Hello all, and welcome to another exciting edition of the Agape Newsletter! Let’s start off with announcements, shall we?
Announcements:
Saturday at 9:00am: The youth will be gathering at the church to work on the youth room
Saturday mid-morning: The Seniors class will be gathering at the church for a lunch and fellowship time together.
Sunday morning, 8:30: Corporate prayer - We will meet in the sanctuary (look to your right as you come in the doors) and all are invited to come pray together for the Body of Christ at Agape.
Sunday morning, 9:45: Small groups - a class for every age and group; see the bulletin board in the foyer (or the bulletin) for a listing of available classes.
Sunday morning, 10:45: Morning worship - come join us together as we worship and lift high our God! The message Sunday will be a continuation of our worship series, and we will find out what Great Value trash bags, and Glad cling wrap have to do with worship!? At the end of our time together, we will be commissioning Richard “Bubby” Burchfield who is going to be leaving us this week to spend an entire year in Delaware as an urban missionary. How exciting and wonderful!
Sunday at lunch: After morning worship, we will be having a potluck luncheon and fellowship time in honor of Bubby. Sue Taylor is coordinating that luncheon, and here is what she has written about it: (her full email is copied at the bottom of this newsletter): “Agape’s Mission Team will commission Bubby on August 31st during the morning service. Please make every attempt to be there to see him off. We are also going to enjoy a meal together as a church family before he leaves. Please plan to bring enough food to feed your family and one more person. We will be eating directly after the Sunday service. During this time, we will be able to spend time with him, give him our best wishes, and send him off with lots of Agape love.”
Wednesday night: There will be Bible study for all ages, including children and youth group. For the adult class, we will be finishing up Matthew 8, and going into Matthew 9 (if we can make it!). The three questions that we are pondering for this week are, “Can a Christian be demonized, and are demons still a real issue for the 21st century church in Alabama?” and “Specifically, how does God speak to His people today?” Bible study begins with worship at 7:00, so I hope to see you all there!
Prayer Requests: (Please email me your prayer requests if you’d like them to be in the newsletter)
Please continue to pray for Hannah Underwood, and the entire Underwood family. Hannah Hicks (the newborn of Kristy and David Hicks) has come home from the hospital, so keep them and her in your prayers. Remember to pray for Bubby as he prepares to leave for Delaware. Also remember some people in our fellowship that are struggling with job issues (job as in employment, not as in the book of Job). Please pray that God would lead and direct and provide for them!
Something to think about:
My wife sent this Oswald Chambers devotional to me a few weeks ago, and it has stuck with me ever since. We are always looking to the goal, or conclusion of something that we are going through, but it seems like the process is so muhc more important to God. This is a great read:
We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself.What is my vision of God’s purpose for me? Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish— His purpose is the process itself. What He desires for me is that I see “Him walking on the sea” with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see “Him walking on the sea” ( Mark 6:49 ). It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God.
God’s training is for now, not later. His purpose is for this very minute, not for sometime in the future. We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern ourselves with it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself.
God’s purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present time. However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment as it comes is precious.
Great stuff! To read more of Chambers (this is from My Utmost for His Highest) you can do so here: http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/07/28/devotion.aspx?year=2008
Other interesting Christian links, news, or just plain fun stuff:
A very moving, simple and useful article on Prayers that Move the Heart of God.
A funny picture (for football fans): God is faithful (click here)
Did you know that Charles Wesley (brother of John, and author of “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing” and “Christ the Lord is Risen Today”) had a secret, encrypted diary? I didn’t either, but interestingly enough, his code has just been cracked, and the diary has spilled its secrets. Nothing too earth shattering, but Charles did very strongly disapprove of his brother’s proposed marriage to Grace Murray. Interesting that the spirirual giants of yesteryear are just as human as we are! Read more here (click here)
Finally, here is a Christianity Today article that has a lot of good quotes on praise and worship, including this one from Thomas Merton, “if we have no real interest in praising him, it shows that we have never realized who he is. For when one becomes conscious of who God really is, and when one realizes that he who is almighty, and infinitely holy, has “done great things to us,” the only possible reaction is the cry of half-articulate exultation that bursts from the depths of our being in amazement at the tremendous, inexplicable goodness of God to men.“ Click here to read more….
thanks for reading - I’ll see you Sunday!
Chase
Sue’s email:
Hey everyone!
As most of you know, Bubby Burchfield will be leaving Alabama for a year to serve God through an organization called MISSION YEAR. (www.missionyear.com) He will be spending a year in Wilmington Delaware studying poverty and at-risk populations while he gives of himself to the Lord for the Gospel. We as a church family can’t express how proud we are of him!
Agape’s Mission Team will commission Bubby on August 31st during the morning service. Please make every attempt to be there to see him off. We are also going to enjoy a meal together as a church family before he leaves. Please plan to bring enough food to feed your family and one more person. We will be eating directly after the Sunday service. During this time, we will be able to spend time with him, give him our best wishes, and send him off with lots of Agape love.
Instead of a list, I am asking that you reply to all in this email telling us you’ll be there AND telling us what you’ll bring. Instead of hitting ‘reply’, hit ‘reply to all’. This way, each of us will know who is coming and we’ll see what everyone is bringing!
If you haven’t already emailed or mailed a letter to me or Amber Perkins, please do so BEFORE that date! Remember, he needs our love and encouragement!
John King is putting together a love box for Bubby! If you want to contribute to that, please contact him.
Bubby will need financial support while he is in Delaware. If you want to make a financial contribution, please contact Cindy Underwood or Sonya Perkins.
Thank you all and remember, after August 31st, you won’t see Bubby for a WHOLE year!
I love you all!
PLEASE, also…FORWARD this to all of your Agape and VN friends and family!
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