EASTER: based on a true story

The story of Easter…It’s a true story, you know.

It’s the story of Jesus Christ’s willingness to be crucified and his power to rise from the dead...for all of us. However, I believe we cannot fully understand what Jesus did, until we understand who he really is.

Do you really know? Worship with us, Sunday, and find out.

Earth Worship

'Earth Worship' on the Rise among Evangelical Youth

from www.crosswalk.com

OneNewsNow.com reports that Janice Crouse of Concerned Women for America is saying that many young people in evangelical churches are disturbingly experimenting with Wicca. Crouse warns that Christian parents and leaders must be ready to counter that growing interest.

Wicca involves nature worship and stresses moral autonomy, which are appealing tenets to many of today's youth.

Crouse cites an article in Religion Journal which said youth pastors in the Southern Baptist Convention were worried about large numbers of evangelicals taking part in Wicca. "They don't want the church telling them that there are boundaries, [that] there are things that they can't do," Crouse explains.

She believes interest in Wicca can be traced to recent books featuring witchcraft and similar topics.

Worship

I asked some folks what they would name as the "unthinkable" event that might happen in family life. I got a variety of answers.

Regardless of the differences in what is perceived as unthinkable, most of the people gave similar answers when asked how they would respond to the unthinkable.

Is there a common solution, as well?

Worship with us, Sunday, as we explore the answer, together.

JWs and Mormons

Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons Fastest-Growing 'Churches' in U.S.

The Christian Post reports that Jehovah's Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported the largest membership increases in a year, according to an annual yearbook of churches.

The two groups are largely considered to be cults by evangelical Christians but they are currently the fastest-growing church bodies in the United States and Canada, the National Council of Churches' 2008 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches showed.

Although Jehovah's Witnesses currently rank 25th in size with over 1.06 million members, they reported a 2.25 percent increase in membership since the publication of the 2007 Yearbook.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- also known as Mormons -- grew 1.56 percent and is the fourth largest church body.

Successful Parents

Recently, during our Desperate Households series, we discussed the issue of parents...especially related to if or when their children stray.

The link, below, briefly discusses seven steps in successful parenting you might find helpful.

http://www.allprodad.com/playbook/viewarticle.php?art=6

Worship

When a politician says, "I feel your pain," I laugh. When God says, "I feel your pain," I pay attention.

Is it possible God actually knows, first-hand, what it feels like to be in a marriage relationship where one partner has been unfaithful?

It is...and He does...and He has a remedy.

Worship with us, Sunday, as we explore God's remedy, together.

Hot Theology

If we ignore the reality of hell, we make one of Jesus' frequent teachings a mere metaphor.

by Dan Kimball

Clocking in at 55 minutes, I nearly broke my personal record for the longest sermon I've ever preached. It was "Hell." In our series called "Hot Theology," the topics were determined from surveys of the congregation. The most common question: "Would a loving God send people to hell?" That's hard to cover in 35 minutes. Finish this article

Worship

Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."

But, what if he does? What do you do then?

Worship with us, Sunday, and we'll find out together.

Church Members Stuggle to Memorize Mission Statement

www.larknews.com

VISALIA, Calif. — First Covenant Church unveiled a new mission statement last week, hoping to launch the church into an era of greater unity and spiritual effectiveness.

But response to the two-page statement has been decidedly mixed among church members who despair of memorizing it as the church has requested.

"It’s a verbal tangle of quasi-eloquent nothingness," grumbles one man. "I can’t even say it right when it’s projected on the screen. I end up with a mouthful of blah."

The new statement reads: "First Covenant Church exists for the passion and purpose of inspiring, discipling, equipping and sending out Christ followers with the destiny of transforming the world to the glory of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and fostering a graceful yet convicting church environment in which people of all faith experiences and backgrounds are molded into the image and reflection of Christ, together creating a God-honoring community of authentic worshipers deliberately focused on reaching their community, the nation, the next generation of believers and the world through missions works, innovative programs and prayer."

And that’s just the first sentence.

finish the article at: http://www.larknews.com/february_2008/secondary.php?page=2