Church News

1.) Abigail and Joy Crow will be baptized next Wednesday, June 7.
2.) We've got a new Children's Director, Kacy O'Grady. more to come on this
3.) Frank Matthews (and his family) will be with us this weekend. Please plan to come at 9am when he'll share his testimony in the Media Center.

from Psalm 86

"Teach me your way, O Lord,
that I may walk in your truth;
unite my heart to fear your name."
Psalm 86:

Christ Community to the County

Today our plans for building on Parker Road will be submitted to the county for preliminary approval.

We should hear back from the county in about 6 weeks.

memorial day prayer

"We live in dangerous times and we pray
for the pacification of iraq for the
end of genocide in darfur
we pray that our blessed mediator who sits at your right hand may so exercise
the kingdom of his power in all the world as may best induce to these ends:
that the gospel may go forth with freedom and with power and that your
people may be gathered to you from the ends of the earth
equip us, we pray, to serve you in our generation. --Prayer by David
Clyde Jones, grammatical errors by Rob"
entire prayer here:

You better not...

... arrive at Oak Hall prior to the service this Sunday. Our 9am classes are OFF this week...

SUNDAY with Christ Community
10am Worship Service (there will be children's church)

New Chapter in CCC Life

On Tuesday the Pastoral Search Committee brought in a candidate to interview for the position of Assistant Pastor. They unanimously gave an enthusiastic recommendation of him to the elders. The elders met with him and our response was to throw a couple of more logs on the fire that was beginning to blaze.


On Wednesday night I told Frank Matthews that it was our strong desire to bring him here to serve alongside us as we seek to experience and extend the grace of God to Gainesville. Earlier today-Thursday-- Frank called to say that God was calling him and his family here.

So, as we move along the elders would really want the people of Christ Community to meet the Matthews family. So, they will be with us June 2-4 to meet as many of you as possible. In addition to getting to know Christ Community more thoroughly, there are still bridges to be crossed with transferring his ministerial credentials to this area. Please be in prayer for all the logistics of this family's move to be with us.

You can read alot about Frank Matthews and his family here.

--Plus, i'll post more later and i'll talk alot about it Sunday

Huge News to be announced

... developing...

a prayer

O Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on me. Move, I beg You, upon my
disordered heart. Take away the infirmities of
unruly desires and hateful lusts. Lift the mists
and darkness of unbelief. Brighten my soul with
the pure light of truth.

Make my soul . . .
as fragrant as the garden of paradise,
rich with every goodly fruit,
beautiful with heavenly grace,
radiant with rays of divine light.

JS on DVC at CSC

Just a reminder that this evening, Monday, May 22, at the CSC (that's code for Christian Study Center) John Sommerville will be addressing the question of why the DVC (that's code for the Da Vinci Code) has become such a phenomenon. You do not need to have seen the movie or even read the book for this session to be of interest.

In case you are not aware, Dr. Sommerville has now spoken on this subject numerous times and in a wide variety of settings over the past couple years both in Gainesville and eleswhere. We are privileged to have him speaking to us tonight.

Hope you can join us at 8:00 p.m. in the Study Center classroom.

Sunday with Christ Community

9am classes for all
10:00 worship

A Bowl of Soup and a Listening Ear

One of the points of Acts 21 is Hospitality... here;'s an article good A Bowl of Soup and a Listening Ear - byFaith Online

how did we get here?

apparently, the beautiful woman whose naked pics are the download du jour is a "Good Roman Catholic" who has remained a virgin and opposes abortion.... how did we get here? that a human would be able to think (and act!) clearly on certain points while being out of it on other--just as obvious--points.... excerpt

The GQ interview includes the following curious points:

I take it you’re religious?

Yes! I am Catholic. [she pulls out the cardboard scapular hanging around her neck, under her big gray sweater]

Wow. A scapular. Do you go to church?

Of course! Every Sunday.

Is there anything in the teachings of the Catholic Church that you don’t agree with?

No.

Are you pro-life?

What do you mean, pro-life?

How do you feel about abortion?

I think it’s a crime.

[. . .]

Are you a one-guy woman?

Of course! I’m a Catholic.

Look, I’m Catholic, too, but there’s a lot of things about the church that make it hard to date within its rules, don’t you think?

Like what?

Birth control, premarital sex…

Well, you know, sex is just for after marriage.

Say what?

Sex is for after marriage.

Are you saying you’re not going to have sex before marriage?

Exactly.

You mean you’ve never had sex?

That’s why I have to say.

You sure about this?

Yes.

How do men respond to the fact that you plan to, you know, wait?

I don’t care. They have to respect that this is my choice. If there’s no respect, that means they don’t want me.

