The Cross

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. --1 Corinthians 1:18

Sunday we survey Christ's wondrous cross together... and gather at His table to celebrate!

Testing the Gospel We Teach (and believe)

The glory of the gospel is that God has declared Christians to be rightly related to him in spite of their sin. But our greatest temptation and mistake is to try to smuggle character into his work of grace. How easily we fall into the trap of assuming that we remain justified only so long as there are grounds in our character for that justification. But Paul’s teaching is that nothing we do ever contributes to our justification. So powerful was his emphasis on this that men accused him of teaching that it did not matter how they lived if God justified them. If God justifies us as we are, what is the point of holiness? There is still a sense in which this is a test of whether we offer the world the grace of God in the gospel. Does it make men say: ‘You are offering grace that is so free it doesn’t make any difference how you life’? This was precisely the objection the Pharisees had to Jesus’ teaching!

-Sinclair B. Ferguson

The transactions of the crucifixion

Sunday I'm preaching on "3 Things Jesus Accomplished at the Cross".... here's a quote by Spurgeon:
"The bitter herbs of Gethsemane have often taken away the bitters of your life; the scourge of Gabbatha has often scourged away your cares, and the groans of Calvary yields us comfort rare and rich. We never should have known Christ's love in all its heights and depths if He had not died; nor could we guess the Father's deep affection if He had not given His Son to die. The common mercies we enjoy all sing of love, just as the sea-shell, when we put it to our ears, whispers of the deep sea whence it came; but if we desire to hear the ocean itself, we must not look at every-day blessings, but at the transactions of the crucifixion. He who would know love, let him retire to Calvary and see the Man of sorrows die."

A Nourished Soul.... prep your heart for communion Sunday

A reminder here for you to be meditating on the sacrificial love of Jesus as we prepare to celebrate the Eucharist on Sunday. I am always encouraged by Q&A 75 from the Heidelberg Catechism...
Q. 75. How are you reminded and assured in the Holy Supper that you participate in the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross and in all his benefits?
A. In this way: Christ has commanded me and all believers to eat of this broken bread, and to drink of this cup in remembrance of him. He has thereby promised that his body was offered and broken on the cross for me, and his blood was shed for me, as surely as I see with my eyes that the bread of the Lord is broken for me, and that the cup is shared with me. Also, he has promised that he himself as certainly feeds and nourishes my soul to everlasting life with his crucified body and shed blood as I receive from the hand of the minister and actually taste the bread and the cup of the Lord which are given to me as sure signs of the body and blood of Christ.

Journey of Faith Team

Many have asked who pulled off the wonderful decorations and activities of yesterday at 9am. Paige French and Christina Fischer led a team that worked creatively and with great diligence.

The campaign was led by Brian & Rebecca Schackow, with Sarah Hamersma serving as Campaign Administrator. A more complete list of names will be forthcoming. Basically, you were well-served by a great team during this Journey.

What was your high point?

Journey of Faith commitment Sunday was yesterday. What memories! Since the service I have asked people, "What was the high point for you yesterday?" Mine? It was seeing three jr. hi boys make their offerings as part of the children's offering at the start of the service. The humility and freedom for them to consider themselves children. OR, maybe they were given a freedom for a moment that we all need---the freedom to love God more than we love our reputation.

What was your high point? Give thanks to God.

Wowed by God

Weren't we all astounded by God? That He would secure the leaders, and envision them for the future... to the point of committing to give $1 million over the next three years.... Flabbergasting was one word I heard to describe it.

We look with great anticipation to what He continues to do in our midst as we seek to see Him known & cherished in Gainesville.

Thoughts as we make commitments Sunday

May I (Rob) please remind you of what we said over the past few weeks. Sunday's pledging toward Journey of Faith should be:

1.) Joyful, not under compulsion

2.) "New money"... no one is helped if you shift your normal offering (in whole or part) to Journey of Faith

3.) Towards God's Fame... sacrificial giving displays God as our treasure

120 RSVP's

Sunday at 9am there are special events planned as we culminate JOURNEY OF FAITH ....
We've received word of planned participation from 120 adults and about 50 children. If you aren't in that number... join in! 9am Sunday

Parents, pray about HOW you teach your children about God

"Teachers & parents who do not exult over God in their teaching will not bring about exultation in God. Dry, unemotional, indifferent teaching about God--whether at home or at church--is a half-truth, at best. It says one thing about God and portrays another thing. It is inconsistent. It says that God is great, but teaches as if God is not great." --John Piper

Our Great God

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your saints shall bless you!
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power,
to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations. ---Psalm 145

Ye Old Commitment Card

This is the commitment card we will be using on Sunday. In case you want to see it prior to our service.

