november 2017 the apple press - …a session with eric metaxas recently shared by ... expect anyone...
TRANSCRIPT
November 2017
T H E A P P L E P R E S S
DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME ends Sunday, November 5. FALL BACK one hour before going to bed Saturday night. The Friday morning Ladies’ Prayer Group meets from 6:45 to 7:45 in the Activities Center foyer. Questions—call Karen Vejraska at 970-242-8904 or email [email protected]. Discipleship groups are in full swing here at ACC. Currently, there are several small groups meeting at various times during the week. If you’d like to join in, please contact the office, [email protected]. GO ONLINE—Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Appleton Christian Church. Check it out here: https://smile.amazon.com. Operation Christmas Child: Contact Ed McClure, 201-3041. See page 3 for more about our OCC Store and collection week. Our Chili Cook-off is Saturday, November 4. See page 4 for more details. Our Thanksgiving Fellowship Meal is Sunday, November 12 at 5:00 PM. Sign up to attend and to bring a dish to share. See Donna Ward for info.
Our Christmas Pageant and Fellowship Meal will be Sunday, December 17 beginning at 4:00 PM. There will be a sign-up sheet in the Welcome Center to bring food.
To grow fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 28:19-20
Is God’s Will My Will?
It is God’s will that you should be sanctified. (1 Thessalonians 4:3a)
For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you
his Holy Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 4:7-8)
For the past few months, I have been writing on the importance of growing closer to God through practicing the spiritual disciplines. We know that God is the one who makes our relationship with Him possible through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross and through the working of the Holy Spirit in us. Yet He will not MAKE us do the things necessary to grow closer to Him.
Oswald Chambers, in his work, My Utmost for His Highest, wrote, “It is not a question of whether God is willing to sanctify me; is it my will? Am I willing to let God do in me all that has been made possible by the Atonement? Am I willing to let Jesus be made sanctification to me, and to let the life of Jesus be manifested in my mortal flesh?” (Chambers, Oct. 20) Sometimes we look at Philippians 1:6, (And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns) as it is all up to God to do this work. It really isn’t up to God, He has already done His part and it is His offer and promise to us, but we must make the effort, we must make our relationship with Him our priority. He will always lead us, we must make the decision and effort to follow. Chambers wrote, “All that Jesus made possible is made mine by the free loving gift of God on the ground of what He performed. My attitude as a saved and sanctified soul is that of profound humble holiness (there is no such thing as proud holiness), a holiness based on agonizing repentance and a sense of unspeakable shame and degradation; and also on the amazing realization that the love of God commended itself to me in that while I cared nothing about Him, He completed everything for my salvation and sanctification (see Rom. 5:8). No wonder Paul says nothing is “able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Sanctification makes me one with Jesus Christ, and in Him one with God, and it is done only through the superb Atonement of Christ. Never put the effect as the cause. The effect in me is obedience and service and prayer, and is the outcome of speechless thanks and adoration for the marvelous sanctification wrought out in me because of the Atonement.” (ibid.) Too many times, we as Christians settle for a shallow relationship with Christ. We wait on Him to do all the work in our relationship and we go on with the “normal” stuff in our lives. We have an amazing Savior who wants to grow in us and when He does our Joy grows. Why do we settle for anything less than all Christ wants for us?
Prayerfully consider your relationship with Jesus Christ today. Ask Him to open your eyes to the things in your life that are in the way (or need to be changed) and to fill you with “obedience and service and prayer” to make the changes. When you work with Him, you will be amazed at His work in you.
I love you all, Dan
Please have bulletin items to the office by 11:00 AM on Wednesdays . You can either call (242-7380) or email ([email protected]).
At A Glance
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One of the things that I, Alan, believe with all my heart is that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. As such, we must take it seriously. This includes helping our children learn to read and understand the Bible. Unfortunately, children in today’s world, must also learn to defend the Bible. In a world that is more and more hostile to the truth claims of scripture, how can we as parents, help our children remain confident in the Bible? We need to explain to them the reasons why we know the Bible is accurate, reliable, and relevant. And we need to prepare them to respond to the questions and uninformed criticisms they may encounter. This is our responsibility. In order to do this, we must be able to do it ourselves. Because of this, I want to share with you, a short Q&A session with Eric Metaxas recently shared by Focus on the Family. The article states, “Author and speaker Eric Metaxas has written several books on the impact of the Christian faith and the Bible throughout history. In his book, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About God (But Were Afraid to Ask), he engages in a Q&A with a skeptic. Here, he responds to common objections that students may hear concerning the Bible.” I hope you enjoy and feel empowered by this short article.