As the movies say, "No animals harmed in making of this movie." I've viewed no images of this woman... i read about this here, where the author concludes:
"Having been raised as a Catholic boy, I can sadly say that I think I understand how she got to this weird point of being the naked porn fantasy of men across the world while simultaneously being devoutly committed to sexual chastity before marriage. It seems that she only sees sins of commission and does not understand sins of omission. This explains why she is proud of not committing the sin of fornication (sex before marriage, for anyone to whom that is a new f-word). And it also explains why she does not see her sin of omitting her clothes from her body as a sin. Apparently, she does not see lust as a sin but does see sex as a sin, which is the kind of theological reasoning one would expect from a supermodel."

Finally, from rob.... Lord, have mercy on me for my blindness
have mercy on us for our blindness

Absured...

“Absurd” is how J.V. Field, president of the Leonardo da Vinci Society and historian of art at the University of London, described the book’s theory about Leonardo’s putatively hidden messages. “Everything I know about how pictures were used to communicate indicates that the theory is absurd,” he told News-Press. “This means that I should require very strong evidence indeed to make me take it seriously—such as a document written by Leonardo himself giving an explanation of the procedure he followed; and the authority of the document would need to be established by unassailable provenance. In the present case, that is clearly an unattainable standard of proof.” Authentic history requires proof, said Field, but “The Da Vinci Code offers none that scholars would recognize.”
from an article online
http://maclaurin.org/article_detail.php?a_id=53

weddings and the gospel

The history of the human race begins with a wedding in a garden when the Lord gave away the first bride. The glory of the gospel was prefigured in the splendid Temple-garden imagery throughout the Song of Songs. And the Lord Jesus, the promised seed of the woman, meet Mary Magdalene, a type of the Christian Church in a garden just after His resurrection from the dead. This was the betrothal, and the consummation of all things is coming, when the day of the Lord arrives, and we will all sit down at the marriage supper of the Lamb. God has something important to say through weddings, and that something is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
--Douglas Wilson

all in one site

for da vinci resources, from Westminster Seminary in Philly
http://thetruthaboutdavinci.com/

the knockoffs are pouring in...

some of you have sent me great fun-pokes at da vinci code

norman rockwell code starred barney fife's grandson

albino code is also up but i haven't seen it yet

A Heart That is Established in Grace

"Many there are who, at first, fail in the full apprehension of the utter ruin of nature, as looked at in God's presence, though their hearts have been attracted by the grace of God, and their consciences tranquilized, in some degree, by the application of the blood of Christ. Hence, as they get on in their lives, they begin to make deeper discoveries of the evil within, and, being deficient in their apprehensions of God's grace, and the extent and efficacy of the sacrifice of Christ, they immediately raise a question as to their being children of God at all. Thus, they are taken off Christ and thrown on themselves, and then they either take upon themselves ordinances in order to keep up their tone of devotion, or else fall back into thorough worldliness and carnality. These are disastrous consequences and all the result of not having 'the heart established in grace'." C H Mackintosh (Plymouth Brethren Pastor, England 1879)

5 questions from da vinci

1. Was Jesus married to Mary Magdalene?
2. What about these alternative gospels that aren't in the New Testament?

and three more, with responses....at
Christian Bible Studies: Bible Study, Bible Courses, Curriculum, Small Groups, Church Leaders, Sunday School Classes

Bringing the Bible to life?

I have really appreciated the way the Sunday 9am class has been publicized.
I have always been uncomfortable with the phrase i put in the title... so the words below summarized a much more helpful (and accurate) way to speak about such things:

"I understand the intent of the people who seek to make the Bible come alive. On the whole I believe that their intentions are pure but their wording is imprecise. In most cases I would suggest that these people are attempting to "bring the history of the Bible to life" or to "bring the setting of the Bible to life." This is a far different task than bringing the actual Scripture to life. It is a far more noble task. The Bible is, after all, a historical document that was written within particular places and within particular cultural contexts. It may be helpful, at times, to bring to life some glimpses of the culture, customs and history of the Bible."

more here:

do you have ?

Marie Nelson is gathering household items that Ada Perry needs...

Pots and Pans (no Teflon—)
Stackable Washer/Dryer --


email Marie: man1 AT ufl DOT edu

current 9am dvd series

The DVD series that Charlie Staples mentioned yesterday is excellent. In fact, here is a link to a website that can give you a feel for the kind of things you will pick up in the faith lesson section of the class.

