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December 2011
The Family Church
Family Connections Newsletter |
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| A Word From Max
This past summer, the evangelical Christian world lost one of its great 20th century saints and one of its most powerful theological voices. If you have read any of John Stott's works, you know that they were very deep and very compelling. He will truly be missed.
Stott died on July 27 at the age of 90 in Surrey, England. The English preacher was a prolific writer, authoring over 50 books, including the bestseller Basic Christianity (1958), which has sold over a million copies and translated into 25 languages. He was the chief architect of The Lausanne Covenant (1974), the evangelical manifesto on evangelism and theology. And in 2005, Time magazine named him as one of the "100 most influential people" in the world. But perhaps most compelling of all, Stott was a gentle, humble, ambassador for Jesus. I think now I know why.
The following is John Stott's daily prayer, as found on the memorial service program:
Heavenly Father, I pray that I may live this day in your presence and please you more and more.
Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I may take up my cross and follow you.
Holy Spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control
Holy, blessed and glorious trinity, three persons in one God, have mercy upon me.
Almighty God, Creator and sustainer of the universe, I worship you.
Lord Jesus Christ, Savior and Lord of the World, I worship you.
Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of the people of God, I worship you.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
As it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be forever, Amen.
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Whispers in the Dark
Scripture - "He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses-an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the LORD burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings." (Joshua 8:31-32)
Observation - Joshua built the altar of rocks he found laying around. Not from cultured marble nor from molded or sculptured stone. Nope. New ones that were old. Ones that hadn't been touched by human hands or reshaped by a tool. Stones from the ground whose first usage by man is to make an altar. Sometimes old is new.
It was God's instructions found in Deuteronomy 27:10- "You shall build the altar of the LORD your God of uncut stones..." For some reason, God took delight in something fresh, raw, unedited, and uneven. You'd think that He'd want the sculptor's best work of art. I guess He sometimes does, but on this one, it would be different.
Application - There needs to be times where I need to include fresh adventures, fresh presentations to God that are a la naturale. He delights in them, and in a way, He created us to do the same. Our souls yearn for uncut stones, altars that are rough-hewn. It represents the fact that we don't always need the newest, fanciest, or most modern. Sometimes we need to restore the balance of our lives with uncut stones. Happiness can become increasingly elusive the further we move away from uncut stones.
A camping trip without the modern conveniences. A praise gathering without sound systems and air conditioning. A handwritten card of thanks instead of a store-bought one. A older car whose air system is rolling down the windows. Playing baseball with a wooden bat and old boards for bases. A picnic with the family ... instead of going to Chili's or Outback. I think God delights in altars made this way ... and I feel the yearning in my soul to build some that way.
Prayer - Lord, please help me to build with uncut stones at times. I know that there will be a place for the magnificent palaces of Solomon's temple, but there are also times for uncut stones. We don't always have to "trump" the last time and outdo ourselves. Maybe it's time to build in this season of my life, with uncut stones.
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Christmas Service Schedules
 Christmas Eve: Candlelight Services:
at 5 pm and 7 pm
Christmas Day: NO CHURCH SERVICE December 26th: OFFICE CLOSED December 28th:
Church wide Prayer Gathering in Sanctuary
from 6:30-8:30pm December 31st:
7pm Worship Service January 1st:
NO 8:45am Service 10:30am service only |
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Worship and Arts Ministry with Larry Carpenter
Well, it's that time of year again where we reflect on the past and dream about the future through this holiday season. We have been very blessed so far over the last eleven months. Each week it seems as if we have a new member coming on board in one of the Worship & Arts teams. Even as I write this in late November, over the last few weekends we have had Joselyn and Lucky running media in the weekend services and Cortney playing keys and flute in the traditional service with Brandon coming on playing acoustic for the first time this weekend, just to name a few...
Even more than an increase in members that constantly amazes me, the relational and spiritual growth that we have experienced is what it's really all about...which makes me excited to see what God has up his sleeve for this coming year.
So, to all of you that call The Family Church your home: I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Come join us as we grow, Larry
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On the Home Front by Connie Reid 
Since my home front is headed south, (Randy has taken a job with Sarasota County), this will be my last column. I am hopeful that it has been of some interest and help in practical matters around your home. I look with love and encouragement at the young families that attend our church. Last Sunday I was sitting across the isle from one of the families that I have gotten to know through Apples of Gold. Their little boy was sitting between them with his feet just clearing the edge of the seat and his head coming up about half way on the seat back. He was so quiet, I had not noticed him until 20 minutes into the sermon when Pastor Max asked retorically what Adam and Eve did after they ate the apple. Their little son answered with enthusiasm, "They Hid!". I was amazed that this little guy was paying attention and so engaged. I mean, Max is good but that was extraordinary.
