A Great Evening of Fellowship and Feasting First Christian Church - Family Life Center Monday, February 9, 2015 at 6:30 pm

Transcription

1 The Karusograph A ministry of Volume 57 February 2015 Issue 2 A Great Evening of Fellowship and Feasting First Christian Church - Family Life Center Monday, February 9, 2015 at 6:30 pm Deer Elk Goose Pheasant Duck Fish Quail Wild Turkey Bring your favorite wild game dish to share. If you can t bring a wild game dish, please bring a vegetable or dessert. Bring your mounts or pictures for display Guest Speaker Also: Representatives from Ducks Unlimited, National Wild Turkey Federation, and Pheasants Forever will be present.

2 The Gospel According to Greg Greg Taylor On Sunday January 18, I mentioned during morning services we were recognizing Sanctity of Human Life Sunday and we encouraged families to take a baby bottle and participate in the New Life Pregnancy Center s Change for Life campaign. This month, I m not sharing any announcements but rather telling you two stories I believe reinforce why the battle for life is so crucial. Since 1973, over 57 million legal abortions have occurred in the land of the free a statistic that is both overwhelming and heartbreaking. Let s begin with the story of Christian missionaries Bob and Pam ministering in the Philippines when Pam discovered she was pregnant. It was discovered she had contracted amoebic dysentery, an infection of the intestine caused by a parasite found in contaminated food or drink. Shortly after this was discovered, Pam entered a coma. The treatment for the medical condition required strong medications that could cause irreversible damage to her unborn son and potentially leave him with devastating disabilities and doctors advised her to have an abortion. Pam refused the abortion citing her Christian faith as the reason for her hope that her son would be born without the devastating disabilities physicians had predicted. And even though she spent the final two months of her pregnancy on strict bed rest, she eventually gave birth to a completely healthy baby in August of And who is this young man today some 27 years later you may ask? He is none other than Tim Tebow Heisman trophy winner and quarterback of the two time national champion University of Florida Gators. Former N.Y. Giant Chris Godfrey shudders to think of the millions of Tim Tebow s who aren t here today. You just have to wonder how many good things did not come into our world because of our unwillingness to say YES and to trust in God, he said.

3 The Gospel According to Greg Continued Of the 56 million plus who never lived to realize their potential, imagine the number of future leaders, inventors, doctors and yes, even Heisman trophy winners are among them, said Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council. I pray that the Tebow s story helps persuade other women of the inherent value of their unborn children and the great promise that lies within. I never tire of hearing that story and the reminder that each abortion stops a beating heart and ends a human life before it ever begins. The second story is even more personal here goes: Some of you may know that my birthday is July 23, 1969 and I was born in nearby Carle Hospital in Urbana. Many of you know my mother Dorothy or remember my father Jim who passed away five years ago this month what a blessing they were to me! What you may not know, however, is that I am adopted. My birth mother, someone I ve never met, gave me up for adoption shortly after my birth. I don t know the reasons why, and really don t even think about it I m just so thankful God provided wonderful Christian parents for me. But, here is the point. I was born in the summer of 1969 three and a half years before abortion was legalized in the U.S. What if abortion had been legal in 1968? What decision would my birth mother have made if choice were an option? I will never know the answer to that question, but I am sure thankful for the gift of life! And here is where my mind goes next how many other possible preachers or youth ministers or missionaries or elders or Bible teachers never saw the light of day because of abortion? I realize abortion is the law of the land, and probably always will be. But my prayer is that followers of Jesus will unashamedly embrace this simple truth: Every life matters. Every. Single. One. Have a great month blessings to you! GT

4 Kent s Komments The American Funeral - Part I Useless Tradition for the Dead or Useful Therapy for the Living? By Max R. Hickerson Why do we have a funeral? Is the funeral a useless relic of the past or has it become a custom because it serves a human need? We feel the latter is the case. Society has developed and maintained this practice for many reasons. To Honor the Departed A funeral service and the night of visitation gives us one way to pay our respects. In essence, we say, This person who has died was significant in my life. This death leaves a void. While I m sad, I m also glad to honor my friend. We do not seek to deify the deceased, but show respect and honor. To Help the Family Accept Reality The funeral service helps those who grieve accept the reality of death. They know it happened. But a part of their mind rejects it, runs away from it. This service takes them gently by the hand and turns them to face it. And having faced it, having viewed it, things are easier. And they continue to be easier (though it may not seem so at the time) as the arrangements have them talking with sympathetic friends at the visitation and funeral service.

