CCC Gainesville | Blog
My name is Stacey Greene. My husband, Zach, and I have been members of Christ Community for about 4 years. We were active at the church from 2010 to 2013 while my husband was in medical school at the University of Florida. Residency took our family to Columbia, SC for the past year. We returned to Gainesville in June for the remainder of Zach’s residency in Anesthesiology at Shands. He has three more years of training. We also now have a son, Jacob, who is almost 5 months old. I most recently enjoyed volunteering during Vacation Bible School and have loved reconnecting with families and meeting new ones! My educational background is in Industrial and Systems Engineering and Leadership Studies from Mississippi State University.
Just as our personal season of transition and change is coming to an end, our church family’s season of transition and change is just beginning. When deciding to derail Zach’s professional training in switching his specialty from Orthopedic Surgery to Anesthesiology, we prayed that the Lord would make our path clear and definitive. The path was paved back to Gainesville, and the Lord provided a smooth transition. For the past 6 months, Zach and I have been praying over what our time will look like in Gainesville. There are many opportunities, small groups, Bible Studies, etc. to dive right back into, but we wanted to be discerning in what God was actually calling us to. My personal tendency is to over commit and spread myself thin, but I knew that God was asking me to pray and to take time before committing to too many “good” things. For that reason, I have been intentional with my prayers and with the people who I have consulted regarding this particular need in the church. I am reminded of Timothy who was a young leader in the church:
“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 3:15
I am so encouraged by the church members who are willing to come along side so that this important ministry has direction and manpower this year. While I always knew that I would be once again be an active, participating church member at Christ Community, I could not have envisioned that the Lord would call me to such a formal role. The seemingly different paths God takes people down are all for His singular purpose. I feel that the Lord has placed me and my gifts in this church at this time and is asking me to use them for this specific purpose. I am excited for the plan’s God has for Christ Community during this season of transition and change. It is my prayer that the church will be refined and that God will raise up leaders. I am humbled when I acknowledge that I am one of those leaders.
This past month we hosted two fun-filled weeks for children and youth. First our children blasted off to outer space during VBS. They spent the week learning what the Bible has to say about heaven, learning new songs, making fun crafts in the Space Lab, training in our Galactic Games, snacking on some Rocket Fuel. This year we had record attendance with over 100 children each day. Here are a couple slideshows of images from the week. The first is a longer version that we showed the space explorers on our last day of VBS and the second is the video recap we shared during our worship service after the event.
Our second event this summer was our Art Camp for girls. This summer our Art Camp was called “In & Out Cafe – Jealousy is not on the Menu”. With our largest group to date, the 64 campers learned what the Bible teaches about jealousy, lying, quarreling, deceit, and forgiveness. A 50’s Diner theme allowed for incredible art projects! The group dance had us swingin’, boppin’, twistin’, and hoppin’ the week away! It was so much fun! Enjoy our highlight video from camp!
The Women’s team of CCC is excited to announce our fall Tuesday Bible Study! Both morning and evening groups will be working through Peacemaking Women by Tara Barthel and Judy Dabler. Details below. please RSVP!
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)
“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit though the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3)
Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” But it often seems like conflict and disagreement are unavoidable. Friends let you down. A romance turns sour. Children rebel. You feel like you don’t measure up. Is there really hope for living at peace? Peacemaking Women offers a meaningful, lasting message to lead you out of conflict and into a state of peace where you can live as a representative of Jesus to other women…as well as to unbelievers. We need this study!
- It contains a wealth of wisdom and encouragement for women who want to learn how to turn any conflict into an opportunity to build deeper and closer relationships.
- The authors write out of rich personal experience and failure. God has and is refining them in the furnace of their own personal, family, and professional conflicts.
- The greatest strength of this study is that it is consistently Christ -centered. The gospel–the good news that Jesus has saved us from all our sins –is woven into every aspect of the peacemaking model.
- It’s utterly practical. Tara and Judy address a wide array of conflict scenarios that women face in today’s complex world and provide detailed and realistic steps of resolving all kinds of personal issues.
- Prepare to be challenged and encouraged, convicted and inspired. I know I have been…
Tuesday AM information:
When? Tuesdays 9-11AM
Start date? August 26th
Where? CCC –adult SS room
How Much $$? $15 covers book
Childcare? Yes! free with registration pbemfrench@gmail.com
RSVP! sstankunas@gmail.com
Tuesday PM information:
When? Tuesdays
Start date? September 2nd
Location and times? TBD
RSVP! lauracsmoot@gmail.com
Books are being ordered. Please let us know that you are coming! and feel free to forward to friends that I have missed!
In Jesus!
Paige, Lauren, Susan, Laura, and Sharon
This Summer in our gathered worship we have added the historical element of “passing the peace” to our liturgy.
Now, I have something to encourage understanding and I have a question.
1.) When I was studying 1 Peter I came across an enlightening riff that Ed Clowney did on Peter’s words:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
I’ve attached them below.
2.) question:
What have you observed and/or experienced with our passing of the peace this Summer? I’m very interested. Would you be willing to let me know? rpendley@christcommunitychurch.com
Here’s Clowney:
Psalm 128
Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
who walks in his ways!
2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.
4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the Lord.
5 The Lord bless you from Zion!
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life!
6 May you see your children’s children!
Peace be upon Israel!
Psalm 128 is a portion of a group known as the “Psalms of Ascent.” These mark the pilgrimage up to Jerusalem in observance of the covenantally prescribed feasts and provide an excellent occasion to reflect on God’s gracious provision in every area of life.
A superficial glance might suggest that this Psalm sets us up for a kind of mechanistic “paint by numbers” sort of faith. I do this and God gives me that. But this is not the way to read any portion of Holy Scripture. We read it as part of the big story of God’s revelation to us about who he is, who we are, and what this world is like. This Psalm is trying to get across that God’s ways are good and that following him and trusting him are the path to life. Sometimes that path is smooth and sometimes that path is rocky. He gives, and he takes away. As Scotty Smith has said:
As a Psalm of Ascent, this is a song of hope—a song sung as God’s people approached the Temple, which for them was a taste of the future. We all long for the Shalom of life in the new heaven and new earth, when as Tolkien said, “everything sad will come untrue”. This isn’t a Psalm of hype, but hope. We know there are plenty of other Psalms that are laments, cries for mercy, songs of confusion, etc. that clearly show us (along with the rest of the Bible) that the Christian life isn’t pain or suffering free. Jesus is the only one who has completely fulfilled Psalm 128 for us. Only Jesus has “feared the Lord enough” to secure for us a life of perfection in the new heaven and new earth, when as Tom Wright has said, “everything will be put right.” In Philippians 1:29, Paul describes believing in Christ and suffering for Christ, both as gifts of grace, and in chapter 3 he prayed to enter the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings. As with everything else, we must let our Father define “blessing” however he wants. Hebrews 11:32-38 shows us that a life of fearing the Lord includes everything from receiving our children back from the dead to being sawn in half!
