4 Week Men’s Study

Beginning on Sunday, May 20th at 5:00pm

Study Guides $10.00

Based on the highly anticipated movie, the Courageous Living Bible Study Leader Kit
will help facilitate leading men toward living more courageously in four key areas:

Responsibility: serving, protecting, and casting a vision for their family
Priorities: focusing on eternal things rather than what is temporary
Legacy: recognizing a father’s potential impact as a godly role model
Faith: strengthening a father’s identity in Christ, increasing in wisdom

May 11, 2012
Fellowship Hall

Courageous Video Clip

Dear Church Family,

I had the joy of speaking in a retirement community this
week.  In the first service, practically everyone arrived via wheelchair,
but what a receptive audience!  I will admit that two or three fell
asleep, but I was able to share with the rest that God is still at work in your
life, cast your cares upon Him, claim His promises, and praise His name.
I wish you could have seen the smiles on the faces of these godly saints as
they nodded in affirmation.  They know from experience that all of these
statements are true.  God is working in our lives.  We can cast our
cares upon Him.  We can claim His promises.  And we should always
praise His name.  Can I get an “Amen” this morning?  Or at least a
smile and a head nod?

Sincerely,

Pastor Mark

Dear Church Family,

Do you let the people in your life know that you appreciate
them?  I read this morning where Paul says to the Philippian believers, “I
thank my God every time I remember you.”  He goes on to say that he is
thankful for their partnership in the gospel.  He also tells them that he
is confident that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to
completion in Christ Jesus.”  I’m sure that these positive words were a
great encouragement to the folks in Philippi.  Who do you know that needs
to hear a positive word today?  Who can you encourage?  And by the
way, “I thank my God every time I remember you.”

Sincerely,

Pastor Mark

Dear Church Family,

No human being, and especially the Son of God, should have
to go through the horrible torture of death by crucifixion, but all of the
Biblical records and some secular accounts confirm that Jesus did just
that.  So, why did He do it?  The answer is found in Romans 5:8 where
the Bible says, “But God demonstrated His love toward us in that while we
were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  So, why did Jesus do this
for us?  The only answer that makes sense is that He loved us enough to do
it.  It is beyond our comprehension to understand this kind of love, but I
am certainly glad and eternally grateful that He loved us enough to willingly
lay down His life.  The question for us today is, “What will we do with
the one who endured all of this shame, pain, and suffering for us?”  How
will we respond to such great love?  Will we love Him, trust Him, and
serve Him, or will we turn away in unbelief and indifference?  The choice
is ours to make.  Let me encourage you to never forget the love extended
to you at the cross.

Sincerely,

Pastor Mark

P.S.  Please plan on attending all of our Easter
Activities at the Church.  Our Good Friday Service begins tonight at 6:00
p.m.  The Easter Egg Hunt for the Children will be tomorrow beginning at
10:00 a.m.  Our Celebration Worship Services will be Sunday morning at
9:00 and 10:30 a.m.  I’m looking forward to seeing you this weekend.

Dear Church Family,

Randy Alcorn shares an interesting insight when he writes,
“Earth is an in-between world touched by both Heaven and Hell.  Earth
leads directly into Heaven or directly into Hell, affording a choice between
the two.  The best of life on Earth is a glimpse of Heaven; the worst of
life is a glimpse of Hell.  For the Christian, this present life is the
closest they will come to Hell.  For unbelievers, it is the closest they will
come to Heaven.” (Randy Alcorn, Heaven, p. 28.)

The good news is that we have a choice.  We can choose
to follow Christ and spend eternity in heaven, or we can reject Christ and
spend eternity in hell.  These are the two options.  There is no
third choice.  Please choose wisely my friends.  Eternity lasts
forever.

Sincerely,

Pastor Mark

Dear Church Family,

I received a sad call earlier today.  A young mother
from a previous church lost her battle with cancer this morning.  I would
like to ask you to pray for her family, especially her two young daughters; Haley and Lauren.  My mind immediately went
to the passage that we talked about in our Bible Study Wednesday evening.
Isaiah 57:1-2 says, “The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart;
devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken
away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they
find rest as they lie in death.”

Christina fought a long, hard battle and now she is at
rest.  In fact, this passage portrays death as a blessing, as a release
from evil, as a way to find peace and rest.  It certainly gives us a
different perspective to think of death as a blessing instead of a curse, as a
reward instead of a punishment, as graduation instead of detention.  We do
not have to fear death as Christians.  We know where we are going and
therefore we can approach death with confident hope.  However, this dear
family is grieving the loss of a wife and mother and we have lost a
friend.  So, again, please lift them up in your prayers.

Sincerely,

Pastor Mark

Dear Church Family,

I received an unusual gift recently that I’m very excited
about.  It is a beautiful handcrafted ant that is about a foot tall.
I’m excited about this gift because it brings back such good memories for
me.  I can’t tell you how many times my mother sang the “High Hopes” song
to me when I was younger.  I’m not sure who first sang the song, but I
believe Frank Sinatra is the one that made it famous.  Our Senior Adult
Choir, the “Joymakers” sang it in their last production.  Here is the part
of the lyrics that I remember,

“Next time you’re found, with your
chin on the ground, there’s a lot to be learned, so look around.  Just
what makes that little old ant think he’ll move that rubber tree plant?
Anyone knows an ant, can’t move a rubber tree plant!  But he’s got high
hopes, he’s got high hopes.  He’s got high apple pie, in the sky
hopes.  So any time you’re gettin’ low ‘stead of lettin’ go just remember
that ant!  Oops, there goes another rubber tree.
Oops, there goes another rubber tree.  Oops, there goes another
rubber tree plant!”

I’m sure some of my seminary friends will find this amusing,
but I remember singing this song to myself when I was trying to dig deep and
find the wherewithal to finish another project, or write another paper.
This song and Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Him who gives me
strength,” helped me obtain two degrees from
seminary!  So, the next time you see a large ant in my office just smile
and say, “Oops, there goes another rubber tree plant!”

Sincerely,

Pastor Mark

Dear Church Family,

I’m sure you have all heard the poem that says, “One hundred
years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the type of house
I lived in, or the kind of car I drove….but the world might be different
because I was important in the life of a Child.”  I think we could easily
change that to ten years from now, or even 20 years from now.  Our Rebekah
celebrated her 20^th birthday this week and it seems like it was just
yesterday when she was born.  One day they are babies and then you blink
and they are standing in front of you full grown.  I know that their
mother gets most of the credit for them turning out as well as they have, but I
am so proud of each one of my children.  Let me strongly urge everyone
with little ones at home to cherish this time even when it is difficult,
because one day you will blink and they will be grown.

Sincerely,

Pastor Mark

Dear Church Family,

A popular singer dies of a drug overdose.  A man burns down his house with his two small
boys trapped inside.  A lady jumps off an
overpass into oncoming traffic.  It seems
that every where one looks these days we are greeted with bad news.  So, what’s a person to do?  How should we respond?  My simple answer is, “Do something
good.”  The Bible says, Do not be
overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

So, go out and make some good news today!  You might not make the newspaper or the
Internet, but I am sure you can brighten someones day.

Here are a few easy suggestions; visit a shut-in, send a
get well card to someone that has recently been in the hospital, call a friend
and tell them that you were thinking about them, write a note of encouragement
to someone special in your life, etc…
You get the idea.  In fact, I’m
sure you can come up with even better ideas.
Let’s make a difference by being the difference.  I double-dog dare you!  Do it today.

Sincerely,

Pastor Mark