CCC Gainesville | Blog
“Oh, let not mine eyes be dazzled, nor my heart bewitched with the
glory and sweetness of these worldly treasures. . . Draw my affection to
the love of that durable riches, and to that fruit of heavenly wisdom
which is better than gold, and the revenues whereof do surpass the
silver, that my chief care may be to have a soul enriched and furnished
with Thy grace.” –Samuel Hieron
“Jesus is not against investment. He is against bad investment—namely,
setting your heart on the comforts and securities that money can afford
in this world. Money is to be invested for eternal yields in heaven—‘Lay
up for yourselves treasures in heaven!’” —John Piper
1 Chronicles 29:10 David blessed the LORD in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever.
11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all.
12 Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.
13 And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.
O my forgetful soul,
A wake from thy wandering dream;
turn from chasing vanities,
look inward, forward, upward,
view thyself,
reflect upon thyself,
who and what thou art, why here,
what thou must soon be.
Thou art a creature of God,
formed and furnished by him,
lodged in a body like a shepherd in his tent;
Dost thou not desire to know God’s ways?
O God,
Thou injured, neglected, provoked Benefactor
when I think upon thy greatness and thy goodness
I am ashamed at my insensibility,
I blush to lift up my face,
for I have foolishly erred.
Shall I go on neglecting thee,
when every one of thy rational creatures
should love thee,
and take every care to please thee?
I confess that thou hast not been in all my thoughts,
that the knowledge of thyself as the end of
my being has been strangely overlooked,
that I have never seriously considered
my heart-need.
But although my mind is perplexed and divided,
my nature perverse,
yet my secret dispositions still desire thee.
Let me not delay to come to thee;
Break the fatal enchantment that binds
my evil affections,
and bring me to a happy mind that rests in thee,
for thou hast made me and canst not forget me.
Let thy Spirit teach me the vital lessons of Christ,
for I am slow to learn;
And hear thou my broken cries.
If you have always wanted one of our Christ Community T-shirts, now is your chance! We are selling shirts to raise funds for our Operation Christmas Child Project and we are now taking orders. Adult shirts will be $12 and children’s shirts will be $10. Visit the church website to place your order or stop by the Children’s Welcome Station. Orders are due by October 23.
And don’t forget our Operation Christmas Child Experience!
November 12, 3-5 pm. Join us as we have a special event to serve children in need in other countries. Children’s Ministry will be partnered with Missions and other ministries to make it an all church event. There will be fun and games, shoe box packing and a chili dinner. Please mark your calendars for this evening of fun, fellowship and serving.
November 12, 3-5 pm to serve children in need in other countries. Children’s Ministry will be partnered with Missions and other ministries to make it an all church event. There will be fun and games, shoe box packing and a chili dinner. Please mark your calendars for this evening of fun, fellowship and serving.
There are, in fact, two quite distinct ways in which the New
Testament speaks of crucifixion in relation to holiness. The
first is our death to sin through identification with Christ;
the second is our death to self through imitation of Christ. On
the one hand, we have been crucified with Christ. But on the
other we have crucified (decisively repudiated) our sinful
nature with all its desires, so that every day we renew this
attitude by taking up our cross and following Christ to
crucifixion (Lk. 9:23). The first is a legal death, a death to
the penalty of sin; the second is a moral death, a death to the
power of sin. The first belongs to the past, and is unique and
unrepeatable; the second belongs to the present, and is
repeatable, even continuous. I died to sin (in Christ) once; I
die to self (like Christ) daily.
–John Stott
