Sermon Preview:

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As we have announced over the last couple of weeks, this coming Sunday is a very special day for us as a Church family.

First, our Building Committee will be making a special presentation to us in our Adult Sunday School Class. You will see the plans for a new Education/Fellowship Building, and hear a report from the Committee and Deacons that will assist us as we seek God’s will for our future. Please join us at 9:30 AM in the Worship Center.

T hen, from 4-7 PM we will have our Spring Church Picnic. We are eagerly looking forward to this wonderful fellowship opportunity for the whole Church body! The pandemic has robbed us of so many aspects of our fellowship over the last year, and we are thrilled to be able to gather together again!

We will share lots of fun, games, and fellowship, and a delicious meal will be served beginning at about 5:30 PM. We would ask that you park your vehicles in the main parking lot of the Church, which will allow us to use the western parking lot for games. I hope you will join us for this wonderful time together!

As you pray and get your hearts ready for worship, please study Hebrews 10:22-25 in preparation for the sermon. Our focus this Lord’s Day will be upon verse 22, where we are summoned before our King in worship. We are to come “ with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

I can’t wait to be with you on Sunday as we experience the powerful and nourishing Word of our Holy God!

I love you all with all of my heart, and I pray for you always!

Mike

Announcements:

Spring Picnic:

The spring picnic is this Sunday! Lord willing, we will gather from 4 to 7 pm at the church lawn. The church will provide grilled chicken tenders, but we’d love to have you guys bring lots of sides and desserts! You can do that HERE on our potluck page.

Youth Group:

Youth Group meets May 9 at 4:30 PM at the church house.

Children’s Ministry:

Our first event this summer will be our Summer Bible Club (modified VBS) on June 10th and 11th. We will spend time studying the themes in the book of Joshua, where godly characters like Joshua, Caleb, and Rahab, lend themselves well to teaching our Olympic “Athletes” who God is, what it means to be on God’s Team, and how to run the race of faith. The story of the people of Israel in the Bible is the story of how God loves and cares for His Team! Registration is OPEN. Cost is free but we ask for a donation towards the t-shirts. And they are AWESOME! Click HERE to see our registration page – both for children and volunteers (for your t-shirts). Payment links are there as well.

Nursery:

We are so excited to have had an increased number of children in our nursery! We now feel the need to have a flex volunteer to assist our nursery workers during church service on any given week. The volunteer should arrive at the nursery after Sunday School and help welcome the children in. When service begins, if there are three or fewer children, the volunteer may then go to worship (or stay if you’d like). With more than three children, we ask that you stay and assist our workers in any way needed (this usually means playing with our sweet babies!). Any Chris Pres woman or young lady (12 and up) who would like to serve our parents and children in this capacity can sign up at the link below. We plan to continue this system through the summer and will prayerfully return to our regular two nurseries in the fall.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090C48AEAD2DA3FA7-sunday

Thank you for being such a wonderful body that loves and cares for our parents and children so well!

Women’s Ministry:

Monthly Lunch: Our next monthly luncheon will be on May 6th beginning at 11:30 at the Timbers Edge Clubhouse located at 1 Timbers Main, Brownsboro (same location as before). It’s potluck – feel free to bring a dish or just yourself.

Wednesday Summer Fellowships: Make plans to join other ladies in the church for fellowship throughout the summer. Our goal is to connect across generational lines and encourage one another. All ages welcome! Groups will meet beginning Wednesday, May 5th at 10:00 am at Sharon Daughtry’s (5726 Jones Valley Drive, Huntsville 35802) as well as at 6 pm at Panera Bread on Airport Road. Contact Denise for more information.

Career/Singles:

The weekly bible study and fellowship for career/singles has resumed at 5:30 PM Sunday evenings at the home of Jim and Sharon Daughtry.

Senior Fellows:

The Senior Fellows have an ongoing weekly Bible study on Tuesdays from 9:00 to 10:00 AM. We will use the Zoom virtual meeting application to study The Last Days According to Jesus by R.C. Sproul. The topics for the 12 week series are listed below. Church members are welcome to join us. For further information, email us at seniorfellows@christpreshamptoncove.org.

