CPC THIS WEEK: THE E-NEWSLETTER OF CHRIST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH November 8, 2019 “A Quick Year-end Check-up” It’s that time of year when many of us are regularly using medical words in our conversations with one another. Included among those that I‘ve heard have been, “Flu Shot…Deductible…Annual Physical.” For most of us, a medical check-up is a good idea – usually the shorter the better. So, I think it would be fair to say that the same would hold true for our spiritual health as well. Again - shorter than longer being preferred. With the Thanksgiving season upon us why not make that “check-up” now. I think Paul gives us a great opportunity to do exactly that in his first letter to the Thessalonians. It’s only a “three-point” check-up. Here it is: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Singularly, not unlike medical tests, each of these would provide a good indicator of our spiritual health. But, also like medical tests, one is not totally sufficient to monitor the state of our health. That’s why the three, taken together, can give us a much better guide to “how we’re doing.” Let’s take a quick look at each of the actions prescribed. Rejoice…Pray…Give Thanks. If we left it at that, I think many of us could say we’re doing okay. Put Paul, rightly, presses us to look deeper. Rejoice ALWAYS Pray WITHOUT CEASING Give Thanks IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES I’m a realist – not to mention a sinner – it’s hard to put these three together on a good day; let alone all day, all week, all year…all the time. Yet, the combination of these things keeps us in good spiritual health. How do I know that? Because of what follows. for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. I think it would be fair to say that being in the will of God (in Christ Jesus) would put us in good spiritual health. Let me say quickly, however, that we shouldn’t construe that to mean that everything is “just peachy.” Evaluated from a human standpoint, God’s will is not always peachy; everything isn’t fine all the time. But, if I can live out what Paul encourages us to do, then I can accept, and even embrace, that my current circumstances are in the Lord’s will for my life. And, as I said above, since this is the month of “Thanksgiving” perhaps we should focus, but not exclusively, our attention on “giving thanks in everything.” Over the next three weeks I will be using Psalm 100 as a backdrop for examining the Thankful Life. Though a very familiar Psalm, it is deep and rich in content. I pray that you will read it often during the remainder of this month to help in your Thanksgiving celebrations. And, I hope you take some time to stop by Dr. Paul’s office for a quick chek-up. You’ll probably see me ahead of you in the line! SDG, PB
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CPC THIS WEEK: THE E-NEWSLETTER OF CHRIST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH November 8, 2019
CPC MINISTRY INFORMATION SUNDAY'S SERMON Title: “That’sQuiteAnEntrance” Text: Psalm 100 Pastor Bob Clark WE EXTEND OUR DEEP THANKS AND GRATITUDE to all of the Veterans in our congregation for your sacrifice and service to our country. SUNDAY SCHOOL is for all ages today. There will be one Adult Sunday School Fall Class, led by CPC Elders, which will focus on the Beatitudes. KIDS’ SERMON NOTES are available during Greeting Time for 1st and 2nd graders at the front of the church by the exit door. CPC YOUTH GROUP will be meeting Sunday at 6:00pm at the church. DEACONS’ FUND OFFERING – This Sunday, November 10, we will be collecting the Deacons’ Fund Offering for the Mercy Ministries of the Church. WOMEN’S TUESDAY MORNING OT SURVEY BIBLE STUDY meets Tuesday mornings at 8:30am by the fireplace. Pastor Bob leads the study of 2 Kings. WOMEN’S THURSDAY EVENING BIBLE STUDY, R.C. Sproul’s “Dust to Glory” will meet this coming Thursday, November 14, from 6:30-7:30pm at the church office. For more information, please contact Maureen Bradley or the Church Office. CHOIR REHEARSAL – The choir will meet for rehearsal at the church on Wednesday, November 20, at 7pm. ANNUAL LADIES ADVENT TEA – The Christmas Tea, “Believe,” will be Wednesday, December 4 at 6:30pm. Tickets are $7.00 and will be available at the Welcome Center after services on Sundays, November 10 & 17. The Christmas carols are full of the truths of the gospel and this year the program, after a light salad supper, will weave the Scriptures and Carol verses together to give the gospel with a call to “Believe.”
THANKSGIVING EVENING SERVICE – Sunday, November 24 at 6pm.
CPC CHURCH CALENDAR – We’re heading into some of the busiest months of the church year and we want to be sure that we’re coordinating all of our events as carefully as we can. If you need to reserve the church buildings for use during the months of November and December please call the church office in advance and make arrangements with Olivia. Thanks - we greatly appreciate your assistance. UPDATED CPC DIRECTORIES are available at Welcome Center. CPC PRAYER GUIDES and MEMORY VERSES FOR NOVEMBER – Weekly Prayer Request Guides and monthly memory verses for CPC family and friends are available for you at the Welcome Center.
SAVE THE DATE!!! BOYS & GIRLS CLUB CHIRSTMAS SHOP – There are several ways that you can participate in this annual event for the Boys & Girl’s Clubs of Wayne County. Help is needed with setup on December 5 & 6; Youth shopping assistance/wrapping on December 9-12 (any or all days); and Last Day cleanup on Dec 12. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Thom Herrman by phone at 765- 962-8914 or email at [email protected].
! THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD ! PERSONALNOTE:Stoddard,David&EowynServinginBerlin,Germany David, son of a PCA church-planter, was raised in Louisiana and Tennessee. Christ captured his heart in high school while he was participating in short-term mission trips, and David has felt called to missions ever since. At King College in Tennessee, he majored in political science and modern foreign languages, earned a master of divinity degree from Westminster Theological Seminary (WTS) in California, and a Th.M. from WTS in Philadelphia. David serves as the international director for Europe, overseeing MTW’s vision, values, and personnel in Europe. David and Eowyn joined MTW’s church-planting movement in eastern Berlin in 2001. Over the past 20 years, Team Berlin has been involved in planting five churches and a campus of Martin Bucer Seminary. Eowyn is the daughter of MTW missionaries who served in France. She came to faith at a young age and sensed a call to missions in her late teens. She majored in German language and literature at Wellesley College an obtained a master’s in biblical studies from Westminster Seminary, where she met David. They married in December of 1997. Eowyn assists David in his role and supports church-planting through evangelism, teaching, and outreach to refugees.
David and Eowyn Stoddard with their children. https://mtw.org/missionaries/details/david-and-eowyn-stoddard
SOUTHWESTBERLIN,GERMANY Berlin is known as the atheist capital of Europe. Most people in Berlin see Christianity as irrelevant to their daily lives. Unable to grasp their sinfulness or how much they need a Savior, they rely on their own resources for everything, focusing on material success and prosperity. But even though Berliners act as though they are completely independent, they are often very lonely. They long for friendship and community, but seem unable to find it anywhere. There is also a decided reluctance to embrace the multi-ethnic culture of the city. In this challenging context, we’re working with Martin Bucer Seminary, helping to teach and mentor young church planters and equip them with skills necessary for leading churches and expanding the community of Christ to all the peoples of Berlin.
God is using the prayers of His people to open doors for ministry through prayer-focused vision trips. Missionary Eowyn Stoddard shares the impact of a recent prayer journey to Germany. Unsure about how an MTW short-term team could serve the refugees with whom we had contact, we decided a “safe” thing to do would be for the team to spend some time praying with and for their needs. We had told our displaced friends that our American brothers and sisters were only coming to pray. They were part of a prayer-focused vision trip that serves MTW missionaries and their work through the ministry of prayer. Half the time is spent teaching about prayer, and the other half is spent going to different sites and practicing what they have learned about prayer. We made sure the refugees understood there would be no material aid, no long-term relationships, and a language barrier that might be difficult to overcome. However, we also told them that even if the Americans prayed for them in English, God would still understand, even if they didn’t.
Spiritual warfare erupts On the night set aside for this gathering, a handful of refugees came. We enjoyed food and fellowship together and then divided up into prayer groups. The refugees in each group briefly shared their stories before we prayed. One of the refugee ladies in our group was new and shared that she had been struggling with anxiety and physical pain. The American prayer team ladies gathered around, placed their hands on her, and started to pray in the name of Jesus. Suddenly, the woman started to writhe, as if she were in agony. Her chest heaved upward, and she fell backward into someone’s lap. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she was groaning. The American ladies in our group were clearly shocked and out of their depth, but continued praying for her. They read Scripture, sang simple praise songs over her, and reassured her of God’s love. They prayed against whatever evil was assaulting this poor woman. In the middle of this, I felt a strong sense from the Holy Spirit that a man needed to pray over her. Why? I could not say, but I called my husband over who was in another group. As he started to pray over her, the woman exclaimed, “I was raped when I was five.” The enemy had clearly been using this old, festering wound to tear apart her life. say, but I called my husband over who was in another group. As he started to pray over her, the woman exclaimed, “I was raped when I was five.” The enemy had clearly been using this old, festering wound to tear apart her life. We started to pray for God’s healing and protection from the evil one. Eventually, she became quiet, turned over from her back to her knees, and stretched her arms out on the floor in front of her with her head down on the ground in an obvious posture of worship. All she could say was “Isa, Isa, Isa,” which means Jesus in Farsi. Then suddenly, she sat up, clearly relieved, and exclaimed: “I feel so light; I feel at peace!” The following Sunday the woman came to church to let us know that since our prayers for her, she had had no more anxiety or physical pain. The power behind the prayer This was certainly not what the team might have expected they would be doing! But you never know what will happen when the power of God is unleashed through prayer. The ladies on this short-term team were no experts in how to deliver people from satanic oppression. They were simply regular Christians who courageously followed God’s call to go pray in a foreign country and God answered in an unusual, yet amazing way. The clear lesson the prayer team learned that night