Who will see my pledge?

This is a question that I (Rob) have been asked a couple o' times this week. The answer is..... the same as your normal giving. Our financial secretary, Debbie Staples. No one else.

Hope that is helpful.

Jesus: "Fear not, little flock....

... for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."

"Somebody's Daddy died this week"

That is how the dinner conversation will begin tonite, or soon, in my house. I don't know the family or this man... but because of my history with RUF (Jesus found me there) and my current love for Steve Lammers... this hits hard.
The RUF minister at Furman University, Dustin Salter was riding bikes with his children (ages 10 and under) last Fall when he wrecked and sustained head injuries that resulted in his death this week.

A friend of his wrote a moving tribute you can read here.

Joshua Tree turns 20

The Joshua Tree was released 20 years ago this month. A 1987 interview w/ the band here.

Lunch in Downtown Beautiful Alachoooway

Our favorite native of Mumbai, Sid Gaitonde, organizes a monthly lunch get-together for men that is held every 3rd Wednesday of the month. They will be meeting on the 21st, which is soon.
They will be having lunch at 11:45am at Conestogas restaurant in downtown Alachua. Let Sid (sid.gaitonde AT gmail DOT com) know if you guys can make it so that i can get a head count to make reservations. You are welcome to invite other men.

Theology & Evangelism

All true theology has an evangelistic thrust, and all true evangelism is theology in action."
- J.I. Packer

A Week of Prayer

March 18-25 is a week of prayer for ChristCommunityChurch, culminating in our Journey of Faith commitments during the 10am service on March 25. Here are some ways to help you pray this week:

1. Some folks have cut a prayer path on the property where the building will be constructed. This makes a great place to go out and pray that--on this site-- people will experience the grace of Jesus Christ... AND--from this site... people will go out to extend the grace of Jesus Christ. Some have mentioned praying the names of their friends/family/neighbors while walking the path. Parents, while ambling, can pray for the work of God's Spirit in their children's hearts. Etc. Won't you come out and invest 10-20 minutes praying on the site this week?

2. On Sunday March 18th we exchanged prayer cards. Everyone present was simply encouraged to write the names of their family members on one side of an index card. On the other side we wrote these two verses:
LUKE 12:31
Seek first God's kingdom...
1 Chronicles 29:14
All things come from you, and of your own have we given you. (ESV)
Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. (NIV)

KEY IDEA: As we prayerfully seek to partner with God and make a commitment to journey of faith... we need to be praying for each other. So, everyone who decided to pray for another person took someone's card and this week will be praying those Scripture for themselves and for the person whose card they took.

What if I wasn't there Sunday? Call someone in your small group, or the church office and say, "I need to be prayed for; and someone for whom I can pray!"


3. Time of Fasting
On Tuesday or Wednesday all of CCC is encouraged to join in some form of fasting. This can be any abstinance or limitation from something good and normal in your life.
What would this look like in my life??? Here's a sample list:

--Jogging without listening to Ipod
--Only one cup of coffee that day
--No soda
--A light lunch or supper
--Leave the computer off
--Leave the TV off

The idea of fasting is to withdraw (for a season and a reason!) from something good in creation. This time, the purpose is to say, "God, help me seek your kingdom. What do you want to do through me in this Journey of Faith?")

Draw my affection, Lord

“Oh, let not mine eyes be dazzled, nor my heart bewitched with the

glory and sweetness of these worldly treasures. . . Draw my affection to

the love of that durable riches, and to that fruit of heavenly wisdom

which is better than gold, and the revenues whereof do surpass the

silver, that my chief care may be to have a soul enriched and furnished

with Thy grace.” --Samuel Hieron

Jesus offers us whatever our need is...

Since the radical powers of the soul are thus enfeebled and disordered, it is not to be wondered at that the best of men, and under their highest attainments, have found cause to make the acknowledgment of the Apostle, "When I should do good, evil is present with me."

But, blessed be God, though we must feel hourly cause for shame and humiliation for what we are in ourselves, we have cause to rejoice continually in Christ Jesus, who, as he is revealed unto us under the various names, characters, relations, and offices, which he bears in the Scripture, holds out to our faith a balm for every wound, a cordial for every discouragement, and a sufficient answer to every objection which sin or Satan can suggest against our peace.

• If we are guilty, he is our Righteousness;
• if we are sick; he is our infallible Physician;
• if we are weak, helpless, and defenceless, he is the compassionate and faithful Shepherd who has taken charge of us, and will not suffer any thing to disappoint our hopes, or to separate us from his love.

