From the first service of this New Year, you will notice a change in the sanctuary – our pew Bibles are now ESV. We have talked about this off and on for a while, but finally made the leap at the end of the year.

There are many reasons for this switch. Some of those reasons were covered in Robert Berman’s Sunday School classes last spring and others reviewed in an article by him in newsletter.

If you are interested in reading some good reasons for the ESV, check out the brochure by Kevin DeYoung called “Why Our Church Switched to the ESV.” It outlines seven reasons his church, University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan, switched. (Note: His argument does not include the added wrinkle of the 2011 revision of the NIV which also factored into our decision)

Happy reading and Happy New Year!

Pastor Mike

Due to the Labor Day holiday weekend, there will be no club activities (GEMS, Christian Service Brigade, Kingdom Kids) on September 2, 2011.

See you again next week!

I just found out about a work around to our sermon updating problems. The sermon audio files are now up-to-date!

Friday Nights at First is a new opportunity to have fun, build relationships, and grow together. It is open to pre-K4 through 8th Grade Boys & Girls from First Pres and the Crossville Community!

We will meet every Friday night from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM starting May 6.

Food will be available from 5:30 PM to 6:00 PM.

Club activities will start at 6:00 PM.

Kingdom Kids: A Firm Foundation for Boys & Girls

Boys and girls aged 4 to 5 years are eligible for membership in Kingdom Kids. Kingdom Kids helps build a firm faith foundation in the lives of four and five year olds while also introducing them to club life. Kingdom Kids uses a learning center approach which guides children to multiple activity areas as they explore each lesson – holding interest with stickers, puppets, crafts and more! In a fun and engaging way, kids learn more about God and how to live a life that pleases Him.

Christian Service Brigade: Real boys becoming real men

Boys in first through eighth grade are eligible for membership. At Brigade, boys will find:

• Physical action
• Individual expression
• Character shaping
• Positive training
• Bible exploration
• Hands-on time with tools, science, projects, and more…!
• Opportunities to serve their community

Battalion (7th – 8th Grade) – a leadership learning laboratory in which teen guys are mentored toward mature manhood. Fun games, challenging achievements, exciting activities, small group fellowship, relevant Bible truth, personal accountability, and leadership development are all a part of the weekly Battalion meeting.

Stockade (3rd – 6th Grade) – building men one boy at a time by working, discovering, and growing together. An exciting program and the boys’ energy make a winning weekly meeting. Achievement projects, crafts, games, Bible memory, and group activities.

Tree Climbers (1st – 2nd Grade) – exploring the wonder of God’s world with godly men while playing games, making crafts, reading stories, and laughing together.

Christian Service Brigade is a discipleship ministry dedicated to engaging, encouraging and equipping godly men to raise up godly young men to lead and serve in family, church and community.

GEMS Girls’ Club: Looking for a place to belong?

Girls in first through eighth grades are eligible for membership. In club, girls will:

• Participate in team building
• Enjoy dynamic singing, creative movement, and dance
• Develop important life skills through badge activities
• Learn how to apply the Bible to their lives
• Make creative and fun crafts
• Participate in service projects that make a difference in others’ lives
• Find answers to challenges that girls face today

GEMS Girls’ Clubs is a relationship-building club program created especially for girls! GEMS Clubs are offered in local churches and other Christian organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada. The ministry is non-denominational with club participation in several different denominations and non-denominational churches and other Christian organizations throughout the United States and Canada.

Several have asked for more information on the book we are working through in Sunday School.  Here you go…

How People Change

by Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp

“A changed heart is the bright promise of the gospel. When the Bible talks about the gift of a new heart, it doesn’t mean a heart that is immediately perfected, but a heart that is capable of being changed. Jesus’ work on the cross targets our hearts, our core desires and motivations, and when our hearts change, our behavior changes. It’s amazing to watch people who once seemed stuck in a pattern of words, choices, and behaviors start living in a new way as Christ changes their hearts.”  (from the Publisher)

It’s available at Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/How-People-Change-Timothy-Lane/dp/1934885533/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1297456735&sr=8-5)

and directly from New Growth Press (http://stores.newgrowthpress.com/-strse-381/How-People-Change/Detail.bok). 

