The Family Church
Family Connections Newsletter March 2011Issue 1 |
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| Upcoming Events | |
Women's Spring Retreat
"Diamonds are a
Girl's Best Friend"
March 11-13
Steinhatchee Landing
in Steinhatchee, FL
Sign up for a cottage in the lobby at the Ladies Ministry Table. Several cottages are already FULL so it is important to sign up now!
This will be a wonderful weekend of fun, fellowship, prayer and words of encouragement from our special speaker.
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Orphan Care Ministry Guest |
The mission of the State of Florida Guardian Ad Litem Program (GAL) is to advocate for the best interests of children who are alleged to be abused, neglected or abandoned and who are involved in court proceedings.
This month (March), the Orphan Care Ministry will be having two guest presenters come and share about their experience serving God through the Guardian Ad Litem program here in Gainesville.
Check your weekly church bulletin for date and time and be sure to join us to hear about a powerful way to be an advocate for children in very difficult situations. You can truly be a 'voice for the voiceless'.
For more information, contact Scott or Haley Long at haleyuf@hotmail.com or 375-8685.
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Newborn Congratulations |
Congratulations
to
Matt and Rebecca Hammond
on the birth of
Aubrey Faith Hammond
on February 22nd.
Aubrey joins BIG sister Madelyn. |
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| A Word From Max | 
As I write this we have just finished the weekend worship services from the 2011 Global Impact Celebration. If you were a part of those services I don't have to tell you what a blessing the entire weekend was, and particularly the messages of Brother Ajay Pillai. I am still filled up to overflowing thinking of the challenging and inspiring words he shared with us. For those who prioritized other things that weekend (shame on you) I am so sorry you missed this special blessing. Here are some highlight sound bites from Ajay's message to us that need to reverberate through the coming year as we "Ready Ourselves" for what God has for us in His Global ministry. "The light that shines the furthest is the brightest at home!" (You could ponder the different implications of that simple but profound sentence for a few days without wearing it completely out.) "Christ can not be explained; He can only be revealed." "95% of the world's 6.2 billion people recognize the Coca-Cola symbol for what it stands for. Coke has done in 125 years what the Church of Jesus Christ has been unable to do in over 2,000." "The Social Gospel says, 'Put a new coat on every creature.' The Biblical Gospel says, 'Put a new creature in every coat!'' |
| Whispers In The Dark |
For this month only, I wanted to diverge from my normal outline and give you some thoughts on Jesus' time with His disciples immediately following the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. I hope these words speak to each of you as you wrestle with whatever storms the Lord might be calling you to face in your lives right now.
Jesus dismissed the crowds and went alone to pray. The disciples began what should have been a relatively short trip across the northern tip of the Galilee. The area is notorious for sudden storms that come over the mountains and sweep rapidly down the slopes onto the waters with strong winds causing extremely rough conditions. It happened that night and the disciples found themselves hopelessly rowing against the winds that pushed them 3-4 miles into the middle of the lake. This went on all night. Jesus could see them "straining at the oars".
The opposite of trusting Jesus is self reliance. Jesus had tried to teach them just hours before when He fed thousands that they could depend upon Him and He would do exceedingly more than they could ever imagine. His gospel is simple. "Follow me". However, we want to figure it out ourselves and take care of business the way we think is best. The result is we are exhausted, miles off course, in the dark, in a storm, and still straining at our pathetic little oars.
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| Family Groups with Patrick Callahan |
 An Uninterrupted Power Source One day Peter and John were going to the temple at the time of prayer - at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us"! Consider the difference in expectations in the encounter. Peter and John have focused their minds, their will, their emotions on the eyes of God as they entered a time of prayer. Their attitude was one of expectancy in surrender to God. The beggar's attitude was one of crippled expectations (silver or gold) where no joy and hope resides. The world says place your faith in savings accounts; The Word says seek first the kingdom and righteousness of God and all other things will be added unto us. Matthew 6:33 The world says our joy resides in the security of paid debt; the Word says God has plans to prosper us and not to harm us as we seek Him with our whole heart. Jeremiah 29:13 The flesh says I will feel better if I open my wallet but not my time, talent or heart. The eyes of Jesus say I am the Way; the only Way. John 14:6 Just as the crippled man connected to the healing power of Jesus in the eyes of Peter and John, God SO wants to lift us from our crippled state as we look into his face and let Him bless us and keep us, to make his face shine upon us and be gracious unto us, to allow his loving eyes to look deep into our countenance and give us his loving peace. Numbers 6: 24-26 CLICK HERE: to read on |
| Worship and Arts Ministry Larry Carpenter |
We are so fortunate to have talented people in every different team throughout the worship and arts program. This month I'd like to feature Don Henesy who is just one of our lead players that you get to see and hear a couple times a month in our weekend services. I'll let Don take it from here...