Q: Isn't the Bible just one of many great religious books? Can't they all be true?
A: Not according to the Bible itself. The Bible says that it alone is the sacred Word of God. That claim is either true or untrue. Other religious texts do have some wisdom to impart, but on the question of truth, you do ultimately have to choose between the Bible and the others. Logic demands it.
God Himself says you have to choose. He emphatically says that we can't have it both ways. He doesn't force us to pick Him, but He does force us to choose between Him and others. Those are His conditions.
Q: The Bible claims to be God's only written revelation. Why should that claim be taken seriously?
A: There are very good scientific reasons for choosing the Bible. Despite popular opinion, when you read through the Bible, there is nothing that contradicts scientific fact, as there is in other religious texts.
Skeptics point to certain scientific theories, such as age of the earth or evolution. "Are we supposed to believe God really created Adam out of the "dust of the ground'?" they might ask. But evolution or the earth's age is
never mentioned in the Bible. However long it took or how it happened, none of it happened without God's direction.
We also can't fixate on unknowable details. What if the description of Adam's creation is somewhat poetic? What if the passage means that God created humans not literally out of dust but out of the elements available on earth, and then God breathed life into this body? The point is, there's nothing in the Creation account that's obviously off base, as there is in almost every pagan story of human origin.
The God of the Bible created an ordered universe we can study and understand. He is the God of mathematics and science, or He's not God at all. Don't believe the science versus faith shtick. It's just not true.
Q: The Bible is so old. No one has original copies. Couldn't they have been changed over time?
A: There is so much historical evidence for the Scriptures being the same today as they were when first written that, in comparison, all the works of ancient Greece and Rome are on very shaky ground. And that's saying something because historians never go around saying the ancient Greeks didn't say what we think they said. In the case of the New Testament, we have more copies and earlier copies than we do of anything Aristotle or Plato wrote.
The evidence for the continuity of the Old Testament manuscripts is similarly solid and fascinating.
Q: How do we know the Bible's historical references are accurate and not just legends or folktales?
A: Every time you turn around, there seems to be a new archaeological confirmation of what the Bible tells us. For example, about 20 years ago a reference to the House of David was found on a 3,000-year-old stele column discovered in the Middle East. Before that, historians thought that perhaps the Davidic kingdom was just a legend. Then out of the sands of Palestine, we find an ancient reference that provides hard evidence.
And this trend toward archaeological corroboration of the Bible has been going on for hundreds of years.
Q: Is the Bible really supposed to be taken literally?
Continued on page 3
Appleton Christian Church will not be having a packing party this year, BUT we will be having an OCC Store where you can pick up items (a.k.a. "shop") to pack in your boxes. Due to the many
generous donations you’ve been making throughout the year, we will have tables set up in the Multipurpose Room of the Activities Center after services on the following Sundays: October 29, November 5, and November 12. You can do your "shopping" here. You can select your items, pack your boxes, add a note, and leave it here at the church or take items and pack your boxes at home. Collection week begins November 12. Shipping for boxes this year has increased to $9. If you are packing multiple boxes, please write one check made out to Samaritans Purse for $9 multiplied by the number of boxes. Or you can go to the Samaritans Purse website and pay online. See you at the OCC Store! Contact Ed McClure, 970-201-3041, or Angie Templeton, 970-250-6588, with any questions.
NEW this year—NEITHER TOOTHPASTE NOR CANDY ALLOWED.
A: Only the parts that are meant to be taken literally. Of the many kinds of writing in the Bible, some are literal, while others are metaphorical. But isn't that true of most writing? When the poet William Blake wrote "Tyger, Tyger, burning bright," he didn't expect anyone to picture a flaming tiger sprinting through the jungle and smelling of burnt fur, did he? He didn't mean it literally. And in the Bible, when Jesus said, "I am the door," He didn't mean He was made of wood or that He swung on hinges. When He told parables, He was using metaphors.