5 Kents Komments continued To Comfort The Bereaved Bereavement comes because of the breaking of human relationships. Our Lord wept. Grief is human. Unburdening ourselves seems to make room for courage. As surely as sharing joy increases joy, expressing and sharing grief lightens grief. Those closest to the deceased urgently need the assurance that their friends care. We bring comfort by our presence, by sending flowers or making a memorial contribution in lieu of flowers, by writing a warm personal letter of condolence and perhaps by providing food for the family. All such actions show we care. All such deeds are a comfort. And, God conveys His comfort, too, especially through His Holy Word: Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed, For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid. New Life Pregnancy Center Baby Bo le Campaign Please take a baby bo le from the crib in the foyer, fill it with your change, cash or a check & return to the church. Your dona on will help many women and save precious lives. Special Prayer Requests *Indicates new name Cassie Aldema Hadley Rae Bruning Della Cooper* Florene Fisher* Richard Foley Sharon Gardner* Diana Golden Merla Hickerson Alex Jette* Dr. Keith Ray Danny Shofner* Martin Thacker* Joenie Walters (infant)

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6 members & relatives of those at First Christian Church, Clinton Updated Manor Court/Liberty Village 1 Park Lane, Clinton, IL Theda Adams Donna Arnold Hazel Benz Thomas E. Bray Mildred Burns Betty Burris Larry Chapman Helen Dorrell Steve Ferguson Nadean Gambrel Marie Jackson Gene Jones Betty Kyle Elaine Leisner Ray Martin Wilma Mestinsek Margaret Murphy Dora Neal Helen Polley Linda Reed Norma Reilly Louise Smith Georgia Sobolewski Virginia Stein Kathy Strange Treva Torbert Dale Turney Juanita Turney Shirley Utterback Allan Webb Hawthorne Inn/Liberty Village (Supportive Living) 1 Park Lane, Clinton, IL Evergreen Place Evergreen Place 4825 E. Evergreen Ct. Legacy #1 Decatur, IL Helen Riddle Aspen Ridge Care Center 2530 N. Monroe, Decatur, IL Shirley Thompson Bonnie Breeze Fair Havens Christian Home 1790 S Fairview Ave, Decatur, IL Charles Coonce Paradise Valley Retirement Community N 25th Pl., Apt. D128 Phoenix, AZ Colleen Stephens Apt. # is required on her address Good Samaritan W 151st St. Room 217-B Olathe, KS June Cheatham McKinley Court Care Centre 500 W McKinley Ave Decatur, IL Clarence (Bob) Hubbell Genevieve Farnsworth - Room 315 Farmer City Rehab & Health Care Center 404 N Brookridge Farmer City, IL Florene Burton Fisher Mary Burton Norma Hollibaugh Ike Leisner Mildred Meeks Betty Rogers Ernest Thorp Frank Thorp Helen Thorp Dorothy Yedtman

7 Young at Heart David Buck, Coordinator Most of us don t use our mouths for the reason God gave it to us. There is great power and authority in words. The kind of power depends on the kind of words. We can curse our future by speaking evil of it, or we can bless it by speaking well of it. In this life, there are material things we desire, and there are spiritual things we desire usually a mixture of both. We want to grow spiritually and be used by God, and we want to be blessed in our material circumstances. Each dawn holds a new hope for a new plan, making the start of each day the start of a new life. Gina Blair Our mee ngs will resume in March and we ll be back to our usual programs and trips. We ll be looking forward to our return and joining together in Chris an fellowship. Love is the only thing we can carry with us where we go. Louisa May Alco Our trips will start with Starved Rock State Park for a dinner theater Pure Vegas Baby on March 23 at 11:30. It will be very entertaining. Then in April on the 14th we ll go to the White Pine State Park for a show of tribute to the King of Country, George Strait. The goodness of God is infinitely more wonderful than we will ever be able to comprehend. A. W. Tozer One of the most difficult mes for us to discipline our minds, mouths, moods, and a tudes is during the storm. We all experience the storms of life in varying degrees, we all have our faith tested and tried, and we all must learn how to behave in the storm. because greater is He that is in you, than He that is in the world. 1John 4:4 Young at Heart will not be meeting in February.

8 Elders Corner Jim Taylor Born at the Dr. John Warner Hospital, the youngest child of Bob and Betty Taylor, I was given the name James Robert Taylor. Soon after, my grandpa said I looked like a Jim Bob, and so I have since been called. As a young child, my family attended the Kenny Christian Church. We started going to FCC in I still remember how long the hallway to the beginner department seemed as my sister Marcia walked me in that first day. I am married to Cindy (Wilson) Taylor; we have two children in Jr. High, Emily and Kyle, as well as two pug dogs, Truffles and Louie. We live in Clinton, with my wife working in Bloomington, and I in Decatur. My kids and I were all baptized at Little Galilee, and you will find us there each Labor Day Weekend for Family Camp. This is my second time serving as an Elder, and I have been blessed to have served with so many good men. For the last few years I have taught 5 th grade Sunday school, teaching in a class room that was once my Sunday school class. Kids who I have had in Sunday school would think that my favorite verse would be Matthew 1:13, due to my love of the name Zerubbabel, but my favorite is John 3: Rend Collective February 7th, 7:00 pm Lincoln Christian University Ticket prices are $25, $15 & $10. Tickets available online at itickets.com or in the church office.