May 4 – The Millennium

The Senior Fellows will resume their in-person breakfast meetings on Tuesday, May 11. The first breakfast will feature Jack Loose presenting his testimony and life story. All church members are welcome to attend. Breakfast will be at 9:00 AM, and Jack’s program will start at 10:00 AM. Please notify us at seniorfellows@christpreshamptoncove.org if you plan to join us for breakfast.

Prayer Requests:

Healing: Please pray for the health of the following individuals: Dave Angotti, Dustin and Katie Jackson, Zig and Virdia Jastrebski, Ramona Edwards, Bill Dent, Jacky Haynes, Steve Terry, Bill Cowley, Larrabee Kirkland, and Elizabeth Holton.
Expecting: Please pray for the Deans, expecting in July, and the Prizingers, expecting in November.
Ministries: Please pray for the following missionaries and ministries: Seth and Jessica Lewis (Ireland); Steve and Rita Williams (New Zealand); Noah and Karleigh Stephens (Thailand); Vinnie and Molly Athey (RUF at UAH); Amos and Jessica Williams (RUF at Alabama A&M); Ken and Angie Burnett (FCA); Franky and Alaina Garcia (church plant in Canada); Dieter Paulson (church plant in Scottsboro, AL); Gannon Miles (seminary student); The Huntsville Pregnancy Resource Center.

Online Donations:

If you would like to give to Christ Presbyterian, you can do so at the following link:

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

“ for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. . .”

Exodus 34:14

My Beloved Ones in Christ our Lord,

You’d be completely forgiven if every time you encountered the word “jealous” (or “jealousy”) you thought of the plot line to a TV crime show. You know, someone is jealous, a jilted husband for instance, and then there is all manner of evil and mayhem that usually results. And you’d also be granted mercy if you thought of that awful emotion that wells up in our hearts, and the dreadful things that we imagine that always seem to accompany this contemptible beast called ‘jealousy.’

Of course, we all know that jealousy is roundly condemned in Scripture as a sin worthy of divine judgment (see Galatians 5:20 and James 3:16). And it is a sin that seems always to lead to other transgressions that are just as deadly and divinely displeasing, if not more so!

So it may be quite shocking for us to encounter such verses in the Word of God as the one quoted above. Perplexingly, we learn that not only is our Holy God a “ jealous God,” His very “ name is jealous”!

Well, the full scope of what this statement signifies (and how we might reconcile this Biblical claim with others that condemn this emotion) lies far beyond our time and space in this little Monday note. But there is something here that will provide our source of sweet encouragement for this new week.

Let’s first remember that the many ‘emotions’ that Scripture ascribes to our Sovereign God are only analogous to ours. That is, they are not like ours in every way. And our experiences of anger, rage, and jealousy, though in some way patterned after the Divine attributes, are those emotions of fallen, finite creatures. And the same goes for the other Divine characteristics that are much more pleasant upon consideration, such as love, mercy, patience, compassion, and the like.

So, for example, when we read of God’s anger in the Bible, we are to remember that it is the anger of an infinitely Holy God. And this goes for every such emotion that Scripture assigns to Him.

So His jealousy, then, is not that of one of us, full of evil, motivated by selfishness, and accompanied by a legion of other awful things. Rather, it is the jealousy of the Sovereign, Unchanging, Infinite, and Holy Lord of all creation!

Scripture presents our Heavenly Father as jealous for His glory, jealous for His Name, and jealous for His exclusive worship and obedience. The jealousy that He not only exhibits, but that in some way defines Him, is just as significant as is His love, His long suffering patience, and His gracious compassion.

In order to know Him more completely, then, we must embrace this attribute as well, even if we can’t (and never will!) fully fathom its depth of meaning.

But there is one other thing that our God is jealous for. He is jealous for those whom He has redeemed through the righteous blood of His Only-Begotten Son!

This fact is dramatically played out in the history of the Old Covenant people. God, by grace alone, had made them His special people. And He delivered them from their enemies and gave them their own land in order that they might worship and serve Him alone. But when they wandered away into rebellion and idolatry, and wander they did, He sent them the prophets who reminded the wayward Israelites of their Lord’s holy jealousy for them.

For just one example, consider the words of Zechariah 8:2–

“ Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath.”