But when we read about Moses or King David, these are accounts of historical events. They were written that way, and they've been read that way for centuries. Most important, Jesus read them that way.
Sometimes, Bible accounts may feel more like metaphorical stories. Some point to Noah and Jonah and even Adam as stories that fall into that category. But, again, Jesus spoke as if they did exist, as if they did accomplish the things the Bible records about them. It's hard to fathom how Jesus, who is God, could have made a mistake or been deliberately misleading.
Q: Isn't it true that people wrote the Bible, not God?
A: No. To be accurate, people who were inspired by God wrote the Bible. In other words, God is behind every word, and He inspired every word. But He didn't dictate every word.
The Bible was written by about 40 different people over the course of 1,500 years, but taken as a whole, it comes from one point of view. That, in and of itself, is stunning. All 66 books fit together. There are themes that begin in Genesis, weave throughout the Bible and are finally resolved in Revelation, as if a single author had been working on it.
And, of course, He was. Pastor Alan [email protected] 928-580-9856
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An Encouraging Word from Scott Thompson While driving to my daughter’s house to go hunting a couple of weeks ago, I had opportunity for a couple of things. One was to observe the Signal System on the railroad, something I was in charge of and responsible for while I was employed by the railroad. The other was a lot of reflection and thought. When I was transferred to Colorado, I was promoted and thereby responsible for every aspect of the Signal System. I felt like Lewis and Clark navigating in uncharted waters and over uncharted lands. I had never been responsible for 750 miles of railroad, over twenty employees, and two million plus dollars of budget every year. Needless to say, I prayed a lot for guidance and direction! Some decisions I made on a daily basis I simply relied on the leading of the Holy Spirit and made according to my best judgement. Romans 8:14 says, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” To be fair, the context of the surrounding scriptures are all about “dealing with our sinful nature,” but the decisions we make in all areas of our life need to be tempered with the leading of the Spirit. For instance, a decision I might have made could have been unethical and brought shame to the witness of Christ. One of my favorite scriptures is Psalms 127:1-2, which says, “Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good. It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.” This scripture says a lot of things to me…most importantly, we need God to lead us and guide us or we spin our wheels and get nowhere! Knowing this I still have to wonder…DID I ALWAYS GET IT RIGHT? No matter how hard we try to listen, sometimes we still wonder…Lord, did I get it correct. Now for the reflection. I couldn’t help but wonder…how many people go through their day to day lives thinking they are led by the Spirit…and miss the boat all together. How many times do we pray and pray and pray, always telling God what we desire and need…but not taking time to listen for the leading of the Spirit. Friends, the Bible refers to our lives as a vapor, a short-lived span of time that we can’t afford to get it wrong. Let me just ask you to examine your own heart, and ask yourself: Are there hidden sins I ignore? Am I angry at my brothers and sisters? Do I fail to give God my best? Continue to ask yourself questions about your character and witness. God can help you fill in the blanks as you need…if you are willing to be led by the Spirit.
I encourage you to do some house inspection. Look
inside and ask God to show you your heart. Unless he builds
the house, you are laboring in vain. Be led of the Spirit…God
Bless you all!
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UPCOMING EVENTS November: 4—Chili Cook-off Competition 5—OCC Store 5—International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Church 5—DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME ENDS, FALL BACK ONE HOUR! 12—OCC Store and Collection Week 12—Thanksgiving Fellowship Meal, 5:00 PM, sign up for meal and to bring items. December: 1-2—Youth Overnight 17—Christmas Pageant and Fellowship Meal, 4:00 PM 24—Christmas Eve Service 25-26—Office Closed 31—New Year’s Eve Watch Party, 8 PM
Saturday, November 4
Registration from 10:30 to 11:30 AM Tasting begins at Noon.
Bring the family for lunch! $5 per person/$15 per family. Baked potatoes and toppings available along with the chilies.
Fundraiser to support:
Contact Phyllis Bolsinger, 970-216-8258 for more information.
Registration forms available in the Welcome Center or contact the church office to have one emailed to you.
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The Elders have created this
section of the newsletter to keep
our members informed of some of
the events and projects on which
we are working.