9 This N That 1st Dorene Smith 90 years 817 E Johnson St Clinton, IL th Mildred Horn 91 years 615 North Quincy St Clinton, IL th Margaret Long 91 years 1011 East Main St Clinton, IL th Fayetta Isaac 95 years 1210 South Quincy Clinton, IL th Norma Reilly 94 years Manor Court/Liberty Village 1 Park Lane Clinton, IL J.P. & Rosamond Smith, on the birth of their son, Grover Pierce, born on January 20, Proud grandparents are Ma hew Fields and Deanna & Tom Milanski. Proud great-grandparents are Shirley Fields, Alan & Lois Bell and Bill and Barb Taylor.

10 Next Steps Update NEXT STEPS FIRST STEP Exci ng things are happening as we prepare to take our First Step of our Next Step building renova on plan. Adult Sunday School rooms have been renovated and are ready for their new occupants, a movable folding par on will be installed in the Family Life Center and construc on bids have been received and evaluated. The decision has been made to move forward with construc on of the First Step at this me. Those Sunday School classes affected by the renova on will move to their new rooms by the end of February as we an cipate actual renova ons to begin by early March. At this me, we have enough funding to complete all of the educa on areas of this First Step. The lower level kitchen renova on and the new accessible restrooms will be completed when adequate funds have been donated for that purpose. Please con nue to pray for our Next Steps program and your financial involvement. Adult Small Groups or Community Groups for 2015 The Story returned on January 4, Please consider being in either a community group or a Bible School class that will study along- side our Sunday morning sermons. Greg s Sunday night group will meet at 5:45 pm, in the Lord Led Ladies room. Greg s Wednesday night group will meet at 6 pm, also in the Lord Led Ladies room (please note the time and location change). SACRED RHYTHMS RETREAT for Men & Women Fri, Feb 27, 6 pm - Sun, March 1, 12 Noon at Little Galilee Learn spiritual disciplines through DVD teaching & discussions Register online at littlegalilee.com or forms are available at the information booth. Registration is $75 - limited to 16. Meals, room, book & workbook are covered. Sign up soon! See Sacred Rhythms Retreats Facebook page for more info!

11 Worship Samuel Green Our Father Part 1 This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. -Matthew 6:9-13 Many, if not all, of us have heard or read the Lord s Prayer in our lifetime. It is more than likely the singular most well-known prayer in all of history. It sits in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, which is also perhaps the most popular sermon ever given. And it is given by Jesus, who is the author of life and the foundation of our faith as Christians. But how often do we pray it? How often have we reflected on it? It is the central teaching on prayer in the entire Bible and is crucial to understanding God s heart. Should we not spend more time in this passage than we do? Before we get into any kind of in-depth study of this prayer, let us spend time together praying it. My challenge to you (and myself) is to pray the Lord s Prayer daily. Pray it when you wake up in the morning. Pray it before you fall asleep at night. Pray it in different English translations. Make it a part of your daily routine. If it is the center of God s will, should it not also be the center of ours? February 3, :00 pm Speaker: Andy Glass Saybrook Christian Church Menu Hamloaf with all the fixings, desserts, coffee and tea

12 Shelley s Showcase Shelley Lea Shelley@clintonfcc.com Training the body has some value. But, being godly has value in every way. I Timothy 4:8 This is our memory verse for Junior Church this month and I think it is perfect for January. Some mes I get so caught up in ea ng healthy, changing bad habits that are bad for me and exercising to feel be er. I want to feel healthy and look healthy. All those things are the training of my physical body. It would take persistent dedica on and focus to reach my goals. And Paul tells us these things are good, but there is something be er. Being godly. That sounds impossible. But it is what we are to be training ourselves to be godly. We should make this our persistent dedica on to know God and do what it takes to reflect Him. It will require training in love, forgiveness, humility and so much more. Daily training. But this will have value in EVERY WAY. I realize I need to redirect my focus and begin my godly training rou ne. Sunday, February 1: What is Orange? 9:30 am in Family Life Center Sunday, April 12: Taking Church to Social Media Sunday, June 7: Partnering with Families of Special Needs Y Fit 4 Life sign ups are going on NOW at the Clinton YMCA! This is a weight loss program, but can also be for those that just need more info on nutrition and exercise. We will offer daily recipes for all 3 meals plus snacks every week! We will also give you a very organized grocery list you can take to the store with everything listed that you will need for each meal. Another key part of this program is exercise! We will be offering monthly prizes. Coupons will be given to those that complete the following: 4 hours of exercise a week, weighing in 2 times a month, keeping track of your food and exercise in your journal and completing weekly challenges. We will begin February 2nd and the cost is $20 per member.