The entire book of Hosea also travels this trajectory. Israel has wandered away from their God like an unfaithful wife. She has acted like a harlot, worshipping any god that might come along. And Yahweh is righteously, and necessarily, jealous for her. And this holy jealousy is a function of His love! If He were not jealous for her exclusive loyalty and faithfulness, then His love would not really be love at all!

So, here’s something most encouraging to consider today: The Sovereign God who has saved us and “ blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3), loves each of us with a love that will never let us go! His is a jealous love for the Bride purchased by His Son!

It is His jealousy that moves Him to hover over us, spreading His protective “ wings” and hiding us in their “ shadow” (Psalm 36:7)!

It is His holy jealousy that gently nurses us back to the paths of His righteousness, applies His tender discipline, and shapes our souls into the image of the Savior!

It is because He is jealous for us that sends us through the fires of affliction that will make our faith stronger and our witness brighter!

His jealousy moves Him to be attentive to our every cry for help, for He will never permit even the weakest of His people to be swept away by the torrents of evil or temptation!

Because He is a “ jealous God,” He faithfully stands guard over us, always injecting into our troubled hearts a Spirit-born peace designed only for His people, and one that cannot be comprehended by mere mortals!

And it is His jealousy that will preserve our faith until the very end, and will sustain us throughout all eternity in His glorious presence!

On this Monday, don’t forget His Name; “ Jealous”! Don’t forget His Covenant-love, which is the very expression of His most holy jealousy for us!

And as we grasp more of this truth, let us be jealous for Him! Let us serve and worship Him exclusively. Let us love Him supremely! And let us jealously and zealously seek His glory in all that we do!

I love you all, more and more each day!

Mike

Sermon Preview:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Well, another Friday has rolled around to us so quickly! And as we prepare to gather together for worship on the Lord’s Day, let me direct your attention to Hebrews 10:19-25.

Over the next two Sundays, our sermons will come from this great text of Holy Scripture. In these inspired verses, the author of the Epistle will speak of entering confidently into the “ holy places,” and drawing “ near” to our God with both sincerity and “ assurance.”

And then, having called us to “ draw near,” he will summon us to “ hold fast the confession of our hope,” and to “ consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,” while not “ neglecting” our corporate gathering as believers in Christ Jesus.

What seems apparent is that the order of these exhortations is critical.

First, we must “ draw near.” And then we “ hold fast” to our “ hope,” and “ consider” how to motivate “ one another” in the performance of “ love and good deeds” as we faithfully assemble as the New Covenant People.

This Sunday we will look at this first exhortation, that of coming “ near” to the “ holy places.”

What is it to “ draw near”? What and where are these “ holy places” to which we are to “ draw near,” and how and when do we do this?

Let us prayerfully look forward to discovering the eternal riches of this passage!

Examining Romans 1-11 in Sunday School

In our Adult Sunday School Class, we will continue our overview of Romans 1-11. This week we will consider the key themes that we find in chapters one and two. Please read these chapters and join us for our time of study at 9:30 AM in the Worship Center.

All my love to each of you always,

Mike

Announcements:

Spring Picnic:

The spring picnic is in ONE week! Lord willing, we will gather on Sunday, May 2nd from 4 to 7 pm at the church lawn. The church will provide grilled chicken tenders, but we’d love to have you guys bring lots of sides and desserts! You can do that HERE on our potluck page.

Youth Group:

Youth Group meets April 25 at 4:30 PM at the church house.

Children’s Ministry:

Summer Bible Club:

We are excited to kick-off a summer of activities in our children’s ministry! We have really fun things planned with lots of opportunities for fellowship. The children should have gotten a little fridge postcard to remind them of all our summer happies!

Our first event will be our Summer Bible Club (modified VBS) on June 10th and 11th. We will spend time studying the themes in the book of Joshua, where godly characters like Joshua, Caleb, and Rahab, lend themselves well to teaching our Olympic “Athletes” who God is, what it means to be on God’s Team, and how to run the race of faith. The story of the people of Israel in the Bible is the story of how God loves and cares for His Team! Registration begins on May 1st. Cost is free but we ask for a donation towards the t-shirts. And they are AWESOME!

