FTCC

I wanted to give a hearty endorsement of the Cobblestone Cafe in Fort Thomas, KY on the corner of Highland Ave and Grand.

Many times I've blown by this place in search of a good lunch and never seemed to notice until today.  What a great place to work and get a healthy salad, soup or sandwich.

Its always good to support one of our local businesses especially when they're doing a great job making tasty healthy yumminess.

They are only open for lunch Monday-Saturday until 3:30.

Next I need to finally give Vito's a try!

Jeremy

Great book for what our church is discussing right now.

Book Description: In "Rethinking The Wineskin", Frank Viola takes a ground-breaking look at the nature and life of the early church through the lense of God's eternal purpose. The book discusses the principal practices that marked the New Testament church and boldly compares them to those of today's modern church. A must read for all who have a passion to see first-century ways restored to the Body of Christ today.

Buy it Amazon by clicking here. 

 

 

Psalm 22:1-8 Isaiah 53:6-7
Matthew 5:11-12

The Lord did not complete His suffering.  It has been given to the church to complete the sufferings of Christ.  Suffering not yet filled up waits out there for you.  You see, the body is also Christ.  The body, which is the church, is part of that Christ.  There is suffering out there yet to be endured, yet to be known, yet to be embraced by that part of Christ which is called the body.  We all thank god that no one member of that body will ever have to know and endure all the sufferings that Jesus Christ experienced while living on the earth.  But each one of us – because we are in some mysterious way one with Him – will taste some part of His experience of suffering.

One within your fellowship may know ridicule.  Another will partake of physical pain, another will know rejection, perhaps someone else may taste what it means to be vilified and verbally, socially crucified.  And perhaps, just perhaps, there will be one within your fellowship who will touch that awful thing which Christ touched in that last moment on the cross: the dark night of the soul.

There is one aspect of the cross that none of us will ever know – praise God!  We will never know what it means to be the sin bearer.  That is one thing which I will never experience, nor will you.  He and He alone has experienced that.  He experienced the one thing that none of us should have escaped, and the one thing which He need never have known.  He became the sin-bearer and thereby took suffering that was truly mine.

 

 

 

I'd be interested to hear what priority people think is most critical when choosing which church to join.  This list could be used when choosing a Body Church for the first time or trying to decide whether to go with a Body Church that is being birthed from your current Church.  Here's the list in the order I feel seems right to me but please offer your feedback if you think differently because I'm honestly unsure.

 

1. The church I expect will most help me grow to become more like Christ

2. The church I believe I can experience the deepest interconnectedness with (similar lifestyles etc.)

3. The church where my gifts will be most free in their use and will be most needed

4. The church where I already have the best friendships

 

That's my first crack at it.  Now it's your turn... 

Amy asked for a defintion of Body Church so here are some thoughts...

 

Yes, body and church are quite redundant and basically synonymous in the New Testament.  The problem is the definition of church has changed over the past 2000 years and no longer means anything close to what a body is.

A quick definition is a body church is an interdependent, interconnected group of Christians that have committed to one another to form a single body under the headship of Christ sharing the same mission, united by love and experiencing the full release of equally valued spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12).

Those of us who have been on this journey from day one feel we have become less of a body lately and are less interconnected because our structure has made it more difficult to grow more toward body life as we grew in size.

Body churches also must be receiving 5-fold ministry (Eph 4) and be under the protection and oversight of the city church (Acts 20).  One thing we've done well lately is the creation of a city church that can now support multiple bodies but this is a new concept (yet all over the New Testament - i.e. Romans 16) and we are trying to figure out how this works as well.

We believe that every Christian must identify with church on 3 levels -

1. Body
2. City
3. Universal

That's just a general overview but hopefully it helps.

Father,

You have brought us here to Fort Thomas, all of us.  You have brought us together in order that we might display the unity of the Trinity, the unity you have had since before the world was made.

