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Worship Service Schedules
8am-
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9:30am-Contemporary Service
11:30am-Contemporary Service
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November 2012
The Family Church
'Family Connections' Newsletter
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A Word from Max 
"How are you today?"
The question greeted me several times this Monday morning, as it does most of us on most days. I was aware that what I wanted to answer each time was "tired"! I had the whole week facing me and I was already tired. With Celebrate Recovery on Friday, the Gator game against South Carolina on Saturday, 25 miles of weekend training runs for the upcoming marathon, three Sunday am worship services, two meetings with church members in crisis, a paper to write and 40 pages of textbook reading for a class I'm taking, and family responsibilities, the 'rest' part of the weekend somehow escaped me. Sound familiar? Let's face it...we all lead ridiculously busy lives!
Of course I chose much of the busyness. I didn't have to take a class from Princeton in the midst of all the other things I have going on. The marathon is a choice. The Gator game...well, there are some things you just have to do...especially with 50 yard line seats. But life is full of choices, and prioritizing those choices is one of the most important things we do. This causes me to think of all the choices we face as participants at The Family Church. There are so many activities and ministries going on. But what should we prioritize?
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Whispers in the Dark
Scripture: Luke 22:1-2 "Now the feast of unleavened bread drew near, which is called Passover, and the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people."
Observation:
This is an interesting situation. The Chief Priests and scribes are the guardians of the House of God. The Passover was a feast designed to remind the people of their utter dependence on God for their deliverance and their sustenance. It was hoped that by being reminded annually of this dependence, the people would both fear and honor God. In this situation, however, the priests and the scribes are faced with a quite challenging choice. That can sense that God is doing something - something that frightens them - in Jesus. What God is doing seems to threaten their power base. So they have a choice. Will they honor God and risk losing position and power, or will they fear the people and oppose God? Of course, we know that they chose to fear the people and the loss of their position and power. Thus, they chose to kill the Lord on what is one of the holiest seasons of the Hebrew year.
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Harvest Celebration
Where: The Family Church
Date: Saturday, Nov. 3rd
Time: 4:30 pm - 7:30 pm followed by a Bon Fire
An event like this takes a variety of volunteers to make it a success. This is a great opportunity to celebrate the arrival of the fall season and give something back to the community.
Family Group Opportunities Include:
Activity Station/Booth Host: There will be plenty of booths with fun activities and games. Could your Family Group can HOST a booth? We have the supplies just need your help to man a booth.
Welcome Committee: Could your Family Group set up a group to manage the traffic flow of the parking lot,
help visitors find a place to park, collect non-perishables and
answer any questions guests may have?
Sanitation Committee: Could your Family Group set up and manage a group that would put out trash containers and empty as needed throughout the celebration?
There are donations needed also: CLICK HERE TO VIEW OR PRINT THEM
If you can donate any of the above please connect with Paula.
You can drop them off at the church during the week.
Please help us make this event a success,
we cannot do this without you!
Contact Paula Drury at (352)463-3528 home/(352)262-2127 cell
or by email at
paulajdrury@hotmail.com <mailto:paulajdrury@hotmail.com> to sign up today!
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Kidz Under God's Instruction By Katie Spillman
What an awesome month we have had in our Children's Ministry. We officially started reaching out to and sharing the gospel message to children and their families through Child Evangelism Fellowship's Good News Club at Chiles Elementary at the beginning of October and, it is a hit.
Good News Clubs are a once a week opportunity to reach out to children in our community while meeting in a school setting to share Biblical truths through Bible stories, action songs, Scripture memorization and mission stories. These kids are then able take this message home and share it with their parents and families which, in turn, increases the possibility for them to trust Jesus as Savior. One of the highlighting events during our club is the weekly skit which allows the kids to have an opportunity to dress up and share parts of the Bible story truths while connecting it to modern day life. The Good News Club also encourages these children to become involved in their local church as well.
CLICK HERE:
TO READ THE REST OF THE CHILDREN'S NEWSLETTER
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Discipleship Ministry
 | | Aaron Read |
One of the best examples of discipleship for the past few years has been the Emerging Men's bible study. So I have asked David Spanier to share about his discipleship experience through the bible study and his relationship with Chauncey Fagler. . . .
 | | David Spanier |
My name is David Spanier and I've been asked to share with you what discipleship has meant to me. That's a simple question to answer - discipleship has meant everything to me.
When I was going into my freshman year of high school I started to attend a Bible study/hang out group at Chauncey Fagler's house that later became known as the Emerging Men's group. When the group first started we were always outside playing football, Frisbee ,etc. Then we would go inside and breakup into groups for Bible study. Fortunately for myself and all the other freshmen, we got Chauncey as our leader. Shortly after this group began, we dove into one of the most prevalent topics for any high school guy- Girls.
We started to go through a book called How Can a Man Control His Thoughts, Desires, and Passions. This opened up a large window for rather juvenile and serious conversations in which we made some very "guyish" jokes, but also shared some very intimate stuff that was going on in our lives. What I didn't realize at the time was that this first study set the tone for the next four years in my relationship with all the guys and with Chauncey- make lots of jokes and have a great time hanging out, but share life with each other and lean on each other in times of need. A verse from that study that stuck with me is Job 1:8; "Then the Lord said to Satan, have you ever considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." So we began our journey together learning what it meant to fear God.