**I still need one more teacher to be involved with our Kinders! Please email Ashley if you can help!

Nursery:

We are so excited to have had an increased number of children in our nursery! We now feel the need to have a flex volunteer to assist our nursery workers during church service on any given week. The volunteer should arrive at the nursery after Sunday School and help welcome the children in. When service begins, if there are three or fewer children, the volunteer may then go to worship (or stay if you’d like). With more than three children, we ask that you stay and assist our workers in any way needed (this usually means playing with our sweet babies!).  Any Chris Pres woman or young lady (12 and up) who would like to serve our parents and children in this capacity can sign up at the link below. We plan to continue this system through the summer and will prayerfully return to our regular two nurseries in the fall.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090C48AEAD2DA3FA7-sunday

Thank you for being such a wonderful body that loves and cares for our parents and children so well!

Women’s Ministry:

Monthly lunch: I am very excited to announce that we will be starting up our women’s  Thursday luncheons again! Our first luncheon will be on May 6th beginning at 11:30 at the Timbers Edge Clubhouse located at 1 Timbers Main, Brownsboro (same location as before).  The luncheon will be potluck.  Bring a simple dish if you’d like, but please come regardless.  There is always plenty of food.  (Some ladies with dietary restrictions even bring their own lunch.)

Danno Cummings, son of Tim and Carol, will be married this coming June to the lovely Jasper Williamson (also of Huntsville). They are both students at Auburn. We will not be having an in-person shower, but you can still bless them in two ways:

**Donation towards a cash gift. Click HERE, type in the amount, click “Give One Time” then under Funds, choose “Shower Gift.” The church will send a check and card “from the Christ Pres Church Family” once we have closed donations.

**Dropping a gift off in the Narthex. I have listed their registries at the bottom. Please drop any gifts or cards on the hospitality table until April 25th.

Danno and Jasper’s Registries:
Amazon
Crate and Barrel
Dillards
Target
Church Cash Gift

Career/Singles:

The weekly bible study and fellowship for career/singles has resumed at 5:30 PM Sunday evenings at the home of Jim and Sharon Daughtry.

Senior Fellows:

The Senior Fellows have an ongoing weekly Bible study on Tuesdays from 9:00 to 10:00 AM. We will use the Zoom virtual meeting application to study The Last Days According to Jesus by R.C. Sproul. The topics for the 12 week series are listed below. Church members are welcome to join us. For further information, email us at seniorfellows@christpreshamptoncove.org.

Apr. 27 – The Rapture
May 4 – The Millennium

The Senior Fellows will resume their in-person breakfast meetings on Tuesday, May 11. The first breakfast will feature Jack Loose presenting his testimony and life story. All church members are welcome to attend. Breakfast will be at 9:00 AM, and Jack’s program will start at 10:00 AM. Please notify us at seniorfellows@christpreshamptoncove.org if you plan to join us for breakfast.

Prayer Requests:

Healing: Please pray for the health of the following individuals: Dave Angotti, Dustin and Katie Jackson, Zig and Virdia Jastrebski, Ramona Edwards, Bill Dent, Jacky Haynes, Steve Terry, Bill Cowley, Larrabee Kirkland, and Elizabeth Holton.
Expecting: Please pray for the Deans, expecting in July.
Ministries: Please pray for the following missionaries and ministries: Seth and Jessica Lewis (Ireland); Steve and Rita Williams (New Zealand); Noah and Karleigh Stephens (Thailand); Vinnie and Molly Athey (RUF at UAH); Amos and Jessica Williams (RUF at Alabama A&M); Ken and Angie Burnett (FCA); Franky and Alaina Garcia (church plant in Canada); Dieter Paulson (church plant in Scottsboro, AL); Gannon Miles (seminary student); The Huntsville Pregnancy Resource Center.

Online Donations:

If you would like to give to Christ Presbyterian, you can do so at the following link:

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

Dear Church Family,

I want to take just a moment to tell you about a special day in the life of our Church. On Sunday May 2, there will be two very important events that we hope you’ll be a part of.

First, as you know, this is the day of our Church Picnic. We look forward to a blessed time of fellowship on the Church grounds from 4 to 7 PM.

Also on that day we are having a special presentation for our Adults in Sunday School beginning at 9:30 AM.

