Kenai Christian Church

Transcription

1 Kenai Christian Church John 11:25 March 21, 2012 Sunday Sunday School Worship Evening Wednesday Bible Study Our Services 9:45 AM 11:00 AM 6:30 PM 7:00 PM Ministers Robert DeVolld Phone: Home Bryan Copenhaver Phone: Home Women's Ministry Leslie Daniel Phone: Youth Minister Adam Meyers KCC News is published monthly by Kenai Christian Church 104 McKinley Street, Kenai AK Phone: FAX: WEB: Layout Annie Job Editor Annie Peek Women s News Layout Susan Lee Editor Annie Job Publishing Jean Widmayer Chrystle Henderson Joy Winston Louann Peery Palm Sunday, April lst Easter, April 8th 8:00 Sunrise Service at The Daniel Residence 9:45 Sunday School and 11:00 am Worship at KCC ~Evening Services will be dismissed~ Vol. 12 No.3 **************************************************************** Love Like you Mean It Familylife.com/weekend WHAT CAN I EXPECT? Weekend to Remember is not a large counseling session, and you will not be asked to participate in small groups. Rather, you will receive marriage-changing principles that you can take home and apply to your daily lives that will strengthen your marriage. ~Family Life website Date: April 27-29, 2012 Location: Anchorage Marriott Group Code: kenaichristianchurch Contact: Matt or Cassy Rankin for more information

2 Minister's Outlook cloudy and 25 ( ) 7:00 a.m. Evidences of Spring To look outside this morning, it would be very difficult to suggest that Spring has now arrived, though the calendar clearly states the Spring Equinox has come. The snow still lies deep on the lawn and the snow load on the house and shed roofs are still quite heavy. Yet the signs of Spring are clearly evident. The sun is now setting on the north side of Mt. Redoubt. Daylight hours are much longer. The eagles are assembling at the mouth of the Kenai River. The redpolls and other small birds are beginning to show up at the bird feeders. And sometimes I actually go outside without wearing a coat. But the greatest evidence that Spring is near is Easter. I know some folks refer to Easter as Resurrection Sunday, which is perfectly appropriate. And I realize that every Sunday should be Resurrection Sunday as we gather together around the Lord s Table. But there is something wonderful about the thought that Jesus conquered the grave in the Springtime. Not only does all nature awaken from it winter sleep to burst forth in beauty and splendor, but also our Lord arose in triumph over the grave never to die again. In nature, Spring is followed by Summer, Autumn and Winter, but with Jesus resurrection there is no need for renewal and rest. Jesus arose in the Springtime to lead us forever into God s eternal day. He arose to lead us into eternal life and He prepared a place for us to dwell with Him forever in the presence of His Father. As the third verse of the old hymn, He Arose states: Death could not keep his prey, Jesus my Saviour He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord! Chorus: Up from the grave He arose, With a mighty triumph o er His foes! He arose a Victor from the dark domain, And He lives forever with the saints to reign. He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose! Indeed, Spring is here. Enjoy it. --Robert Encouragement Corner Iron Sharpens Iron Last month, I was blessed to be one of over 40 men who gathered in the Family Life Center for the Iron Sharpens Iron kick off. It would be safe to say that at least half of the men of Kenai Christian Church were present at the time, which was impressive considering the amount of shift workers within the congregation. As we enjoyed breakfast together (thanks to Rodger / Marilu Jones and Kathy Medcoff) we enjoyed a time of worship led by Adam Meyers. Then Jason Carroll and Rob Ross testified to the importance of meeting regularly with another Christian man. The men in attendance were then asked to fill out a simple information form. Two weeks later, after much prayer, those forms were spread out on tables in the foyer and seven men from the congregation began to group men together. The process of pairing men proved to be challenging at times, but all in all it proceed much easier than anticipated. At times the group was uncertain whether certain pairings would work due to the fact that some of the men were at drastically different stages of life (both physically and spiritually). It was at this point that Jason encouraged the group to trust in the time that we d spent in prayer by not putting limitations on God. At the time of this newsletter s release, every man who filled out an information form should have been contacted by one of the members of the Men s Ministry team. The plan is for this team of men to regularly contact the groups that have been placed under their oversight. The plan for each pair of men is simple. Men are encouraged to hold each other accountable in regards to daily prayer and Scripture reading in addition to meeting regularly (preferably weekly) with their partner. Beyond these 3 requirements, groups are encouraged to develop their time of accountability as they see fit. As we head into the future, it is the belief of the Men s Ministry team that this program possess the ability to transform our congregation in the years to come. The plan is to keep things simple at first, by focusing on the accountability groups, but the future is bright with possibilities for Men s Ministry at Kenai Christian Church. If you are interested in being paired up with another man for the Iron Sharpens Iron program, I would encourage you to speak with Jason Carroll or myself. For those of you who are unable to participate in the program at this time (and for ladies of the congregation) I d ask that you d pray regularly for the men of KCC. Because He s the Truth, Bryan