CLICK HERE TO READ ON
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Worship and Arts Ministry
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Larry Carpenter
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Hi everyone, with the holiday season just around the corner I begin to remember "great times" more often during previous years...so it's probably fitting that this month our featured Worship and Arts member has a long history at Family Church. I'll let Adam take it from here. . .
 | | Adam at Beach |
My name is Adam Howell: I live in Gainesville Florida. I attend The Family Church, serve by singing on the praise team on Sunday mornings, and lead the youth band on Wednesday evenings. This is not the first time I or anyone in my family has been involved in The Family Church. In fact my family goes back to the roots of the church to when it first began. My father was called into the ministry in 1991, where he attended South Western Baptist Theological Seminary. So to make a long story short I grew up in a minister's home, aka a PK. The Lord brought my family to Gainesville in 1993 with my father taking the position at The Family Church as their minister of music and youth pastor. I grew up in this church - I call it home. We moved in 1998 just after breaking ground for the new building because my father was itching to get behind the pulpit where his true calling lied. From there we moved all over the Southeast, starting new church plants, and helping others get back on their feet. We ended up back in Jacksonville where I attended high school with my two older brothers. The younger years of my life growing up I wanted to be just like dad. I couldn't think of my life any other way than that of a minister and musician. CLICK HERE TO READ ON Adam, thanks so much for sharing your story. We are blessed to have you and your family history woven into this congregation.
So, please let me know how we can help YOU begin your story in the worship and arts ministry. Come join us as we grow,
Larry
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Missions Ministry
 | | Jeff West |
Cuba Short Term Mission
Trip (STM) Report:
They came; they saw; they learned; they served; they partnered; they fellowshipped;
they worshipped; they glorified God; they were transformed; they returned ... to continue in ministry here in Gainesville.
CLICK HERE TO:
Check out these awesome photos and read on!
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Youth Ministry
HEY TFC! Just returned recently from a great youth ministry conference where I was encouraged, inspired and challenged...yes this old dog can learn a few new tricks every now and again. More importantly though, God used this conference to remind me of a simple core truth of youth ministry: We are NOT to attempt to replace parents but to help equip you. I am so thankful that you lend me trust to influence your kiddos towards Jesus! But admittedly, it's been too long since I've offered up some thoughts or resources for all of you parents. Forgive me for that please. To that end, here's a parenting tidbit:
Question I get asked fairly often:
My daughter is 12-14 years old and the number one issue in her life is her physical appearance. It seems every day we have a major battle about what she can wear. Needless to say, our tastes are opposite. Any suggestions?
READ ON FOR SOME GOOD ANSWERS
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Appearance of Design
By Stephen F. Larner, PhD
Have you ever looked at the human eye and marveled at its incredible design? Evolutionists see it, yet do not see it. Richard Dawkins definedbiology as "the study of complicated things that give the appearanceof having been designed for a purpose"1. A core belief of evolution isthat life was not designed nor has a purpose, contradicting the widespread belief that life is designed for a purpose 17,19.
The pervasiveness and recognition of design in nature is a challenge tothe belief and acceptance of evolution. The word "design," in fact, hasdevastating consequences to the evolutionary theory. Merriam-Webster defines the word as "to create, fashion, execute, or construct according to plan," or "conceive and plan out in the mind 2." There is no mind in naturalistic evolution; no intelligence, no thought, no plan, no presuppositions, and no imagination. Evolution depends upon time, chance, mutation, and that vague concept, natural selection. Evolutionists cannot allow design to be associated with evolution. The difficulty evolutionists face is that studies of nature and science keeps bumping into that ineffable, annoying, enigmatic, and sacrosanct appearance of design; it just will not
go away. Worse yet, the more we learn about life, the more designs we find.
CLICK HERE TO READ ON
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Orphan Care Ministry  Why We Do What We Do November is an exciting month for the Orphan Care Ministry because November 4th is Orphan Sunday. This Sunday will be a much-prayed-for opportunity for us to "speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves" and to help bring awareness in the church of God's call to care for orphans- a call which must be taken seriously today when our world is truly facing a Global Orphan Crisis. We at the Orphan Care MInistry believe that the Church is God's answer to the cry of the orphan. We are the rescued and the redeemed... and now we are those through whom God is carrying forth His work of rescue and redemption in the lives of the most vulnerable of all His children. This month we simply wanted to share with you the following diagram that spells out so simply and clearly why "we do what we do" over here at the Orphan Care MInistry. As always, we are available to help you figure out where you and your family fit into God's work in caring for orphans, both locally and around the world. He has a place for you, and we are passionate about helping you find where He is leading! We can be contacted at haleyuf@hotmail.com or scottyuf@hotmail.com or at 375-8685.
Scott and Haley Long
haleyuf@hotmail.com
scottyuf@hotmail.com
9352)375-8685
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Women's Ministry
Ladies, you are invited to the:
3rd Annual Ladies Lunch featuring Patsy Cook
Also, Helpers are always needed:
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THANKSGIVING
O come, let us sing unto the Lord:
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with Thanksgiving,
and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
Psalms 95:1,2 KJV
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The Family Church
2022 SW 122nd Street
Gainesville, FL 32607352-332-6459
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