after reading certain passages of Scripture we can feel like we did when we left the theatre after seeing a movie like Rocky for the first time. Ready to live victoriously and take on the world!!!!!
Thought for the day -- June 8th
There is a difference between devotion to principles and devotion to a person. Hundreds of people today are devoting themselves to phases of truth, to causes. Jesus Christ never asks us to devote ourselves to a cause or creed; he asks us to devote ourselves to him.
--- Oswald Chambers
--- Oswald Chambers
June 7, 2007
Thought for the day... June 7th
Conversion without discipleship is openly implied in much of our evangelical teaching. It has become starngely possible to be Christ's without taking up the cross.
--- C.D. Alexander
--- C.D. Alexander
June 1, 2007
Discipleship Groups are coming
Plans are in full swing to launch our Discipleship groups in semester format this fall. By way of reminder, these will be the "semesters":
SPRING: February-April
MAY TERM: May
SUMMER: June-July
FALL: September-November
The down times that appear are for busy/ holiday periods when groups typically have a hard time meeting as well as some rest and recharge time for our leaders. The following groups are forming for our Summer period.
Leader's Discipleship: This group will meet Tuesdays in June at the church from 6:30-7:30. It will be led by Mike Kendall and is designed for those already in leadership/ teaching roles as well as those who may be joining that group sometime in the next few semesters. Especially those who are involved in several areas should be involved here. But all potential group leaders should be involved. Remember: "if your input does not equal your output, your upkeep will be your downfall".
Mississippi Task Force: Pastor Bud will be leading this group. They are currently forming and have not set day/ times for their meetings yet. This group will be made up of those making the trip to Hope City in August as a work team to minister to those still affected by Katrina. If you are interested , see Pastor Bud.
You will also soon see information about registering groups and sign ups for Fall semester groups. It is now that you should be considering these groups so plans can be made. The number and type of groups will only be limited by our involvement and imagination. I am excited to see people take those next steps of faith and growth. God is continuing to do some awesome things in our congregation.
The purpose of Discipleship Groups is to promote spiritual maturity through a nurturing environment!
SPRING: February-April
MAY TERM: May
SUMMER: June-July
FALL: September-November
The down times that appear are for busy/ holiday periods when groups typically have a hard time meeting as well as some rest and recharge time for our leaders. The following groups are forming for our Summer period.
Leader's Discipleship: This group will meet Tuesdays in June at the church from 6:30-7:30. It will be led by Mike Kendall and is designed for those already in leadership/ teaching roles as well as those who may be joining that group sometime in the next few semesters. Especially those who are involved in several areas should be involved here. But all potential group leaders should be involved. Remember: "if your input does not equal your output, your upkeep will be your downfall".
Mississippi Task Force: Pastor Bud will be leading this group. They are currently forming and have not set day/ times for their meetings yet. This group will be made up of those making the trip to Hope City in August as a work team to minister to those still affected by Katrina. If you are interested , see Pastor Bud.
You will also soon see information about registering groups and sign ups for Fall semester groups. It is now that you should be considering these groups so plans can be made. The number and type of groups will only be limited by our involvement and imagination. I am excited to see people take those next steps of faith and growth. God is continuing to do some awesome things in our congregation.
The purpose of Discipleship Groups is to promote spiritual maturity through a nurturing environment!
Way to go Graduates
Just wanted to take the time to congratulate all of the class of 2007. This includes the college and high school graduates from CRMC. We are proud of all you have accomplished and excited to see what God has in store for each of you. WAY TO GO!!!
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