CCC Gainesville | Blog
“We all suffer. For we all prize and love; and in this present existence of ours, prizing and loving yield suffering. Love in our world is suffering love. Some do not suffer much, though, for they do not love much. Suffering is for the loving. This, said Jesus, is the command of the Holy One: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” In commanding us to love, God invites us to suffer.”
― Nicholas Wolterstorff, Lament for a Son
― Nicholas Wolterstorff, Lament for a Son
I want you to consider turning up tonight or tomorrow at one or two events where Nicholas Wolterstorff will be speaking.
First, let me briefly introduce him to you. If you google Nicholas Wolterstorff your first “auto fill ins” are:
Justice (not a bad thing to have associated with your name) and “Lament for a Son”. “Lament for a Son” was my introduction to NW years ago. I remember reading it and being so absolutely floored by the pain and hope of a parent at the sudden and tragic death of his college-aged son.
“God is not only the God of the sufferers but the God who suffers. … It is said of God that no one can behold his face and live. I always thought this meant that no one could see his splendor and live. A friend said perhaps it meant that no one could see his sorrow and live. Or perhaps his sorrow is splendor. … Instead of explaining our suffering God shares it.”
“How is faith to endure, O God, when you allow all this scraping and tearing on us? You have allowed rivers of blood to flow, mountains of suffering to pile up, sobs to become humanity’s song–all without lifting a finger that we could see. You have allowed bonds of love beyond number to be painfully snapped. If you have not abandoned us, explain yourself….We strain to hear. But instead of hearing an answer we catch sight of God himself scraped and torn. Through our tears we see the tears of God.” Wednesday 6:15pm on UF Campus (Pugh Hall, Room #170)
&
Thursday 7:30pm at Creekside Community Church
The Christian Study Center has much more info on these two different lectures. I just wanted to provide some background for you who might not be familiar.
And here are the two main things for which I knew NW prior to this week:
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Lament for a Son: Nicholas Wolterstorff: 9780802802941: Amazon …
www.amazon.com/Lament-Son-Nicholas–Wolterstorff/…/080280294…Wolterstorff, a well-known Christian philosopher, lost his 25-year-old son to a mountain climbing accident. His reflections in the wake of that tragedy are at times …
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[PDF]
The Grace That Shaped My Life – Calvin College
www.calvin.edu/125th/wolterst/w_bio.pdfFile Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat – Quick View
by N WOLTERSTORFF – Cited by 5 – Related articles
The Grace That Shaped My Life. NICHOLAS WOLTERSTORFF. Nicholas Wolterstorff has a joint appointment in the divinity school and the philosophy and …
The memorial service for Chipper’s Dad will be held at 2pm on Saturday, October 20. The service will be at Aloma Church in Winter Park, Florida. Everyone is welcome to attend. There is plenty of room. Here is the address:
Aloma Church
1815 State Road 436
Winter Park, Florida 32792
THIS Sunday, October 21, Noon to 2pm,
Chili Cookoff is back. This is a tradition at CCC that in the past was present at our Fall Festival. We are bringing it back at Operation Christmas Child! We are cooking for a great cause. EVERYONE is invited to enter their best chili into the cookoff (there will be a prize for Most Popular Chili!) and to come learn more about Operation Christmas Child and the impact it has on children and communities around the world over a church-wide lunch.
A suggested donation of $3 per person or $10 per family will go towards Operation Christmas Child supplies and boxes, which will be collected the week of November 12th.
We had another great time at the Great Pumpkin Race! Last Saturday our middle schoolers ventured out onto UF’s campus in an Amazing Race style scavenger hunt. They took pictures with statues, “Tebowed” with Tebow, climbed on the “French Fries”, sang in the Union Amphitheater, and even found athletes on campus to take pictures with, all while completing challenges and searching for pumpkins. It was a great time!
Thank you to all who participated and made it a Great Pumpkin Race! Here are some pictures from the race:
Church:
Please be in earnest prayer for the Flaniken family. Forrest Flaniken, Jr. was struck by a vehicle and killed while riding his bicycle in Orlando yesterday afternoon. His son, Chipper, was an intern here and has recently returned to begin the work of planting a church near campus. He notified me last night, and I am asking everyone at CCC to pray diligently for his family as they grieve the loss of a husband and father. If you need to learn more, the accident was covered in the news in Orlando.
I am the resurrection and the life; He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me, shall never die (John 11:25).
Man who is born of woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower, and fades away; he flees like a shadow, and does not continue (Job 14:1).
For we are aliens and pilgrims before You, as were all our fathers; our days on the earth are as a shadow, and without hope (1 Chronicles 29:15).
We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out (1 Timothy 6:7).
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away: blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21).
