Sermon Preview
Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
For one last time this coming Lord’s Day, we will open the Word of the Lord to the Epistle to the Colossians. Our sermon text will be Colossians 4:7-18, and with our consideration of this passage we will bring our series of messages on this letter to a conclusion.
On Sunday we will take a closer look at the final section of the Epistle where the Apostle Paul says farewell to his friends from his place of confinement in Rome. And this is a lengthy section, composed of 12 verses, more than half of the final chapter!
As we study the conclusion to the letter, we should remember that this was the typical thing that the Apostle Paul did in just about all of the New Testament letters he wrote. It was not uncommon for him to conclude his letters by listing a number of friends and associates, and offering some final exhortations and greetings. You might remember, for example, that his Epistle to the Romans ends with an extensive list of at least 35 co-laborers, and friends! And here in this final chapter of the Colossian Epistle, we discover a list of 10 names! And in most cases, there is a brief word about each person.
As we read these final 12 verses of the letter, we might be asking ourselves, Is this really a critical and necessary part of the Word of the Lord? Is this ending of the letter, which is composed largely of just a list of people’s names, really worth our time to read and study? Is this passage profitable, and how?
Let me encourage you to get familiar with Paul’s farewell, and join me in asking our Lord to show us how even these simple words are, indeed, our Father’s inspired Words!
No Sunday Lunch This Week
Due to Spring Break we will have our next Sunday Fellowship lunch on April 14.
I love you all!
Mike
Upcoming Events:
March 19, 9 AM – Mother’s Morning Bible Study
March 19, 10 AM – Senior Fellows visit Huntsville Museum of Art
March 19, 6 PM – Women’s Evening Bible Study at the Church
March 20, 10 AM – Women’s Morning Bible Study at the Church
March 20, 6 PM – Deacons Meeting
March 29-30 – Men’s Retreat at Guntersville State Park
March 31, 4:30 PM – Youth Group
April 4, 11:30 AM – Women’s Monthly Lunch at Timbers Edge Clubhouse
April 14, 12 PM – Fellowship Lunch
April 26, 5:30 PM – Parents Night Out
April 28, 4 PM – Church Picnic at Monte Sano State Park
May 19, 5 PM – End of School Cookout at Church House
Order of Worship:
You can access this week’s Order of Worship by clicking here
If you’d like to sing the songs with your family beforehand, the songs for this week are:
And Can It Be – Hymn 455 v.1,3,5
What Wondrous Love is This – Hymn 261 v.1-3
How Deep the Father’s Love For Us
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name – Hymn 296 v.1,3,6
Announcements:
Church Picnic: Save the date, there will be a church picnic at Monte Sano State Park on April 28. More details coming soon.
HPRC: Our church is partnering with the Huntsville Pregnancy Resource Center (HPRC). If you would like more information on how you can help please contact Norman Dean ndeaniv@gmail.com.
Senior Fellows: On Tuesday, March 19 at 10:00 AM the Senior Fellows will visit the Huntsville Museum of Art for a one hour docent led tour through the Our Shared Heritage and Jared Small exhibits. The group will have lunch at Pane e Vino afterwards. Admission is $8 per person. Wives and guests are welcome.
Youth Group: Youth Group for ages 13-18 meets March 31 at the church at 4:30 PM.
Men’s Spring Retreat: I am enthusiastic to share the plans for our Spring Men’s Retreat at Guntersville State Park Lodge. Mike will be leading four sessions on the theme: Counsel and Encouragement from the Apostle Peter. Session One- (1 Peter 1:1-2) “Living With Purpose”, Session Two- (1 Peter 1:3-5) “Living With Hope”, Session Three- (1 Peter 1:6-9) “Living With Joy” and Session Four- (1 Peter 1:13-16) “Living With Purity”. Logistics for the retreat are outlined below.
When: Friday night and Saturday morning, March 29-30.
Lodging and food plan: The cost per man is $75 which includes logging for Friday night (double occupancy), supper Friday night and breakfast Saturday morning. We will have a signup sheet for attendance and roommate name this Sunday and for the next three Sundays; or you can email Mark Cooper at cooperma777@gmail.com. Please pay by check made out to Christ Presbyterian Church noting Men’s Retreat on the memo line – deposit checks in the offering boxes by March 24.
This retreat is a great opportunity to have fellowship as brothers and be uplifted by God’s word.
Our preliminary outline for the event is as follows:
Friday Night
Arrive and Check In: 4:00 to 6:00 PM
Dinner: 6:00 – 6:45 PM
Music: 7:00 – 7:15 PM
Session 1: 7:15 – 8:00 PM
Session 2: 8:15 – 9:30 PM
Saturday Morning
Checkout before 11:00 AM
Breakfast: 8:00 – 8:45 AM
Music: 9:00 – 9:15 AM
Session 3: 9:15 – 10:15 AM
Fellowship and Check-out: 10:15 – 10:45 AM
Session 4: 10:45 – Noon
There is planning underway for a golf outing by Ben Calvert. Other possible activities, such as hiking, are being considered.
If you have questions please contact Mark Cooper.
Food Help for RUF UAH: We have the opportunity to help RUF UAH (college ministry) provide snacks for their large group sessions on Monday evenings. We are taking on two Mondays remaining in this semester. Please consider helping! The dates are March 25 and April 15 but the food items need to be brought to the church the Sunday prior to those dates (March 24 April 14). Someone will be in the kitchen area to assist the collection. Judi Fikes will be in the narthex area for the next few Sundays to sign you up so we know what we have. Items will be finger foods and can be homemade or bought… Cookies, mini brownies, chips, pretzels, cheese cubes, etc. They usually have around 100 students and leaders! Look for Judi and the RUF logo this Sunday! If you can’t be there you may email: judifikes@gmail.com
Parents Night Out: We are excited to be having a Parent’s Night Out on Friday, April 26th from 5:30 – 7:30pm. The event is a great time for our children to be together with their church family and will include games, crafts, dinner and short teaching on Christian life from Hebrews 12. We will send out a reminder email closer to the date but please consider participating or volunteering. We will need 12-15 volunteers and it’s a wonderful way for all ages (teen to retired) to get to know the children and serve our parents. The link to sign up is http://evite.me/R1k5weXa8z . You can also contact Meghan Elliott directly.
Prayer Requests:
Healing: Please pray for the health of the following individuals: Clay Davis, Pat Galecki, Andy Trent, Bill Cowley, Larrabee Kirkland, Katie Dyer, Robin Holloway, Chris Smotherman, Elizabeth Holton, Janet Chou, Ramona Edwards, and Nolan Osmer.
Expecting: Please pray for the Bryant family, expecting in September.
Ministries: Please pray for the following missionaries and ministries: Seth and Jessica Lewis (Ireland); Steve and Rita Williams (New Zealand); Vinnie and Molly Athey (RUF at UAH); RUF at Alabama A&M; Ken and Angie Burnett (FCA); Franky Garcia (seminary student).
Emails:
general inquiries: admin@christpreshamptoncove.org
benevolence needs: benevolence@christpreshamptoncove.org
counsel and ministry needs: matthew@christpreshamptoncove.org
men’s ministry: men@christpreshamptoncove.org
women’s ministry: women@christpreshamptoncove.org
children’s ministry: children@christpreshamptoncove.org
youth ministry: youth@christpreshamptoncove.org
senior fellows: seniorfellows@christpreshamptoncove.org
Address:
288 Old Highway 431
Owens Cross Roads, AL 35763