CCC Gainesville | Blog
One Read has begun. If you missed the announcement last week in the service, we introduced the VBS theme, Journey To The Lamppost, A Narnia Adventure. This VBS theme will be focused on the classic and beloved book written by C.S. Lewis, The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe. Because people of all ages love this book we are doing an all church reading of this book. It does not matter if you don’t want or cannot be involved in VBS, this is not only a VBS event. A One Read is an event where a collective community reads a single book together. Many towns and cities across the US do this as a community. The concept of a One Read (also called, Big Read, One Book) was started by Nancy Pearl, a Seattle librarian. When asked about the birth of her idea she said, “It’s based on the idea of community. My idea was that people would come together who would never come together any other way. Literature brings them together because a book touches them.”
This is also our desire for an All Church One Read. That as a community we would be brought together, across ages and have conversations that build deeper community and relationships.
If you have never read the Chronicles of Narnia they are quick delightful books (7 all together) written by C.S. Lewis. Lewis created an imaginary world just around any corner one might stumble across. You never know when you might fall into a painting or wardrobe and find yourself having tea with talking beavers or sailing with a prince or fighting the worst beasts imaginable.
The Opus group will be reading not only The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe but also a few other delightful books written by Lewis between now and mid-July. Also this will be the topic of discussion for one of the evening womens bible study meetings this Summer. There are various groups gathering to discuss this book together, if you are interested in inviting some friends over to discuss this book or having a book club of sorts meet for a time to talk about the themes you might find please take this opportunity to do so.
Starting this Sunday there will be articles about Lewis, Narnia, Fairy-Tales, and the need for imagination at the VBS/Narnia table. We also have books at the table for sale for $5 if you would like to grab an extra copy for your self or a friend. These articles are designed to be helpful for group discussions, family dinner table discussions and gaining an understanding of Lewis and his writing of these books.
I am currently reading, C.S. Lewis’ Letters to Children. This is a delightful short book full of his letters to children about various topics. Many of which include answering their questions about the Narnia books. This is a great book to read along with the Narnia books because it allows you to answer, from the authors perspective, questions children might have about the stories. You will also find many of those letters posted weekly here on the blog, so be checking in for the different One Read resources we will post here.
Enjoy your Summer and we hope you stop by and pick up a book!
Today especially we celebrate the ascension of Jesus, a date marked out 40 days after his resurrection, when he departed from earth and returned bodily to heaven (Luke 24:50–53, Acts 1:9–11). Three helps in learning/relearning/delighting in the this wondrous part of Christ’s redemptive work.
1.) On first glance, Jesus rising up in the clouds may seem like something out of a Monty Python skit. It’s perhaps a little difficult to understand, maybe even a little bizarre to grasp, and even more difficult to apply. And yet the ascension of Jesus carries with it a full range of implications for our lives, something we discover in today’s episode of the Authors on the Line podcast.
2.) Jim Packer (dude was en fuego when he wrote Concise Theology)
While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. LUKE 24:51
Jesus’ ascension was his Father’s act of withdrawing him from his disciples’ gaze upward (a sign of exaltation) into a cloud (a sign of God’s presence). This was not a form of space travel, but part two (the Resurrection being part one) of Jesus’ return from the depths of death to the height of glory. Jesus foretold the Ascension (John 6:62; 14:2, 12; 16:5, 10, 17, 28; 17:5; 20:17), and Luke described it (Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:6-11). Paul celebrated it and affirmed Christ’s consequent lordship (Eph. 1:20; 4:8-10; Phil. 2:9-11; 1 Tim. 3:16), and the writer of Hebrews applied this truth for encouragement of the fainthearted (Heb. 1:3; 4:14; 9:24). The fact that Jesus Christ is enthroned as master of the universe should be of enormous encouragement to all believers.
The Ascension was from one standpoint the restoration of the glory that the Son had before the Incarnation, from another the glorifying of human nature in a way that had never happened before, and from a third the start of a reign that had not previously been exercised in this form. The Ascension establishes three facts:
1. Christ’s personal ascendancy. 2. Christ’s spiritual omnipresence. 3. Christ’s heavenly ministry. (Ascension article by Packer)
3.) A prayer
Prayer of Allegiance
We let go of our hope in
our country,
our finances,
our work,
our abilities,
ourselves.
our country,
our finances,
our work,
our abilities,
ourselves.
We put our hope in you.
You are our
strength,
hope,
joy,
future,
and King.
You are our
strength,
hope,
joy,
future,
and King.
Nope.
I don’t find my heart resonating with Paul’s.
Thanksgiving as a primal and primary response to the Christians that He knows? How I needed (need, and will need) to hear Paul’s words in Philippians
I thank God upon every remembrance of you.
I was helped by this reflection by Jim Boice:
Isn’t it interesting that the first word of Paul’s prayer in his various letters involve thanksgiving? Paul did this:
— with the church in Philippi (1:3) where there was MUCH to be thankful about
–with the church in Rome (Romans 1:8) whom he had not yet met
— with the church in Corinth (1 Cor.1:4) who were behaving badly as Christians and causing Paul much distress.
In his prayers Paul always thanked God for the evidence of spiritual blessings among Christians. Although Paul was sensitive to the problems in his churches, he was even more sensitive to the mercies of God. He knew people’s hearts. He knew that there is no good in man that can satisfy God. He knew that Christians live a great deal of their lives in the flesh instead of in the Spirit. He knew that we all fall short of what God would like us to be. But Paul also was acquainted with God’s grace and he gloried in it. He knew that God has provided wonderfully for His children—for their salvation and for their constant and continuing growth in the Christian life. Consequently, Paul was continually thankful for these things. –James Montgomery Boice was a minister of 10th Presbyterian Church in Philly last century
Oh God, work it in me, work it in all of us.
Dear CCC,
Thank you for your support over the last year. You all have been so hospitable and encouraging. I have learned and gained so much from my year here and am so thankful for the opportunity to come here and serve as Youth Director. My understanding of how the church works and the importance of it in peoples lives is forever changed. I believe God has used and will continue to use this experience as I look to further my education in pursuing graduate school.
It has been an incredible year teaching and living life with your students. Our many youth events, lunches, and weekly Youth Groups have provided for great opportunities and blessings for this ministry. I have been encouraged through seeing first hand how God is able to stir hearts and bring students closer to Himself through the seemingly smallest of ways. You have wonderful students who it has been such a pleasure to get to know over the last year. Gainesville is a busy and stressful place. Please remember to do everything you can to prioritize their relationships with Jesus Christ and with other Christians. I will be finishing my time here at CCC at the end of June. Thank you for the support!
Summer with CCC Youth is going to be very exciting, stay tuned for the dates of our awesome events coming in June and beyond!
In Christ,
Drew
In the Fall we prayed and nominated.
In the Winter we prayed and trained.
Today we prayed and elected an elder and deacons.
All the men received majority votes and will be ordained and installed on May 19. See their names and bios.
