In Preparation for Sunday

One author writes:
 
"By grace through faith
      The Son of Man has been lifted up on the cross so that whosoever believes, may, in him, be born from above and so possess eternal life." 

 

From the Church Fathers, through Martin Luther to John Wesley, preachers have stressed the sate of human loss. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. We may be a descendent of Abraham, a faithful pious Jew, a teacher of Israel, but unless we are born from above, born spiritually, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven, let alone even see it's coming. Entering the kingdom of God, possessing salvation, getting into God's presence and standing eternally approved before him, is not something gained by human effort or ingenuity.

 

To stand accepted before God requires a conversion of one's whole being. It requires being born from above, washed new by the Spirit of God. Such a dynamic life-change demands a total renewal of our being. For our frail humanity, such a spiritual change is impossible. Our only hope lies in the hands of God. Only the Spirit of God can renew our beings, only he can give eternal life as a free gift.

 

So, life eternal is a gift of God's grace. We apply that grace to ourselves by trusting Christ. It is when we reach out to him as the only ground for our eternal security, that we receive, as a gift of God, eternal salvation. "Ask and you shall receive."

 

The basis of this salvation, freely offered in Christ, is found in his sacrificial death on the cross. He dies in our stead; he rises on our behalf. In the cross of Jesus we die and we rise. We look to the lifted up one, and in that looking we are lifted up to glory. 

 

The theology, encapsulated in our passage for study, has driven the Christian church to undertake mission, to become involved in evangelism. We recognize the essential need for personal conversion and so we preach for conversion. We proclaim the simple message that there is no way to get into the presence of the living God, other than by a spiritual birth from above. This spiritual birth is offered to humanity as a gift from a gracious God, on the basis of Jesus' death and resurrection, and is appropriated through the instrument of faith. So, a mark of the Christian church is a love of the "evangel" - the gospel, the message of God's grace in Christ."

http://www.lectionarystudies.com/studyg/trinitybag.html
 

Our Memory Verse

John 1:1-18
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
 
6There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
 
10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God- 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
 
14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,[d] who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
 
15John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' "  16From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only,who is at the Father's side, has made him known.  

Women and Heart Disease Presentation

 

Women's Ministries and Parish Health are teaming up to offer a unique opportunity for all women this month:
 
A national speaker on "Women's Heart Health and How to Prevent Heart Disease" will be with us for a women's breakfast on Sat. Feb. 28 for 9-11am in the upper room.  Evan McCabe is a national spokesperson for WomenHeart: A National Coalition of Women with Heart Disease.  She is a Cardiovascular Nurse Clinical Specialist and Nursing Faculty at SB City College - and a good friend of our own Janie Guillermo, Parish Health Nurse Coordinator.  Join us for a very informative morning - and use this as an opportunity to invite a friend or family member who might be interested in this important topic for all women.  Bring a breakfast dish to share (eggs, fruit, etc.) and join us for this special morning!
 
(Note:  We are rescheduling Cheryl Wayman's talk on "Balancing Life Stress with God's Peace" until later in the year.  Watch for more information to come on our upcoming women's ministries events - and SAVE APRIL 25th FOR OUR WOMEN'S RETREAT DAY!!)

Benefit Dinner for Eden Reforestation Projects

 

The Restaurant jane is hosting a benefit for the Eden Reforestation Projects. The Eden Reforestation Projects is planting trees and rebuilding lives in Madagascar, Ethiopia and Sudan.
 
Sunday, March 1, 2009
@
jane restaurant
1311 State Street
5:30pm
$50.00 per person
includes
A choice of Appetizer, Entree & Dessert
 
Reserve your space by meeting us on the deck of the Free Methodist Church before and after 2nd service.
 
Space is Limited 

ABF - Adult Bible Fellowship

"Knowing Scripture"
Presented by Larry Gilbertson
February1-March 1, 2009 (Five Sundays)
9:30 am in the SHIFCO Recreation Room
 
This series on "Knowing Scripture" is designed to equip us to better understand God's Word, help us mine the depths and wisdom of Scripture, and to grow us in both Truth and Spirit.  These classes are based on the DVD series "Knowing Scripture" by R. C. Sproul, who is a noted theologian and Bible scholar. Please join us and learn valuable techniques of Biblical interpretation that will allow us to better know the Word and ultimately to better know God. 
 
February 15
Various "Literary Forms" found in Scripture will be the focus of this class such as the use of hyperbole, metaphor, anthropomorphic language, and personification. 
 
February 22
This week we will discuss how to read the Bible personally, as people who are intimately, personally, and passionately involved with what we are reading.  We will also view an R.C. Sproul video on how we should interpret "Historical Narratives."
 
March 1
Guidelines for interpreting implicit passages and explicit passages will be the subject of this class. We will see how the implied is to be interpreted in light of the explicit, and we will cover problems that arise when we try to draw inferences from implicit passages that violate explicit teaching elsewhere in Scripture.  
 
Larry Gilbertson, a member of our congregation, led an eight-week course on "Knowing Scripture" at the Tuesday night men's Bible study in 2008. Larry is currently a systems analyst at Northrop Grumman, and he has been involved in math and physics in both industry and academic settings during his career.