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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Have you ever been inspired or deeply moved by a simple photograph or picture?

I’m sure we’ve all had this happen to us. More than once I’ve read accounts from the battlefield of soldiers who have kept a photo of their wife or children with them while in combat. And as the fighting ensued, there would be opportunities to gaze at that picture, and draw courage and strength.

Well, this is something like what we discover in the first four verses of the Epistle to the Hebrews.

There is a magnificent ‘photograph’ here. It is a picture of Jesus our Lord. And the intent of this photo was to promote courage, faithfulness, and resolve in the hearts of some first-century believers who were sorely tempted, by persecution and hardship, to abandon the Christian faith and their Lord and Savior.

The picture of Jesus that is presented here contains some truly stunning details. In fact, there are seven phrases employed by the author to describe the One who is indescribable!

Of the Son of God, we learn that:

1. He is the One who is the “heir of all things.”
2. He is the One who is the Creator of “the world.”
3. He is the One who is the very “radiance” of God’s “glory.”
4. He is the One who is the “exact imprint” of God’s “nature.”
5. He is the One who “upholds all things” by His powerful “word.”
6. He is the One who has accomplished the “purification for sins.”
7. He is the One who has taken His seat “at the right hand of the Majesty on High.

Here is a portrait of the eternal superiority, glory, power, and majesty of the Son of God! And it is presented to us for the express purpose of moving our hearts to worship Him. And, as a result, to serve Him with faithfulness and persistence.

On Sunday, we will begin our examination of this beautiful picture our Lord and Savior. So let us pray that as we consider it, we too shall be “ lost in wonder, love, and praise.”

Pray for Our Middle and High School Students

Please remember to fervently pray for our Middle and High School Students and Adult Chaperones who are attending our Presbytery Youth Retreat this weekend.

And also pay for Rev. Daniel Hightower, the RUF Minister at Jacksonville State University, who will be the guest Bible teacher.

I love you all more than I can express!!

Mike

Upcoming Events:

These are upcoming events and activities over the next few days at Christ Presbyterian Church.

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:

Wonderful Merciful Savior
O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus – Hymn 535 v.1-3
Have Thine Own Way – Hymn 688 v.1-4
Before the Throne

Announcements:

Women’s Ministry:

Womens’ bible studies are on-going. Check the church website for dates and times. Also, if anyone is interested, Nancy Guthrie will speak at Briarwood Presbyterian Church on February 1 at 8:30am-3:30pm. Standard registration ends January 25.

Children’s Ministry:

Baby Nursery Staff Member Need

Our precious Ms. Merlene, who has been with us more than 8 years, is leaving us in February. This leaves a big hole as she has faithfully served the babies and watched so many of our children grow up. If you know of a sweet woman who would like to work for us, please have them call or email me or Jack Cooper. The pay is very good, and there is opportunity to work more than just Sunday morning. Current need is Sunday morning from 8:45 to 12:15.

Baby Nursery Volunteer Sign-up

At the beginning of each semester, I send out this sign-up form for you to volunteer in our baby nursery each week. This class varies so much that it is vital that our members volunteer to rock babies or play with the little ones (up to age 2). Girls ages 12 and up are also welcome to volunteer. Please consider taking 1-2 dates.

Click HERE to volunteer.

Children’s Ministry Meeting

If you are interested in helping me map out our 2020 events, plan to join me on Sunday, 1/26, at 5 pm (church) for an hour long planning session. I would love input into our ministry (nursery to 5th grade) from various aged parents. Email me to let me know you’ll be there! I already have some awesome things set for our children this year!

Crafts!

Save the Date for a fun day of crafting on Saturday, February 15th, from 2 to 3:30 pm at the church. Fellowship is open to grades 3rd thru 8th grade, and you are welcome to bring a friend or neighbor. Please RSVP HERE so that we have enough supplies. Guys and gals are welcome! For anyone who wants to help (high school and older), email Kerry Tameling to be involved.

VBS Survey

For all interested volunteers and families, please fill out my quick VBS date survey found HERE. This will help me in determining a good date this year’s event.

Men’s Studies:

The men are meeting at Panera at Bridge Street on Tuesdays at 6 AM to study Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion. If interested, email darondrown@gmail.com

Career/Singles:

Continuing each Sunday at 5:30pm , the Career/Singles group will meet at the Daughtry’s house at 5726 Jones Valley Dr, 35802. Email them to get involved.

Youth Group:

Be in prayer for our youth at the Presbytery-wide Roots retreat going on THIS weekend. There are close to 20 from our church there as well as over 250 from the area churches. Upcoming youth bible study dates are on the church website calendar.

Also, Youth Bible Study for Middle and High School continues February 2 from 4:30-6:15 PM.

RUF Help:

We will be helping RUF UAH with snacks for their large group meetings again this semester. They appreciate it so much! Our first opportunity will be Jan 27. Sign up will be next Sunday in the narthex. Look for the RUF logo! Judi Fikes will be there to answer any questions. We collect the items on the Sunday morning before and they are brought over to campus for the Monday meeting. Please finger foods only. There will be item needs on the sign up sheet. Thank you for your help! It is an opportunity to be a part of the fellowship for the students.

Second Sunday Lunches:

Many of you remarked to me that you’ve only been able to come to one or two lunches because of forgetting or making other plans – well let me encourage you to mark your calendars! 😉

We plan to continue each 2nd Sunday of the month from January through May. The May lunch will most likely move to the 3rd Sunday because of Mother’s Day.

February 9 is the next one coming up. Please make plans to join us in the Fellowship Hall after worship. And please welcome visitors to stay and join us to eat!

***A word of thanks to all the MANY helpers who prep, set out tables, serve the meals, bring food or dessert or tea, and those who linger to clean up – THANK YOU for making these lunches a great success. It is a pleasure to work alongside you and serve the church body this way.

Sincerely in Christ,
Denise Brown

Prayer Requests:

Healing: Please pray for the health of the following individuals: Suzi Jones, Sharon O’Neil, Jacky Haynes, Steve Terry, John Baxter, Bill Cowley, Larrabee Kirkland, Elizabeth Holton, Janet Chou, and Nolan Osmer.
Expecting: Please pray for the Brackins, expecting in March, and the Elliotts, expecting in May.
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); Franky and Alaina Garcia (church plant in Canada); Dieter Paulson (church plant in Scottsboro, AL); The Huntsville Pregnancy Resource Center.

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