Sermon Preview:
Dear Ones in the Lord,
In the midst of our busy lives, wouldn’t it be great just to hang a ‘Gone Fishing’ sign on the door of our homes or offices!
As I drive by the many small lakes that dot our neighborhood, I often see what is a most pleasant and compelling sight (and one that makes me very envious, I’m sad to confess!). There will be a grand-father there with his grand-children, fishing, or teaching them how to. There might be a group of little boys with their rods and reels and worms, hoping to catch a big one. Or I’ll see one solitary soul, sitting quietly in a chair, cane pole extended over the water, and the little red and white float bobbing up and down on the ripples. Just beholding such scenes provides me with a brief fraction of tranquility as I enjoy that moment with them vicariously.
Well, this Lord’s Day we will not only gather for worship and praise, but we will take a little fishing trip! But this expedition on the water will be unlike any we’ve ever seen, experienced, or even dreamed of! Something most unusual is going to occur. Something inexplicable! A truly life-changing event!
Our sermon text will be taken from Luke 5:1-11. It’s about fishing. But not the kind of fishing that one would normally engage in! We’ll be fishing with Jesus! And since He is our fishing Guide, we can expect the unexpected! We can anticipate that He will tell us something wonderful about Himself and His Kingdom, but also something important about being His disciples! I can’t wait for Sunday to come!
Important News From Providence Presbytery
On this past Tuesday, our local Presbytery, ‘Providence,’ met for our quarterly gathering. As we had previously shared with you, our General Assembly recently handed down twelve ‘Overtures’ related to potential changes in our Book of Church Order, three of which deal with the examination of ministerial candidates and their moral qualifications for Church Office.
These three proposed changes to the BCO were prompted by our recent debates on same-sex attraction. At last June’s General Assembly in Birmingham, these Overtures were sent to each of the PCA’s eighty-eight Presbyteries for approval. Each Presbytery will be voting upon these changes in the next couple of months, and, if two-thirds of them approve these amendments, we will be voting upon them again for final passage next June at our national meeting in Memphis. At that time, the formal passage of these changes and their incorporation into the BCO will require only a simple majority.
I am happy to report to you that each of these three critical items passed at our local meeting on Tuesday. What I consider to be the most critical of the three would add the following statement to the Book of Church Order (BCO 7):
“Men who describe themselves as homosexual, even those who describe themselves as homosexual and claim to practice celibacy by refraining from homosexual conduct, are disqualified from holding office in the Presbyterian Church in America.”
This item passed Providence Presbytery on Tuesday by a vote of 37 for, and 13 against, with 4 abstentions (a 69% margin of approval).
As you can see, this amendment would prohibit the language of ‘Gay Christian,’ or ‘Gay but celibate Christian’ as applied to Teaching and Ruling Elders, and Deacons. Any man identifying in this way would not be qualified for ordained leadership in the PCA.
Please continue to pray for the other Presbyteries that have yet to vote on these amendments (many will be voting later this month, and some in December and January). We should all pray most fervently that two-thirds of the Presbyteries will also pass these items and, that next summer, the General Assembly will do the same for the glory of God and the purity of our Lord’s Church.
When we receive news from the other Presbyteries regarding the outcome of their voting, the CPC Session will be scheduling a Church-Wide Q&A on a Sunday night so that we may report, dialog, and pray with you about the status and future of the PCA.
And. . .Don’t Forget to Set Your Clock Back One Hour On Saturday Night!
I love you all so very much!!
Mike
Announcements:
New CPC Directory:
Church Center contains the new church directory, accessible by members only. Instant Church Directory will be closed on November 30th. The official CPC Calendar is located in Church Center.
Christmas Gifts for Care Center:
Care Center Toy Need Description: We plan to serve about 150 children this year at our Christmas Shop; the majority are aged 10-17. Most children served through our Christmas Store include children approved through our Bags of Blessings ministry. We also help children whose families are experiencing some crisis (house fire, job loss, medical diagnosis, etc.). The Christmas Shop is set up in a way where no money is exchanged, the parents receive a voucher to come to the Christmas Shop, and it helps to protect the family’s dignity.