9am bible classes for all ages
10am worship service
children's church dismissed prior to message

no youth group sunday nite, due to Mother's Day

Confusing Indicative and Imperative

Everywhere the Scriptures provide both the declaration of who we are in Christ (indicative) and the command to respond to that particular declaration in a certain way (imperative). For instance, Paul does not simply issue an imperative like, "Stop living with your boyfriend." He says, "How should we who have died to sin live any longer in it?" Paul does not call people to die to sin; he does not invite them to enter into a higher level of abundant life; there are not appeals to become something which the believer is not already. The believer has died, is buried, is raised, is seated with Christ in the heavenlies, and so on. These are not plateaus for victorious Christians who have surrendered all, but realities for every believer regardless of how small one's faith or how weak one's repentance.

Thus, we must stop trying to convert believers into these realities by imperatives: "Do this," "Confess that," "Follow these steps," and so on. Union with Christ ushers us into conversion and conversion ushers us immediately into all of these realities so that, as Sinclair Ferguson writes, "The determining factor of my existence is no longer my past. It is Christ's past" (Christian Spirituality: Five Views, Zondervan, p.57).

For those who speak as though the filling of the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit, justification, the new birth, and union with Christ are things to be attained by obedience to imperatives, Paul insists, "But of him[God] you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption--that, as it is written, 'He who glories, let him glory in the Lord'" (1 Cor.1:30-31).
Union with Christ by Michael Horton, Ph.D.

Keller on Repentance

The gospel creates the only kind of grief over sin which is clean and which does not crush. It says: “Look at Jesus dying for you! He won’t leave you or abandon you…it is not because he will abandon you that you should be holy, but because this is one who at inestimable cost to himself has said he won’t ever abandon you!…See the GRACE of God argument? It is the only argument which cannot be answered. This creates the only motivation that leads you to hate the sin without hating yourself. It is the only motivation that will bring sin to lose its attractive power over you.

How can this be? The sight of Christ dying for you is at once both the one thing in the world that most convicts you to be holy and yet most assures you that you are infallibly loved. If he died for you—that is conviction. But if he died for you—that is the comfort.

More Mercy

Puritan Richard Sibbes from The Bruised Reed:

“There is more mercy in Christ than there is sin in me.”

Tension

God’s mercy, patience, and love must be fully preached in the church. But they are not credible unless they are presented in tension with God’s infinite power, complete and sovereign control of the universe, holiness, and righteousness. --Richard Lovelace

Old Books

Old is relative... last night I watched an episode of "The Brady Bunch" with my 11 year old son and my wife. Seems like they lived on a different planet! Mrs. Brady was sitting under a hair dryer!

Anway, i'm including a couple of books from 70's (1970's!) in my list of "old books" you might consider reading this summer.

Knowing God, by JI Packer, 1973
This is, quite simply, the first book that every Christian should read

Basic Christianity, John Stott,
Absolutely the best brief summary of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Mere Christianity, CS Lewis, 1940's or 50's
This collection of essays is absolutely stunning in readibility, persuasiveness, and heart-warming.

Morning & Evening, Charles Spurgeon
A twice-daily devotional from 19th century London minister

Spiritual Depression, Its Causes & Cures by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, 1964
Oh my! This medical doctor turned preacher helps you understand the human heart's struggles and points you to Christ beautifully.


Pretty sad so far that my "old book list" goes back only to 1800's.

What's up with sprinkling?

Christ Community has always wanted to be a "Mere Christianity" kinda church, one that majors on majors and ... well, you know, minors on minors. From time to time we get asked why we baptize by sprinkling or pouring. I'm working on putting together a very brief explanation... until then, here's a quote i'm fairly happy with:

While the Greek bapto means 'to dip', baptizo - the usual New Testament word - is a multi-modal concept signifiying 'to wash' whatever mode is used. Through contact with water, irrespective of the quantity, it illustrates the believer's union with Christ. On careful examination of every instance, it simply cannot be proved that immersion or dipping was ever used in the New Testament. References to Old Testament ceremonial washings (see Heb. 9:10) use baptismos to describe them. It is certain that these washings were by sprinkling (see Numb. 8:7; 19:13-21). Clearly, sprinkling was to be used in the New Testament Church according to the prophecies of Isaiah (52:15) and Ezekiel (36:25). With great respect to "dunkers", what has union with Christ in his death and burial (Rom. 6:3-6) got to do with immersion in water?
Our Lord was buried horizontally in a tomb not six feet down in the ground, and certainly not in water. This passage-Romans 6--simply does not teach baptism by immersion.

Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch both 'went down into the water' (Acts 8:38). Arguably, they walked together down to the water's edge, where, both standing in the water, one was sprinkled by the other. It is not necessary to the text that the eunuch was immersed. Noting Paul's reference to Israel's 'baptism into Moses' in 1 Cor. 10:2, the most that can be said is that the Israelites were sprinkled with sea spray. It was the Egyptians who were immersed!

da vinci offerings at study center

We will begin on Monday, May 15th with an introduction by Leo Sandgren, who did his PhD at UNC with Bart Ehrman and is very familiar with Bart’s argument and story. (Professor Sandgren teaches Hebrew Scripture and New Testament classes at UF, and he is also the one whose inner light has given us gnowledge.) The title for Professor Sandgren’s talk is "Misquoting Jesus—but getting Ehrman right: reflections on what we can Gno, how we Gno it, and why we care."


on Monday, May 22nd John Sommerville will lead a discussion of the book and the movie. (Dr. Sommerville is Professor, Emeritus, in History at UF, and he has become one of Gainesville’s resident experts on the Da Vinci phenomenon.) 8pm at study center
more at www.christianstudycenter.org

Lewis on OLD BOOKS

C.S. Lewis:

Every age has its own outlook. It is specially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to make certain mistakes. We all, therefore, need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period. And that means the old books. --Lewis

have you thought of what old book you might read this summer? i'll try to post a suggested list soon-- pendley

emilianoscafe.com

several fellas are meeting here for lunch Tuesday at 11:30, join in!

Was Jesus Married?

As those of you familiar with the DA VINCI CODE know... a key premise is that Jesus was married... to Mary Magdalene.

Here is a brief and helpful article on this

Da Vinci and Truth

This week i'll post some helpful, so i think, wisdom on the da vinci code phenomenon...

'We Christians tend to give the impression that we will hold on to the outward forms whatever happens, even if God really is not there. But the opposite ought to be true of us, so that people can see that we demand the truth of what is there and that we are not dealing merely with platitudes. In other words, it should be understood that we take this question of truth and personality so seriously that if God were not there, we would be among the first to have the courage to step out of the queue.' — Francis Schaeffer (From his book, "The God Who Is There")

the doc on da vinci i referenced y'day

The Da Vinci Code Phenomenon - byFaith Online

Marleigh Schackow

 


reminder you can stay updated at www.marleighschackow.blogspot.com 

Sunday with Christ Community

9am classes for all ages
adults starting new video class called That the World May Know (Filmed on location in Israel, brings God's Word with astounding relevance for modern believers.)


10am Communion Service
Christ in this sign perceived through the senses sets forth the grace of God in Christ and the blessings of his covenant. They communicate, seal, and confirm possession of those blessings to believers, who by responsively receiving the sacraments give expression to their fatih and allegience. In them God "remembers" his covenant toward us in Christ and does not give us the just wrath we deserve. The Supper is rightly viewed as a means of grace. The efficacy of the sacraments ...resides not in the faith or virture of the minister but in the faithfuness of God. As the preaching of the Word makes the gospel audible, so the sacraments make it visible, and the Holy Spirit stirs up faith by both means. (some concepts from JI Packer)
brief Lord's Supper overview

Hope

If it is hope that maintains and upholds faith and keeps it moving on, if it is hope that draws the believer into the life of love, then it will also be hope that is the mobilizing and driving force of faith’s thinking, of its knowledge of and reflections on, human nature, history and society.
--Jurgen Moltmann

Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow

Big day today. Another voice, created to give praise to God, came into our world. Marleigh Schackow was born to Brian and Rebecca. After a very rough start all the reports today have been increasingly encouraging. Being early, she needs your prayers. Particularly Thursday thru Saturday. This means the world to Brian and Rebecca. You can stay up to date on Marleigh's progress at the website below

http://marleighschackow.blogspot.com/

da vinci resources

look here for help w/ da vinci dialoguemarkdroberts.com

Lean Hard

LEAN HARD!

"Cast your burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain you." Psalm 55:22

It is by an act of simple, prayerful faith we transfer our cares and anxieties, our sorrows and needs, to the Lord. Jesus invites you come and lean upon Him, and to lean with all your might upon that arm that balances the universe, and upon that bosom that bled for you upon the soldier's spear! But you doubtingly ask, "Is the Lord able to do this thing for me ?" And thus, while you are debating a matter about which there is not the shadow of a shade of doubt, the burden is crushing your gentle spirit to the dust. And all the while Jesus stands at your side and lovingly says, "Cast your burden upon Me and I will sustain you. I am God Almighty. I bore the load of your sin and condemnation up the steep of Calvary, and the same power of omnipotence, and the same strength of love that bore it all for you then, is prepared to bear your need and sorrow now. Roll it all upon Me! Child of My love! Lean hard! Let Me feel the pressure of your care. I know your burden, child! I shaped it—I poised it in My own hand and made no proportion of its weight to your unaided strength. For even as I laid it on, I said I shall be near, and while she leans on Me, this burden shall be Mine, not hers. So shall I keep My child within the encircling arms of My own love. Here lay it down! Do not fear to impose it on a shoulder which upholds the government of worlds! Yet closer come! You are not near enough! I would embrace your burden, so I might feel My child reposing on My breast. You love Me! I know it. Doubt not, then. But, loving me, lean hard!" by Octavius Winslow (1808 - 1878)





http://www..gracegems.org/Winslows/Christ_sympathy.htm

Some of my favorite prayers

Sometimes I love the long ones from the Puritans... but sometimes Anne Lamott's liturgy serves me best:

In the morning: "Jesus, help!"

At bedtime: "Jesus, thanks."

good teaching on "losing salvation"

THE “APOSTASY” PASSAGE, Hebrews 6:4 - 6 (compare 10:26 - 31) has historically been the focus of considerable theological and pastoral dispute.
The nub of the question is, can genuine believers lose their salvation? Some Christians reply affirmatively, though it is hard to square such affirmations with, for instance, the “golden chain” of Romans 8:29 - 30 or the unqualified assertions of John 6:39 - 40, 44. Some Christians have therefore suggested that what Hebrews envisages is not falling away from eternal life but falling away from useful service.
On the face of it, the language of Hebrews 6 and 10 is sterner than that. Others postulate that the warning is merely hypothetical or even beneficial — a means of grace that guarantees believers will not apostatize. But if we know that, it is difficult to take the warning seriously, for we are assured in advance that the set of apostates is an empty set — and that makes the warning slightly ludicrous and not the desperately serious thing that the author of Hebrews thinks it is. Still others argue that elsewhere the New Testament may teach the perseverance and the preservation of the saints, but here it presupposes that some will fall away — and we must simply live with the tension, not to say contradiction.
My own view is that the issue turns on two points, with an important pastoral implication.
First, it is not as if Hebrews teaches one thing and Paul and John another. Paul entreats Christians to examine themselves to see if they are in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5), yet constructs the golden chain. John warns that branches in Christ (the true vine) may be cut off (John 15:1 - 8), yet insists that Christ will preserve all those the Father has given him. There is therefore nothing useful to be gained by pitting Hebrews 6 against, say, John. It aligns very well with one element in John and Paul.
Second, one must ask if the individual descriptions (“enlightened,” “tasted of the heavenly gift,” etc.) in Hebrews 6 and 10 require us to think of genuine Christians. The answer to this question is tied to our theology of conversion and to what is meant by “genuine Christian.” The New Testament gives many instances of people who taste enough of God’s grace to turn their lives around and join the visible church, even though they do not have the kind of grace that enables them to persevere. Even Hebrews 3:6, 14 presupposes as much. Under such a “tight” definition of genuine Christian, none falls away. The question then becomes, “Will you persevere? Is your experience of grace so light that you can walk away from the cross?”
What are the pastoral implications? The reflections suggest that the Bible provides wonderful reassurance to the weak and fainthearted, but threatens the openly defiant with a stern probing of the genuineness of their profession of faith. (DA Carson, commenting on HEbrews 6)

Online Course from Covenant College

WANT TO MINISTER TO THE POOR WITHOUT CREATING DEPENDENCY? Learn how through the "Foundations and Principles of Holistic Ministry" email-based distance learning course scheduled for August 28 - September 22, 2006. This course is offered by the Chalmers Center for Economic and Community Development, a training center housed at Covenant College that equips the church worldwide to minister to the poor.

The Foundations course is designed for an individual or a ministry team doing community outreach among the poor - pastors, church planters, ministry leaders and lay staff, and missionaries. It lays the foundation for understanding appropriate goals and strategies for Christian community development in low-income communities.

Topics covered are:

* Understanding poverty
* When to do relief and when to do development
* Harm that can come from inappropriately doing relief or development
* The response of the local church to poverty
* How to integrate Biblical principles into development programs

The "Foundations" course is an email-based guided-reading program with weekly written assignments and peer-to-peer interaction with the other course participants. Since the course format is e-mail based, slow dial-up speed from a remote location will not limit participation. On average, the course requires 8-10 hours of work per week.

Group rates and Two-Thirds World rates are available.

To learn more about this course or to register, visit www.chalmers.org, call
706-419-1805 (U.S.), or e-mail chalmers@covenant.edu. When registering, use Reference Identifier MK-CGC-04/06.

Must-see movie

according to a source i trust the pik that sbux has been pushing is really good
"akeelah and the bee"

God is

God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble. Psalm 45