“Building Strong Relationships”

Posted on August 26th, 2010

Starting September 5, Pastor Michael Cheuk will be leading a Sunday morning class in the Fellowship Hall from 9:45 to 10:30 a.m. called “Building Strong Relationships.”  It is especially designed for college students and young adults (singles and couples) who are dating or thinking about marriage, and for couples wanting to enrich their marriage.

During these four weeks, the following topics will be addressed:

9/5       “Understanding Myself”
9/12     “Communication is the Key”
9/19     “Money Habitudes” (requires “Money Habitudes” cards, $10)
9/26     “Dealing with Stress and Conflict”

Cost is $10 for couples; $5 for singles for the purchase of “Money Habitudes” cards needed for the third session of class.  Scholarships are available.  Please contact Michael if you’re interested in enrolling in the class.

Filed under Announcements, Bible Study | No Comments »

“The Bible in English” study

Posted on April 25th, 2008

Starting Wednesday, April 16 and lasting until May 7, Dr. Rodney Dunning will lead a study on “The Bible in English” a study on how we got our Bible, textual criticism, English translations, the notion of “inspiration” and Bible study tools. The following is the schedule of topics to be covered:

4/16 ….. Recovering the original text of the Bible
4/23 ….. English translations of the Bible
4/30 ….. The nature of the Bible as an inspired text
5/7 ……. Tools for interpreting the Bible

Rodney will post a summary of his presentation on his blog called “Very Important Stuff.” Click on the links above to read a summary of Rodney’s presentation.

Filed under Bible Study, Wed. Night Activities | No Comments »

“Christ in the Passover”

Posted on March 7th, 2008

Last night, about eighty people attended a “Christ in the Passover” presentation given by Rob Wertheim of Jews for Jesus. Rob’s forty-five minute presentation went over each of the elements of a traditional Jewish Passover Seder meal and how each element points to Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, the spotless lamb of God sacrificed for the sin of the world. After the presentation, we all celebrated Communion. It was especially gratifying to have members of First Baptist and Zion Hill Baptist churches, two African-American churches, in our midst. As we received the bread and the cup together, we experienced the truth of St. Paul’s affirmation proclaimed in Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under Bible Study, Worship | No Comments »

Jesus Saves! But How?

Posted on February 21st, 2008

For three Wednesday nights, February 20, 27 and March 12 April 2, Michael will be leading a study examining the ways the Bible and Christians have understood how Jesus saves. Special attention will be paid to the various “theories of atonement” that Christians have used to explain the saving work of Jesus. We encourage all to attend the study to gain a better appreciation for our salvation through Christ as we approach Holy Week.

Books used as resources for this study include:

• Baker, Mark D. editor. Proclaiming the Scandal of the Cross: Contemporary Images of the Atonement. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006.
• Beilby, James and Paul R. Eddy. The Nature of Atonement: Four Views. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006.
• Boersma, Hans. Violence, Hospitality and the Cross: Reappropriating the Atonement Tradition. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004.
• Capon, Robert Farrar. The Fingerprints of God: Tracking the Divine Suspect through a History of Images. Grand Rapids: William B Eerdmans, 2000.
• Green, Joel and Mark D. Baker. Recovering the Scandal of the Cross: Atonement in New Testament & Contemporary Contexts. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2000.
• McKnight, Scot. Embracing Grace: A Gospel for All of Us. Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2005.

Outlines of the presentations in .pdf format are available below:

• atonement-study_01
• atonement-study_02
• atonement-study_03

Filed under Bible Study, Wed. Night Activities | No Comments »

January Study on “Our Baptist Heritage: History, Controversy, and Four Fragile Freedoms”

Posted on January 9th, 2008

In the month of January, Rev. Amanda Johnston will lead a study on our Baptist heritage and the four fragile freedoms that define us as a Baptist congregation: Bible freedom, soul freedom, church freedom and religious freedom. Each Wednesday night starting Jan. 9, from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m., we will cover one of the four freedoms. The books that will be used for the study are listed below. If you would like to purchase them you may do so via the links below. However, it is not necessary for you to purchase any of the books to participate in the study.

Main Resources:

Walter B. Shurden, Baptist Identity: Four Fragile Freedoms ($12)

Also by Shurden, Not a Silent People: Controversies That Have Shaped Southern Baptists ($14)

Other Resources:

The Way We Were by Fisher Humphreys ($12)

Filed under Announcements, Bible Study, Wed. Night Activities | No Comments »

“Nooma” Bible Study

Posted on September 4th, 2007

For our Wednesday Night Adult Discipleship Study, Michael and Amanda will lead a study and discussion time based on a video series called NOOMA produced by the Rev. Rob Bell, Teaching Pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

This series will begin Wednesday, September 12 starting at 6:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall.

Video and discussion topics include:

9/12 “Where Is God When the Storms Come?” – “Rain”
9/19 “Love or Lust?” – “Flame”
9/26 “Why Am I Here?” – “Trees”

10/3 Alma Hunt Missions Offering Presentation

10/10 “Why Go to Church?” – “Sunday”
10/17 “Why Silence?” – “Noise”
10/24 “What Do You Want?” – “Kickball”
10/31 “Why Forgive?” – “Luggage”

11/7 A Service of Remembrance

11/14 “Following Jesus?” – “Dust”

11/21 No Wednesday Activities (Thanksgiving)

11/29 “Scaring People into Loving God?” – “Bullhorn”
12/5 “Ashamed?” – “Lump”

Come, as we view the video and discuss these provocative topics!

Filed under Bible Study, Wed. Night Activities | No Comments »

Tuesday Morning Bible Study, Fall 2007

Posted on September 3rd, 2007

Our Tuesday morning Bible study will be studying Philip Yancey’s What’s So Amazing About Grace, starting Tuesday, September 4, 10:00 a.m. in the parlor.

Here is a review of the book by amazon.com:

The grace of which Philip Yancey writes is the freely given and unmerited favor and love of God. This grace seems a remote, almost sentimental concept, without a place in our lives or our society. It is a vague, slippery thing to us, probably because we seem to experience grace so rarely and have managed to leech the word of meaning. But Philip Yancey has set about to rescue grace in his book What’s So Amazing About Grace?

This grace is the true message of Jesus. All faiths have virtues and creeds and justice and truth, but Jesus speaks merely of receiving the love that God has for us. Accepting it, not earning it or making ourselves worthy of it. And frankly, accepting something we have not earned or are not worthy of is not an easy thing for most of us.

In truth, grace is both utterly simple and utterly confounding. Little by little, Yancey guides us into a clearer understanding of grace by using stories, in much the same way Jesus did. We read stories of both grace and ungrace at work in people’s lives. Sadly, it is stories of ungrace that are more prevalent today, the current culture wars painful acknowledgments of ungrace in our lives as Christians in this country. Yancey helps us understand that ungrace is that state of being in which self-righteousness and pride are a result of thinking that we have somehow earned God’s approval and may now stand in judgment in his behalf.

Philip Yancey was awarded the Gold Medallion Christian Book of the Year award for this book in 1998 by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.

Contact Peggy Cave 392-4422 if you are interested in participating in this study.

Filed under Bible Study | No Comments »

Sunday School Classes, Fall 2007

Posted on September 1st, 2007

We invite you to attend one of our Sunday School classes that meet at 9:45 a.m.

Below is a list of all our classes.

Filed under Bible Study | No Comments »