Here are some specifics that may help. We ask for new toy donations for our families:
– Family-friendly/children’s board games
– Fidget/sensory-friendly toys
– Headphones (no Bluetooth)
– Boy/neutral bikes ranging in size
– Boy items- Sports balls, Sports equipment(it is okay to include skateboards, fishing equipment, musical instruments such as guitars and harmonicas, etc. we serve high school students), outdoor toys, STEM kits, science experiments, Lego kits, remote/model cars, watches, boy hygiene/cologne kits,
– Girl/neutral bikes ranging in size
– Girl Items- Art kits/supplies, jewelry/ kits, nail kits, makeup kits, purses, Barbie/accessories, dolls/accessories, girl hygiene/perfume kits, Disney items,
– Always needed:
socks, clothes, Pajamas, books, blankets, hats/scarfs
*School backpacks are currently not a need. We also ask for no tablets, phones, computers, or electronic type devices.
Here is our Christmas amazon wish link if it is helpful – https://a.co/eGktX5j
Second Sunday Lunch:
We will have our monthly fellowship lunch November 13 immediately after church.
Youth Group:
Fall Sunday Night Youth Group
November 6th
November 13th
December 4th
December 11th (Christmas Party)
Sunday night youth group runs from 4:30 to 6:30 pm at the church house!
College Care Packages:
As we draw closer to the holiday season, consider serving our CPC college students by donating items for student care packages. Items given will be packaged and will be mailed out to encourage our students toward the end of the Fall semester. A donation box will be placed in the foyer of the church on Sunday mornings beginning Sunday, October 16th. The last day to bring items to donate will be Sunday morning, November 20th.
Having approximately 25 college students, please brings items such as pre-packaged snack bars, candy, cookies, brownies, encouragement cards, gift certificates for pizza and fast food/coffee, tissue packs, hand sanitizer, wipes, pens, snack packs of all sorts, Fall seasonal items, gum, hot chocolate, tea, microwave popcorn, etc. These care packages will certainly be an encouragement to the students from their church family!
Do you have a college student? As addresses tend to change frequently in that stage of life, please send me their name and updated addresses so that we can have accurate information for our mailout! You may email them to Meghan Elliott at meghan.elliott21@gmail.com.
Senior Fellows:
The Senior Fellows will have breakfast on December 6 at 9 AM at the church.
Women’s Ministry:
Bible Studies:
Mom’s Bible Study
Time: Tuesdays 9:30-11 am
Teacher: Amy Schnorrenberg
Location: Christ Pres Fellowship Hall
Morning Bible Study
Time: Wednesdays 10-1130 am
Teacher: Mike Calvert, our pastor
Topic/Book: Devoted To God by Sinclair Ferguson
Location: Christ Pres Fellowship Hall
Evening Bible Study
Time: Wednesdays 6-730 pm
Facilitator: Cynthia Keen
Topic/Book: In View of God’s Mercies: The Gift of the Gospel in Romans by Courtney Doctor
Location: Christ Pres Fellowship Hall
Monthly Lunch: Our next monthly luncheon will be on December 1 beginning at 11 AM at the Timbers Edge Clubhouse located at 1 Timbers Main, Brownsboro. It’s potluck – feel free to bring a dish or just yourself. If you have questions or transportation needs please contact Pat Galecki at 256-244-0612
Men’s Ministry:
Book Study:
There is a book study of Pilgrim’s Progress every Tuesday morning between 6:15 and 7:15 at the Cooper house in downtown Huntsville: 405 Randolph Ave SE, Huntsville, AL 35801. See Joseph Prinzinger for details.
Bible Study:
Men’s Friday Lunchtime Bible Study and Fellowship meets Fridays 11:30am-12:30pm at the Church. Will study Dr. Sinclair Ferguson’s book ‘Devoted to God’ for 10 weeks.
Career Group:
Our Sunday evening Bible study & fellowship meets at 5:30 PM at the home of Jim and Sharon Daughtry, 5726 Jones Valley Drive. To get on our mailing list for regular communications, please email Sharon at sdaughtry5123@gmail.com
Prayer Requests:
Healing: Please pray for the health of the following individuals: Collins Bailey, Ramona Edwards, Steve Terry, Bill Cowley, and Elizabeth Holton. Additional details may be found in the Ministries/Prayer Requests section of the church website.
Expecting: Please pray for the Elys (November); the Butlers (February).
Ministries: Please pray for the following missionaries and ministries: Seth and Jessica Lewis (Ireland); Steve and Rita Williams (New Zealand); Noah and Karleigh Stephens (Thailand); Vinnie and Molly Athey (RUF at UAH); Marcus and Jessica Nobles (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); Gannon Miles (seminary student); The Huntsville Pregnancy Resource Center.
Online Donations:
If you would like to give to Christ Presbyterian, you can do so by clicking HERE.
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