Over the last several months our Deacons and Building Committee have been developing a plan for the construction of an educational/fellowship facility. You may remember that when we originally built our new Church building, we were not at that time able to construct as much education and fellowship space as we desired. Now, some seven years later, we are at a place where we can consider this possibility. There is certainly a need for more room to expand our ability to engage in Christian education and in the level of fellowship that we all long for.

The Building Committee, under the direction of the Session, has completed their initial work of designing this addition. We would like for you to see these beautiful plans, and hear a presentation from the Committee about the possibility of beginning construction.

Of course, the COVID pandemic has introduced a significant degree of uncertainly into the prospects of entering into a building program. There is much we do not yet know about the future, especially in terms of the economy, the availability of construction materials, and the price per square foot for this proposed facility. We need God’s wisdom concerning if and when to build.

In light of this, we would ask you to do two things. Please attend this informational meeting on May 2 at 9:30 AM in the Worship Center. Then, please enter with us into a time of concerted prayer for God’s will to be very clear for us. Should we build? When should we build, now or later? And will construction costs go down after the pandemic subsides? These are the questions we are facing. And we need your prayers as we seek answers. The decision to build, if and when it is made, will be one for the whole congregation. So we all need to seek the Lord fervently over the next several weeks.

In addition to the presentation that will be made in Sunday School, the Building Committee will set up a display in the Church house that you may inspect during the picnic. Members of the Building Committee will also be present at that time to answer any questions or receive any input you might have.

We look forward to a great day together, and I hope you can be with us!

I love you all so very much,

Mike

1 Corinthians 2:9-12

“ But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him’. But God has, through the Spirit, let us share his secret. For nothing is hidden from the Spirit, not even the deep wisdom of God. For who could really understand a man’s inmost thoughts except the spirit of the man himself? How much less could anyone understand the thoughts of God except the very Spirit of God? And the marvelous thing is this, that we now receive not the spirit of the world but the Spirit of God himself, so that we can actually understand something of God’s generosity towards us” ( Phillips Translation).

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Do you ever wonder what we believers really mean when we speak of being “spirit filled”?

Of course, there will be a wide spectrum of answers coming from the various branches of our Lord’s Church. Our Methodist brethren will have one answer, as will the Pentecostals. And we Reformed also have our particular view on this as well (we’d like to think it’s the correct one!).

To summarize our understanding of this concept, we maintain that when a sinner is regenerated and brought to faith in Christ, at that very moment they become recipients of the indwelling Spirit of God. We hold that this is synonymous with being “born again.” To have Christ as Lord in one’s heart is the same as possessing the Holy Spirit (see Rom 8:9, 11). To be “Spirit-filled,” then, is to experience more and more of the transforming effects of the Spirit’s permanent presence in our lives.

We would also maintain that being “born again” is equivalent to and simultaneous with “baptism” in/with/by the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:8). Thus, there is no such thing as a Christian who does not possess God’s Spirit, or who has not been baptized with the Spirit.

All of this brings us to our source of encouragement for this new Monday.

As you can see, the Apostle Paul is discussing the work of the Holy Spirit in this section of his inspired correspondence with his Corinthian brethren. And more precisely, Paul is concerned to point out that one unique ministry of the Third Person of the Trinity is to teach us God’s ‘secrets,’ or the very “ depths of God” (v. 10, NASB).

These magnificent ‘secrets’ are referenced in verse 9, which is a direct quotation from the prophet Isaiah. Through the prophet, God promises that the blessings which we find in our Lord and Savior are beyond all comprehension!

But in verse 12, there is another wonderful and encouraging truth to ponder. As rendered by the ESV, it is this:

“ Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.”

This verse demonstrates to us that one of the amazing results of having Christ as our Lord is that the Holy Spirit is always helping us to “ understand” all of the blessings that continually flow down to us from our Father. In other words, the Spirit’s work in us is made evident as we come to a deeper understanding of the blessings mentioned in verse 9.

And you can see that this is set in direct contrast to the “ spirit of the world.”

Whereas a worldly spirit (or mindset) is one of constant dissatisfaction, grievance, discontentment, and ingratitude, the Holy Spirit who indwells each of us is always revealing to us the immense privileges and benefits we have because our Father loves us so very much.

