PASSAGES. The Congregational Church of Goffstown. Youth Group. Game. Nights

Transcription

1 F E B RUA RY FREE PASSAGES The Congregational Church of Goffstown Youth Group Game Nights No, the picture above was not photoshopped or enlarged in any way! This scrabble board game REALLY is LIFE SIZE and lots of fun too! Our youth group has offered this as one of the many choices of games at their recent game nights. Thanks to all of the work & creative ideas that the youth and youth group leaders have done to organize, prepare, and host these events that are open to everyone - all ages- and have been a BIG hit!

2 Pastor s Letter Pastor Le*er February 2015 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the 2irst heaven and the 2irst earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (Revelation 21:1-3) I have been wanting to respond to the plethora of recent books and a movie about those who have died, gone to heaven and were brought back to life, sharing their experience of heaven. I confess, right up front, I have not been all that willing to take the time to read these books, yet I know many people in our church have. My desire to respond to these books was heightened when Alex Malarkey (yes his real last name), co- author of The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven, confessed that his story was made up. As I was about to write my Passages article on the topic, a great article by Mike Wittmer popped into my Twitter feed, and I have decided to reprint it here, knowing I couldn t say it better myself. Wittmer suggests, and I agree, that we, as Christians, might be less obsessed with these books and heaven if we understood four truths from the bible: 1. We were never supposed to go to heaven. God created Adam and Eve to live on Planet Earth. Genesis 2:7 says, Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground. The Hebrew word for man is ādām, and the word for ground is ādāmâ. God wanted to emphasize our connection to the earth, so he said our name is dirt. If this is true, then the most theologically accurate name you could ever give your child is Clay. Or Dusty. If you have a girl, try Sandy. God made us from the dust of this world. We are earthlings, for heaven s sake. If Adam had passed his probation, we assume God would have cut to the end of the story and come down to live permanently with us (Rev. 21:1 3). Adam and Eve would have continued to live here, for there would have been no reason to go anywhere else. But Adam rebelled, and brought sin and death on the human race. What happens when people die? Their bodies and souls are unnaturally torn apart; their bodies stay here while their souls go to either heaven or hell. Praise God that those who die in Christ go to heaven, but never forget that this isn t the way it s supposed to be. The only reason anyone ever goes to heaven is because of sin.

3 Pastors Letter continued 2. Scripture says little about heaven. The Bible tells of one person who went to heaven and back. He claimed he heard inexpressible things that he was not permitted to tell (2 Cor. 12:2 4). This leaves me skeptical about those heavenly pilgrims who tell all, especially when there is money involved. In Scripture we learn about heaven from Luke 23:43 ( Today you will be with me in paradise ); 2 Corinthians 5:6 8 ( be at home with the Lord ); Philippians 1:21 23 ( depart and be with Christ ); and 1 Thessalonians 4:14 ( God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him ). What do all these passages say about heaven? Nothing more than we are with the Lord. That is enough, because being with Jesus makes heaven heaven. If heaven by itself is so great, then Jesus pulled a dirty trick on Lazarus when he raised him from the dead. Why didn t Lazarus complain, Aww, Lord! I was in heaven! Why did you bring me back here? Lazarus was glad to come back because Jesus was here, and his presence made their corner of Bethany a heaven on earth. 3. Heaven is not the goal. Heaven is not where the Bible ends. Isaiah, Peter, and John all promise that our ainal destiny is a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 21:1; cf. Isa. 65:17; 2 Pet. 3:13). The term heaven here means the sky, where airplanes aly. The point of these prophecies is that God will restore his originally good creation. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1), and in the end he will create a new heaven and a new earth. Creation, then new creation. Unfortunately, many Christians never reach the new earth end of this phrase. They stop at new heaven and, assuming it means the celestial abode of God, mistakenly think their destiny is to aly from this world and live with God somewhere above the clouds. We take immense comfort from knowing our redeemed loved ones are in heaven. But we must remember that they aren t yet entirely satisaied. They still long for something more (cf. Rev. 6:10, where heavenly saints called out in a loud voice, How long, Sovereign Lord? ). As great as it is to be a disembodied soul in heaven with Jesus, there s something even better: enjoying Jesus as a whole person on earth, where resurrected bodies are meant to live. So praise God that those who die in Christ go to heaven. And praise God even more that they re on the airst leg of a round- trip journey. Do you feel the tension? We must not minimize the comfort and glory of heaven, but we also must not so praise our condition there that we minimize the return of Christ and our resurrection. The apostle John shows us how to put this together. In John 14:1 3, Jesus promises to go and prepare a place for us. Too many Christians stop there and miss that John later completes this thought. In Revelation 21:1 3, John sees that place, the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God so that God s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. Jesus does temporarily take us to be with him. But in the end, Jesus comes to earth to live with us. He is Immanuel, which means God with us (Matt. 1:23). Let s stop reading that name backwards.