3 Mission Moment When you think of the word Missionary, what or, who, do you think of? Perhaps this definition comes to mind, someone who travels to a faraway place in order to tell people about Jesus. Or perhaps you think about spiritual heroes who have sacrificed comfort, finances, family, jobs, or even their very lives in order to make certain that the gospel was spread to the ends of the earth -some people who come to mind may be Paul, Barnabas, Amy Carmichael, Jim Elliott, Hudson Taylor, and even Jesus Christ Himself (who for the sake of mankind left the glory of His throne in order to be the Gospel Message on earth). We may even think missionaries are spiritual giants who may be perfect and without fear, which is, perhaps, why they were chosen by God for their specific mission. This is somewhat a fallacy. With the exception of Jesus Himself, do you know what the aforementioned list of people have in common? They were all sinners who were saved by the grace of God. And because of the grace of God in their lives, their response was to serve God by sharing this grace with others. Missions is not about going off to a faraway and foreign land in order to eat peculiar cuisine, or to live in huts made out of cow dung, or to learn a new language, or to get rich. Missions is by no means a glamorous way of living, because to live a gospelcentered-missions-purposed life means to step out of our comfort zones, means to minister to the unlovely, means to go to the dark places, means to look foolish to the general population, etc. But to be a true follower of Christ and His Way, to be someone who KNOWS God, means that missions must be the way we live because it s our response to WHO God is and WHAT Jesus has done. If we have truly received and can even fathom just a small iota of the Grace of God that has regenerated our hearts, then our response must be that we share that same Grace to others who are lost, who are hurting, who are living in darkness, who are broken, who are wayward, who are prodigal. This does not require going to the ends of earth to serve our worthy God. There are people who are lost and hurting right here in the Peninsula. There are people who are broken right here in Kenai. There are people who need the life-giving taste of the Grace of God right in our neighborhoods. You don t need to learn a new language or even study up on a new culture to live a gospel-centered-missions-purposed life right here in Kenai, Soldotna, Nikiski, Kasiloff, and Sterling. Think back to your own days of darkness before the Grace of God saved your very souls, and you will quickly remember the language of a hurting and broken and lost person. Think back to your days before the Grace of God transformed your entire being and you will quickly remember the culture of darkness and waywardness. So what now? Begin by simply praying and just asking for God to show you people near you who need to be washed by the Gospel message. And if you re scared of evangelizing, you don t need to use words to preach the Gospel. Just live it out and live it out loud. Be the very hands and feet of Jesus. Are you baking bread? Make an extra loaf to give to a neighbor. Are you shoveling your driveway? Take your shovel next door and lovingly pray for your neighbor as you shovel their driveway. Get your kids involved in missions, too. Invite their friends to come to church. Have some of their friends over for lunch and pray for them as you pray a blessing over the meal. These all sound like such small feats, but we must start somewhere and as we can be faithful with the little things, God will give us greater responsibilities. Be prayerful. Saturate your day with prayer. God will reveal to you people who need you to be a missionary to them, someone to help deliver them out of darkness. What will you do? Wyatt Thomas was baptized on Sunday, March 4, 2012 Wyatt is the son of Keith and Margaret Carthell Newsome was baptized on Sunday, March 18, 2012 Welcome to the KCC Family! Braxton and Brenna Cox, Lisa & Todd Hamilton & Ken Sample Placed membership this month! Congratulations it s a BOY! Ira and Nova McBee welcomed, Shalom Johanan on March 2, lbs 3 oz and 19 long Angie Miller is our new Meals Team Coordinator. If you have any questions, would like to request meals for someone or want to join the team, please contact her at or ajoelmiller@gmail.com

4 Hebrews 13:8- Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Pictures Needed!! Each year in the high school youth room we assemble a collage of pictures from the current school year to hang at the end of the year. If you have any pictures (physical or digital) from any events that the Alien Youth have done from August 2011 through today, please forward them to me to begin creating our collage. Please limit pictures to Alien Youth events and activities. A Dose of Reality This month (April) we will pause and reflect on one of the most pivotal moments in earth s history: the day that Jesus Christ rose from the grave and conquered death once and for all. Think about the shows and specials on TV that have a sole aim at debunking the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There is such a desire by a secular groups to find the actual tomb of Jesus and expose Him as a fake. This will always be the case. So here are a few thoughts on Jesus death and resurrection that I would like to consider that help dispel some popular myths surrounding this day. He wasn t completely dead theory: This is popular, but easy to counter. Romans were experts at torture and death. If a man were put on a cross by them, he did not come down until he was completely dead. No exceptions. The disciples stole Jesus body Again, the powerhouse nation of the day were the Romans. They stood to lose a lot if Jesus body were to come up missing, so they posted a team to guard the tomb that Jesus was buried in. Even if all 11 disciples combined their efforts, they would be no match for such trained, equipped, and protected soldiers. Jesus didn t really appear to anyone Scripture records that He appeared to not only the 11 remaining disciples, but to 500 of his followers. What evidence is there for this? Consider how boldly these men and women professed their faith in spite of opposition and persecution. Christianity didn t slowly appear on the map, it exploded in numbers following the bodily resurrection of Jesus. The resurrection is not only true, it s logical when you look at the evidence. -Adam

5 Women s Thursday Bible Studies are starting 2 new studies: Thursday, March 22nd from 9-11:30 am Jonah, Navigating a Life Interrupted by Priscilla Schirer.and from 6-8 pm Beauty By the Book by Laurie Cole His Everlasting Arms Puppet Troop ~Proudly Presents~ Countdown to Easter Sunday, April 1st Kenai Christian Church Chapel 6:30 pm, following Music Worship Contact Vicki Myers or Leslie Daniel for more information