CHRIST CHURCHNEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2015

VOLUME 44 NUMBER 11

From a pastor’s desk:˝! Last Sunday we were blessed in adult Sunday School to hear the testimony of Dr. Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King. Her passion for the sanctity of life was inspiring. Her gentle and loving spirit gave witness to the reality of her new life in Christ. The forgiveness that she received for past choices that she had made demonstrated the freedom that Jesus came to offer to all. And the love and forgiveness that she exuded towards those who had hurt her and her family was “supernatural.” ˝! Her involvement in civil rights and her love for all human life lead her to entitle her testimony, “Life is a Civil Right”. She defined “life” as beginning at conception and ending at God’s appointed time. ˝In light of her sharing, I came across an article on Pastor John Piper’s website, DesiringGod.org, that I felt was worth sharing. As our society looks for ways to approve of taking life for convenience sake, it also finds ways to make it sound acceptable. This article warns us not to be fooled into accepting this rationale. Please consider the following:˝! Recently, one U.S. Representative, speaking off the record about the Planned Parenthood controversy, recalled Ronald Reagan’s 1983 “Evil Empire Speech,” where he described the Soviet Union as “the focus of evil in the modern world.” One biographer writes that this speech was “the single most important speech of the Reagan presidency” (Ronald Reagan, 135).˝! This U.S. Representative argued for calling acts of evil what they are: evil. The abortions taking place at Planned Parenthood are not merely routine medical procedures, but are in fact the systematic killing of children. Every human being on the face of the earth knows this is murder. It may be legal murder, but that doesn’t make it any less the killing of children.˝! A recent Rolling Stone article titled “Planned Parenthood Is Not Harvesting ‘Baby Parts’” argues that research institutions and public universities who purchase “baby parts” wouldn’t use that particular term. Instead, medical professionals would use technical terms such as “fetal tissue and products of conception.” While medical terms helpfully describe medical procedures more modestly, let’s not deceive ourselves.˝A colonoscopy is a much better term than a crude description of the procedure, but the formal medical term doesn’t change the reality of what is taking place: Your doctor is taking an intimate and invasive look into your large intestine. The use of the medical term doesn’t make it any easier to stomach. Planned Parenthood’s harvesting of “products of conception” doesn’t make it any less the systematic killing of unborn children and the subsequent packaging of the bodies in order to turn a profit.˝!C.S. Lewis in The Screwtape Letters writes,˝“The greatest evil is not done now in those sordid ‘dens of crime’ that Dickens loved to paint. It is not even done in concentration camps and labor camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried and minuted) in clear, carpeted, warmed, and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voice.”˝ These evils are indeed taking place in well-lit offices and facilities of Planned Parenthood by the well-manicured hands of abortionists.

! Cruella de Vil, the villain in the 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians, popularized by Disney, kidnaps Dalmatian puppies for their fur. Think with me for a moment, and ask what would happen if this scenario took place today.˝ ˝ Some upscale clothing company decides to debut a new line of coats made from the fur of golden retriever puppies. But not just any golden retriever puppies. These are unwanted golden retrievers. The breeder decided to breed more puppies than he could care for or sell, so instead of putting these puppies up for adoption, he decides to have them euthanized. And now, since the puppies are dead anyways, this breeder proceeds to sell the fur in order to make luxurious coats for red carpet fashion.˝ ˝ Imagine the public outrage. What would we call this? Evil. Heartless. Wicked. Cruel. Unthinkable. PETA would lose their minds. Crowds would call for the government to strip the breeder of his license or permit, and social media would be filled with worse. Fair-minded citizens would no longer patronize this clothing maker. The whole operation and anyone associated with it would come crashing down in flames.˝ ˝ Christians must tell it like it is. Abortion is murder. Left alone in our sin, we’re all capable of it, and so we pray for God to change the hearts and minds of our nation, whether through videos, or peaceful, prayerful protests, or whatever other means he chooses to use. Isaiah says, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20).˝ The deeds of darkness have been exposed, they are ugly, and they must end. ˝!Author: Steven Lee is the pastor of small groups and community outreach at College Church in Wheaton, IL. He earned his M.Div. from Bethlehem College & Seminary in Minneapolis, MN.˝