He knows our frame, he remembers that we are but dust, and has engaged to guide us by his counsel, support us by his power, and at length to receive us to his glory, that we may be with him for ever.

--John Newton, friend of William Wilberforce and author of the hymn, Amazing Grace

They must pinch or hamper us

“I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditures excludes them.” --CS Lewis

Opportunity

This was sent to us this week. We don't have an existing r'ship with them... so you'd need to check e'thing out.

NEEDED: a nurturing, loving family in the Gainesville area that can open their hearts and home to a wonderful scholarship student for the remainder of the school year. Hardeep, a friendly 15-year old from India, likes sports, coin collecting, aeronautics, community service, and the drums. The student is staying with a great local family who, unfortunately, cannot keep him for the full year. If you can help by hosting him, contact local coordinator Dawn Brown at 352-316-2201 or mdawnfl@hotmail.com

Jesus, the Storybook Bible

book plug, this looks great ... a children's writer has taken the truth that Jesus is the center of the Bible and told 22 stories from the Old Testament... bringing out how they all point to Jesus.

How do you react to great suffering and evil?

Do you tend to be numb to it or shocked by it? Dennis Haack writes:

I want to suggest that faithfulness to Christ and his gospel does not include either option. We should not be shocked by what we encounter in a fallen world, and we dare not be numb in the face of suffering. “Bible believing Christians,” Francis Schaeffer always insisted, “should never have the reaction designated by the term ‘shocked.’” He means that if we are, we have failed to understand what we claim to believe, namely that we live in a fallen world. Satan’s temptation to our first parents was to underestimate the power and nature of evil, and we sons of Adam and daughters of Eve have believed the same lie ever since. Underestimating it, we are shocked when it appears, and by the havoc it wrecks. On the other hand, to feel numb, unmoved in the face of raw evil and unimaginable suffering is a prospect that should frighten us. A danger we must guard against if we are followers of the One who howled aloud in grief and anger at the death of his friend, and who so loved the marginalized and lost that he embraced their death for himself.

It’s easy to assert that we can not afford to be either shocked or numbed; it’s quite another to sort out what faithfulness looks like in our media-saturated and pain-soaked world. The topic is something discerning Christians might want to consider together in light of Scripture.

--Dennis Haack writes & runs the awesome rag called Critique

The Power of a Normal Christian Home

Recently I overheard a student say how much they'd enjoyed being one of a handful of students having a meal in the home of some CCC folks. I asked the student to write down what they said and send it to me. Would you notice how NON-DRAMATIC it is? Would you commit to inviting some students to a meal before the semester ends? Here's what the student wrote:

I so appreciate them opening their home to us. We thoroughly enjoyed being able to spend time with a wonderful family. I left feeling so full of life and joy. They radiate the love of Jesus; what a true blessing to be developing relationships with a family. I also enjoyed meeting the other college students in attendance. I had not previously met them and how nice it was to meet others my age. I look forward to seeing them again at church. I'm so thankful for the hospitality and graciousness of the family who hosted us.

All that you can't leave behind...

"It’s difficult for people to get rid of junk. They get attached to things and let them define who they are. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this business, it’s that you are what you can’t let go of." ---From the founder of 1-800-GotJunk?

You are what you look like

Quentin Schultze summarizes TV’s appearance message: “It’s impossible to miss the point: women are what they look like, not what they accomplish or what they value and believe. Their looks are their essence, for their body determines their identity as well as their image in the minds of family members and especially peers. Without the proper look, identity and intimacy will never be satisfactorily achieved.”
&
As time passes, the standards change, becoming increasingly unrealistic and more difficult to attain. Mary Pipher, author of Reviving Ophelia, reports that in 1950, the White Rock mineral-water girl was 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed 140 pounds. Today, she stands 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs only 110.

these quotes are from an article entitled MIRROR,MIRROR written by a great group called the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding... at their site you can register to receive their monthly update-- it is a gospel-centered way of informing parents of youth issues

An Effortless Flow

You will always give effortlessly to that which is your salvation, to those things which give your life meaning. If Jesus is the one who saved you, your money [and, we could add, our time and energy] flows out easily into His work, His people, His causes. If, however, your real religion is your appearance, or your social status, or personal comfort, or pleasure, your money [and time and energy] flows most easily into those items and symbols. –Tim Keller

Don't miss an hours sleep... or show up late for church!

Move your clocks forward an hour before hitting the hay tonite.... as Daylight-Savings Time begins.

