Ramblings--20090714

CHBC Ramblings
Tuesday, July 14, 2009

This past Sunday
Worship always seems extra special any time we observe communion or celebrate baptism, and this past Sunday was no exception as we had both of these as elements of our service. We baptized Grace Tolentino, who made her profession of faith after this year’s VBS.

The theme of the worship time was love. The baptism and Lord’s Supper reminded us of God’s love for us, and we were led by the Scriptures to remember that in response to God’s love we should love for one another. The message was from 1 Corinthians 13, where Paul reminded the church there that everything else means nothing without love. You can have wonderful spiritual gifts, great faith, and tremendous sacrifice—but none of these spiritual accomplishments profit you a bit if not combined with and motivated by love. In that chapter, Paul also gives us a wonderful descriptive definition of love so that we can recognize if we are truly growing in love. (Are you patient? Are you kind? etc.) While other things will disappear, “Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.”

We welcomed several new members also on Sunday! James and Chris Westberry joined our fellowship by letter. They have already become well known to many of us. Their granddaughter, Michaela Rhodenhiser, also made her profession of faith on Sunday. She was another who had expressed interest in becoming a believer during VBS, and I had the pleassure to talk with her recently along with her dad and mom, Joe and Sheranda, about her decision to follow Jesus. Lord willing, we will baptize Michaela on August 2.

Finally, we officially welcomed a couple we have had as “unofficial” members for some time: Bill and Helen Caudle. What a wonderful Christian couple they are, and we are glad to have them with us. As you probably know, Helen has been ill for some time, and after months of receiving care in the hospital and at A. G. Rhodes, she is back home but not yet able to return to church. While we have had many join by “letter” over the years, their joining may be a first—since they were not able to be here in person, they joined by email!

This coming Sunday
About 15 of us will leave on Saturday to return to Hurley, NY, for a mission trip to assist Pastor Pete Shults and Cross Pointe Fellowship for our third and perhaps final year. While most of the team will return to Atlanta the following Saturday, I will remain a few more days, taking a week of my annual study break. Pete and his church are gracious enough to provide me a place to stay without charge, so that is helpful to us all. In my absence, you will have the privilege of hearing Bill Murray on July 19, and Steve Powell, our Minister to Senior Adults, on July 26.

If possible, I will send the Ramblings as an update from NY, but I will have to wait and see.

Sabbatical month continues
Don’t forget—during the month of July, we will have our regular Sunday morning activities of study, fellowship, and worship, but we will take a sabbatical on Sunday evenings and Wednesday evenings. In other words, there will be no activities during those evenings. And most monthly meetings “take off” for the month of July. (Of course, the office will be open as usual.)

Blood Drive Report
If you weren’t here Sunday, you also missed Fred Fletcher’s report on the Red Cross Blood Drive last week sponsored by our deacons. This was our first blood drive in several years, and we had about 35 participants! While that is what Fred hoped for, it was well beyond the minimum of 20 hoped for by the Red Cross. Not only did our members participate, but our marquee prompted several to participate from the community. It was great to see our church members welcome and befriend our neighbors as well as the Red Cross workers. And while I may have gotten light-headed, I did NOT pass out—I can’t wait to find out who started that rumor! Jesus gave His blood that we might have eternal life; I think it is great when we can give some of our blood to help with someone’s life here on earth. We hope to have a drive a couple of times a year, so keep your ears and eyes open.

God is doing some wonderful things in our midst.
Don’t miss them!


God bless,

Fred O. Pitts, Pastor