The Elders were approached by the Missions’ Team to
consider a special gift to one of our very own missionaries
that Appleton Christian Church has supported since she
entered the field. Jennifer Harper attended Appleton when
she left to work with Wycliffe Bible Translators. Currently,
Jennifer is located in Nigeria, Africa. Her role has grown
throughout her time with Wycliffe and she has served in
several different capacities. As her role expanded, Jennifer
needed further education and she did so, receiving her
Master’s Degree in Hebrew. Jennifer needed to borrow the
money necessary for her degree and has been struggling to
pay off her loan, approximately $17,000. It is our wish to
relieve this burden for Jennifer so that she can focus on her
work, bringing the Word of God to people groups who do
not have it.
This December, we will be gathering a special
offering to help retire this debt for Jennifer. We know and
appreciate that many of you have increased your giving for
our general expenses and it has greatly helped us meet our
obligations. As a church, Jennifer’s mission is already
supported by our tithes; this gift is intended to be an offering
over and above our tithes, as the scripture tells us to bring
the tithes AND offerings to His house. Please prayerfully
consider what the Lord would have you do to bless our sister
in His service.
As of the printing of this newsletter, we are uncertain
whether this gift will be tax deductible for those willing to
give. We will have more information before December.
We’ll be updating the church directory during the month of November.
For first service, please stay a little late, second service come a little early so we can update your
photo, if you desire. If you are not currently in the directory and would like to be, please let Kathy in the office know. If you have a photo you’d like to use, it must be a non-copyrighted photo or have the written permission/waiver from the photographer.
Instructions for adding the church directory app to your smart device are on the last page of this
newsletter. If you need help, Kathy can help you on Sunday morning. Your email address must be in the directory for the app to work.
Mission of the Month
Vicki McGee HOPE of the Grand Valley
PO Box 532 Fruita, CO 81521 www.hopegv.org
970.778.4880 OFFICE 970.812.4032 FAX
Shop Amazon Smile and give to HOPE of the Grand Valley AMAZON SMILE CODE: http://smile.amazon.com/ch/27-
1565337 Sign up for HOPE of the Grand Valley via your City Market
Rewards https://www.citymarket.com/topic/city-market-community-
rewards Birthday: October 11
Anniversary: December 31 Ministry: HOPE of the Grand Valley is a local nonprofit founded in 2009. Our mission is to provide support and a hand up to hard-working parents who still find it hard to make ends meet at times. HOPE of the Grand Valley provides a hand up, not a handout, by fostering and encouraging independence for hardworking, low income families. “Independence” includes not receiving public assistance, such as SNAP or housing assistance (receiving healthcare insurance/coverage and childcare assistance is allowed). “This is a group tends to fall through the cracks,” states Founder and Director, Vicki McGee. “That’s why we provide a hand up, not a handout to these local families. We require all applicants to go through at least one session with our budget coach at our first meeting. Our families are now meeting with us once a month for budgeting and at that time (if needed) we give them an abundance of groceries; this helps them have money they would normally spend on food to get their debt paid off.”
Programs: Food assistance Furniture assistance Budget coaching Life skills coaching
Marriage and relationship coaching Parenting skills coaching
Job and interview preparation Résumé building Christmas: Adopt-a-Family
HOGV is funded solely by donations. We have developed a way to really stretch a dollar! We do not have any paid staff and are run by our dedicated volunteers. All of our funds go back to our programs. We believe this is the best use of the funds rather than using the donations to rent office space, etc. Prayer Requests: Our prayer is that our community realizes the value in what we do by financially supporting us so we will be able to purchase a home for HOPE and expand our services. I also pray every day that God will send the right families to us who we will be able to help get out of the situation they are in; that they will become independent and successful. The Adopt a Family program is now accepting applications. Our goal for the program is to take the stress off our Grand Valley families that are paying their own rent, food, and other bills, yet are struggling every month. This way, when it comes to Christmas, they don’t have to worry. They’ll be assured that their kids will receive Christmas gifts along with a beautiful Christmas dinner. If you know of a family that needs assistance at Christmastime, please go to http://www.hopegv.org/christmas_2017.html to see if they qualify for assistance and fill out the form. Deadline to apply is December 4, however, early application is recommended, preferably before Thanksgiving. ACC will be adopting two families. Jeanne Baker will be heading up the team.