The study guide is also available from the same places.

Pastor Mike

Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. – 1 Chronicles 16:8 (NIV84)

Our family moved to the “big city” from the country in 2009. We went from a 2.25 acre lot down to less than one acre. The fenced area where the kids play is much smaller than the open back yard we used to have. The funny thing is that they spent more time in the new, smaller backyard in the first few months than they spent in the old larger backyard in the whole three years.

I attribute this new outdoor enthusiasm to the freedom that our six foot high privacy fence provides. “Freedom from a fence?” Yes. The fence takes away fear by providing a safe area to live in. Inside that fence is freedom to go anywhere and do anything. There is an openness to life within the fence.

King David learned a lesson about fences the hard way. His teacher, the Lord, instructed him not about physical barriers, but about spiritual hedges. The result was David’s repeated expression of thanksgiving and joy to the Lord which we read in 1 Chronicles 16:8-22 (which is also Psalm 105:1-15).

The immediate context of his thanksgiving was the coming of the ark of the Lord to Jerusalem. It was obviously a time for joy and thanks – this time! Just a little while before, it was a time of wrath, anger, and fear (1 Chronicles 13:11-12). David had attempted to do this same task (bringing up the ark), but Uzzah was killed when he touched the ark (13:9-10).

David’s desire was commendable. He said, “Let’s bring the ark of our God back to us because we didn’t inquire of it during Saul’s reign” (13:3, NIV84). Everyone agreed. “It seemed right to all the people” (13:4, NIV84). So they set about the good task with a new cart, a couple of men guiding it, and much celebration (13:7-8).

Unfortunately, they soon learned that God was not pleased. In fact, the Lord was angry (13:10). Then David was angry (13:11) and subsequently afraid (13:12).

David learned the lesson and realized his error when he was attacked by the Philistines a little while later. In the face of that threat he “inquired of God, ‘Shall I go and attack the Philistines?’”(14:10, NIV84). The Lord said, “Yes,” and gave him the victory (14:11-12). Again the Philistines attacked (14:13). Again David inquired of the Lord (14:14). Again God gave him the victory (14:15-16).

It is not enough to have a good idea and do what ‘seemed right to the all the people.’ That was the problem during the period of the Judges (Judges 17:6; 21:25). More importantly, that was a major failing of King Saul (1 Samuel 13:11-14; 15:9, 13-15, 24-26). David recognized the problem and his first attempt to bring up the ark was to ‘inquire of it’ (1 Chronicles 13:3). Despite recognizing Saul’s error, David tragically committed the same mistake. He did not inquire of the Lord (1 Chronicles 15:13).

Unlike Saul, David learned the lesson (15:2, 12-15). As a result, he exhorts God’s people to live their lives before the Lord: “Give thanks to [the Lord]… call on his name… make known what he has done… sing to him… tell of his acts… glory in his name… rejoice in seeking him… look to the Lord and his strength… seek his face… remember…” (1 Chronicles 16:8-13).

Does God’s will and God’s Word provide a protective barrier around your life? Inside that fence, you find joy and life.

So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouts, with the sounding of rams’ horns and trumpets, and of cymbals, and the playing of lyres and harps. – 1 Chronicles 15:28 (NIV84)

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. — Psalm 90:12 (NIV)

What stands out as you reflect on 2010? As I think about our church family, what comes to mind is good and bad; gains and losses. We added more new members (16) than any year in recent memory. On the other hand, we said ‘goodbye for now’ to precious friends whom we loved dearly (Nancy, Tony, Helen).

We welcomed little ones into our extended families, but had to say, ‘See you soon’ to those we never got to know (Cordis, Zion). We have seen God do amazing things in answer to prayer for cancers and surgeries. Yet we have seen some problems return and others get worse. We have seen our nation’s economy sputter and our debt explode. Yet our church’s financial position is sound and our debt is gone.

Depending upon how narrowly you focus, you might be just as likely to say either, “What a great year 2010 was!” or “I can’t believe how bad 2010 was!”

What will the New Year hold? More of the same, we can be sure. There will be good and there will be bad. Our response will be largely determined by what we think about what is going on. Will we see chaos or will we believe in an order that we do not understand? In other words, will we believe that God is in control or not?

