Scott's Thoughts

Grace Presbyterian Church

E-mail bulletin

April 19, 2006

 

You keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you.

(Isaiah 26:3)

 

 

Dear Members and Friends of Grace,

 

Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ! He came to give us both peace with God and the peace of God. I trust you are enjoying His peace as you keep your minds stayed on Him this week.

 

Here is what’s happening in the life of Grace:

 

 

            Wednesday, April 19^th:

 

-         The Wednesday Evening prayer meeting will meet at the Johnsons’ house this evening at 7:00 p.m. All singles are invited to join us for dinner at 6:00 p.m. Call me with any questions (see phone numbers below).

 

 

Sunday, April 23^rd:

 

-         The adult Sunday School has been studying the biblical teaching of the Church. This Sunday, we will consider in more detail the offices of elder and deacon.

 

-         At the morning service, I will preach from 1 Peter 5:1-5.

 

-         The ordination and installation of John Mantooth to the office of ruling elder will take place during the morning service. Remember John in your prayers as he prepares to join in the care of God’s flock as an overseer (Acts 20:28). Immediately following the morning service, there will be a reception for John with refreshments. If you would like to contribute to the refreshments, please call Faithann Basore at 206-6075.

 

-         The evening service starts at 6:00 p.m. We are watching and discussing a video series called “The Case for Kids.” In this series, teachers Paul and Tedd Tripp explain and summarize biblical principles of child-rearing.

 

 

Sunday evening, April 30^th:

 

-         There will be a joint hymn sing this evening at New Covenant Bible Church in Oklahoma City. The service will begin at 6:00 p.m. with a sandwich/salad meal following. For more information, call me or Larry Horton at 793-9566 (evenings).

 

 

Upcoming studies:

 

-         Does Christianity denigrate women? Did the Church vote to “make” Jesus divine in the 4^th century? Are there other “gospels” that give us new information about Jesus (for example, the recently discovered Gospel of Judas)? Does the worship of God rather than a goddess lead to wars and bloodshed? Is belief in the Bible and the historic teaching of the Church contrary to historical evidence? These are questions that spring from the outrageous claims made in Dan Brown’s novel, “The Da Vinci Code”. In May, during the adult Sunday School time, we will consider some of these claims from a biblical perspective. As far-fetched as these assertions sound, your neighbor may accept them at face value. The purpose of the class will be to help you give a “reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15) in a culture increasingly ignorant of biblical Christianity and open to paganizing influences such as “The Da Vinci Code.”

 

-         During the summer months, we will combine the adult and children’s Sunday School classes and have a time of biblical instruction for families and people of all ages together. The topic for the study will be announced later.

 

Church history lectures:

 

-         On May 12^th and 13^th, minister and author Rev. Iain Murray will lecture on Charles Spurgeon and Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the campus of Oklahoma City University. Visit this website for more information.

 

 

For your information and your prayers:

 

-         The daycare that had been renting the church building is planning to move out at the end of this month. Please pray for guidance, wisdom, and provision as we seek to be faithful stewards over the resources God has given us.

 

 

Website update:

 

-         Grace’s website has been updated to include sermons and Sunday School lessons up to April 16^th.

 

 

Eric Pyle’s work with Wycliffe Bible Translators:

 

-         See Eric Pyle’s website for information about his software programming work for Wycliffe.

 

 

Opportunities for service:

 

-         Volunteers are needed to clean the church building for the months of May, June, and August. If you are interested in serving this way, please sign the sign-up sheet located in the vestibule of the church.

 

-         Stamps for Missions. Each year, the OPC raises funds for missions projects by selling used stamps. This year’s proceeds will go to help finance the translation of Reformed literature into the Tigrinya language for Eritrea. At Grace, we have on hand a large amount of stamps that could be sent to the OPC for this purpose but first must be prepared. If you would like to volunteer to prepare the stamps for sending to the OPC offices, please let me know. For more information, see this article.

 

 

 

 

In Christ,

Pastor Scott

 

 

 

 

Pastor Scott Johnson

Grace Presbyterian Church (OPC)

Norman, Oklahoma

Visit our website: www.opcNorman.org

church: 405-321-5220

home: 405-321-6151