4 Pastors Letter continued 4. Fixation on heaven can forfeit the gospel. It s no accident that in our heaven- obsessed culture, nearly half of born again Christians don t believe their bodies will rise again.1 How can such persons be saved? As Paul told the overly spiritual Corinthians, If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith (1 Cor. 15:13 14). You can be more spiritual than God, who raised his Son from death. You can be so spiritual you re no longer Christian. The Christian faith is earthy, physical, and, in the best sense of the word, materialistic. Our story begins in a sensual garden of delight and then tells how a nation was delivered from physical bondage into a land overalowing with milk and honey. It turns on an embodied God who physically died and rose again, whose sacriaice is remembered in the physical waters of baptism and the bread and the cup. The story consummates on a new earth where, in the presence of God, we will celebrate the marriage supper of the Lamb, bite into fruit from the Tree of Life, and gulp handfuls from the River of Life. From beginning to end, the material world matters. The gospel of redemption may be more than creation, but it is not less. Redemption can t get started without it. Malarkey s book may be full of what his name suggests, but the title got something right. Christians will go to heaven when we die, and we all will come back. We don t believe in the Platonic dream of an eternal, disembodied heaven. We believe in the resurrection! Grace fully, Pastor Bob Ministry of Discipleship News Thanks, NO A BIG THANK YOU For the past several years, our church has provided children s church for our little ones who have difficulty sitting quietly during worship. Primarily one person, Brenda Lashway, has been responsible for this program. Because children are now preferring to stay with their parents during worship we have decided to stop offering this service. We give a BIG THANK YOU to Brenda, who has faithfully guided the program. Kids Camp/Vacation Bible School Camp Kilimanjaro is coming to our church this summer from August 3rd through August 7th. We welcome Chuck Karpf as our director. This year s program is filled with Bible based teaching from the Book of Proverbs. Over the upcoming months we will provide you with additional information and offer suggestions on how you can do your part to make this happen. For now, please pray for the planning and leadership of this exciting yearly outreach to our community and how God may be calling you to serve in this church wide ministry.

5 It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High. Psalm 92.1

6 Missions Ministry News Straight Ahead Ministries (SAM) is a ministry our church supports. Their mission is to see Jesus Christ transform the lives of juvenile offenders. Ray Gauthier Jr. is the Chaplain at the Youth Development Center (YDC) in Manchester. He has given presentaeons about the program to our congregaeon and has shared his own tesemony with us. I joined as a volunteer aier hearing Ray speak with such passion about the love and hope he has for HIS kids. The YDC is a juvenile jusece facility for incarcerated teenagers ranging in age from They are there for a variety of reasons. Some project a very tough demeanor but inside they are all hureng. They are broken kids; feel unloved, unwanted, rejected, and hopeless. Many have trust issues. SAM volunteers commit to spend one year ministering to these teens once a week. They are there to help the kids see that there IS a way out, that they ARE loved, that they CAN change their lives, that they CAN make wiser choices, that there IS forgiveness that all of these things are possible through the transforming power of Jesus Christ. Ray is now working on acquiring a building on the YDC campus to be used for transieonal housing. Once the teens age out of the system, some do not have stable, Christ centered homes to return to. I hope to have a fundraiser this summer or fall to support Ray in this mission. For more informaeon about Straight Ahead or to help support Ray please visit or contact Ray at RayGhiskidsseUree@gmail.com. Thank you for praying for SAM, for the volunteers, for Ray and for the youth and staff at the YDC. Stacy Borden February Birthdays 2/2 Jenna Miles 2/18 John Stockton 2/3 Don Himsel 2/21 Darcie Hambleton 2/8 Mercy Brooks 2/21 Emily Hambleton 2/9 Cole Martel 2/22 Charlie Ford 2/13 Rebekah Chabot 2/22 Robert Moulin 2/14 Shelly Williams 2/23 Henry Hunter 2/16 Bob Carter 2/26 Amy McKenney 2/17 Bob Woods 2/26 Jeana McKenney

7 Congregational Care Dear Friends, If you haven't already thrown them out, please save your Christmas cards. I am collecting the front picture (if there is no writing on the back side) for the women's prison next Christmas...kinda like a postcard. What would also be wonderful is if you could write a special Bible verse, word of encouragement or prayer on the back! Although that's not necessary, it sure would be nice, and save time next December when I'll be asking for help doing that exact thing! Thank you and may God bless any time you spend giving encouragement to another. Ann Beltz Women s Monthly Breakfast, Saturday, February 14th, 9:00am-11:00am Stark Hall Dining Room Join in with other women of the church for this special time of fellowship, prayer & devotion, and also a time to make some crafts. Please bring along a breakfast dish or snack item to share with others. Speak with Marilyn Nolan for more information. Out in the Cold As we make our way through winter, failures in our home heating, water or other systems are often magnified by the weather. They seemingly happen at the least opportune time and must be dealt with immediately. If you find yourself or someone you know in these circumstances, we may be able to help through providing short-term housing. For more information, see Pastor Bob or Deacon Terry Paul Easter Bells!! Everyone is welcome!! Our first rehearsal for Easter Bell Choir will take place on Wednesday March 4th from 5:30-6:30 in the church fellowship hall! We will rehearse each Wednesday evening and play on Easter morning. Any Questions? Please see Nancy LaPorte or Kathy Sargent. Hello from the editor: Thank you for looking at our monthly Newsletter! Please check out our for up- to- date sermons, calendars, & much more. Also, check out our church Facebook page at facebook/conggoff for a weekly preview of the sermon and current events. If you would like to share a notice or article for the February Passages issue please submit your info via to cat.conley@comcast.net by the deadline of Friday, February 20th. We will be folding the Newsletter on Thursday, February 26th at 9am in the Parish House chapel. Please join us if you can! As we grow together in the Lord, may His grace be upon you, Catherine Conley

8 The Congregational Church of Goffstown 8 & 10 Main Street Goffstown, NH THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF GOFFSTOWN 8 & 10 Main Street Goffstown, NH Tel: (603) Web Site: CongGoff.org pastorgoffcong@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/conggoff 9:15am-10:15am Adult & Children s Sunday School 10:30am Worship Service 11:45am Coffee, Snacks & Fellowship