is that God loves to listen to His children pray for His kingdom to come, His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. When we call on Him, evil flees. It cannot stand before Jesus and His sovereign power. This story reminds me of the message of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Aslan, the rightful lion King, is on the move and winter is melting before him. Events like this point us to the truth that the ultimate deliverance of this groaning creation is guaranteed. The coming of spring is sure because it is tied to our sovereign King’s person, power, and presence. We have a God who, like Aslan, is on the move and He will not stop until all His purposes are accomplished. Until then, He loves for us to pray for Him to bring on the spring! Eowyn Stoddard is an MTW missionary serving inBerlin.EOWYNSTODDARD,BERLINSW,Nov5,2019https://www.mtw.org/stories/details/behold-the-power-of-prayer
What I tell you in the dark, say in the light,
and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
Matthew 10:27 ESV
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Month of November
Every Thursday
RAM: Tuition Free Children’s Art Classes Richmond Art Museum
350 Hub Etchison Pkwy, Richmond, IN 47374 765.966.0256 Every Thursday: 5:30-6:30pm
The Richmond Art Museum offers FREE art instruction to school-age students under the age of 16! The classes will be held every Thursday, August through November at RAM from 5:30-6:30pm. Basic instruction will be provided in both drawing and painting. Registration is required and not guaranteed. *Due to the overwhelming response, admission to RAM’s tuition-free Thursday art classes for children and youth ages 5-16 will be by blind draw. Approved dates will be assigned by RAM and drawing results will be sent to all participants by email. https://visitrichmond.org/visitors/events-festivals/tuition-free-childrens-art-classes
Friday - Saturday, November 8 - 9
Genesis Christmas Festival Wayne County Fairgrounds
861 Salisbury Road North, Richmond, IN 47374 765.966.0538 Friday, November 8
9am – 7pm Friday, and 9am – 5pm Saturday. Genesis of Richmond, Inc hosting the Annual Christmas Village Festival at the Kuhlman Center on the Wayne County Fairgrounds. Over 100 vendors. A great place to get some Christmas Shopping done. Pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Breakfast and Lunch also available for purchase. $2.00 per person, children 12 and under free
Veterans Parade North 11th Street – down E Street, Richmond, IN 47374
Saturday, November 9: 12-3pm
Come out and support our Veterans! For more information, please call 983-PARK! The parade will begin at N. 11th Street, proceed down E Street and ends at the Depot District. This event will be taking place rain or shine!
The Freeman’s Monument to Abraham Lincoln Levi & Catharine Coffin State Historic Site
201 U.S. 27 North, Fountain City, IN 47341 765.847.1691 Saturday, November 9: 12-3pm
Join us for an interactive audience participation reading of one of Frederick Douglass’s famous speeches: The Freeman’s Monument to Abraham Lincoln. Douglass gave this speech in 1876 at the unveiling of a monument paid for by former slaves. Douglass addresses Lincoln’s legacy and actions. Following the reading, we will discuss the value of Douglass’s words in today’s society. Price: $3/members, $8/non-members
Ronnie Milsap Civic Hall, 380 Hub Etchison, Richmond, IN 47374
765.973.3350 Saturday, November 9: 7:30pm
Forty #1s. Five decades of charted singles. Creating a new way of recording, he broke genre rules and became one of the biggest pop/AC and even R&B artists of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Six Grammys, CMA Entertainer of the Year and four Album of the Year Awards. He also had the first country video played on MTV. $38/each
861 Salisbury Rd North, Richmond, IN 47374 843.812.0282 Saturday, November 16: 9am -3pm
With 85 dealers, expect plenty of holiday items and some great decorating ideas. Heartland has built a reputation as a leading source of quality antiques. Dealers from across the United States bring late 18th- and early 19th-century American country and formal furniture and accessories, folk art, fine art, textiles, treen, redware, stoneware, architectural, ethnic, Native American, and a whole lot more! $10 https://visitrichmond.org/visitors/events-festivals/heartland-antique-
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Richmond Racing – Book Signing Old National Road Welcome Center
5701 National Road East, Richmond, IN 47374 765.935.8687 Saturday, November 16: 11am – 2pm
Writers Bill Holder and Ronn Berry have captured the auto racing history of Richmond, Indiana, once home to five race tracks! Join us for a book signing and browse over a dozen vintage and current race cars on display. Area drivers will be in attendance.
Fresh From the Garden Quaker Hill Conference Center
10 Quaker Hill Dr, Richmond, IN 47374 765.966.5741 Thursday,November21:11:30am– 1pm
Enjoy our Fresh From the Garden series for 2019! On each occasion Chef Rich will select from the season’s best and create a delightful and healthy lunch. Enjoy a meal with co- workers and friends in a relaxed atmosphere on your own time schedule. https://visitrichmond.org/visitors/events-festivals/fall-antique-
fair Saturday, November 30
Cambridge City Winter Wonderland
Cambridge City, Indiana 47374 765.478.4689 Saturday,November30
Bring the whole family to enjoy hot chocolate, carriage rides, snow ball fights, carolers, a moonlit parade down Main Street and our famous Christmas Wonderland of Lights in the park.
