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The ABF has been smokin' lately, not only on Sunday mornings, but with the mid-week events, too. If you missed either the Ladies' Evening w/ Robin or the Guys' Night w/ Tony, and you were either working or were on kid-duty, you had a good excuse. For just about anything else, you missed fantastic evenings... where were you? We were made for relationship and connection. Dates will be set in the very near future for more Ladies' and Guys' events, so make sure to arrange your schedule to be a part of things.
Programming note: The Galieti vacation continues through the week, and this weekend we'll be joined by Mark & Barb Knabe. The Knabes are good friends of the Galietis, having been in a small group together for 10+ years, and they've been HCC members for a long time, now worshipping at Aurora Community Chapel. A topic for the hour has not yet been determined, but Tony had this to say, "I know that the entire group will be richly blessed by what they have to share." So no matter what the LORD has to say through them, come be a part of Life Answers' ABF time this coming Sunday. There's a lot of information, dates, and review to cover in this issue, so here goes... (rg)
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
I John 1:8-10, NIV |
Last Sunday's ABF Recap:
Sports Impact, Community Groups and Encouragement to Observe the Scriptures
w/ Tim Schofield
Have you browsed the HCC website recently and looked at all of the ministries that are housed and operated in and around HCC? Let's just say there are a bunch. Joining us this past Sunday was Tim Schofield to talk about HCC's sports ministry and small groups ministry in particular. Tim wears many hats around Hudson... in addition to sports and small groups, he also heads up Young Professionals. Tim has been married to Meg for 8 years now, and has three children: Sarah (5), James (3) and Emily (3 mos). He's got a lot going on, so borrowing Tim's services for the Life Answers hour was quite a privilege.
In keeping with our recent topic of Observing the scriptures before wading into the areas of Intrepretation and Application, Tim encouraged us to read the Word not as though it is an instruction manual for us on this particular day, but as though it is Truth from the LORD for our lives as a whole. Referencing Scot McKnight, the 5 Ways to Read the Bible were covered: - Taking the Bible as a book of laws, dos and don'ts
- The Bible contains morsels of blessings and promises, much like a Christian calendar with warm fuzzy thoughts each month.
- Treating the Bible as a puzzle and arranging it in the way that we see fit.
- Interpreting the Bible to speak to our current need.
- Maestros - locking into one author's perspective, such as Paul, Jesus, Peter, etc.
There are clearly flaws involved with each of these. For instance with the first, it is easy to lose track of love and grace. With the second we ignore important aspects of God's character. If we have a steady diet of any one of these methods, we will have a warped and unhealthy view of scripture. One of the cures for this is Observation, simply looking at the scriptures and asking ourselves, "What is going on here?"
I left it to Tim to wrap up this week's recap:
Dear Friends at Life Answers,
Thanks for letting me come and share this past weekend. I enjoyed the time to meet many of you and share a bit on what God is doing in the ministry. Ryan asked me to pen a few thoughts about the ministries I am involved in and some specific areas on where we can serve.
Therefore, I trust that the following information proves helpful. Please feel free to contact me directly for more information about any of these specific ministry areas.
Thanks,
Tim
Tim.schofield@hudsonchapel.org
Community Groups
Community Groups are designed to build relationships and help people GROW in Jesus. Groups focus on Fellowship, Bible study & Prayer and look to address opportunities for evangelism and service.
Primary serve areas include leading or co-leading groups.
Young Professionals
Young Professionals is the life stage ministry for people in their 20's-30's. On Tuesday evenings we meet for our weekly night of worship, community, and teaching from God's Word. (The Gathering) In addition, we have gender based small groups that meet offsite on various nights. Social gatherings occur throughout the year as well.
Primary serve areas include leading a gender based small group, Tuesday night support of media, worship, and just be there for support.
Sports Impact
Sports Impact is one of the outreach ministries at HCC. Our team works to use the language of sports to build healthy relationships with our community in order to point them to Jesus. This occurs through offerings from children to adults and others events as needed. Please check out the information online at www.hudsonchapel.org.