CARE GROUP UPDATE˝We are excited about the “new” direction that God has led us to take! To recap what we are doing, we will continue to meet in our current care groups through the end of the year at which time we will begin meeting in topic driven Bible study groups. Each group will commit to meet together for the next quarter, either twice a month or weekly, depending on what the group decides. ˝!We are hoping to more directly meet the immediate needs of the congregation which is why it is so important that we get your input! So, thank you to all who have already responded by filling out our questionnaire on “Study Topics.” But if you have not yet done so, please fill one out and turn it in to the offering plate or to Mark. Please be sure to put your name on it so that we know who to contact as we form our study groups. A copy of the questionnaire is attached to this newsletter. ˝!It is also important that you give us three areas of need/interest because we cannot promise to offer what is on top of your list right away but would like to meet one area.˝!We will continue to use the current care groups to meet the needs of the nursery and fellowship Sundays however certain groups will team up with others to facilitate this need. ˝!Please be in prayer with us as we step out in this new direction. It is exciting and yet presents some challenges in the implementation of it. However we are confident of God’s direction for us and also His blessing on it. We will update you on our progress as we move along.˝

!!HAVE YOU LOST A WEDDING RING??˝

A ring was found at the bottom of a box of donated men’s clothing. We don’t know who dropped off the donation box but if it was you, we would be glad to reunite you with your ring. Please contact Mark.

!MEIJER SIMPLY GIVE PROGRAM!

Christ Church will once again participate in the "Holiday Simply Give" campaign at the Meijer on Middlebelt at I-96. It will run from November 1st to January 2nd. Customers can purchase gift cards for our pantry. The Double Match Days are November 13 & 14. For every $10 donation card purchase, Meijer will give $20 to the program, resulting on a total $30 donation. If you want to give on those days and can't make it to Meijer, we can purchase the card for you. Remember, all donations are tax deductible. Just save your receipt. See Barb C. with questions.

!THANK YOU!˝

Thank you to all those who helped mow the lawn each week! Special thanks to Bill Peter and Terry Skaggs for

their willingness to fill in the gaps!˝Without everyone helping, the work would not get done!

!THANKSGIVING SERVICE˝

On Wednesday Nov 25th we will have a Thanksgiving Service at 7pm. Plan to join us as we

consider God’s goodness and purpose to show Him our gratitude. With so much to be thankful for, I hope

you won’t miss this opportunity!˝ “Praise the Lord…and forget not all of his

benefits.”˝Ps. 103:1-2

!NO SUNDAY SCHOOL ON SUNDAY NOV 1ST!˝

Due to the Hallelujah Party the night before please remember there will be no Sunday School this Sunday!

!DAYLIGHT SAVINGS ENDS˝

Don’t forget to set your clocks back one hour when you go to bed on Saturday Oct 31st and get a

free hour of sleep!

!OUR NEW PARTNER IN MINISTRY – OASIS FOR ORPHANS˝We were recently led to support the work of Oasis for Orphans, a Christian organization committed to rescuing and restoring every vulnerable orphan in southwest Kenya. We were introduced to this opportunity through Andrea Gosselin, Shirley Petcavage’s granddaughter, who is on staff with them. We received the following message from Andrea after committing to support the ministry:˝!

I’ve set Christ Church up as an Angel Sponsor for our newest site, The Shelter, which will be opening in December! This week begins the process of choosing the initial 5-10 children that will be joining the program, and we’ll have a total of 20 by December, with more to follow as we go into 2016..prayers appreciated as we’re expecting the Lord to highlight the children to be chosen at this time! We’ll hopefully be in Kenya during the opening which would be great to be able to report back to the church on as well! ˝!Andrea˝!

Please remember to pray for this ministry. Wouldn’t it be great if somewhere in the future we could send a team over to visit and support this ministry? For more information on Oasis for Orphans go to oasisfororphans.org.

!OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD˝

Christ Church will partner with other churches worldwide to reach boys and girls with the gospel of Jesus Christ. After receiving shoeboxes

with toys and gifts, many needy children are discipled through a Bible study course, The Greatest Journey, where they learn to become faithful followers

of Jesus Christ and share their faith with others.˝

We have shoe boxes and pamphlets with ideas for filling them available at church. Don't forget to include the $7 needed for shipping. The due date for our boxes is November 22nd. If you would rather give money for us to fill a box, put it in your offering labeled Samaritans Purse. It costs approximately $25 to fill a box and send the shipping money. Any questions see Barb Christopherson.

HALLELUJAH PARTY!! As I sit down to write this, we are looking forward to Saturday night and the opportunity that we will have to provide the families of our neighborhood with a safe, Christ-centered night of fun activities. For many, it will be the only time that they set foot in God’s house this year. Our prayer is that it is not the “only time” but the “first time”! As they encounter the presence of God and hear of His great love for them, we pray that they will be drawn to Him and find a church home where they can grow in their relationship with Him!˝ Thank you to everyone who invested hours and hours into making this event come to pass. We believe that this is a responsibility that God has given to us as a church and we choose to do it with excellence! Please pray for all those who attend, that they will have receptive hearts to what God wants to reveal to them about His love and that lives would be changed for eternity by His power.