Standing Firm - Kayla's Korner

1 Corinthians 16:13 “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.”

As Christians, we are called to be alert to various dangers, we are to be steadfast in our faith, we are to act like an adult, and have a strong will so we can remain pure in faith. We should be careful to not allow ourselves to become corrupted by the ways of the world. We should continue to believe in the scriptures. We should have a strong will to oppose people who try to corrupt or divide us.

Something I have noticed about today’s world, is people are afraid to speak up, because they don’t want to offend people. I want to ask you, Do you think Jesus spoke up or do you think He sat back because He didn’t want to offend others… Jesus came to earth to turn each of us away from our wicked ways, so that we could inherit the kingdom of God. In order for Him to turn each one of us from our wicked ways, He had to stand firm in what God had called Him to do and what Jesus believed was right.

We must follow Jesus’ example….In order to stand firm, believers must plan to utilize all tools available to them. I want you all to also note that Paul calls the devil’s work against believers “Schemes”. He appears to seek to destroy the good work of all believers. Thankfully his power is no match to the power of God. My fellow Christians, I encourage you to stand firm in your belief of God. Don’t allow others to persuade you to question your belief. Put your foot down, stand strong and be bold in the name of Jesus.

Our Vison, Our Mission

What will Hurstbourne Christian Church look like in five years?

What makes Hurstbourne Christian Church different?

What is God’s vision for Hurstbourne Christian Church and what will we do to become that Church?

Since January we have grappled with these questions. On the first Sunday of the year, I asked you what Hurstbourne Christian will look like in five years. What will our missions look like? What will our church look like? Those questions were the start of our journey.

Next, our entire church prayerfully answered a survey describing the vision each of us as individuals have for the church. We combined those answers into one complete document.

Then we took the collection of individual answers and formed a vision team, connecting all aspects of the Church into one body. This team continued together information by surveying the Hurstbourne neighborhood. We asked our neighbors what they thought of our church and what their community needed in a church. Some of their answers were shocking but truthful! The vision team spent many nights debating and discussing our mission and our vision, evenings spent prayerfully working to listen and discern God’s will.

After numerous hours the vision team developed a new vision, new mission, and a plan to make them a reality. Now it is time for you to celebrate the fruits of our labor: the plan to bring about a church that is ready for the roaring (20)20’s, a vision that keeps the heart of the church of the past but with a new energy that is ready for the future.

On September 11 we are celebrating our Vision Sunday and the whole church must be ready to support this vision! United we stand, divided we fall. Frankly, our vision is something that is impossible not to unite behind. It is a vision for a loving, biblically-based church, ready to make actionable change in the world!

Choir - Marc's Music Notables

We are excited to announce the return of our Christmas Cantata for 2022!

This year we will present "Sing Joy to All the World: A Christmas Celebration" by Lloyd Larson. Because the choir hasn't met since the pandemic lockdown, we need singers to join us for this special event!

If you are interested in singing with the choir for the cantata let Marc know by emailing him directly at marcusdmonroe@gmail.com, or simply tell him in person! We would love to have anyone interested join us!

Because of the amount of time it takes to prepare a program like this, the choir will focus all of its efforts on the cantata, but we plan to resume singing on Sunday mornings (on a regular schedule) after the holiday season. We will rehearse every other Wednesday at 6:00 pm starting September 28th. We will also provide music books and part CDs to help you learn your part.

For those who don't sing, but want to support this project, talk to Marc about sponsoring an orchestra member for the performance. We plan to hire a few musicians, in addition to our member musicians, to fill out the instrumentation of the chamber orchestra.

We can't wait to bring back this holiday tradition, and we appreciate all of the continued support of the music ministry at Hurstbourne

Love One Another - Kayla's Korner

Love One Another “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

John 13:34 NIV Jesus commands us to love each other! Jesus loved each of us before we even existed. Sometimes it can be hard to show love toward others when they aren’t being kind towards us, but, Jesus tells us to still show them love as He did toward us.

Loving our neighbor is the biggest Christian act we can do! When we love others they will know Christ through our love. “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 13:35 NIV When we turn our back toward others and show hate toward them, we are pushing them away from Christ. As Christians it’s important to speak kindly and show love toward others so that they can come to know God. Our mission on earth is to bring others to Christ.

This month, pray and ask God to open up your heart and to be able to start loving everyone. To start being kinder to everyone. To speak nicely to others.

That's in the Bible? - Reece's Peace's

The Bible is a big book, so it is no surprise that there are many things in that book that we often do not talk about. I was recently speaking with a friend who asked me about one particularly challenging point for her in the Bible. It was an odd scripture that is often glossed over. I told her that this story was not the only odd scripture the Bible. There are many scriptures just as particular as this story. She was surprised by this.

As I listed all the odd sections of the Bible that I could remember I recognized that there are probably many other people who have not heard some of these Scriptures either. The stories are not something you would expect to hear in Sunday school. However, in that discussion, I thought these unexpected scriptures would be great topics for a sermon series.

For the next four weeks we will discuss Bible stories you may not have heard of before. We will discuss topics you may not even know are in the Bible. We will talk about human sacrifice, racism, angel-human hybrids, and murder. You will be given the scriptures beforehand and will be encouraged to read them before Church each Sunday to help you get a full understanding of their meanings. Some of the scriptures will come from the Old Testament, but an equal number will also come from the New Testament.

Even though they might seem a bit out of place, it is good for us to talk about them. After all, they are in the Bible. They were in included in our Holy Scripture for a reason. It is good for us to read them together and understand why they are part of the Bible. What do these narratives mean for our faith?

This sermon series will be slightly different from what you have come to expect. We will talk about topics that are not normally discussed. It will be unique and informative. Because of that, it will be the perfect time to invite a friend to join us! We are a church that is not afraid to talk about difficult questions. That is just what our faith needs right now.