Many thanks to all who came to our Missions Dessert Social at the Taylor's! It was a wonderful night spent hearing about the amazing work the Hudsons and Simpsons are doing. Here are a few class announcements:
FOUNDATIONS WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY
Wednesday, March 7th from 9:15-10:30 in the Bride's Room at church. Childcare is available. Contact Julie Martin for any questions (874-7863 themartins2@earthlink.net) Julie and Mary Williamson will lead us in a study of Titus 2:4-5 (great description of the type of woman God desires us to be) and to pray for one another. We are planning on doing this the first Wednesday of every month so that we can support and encourage one another through time together in God's Word and prayer.
PRAYER
1 - Missions Festival
2- Continue our prayers for Molly Ainsworth
3 - Globeworks International Ministries (Dale and Linda Cutlip) -- for their Muslim evangelism in London in 2 weeks and for their evangelism in Cape Town, SA in 2 months
4 - For Kate Comini's health. At this point, Kate's vascular surgery has been postponed.
5 - Praise for the Hicks' meetings at school regarding Cam, prayers for Ella Hicks' recovery from an accident last week
6 - Praise for a good MRI report for Bo Glasscow!
SOCIAL
Guys, save the date of April 2 to watch the Final Four together @ the Murray's
Ladies, we'll have a social later in April at Kerry Leasure's house!
COVENANT CHRONICLES from Danny Giffen [mailto:dgiffen@covpres.com]
If you find Dan Edwards, Steve Ankenbrandt or Phyllis Hamm in the corner of a room in a fetal position, just know they are moving toward a state of hibernation after the missions conference has concluded. :) What a wonderful week! Ed & Emily Hartman relayed to me that they were blessed by everyone they spoke with and were again blown away by Covenant's hospitality. Thanks to all of you (especially the Missions Committee) for making this a huge success—yet again. A Humble Mission was preached and I believe for many of us, it was a wonderful challenge of surrender and humility. Pray the remainder of this week as the Lord lays upon your heart the opportunity to give through Faith Promise. We will be receiving pledges this Sunday Morning during the closing hymn--your pledge card should arrive in the mail by week's end.
What's Happening
1. Rev. Bill Boyd's Installation Service – Join us at 4 pm this Sunday as Evangel Presbytery will convene in our sanctuary to install Bill Boyd as our Sr. Pastor. Childcare is available and a reception will immediately follow in the fellowship hall.
2. Eat for Missions! - We are raising money for short term mission trips to Honduras, Zambia, Ivory Coast, Maine this year. You can order food from Ingram ijlink@hotmail.com and all proceeds go towards these trips. Feel free to contact Melissa Freeman as well mbcfree@yahoo.com. Jerk Chx $20; Granola $10; Chx Salad $16; Monster Cookies $15/dz. You can pick up this Sunday March 4.
3. Maine Mission Trip – There is an informational meeting in room E206 immediately following the 2nd service.
4. First Monday Lunch Bunch – Ladies, come and join us Monday, March 5, at 11:45 am as Carol Schaffeld will be sharing.
5. WTOP – Women's Time of Prayer is every Monday morning at 9:15 am led by Ingram Link
6. Spring Break Sundays – Sunday, March 18 we will have one service at 10 am and no Sunday School. March 25th will be the normal Sunday morning schedule.
Theology 101
For the Bible Tells Me So…
by on Feb 28, 2012 • 11:00 am
CNN’s Belief Blog highlighted Steven James‘ take on scripture–one that couldn’t not be highlighted here. A powerful description of what happens in hermeneutics: we try to co-author something that doesn’t need our co-authoring; we try to highjack a message that’s too real to bear, news that’s too good or too arresting to believe. We are bound to translate towards palatability–the Bible tends towards the honesty of filth and the discomfort of favor. When we want piety, we get the God-honest truth. And when we need grace, well, it is the only place we find it.
God’s message was not meant to be run through some arbitrary, holier-than-thou politeness filter. He intended the Bible to speak to people where they’re at, caught up in the stark reality of life on a fractured planet.
Dozens of Psalms are complaints and heart-wrenching cries of despair to God, not holy-sounding, reverently worded soliloquies. Take Psalm 77:1-3: “I cry out to God; yes, I shout. Oh, that God would listen to me! When I was in deep trouble, I searched for the Lord. All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven, but my soul was not comforted. I think of God, and I moan, overwhelmed with longing for his help” (New Living Translation).
And rather than shy away from difficult and painful topics, the Old Testament includes vivid descriptions of murder, cannibalism, witchcraft, dismemberment, torture, rape, idolatry, erotic sex and animal sacrifice. According to St. Paul, those stories were written as examples and warnings for us (1 Corinthians 10:11). So obviously they were meant to be retold without editing out all the things we don’t consider nice or agreeable.
I believe that Scripture includes such graphic material to show how far we, as a race, have fallen and how far God was willing to come to rescue us from ourselves.
God is much more interested in honesty than pietism.
And that’s what he gives us throughout Scripture, telling the stories of people who struggled with the same issues, questions and temptations we face today.
Peter struggled with doubt, and we hear all about it.
Elijah dealt with depression; Naomi raged with bitterness against God; Hannah struggled for years under the burden of her unanswered prayers.
David had an affair and then arranged to have his lover’s husband killed. Noah was a drunk, Abraham a liar, Moses a murderer. Job came to a place where he found it necessary to make a covenant with his eyes not to lust after young girls (Job 31:1).
It’s easy to make “Bible heroes” (as Protestants might say) or “saints” (as Catholics might refer to them) out to be bigger than life, immune from the temptations that everyone faces.
I find it encouraging that Jesus never came across as pietistic. In fact, he was never accused of being too religious; instead he partied so much that he was accused of being a drunkard and a glutton (Matthew 11:19).
Jesus never said, “The Kingdom of God is like a church service that goes on and on forever and never ends.” He said the kingdom was like a homecoming celebration, a wedding, a party, a feast to which all are invited.
This idea was too radical for the religious leaders of his day. They were more concerned about etiquette, manners, traditions and religious rituals than about partying with Jesus. And that’s why they missed out.
That’s why we miss out.
According to Jesus, the truly spiritual life is one marked by freedom rather than compulsion (John 8:36), love rather than ritual (Mark 12:30-33) and peace rather than guilt (John 14:27). Jesus saves us from the dry, dusty duties of religion and frees us to cut loose and celebrate.
I don’t believe we’ll ever recognize our need for the light until we’ve seen the depth of the darkness. So God wasn’t afraid to get down and dirty with us about life and temptation and forgiveness. And grace.
Only when the Bible seems relevant to us (which it is), only when the characters seem real to us (which they were), only then will the message of redemption become personal for us (which it was always meant to be).
We don’t need to edit God. We need to let him be the author of our new lives.
