Hello all,

Welcome into another Agape mini-newsletter. After a great Family Fun Day last Sunday, I don’t have a ton of news to report this week, but we do have an important gathering this Sunday morning, and some important prayer requests to cover:

This Sunday, we will be looking at one of the primary prophetic predictions in the scripture, known theologically as “The Great Apostasy”. This is a predicted/prophesied falling away of many in the church in the last days. In simple terms, the Bible teaches that in the days before the return of Jesus, that many people will leave the Body of Christ, pursuing a sort of one world religion. You’ve probably heard preachers teach about this before, but what you might not have heard about is the other side of the coin: concurrently with the great falling away, there will be an almost unprecedented revival, in which tons of people will come into the Body of Christ. It is possible that we are either entering into this period of time, or we are entering into a preview of it. Come join us Sunday as we delve into the last days, and what the Word of God says will happen to his people in those days.

Also: a preview: At some point in June, we are going to launch into a series that will seek to answer the question, “Why does a good God allow terrible suffering and evil?” This is one of the most common questions asked by those who are outside of the church, and this will be a great opportunity to invite your friends to hear an explanation of this perplexing question, to watch a video debate of a Christian scholar and an agnostic scholar wrestling over this issue, and to be able to ask questions that they may have always wondered about. Stay tuned.

Prayer Requests:

Thanks for your prayers, and I look forward to seeing you Sunday!

Chase

Family Fun Day this Sunday!!!

Due to unprecedented rains, we have moved our Family Fun Day venue onto an Ark that we are constructing for that purpose.

Agape: Wednesday night Last Days Bible study + Man-food contest and Family Fun Day preview.

Hello friends,

Paul Tillich, jumping.

This is a picture of theologian Paul Tillich jumping. I am not a big Tillich fan, but unfortunately, I do not possess a picture of Wayne Grudem or D.A. Carson jumping. This will have to suffice until then:

Family Fun Day, by the way, is this Sunday, May 23rd. Details soon!

FREE CHEESE TONIGHT AT AGAPE! ;)

Wednesday!, Wednesday!, Wednesday! (you should “hear” this whole paragraph as if it was read by a guy advertising a monster truck rally). This Wednesday, only at Agape Baptist church, we are giving away a free 2 pound block of cheese to the first twenty people to attend tonight’s Adult Last Days Bible Study and say the words, “Agape Baptist is the best church to get free cheese at on a Wednesday night!”   “What’s the catch”,  you ask? There’s no catch  - just come!   “There’s gotta be a catch, like I probably have to get baptized or something.” I hear you thinking - but no - you don’t even have to get baptized to get a free block of cheese tonight - just come and ask!  Also witness Clobberalla the giant Monster Truck crush a bright blue pick up truck IN THE CHURCH PARKING LOT!!*

Okay okay - I suppose I am being a bit silly. Wayne and I picked up about 240 pounds of cheese today at United Way, and we don’t really have a good place to store it for very long, so if you would like some fresh, Bordon Cheddar cheese tonight, all you have to do is ask! Whether you need cheese or not,  I would urge you, however, to come join us for tonight’s last day’s Bible study, as it should be action packed, encouraging, interesting, and faith building. In addition to looking at the devastating but God-breathed trumpet judgments, we are also going to begin to look at the second coming of Jesus - probably in a way that you’ve never considered before. We will look at some specific Old Testament and New Testament passages that will give most of us a clearer, and more detailed picture of His return than we have had before. I hope you can make it, whether you need cheese or not!! :)  The fun starts at 7pm, but come early for some coffee and fellowship!

Also, don’t forget about Kid’s Revive tonight at 6:30pm, where Sam and Laurie (and team) will be teaching our kids the Word of God, and leading them in worship. EPIC youth also begins at 6:30 with worship led by John Talley, followed by David McConnell.

Men of Agape: We need your help to get us ready for Mother’s Day this week! If you can help weed-eat, or cut the grass some this week, please let Greg or I know. I will write more in a couple of days about our plans for this Sunday, but Mother’s Day @ Agape should be wonderful!

Prayer Requests:

Please pray for Dennis Underwood, as he had surgery on his leg this past week, and will have to be off of his artificial leg for several weeks.

Please pray for my Grandmother, Ann Partain, as she broke her back last week.

Please pray for Linda and Jason Roberts, as Linda has now come home, and is celebrating her birthday this week!

Please pray for our Mother’s Day worship time this Sunday that it would bless our moms, and that God would be most glorified!

See you tonight, I hope!
Chase

Resources on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Did it Really Happen?

Here are some excellent resources for those who want to examine in depth the greatest event in history, the historical resurrection of Jesus the Christ:

Great books on the Resurrection that are deep, but also somewhat easy to read:

Also great books, but a little bit deeper and more academic - great for when you are engaging with a professor or intellectual.

