THE CHRISTIAN EVANGEL
First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
470 Enka Lake Rd, Candler, NC
March, 2010
| Monday, March 1 | Board Meeting 7:15 PM |
| Saturday, March 13 | Daylight Savings Time Begins |
| Sunday, March 14 | Potluck Lunch 12:00 Noon |
| Monday, March 15 | Elders Meeting 7:15 PM |
| Monday, March 22 | Disciples Women 7:00 PM |
| Sunday, March 28 | Palm Sunday Easter Offering |
A Look Ahead:
| Thursday, April 1 | Maundy Thursday Service 7:00 PM |
| Sunday, April 4 | Easter Sunday Brunch 9:35 AM |
| Easter Service 10:30 AM | |
| Easter Offering | |
| Sunday, May 9 | Mother’s Day |
Meeting of the Board
There will be a meeting of the Board immediately after the service," announced the pastor.
After the close of the service, the Church Board gathered at the back of the auditorium for the announced meeting. But there was a stranger in their midst -- a visitor who had never attended their church before.
"My friend," said the pastor, "Didn't you understand that this is a meeting of the Board?"
"Yes," said the visitor, "and after today's sermon, I suppose I'm just about as bored as anyone else who came to this meeting."
From the Pastor’s Desk . . . .
I’m absolutely fascinated by the Universe! How in the world did God create it? And, as all three of my children asked at the age of 4: “Dad, where did God come from?” All I could say was, “I don’t know. But, that’s a great question.”
My fascination with the universe our God created was given another “shot in the arm” the other day. I read about the Sombrero galaxy. As you know, we live in the Milky Way galaxy. And, there are BILLIONS of galaxies! The Sombrero galaxy was created by God 13 billion years ago. It is 50,000 light years across. It contains 700 billion stars. It has a super massive Black Hole at its center which is 1 Billion times the mass of our Sun. It was first discovered in 1767, and we humans first got to see it when a picture of it was taken by the Hubble Telescope in 2007!!
As one of my favorite Bible Teachers says, “That should keep any self importance in check for a while.”
I share this as we step into the season of Lent, because it makes me reflect on our spiritual lives. For the mature Christian, there is no room for self importance. As we look up into the heavens, what else can we do but look in awe and wonder, and worship the Ultimate Mystery we call God. If we could see our planet from the depths of the Universe, we would see a blue and green dot, with no boundaries, no “them and us,” no classes or cast system, no religions, - - but a Oneness created in the image of God.
You see, for a follower of Jesus, there’s no room for self importance, arrogance, bitterness, bigotry, cruelty, over inflated egos, (or) egos consumed with “self put down.” For all of these traits come from what the Christian mystics call our false self. A self consumed with self importance, power, prestige, privilege, and worries about “looking good.” And, low and behold . . . .
Jesus comes along and invites us to give up this false self, receive His love, pick up a cross and follow Him. He invites us to seek first, (not ourselves), but God’s Kingdom, God’s vision, God’s dream for how God must yearn for this world to be, and how God wants His children to treat and take care of each other.
You see, the Gospel, (the good news about God revealing God’s Self to us in Jesus), is a paradox. That is, if we really want to live, we must first of all die. I’m talking about dying before you actually stop breathing. After all, as we follow Jesus during this season of Lent - - He’s headed for a Cross.
Peace and Blessings your way, Your Pastor
This is the study the Elders considered at our last meeting. It is something to think about.
T.V. or the Bible?
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15
One evening my family was gone and I had the house to myself. I could either watch T.V. or do the homework from my weekly Bible study. The lure of mindless watching T.V. was strong, but I decided to go with Bible study instead. For two hours, I dug into the Scriptures. I found myself eagerly looking up words in the dictionary to clarify their meaning, following up on references to Bible verses, and reading commentary notes.
When I finally finished my lesson and closed my Bible, I felt refreshed, optimistic, and at peace. I don`t remember ever feeling refreshed or happy after a couple of hours of watching T.V. Was this a coincidence? The next time I had the house to myself ,once again I occupied myself with Bible study instead of T.V. and once again I came away feeling much better for it.
I'm not saying I never watch T.V., far from it. But these days, I make the intentional choice to spend more time with God and less time with mindless entertainment.
Questions to think about:
What most often keeps you from spending time reading and studying the Bible?
What keeps you from praying?
What disciplines other than reading the Bible and praying, strengthen our relationship with God?
Which of these are a regular part of your life?
What steps can a person take to insure that these practices become habits?
Blessings and Christ`s peace,
Ann White
Disciples News Service
Congress Passes Haiti Assistance Income Tax Relief Act
The Senate and House unanimously passed legislation that allows taxpayers to deduct charitable contributions to help victims of the earthquake in Haiti. The bill was signed by President Obama on January 22, 2010. Under this law, if you made a contribution between January 11 and March 1, 2010, (next Sunday) through your churches Week of Compassion Haiti Relief, you are allowed to take a tax deduction for the gift in either 2009…or 2010. The law refers to this as an “acceleration” of the contribution deduction, since it may be claimed on the tax return filed for 2009, even though it was given in 2010. Churches that receive gifts from members are not required to issue a second contribution letter to members who choose the accelerated method.
Members who make gifts to their church for Week of Compassion Haiti Relief and who choose the accelerated contribution method are required to keep their own record of the contribution. When their 2010 statement is issued from their church, the donor is expected to modify their deduction on their 2010 Tax Forms. Members who take the accelerated method are advised to keep a second copy of the 2010 contribution statement from the church with their 2009 tax records.
It is far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without your help.
| Robin Smith | 2 |
| Allie Lundblad | 6 |
| Shanna Russell | 14 |
| Bruce McNeal | 15 |
| Rachel Russell | 15 |
| Tyler Baldwin | 17 |
| Beth Myers | 18 |
| David McAfoos | 19 |
CHURCH FAMILY
Kathryn Barr
Ray Barr - Back & hip pain
Dan Kistler - Scleroderma & treatments
KELSEY MARINO - PNEUMONIA
Robin Smith - Chemotherapy
EXTENDED CONCERNS
J. Blevins’ sister - in rehab center after falling
Betty Lee - Matoka’s Mom, recovering from foot surgery
Piercen Varner - Rebecca’s grandson, heart condition & enlarged liver
Mark Hanson - Friend of the McGowans, coping with cancer
Ann Hartline - Beth Myers’ friend, cancer
Teresa Houston - Randy’s sister, chemo treatments
Taylor Kuss - Eleanor’s grandson, deployed in Iraq
Faith Mitchell - Tom Carpenter’s co-worker, cancer
Paul - Friend of Joyce Blevins
Linda Warfford - Beth Myers’ sister, recovering from surgery
KEITH WATERS - KIDNEY PROBLEMS & MYELOMA
Remember our homebound and those in care facilities:
Doris Barnes
Cathie Gaines (VA.)
Eleanor Hostetler
Else Swartout
Paul Lominac
Kathryn & Ray Barr
Betty Ford
Eleanor & Grady Grubbs
Nancy Sides
(NEW CONCERNS are in bold print)
FCC member HERMAN JENKINS died January 27th.
He was 104 years old.
First Christian Church
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