Not only has He redeemed us by giving us His Son and filling us with His Spirit, He is always most “ freely” granting to us all we need, and even more! And added to the fact that our Father has promised us heaven–what He “ has prepared for those who love Him” (v. 9)–He has committed Himself to flooding us with His gracious favor, such that we experience contentment and joy right now, and every day that follows!

This means that the evidence that we belong to Christ and are filled with the Spirit of God is the ever-developing knowledge of all those wonderful things that our Father loves to “ freely” give us!

We are not of the world. We do not possess the “ spirit of the world.” We are not held captive to the anti-Christian spirit of bitterness, criticism, self-absorption, ridicule, annoyance, or displeasure. Rather, we are always “ overflowing in many thanksgivings to God” (2 Corinthians 9:12).

This very day, this new Monday, there are blessings coming our way that we cannot number nor comprehend!

Let us ask our Father to empower and enlighten us by His Spirit so that we might see and experience what cannot be realized or apprehended by those without Christ. Let us ask for open and receptive hearts that we might truly “ know” these gracious favors! And let us live today, and the rest of this week, in praise and unceasing gratitude! Then we will understand what it is to be truly “Spirit-filled”!

Before I sign off for the day, I just want to tell you how thrilled and thankful I am to see so many of you returning to worship. When I look out across the congregation and into the faces of those who are now able to join us, I am filled with joy! It’s like a family reunion each Sunday!!

How merciful our Father has been to us during these very trying months! And as more and more are able to join us in person we will find even greater reasons to be thankful to our awesome God and Lord!

I love you all so much! How wonderful it is to be your pastor and brother in the Lord!

Mike

Sermon Preview:

My Dear Ones in Christ Jesus Our Lord,

As you prepare your hearts for Lord’s Day worship this Sunday, let me encourage you to reflect upon Hebrews 9:11-14. This will serve as the text for our message, which is entitled, “ Redemption Accomplished and Applied.”

Some of you might recognize that I have respectfully borrowed this sermon title from the wonderful book by the late Scottish theologian Dr. John Murray, Redemption: Accomplished and Applied (Eerdmans, 1955). In this book, Dr. Murray presents a detailed argument for the absolute necessity of our Lord’s death upon the cross. And he shows that the Bible makes it undeniably clear that our Lord’s atoning death is the very center, the heart and soul, of the Christian faith.

In the opening chapter, he states that the Biblical evidence demonstrates conclusively that it is,

“ impossible for [God] to save sinners without vicarious sacrifice and inherently necessary, therefore, that salvation freely and sovereignly determined, should be accomplished by the blood-shedding of the Lord of glory” (p. 13).

Salvation, then, is all about the blood of Christ!

As you consider our sermon text, you will see that the author of the inspired Epistle provides the evidence that Dr. Murray has referred to. Redemption may be secured only by the death of Christ, by the shedding of His blood.

On Sunday, we will prayerfully explore this passage from Hebrews 9, trusting the Spirit of God to open our eyes so that we might stand in awe of God’s mercy and love, and then become the faithful servants of His kingdom that we must be.

New Adult Sunday School Class Starts This Sunday!

Having completed our study of Esther, we will take the next few weeks to examine Romans 1-11. I am teaching this short sequence of lessons in view of our Summer Preaching Series on Romans 12.

Of course, Romans 12:1 commences with the word “ Therefore,” and this transition points the reader back to all that has been written in the first eleven chapters. Please join us as we trace out the rich themes that lead up to chapter twelve.

I love you all so much!!

Mike

Announcements:

Spring Picnic:

Save the date for the upcoming church picnic on May 2. This year’s picnic will be a potluck, so please watch for a sign-up this week for helping out. Church will provide grilled chicken tenders and drinks. It’s going to be a fabulous time of fellowship and fun!

Youth Group:

Youth Group meets April 25 at 4:30 PM at the church house.

