Sermon Preview
Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
When we consider our Lord’s parable of the prodigal son, our attention is naturally confined to the prodigal himself, the younger son who left his home for a life of reckless abandon in a faraway country. But the story of the younger son who returns home is only about the half of it, literally!
In Luke 15 the parable of the prodigal takes up a full 22 verses. But the last 8 verses are all about the father’s oldest son. For some reason, the story of this other son doesn’t seem to get the attention that it deserves, and the lessons that we should learn often go unobserved.
The parable of the prodigal son is really about two lost sons, one a long way from home who eventually returns, and one very close to the father, yet remaining distant and estranged. And despite the apparent differences in their respective stories, the two sons have much in common, at least initially.
Sunday’s message will be taken from Luke 15:25-32 where the second story in this parable, the story of the ‘second prodigal son,’ is presented by Jesus. I hope you will take time to carefully and prayerfully study these verses. And as you do, please pray that the Word of our Savior will bear its beautiful fruit in our lives as we hear it proclaimed this Lord’s Day.
I love you all so very much,
Mike
Counselor’s Corner:
Upcoming Events:
August 11, 4:30 PM – Psummer Psalms recitation
August 12, 6 PM – Women’s Book Club Potluck at Timber’s Edge Clubhouse
August 20, 9 AM – Senior Fellows visit Larry’s Gun and Pawn for defensive training
September 3, 9 AM – Women’s Morning Bible Study
September 4, 6 PM – Women’s Evening Bible Study
September 5, 11:30 AM – Women’s Potluck Lunch at Timbers Edge Clubhouse
September 8, 9 AM – Sunday School resumes
September 10, 9 AM – Mother’s Morning Bible Study
September 18, 6 PM – Deacons Meeting
September 20, 6 PM – Marriage Enrichment Evening and Dinner
Order of Worship:
You can access this week’s Order of Worship by clicking here
If you’d like to sing the songs with your family beforehand, the songs for this week are:
How Sweet To Wait Upon the Lord
Stricken, Smitten And Afflicted – Hymn 257, all 4 verses
Abide With Me
In Christ Alone
Announcements:
Summer Schedule:
Christ Pres is on Summer Schedule, which means Sunday School and regular weekly activities are on hiatus. Our weekly time of fellowship begins at 10 AM, with worship beginning at 10:30 AM. Regular weekly activities resume September 3 and Sunday School resumes September 8.
Children’s Ministry Notes:
- Each August, I send out a registration for infants to 12th graders in order to update our records for both Sunday school and/or youth programs and events. Even if you do not plan to attend SS, please register. Click HERE to complete the form for each child.
- Sunday school starts back on September 8th at 9:15. I am working on ordering supplies and recruiting teachers. If you are interested in teaching or team teaching, please contact me. I am in need, and this is an excellent opportunity! Please pray about this with me! It is amazing to be involved each week with these kids!!
- Southwood has invited us to the Slugs and Bugs concert (Randall Goodgame) on Friday, August 23rd. You can buy tickets HERE.
Youth Notes:
Dear Parents of Middle and High School Students, and CPC Youth,
I wanted to let you know of our plans for our Bible Teaching Ministry to our students that will commence in just a few short weeks. There are two main areas I want to focus upon.
Sunday School
Our fall semester of Sunday School will begin on September 8, at 9:15 AM.
- Our Middle School Sunday School Class (grades 6-8) will meet downstairs at the Church house and will be taught by Graham and Sarah Burgess.
- Our High School Class (grades 9-12) will meet upstairs at the Church house and will be taught by Glen Doughty.
Sunday Night Fellowship and Bible Study
Then, on every-other Sunday Night, beginning August 25 from 4:30-6:30 PM, our Middle and High School students will meet at the Church for a time of fellowship and Bible study.
The nightly schedule will go as follows:
- 4:30-5:00 PM–Joint fellowship and fun time in the fellowship hall
- 5:00-6:00 PM–Separate Bible Studies:
Middle School Bible Study (grades 6-8) led by Pastor Mike and Matthew Elliott
High School Bible Study (grades 9-12) led by Ken Burnett
- 6:00-6:15 PM–Joint snack and fellowship time in fellowship hall (parents may pick up their students from 6:15-6:30 PM).
The full schedule of Sunday night meetings for the remainder of the fall will be released next week.
Visitors Welcome!!
Both our Sunday School and Sunday Night Studies are open to all of our Middle and High School Youth. Plus, we encourage visitors to attend as well, especially those who may not know our Lord, or those who are not involved in a local Church.
I am especially looking forward to making some good connections with our Youth this fall, and I would ask that you begin praying for these ministries and leaders, and each of our young people.
If you should have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me or Ken Burnett.
Prayer for High School Graduates
This coming Sunday, August 11 (at the beginning of our service), we will have a special time of prayer for any of our High School Seniors who have graduated this spring. If you are one of our High School graduates, and you will be in attendance this Sunday, please let me know by this Saturday.
Marriage Evening Conference:
Dear CPC Congregation, You are invited to join us for a Marriage Evening Conference on Friday, September 20th! Our evening will include several large group seminars as well as an optional dinner for those interested. Our hope is that the evening will be a time of fellowship with others as well as refreshment for you personally and in your marriage. Registration for the event opens on August 1st and concludes August 31st.
