Creation arguments NOT to use

This article, written by Creation Ministries International, not only gives a ton of valuable information, it also provides links to dozens of articles for those who want to investigate further! Arguments We Think Creationists Should Not Use

The Leavers: Young Doubters Exit the Church

Today I read an article from Christianity Today about youth who leave the church after they graduate from high school. This subject is so important to me. I pray that we can be a real encouragement to our younger generations.

The Leavers: Young Doubters Exit the Church

Days of Elijah

Have you ever wondered what the lyrics refer to in the worship song Days of Elijah? I recently found a full explanation written by the song's author, Irish worship leader Robin Mark. Whether you've enjoyed this song or been perplexed by it or both, click here to read the full story behind it!

And to hear Robin Mark's recording of Days of Elijah, check out this video:

Time Change This Weekend

Don't forget, we get that glorious extra-hour-of-sleep set-your-clocks-back-an-hour time change coming up this Saturday night!

(Of course, if you get to church an hour early, you're welcome to enjoy listening to our band rehearse!)

Register to Vote!

I hope all believers exercise their right to vote this fall!

"A government of the people, by the people, and for the people only happens when people vote."

How Porn Damages Women

I just read a very insightful and concise article titled An Equal-Opportunity Destroyer by the editors of Christianity Today. Check out this powerful excerpt:

In a "sexually obese" culture like ours (a phrase from psychiatrist Mary Ann Layden), people who never use porn end up bearing its costs. That includes wives, who are held up to impossible sexual standards and are as robbed of sexual intimacy as their addicted husbands are. That also includes teenage girls, who are being taught by the entertainment industry and boyfriends that being a woman is about being hypersexual for others.

But because porn literally rewires the brain, creating neural pathways that change how users understand the world, we know that porn warps how men and women see each other. Porn is demonic not primarily because it is addictive. It is demonic because it always flattens three-dimensional humans—especially women—to a collection of body parts meant for others' gratification, sullying the full glory that God intended them to reflect. And often it leads addicts to flatten women too, despite their beliefs or intentions.

Love Relationship

Earlier tonight we had a lesson/discussion in youth group about the Greatest Command: to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." (Deut 6, Matt 22, Mark 12, Luke 10)

It's a big topic and our time was limited, so we talked about our attitude toward God; how (as far as I know) this is unique to our religion; how loving God ultimately translates to obedience, yet adds a "filter" through which we view God's commands and our motivation for obeying.

And while we mentioned how God desires to have a love relationship with us, what we didn't have time to cover last night was how much God loves us (indeed loved us first)! That has me thinking...what if God didn't love us, and yet declared his greatest command to be that we should love Him? How different would that command be!

I watched the musical Annie! last week, and the orphans are compelled to tell their evil mistress, "We love you, Miss Hannigan!" It's of course a phony exchange for the girls to proclaim their love for her, and even Miss Hannigan knows it's a ridiculous formality meant to demonstrate her bitter authority. But our commandment to love the Lord has a whole different flavor, because He has loved us with an everlasting love. (Jer. 31:3)

God, in His infinite wonder, is able to love us when we are unlovable (Rom. 5:8). But we, in our weakness, are not forced to love an indifferent or spiteful God...we're invited to love Him completely, and in so doing complete the circuit of a two-way love relationship.

Avoiding Old Flames on Facebook

Some good thoughts for those of us who are (a) married and (b) on Facebook:

Her.meneutics: Avoiding Old Flames on Facebook

Quote

‎"Christianity, if false, is of no importance; if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important."

- C.S.Lewis

The Big Game!

This summer our church has two softball teams, and this Sunday, August 1st, they are scheduled to play against each other! It'll be a lot of fun, and if you've thought about coming to watch us play, this is the perfect week for it!

The game is at 6:00 p.m. and should be over by about 7:15. It will be played at Dancer Park, field #10 (the field in the far back corner of the park). The weather forecast looks pleasant, and it would be fun to see you there!

Play ball!

New downloads available

On our web site's Sermons, Etc page you'll find our last two sermons by guest speakers Gerry Clark and Rich Bryson. Gerry preached about Contentment on July 18th, while Rich brought a message about worship the following Sunday.

In addition, we recorded our New Hope band rendition of Revelation Song, which followed Rich's sermon.

Enjoy!

Church Picnic!

We are looking forward to seeing each of you this Sunday (July 11th) and spending a little time with you at our Independence Day picnic/potluck. This is a chance to fellowship and enjoy getting to know each other in a way we cannot on Sundays at church.

We will meet right after church at Joe Dancer Park in the area under the trees immediately to the right as soon as you enter the park (corner of Brooks St. and 3 Mile Lane). We are happy to point out that this year it is even more accessible than before with an enlarged parking area that provides entrance to the our picnic area across an easily-traversed bridge. (Of course, for those of us who can navigate more easily, we will park a little farther away so as to give the seniors and the physically-challenged among us the best parking we can. Making a food and chairs drop-off on the way is a good idea)!

If you cannot think what to bring, the following is a suggestion to follow, but do not feel locked into this if your specialty is in another area: if you have a last name starting with A-L, bring a main dish and salad. If your last name begins with M-Z, bring a main dish and dessert.

One more suggestion: please bring lawn chairs as there is no seating. See you Sunday at church and then at the picnic! Can't wait!

God's Gifts to Us

The last two sermons by Gerry Clark are now available online. Gerry is in the midst of a four-part series of messages on some of God's Gifts to Us. On June 27 he described the gift of "Being Ordinary" and on July 4 about "Service." You can hear these messages and more on our downloads page at our website!

He Will Carry You

On Father's Day, after Dewey's sermon on Matthew 11:28, nine-year-old Molly sang "He Will Carry You" by Scott Wesley Brown...

It's a common mistake

Christian Female Musicians MIA

I listen to Christian music radio somewhat regularly, and I am also heavily involved in music at church, so I found the following article very fascinating! The issue at hand, the theories on why it's an issue, and the comments from women at the end--all very interesting!

Check it out:

Christian Female Musicians, Missing in Action

by Laura Leonard

It may be time to switch to grape juice for communion...

This is just like our church (except, of course, we have chairs instead of pews).

Digital Derby Car Rally

Last night our youth group had a car rally--we had a blast!

It was a scavenger hunt of sorts: the teams had an hour to drive around town and take digital pictures from a list (e.g. team stuffed in a phone booth, being eaten by a bear, trapped in an elevator, etc). When the points were tabulated, the Low Riders edged out the Pink Cadillacs by 18 points for 1st place.

At the end of the evening we saw slide shows of all the teams' pictures. Below are some favorites, along with their category from the list:

Take a picture of your team...

...caroling at a house that has Christmas lights up.

...acting out a Shakespeare scene.

...imitating Benjamin Franklin.

...pretending to throw a team member into a river.

...saluting a flag.

...being run over by a jet.

...in a trash bin.

...all on one playground swing.

...having your arm swallowed by a mail box.

...staging a gun fight with bananas at a grocery store.

Wedding

Our humble New Hope building enjoyed its first ever wedding this weekend! Ashley Holter married Dylan Leach on Saturday, and her best friend Devita took some really nice pics, a few of which I've copied below! Dewey performed the ceremony, and I was privileged to do some music. May God bless this newly married couple!

Happy Mother's Day!