Peanuts, Cracker Jacks, and the Carolina Mudcats!!!
Come join us for a fun-filled evening at the ball field!
WHEN: June 12th, 2010 -Game begins at 6:15pm
WHERE: Five County Stadium in Zebulon – If you want to meet at the church to carpool contact Daniel Burbank at (919) 271-1655 or email him at: ncburbs@gmail.com. Click on the link for directions to the stadium.
WHAT: Carolina Mudcats Baseball Game.
COST: Tickets are $10/each unless we have 25 people or more-then the tickets will be $7.50/each. Therefore invite lots of people!!! (Peanuts and Cracker Jacks not included in price-sorry!)
Please let us know if you want to join us so we can order the tickets! We need to know by June 8th. Contact Daniel Burbank if you are planning on attending. Bring your money for the tickets to the game. If you sign up but don’t show up-you are still responsible to purchase your ticket!!!!
See you there! Oh, and Invite a friend!!!!!!!!
May is Heating Up . . .
Isn’t it time to get out? Click a link for event details! 
Picnic in the Park (May 16th, 11:30 – 3 pm)
Memorial Day Cookout (May 30th, 2 – 5 pm)
Good “Glean” Fun! (May 22nd, 7:45 – 1 pm)
Good “Glean” Fun
Saturday, May 22nd , 2010
7:45 am – 1 pm
Come all singles! Bring a friend! Bring your children!
Gleaning is a tradition and a way of provision that dates back to biblical times. Come apply what we are “gleaning” from the book of Ruth (2:2- 3, 7 – 8, 15 – 19, 23) to serve those in need.
We will meet at the church at 7:45 am and carpool to a local farm where we will pick and bag up the remaining harvest in a field that will be used to feed the hungry. Gleaning will last from 9am-11am. Eat breakfast before you come, but we’ll stop for lunch on the way back.
Space is limited to 30, so sign up below as soon as possible. You will receive specific details for the gleaning after you complete the RSVP. Also, please print and fill out the attached waiver by clicking on this link.
Questions? Contact Daniel Burbank at (919) 271-1655 or ncburbs@gmail.com.
May’s Activities
May is fast becoming a very busy month! Mark your calendar and join us for some food, fun, and fellowship:
Sunday, May 2nd from noon – 2:30 pm–Going Away Party for Angela Gast and Birthday Potluck
Sunday, May 16th from 12:45 – 2:30 pm–Picnic in the Park
Sunday, May 30th from 2 – 5 pm–Memorial Day Cookout
All Singles Potluck: Sun. 3-21 12:45p; Fellowship Hall
All Singles are invited to enjoy an Irish-themed Potluck Meal together THIS Sunday after the 4th Service in the Fellowship Hall! Since it’s just past St. Patrick’s Day, we’re jazzing up our event by encouraging you to wear green and bring Irish food (allrecipes.com is great!), OR just come as you are with your favorite dish! We just want YOU there for some food, fellowship and fun. Don’t forget to bring your family and to invite a friend.
Please let us know what you are bringing by “signing up” below. It so easy and will let us know you’re coming AND what you’re bringing! A big thanks to Perry for providing that great tool for our use.
If you have questions, you can put that in the potluck sign up too and we’ll get those answered asap! Looking forward to seeing you all then!
Good Dog, Bad Dog
I’ve been reading alot lately about the differentiation between our position
as believers in our risen Lord and our current condition. Our position is
one of being saved for all eternity, and it’s clearly secure in the hands of
Jesus Christ. Our condition represents how we’re doing right now in our
fellowship with God the Father.
We believers have two beings inside of us; we have the old sinful self still
hanging around (although he’s actually dead … powerless), and we have the
new creation in Christ (our new life in the risen Jesus). The problem here is
that we keep giving that old, dead guy attention. We don’t always leave him
lie dead at the cross; instead, we check in on him every once in a while and
see how he’s doing. We talk to him and even worse, we listen to him.