Last Tip: So here is a tip on extending the life of ties. We don't wear them much in Florida but sometimes you need one. If your child or husband has changed in height or neck size, the tie may not be able to be tied such that the tip just clears the belt and still have the tail of the tie fit in the tab designed to hold it in place. Don't pitch the tie. Simply try on the tie adjusted properly and mark with chalk or a pin where the tab needs to be moved in order to catch the tie tail. Carefully clip the treads and hand stitch into the higher location on the back of the tie.
May your household know the peace of His presence and the joy of walking in His ways.
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Common Design not Common Descent
By Stephen F. Larner, PhD
Bias blinds - for evolutionists it causes them to deduce that when two animal species lookalike in some way they must be related. Scientific question - just because different creatures have similar appearances or similar features does that prove they are ancestrally related? Similar features can be very deceiving because any true relationship has to be evidence-based. Birth certificates, or similar forms of evidence, can connect ancestry in humans, for example. But comparing similar features like the forearm, or even DNA, to determine ancestral relatedness is always an inference
Homology suggests evolutionary relationships are provable because of similarity in anatomical or physiological features in position, structure, or function in different animals. By arranging or classifying large sets of anatomical structures according to the similarity of selected traits, evolutionists have attempted to demonstrate evidence for a long, gradual line of progressive animal changes. Evolutionists argue these "prove" all life evolved from a hypothetical 'common ancestor' that they believe lived about 3.5 billion years ago. A review of the scientific literature however fails to support this theory because no evidence for evolution is ever provided. Furthermore, as our knowledge about the genetics and biochemistry has increased, many major exceptions and contradictions to the theory have been revealed.
CLICK HERE TO READ ON |
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"Thanks. . .Giving." with Jeff West
 We have much to be thankful for here at The Family Church in terms of missions. Last month TFC people were ministering in India, with our ministry partners Hope for Today, and in Nigeria, for a scouting trip. The bottom line results in India were: five conferences for women, five vacation Bible school experiences for children, and almost 100 pastors graduating from the three year long partnership in training to develop Purpose Driven Churches. 
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FAMILY STUDENT MOVEMENT
One of the most powerful statements that I ever heard concerning my role as a father with daughters was, "my daughter's view of who her heavenly father is directly relates to her view of her earthly father." WOW! Dad's we are putting together the first annual Daddy/Daughter Dance to offer to you a fantastic evening of fun and connection with your little girl(s). Whether they are toddlers, teens or middle-aged women providing you grandchildren, "Daddy" is a role that you will always have and that will always be important. The student ministry of TFC would like to invite all fathers with daughters to our first annual Daddy Daughter Dance on January 27th from 6:30-9pm. There will be a formal dinner, dancing, prizes and irreplaceable memories of an evening that you both will cherish. We hope that we will see you there...your princess is waiting.
-Pastor Mark
CLICK HERE FOR FSM NEWSLETTER AND MORE NEWS
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Women's Ministry 
Hi, I'm Emily Sorgius, wife to Caleb and mom to Claire. My husband and I both grew up in Gainesville and went to UF for our undergrad and graduate degrees.
We were married in 2004 and welcomed our daughter in February 2010. I work part-time as an occupational therapist at the Shands South Tower/Cancer Hospital.
We consider ourselves blessed to be part of The Family Church. We actually were involved and active in a Family Group for several months before ever attending a church service here! While we attended another church and were active in various ministries, our dearest friendships and relationships grew out of this original Family Group almost six years ago! On a women's retreat in 2008, Joanna Figley encouraged several of us "younger" women to get involved with the women's ministry while Renee Cloutier graciously took us under her wing and Vivian Sawyer keeps us going, so here we are...
As women, I believe relationships are vital and LOVE our women's ministry verse of Hebrews 10:24:"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love & good deeds".
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From the Men's Ministry
When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt - Matthew 2:14 (NKJV)
The glorious celebration of the birth of Jesus was now a couple years in the past. The angel choir, the shepherds, all the visitors and gifts were simply cherished memories. Now Joseph faced the task of being a father to the Messiah, and a long trip to Egypt lay ahead. But Joseph was also beginning a much more difficult and important journey. God had entrusted the care of His own Son to this average, working-class carpenter. Undoubtedly he had many questions: How do you raise the Son of God when you've never even had any children before? What if I make mistakes or wrong decisions? But one thing was sure: he literally had Emmanuel, "God with us", constantly in his presence. We may wonder sometimes why God gives us responsibilities that may seem overwhelming. But we also have "God with us", and through His strength we can confidently face any challenge.
CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING EVENTS
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The world was blessed at Christmas
with a miracle of love...
a guiding star and angel choir
rejoicing from above.
They pointed to a tiny babe
within a cattle stall-
a Saviour bringing peace on earth-
the greatest gift of all.
"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given...
and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God",
The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
Credit to Dayspring.com
http://www.dayspring.com/seasonal/christmas/love_came_down_gifts_and_home_d_cor/?ref=EMAIL20111117Gifts
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2022 SW 122nd Street
Gainesville, FL 32607352-332-6459
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