CCC Christmas (Advent)ure 2014

Dear CCC Family,

GET READY!!!  The Christmas Season is upon us.  There are many opportunities for you to serve and participate through CCC in reaching our community for Christ this year.  Our theme is (Advent)ure as there is both great anticipation for the celebration of the birth of Christ and there is an exciting journey that awaits His followers.  As you consider your involvement, I ask you to consider three things.  1)How are you growing? 2)Where are you serving? and 3)How are you sharing the love of Christ this year through CCC?  With each of these ideas here are some opportunities coming soon.

How will you grow?:

One of the most important ways you can grow during this season is through Sunday morning worship.  There will be an (Advent)ure awaiting us all every Sunday 9:30AM.  Students will have the opportunity to experience the (Advent)ure of weekly meetings during the three weeks approaching Christmas.  You may want to make it a very personal (Advent)ure through the links below for free PDF formatted Bible Study and Devotions through the month of December.

Advent Bible Study

Advent Devotional

Where will you serve?

Our fantastic First Impressions team is always looking for smiling faces to join the (Advent)ure in greeting people at the door on Sunday mornings.  

Help us decorate the church for Christmas through Hanging of the Greens November 22, 9AM.

We will light up the Christmas lights November 29, 4:45-6PM, and we will need people to help prep and serve snacks for the community to enjoy during this event!

How will you share?:

Sharing God’s love can be an (Advent)ure through time, talents, and treasures!  Plan to INVITE FRIENDS to great events like Christmas Light Kick-Off(11/29, 4:45), Ladies Fun and Fellowship(12/5, 6PM), Community Christmas Party(12/12, 5:30PM), and Christmas Eve Services (3, 4:30, 6, and 7:30PM).  Share your resources through donating food for the Lights Kick-Off(11/29), sponsoring and Angel Tree family(available soon), and Special offering for Care Ministry(Christmas Eve Services).

Whatever ways God leads you this season, make it an (Advent)ure as you grow, serve, and share His love and hope!  Merry Christmas!!!

For His Glory,

Pastor Lance

Church Family Night

A long time ago, in a land on the other side of the globe…

It was a period of great victory in the resurrection, and there was great persecution from those who opposed the followers of the Way.  Led by a group of disciples who spread the good news to every part of the world that was known to them, the church family had its beginning.

Through covenants by God and failed attempts by man, God sent His Son Jesus to conquer sin and death.  The process of reconciliation continued in a special way through the cross of Christ.  This band of followers took up that mission to make disciples, and we are continuing that mission today.

Church Family night will begin September 24, 2014, and it will continue, in Conifer, the mission begun by those original disciples.  Every Wednesday September 24-November 19 we will enlist the best of our Jedi trainers to train our church for the task of being disciples of Jesus.  The children will learn to arm themselves with the armor of God.  The students will learn to live with courage in the face of adversity.  The adults will learn to manage finances or interpret the Bible.

All of this to equip every member of the Kingdom of God for the task at hand, Reaching Our Community for Christ.  Plan to join with us in this struggle as we fight against the forces of darkness and shine light on the Conifer area.  Sign up for childcare, classes, and groups either on the communication card or the online form and be a part of this band of disciples who race to see God restore the freedom to our hearts as He created them for life in the beginning….

Fellowship of the Unashamed

We are in exciting days at Conifer Community Church.  Many things are coming up that have the potential to reach our community in new ways with the gospel.  Pastor Lance shared on August 10 and 17 about this call to reach our community for Christ.  You can listen to those messages on our website if you missed them.  One responsibility as a disciple of Jesus is to be a witness, through our lives, that is unashamed of the gospel.  May our colors be clear by the power of God's Spirit.

Fellowship of the Unashamed

I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit
Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has
been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow
down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense,
and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight
walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions,
mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or
popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised,
regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by
patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my
way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear.
I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the
presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the
pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed
up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a
disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop,
preach until all know, and work until He comes.

And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear for "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.." (Romans 1:16)

by Dr. Bob Moorehead

"...Thy Will Be Done..."

“I wish we were on the same page.”  This is a comment I hear in church, marriages, and as people talk about their relationship with God.  The desire is to be working from the same goals, desires, projects, etc.  In spiritual term, we want to be discerning and doing the will of God.  This desire should drive us to spend time in prayer with God continually.

Melanie and I have coffee time as often as we can.  This is a time when we sit down and discuss life stuff, heart stuff, and set our direction as a family.  When we meet regularly it is amazing how many difficult things can come up in life and we remain on course.  But if there is a period of time that life “gets in the way” of our coffee time, it is very predictable that life will get in the way of our relationship.  Have you had those times when things seem to just work, not because things go as planned, but because you have taken time to get on the same page with others?  This is the way relationships work.  Time spent together getting on the same page is essential to working from the same page.  I have found that it works in a similar way with God.  When time is spent with God in prayer regularly, it makes life work much more smoothly even though difficulties arise.

Jesus spent His “coffee time” with His Father on a regular basis, and His life reflected that relationship.  It served as an example to how our relationship with God and others should go.  Many times in the gospels we see Jesus retreat to pray.  In Mark 1:35-39 we see the demands of the people around Him did not throw Him off course.  He and His Father were on the same page.  When Jesus was teaching His disciples to pray, He taught them to say, “Thy will be done…”  Time in prayer puts you on the same page as God through submission to His will.  Prayer is listening to His will breathed into your life.  

This 40 day challenge in prayer should deepen your relationship with God, and in turn, should give you a clearer focus on His will in your life.  Begin with simply submitting to His will.  Ask for His direction.  Ask for His wisdom.  And listen in silence to His voice.  You may not have a great revelation at that moment, but over time together with God, He will place the pieces of our lives and hearts in the place that they should be.  Let's allow ourselves to get on the same page as our creator.

May God clarify His will for you as you spend time with Him in prayer.