He holds no power over us any more but we still try to “be good” using his old
power, and of course we fail. It’s the old treadmill that Paul described with
so much passion in Romans 7. We try to be good (forgetting who we are) and we
come up short; we agonize over the failure vowing to do better … and we might
do better for a while. But then we do the whole thing all over again.
The more we fail, the more it bothers us as believers. Why oh why can’t I just
be like I want to be all the time? So we feel bad at times, but we just keep on
working hard on that treadmill.
I think there are 2 things that can help us with this. But first we need to
be really sure of what the problem is. First and foremost is to be sure that
we believe what we say we believe. Do we know that we know that we know that
Jesus died for us? If so, then we need to be sure that we don’t stop at the
place where our sins are forgiven, and we need to keep going into the new life
that we’ve been given. Yes, our position of being forgiven is secure, but it’s
this new life that’s not getting enough attention.
But how do we live more in the new life and less in the old life? What can I
do to spend less time with the old Tom and more time with the new Tom? Well,
from much of the studying I’ve done, I’ve found 2 really good things that have
helped me. I’ll never be fully done with the old Tom while I walk the earth,
but I can spend less and less time with him.
#1. Our mind. What is on my mind? What do I think about? What do I dream
about? What do I get angry about? What do I laugh about? What makes me get
up out of my chair? What stirs me to object? What allows me to close my eyes?
What do I long for?
Getting our minds right is something we NEED to do as believers. Remember the old
movie Coolhand Luke, where Luke could just never seem to get his “mind right”.
We’re supposed to have our minds on heavenly things, but how do we do that here in
the midst of the world?
I heard an old story where a believer explained to an unbeliever that it was like
he (the believer) had 2 dogs living inside him, the old self and the new self.
These dogs were at odds with each other all the time. The unbeliever asked him
which dog was winning; to which the believer replied, “Whichever one gets fed the
most.”
I know for a fact that the more time I spend “feeding the good dog” by reading
God’s Word and studying it … and by sincere prayer and connection with God,
the more likely it is that God is closer to the forefront of my thoughts. A new
believer I knew once asked, “Is there a CliffNotes version of the bible that I
can get?” The answer of course was “No, you have to read it.” That answer was
partially true; there are summaries of the bible available, but I know that if I
want any depth, I have to read it … alot…. and I have to pray … alot.
#2. Confession. It took me a while to learn about the value of real confession…
and I’m not talking about a denominational view of confession where you simply say
some words to the right person and … poof … you’re good to go.
It is very easy for us to rationalize what we do. Just last week my daughter wanted
to borrow something of mine in order to make something for a person who was
instrumental in helping my wife leave me 3 years ago. I was devastated when all that
took place; it was unbiblical and wrong and hurtful … and this person was there
at every step to help my ex-wife every time she needed help. She helped her commit
an egregious sin. My daughter thinks she was just being a “good friend” to my
ex-wife, but I see it differently. So I refused the request.
I had it all worked out in my mind; she did wrong, and she helped my wife do wrong,
and therefore I was right to refuse to help her in any way … declaring that I
wanted nothing to do with her.
It was during my quiet time this morning where God finally broke through to me and
showed me that although she may have been wrong in what she did, I’m the one who is
wrong now. I needed to CONFESS before God that I probably knew all along that I
was not doing right by holding that grudge … but I held it nonetheless … and I
would not admit it.
I know this post is getting long, but bear with me a bit longer. Listen to a passage
from Miles Stanford in his work “The Ground of Growth”:
“Yes, frank and immediate confession of sin is vital. Think for a moment of
someone who observes a loved one sinning against him. Wounded, but ever loving,
he forgives and says nothing. Meanwhile the loved one, although knowing there
is forgiveness, does not confess his sin. Forgiveness is there, but love is
waiting. But now where is the fellowship and integrity of this relationship?”