"I got my first guitar when I was 7 years old. Prior to that time, I used to make my brother create guitar cardboard cutouts so I could play along with records. I played in high school bands and for my own enjoyment. I didn't begin playing guitar in church until 2003 when I began playing at a church plant in Gainesville called Common Ground Church. By late 2004 I was leading worship there with Buddy St. Pierre who also plays at The Family Church now.
In 2007 when Common Ground Church folded we began looking for another church to serve in and that is where we met Larry Carpenter - at Tower Road Church. We immediately felt God calling us to that church and a connection with Larry. We served as the worship team at Tower until they merged with Anthem Church. When Larry joined The Family Church he let us know what great things were in store and that we were welcome to be part it. What a blessing being part of TFC's music team has been and continues to be. I truly feel blessed to serve in the music ministry and thank God everyday that he allows me to use my talents to uplift our Lord and Savior."
Please let Don and Sonia know how much we appreciate them when you get the chance.
Come join us as we grow...Larry
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| Missions - Pastor Jeff West | |
I am writing this letter Monday morning following our annual Global Impact Celebration (GIC). Many people asked me how I am doing, stepping into a leading role for a vital part of The Family Church's life and mission. I have responded that I feel like I have been riding a tsunami! Let me clarify: I am not implying anything negative because, as you know, a tsunami can be very destructive. I would like to focus on the positive elements of a tsunami; it is something more powerful than an individual and cannot be controlled.
It has been a HUGE blessings coming in to work with such a great group of people. The Family Church staff, the GIC team, and the many volunteers pulling together were a vital part of the energy and excellence it took to pull off this year's GIC. While I am thankful for all of the people at The Family Church who worked to make this possible for our missionaries and local ministry partners and for our great guest speaker, Ajay Pillai, I acknowledge that source of the tsunami-like energy I experienced was the Spirit of the Living God! He is the One who is worthy of praise and He is the One who calls each of us to a life of purpose. The Great Commission is HIS mission.
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Science Needs God 's Revelation By Stephen F. Larner, PhD | 
Did you know that science, as practiced today, cannot exist without a Biblical basis? Today's evolutionary scientists, blinded by Darwin's naturalistic (i.e., God is unnecessary) viewpoint, have conferred on science a God-like role with scientists as its priests. However, in one of those awkward historical ironies, modern science developed only because of the intellectual environment provided by the Christian worldview. Science succeeds only because of the belief that all that makes up this world, its objects and actions, can be understood and that scientists can interact with them. If this were not true, what reason can the scientist give for a world that is knowable and rational? Let's examine this. Scientific projects, to be successful, must start somewhere and the most basic place to start is reality. The basic question is life and the reality of the universe meaningless due to "chance" or meaningful due to "revelation". The Biblical view, which begins with the One Who knows and was there, gives us that meaningful foundation for this world and mankind's place in it. As a consequence this allows scientific activity to have meaning. Christianity is the only religious system that allows science to progress because at its foundation there is a trust that God made the universe knowable and rational. If science could actually refute this Biblical truth then there would be no basis for science. CLICK HERE: to read entire article |
| Orphan Care Ministry |
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Dr. Steven and Sally Jones |
"I Can't Hear You"
"Honey, I have always thought it would be great to adopt." Words that I already, deep down, knew would come, yet dreaded and feared. "No!" I answered. "We already have four children". I can't hear you Lord!
For years, I ignored Him. Patients would tell me of trips to China and the cute little orphan girls they had seen. "I can't hear you!" I would say to God. On a mission trip to Thailand, I was strongly prompted by seeing the little children abandoned or orphaned by the impact of drugs and prostitution on the family unit. Their innocent eyes and burning stares brought promptings from within. "I can't hear you." I would respond to God with my fingers in the spiritual ears of my heart.
Little did I know when we were invited by friends to the Steven Curtis Chapman concert in Ocala in early 2008 that I would be walking into a torture chamber/clearing house for adoption ministries. "Ugh", I thought. "I can't hear you, God." Sally walked from booth to booth glowing and basking in the dream of God's plan for us, as I sulked at God. My gracious wife never nagged. We simply agreed that God would have to change one of our hearts. (I knew He would change her heart!)
Yet, God never relented. I just refused to listen. . . .
