Agape Newsletter, November 7, 2008 Special Presidential Election Edition.
Hello again everybody and welcome to yet another Agape newsletter. Wow - what a historic week! Is everybody ok out there?
Ultra-quick summary of this week at Agape:
1. New sermon series begins this week - The Great Romance.
1A - Coming December 7 and 14 - Agape’s Vision for 2009
2. Don’t forget to bring spaghetti sauce or noodles this Sunday to give to the food pantry.
3. Crossroads Sunday night at 5:00 pm - Subject: Jesus’ call to follow.
4. Angel Food money is due by Sunday morning, but Cindy will be at church Saturday morning from 9-12 so you can pay then.
5. Christmas Shoe boxes are due November 22 (for more details, see display in the back of the sanctuary)
This Sunday morning, we will begin a three part series that will lay the foundation for something critically important to Agape that will begin in December. The message series is entitled “The Great Romance” and is an examination of the Love of God for His people, and how we are to experience it, enjoy it, return it and reflect it. This week the primary focus will be on God’s Love for His people. I can hear you thinking now - “well, I know God loves us - and I’ve heard plenty of sermons that have told me that.” I can assure you that you’ve not heard many messages on God’s love from the perspective you will hear Sunday. I believe Sunday will bring a fresh understanding and experience of God’s love for all of us. It will be a message partly presented via multimedia, and I believe it will be quite emotional, encouraging and life impacting. This is a good series to invite a friend who has been wounded in church in the past to come and hear. So, please let me encourage you to invite your wounded and discouraged friends to come and be refreshed! Week two of this series will look at how God’s love for us should be reflected to each other in the family of faith. Week three will examine how God’s love for us should compel us to love those outside the walls of the church.
I mentioned earlier that this three part series will be foundational for something very important at Agape. I am referring to December 7th and 14th - the first two Sundays of December. On those days, and probably the first week or two in January, I will begin a series on Agape’s call and vision for 2009. The word vision has always been a powerful word to me, especially in the context of the church. When I was ten or so, I went to a large church that began a 12 million dollar building program. The cornerstone verse used for raising money for that program was Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish”. This verse has been (mis)used in many hundreds (thousands?) of churches over the years to inspire the people to all join in a vision - a vision that usually centered around either the expansion of the facilities or a new building entirely. I believe that to be a misuse of that particular passage - but the passage itself is important and certainly true - the people of God wander aimlessly, ultimately perishing when there is no God centered, God inspired, God breathed vision put in front of them. When I say vision, I really just mean that which God is uniquely calling the people of Agape Baptist to do. I believe that we each have a powerful and unique calling from God on an individual level, and I believe also that we have a corporate calling as well - one that can only be fulfilled by us moving together under the leadership of God.
Since Cary left Agape in 2007, it seems that we have been without an overall specific vision. Please don’t misunderstand me - I’m not saying that as an insult in any way, shape or form. The fact is that for a church of our size - Agape has a very strong community impact, and is very active in so many areas. In the eight months that I have been at Agape, I have been waiting on God, and asking Him to reveal His vision for us - His call, His specific purpose for Agape in this specific time. I believe that now is the time for us to hear and understand God’s vision and call for us at Agape on a new level - a specific level for this next year. I would ask you to join me in fasting and prayer over the next month as we all seek God and ask Him to reveal His will to us for this next year. I will write and speak much more on this issue in the coming weeks. I invite your input - especially your input gained after personally praying for God to reveal His calling to Agape.
One other thing - if you missed the expert’s round table discussion on the economy this Sunday, David has posted the audio file on our website: http://agapepinson.com/
Sunday, November 9, 9:15 am - ALERT ALERT ALERT. Corporate Prayer has been changed from 8:30 to 9:15. You no longer have to wake up early to come and pray together!!!
Sunday night: 5 pm Sunday night at Crossroads, David will be teaching on what it really means to FOLLOW JESUS. Here’s his summary: A Call to Follow
Wednesday night, November 12 7:00 pm- This Wednesday night, we should be finally wrapping up Matthew 10, and going into Matthew 11. I said that last week as well, but our discussion this past Wednesday night on certain elements of Matthew 10 was so good and lively that we didn’t get as far as I thought we might. We will also have food pantry this Wednesday night from 6-8.
A few other scheduling notes: Sunday, November 19th will be our last Fellowship Wednesday night of the year, so be sure and join us for great fun, fellowship and food. Also, we will not be having our normal Wednesday night services the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, but I believe we will still have food pantry that night. I will find out for sure and let you know in the next newsletter.
This Week’s Links:
***** What if Starbucks marketed itself like the church did? A parable: http://www.thinkchristian.net/
***** Wednesday the sun came up and I was happy. It is still morning in America. The candidate I voted for did not win, but I got to vote in a free and fair election. Power will be passed peacefully and the Constitution is intact. http://www.crosswalk.com/news/
***** Were you disappointed by the results of this week’s election? Here’s John Piper on how to cope: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
***** Oswald Chambers on intimacy and having a now faith vs. a future faith: http://www.rbc.org/
***** Zondervan Publishing has bought one of my favorite and most used websites, www,Biblegateway.com. All I’ve got to say is that they had better not mess it up! http://www.christianitytoday.
***** Finally, from the practical, if not spiritual department: Did you know that stretching before exercise isn’t a great idea after all (at least not the way most of us stretch!) Read on:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/
I look forward to seeing you this Sunday!
Chase
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