Children’s Ministry:

Summer Bible Club:

We are excited to kick-off a summer of activities in our children’s ministry! We have really fun things planned with lots of opportunities for fellowship. Our first event will be our Summer Bible Club (modified VBS) on June 10th and 11th. We will spend time studying the themes in the book of Joshua, where godly characters like Joshua, Caleb, and Rahab, lend themselves well to teaching our Olympic “Athletes” who God is, what it means to be on God’s Team, and how to run the race of faith. The story of the people of Israel in the Bible is the story of how God loves and cares for His Team! Before I send out the official announcement for our summer line-up, I need to firm up my SBC volunteers. During these crazy uncertain times, I want to be sure we have the structure in place first! This is a modified VBS, so it is VERY simple.

• 10:00-10:15 Welcome and Singing in the Education Wing
• 10:15-11:00 Breakout Sessions
• Gospel-centered teaching led by small group leaders – broken up by age. This would be similar to our Sunday school setup/teaching. Super easy for anyone to teach! I promise!
• 11:00-11:15 Outdoor Snack
• 11:15-12:00 Outdoor Games & Dismissal/Pickup by parents

We will do a Friday night fellowship/dinner following SBC with some fun surprises. Make plans to join us!

Please let me know if you can volunteer by clicking HERE.

Again, I cannot do this without help from the congregation, so please consider this small way to serve our children 🙂 Teachers for each breakout group will be my biggest need so please consider. Thanks!

Nursery:

We are so excited to have had an increased number of children in our nursery! We now feel the need to have a flex volunteer to assist our nursery workers during church service on any given week. The volunteer should arrive at the nursery after Sunday School and help welcome the children in. When service begins, if there are three or fewer children, the volunteer may then go to worship (or stay if you’d like). With more than three children, we ask that you stay and assist our workers in any way needed (this usually means playing with our sweet babies!).  Any Chris Pres woman or young lady (12 and up) who would like to serve our parents and children in this capacity can sign up at the link below. We plan to continue this system through the summer and will prayerfully return to our regular two nurseries in the fall.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090C48AEAD2DA3FA7-sunday

Thank you for being such a wonderful body that loves and cares for our parents and children so well!

Women’s Ministry:

Danno Cummings, son of Tim and Carol, will be married this coming June to the lovely Jasper Williamson (also of Huntsville). They are both students at Auburn. We will not be having an in-person shower, but you can still bless them in two ways:

**Donation towards a cash gift. Click HERE, type in the amount, click “Give One Time” then under Funds, choose “Shower Gift.” The church will send a check and card “from the Christ Pres Church Family” once we have closed donations.

**Dropping a gift off in the Narthex. I have listed their registries at the bottom. Please drop any gifts or cards on the hospitality table until April 25th.

Danno and Jasper’s Registries:
Amazon
Crate and Barrel
Dillards
Target
Church Cash Gift

Career/Singles:

The weekly bible study and fellowship for career/singles has resumed at 5:30 PM Sunday evenings at the home of Jim and Sharon Daughtry.

Senior Fellows:

The Senior Fellows have an ongoing weekly Bible study on Tuesdays from 9:00 to 10:00 AM. We will use the Zoom virtual meeting application to study The Last Days According to Jesus by R.C. Sproul. The topics for the 12 week series are listed below. Church members are welcome to join us. For further information, email us at seniorfellows@christpreshamptoncove.org.

Apr. 20 – The Beast
Apr. 27 – The Rapture
May 4 – The Millennium

The Senior Fellows will resume their in-person breakfast meetings on Tuesday, May 11. The first breakfast will feature Jack Loose presenting his testimony and life story. All church members are welcome to attend. Breakfast will be at 9:00 AM, and Jack’s program will start at 10:00 AM. Please notify us at seniorfellows@christpreshamptoncove.org if you plan to join us for breakfast.

Prayer Requests:

Healing: Please pray for the health of the following individuals: Dave Angotti, Dustin and Katie Jackson, Zig and Virdia Jastrebski, Ramona Edwards, Bill Dent, Jacky Haynes, Steve Terry, Bill Cowley, Larrabee Kirkland, and Elizabeth Holton.
Expecting: Please pray for the Deans, expecting in July.
Ministries: Please pray for the following missionaries and ministries: Seth and Jessica Lewis (Ireland); Steve and Rita Williams (New Zealand); Noah and Karleigh Stephens (Thailand); Vinnie and Molly Athey (RUF at UAH); Amos and Jessica Williams (RUF at Alabama A&M); Ken and Angie Burnett (FCA); Franky and Alaina Garcia (church plant in Canada); Dieter Paulson (church plant in Scottsboro, AL); Gannon Miles (seminary student); The Huntsville Pregnancy Resource Center.