We pray that your presence would be powerfully among us tonight.  Thank you so much for guiding us here, Lord.  Thank you for all of your patience, your grace, and your kindness, which leads us to the repentance of our own ways.  God, you said that our thoughts are not your thoughts, and neither are our ways your ways; but we pray that tonight, you would show us the way, the perfect and pure road, which will lead our small community to be a light on the mountain, shining your goodness and love into the dark valleys where men have turned to their own ways.

Father, we acknowledge that we have tried to follow you on our own terms.  At times, we’ve wanted to go back to the way life was.  At other times, we’ve been scared of what following you will require.  We constantly battle the best you have, with what we think is best.  Father, help us to return our hearts and place them at your feet.

Father, we pray in Jesus’ name that you would bind us together under one banner, one king and one vision.  Lord, have your way with us and lead us on the ancient path, the everlasting path along the river of life, which flows from your holy mountain, and through our hearts.

Your Church in Fort Thomas

God called to him . . . . And he said, ’Here I am’

—Exodus 3:4 

Today is Maundy Thursday of Holy Week.  Our day to remember and ponder the significance of communion.

 

We've seen two young church planters die over the past few weeks and its made me think about my kids and how, more than anything, if I were to die while they are still young, I would want them to know how deeply I love them.

 

Jesus must have been thinking of a way to help his disciples and remember how deeply he loves each of them (and each of us).  He never wanted us to forget so he commanded us to regularly remember his ultimate demonstration of love for us through communion.

 

We can see, smell and even taste the love of Christ in communion.  Do I really experience the heart of Christ  for me when I take those elements, precious reminders of his body and his blood poured out in love for us.

 

Teach us Christ, to know and experience your love for us.  Help us to understand the love that drew you and kept you on the cross. 

Just finished celebrating the Passover with our community.  Great work all you who organized everything while our family bathed in the Florida sun and arrived just in time to enjoy the fruit of your labor.

I feel like this year I downloaded the experience and now I'm attempting to process.  Passover is full of so many symbols, words, flavors etc. I need time to let it sink into my heart (especially attempting to keep all our kids in line for the duration).

I think what struck me most during the Seder was the taste of the salt on the parsley representing the bitter tears of the Hebrews in slavery.  It made me wonder once again why God allowed them to spend those 400 years in bondage.  Remembering the generations of Hebrews who were born lived and died as slaves.

It reminded me how God takes the long view and deals with us as family lines as much as he deals with us as individuals.  I looked into the eyes of our children and once again remember that my life is more than the sum of the years I spend on this Earth but it is ultimately rapped up in the ripple effect of our children and their children - the mark we make on the whole of our family line.  Something our Father Abraham knew all too well – the first the grieve for the 400 years of bondage.

Come set us free Lord Jesus.

May God turn his face toward you and give you peace

I have recently been volunteering downtown with an organization called 1
City.  They run a shelter which houses people who are willing to meet some
guidelines.  The shelter has a zero tolerance for alcohol and charges a
minimal fee from housing which encourages people to get a job.  I have had a
great experience with this organization and their sole focus is on
Cincinnati.  What I am currently doing is spending time on Saturday morning
with a group of Christian volunteers from 9 to 12 and we just hangout with
about 30 people who are trying to get back on their feet.  This has been a
great opportunity to directly impact our community and I have meet several
other Christians from the area.

1 City has asked if anyone else would like to volunteer from our church.  If
we get 4 or 5 people we could actually run a entire Saturday.  The
commitment would be once a month or if you as an individual want to get more
involved it takes place every Saturday.  The work is easy we just prepare
coffee and play games like dominos and pool for a couple of hours.  Thus far
I have had some amazing conversations with these people who honestly want to
change.  If this is something that interest you but the time doesn't fit 1
City has also asked me to join their leadership team. I am not entirely sure
what I will be doing yet but I would love some help.