13 The Dunkin Pick-Me-Up With Cody Cody Monkman Last month I introduced you to Rachel Deavers; one of our lead volunteers with the 2 and 3-year-old children. This month I would like for you to get to know Judy Shaw! Judy joined the FCC Family in For the last 25 years she helps with Jr Church worship, teaches the Lord Led Ladies Sunday school class, helps whenever food is needed for fellowship me, funeral dinners, and youth groups. Lastly, if you know Judy well enough, you know that she loves wri ng le ers and cards full of Chris an love and encouragement. You may have received one yourself! Judy has two children, Bob and Lori. Bob is married to Tricia and they have a daughter Savannah. In Judy s spare me she loves to do anything with the outdoors; especially walking and hiking, and of course anything that allows Judy to spend me with Savannah, her 3 year old granddaughter. When asked what she is most excited about at FCC she said, I love what we are doing right now to be er our ministry to children. I have seen how Orange has made what we were already doing BETTER! Judy went on to say how she loves to be on the frontlines of seeing young children mature into young Chris an adults. If you have a grandchild or child involved in the children s ministries at FCC Clinton, you need to know that your children are in the best of care. People like Judy are passionate about working with your family, and volunteer relessly to make sure the Next Genera on grows up knowing Jesus as their Lord and Savior. With Dunkin Love, Cody

14 The Dunkin Pick-Me-Up With Cody Continued New REVEAL times 5 pm - 7 pm Join us for an evening of fellowship, worship & fun! Hope to see you there. Invite a friend! 2015 High School Reveal Trips Ski Trip - February 21-22, Cost $100 CIY - June 8-12 Mission Trip - July Beginning in February, Breakfast Club will meet on all Fridays school is in session, from 7:15-8:00 am in the Cable Building. All high school and junior high students are invited to a end Junior High Reveal Trips CIY Believe - March in Springfield, IL Mission Trip - June in Tulsa, OK Junior High Laser Tag Lock-In February 6-7th 7 pm - 8 am Cost $30 Sign-up today! Reveal shirt hoodies are $12. See Cody to purchase one.

15 Adventures with Adam Adam Brucker A few months ago I went out to my car so that I could head to church for a mee ng and as I got into the car, I put the key in the igni on and when I turned the key to start the engine, nothing happened. I am not usually someone who allows for ample me before I get somewhere so I usually show up right on me and this was a problem that was not going to help me stay on schedule. I called someone for a ride and decided that I was going to have to deal with this later. A er I got home and did some careful inves ga on I realized that my ba ery was dead. From the appearance of it, it had never been replaced and the car was nearly 10 years old. As frustra ng as that event was I realized that the ba ery was something that I didn t really think about and didn t really seem all that important. I now have a much greater respect and apprecia on for the ba ery in my car. Even though it is a small part of many parts, it is crucial to the engine even star ng. As I thought about that par cular circumstance I realized that is some mes like our rela onship with God. We might know that God is there and that he is vital to our very lives func oning but many mes we take him for granted and don t realize our need for him un l we are stranded. It is easy for us to cruise about life without thinking of the very integral role that God has in our lives. I believe that is o en why we experience difficult mes in our lives. Those are reminders to us how deeply we need and depend on our God. My challenge to you, as well as myself, is that daily we take me out to appreciate the great God that we serve. 1 Chronicles 16:11 says, Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. No ce that it doesn t say when mes get tough to seek God s face. It says seek his face always! Blessings!

16 Information About First Christian Church Greg Taylor Minister of Preaching & Teaching J. Kent Hickerson Minister of Pastoral Care Adam Brucker Minister of High School, College Age & Technology Cody Monkman Minister of Children & Jr. High Shelley Lea Children s Ministry Director shelley@clintonfcc.com Samuel Green Part-Time Worship Minister samuel@clintonfcc.com Karen Rice Office Manager karen@clintonfcc.com Jenny Cohenour Financial Admin. Assistant jenny@clintonfcc.com Office Phone (217) Office Fax (217) Office karen@clintonfcc.com or office@clintonfcc.com Office Hours 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. First Christian Church THE KARUSOGRAPH (USPS ) is published monthly by Corner of W. Main & N. Jackson FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH, 100 N. Jackson St., Clinton, Illinois N. Jackson St. Periodicals postage paid at Clinton, IL. Postmaster: Send address changes to: Clinton, IL The Karusograph First Christian Church, 100 N. Jackson St., Clinton, IL 61727