Online Donations:

If you would like to give to Christ Presbyterian, you can do so at the following link:

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

“ For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust”–Psalm 103:14.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus our Lord,

As we face the new week that is before us, I want to draw our Monday encouragement from one of the most beloved of the Psalms authored by David, Psalm 103.

Most of us will remember this Psalm for its triumphant exhortation, sounded in the first two verses. David enjoins us to “ Bless” the “ Holy Name” of our Lord and King. And then, in the final three verses of the Psalm, David returns to this theme as he calls upon all of creation to join the redeemed in their chorus of praise to God.

It is also this Psalm that beautifully recalls our Lord’s “ steadfast love and mercy” (vv. 4, 11), and His forgiveness of our “ transgressions,” which He graciously removes (and has removed!) “ as far as the east is from the west” (v. 12).

It is in the midst of this wonderful chapter of the Psalter that we discover the words quoted above from verse 14. I think of this verse as somewhat of a ‘reality sandwich.’ And what I mean by this is that it is placed strategically in between two apparently incongruent sections of the Psalm.

Above, in verses 11-13, is the comforting truth that our God loves us as “ a father.” And because of this infinite paternal love, He always demonstrates His compassion for all of us who “ fear Him.” How comforting this is!

But underneath verse 14 we discover something that, while true, is most unsettling:

“ As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more” (vv. 15-16).

So, here’s our ‘sandwich.’ We are loved by our Father who has forgiven all of our transgressions out of the eternal well-spring of His faithful compassion and never-failing mercies! But, we are also like a flower or blade of grass on the roadside, exposed to the wind and destined to disappear.

In between these two realities, there is this strange assurance that our loving Father “ remembers” both our origin and our fragility. We are, after all, formed out of the “ dust” of the ground, and our time of flourishing and vitality is awfully short when compared with the full range of human history. We are a fragile people, easily extinguished by the wind that blows across us. Franky, on this side of the Garden of Eden, it takes very little to upset our lives and bring us into serious peril. In fact, this is exactly what we have witnessed these many months enduring the ravages of a microscopic virus that has twisted us into human pretzels, filled us with anxiety, and taken down so many across the globe.

And this is not only an apt depiction of our physical finitude, but also well-describes our spiritual infirmity.

We are easily tempted and blasted off course by the devil’s schemes. It takes just a little fraction of ill-timed adversity to rattle our faith and our confidence, the smallest of inconveniences to discourage and depress us, the thinnest of deceptive allurements to entice us away from the worship of our Lord, and the most negligible of seductive suggestions to compromise our walk in the holiness that our Father requires. Dust we are!

Perhaps this is what our Savior had in mind when He spoke so bluntly to the braggadocios Simon Peter, a disciple who was certain that he was not ‘dusty’ like the rest of us:

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat”(Luke 22:31).

Until Jesus comes, we will be in many respects very ‘dust-like,’ even as we are being sanctified.

But here is our encouragement for this new Monday.

“ He remembers. . . .”

While we might be living in denial of our fragility (both physically and spiritually) as was Peter in that moment, our Father “ remembers” what we’re really made of and how weak and frail we actually are.

We are not supermen. We are not immune to the destructive winds that blow our way. We are easily led astray, compromised, distracted, seduced, and one day we will all return to dust.

But we have a Father in heaven who “ knows” this in all of His incomprehensible omniscience. And because he “ knows our frame,” He is patient, merciful, longsuffering, compassionate, and forgiving. Even His discipline, which might cause us momentary distress and pain, is tender and brimming with grace!

Your Father “ remembers” you today! He made you in the first place and is well acquainted with your weaknesses. And He redeemed you by the blood and righteousness of His Son. And you live in the middle of these two realities. The first, His covenantal love, is meant to sustain us in view of the second, our weakness and frailty. This is how we make it through each day! We remember that He “ remembers” us! And when we embrace this truth, it is then and only then that we can “ Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me”!

I love you all so very much, and I pray for each of you always!

Mike