CLICK HERE: to read on
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| Family Student Movement - New Year, New Opportunities |
This is my first newsletter article, and I am pretty excited about it.
Every New Year's Eve I do two things; I reflect over the past year, celebrating the joys and victories, and I look ahead toward the year to come. Some New Years I hit the reset button on life to erase past mistakes, or make resolutions to become the person I wanted to become last year. Every New Year is different, but there is one thing that is always true: with every New Year come new opportunities.
The same is true for our Student Movement. As 2010 became 2011, we have seen some big changes; for one, God has called Jim Bradford and his family out of ministry at The Family Church and into a new adventure. This is a decision that took Jim a lot of prayer as well as a lot of faith to obey God's call. We are all really thankful for Jim and his family for the years and the love that they invested into the lives of the students here.
To fill the void, we now have some new faces in the mix, and I am one of those faces;
my name is Travis and I am the Interim Youth Pastor.
CLICK HERE: to read more of the FSM Newsletter.
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Men's Ministry: with Jim Guth | |
"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men".
Colossians 3:23 (NKJV)
The television cameras provide an incredible amount of images during a football game. They show the coaches pacing the sidelines, the action on the field, and even shots of the fans. But there are many other important people that you only see briefly. They carry equipment, offer drinks to the players, treat an injury, or pass out towels. You never hear their names, and usually you don't even notice them. But without them, the teams would not function as smoothly and the game would not be as enjoyable for the fans or the players
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Not everyone can be the star player, but everyone has an important role to fill. God has given each of us gifts and talents, and when we use them to help others and everyone works together as a team, we will see that there is no small role in God's plan for our lives. Let's always do the best we can in everything we do, whether big or small.
Internet Revolution:
How Rating the Web Changes Everything
Movie ratings have existed since 1930, and game ratings since 1994. But no one has rated the Internet until now.
The Covenant Eyes rating system, released in December, makes it easy for parents to know the age-appropriateness of websites. With a new website being launched every 2 seconds, parents need a tool that helps them keep up with ever-changing threats on the Internet.
"Just as movie ratings are highly important to every movie viewer, ratings of websites will certainly become a household concept for the Internet," said Ron DeHaas, President of Covenant Eyes.
Florida Men of Integrity has arranged for families and individuals to receive the first 30 days free of Covenant Eyes services. Just click the link to receive the first 30 days free, or use the promo code "FMI."
CLICK HERE: to hear more about this special offer
www.floridamenofintegrity.org
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| Women's Ministry "Position, Purpose and Power"" by Rene Cloutier |
Many of our women from The Family Church and others from the community are enjoying our ladies Bible study, "Anointed, Transformed, and Redeemed." Three of the Women of Faith group are powerfully presenting the life of David; "the man after God's own heart." Priscilla Shirer, Beth Moore, and Kay Arthur are challenging us to look at our lives, in light of David's life and calling.
The thing that excites me most about this study is the fact that we, who are in Christ, are called just as David was called. And, in our calling, "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness;" 2 Peter 1:3. We are given our position in Christ, our purpose, and the power to live out our calling. I believe, however, there is a "catch" and that is that we must accept our position, our purpose and the power to step into our calling.
We realize that we are called. . . CLICK HERE; to read on
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| On The Home Front with Connie Reid | |
What's for Supper?
So I had this large bag of frozen shrimp that was a real deal but had no idea what I was going to make with it. I looked through some recipes, did some modifying and the result was quite good. This is easy to make and will have your family going back for seconds.
Shrimp Tetrazzini - Serves 4
Pre heat oven to 375°
2 Cups of chopped, cooked shrimp
1 Can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 Cup of shredded romano cheese
3 Green onions, chopped
1/2 Green pepper, chopped
1/2 Box of multi grain Angel Hair Pasta, broken into two inch pieces, cooked according to package and drained
1/4 Cup of milk
1/8 Cup of grated parmesan
Mix all ingredients together except the parmesan cheese and place in a greased casserole dish. Sprinkle the parmesan on top. Place uncovered in the oven for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes (just until it bubbles). Enjoy!
Cooking Tip
If sautéing garlic, let it sit ten minutes after mincing. This will help preserve some of the health benefits of garlic lost in the cooking process.
Cleaning Tip
To remove those pesky scuff marks from hard floors, use a tennis ball. Just take an old tennis ball, make an "x" with a knife and push it onto the end of a broom handle. I saw this method in action by cleaning attendants at the Millennium Mall and the scuff marks came right up.
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Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth , and the life;
no one comes to the Father, but through Me."
John 14:6
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