The Bible is clear that God “works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will” (Ephesians 1:11, NIV; cf. Proverbs 16:4). God’s will encompasses the tiniest details (Proverbs 16:33; cf. Matthew 10:29-30) as well as the direction of leaders (Proverbs 21:1) and the fates of nations (Psalm 33:10-11).

Our hope for the New Year is to believe that God is working out his purposes and our resolution ought to be not only to know his will, not only to do his will, but ultimately to love his will.

God’s Will

I asked the New Year for some motto sweet,

Some rule of life by which to guide my feet,

I asked and paused; it answered soft and low,

“God’s will to know.”

Will knowledge then suffice? New Year, I cried,

But ere the question into silence died

The answer came, “No, this remember too,

God’s will to do.”

Once more I asked, is there still more to tell?

And once again the answer sweetly fell;

“Yes, this one thing all other things above,

God’s will to love.”

—Author Unknown^[1]

“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” – Matthew 1:20-21 (NIV)

With these words of the angel to Joseph and the explanation added by Matthew in the following verses (Matthew 1:22-23), we learn two very significant things about Jesus. First, Jesus was given a specific name for a specific reason. The name ‘Jesus’ (in Hebrew ‘Joshua’) means “Yahweh (the Lord) is salvation.” The name fits because his purpose in life was “save his people from their sins.”

From conception Jesus is identified as the promised one who would free his people from the guilt and bondage of sin. He is the fulfillment of everything that the Old Testament sacrificial system represented. Later on, John the Baptist would say, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, NIV)

The second significant item about Jesus is that he is “God with us.” Matthew tells us this as he declares Jesus to be the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14, “’The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’— which means, ‘God with us.’” (Matthew 1:23, NIV). Jesus is the promised presence of God among his people.

He is thus the fulfillment of everything the temple represented. John makes this clear when he says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14). The Greek word for ‘dwelling’ calls to mind the wilderness tabernacle (also known as the ‘tent of meeting’; cf. Exodus 33:7-11). The tent of meeting was the dwelling place of God in the midst of his Old Testament people (Exodus 25:8; 29:45-46).

Jesus said he is more than these things however. He is the fulfillment of every hope of God’s people written about “in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms” (Luke 24:27, 44). All of the Old Testament looked forward to the advent (or coming) of Jesus Christ. We therefore celebrate at this time of year. “Joy to the World! The Lord is come!”

But, this world is not yet the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ (Revelation 11:15). There is still much sin around us and inside of us. The blessings of his kingdom do not yet flow unhindered “as far as the curse is found.” Furthermore, Jesus has ascended to heaven and, while he has sent his Spirit into our hearts, he is no longer physically present with us.

On this side of his first Advent, we still have to look forward to the fulfillment of our hopes. We look forward to the Second Coming of Jesus. We long for him to finally and completely fulfill every promise to God’s people written about in the Bible.

We therefore celebrate, but also hope at this time of year. We await that loud voice saying,

“Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” – Revelation 21:3-4

During this Advent season celebrate that the Lord Jesus Christ has come, but also cultivate a longing for his coming again. In other words, spend this Advent season in tension: Celebrate and Hope!

Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, O descendants of Israel his servant, O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones. 1 Chronicles 16:8-13

Traditionally, Thanksgiving was a time to reflect upon God’s good provision at the end of the harvest season. After preparing the ground, sowing the seeds, and reaping the crops, the people expressed thankfulness to God who caused the seed to grow, the rain to fall, and the sun to shine.

Today, people are mostly thankful for the day off, a football game, the start of the ‘holiday’ season, and an excuse to eat way too much.

What are you thankful for this year? Children, friends, homes, laughter, music, art, and food? God provides not only these good things, but the very best thing. God has given us his son (John 3:16). Our greatest problem, sin, is taken care of. Thank God!

Because God has given us his son, we are assured us of better things to come. There will come a day when economic downturns are no more, when cancer is a dim memory, when relationships never break, and when even death itself is swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54-57; Revelation 21:1-5).

Can you imagine that Thanksgiving Day when our perishable bodies are forever raised in glory and power? Raised with Jesus, you can participate in that day today, this month, and always!

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44.