Our Small Group REALLY Cares for Clinton

Well, if you've been following the emails from me for the past week, you've seen where we had some difficulty establishing exactly what our small group was going to do on our church's "Caring for Clinton" day, where we were to reach out to our community with acts of service. Our intent was to show those outside of our church body the love of Jesus by meeting their needs in a specific way.

After the project we thought we were going to help with fell apart, we were scrambling to find something. It was particularly difficult for our group to find something because we really didn't know how many participants we would have since so many of you are involved with other groups who were also serving (college, youth, etc.). So, we wanted to partner with another small group to ensure that we would have enough people to handle the project.

Sunday morning (the day we were to serve), Jim Gifford came through with a project that one of our small group members, Scotty Rogers, made him aware of. So, our class partnered with him to go clean up a single lady's yard on Beverly Street in Clinton.

1302 Beverly Street

When we arrived at 1302 Beverly Street, it was clear this yard was in need of attention. In addition to tons of sticks and leaves that were all over, a rotten tree had fallen on the house in the back.  So, chainsaws, rakes, weed-eaters, mowers, a utility cart, and whatever other tools we could locate in hand, we attacked 1302 Beverly Street's lawn issues with everything we could muster.

Easter

Since we couldn't meet together as a small group this week to discuss things in person, I wanted to briefly share some of my thoughts on Easter. Thanks for humoring me. If you'd like to comment on my thoughts, or leave some of your own, please feel free to do so.

I feel like in the past I have done a poor job giving the Easter season the attention it merits. (I guess I should say, I have historically done a poor job giving Christ the credit He deserves during the Easter season, but I think you know what I mean.)

In the past, I really haven't done anything to prepare myself for Easter. I certainly haven't ever counted the days like we often do for Christmas (264). As a whole, I think we Christians sort of treat Christmas as the Super Bowl, while Easter is relegated to Pro Bowl status. (For the women who are struggling to follow that analogy: Christmas = Ann Taylor Loft, Easter = Old Navy.)

For this Easter, I tried to make a concerted effort to be more mindful of Christ's suffering and death. I tried to recognize minor inconveniences for what they are, especially in light of the massive sacrifice He made for me.

I think (and so does A.W. Tozer, whose opinion carries far more weight than mine) that today, Christians settle for a view of God that is far from who He truly is.  In his book, The Knowledge of the Holy, he says:

The Church has surrendered her once lofty concept of God and has substituted for it one so low, so ignoble, as to be utterly unworthy of thinking, worshipping men. This she has done not deliberately, but little by little and without her knowledge; and her very unawareness only makes her situation all the more tragic.

The low view of God entertained almost universally among Christians is the cause of a hundred lesser evils everywhere among us. A whole new philosophy of the Christian life has resulted from this one basic error in our religious thinking.

I think the first step in truly celebrating Easter is by realizing who Christ really is. Tozer goes on to say,  "Our real idea of God may lie buried under the rubbish of conventional religious notions and may require an intelligent and vigorous search before it is finally unearthed and exposed for what it is. Only after an ordeal of painful self-probing are we likely to discover what we actually believe about God."

As you can see, when expressing myself, I often find that what I feel has usually been said by someone else far more eloquent than I, and this occasion is no different. Below is a Puritan Prayer that is about the Resurrection.

O God of my Exodus,
Great was the joy of Israel's sons,
when Egypt died upon the shore,
Far greater the joy
when the Redeemer's foe lay crushed
in the dust.
Jesus strides forth as the victor,
conqueror of death, hell, and all opposing
might;
He bursts the bands of death,
tramples the powers of darkness down,
and lives for ever.
He, my gracious surety,
apprehended for payment of my debt,
comes forth from the prison house of the grave
free, and triumphant over sin, Satan, and death.
Show me herein the proof that his vicarious offering
is accepted,
that the claims of justice are satisfied,
that the devil's sceptre is shivered,
that his wrongful throne is leveled.
Give me the assurance that in Christ I died,
In him I rose,
in his life I live, in his victory I triumph,
in his ascension I shall be glorified.
Adorable Redeemer,
thou who wast lifted up upon a cross
art ascended to highest heaven.
Thou, Man of sorrows
wast crowned with thorns,
art now as Lord of life wreathed with glory.
Once, no shame more deep than thine,
no agony more bitter,
no death more cruel.
Now, no exaltation more high,
no life more glorious,
no advocate more effective.
Thou art in the triumph car leading captive
thine enemies behind thee.
What more could be done than thou hast done!
Thy death is my life,
thy resurrection my peace,
thy ascension my hope,
thy prayers my comfort.

 What does Easter mean to you?

Questions from last week, Schedule for this week (March 28 -April 3)

Sorry this is a little late in the week, but here is the schedule for this week, as well as some questions from last week's reading. If you don't have a copy of our newest reading schedule, you can download it HERE.

REMINDERS:
We are working on our service project for our Caring for Clinton Day on April 18. So keep your afternoon free. (Childcare will be provided at the church.

We will not meet this Sunday evening as there are not evening activities at the church because of the Easter holiday.

This Week's Reading Schedule
Sunday - Judg. 4; 1 Cor. 13
Monday - Ps. 52; 1 Cor. 14
Tuesday - Ps. 42; 1 Cor. 15:1-34
Wednesday - Ps. 49; 1 Cor. 16
Thursday -  Ps. 50, 2 Cor. 1
Friday - Judg. 13:1-5, 24; 16; 2 Cor. 2:14-17
Saturday - Ps. 89:1-29; 2 Cor. 3


Questions from Last Week's Reading
Please feel free to comment with your own opinions. (I'll delete the stupid ones.)


1 Cor. 6- why do we try to separate our Christian lives from others parts of our lives? (Business, friends, etc)

1 Cor. 7- Why do you think Paul said it was better for single people to remain unmarried?

1 Cor. 8 - what is a modern day analogy for eating food that was given at an idol's temple?

1 Cor. 9 - Paul talks about preaching a relevant message in this chapter. How can we do this as a church, as a small group,& as individuals.

1 Cor. 10 – Obviously, we rarely run across opportunities to eat mean that had been giving as an offering to idols, but how do we create stumbling blocks for others today?

1 Cor. 11 - What do you think about the spiritual hierarchy as Paul relates it here?

1 Cor. 11 - Paul is addressing some issues ok jealousy & pride regarding spiritual gifts in the church at Corinth. They were apparently upset about the distribution of gifts & whose gift was more important. Why have we gone the opposite direction & never discuss our gifts, or acknowledge that we have them?

Josh 10 – How does the story of Joshua coming to the aid of the Gibeonites relate to our “true Joshua” (Jesus) today?

Josh 20 - What do you think the purpose is behind cities of refuge?

Josh 21 – What does God’s fulfillment of His promise to the Israelites mean for us today?