I could not get past that sentence … forgiveness is there but love is waiting.
The Father has forgiven me, but until I come clean with Him, my fellowship with
Him is never going to be what it could be.
“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.” (2 Cor 13;5)
Unless I do ongoing serious and conscious tests of myself, I’m going to miss the areas
that I hold onto … the areas that need to be understood and confessed. If I
can do that, then my fellowship with God gets better and better, and my time
with the old Tom becomes less and less.
Peter
I think that sometimes we are very harsh in our judgment of Peter as he swore up and down that he would never deny Christ … but then did exactly that. If we look at what happened in the garden, we see that ALL of Jesus’ followers who were with him ran away. Now if you’ve ever been in real fear of something, where do you go when you run away?
Well, there isn’t one answer for that, but I think the one place that we would NOT go is where the very source of our fear is. We would tend to go in the opposite direction of the threat. But where did Peter go when he ran away? That’s right; he went to the Chief Priest’s house and was sitting outside next to the fire. Then when someone recognized him and the threat became even greater for him, did he run out of the compound and hide? No, he stayed in the compound.
Basically, Peter decided to just hang around the threat. Yes, he certainly let his fear get the best of him when it was ‘put up or shut up’ time, but at least he was still there. Where were the others?
The other thing to notice, I think, is when the two Marys went to the tomb and found it empty. What did the ‘young man’ in the tomb tell the Marys to do? “But go! Tell his disciples and Peter.”
Peter must have felt lower than a snake’s belly in a wagon rut after his disloyalty and Jesus’ death. But he was specifically singled out to be told about Jesus’ triumph over death, and assuming he heard about being singled out, it had to warm his heart and lift his spirit to know how much Jesus trusted him even on the field of his defeat.
Being sons and daughters of the Father through Jesus, isn’t it good to know that although we fail and we fail and we fail again, Jesus still loves and trusts us? We can use that knowledge to get back up when sin has knocked us down and get back into the fight with renewed resolve. Sin and Satan are going to knock us down … count on it … but the love of Jesus Christ has given us the power to get up … again and again.
Personally, I would love to hear about instances where each one of us were knocked down and yet claimed the power of our position in Jesus to get back up. Sharing these stories, whether large of small, with each other helps strengthen and encourage all of us.
A POEM TO SHARE
Last summer, my nephew was critically injured as a result of a car accident. A blog was set up giving family and friends the opportunity to post supporting comments and words of encouragements. In the mist of this tragedy, it became evident that God had been left out. Because of this I was inspired to write a poem as my words of encouragement. Now, I am blessed with this opportunity to share it with you.
off in the distance as i sit there and ponder
in the presents of God, so full of wonder
I think of the many people I know, lost on a journey with no place to go.
I tell them about Abraham, Solomon and Moses
Noah and David and Joshus and Joseph.
To read of His power, His mercy and grace
in the book called the Bible, so often misplaced.
Do you know of salvation, do you know of the door?
Do you know of His Son who died for us all?
They scourged Him and beat Him and was nailed to the cross
The price He did pay for those who are lost
For the wages of sin can only be death, But God does for His children what truly is best.
Do you know that the blood that His body did shed, provides for new life when your own body’s dead?
Is your name written down in the book of the Lamb?
Can you see where it’s written in the palm of His hand?
It may sound confusing, there’s no trick to my words,
Though life after death may sound so absurd
The life that I speak of, the gift of salvation,
Available to all, His entire creation.
So how can one, who has gossiped and lied,
and stolen and mocked and had so much pride,
who worshiped false idols and welcomed a fight,
who thought they were better with their power and might,
who hated and envied and cheated on others,
who betrayed and lost honor for father and mother
How then can one, who has done this and more,
deserve such a gift from the one who’s called Lord?
Can one truly be worthy?
What must one do?
tell me now, tell me, I beg of you.
The Lord is not willing that any should perish
The gift of new life, He wants you to cherish.