Sunday we continue Journey of Faith

Journey of Faith is forcing us to look at passages of Scripture that we might normally avoid. Sunday in Luke 12 we hear Jesus invite us to freedom and being rich towards God.

The warning (of verses 13-15) against covetousness provides the perfect backdrop for Jesus' parable and reinforces the idea that it is not the man's wealth which is condemned but the accumulation of wealth solely for his own enjoyment. --Craig Blomberg

All the Treasures

Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. --Paul, in colossians 2

Jesus, Priceless Treasure

Jesus, priceless treasure,
 source of purest pleasure,
 truest friend to me,
 long my heart hath panted,
 till it well-nigh fainted,
 thirsting after thee.
 Thine I am, O spotless Lamb,
 I will suffer naught to hide thee,
 ask for naught beside thee.


 Text: Johann Franck; trans. by Catherine Winkworth

One of US! is in the NY Times

A few weeks ago after service Dr. Sarah Hamersma asked me (rob) a few questions about minimum wage stuff. I made a few off the cuff comments and whew!! did she run with them. Read her piece in the NY Times. I'm off to pull my tongue from my cheek.

interview w/ author of new book "Science & Grace"

Science & Grace interview

http://byfaithonline.com/partner/Article_Display_Page/0,,PTID323422|CHID664014|CIID2307270,00.html

"Come to Me and Drink"

"Christ is that Fountain of living water which God has graciously provided for thirsting souls. From Him…there flows an abundant stream for all who travel through the wilderness of this world. In Him, as our Redeemer and Substitute, crucified for our sins and raised again for our justification, there is an endless supply of all that men can need pardon, absolution, mercy, grace, peace, rest, relief, comfort and hope." --J.C. Ryle

Prayer: Pouring Out Your Heart to God

Really struck this morning listening to Bryan Chapell preach
on Hannah... interesting topics covered:
--Dealing with emptiness in our hearts
--Advancing God's Kingdom thru prayer

from 1 Samuel chapter 1: Eli (Hannah's husband) observed her mouth. Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord.

Our Cheerful "Above & Beyond" Giving Says Something about God

1. That we are SECURE in Christ ("He'll provide for me.")
When we grip tight on "stuff" we are guilty of insecurity.

2. That we are SATISFIED with Christ ("He's sufficient for me.")
When we grip tight in order to get things that will satisfy (so we think) we are guilty of discontentment.

There is an old book that is a classic. It is tough sledding and so i'm going to bring some excerpts in coming days. The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs.

Excerpt One:
I offer the following description: Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God's wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.

I shall break open this description, for it is a box of precious ointment, and very comforting and useful for troubled hearts, in troubled times and conditions. --J. Burroughs

The entire book is public domain

Things for which to ask God to give you by His Spirit as you receive the Lord’s Supper:

--Reverence and attention.
--Discernment of the Lord’s Body, an understanding
of the meaning of the Lord’s Supper.
--Meditation on Christ’s death and suffering
--Self judgment.
--Sorrow for sin.
--Desire for Christ.
--Feeding on Him in faith.
--Trusting in Him.
--Rejoicing in His love.
--Giving thanks for His grace.
--Renewal of your covenant with God and commitment to Christ.
--Special love to all Christians.

Preparing for Communion

Getting ready for the Lord's Supper is not "cleaning yourself up" to make yourself worthy of the gift. Then what is it? This week I've talked with people of all ages about preparing their heart to commune with Christ and His church.

How? I think the John Newton hymn, which is on this blog, has a great model...

#1.) Meditate upon your sins that put Christ on that tree.
#2.) Reflect upon Christ receiving ALL the wrath due your sin and sins.
#3.) With mournful joy and pleasing grief... taste and see that the Lord is good!

Make a memory

Have you realized that for many of our children the next phase of our church life will probably be a profound memory in their childhood. Part of the strength of Journey of Faith is that it is geared to help children learn about God resourcing everything and His desire to be worshiped by more and more people. Most of our kids cannot drive yet... so please get them to class by 8:59am these next few Sundays. Becca & Matt Kubo have prepared wonderful activities to help them learn... Here are the kind of things they'll be thinking through and working on:

-Come find out how counting items in your closet will help raise money for a new church building--this Sunday at 9 AM

-Come learn what singing a song in church has to do with a nickel--this Sunday at 9 AM!

-Who are the people who help lead our worship on Sundays? Knowing their names will give you a head start on your own journey of faith! Find out how this Sunday!

-How many windows are in your house? The more the better for our children's journey of faith--find out why this Sunday!

Welcome to the world!

- Name: Hailey Caroline Baker
- Born Feb. 28.07 ~5pm
- Parents Dan & Jennifer Baker

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!