Tag Archives: parenting

Jano07

Chase

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Agape Newsletter, 12-19-2008: Merry Christmas Edition!

Hello everybody and welcome to the penultimate* Agape newsletter of 2008!


Ultra-quick summary of this week at Agape:

1. Agape Christmas breakfast celebration and special worship time: This Sunday at 10:00am (covered dish)
2. Angel Food Pick up Saturday at 9:30 am
3. Tuesday night homeless ministry, the Nest. Be at Agape at 6

4. No Crossroads this week, no Wednesday night Bible Study/Food Pantry.

This Sunday morning, at Agape, we will be celebrating the birth of the Messiah by eating breakfast together, fellowshipping, and then worshiping. I am looking forward to celebrating this Sunday with you all, and if I can be candid - I’m looking forward to the covered dish breakfast as well - my favorite meal! Eating in the morning is a Biblical practice that dates back to at least the Israelite Exodus from Egypt, and possibly earlier. (that is my theological justification for our breakfast)  ;)   (Don’t forget to bring a covered dish or two to share with everybody!!!)

The next Sunday morning, December 28th, we will be having a time of baptism. If you are interested in participating, or if your children are, then please be sure and let us know!!
Don’t forget that this Tuesday we will be going to the Nest to minister to the homeless, and celebrate Christmas with them as well. We leave Agape at 6:30, so try to be there early so you can help load chairs, tables and food for everybody.

David sends this note for the newsletter:  We want to thank everyone who joined us for our Crossroads’ study that was focused on The Gospel. If interested, the entire series is available to download from our website. We are currently seeking the Lord’s guidance on our next Crossroads series and if He is willing, we anticipate that this will start sometime in early 2009. Again, thank you to everyone!!


Two weeks ago in a message on our Vision for 2009, I talked about how our National Visitor’s Center in Washington DC has a plaque at the entrance which says, “We have built no temple but the Capitol. We consult no common oracle but the Constitution.” In addition, in the visitor’s center, our national anthem was incorrectly identified as “E Pluribus Unum” when in fact it is, “In God We Trust”. In a follow up to that, I’d like to tell you some things about our National Cathedral in Washington D.C. This is a “church” in name only, but it is often the “church” that presidents and dignitaries go to in Washington. It is far from Christian, instead embracing people of “all faiths and no faith”.

This week, I read a mind-blowing article by the faith/religion writer at the Washington Post, one of our nation’s most prominent newspapers. In this article, she discusses where President Obama should go to church. She suggests the National Cathedral, because it is so pluralistic. The National Cathedral is a nominally Episcopalian church that celebrated it’s 100th anniversary last year. With a “One Spirit among many Nations Festival.” This is how the Post described the celebration,  ”With a background of sound and lights, the festival drew believers and nonbelievers from all over the country. “We wanted them to experience their humanity,” says Lloyd, [the Dean/pastor of the church] “to have the sense that they shared a common life with each other.”

Later in the article, the writer admiringly mentions that Deepak Chopra, a Hindu/New Age guru spoke at a recent packed out National Cathedral service. Chopra, when asked about Obama, said that he believes the president elect has “transcended spiritual identity.” I don’t know about you, but I read this article, and I see the foundation for a coming one world religion. It might be closer than we’ve imagined. All it might take is some sort of global crisis to get the ball rolling. Oh wait. We’re in the middle of one right now! (article source: http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/sally_quinn/2008/11/obamas_should_choose_national.html)

Watch and Pray, saints of God - we are living in interesting times. May we be a light to the nations and may we abide in Jesus Christ - the one Way, Truth and Life!

This Week’s Schedule:  (This month’s schedule online at: http://agapepinson.com/calendar_of_events.htm)

Saturday, December 20, 9:30 am - Angel Food pick up (for real this time)

Sunday, December 21, 9:15 am - Prayer

Sunday 10:00 - Christmas Breakfast Fellowship - bring a covered dish or two.

Sunday 10:50: Special Christmas celebration and worship

Sunday night: There will be no Crossroads this Sunday night, but there is a youth Christmas party at 5 pm.


Tuesday, December 23 - The Nest homeless ministry Christmas party.

Wednesday, December 24 (Christmas Eve) - No Wednesday night service or food pantry.

Thursday, December 25 - Merry Christmas!

