Agape Newsletter - August 14, 2009
Good afternoon, everybody, and welcome in to another action packed edition of the Agape newsletter - rated “G” for the language content, but rated “Q” for the action and violence!!
This Sunday at Agape, we will be continuing our study of Ephesians, as well as continuing our pursuit of understanding and knowing the Holy Spirit better. Our focus this week in Ephesians will be on 2 great truths: 1. The Holy Spirit and 2. The fact that we are heirs of something even greater than just an entrance ticket into heaven. Let me ask you a question: Have you heard the phrase that “The Holy Spirit always points to Jesus”? If you Google the phrase, you will find that it appears on 44,300 webpages. I am sure that you have heard that taught, and I am quite sure that I have said it myself, but is it a misconception about the Spirit, or is it true? We will explore that Sunday, as well as one other great mystery and controversy about the Spirit. Are we filled/baptized by the Spirit at conversion, as many Christians (and Baptists) say? Or could it be that there is a “second work”, or “second blessing” where the Holy Spirit can move on us in a greater way as many other Christians (like D.L. Moody, Hudson Taylor, Charles Finney) and others say.
Time permitting, we also will begin to look at what should be one of the most exciting concepts in the Bible. If a news crew, and a team of attorneys showed up at your doorstep this afternoon to inform you that you were somehow a full heir of Bill Gates, set to receive a 100 percent share of his inheritance when he passed on, I imagine your excitement would know no bounds. I’m afraid that scenario is extremely unlikely, but we are blessed with a better hope, the fact that we are joint-heirs with Jesus. How could this be???? Join us Sunday!
After a quiet July, August is a very bustling month for us at Agape, beginning tonight with a special ladies night out at the parsonage! How exciting (unless you are forced to vacate your home and wander around aimlessly in swamps with roughly a dozen children….but that only applies to one of us). The Ladies Night Out will be here at the parsonage tonight beginning at 7:00pm - come one, come all (provided you are female….sorry John Talley), and bring some food and fun with you.
Coming at the end of the month, we will have a church wide beautification day on Saturday, August 29th, beginning at 8:30 pm. Ladies, we need you to challenge your husbands to come and help beautify our church building, that we might be good stewards of what God has given us. Men - when the ladies start riding you about helping out on August 29th, be sure to tell them that they are needed too, and it is time for them to put their money where their mouth is. Kids can come and help too! Mark it down on your calendars, and don’t miss it!!
On Sunday, August 30, we will be having a swim party at the Woodhaven clubhouse in Pinson. Meet at Agape at 7:00pm, and bring your tennis rackets, swimsuits, towels, and food. A food sign up sheet will be posted next Sunday.
Finally, allow me to share a portion of a challenge that worship pastor Greg Cusimano sent to the Agape pastoral team this week: 1. We need to Develop a Hunger for the things of God. Psalms 42: 1 As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. To have studied deer in the wild, of course to kill and eat, it makes no sense to me that a deer would leave the safety of their hiding place to venture out for a drink, or some food or relationship in the middle of the day, when they are more likely to be in danger. This is the picture the psalmist paints for us, that we desire the things of God regardless of what it costs me. Do I have that kind of conviction? Conviction is a strange word that is over used and misunderstood. Conviction is something you die for! What would I die for? Would I die to see Agape flourish?
Here are a few good links worth reading:
***** How to be married to the same person for 60 years (great, short article on a real key to marriage): CLICK HERE
***** TV commentator still honors the sabbath in his work, despite the fact that many sports events are on Sunday. (Incredible!) CLICK HERE
***** Birds are smarter than we realized. Maybe Hitchcock was right! CLICK HERE (cool video)
***** 70 percent of Gay men claim to be Christians. What should the people of God do about that? (And lest you misunderstand me, I mean, with so many people in the homosexual community having a hunger for God and Jesus, how do we better reach them with the Gospel and with the Truth?) CLICK HERE
***** From the peer reviewed Journal of Human Sexuality: “There is significantly greater medical, psychological, and relational pathology in the homosexual population than the general population” CLICK HERE
***** And now for a few words from…(funny): CLICK HERE
***** Lest we forget, Christians are still being persecuted and martyred at alarming rates in the world today. CLICK HERE
***** Perinatal Hospice (yes you read that right): CLICK HERE
See you Sunday!
Chase
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