There’s nothing to buy,
no work to be done,
Everlasting life is a gift from the Son.
Just open your heart and receive Him as King
Repent of your sins and repent from within.
Accept Him now for the price has been paid
For those to Him come will surly be saved.
Denied Prayers and the Crucifixion
Here are some great thoughts from February 21st’s Sunday School lesson on Mark 14. I encourage everyone to add their own by clicking “Leave a Comment” above.
Perry
Hi Perry,
I don’t have the email address for Daniel [Burbank] or I would have emailed him with this. Sometimes the ‘teacher’ in me just refuses to be silent. There was a point that I wanted to make last Sunday during class but we just ran out of time and Daniel was busy after class. But I was still hoping to make the point.
When you listen to prayers and praises over a period of time, you see a pattern that is very common among us. We pray for many things, for healing, for events to unfold as we’d like, for situations to be untangled, for growth, for deeper faith, etc. But what about the praises? Typically, we offer our praises when our prayers have been answered the way we wanted them to be answered. It is rare that we offer praises for prayers that appear to be unanswered or answered with a ‘no’.
So hold that thought for a second.
We say again and again that Jesus already went through anything and everything that we have to go through so He knows what it’s like. The one aspect of that which I almost never hear mentioned is that Jesus also endured prayer that appeared to be unanswered or answered with a ‘no’. When He was in the garden before His capture, He prayed that if possible the cup might be taken from Him. Yes, He continued on with the ‘Thy will not My will’ part which is certainly paramount in importance. But I think we too often lose sight of the fact that Jesus asked for the cup to be lifted from Him and the Father’s answer was ‘no’ … and we have offered praises to the Father for centuries now because His answer was ‘no’ (since He knew His plan was necessary and better).
So the bottom line is that right here is our shining example that even when our prayers appear to be unanswered or not answered the way we want them to be, we need to offer praises to God for everything.
The 21 year old son of my a friend of mine just died of brain cancer a few weeks ago. Joe [name changed] was a Godly young man … he loved the Lord and he was involved in a number of kinds of service to the Lord … real service. But he got a tumor a few years ago and battled and suffered for about 3 years, before losing the battle. I and many, many others prayed for Him so many times; we prayed for healing, but it just didn’t happen. It’s so hard for us to fathom. It’s like the pain that Pastor David spoke of on Sunday morning [see sermon from 2/7/10]…. deep pain … and difficulty with understanding. I am not a person who believes that God orchestrates every little thing that happens … some would say Joe had that tumor because God wanted him to …. I don’t believe that. BUT There had to be a reason why God chose not to remove it, even if I can’t see it and his family can’t see it and his church can’t see it. God could have healed that tumor if He so chose, but He chose not to, despite hundreds of prayers.
At the funeral service, they chose to celebrate Joe’s life and to trust that God knows what He’s doing. If God could say no to His son when He asked to be spared from what was to come because God knew it would be for the good of all who loved Him (Mark 14:36), then surely we can still offer our praises to God when He says no to us …. and we can REST in the assurance that although we may never understand it on this side of heaven, it will be used for good.
Sorry that this grew to be a little lengthy … sometimes when I get started I have a little trouble curbing the words. I struggled with whether to write this or not; sometimes things like this can appear to come from pride or a desire to be seen and heard. Sometimes they do stem from those things. I have prayed for God to remove any hint of pride from my words and from my heart. I don’t know if He answered that one or not … I hope so. But I just wanted to offer a little insight that probably didn’t come from me … I’m just another pile of filthy rags when I operate in my own power.
Tom Haywood
Super Bowl Parties
The Singles Ministry of Richland Creek has THREE Super Bowl parties this Sunday, February 7th. All include food, football and fellowship. Click on the link below to find out about your class’s party: 
Young Professionals click here to ask about the party class info
Singles With Children click here to ask about the party class info
Singles of All Ages click here to ask aobut the party class info