Primary serve areas include volunteers needed to help at specific events, lead champions, assistant champions, people willing to help with registration, greeters, and coaches for specific leagues (basketball, volleyball and summer camps) Note: To volunteer in sports you DO NOT need to be sporty or know much about every sport. We do need coaches and asst. coaches for various offerings, but there is plenty of ways to help out with just a willing heart to serve.
Looking back, it was very helpful to have an HCC staff member spend time with us as well has having another voice encouraging us to Observe the scriptures. Have you noticed a theme in ABF lately?
F a m i l y D a y
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We haven't had an official Life Answers Family Day... until this year! The Plan: We'll meet at HCC on Saturday, October 10, at 1:00pm sharp and carpool out to Hillcrest Orchards. If that's out of the way for you, feel free to meet us at the orchard (around 2:00pm, it takes about an hour to get there from HCC). Once you're there, you can pick your own apples, pick your own pumpkins, play in the corn maze, or simply enjoy the outdoors. As of September 18, they're planning on having Melrose, Jonagold, Winesap, Suncrisp & Fuji apples available to pick, as well as Pumpkins!!Cost? Will from Hillcrest says, "We charge admission of $3.50 per person for the hayride [to get to the orchard], activity barn, and an apple to eat. For the corn maze admission is $6 for kids up to 12 years old and $8 for ages 13+. Ages 3 and under are always free of charge. The corn maze admission includes everything the general admission includes as well.
Apple prices are $8 per peck (20-25 apples) and $15 per half bushel (50 apples)." Hillcrest does not take credit/debit. You'll need to bring cash or check.If you've got kids, bring 'em! No kids? No problem! It'll be a fun time for everyone! |
View Larger Map
Take I-90 (State Route 2) or Ohio Turnpike to the Baumhart Road exit.Take Baumhart south until you arrive at St. Rt. 113.Proceed west (right turn coming from Rt. 2 and Turnpike) about 1 mile to the farm. |
(In the event of inclement weather, visit the Life Answers website for alternate plans/cancellation notification.)
Learning From Christ's Example
John MacArthur
"Take . . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17).
Jesus gave us the perfect example of skillful and precise use of the sword of the Spirit. Following His baptism, "Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, 'If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread'" (Matt. 4:1-3).
Satan was challenging Christ's trust in His heavenly Father's power and provisions. God had just announced that Jesus was His Son (Matt. 3:17). Would He now abandon Jesus to starve in the wilderness? Satan urged Jesus to take matters into His own hands and supply for His own needs. After all, Satan implied, doesn't the Son of God deserve better than this?
Jesus might have acted on His own authority or demanded that God give Him what He deserved. Instead, He demonstrated His trust in God and rebuked Satan for his evil intents: "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God'" (v. 4). That's a specific verse applied to a specific situation. Jesus responded the same way to Satan's other temptations (vv. 7, 10).
Scripture gives many general principles for Christian living, but the sword of the Spirit is a precise weapon. We must learn to apply the appropriate biblical principles to any given situation. That's what the psalmist meant when he wrote, "How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Thy word. . . . Thy word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee" (Ps. 119:9, 11).
Do you know where to go in the Bible to defend yourself against sorrow, discouragement, apathy, lust, or pride? If not, you're attempting to do spiritual battle unarmed.
Suggestions for Prayer:
- Thank God for His precious Word and the study resources that are available to Bible students today.
- Renew your commitment to daily systematic Bible study.
For Further Study:
Read Psalm 119:97-105. Is that your attitude toward Scripture?
From Drawing Near by John MacArthur Copyright 1993
Final thought: Remember to stay in Ruth. Tony's challenge to read, observe and eventually own one book at a time is still on the table, and Ruth is still the topic.
Enjoy your week. Send an encouraging e-mail to a friend.
RG
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