Month: May 2023

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Without a doubt, there is one Psalm of David that believers run to over and again in times of trepidation, uncertainty, and anxiety.  It is Psalm 27.  In the first verse, the great king of Israel leaves us with these inspired words to ponder and rest our souls upon:

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

It is hard to reflect upon these comforting words without also remembering what the Apostle Paul wrote one-thousand years later in Romans 8:33-34 where he asked a similar question:

“Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn?”

In Luke 12:1-7, our Lord Jesus addresses the fear of men and what they can and cannot do.  And in this context, He assures His disciples that to be anxious, or fearful, with regard to the enemies of the cross is unnecessary.  It is true that those who hate our Lord and His people have some measure of power.  Jesus says so here in this episode.  They can “kill the body” (v. 4).  But even this is no reason to live in fear.  Rather, we are to conduct our lives in childlike “fear” and trust in the Lord of life and death.

So, what does it mean when we believers are exhorted to “fear” the Lord? And how is this fear different from the fear that the enemies of the cross should have?

I look forward eagerly to this Sunday as we come together before our King!

I love you all so very much,

Mike

Women’s Ministry

Men’s Ministry

Career Ministry – Bible study & fellowship meets at the home of Jim and Sharon Daughtry, Sundays at 5:30 PM.

See christpreshamptoncove.org for detailed news and upcoming events.

PRAYER REQUESTS

Healing: Please pray for the health of the following individuals: Collins Bailey, Perry Calvert, Bill Cowley, and Elizabeth Holton, and Steve Terry.

Expecting – Please pray for the Paseurs due in August, the Prinzingers, Lancasters, Elliotts and Joe and Jennifer Calvert, all expecting in October and the Tomlinsons due 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)
•Marcus and Jessica Nobles (RUF at Alabama A&M)
• Ken and Angie Burnett (FCA)
• Franky and Alaina Garcia (church plant in Canada)
• Dieter and Marty Paulson (church plant in Scottsboro, AL)
• Gannon Miles (seminary student)
• The Huntsville Pregnancy Resource Center.

My Beloved Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,

This Sunday we will complete our look at the episode recorded by Luke in chapter 11, and verses 29-32 of his Gospel.  In this passage, our Lord tells a large crowd of followers that their demand for a sign from Him is the indication that their hearts are sinful.  It is “an evil generation” that “seeks for a sign.”

Then, Jesus speaks of the one sign that has already been given to His generation, and a much greater one like it that soon will come from heaven. It is, “the sign of Jonah.”  I look forward to probing this portion of our Father’s Word with you on Sunday!

This Sunday will also be our last week of Sunday School until after Labor Day.  Beginning next week, our Sunday Morning Fellowship Time we be from 10:00-10:30 AM, with Worship starting at our regular time of 10:30 AM.

Please keep praying for our Vacation Bible School that will kick off in just a couple of weeks, June 12-15.  Please lift up Mrs. Anne Swanner, our Children’s Ministry Coordinator, and her team of teachers and workers who will lead our little ones in a wonderful week of learning more about our Savior and King.

Our hearts are very heavy this morning at the sad news of the death of Dr. Harry Reeder, the Senior Pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham. Dr. Reeder was killed in an automobile crash early yesterday.  As we pray and grieve for his dear family and our sister congregation, we rejoice in the courageous preaching ministry and leadership of Dr. Reeder.  I am so very grateful for the way our Lord used him not only in the Briarwood family, but in our wider PCA family.   He leaves behind a God-glorifying legacy of faithfulness to the Word of God and the Gospel, and we will all miss him dearly.

I love you all more than I can express,

Mike

• VBS 2023: The Race is On! June 12-15 9:00am-12:00pm. Registration and more info on the Church Center app.

• Nursery: If you would like to serve in our nursery during service on Sundays, please contact Amanda Dean.

Women’s Ministry

Men’s Ministry

Youth Ministry – Youth will meet tonight from 4:30 to 6:30 at the church house.

Career Ministry – Bible study & fellowship meets at the home of Jim and Sharon Daughtry, Sundays at 5:30 PM.

See christpreshamptoncove.org for detailed news and upcoming events.

PRAYER REQUESTS

Healing: Please pray for the health of the following individuals: Collins Bailey, Perry Calvert, Bill Cowley, and Elizabeth Holton, and Steve Terry.