Sunday, December 28 - Baptism Service. (if you want to participate, please email me and let me know)

This Week’s Links:

*****     Family quarrels and tension can unfortunately be a big part of the Christmas season for some. Here’s an article that will cause you to think twice about forgiveness and unity: http://www.thinkchristian.net/index.php/2008/12/17/who-owns-jesus-more/

*****     John Piper - 12 reasons for Christmas: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/2002/1222_Twelve_Reasons_for_Christmas/

*****     Speaking of Piper, here’s him discussing a very practical question, “how should a husband and wife manage opposite sex drives?” http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/AskPastorJohn/ByTopic/12/3459/

*****     Rick Warren to give the invocation at Obama’s inauguration: http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/503643.aspx
*****     Al Mohler on how to use a study Bible: http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=2930

*****     When we discipline our children, we are teaching them about the end times, and other deep truths: http://www.russellmoore.com/index.php/2008/12/10/the-eschatology-of-parenting/

*****     Carolyn Mcculley on the Mommy Wars: http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001917.cfm
Jesus was born to push against the fall, as far as the curse is found, and I am glad of that!

Chase

*(penultimate is a word learned while watching a Monty Python sketch several years ago),

Jano07

Chase

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Agape Newsletter #1 - August 22, 2008

Good Afternoon, and welcome to the first (at least the first that I’ve written) Agape email newsletter. The hope is to have a weekly newsletter that will give you a list of upcoming events at Agape, announcements, sermon subjects, as well as some other fun and edifying material. In the future, if you have any announcements or prayer requests that you’d like to be in the newsletter, please send them to me by Wednesday morning of each week.

If you missed this past Wednesday night, you missed a great fellowship time together, featuring a wonderful meal cooked by Jennifer Z, as well as corporate worship, Bible trivia, a Jesus video, and some Nintendo Wii gaming on the big screen. In case you were wondering about the boxing match that David McConnell and I were scheduled to have, don’t fret that violence has taken over the church - we simply boxed each other via Nintendo Wii Sports. We’ll be doing fellowship supper’s now every third Wednesday night, so be sure and come, if you can!

Coming up this week:

Sunday at 8:30, we will be having our weekly corporate prayer time. We usually meet in the back, right hand section of the sanctuary, in the “room” that has been constructed of partitions. This is a great time to meet together and pray for the needs of the church, and to seek God’s will together as a group.

Sunday at 9:45 - Small Groups: We have several small groups, and this is a great opportunity to actually begin building deeper relationships with others at Agape, as well as spending some quality in studying the word. This Sunday will be promotion Sunday for our children, so some children will be in new classes.

Sunday at 10:45 - Corporate worship and word time. This week the message will continue to focus on worship, with the goal to not teach us all that we can know about worship, but to help us go deeper and furthur in our worship of God.

Sunday afternoon at 4:00 - Leadership Team Meeting

Wednesday at 6:00: Food Pantry Outreach (helpers needed, see Cindy Underwood for more details)

Wednesday at 7:00 - Worship and adult Bible study, as well as youth and children’s groups. This Wednesday night during the adult Bible study, we’ll finally get back to Matthew 8, and look at the interesting question - can demons possess Christians?

Finally, next Sunday, August 31st, at the end of our corporate worship and teaching time, we will be having a comssioning for Bubby Burchfield, who will be leaving us during the first week in September to spend a year as an urban missionary in Wilmington Delaware. After the service, we will also be having a pot-luck luncheon to celebrate Bubby and his calling, and also as a going away party. Sue Taylor is our quarterback for this gathering, so if you haven’t received her email on it, please email me, and I’ll forward it to you.

Prayer Requests:

Please continue to remember Hannah Hicks, the newborn daughter of David and Kristy Hicks. Hannah is still in the hospital - pray for her heart and for her breathing, and that she would be able to come home soon. Of course, also pray for Kristy and David! In addition, please continue praying for Hannah Underood, as well as Cindy and Dennis. Hannah went home from the hospital this week, which is great news, but let us keep praying that God would cure Hannah of Multiple Sclerosis, and that He would comfort and hold Dennis, Cindy and Hannah throughout this time.

News Stories and other links:

As I noted above, most weeks this newsletter will contain some updated news from the Christian world, as well as links to edifying, challenging, interesting or funny material. I encourage you to check out the links below:

Often when we go through hard times, we wonder if God is punishing us, or what exactly is going on. Here is a short message, based on Hebrews, that points to the loving heart of God towards us as we go through trials.

Here’s an interesting one for parents: Discovering your child’s strengths through play

I wonder how good I would be at Nintendo Wii Prayer? (Click Here)

The world likes to tell us that no serious scientist could be a Christian, but did you know that the inventor of the MRI, as well as the head of the Human Genome Project (and many other notable scientists) are Christians? Read: Men of Science, Men of Faith.

Well, that’s it for this week’s newsletter - stay tuned next week for another one, and please let me know if you have any questions, requests, or you’d like to get off of this list.

Grace and Peace,

Chase Thompson

www.AgapePinson.com
www.ChaseandJanet.com
www.ChaseandSam.com