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Romans 12:12
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November Craig Spoering Steve Moseley Saul Tompkins Open Spot
(Contact the office to volunteer for this rotation.)
December Jim Rogers Mark Murrell Open Spot Open Spot
(Contact the office to volunteer for this rotation.)
Second Service Greeters First Service Greeters
ways to send Prayer Requests,
Include on your bulletin prayer card on Sunday; OR email
[email protected]; OR call Pam Bourdette @639-9421, OR Paul Vejraska @242-8904, OR
Marcia Williams @639-2359.
For shut-in communion, please call 242-7380 during office
hours or contact person listed below:
November
5 Merle Miller
12 Dan Baker
19 Josh Vig
26 Randy Pifer
Clip and post in your home as a reminder when you serve.
Contact Us:
Pastor Dan Baker [email protected]
Pastor Alan Dyson [email protected]
Elders:
[email protected] Dan Baker
[email protected] Scott Draper 250-7261 [email protected]
Tim Hollett 970-376-5521 [email protected]
Merle Miller 242-5057 [email protected] Doug Steiner 250-9900
[email protected] Scott Thompson 644-1242
[email protected] Mark Vejraska 242-8904 [email protected]
Diaconate: Jeanne Baker 908-399-8012
[email protected] Aleta Beaslin 245-5009 [email protected]
Malinda Lyons 245-5632 [email protected]
David McElfresh 719-930-0012 [email protected]
Ellie Morris 210-0677 [email protected]
Steve Morris 210-5405 [email protected]
Jennifer Murrell 434-6613 [email protected] Mark Murrell 434-6613 [email protected] Kevin Vig 523-9037
[email protected] Lacey Weber 210-5361
[email protected] Charlotte Zangerle 245-6907
First Service Communion Servers
November 5 Jenny Nichols 12 Scott & Connie Thompson 19 Randy & Crystal Brew 26 Doug & Jan Steiner December 3 Kelly Messamer 10 Randy & Beth Pifer 17 Jenny Nichols 24 Scott & Connie Thompson 31 Randy & Crystal Brew
November 5 Josh Vig 12 Dan Baker 19 Merle Miller 26 Scott Draper December 3 Dave Sloan 10 Scott Thompson 17 Doug Steiner 24 Mark Vejraska 31 Josh Vig
First Service Communion & Offering Meditation
November 5 Josh Vig 12 Nancy Hagerman 19 Merle Miller 26 Scott Draper December 3 Malinda Lyons 10 Scott Thompson 17 Doug Steiner 24 Mark Vejraska 31 Josh Vig
November 5 Joel & Marcia Williams 12 Steve & Peggy Moseley 19 Jane Sloan 26 Mark & Jennifer Murrell December 3 Eldon & Daphne Bevill 10 Charlotte Zangerle 17 Joel & Marcia Williams 24 Steve & Peggy Moseley 31 Jane Sloan
5—Levi Willis Riley Wilson, Henry Wilson 12—John & Angie Wilson
Kyle & Krystin Wolfe 19—Chris & Carlene Wood
Charlotte Zangerle 26—Joe & Melanie Zeni
Chuck Ackerman
November Prayer Families Second Service Communion & Offering Meditation
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The Bible affirms the power and importance of prayer and we, as a church, are committed to pray for each other. Let us know your request and we will lift you
up in prayer.
Unsubscribe: If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter,
please contact us with your address or email with UNSUBSCRIBE in
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The Apple Press 2510 I-70 Frontage Rd
Grand Junction, CO 81505
November 2017
Our Mission To grow fully devoted followers of
Jesus Christ. Matthew 28:19-20
8:00 AM & 10:30 AM Worship 9:30 AM Sunday School for all ages
You can also access the directory on your computer. Go to: https://members.instantchurchdirectory.com/ to create an account using the email address you have listed in the directory. You will receive a confirmation email and once you click on the link, your email address will be validated. You will then need to log in, just as an email account, every time to access the directory. You will be able to view the infor-mation, but the phone numbers and email are not hyperlinked as with the smart device app.
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