I really believe in this organization and want to support it.  If you have
any interest please email or call me and we can discuss it further.  Here is
their website if you would like to check them out.

http://www.onecity.org/


Regards,

Nicholas B. Derington

“I can only trust you with My supernatural knowledge to the degree that you know My heart. The gifts of the Spirit that I have released to My church are but small tokens of the powers of the age to come. I have called you to be messengers of that age, and you must , therefore, know its powers. ...When you know My heart, then the eyes of your heart will be opened. Then you will see as I see, and you will do what I do.”

Rick Joyner, The Final Quest

I was driving and I saw the clouds were dark and coming into the area.  I heard a voice saying, “A storm is brewing”.  I was doing some research and ran across this description of Christ:

What has this Jesus to do with the mild Galilean peasant of
   Renan's fancy? Here is a man of more than Napoleonic stature,
   who spreads around him astonishment and dismay; whose words
   are perplexing in the extreme; who goes on puzzling his disciples
   to the very end; who flaunts the conventional piety of his day; and
   yet who all through remains human, without a single trait
   characteristic of the Greek hero, the theios aner. Here are problems
   galore, if at anytime we would venture to write a life of Jesus and
   we may be certain that what we write will be wholly unacceptable
   to those who like their Jesus tamed and conventionalized and are
   not willing to be led away to the bleak uplands on which he moves
   in the Gospel according to St. Mark.

I then saw this poem which was referenced in an article about the portrayal of Christ in the Gospel of Mark.

   Do not retreat into your private world,
   That place of safety, sheltered from the storm,
   Where you may tend your garden, seek your soul,
   And rest with loved ones where the fire burns warm.

   To tend a garden is a precious thing,
   But dearer still the one where all may roam,
   The weeds of poison, poverty and war,
   Demand your care, who call the earth your home.

   To seek your soul it is a precious thing,
   But you will never find it on your own,
   Only among the clamor, threat and pain,
   Of other people's need will love be known.

   To rest with loved ones is a precious thing,
   But peace of mind exacts a higher cost,
   Your children will not rest and play in quiet,
   While they hear the crying of the lost.

   Do not retreat into your private world,
   There are more ways than firesides to keep warm,
   There is no shelter from the rage of life,
   So meet its eye, and dance within the storm.


In the power and peace of Christ, may we meet the eye and dance within the storm.
::stephen

Mark 4:36-41

Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.  A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

 

 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

 

 He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

 

 They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"

In an effort to better communicate with the Body at large we are going to be posting weekly announcments to set the stage for the next week.  It is our hope that it will keep all of us informed and set our expectations for the coming week.  In time these communications will be sent out via email and posted to the website.  Please be patient as we work through our process.

 

This Wednesday
We are coming to the end of another 5 week segment.

• Children will present on their lesson David and Goliath as well as 10 minute video of “David and Goliath”
• The rest of the evening will be spent discussing the topic of Lordship and Seeking First God’s Kingdom. This is a one night topic that will be facilitated by Jeremy The next two 4 week segments will be kicked off the following Wednesday. You will have the choice between:
• The Four L's/ FTCC 101- Living Life in Community facilitated by Jeremy & Stephen.  We will be digging deep into 4 passages and discuss our FTCC distinctives of Living, Loving, Location and Liberating.  Great for people who want to explore how and why we do Church in this manner.
• Being Authentic with our God, Life, Yourself and People..  Titled "Getting Real with Mark". Facilitated by Mark Treas.

This Friday Night

• Concert beginning at 7 PM. Hosted by the Barnes at the Nevada. The Band Ellery.  www.ellerymusic.com

This Sunday

• Worship
• Proclamation
• Jesse Dolan will be inducted as an Elder
• Small Group Sharing
• Meal will be catered immediately following (noon)

 

the word is flesh and blood,

not ink and text.

the word is love and life,

not ideas or thoughts.

 

this is the word

walking with us, living in a tent.

i cannot read the word

but i can talk

i can listen

i can walk

i can think 

i can create

i can live with the word

the word speaks to me and i to him

i look to those with whom i live and say

"this is the word."