Some articles to read online:

1. Some free e-books and chapters of books from one of  my favorite professors, and perhaps the foremost authority on the resurrection of Jesus in America, Gary Habermas. These downloads are free! CLICK HERE This link includes a book on doubt, written by Dr. Habermas, after he watched his wife die of a very painful and terrible cancer. If you struggle with doubt - this should be a great read for you!

2. Some free .mp3 downloads from Dr. Habermas, including radio appearances and messages where he talks about the Resurrection. CLICK HERE.

3. David Wood, of Answering Infidels on, “Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?” CLICK HERE

4. William Lane Craig - The Empty Tomb of Jesus CLICK HERE

5. William Lane Craig - The Bodily Resurrection of Jesus: CLICK HERE

6. N.T. Wright on the Resurrection of Jesus and Easter. CLICK HERE Another N.T. Wright resurrection article: CLICK HERE

7. Josh McDowell on resurrection evidence: CLICK HERE

8. One more William Lane Craig Article on the historicity of the resurrection: CLICK HERE

9. General apologetics questions and answers (including questions on the resurrection) from Dr. Habermas: CLICK HERE

10. John Piper on the intentionality and intensity of the Resurrection: CLICK HERE

One more video: From Dr. Gary Habermas, via Lee Strobel:

I hope this is helpful to you!

Wednesday Night Last Days Bible Study + Prayer Requests

Hello all,

A trick we are currently working on….

We’ll let you know when it is perfected!

- The Agape pastors.

Agape Newsletter: HE IS RISEN!

Hello all,

Without that Good Friday, where would we be?   This Sunday at Agape, we will be celebrating the greatest victory of all time: Jesus’ victory over death, sin and hell on the Cross of Calvary. How will we be celebrating? Let me count the ways:

1. By feasting: Everything kicks off at 10:00am with a Resurrection Day (or Easter) breakfast. This is a covered dish breakfast, so all of us needs to bring some breakfasty items like cinnamon rolls, breakfast casserole, orange juice, bacon, hash browns, roasted hog - whatever. We’ve invited a few friends to come, so be sure to cook a little extra!

2. By drama: We will be celebrating the Resurrection by watching as the youth, children and adults lead us in a stirring drama about overcoming death.

3. By worship: We will be communing with God through worship, giving thanks for His rescue!

Come join us at 10:00am, and be sure to bring a friend!

Announcements:

• There will be an eye screening clinic at Agape on April 20, beginning at 6:30pm. This clinic, organized by Cindy and led by Dr. McKinnon, will focus on helping people help other people with vision issues in the context of The Nest, or international missions.

It’s Friday…..but Sunday’s coming - and I’ll see you then!

Agape Newsletter: Victory and Suffering. Easter covered dish breakfast and Saturday work day.

“Have you ever done a funeral for a baby before?”

“No ma’am” I said, “This will be the first.”

The above is a real conversation I had this week. I did indeed end up speaking at a funeral for a child this week, and I can tell you that I saw a level of suffering at that funeral that was off the charts, so to speak. The world we live in is capable of inflicting  unbelievable levels of catastrophic suffering. Does this mean that God doesn’t exist? Does it mean that He doesn’t care? Does it mean that Jesus did not triumph over death and hell on the cross?

Have you ever been around somebody who is suffering through a tragedy? It can be terribly disconcerting. Our natural impulse is to want to help, or encourage, but what does somebody who is suffering really need?

Have you been through a terribly difficult situation lately, one in which you prayed, but your prayers seemed to be dissipating right above your head - never reaching their Heavenly destination?

In the midst of a fallen world, is the resurrection really good news, or is it a myth, carried along by people looking for something to believe in and encourage themselves with?

We will be dealing with all of the above issues and questions over the next two weeks in a two part message series, culminating on Resurrection Day/Easter,  called “Suffering and Victory.”  We will consider practical issues like how to help people who are suffering, historical issues such as knowing for certain that Jesus was raised from the dead, and spiritual issues, like how the Resurrection of Jesus helps one in their daily life. Come join us, and be especially intentional about bringing your friends and family over the next two Sundays!

Upcoming Events:

• Saturday (tomorrow), March 27 8:00 AM:  Churchwide workday, all are invited, men, women, youth and children. Come and help clean and repair the church building, and be good stewards over the things that God has blessed us with.
• Wednesday night, 6:45pm: Special Youth communion service - invite your friends!
• Next Sunday - Resurrection Day (April 4) 10:00 AM: Covered Dish breakfast - bring breakfast items (cinnamon rolls, orange juice, egg casserole, etc.) and join everybody for a breakfast and fellowship time, followed by a worshipful, dramatic, and impacting celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus - the Victor over death and hell!

See you Sunday!

Chase