Speaker: Our speaker is Pastor Nate Shurden. He is a graduate of Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, MS. While in seminary, Nate served at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson in Christian education ministry and as Assistant Editor for reformation21, the online magazine of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. Upon graduation, Nate was called to be Minister of Discipleship and Young Adults at FPC Jackson where he served for three years. In 2010, Nate accepted a call to Franklin, TN to help plant Cornerstone Presbyterian Church. Nate is married to Christy, and they have four young children.
Dinner: We would invite you to join us for dinner! Catered by Carrabbas, we will begin serving around 5:45 and conclude our meal around 6:45. There is no cost for the sessions of the conference. However, for those attending dinner, a $10 per person donation is appreciated in order to mitigate some of the costs of the food. Given the limited amount of space, we are currently reserving the dinner portion of the event for members of Christ Presbyterian Church. Please feel free to invite friends and family to join you for the sessions starting at 7pm!
Details:
Christ Presbyterian Church
Friday September 20th, 2019
Dinner: 5:45 – 6:45**
Session One: 7:00 – 7:45*
Coffee Break: 7:45 – 8:00
Session Two: 8:00 – 8:45
*No cost for the sessions
**A donation of $10 for the dinner is appreciated
Childcare: There will not be any childcare provided at the church during the event. However, if childcare is an obstacle for your attendance, please indicate as such on the RSVP in the registration link provided in this email and we will contact you for assistance.
How Do I Sign Up? To sign up online, please follow the link provided here to register for the event! Please click here. We will also have a sign-up form each Sunday morning during the month of August in the foyer.
Questions: Do you have questions? Please feel free to email Matthew Elliott at matthew@christpreshamptoncove.
Women’s Book Club Fellowship:
Title of book is Even Better than Eden by Nancy Guthrie. Meets Monday nights starting June 10th from 630-8pm at 2 locations
Home of Sharon Daughtry 5726 Jones Valley Dr HSV 256-520 0824
Home of Debi Walker 8538 Sedgebrook SE 256 929-3214
Aug 12th wrap up potluck fellowship for both groups at the Timber’s Edge Clubhouse at 6 PM
Golf Tournament:
Attention Christ Presbyterian golfers! The men’s ministry of Cornerstone Presbyterian has invited us to participate in an upcoming golf tournament and dinner on August 11, 3 pm at the Hampton Cove RTJ golf trail short course. The cost is $45/person, and the winning team will take home the prized Reformer’s Cup, which does not feature any magisterial reformers and may not actually be a cup. We are still looking for some additional players to join in the fellowship. If you would like to participate, please send your response to Ben Calvert at calvert.benjamin@gmail.com.
Fall Women’s Bible Studies:
Will begin on Tuesday nights starting September 3 and Wednesday mornings starting September 4. We will be doing the Jen Wilkens video study “First Peter (A Living Hope in Christ). “It can be ordered from Lifeway.com. Sign up in the Narthex. There will also be a study for Mothers studying Melissa Kruger’s book “Contentment” beginning Sept 4 at 9 AM. Childcare will be provided. Hope you will consider joining us in the Fall.
Psummer Psalms:
Meet at the church house Sunday, Aug 11, at 4:30 for recitation, pizza, and ice cream. The goal is to encourage one another toward memorizing one entire Psalm each summer, and this year we have some reciting and others singing their chosen Psalm. All are invited to join, whether you have a Psalm to recite or not.
Senior Fellows:
On Tuesday, August 20, the Senior Fellows will visit Larry’s Gun and Pawn at 2405 Memorial Parkway SW for defensive training. Plan to arrive by 9 AM. Meet at the church at 8 if you want to carpool. Visitors are welcome Lunch will follow at about 11:30. For more information call 256-503-2853.
Prayer Requests:
Healing: Please pray for the health of the following individuals: Jose Luis Rodriguez, Linda Baxter, John Baxter, Pat Galecki, Jim Daughtry, Bill Cowley, Larrabee Kirkland, Chris Smotherman, Elizabeth Holton, Janet Chou, Ramona Edwards, and Nolan Osmer.
Expecting: Please pray for the Bryant family, expecting in September, and the Thoms, expecting in November.
Ministries: Please pray for the following missionaries and ministries: Seth and Jessica Lewis (Ireland); Steve and Rita Williams (New Zealand); Vinnie and Molly Athey (RUF at UAH); RUF at Alabama A&M; Ken and Angie Burnett (FCA).
Emails:
general inquiries: admin@christpreshamptoncove.org
benevolence needs: benevolence@christpreshamptoncove.org
counsel and ministry needs: matthew@christpreshamptoncove.org
men’s ministry: men@christpreshamptoncove.org
women’s ministry: women@christpreshamptoncove.org
children’s ministry: children@christpreshamptoncove.org
youth ministry: youth@christpreshamptoncove.org
senior fellows: seniorfellows@christpreshamptoncove.org
Address:
288 Old Highway 431
Owens Cross Roads, AL 35763