Newsletters
A Note from the President,
Happy New Year! Happy Easter! My hope and prayer that
everyone had a safe and happy new year. With the New Year
comes hopes dreams and resolutions that this one will be as
good as or better than the last. For some it is to be happier, other
it might be to be more disciplined. Some of you may have
resolved to do better in school, or to spend more time with those
that you care about. The New Year is a time when evaluate the
old, and make plans for the new. In 2 Corinthians the Apostle
Paul writes about being a new creation. The verse says
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the
old has gone, the new has come!
This is such an important verse for us as Christians every part of
the year, but especially right now. If anyone is in Christ they are
a new creation. That is something that we probably all know, and
recognize. The second part of the verse is what absolutely floors
me, every time. “The old has gone, the new has come!” Think
about last year, the things you are unhappy with, the things you
are not proud of, the things that you may regret, they are GONE.
The old has gone, the new has come. It so exciting and so
freeing to know that in Christ we are new creations, that the old
sinful disgusting people we once were are gone. Jesus makes us
new. Jesus washes the old out. The more exciting idea here is
that it says the old is gone. It doesn’t say the old is hidden, or put
away, or on hold, but it is GONE! You are a new creation in
Christ. Christ is in you. John writes in his Gospel,
“4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can
bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you
bear fruit unless you remain in me.”
The resolutions I pray that we all make are to remain in Christ.
Share your story of an encounter, an experience, your
relationship with Christ. Let the world see that this year, in 2010,
you are a new creation in Christ. The old has gone, the new is
here.
Shine On,
Jason
Happy New Year! Happy Easter! My hope and prayer that
everyone had a safe and happy new year. With the New Year
comes hopes dreams and resolutions that this one will be as
good as or better than the last. For some it is to be happier, other
it might be to be more disciplined. Some of you may have
resolved to do better in school, or to spend more time with those
that you care about. The New Year is a time when evaluate the
old, and make plans for the new. In 2 Corinthians the Apostle
Paul writes about being a new creation. The verse says
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the
old has gone, the new has come!
This is such an important verse for us as Christians every part of
the year, but especially right now. If anyone is in Christ they are
a new creation. That is something that we probably all know, and
recognize. The second part of the verse is what absolutely floors
me, every time. “The old has gone, the new has come!” Think
about last year, the things you are unhappy with, the things you
are not proud of, the things that you may regret, they are GONE.
The old has gone, the new has come. It so exciting and so
freeing to know that in Christ we are new creations, that the old
sinful disgusting people we once were are gone. Jesus makes us
new. Jesus washes the old out. The more exciting idea here is
that it says the old is gone. It doesn’t say the old is hidden, or put
away, or on hold, but it is GONE! You are a new creation in
Christ. Christ is in you. John writes in his Gospel,
“4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can
bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you
bear fruit unless you remain in me.”
The resolutions I pray that we all make are to remain in Christ.
Share your story of an encounter, an experience, your
relationship with Christ. Let the world see that this year, in 2010,
you are a new creation in Christ. The old has gone, the new is
here.
Shine On,
Jason
A Note from the Vice President,
I hope you are all enjoying, or finding ways to cope with, the snow and the cold. How do you cope with things that are
beyond your control? Do you get angry, throw things, yell or just stuff it all inside? We all have our ways of dealing
with life’s disappointments.
Some ways are better than others.
I was reminded of this recently when Laurie and I found out that a good friend’s wife had been killed suddenly in a car
accident. Kelly was only 27. We started praying for Kelly and John right away and got our bible study group involved in
praying as well. Her funeral was a huge gathering that celebrated the life she had and those she touched. It also
celebrated the new life she now has.
As I was retelling her story one day, a friend told us how she had recently been to a funeral as well. But at this funeral
there was no celebrating only mourning what was lost. God was not present or invited. I could not help but feeling a lot
of sadness that these people are left with a felling of no hope or promise.
Think about it.
What would your life be like if you did not have anyone who would pray for you? How would you feel if you were alone
without a community to support you? What would it be like to not know that Jesus loved you enough to die for you and
is waiting with open arms for you? I do not want to ever imagine that.
I belong to a community of faith that lifts me up, prays for me and holds me accountable. I do the same for them. I
have a God who loves me unconditionally. He showed me this on the cross. How can I not love Him and live for Him in
return?
How do I cope? As the refrain of an old song goes; “Where do I go when I need some helping? Where do I go when I
need a friend? I go back on my knees again”. Prayer is a great coping tool. It works. Try it!!!
By the way, the cold and the snow thing, I’m off to Mexico.
HAPPY EASTER
I hope you are all enjoying, or finding ways to cope with, the snow and the cold. How do you cope with things that are
beyond your control? Do you get angry, throw things, yell or just stuff it all inside? We all have our ways of dealing
with life’s disappointments.
Some ways are better than others.
I was reminded of this recently when Laurie and I found out that a good friend’s wife had been killed suddenly in a car
accident. Kelly was only 27. We started praying for Kelly and John right away and got our bible study group involved in
praying as well. Her funeral was a huge gathering that celebrated the life she had and those she touched. It also
celebrated the new life she now has.
As I was retelling her story one day, a friend told us how she had recently been to a funeral as well. But at this funeral
there was no celebrating only mourning what was lost. God was not present or invited. I could not help but feeling a lot
of sadness that these people are left with a felling of no hope or promise.
Think about it.
What would your life be like if you did not have anyone who would pray for you? How would you feel if you were alone
without a community to support you? What would it be like to not know that Jesus loved you enough to die for you and
is waiting with open arms for you? I do not want to ever imagine that.
I belong to a community of faith that lifts me up, prays for me and holds me accountable. I do the same for them. I
have a God who loves me unconditionally. He showed me this on the cross. How can I not love Him and live for Him in
return?
How do I cope? As the refrain of an old song goes; “Where do I go when I need some helping? Where do I go when I
need a friend? I go back on my knees again”. Prayer is a great coping tool. It works. Try it!!!
By the way, the cold and the snow thing, I’m off to Mexico.
HAPPY EASTER