Expecting – Please pray for the Paseurs due in August, the Prinzingers, Lancasters, Elliotts and Joe and Jennifer Calvert, all expecting in October and the Tomlinsons due 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)
•Marcus and Jessica Nobles (RUF at Alabama A&M)
• Ken and Angie Burnett (FCA)
• Franky and Alaina Garcia (church plant in Canada)
• Dieter and Marty Paulson (church plant in Scottsboro, AL)
• Gannon Miles (seminary student)
• The Huntsville Pregnancy Resource Center. 

My Beloved Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,

I suspect that along our way we’ve all encountered an unbeliever who said something approximating this: ‘I will believe in God, and in Christianity, if He will prove Himself to me by performing a miracle, one that will demonstrate beyond all doubt that He is real.’

This very theme surfaced often during the earthly ministry of our Lord.  We see just such a thing transpiring in Luke 11:29-32.  This time, it is a large crowd surrounding Jesus that in unison requested such proof from Him.  The idea was initially put on the table by the Pharisees in Luke 11:16 where they demanded that Jesus give them “a sign from heaven.”  Everyone seemed to agree that Jesus should and must do this if He were to be believed and accepted as God’s Messiah.

The reply of our Lord, however, was as stunning as it was terribly blunt: “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah” (v. 29).

What are we to make of this rather mysterious reply?  What is here for us to learn as we think of our own lives as disciples of Jesus? What do the words of our Savior tell us about the world we live in?

I can’t wait to explore this passage of Scripture with you on Sunday!

All my love, always,

Mike

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Welcome to Christ Presbyterian Church! Thank you for joining us for worship. If this is your first time visiting our church, please fill out a visitor card and place it in the offerings box at the back of the sanctuary. If you have any needs or would like additional information, please see one of our elders or deacons. Finally, if you require hearing assistance or a pew cushion, please see one of our men in the sound booth at the rear of the sanctuary. Children’s Ministry

My Beloved Ones in Christ Jesus,

In our Savior’s prayer recorded in Luke 11:2-4, we find the five petitions that disciples of Jesus are to lift to the Father.  The fifth one is perhaps the most misunderstood of all.  Jesus tells us that when we pray we should say, “And lead us not into temptation” (v. 4).

At first glance this request would appear to imply that our Father does, in fact, “lead” us “into temptation.”  But we also know that our Savior’s own brother, James, has also written these words in his inspired Epistle:

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one (James 1:13).

How do we understand these apparently contradictory statements?

Question 127 in the Heidelberg Catechism provides much needed clarity on the meaning of this petition.  When we pray, “And lead us not into temptation,” we are confessing that . . .

“By ourselves we are too weak to hold our own even for a moment. And our sworn enemies—the devil, the world, and our own flesh—never stop attacking us. And so, Lord, uphold us and make us strong with the strength of your Holy Spirit, so that we may not go down to defeat in this spiritual struggle, but may firmly resist our enemies until we finally win the complete victory.”

This Lord’s Day morning we will consider this final request from Luke 11. And I know that we will be nourished and strengthened by our Savior’s Word as we let Jesus teach us to pray.

I love you all so very much!

Mike

• VBS volunteers meeting on May 21st at 3pm at the church.

• VBS 2023: The Race is On! June 12-15 9:00am-12:00pm. Registration and more info on the Church Center app.

• Nursery: If you would like to serve in our nursery during service on Sundays, please contact Amanda Dean.

Women’s Ministry

Men’s Ministry

Youth Ministry – Youth will meet tonight from 4:30 to 6:30 at the church house.

Career Ministry – Bible study & fellowship meets at the home of Jim and Sharon Daughtry, Sundays at 5:30 PM.

See christpreshamptoncove.org for detailed news and upcoming events.

PRAYER REQUESTS

Healing: Please pray for the health of the following individuals: Collins Bailey, Perry Calvert, Bill Cowley, and Elizabeth Holton, and Steve Terry.

Expecting – Please pray for the Pasuers due in August, the Prinzingers, Elliotts and Joe and Jennifer Calvert, all expecting in October and the Tomlinsons due in November.

Ministries: Please pray for the following missionaries and ministries: