The Christian Messenger

September 13, 2011 Brad Seevers

Senior Minister (740-550-9882)

Fifth Avenue Church of Christ

115 W. Fifth Ave. Lancaster, OH 43130 740-654-0626 e-mail: info@myfacc.com

David Tingler
Associate Minister

Glen Shady
Youth Minister (740-438-5257) Sunday Services 1st Worship 8:00 a.m. 2nd Worship 10:30 a.m. Bible School 9:15am Evening Worship 6:00pm

Why Fast?
Ask God to help you protect the unity of this church. Ask Him to help you not cause dissension or spread gossip. Ask Him to help you not participate in negative conversations. Sense the glory of God in this place. Ask God to help you not to just give Him lip service, but your whole heart. That we will always teach the truth of Gods Word in this place. Ask God to help you be obedient to His Word; That you would be a holy person. That we will be a church who stays on mission. Ask God to reveal to you ways our church might meet the needs of the lost people of Lancaster. Pray that God might use you to help us make new disciples 10 times more than we made in 2011.

SPIRITUAL STATISTICS (September 11, 2011)

Sunday School 1st Morning Worship 2nd Morning Worship Total Morning Worship Church Picnic Weekly Budget Budget Received Book Nook Sunday School Books

98 105 79 184 85 $ 4,471.00 $ 4,579.50 $ 10.00 $ 63.00

Looking Ahead!
Womens Prayer Breakfast Saturday, October 8th ** 9:00am Hear a presentation by two sisters, Mary Rogers and Stephanie Van Horn tell about their mother, Sallie Durret Farmer who was an Army nurse. Mark this date on your calendar and plan to attend. Watch for further information closer to the date. Card-Making Class Saturday, November 12th Led by Diane Miller Christmas Tea Sunday, December 4th ** 2:00pm

SERVING SCHEDULE September 18, 2011 D. Riggenbach, P. Wersell At the Table 1st G. Lambert, R. Coats Serving 1st R. Conrad, D. Gardner D. Riggenbach, N. Tomlinson At the Table 2nd B. Lambert, N. Hinson, P. Hinson Serving 2nd N. Rudolph, D. Taylor David Riggenbach Pastor of the week George Lambert PM Deacon COMMUNION PREPARATION 1ST Worship Peggy Elkins nd 2 Worship Geri Jaynes GREETERS 1ST Worship Dan & Janet Brown 2nd Worship Neal Rudolph NURSERY Sunday School Laura Wersell, Thea Kallenberg 2nd Worship Courtney Beiter, Cindy Cox Sunday School Helper Ruth Andrews Visitor Center 1st Worship Geri Jaynes nd Visitor Center 2 Worship Bev Puckett SECURITY 1ST Worship Dan Brown Bible School Carmel Marsh 2nd Worship Mike Cooper Evening Worship Dick Shumaker

The Book Nook The next meeting of the Book Nook will be Monday, September 26th at 6:00 pm. We will be discussing the book While Were Far Apart by Lynn Austin. At each meeting we discuss our book of the month--and anything else that comes to mind! New members are always welcome! Come and join the fellowship!
Womens Bible Study Wednesday, September 14th 6:30pm

Upcoming Events
Sunday, September 18th 7pm Oversight Meeting

If someone loves you at 6:30 in the morning, they really love you! Sounds like our Father doesn't it? When God makes Monday, September 19th 7pm someone perfect it is done!! Not made better, or improved, or Facility Management Meeting enhanced, PERFECT period. Oh, we still err in our execution th Sunday, September 25 of our faith (this part of us is in ongoing sanctification) but in Food Pantry Sunday our POSITION before God, we are undeserved perfection. Only Jesus makes this possible.

SERVING SCHEDULE September 25, 2011 Tom Puckett and Larry Bussey At the Table 1st Dale Rose, Jack Hardwick, Serving st Tim Huffman, Bill Kelly 1 Tom Puckett and Larry Bussey At the Table 2nd Dale Rose, Dale Thornton, Ned Serving Tomlinson, Rod Troutman, Taylor Dean 2nd Tom Puckett Pastor of the week Dale Rose PM Deacon COMMUNION PREPARATION 1ST Worship Peggy Elkins 2nd Worship Geri Jaynes GREETERS 1ST Worship Ray and Margie Ayers nd 2 Worship Dick and Marg Shumaker NURSERY Sunday School Shirley Marsh and Reta Conrad nd 2 Worship Marie Huffman and Kim Seevers Sunday School Helper Judy Gardner st Visitor Center 1 Worship Janet Brown Visitor Center 2nd Worship Debbi Hoagland SECURITY 1ST Worship Dick Shumaker Bible School Paul Hoagland nd 2 Worship Tom Puckett Evening Worship Paul Hoagland

BITS FROM BRO DAVE

NEW HORIZONS RETREAT: The final count for this trip on Tuesday, September 13, is 15. LaCOMEDIA DINNER THEATRE - All seats are now taken for this Thursday, October 13, adventure. However, I am accepting "stand-bys", as there can always be changing circumstances. We will be departing at 8:20 am on that morning and returning in the late afternoon. The cost is just $43 per person and this includes transportation, dinner and the show. The sign-up sheet remains posted. WEDNESDAYS: My 10:00 am and 6:30 pm classes will resume this week, on September 14. We will be following up on last year's study as we examine II Corinthians. This will, like previous studies, be a "verse-by-verse" investigation. Why not join us for one of these informal study groups? SUNDAY EVENINGS IN THE SANCTUARY is my theme for our 6:00 pm service this year. We are resuming on September 18. I will be continuing a series from the Psalms, which we began in the Spring. This week, the theme is "When Being Good Doesn't Seem To Pay" (Psalm 37). I want to follow up this series with some studies on the "Hard Sayings of Jesus". This would include any statements, made by Jesus, that you find difficult to understand. Be thinking about this as I will begin asking for your suggestions for texts this week. NOTE: Communion is available at these evening gatherings.

DORCAS OUTING IN SEPTEMBER The Dorcas Ladies would like to invite ALL LADIES to join them for lunch at 1:00pm on Thursday, September 22nd at Bob Evans Restaurant. Be sure to get a flyer to take with you and 15% of all sales that day will go to Olivedale. Signup sheet and flyer will be on the bulletin board. See Juanita Harmon to get a copy of the flyer.

Directory Updates Marianna Gall 241 Whittier St., Room 104 Lancaster, OH 43130 Geri Jaynes 689-9800

Nominating Committee
It is time for the election of officers. Those serving on the Nominating Committee are: Mike Cooper, Larry King, Don Taylor, Marg Shumaker and Norma Holtom. All names for consideration must be submitted to these individuals no later than September 16th.

Thank you for the flowers, plaque, and monetary gifts that were given to me on Sunday morning. Bill and I will enjoy our trip to the Amish country! I appreciate all of the kind words and the tribute for my 37 years as the church secretary. It was a privilege to serve and a most enjoyable 37 years! Thank you again! ~ Martha Kelly Dear Secret Friend ~ Thank you for your thoughtfulness in thinking of me with your gift. May God bless you. ~ Carolyn MacKenzie

MISSIONS SPEAKER
Sunday, September 25th Rich Teske, Director of Reach Out On Campus, at Ohio University will be here to speak at both morning services.

Worship ..
In John chapter 4 Jesus is talking with a woman from Samaria. In the course of their conversation, he asks for water and then explains how he can give her water that will allow her to never be thirsty again. This contrast between the physical and spiritual is played out in the rest of their discussion as well. She recognizes him as a prophet and asks where the proper place for worship is, Jerusalem or Mt Gerizim. Jesus tells her it doesnt matter what the physical location is because God is Spirit and true worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth. What does it mean to worship in Spirit and in Truth? Some would say this means in the right attitude and in the right methods, but in this context where Jesus is contrasting the physical with the spiritual, it seems odd to tie Spiritual worship to anything physical. Worship acceptable to God must be Spirit based: prompted by the indwelling Spirit of Gods revelation of who He is. We are in a constant struggle between flesh and spirit. The challenge in worship is to surrender the flesh and hold fast to the spirit. Truth in this context may mean sincere. We may do great things for wrong motives and not please God. When we seek to worship God, there is no formula or special program that if we do it in just the right way, God is pleased. In truth, God is not evaluating our external, physical performance of ritual, but He sees our hearts. Is my spirit crying out in unison with His Spirit within me to declare His greatness and glory? Or are my lips repeating empty words to an appropriate song with just the right music? Jesus said But the time is coming--indeed it's here now--when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. John 4:23 Lord, please help us to follow Your Spirit and offer our spirit in total surrender to you. Let our worship come from sincere love for you and be a true expression of your grace in our lives. amen

A Note From Brad.

Hello Everyone! I want to thank those of you who came to help us honor Martha Kelly on Sunday. Several of you chose to give her a monetary gift and I am sure she truly appreciated you thinking of her. If you were unable to do so on Sunday, you can still send her a card at her home address. She is well deserving of your generosity. With this transition, we enter into a new phase for our staff hours. Debbi Hoagland, who has served FACC well for the past six years, will now be our only secretary. If you need to call during her office hours, you can reach her from 7 A.M.-3 P.M. on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. Please note these hours on your calendar so you know when you can reach our secretarial staff. This is a week of transition for us as we begin our Wednesday night electives. Our Family Reunion Electives will meet from 6:30-7:30 P.M. Again our adults have three options to choose from. 2 Corinthians (Taught by Dave Tingler) Colossians: A Ladies Bible study (Led by Norma Holtom) Family Reunion: Each week will be different. May include: Worship & Prayer, Small Group, Christian Film, or Exegetical Bible study (Led by Brad) Also beginning on September 18th: Life Group @ Dan & Janet Browns- 6:00 P.M. (Not a Fan), led by Brad. Beginning on September 20th: Life Group in the fellowship hall-6:30 P.M. (Forgotten God), led by Brad. This Saturday night, join us in an awesome time of worship from (7-8 P.M.) in the fellowship hall. Whether you choose to fast or not, we would like to have you join us for this excellent time of prayer and praise. In His Service, Brad Seevers, Eph. 3:20-21

The Christian Messenger

Beginning on Monday, September 19th, the Christian Messenger will be published on Monday of each week. All articles to be included in the newsletter need to be turned in to the church office by the Friday before the publication date.
Stacy Byers Ron Young Jeane Goldfarb Dorothy Henderly

Blue Star Mothers

The Blue Star Mothers (Lancaster chapter) received a government grant to help with a purchase of a house for use by homeless veterans. It will house 8 veterans for a 2 year time period. They are in need of anything HOUSEHOLD related to furnish the house. They are working in conjunction with Lutheran Social Services also. If you are "house cleaning" or "downsizing" and have things (small household items) you could donate to this cause, there will be a donation box at the nursery entrance. If there are any questions, contact Sue Oehrtman. Clayton Hewitt Estella Cornell Jim Evans Autumn Nagle Dorothy Herman Robert Boyer Ron Ogden Sharon Britch

Helen Puckett Willard Venatter Wanda Dickson Our Troops

Children of God...
"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." -Proverbs 22:6

Wednesday Night Classes

As Wednesday night classes start up again this fall I encourage you to consider whether or not you have been equipped by God to help with this weekly effort. On Wednesdays we often see kids who do not make it to the church on Sunday. Many of them do not have a Christian home environment and actually walk themselves to church. We as a church are burdened to respond to this situation with love and compassion and fun and excitement as we look to get these kids hooked on Jesus for life. Whether or not you have experience with teens or kids, I encourage you to pray about possibly helping out with the children or youth on Wednesday nights.

Children's and Youth Van Ministry

Another area of service that we really need the church praying for is the possibility of a van ministry. We are connected with many kids who like coming to church, but their families are frankly not interested in getting up early on a Sunday. So we are constantly wondering if a van ministry would be a way to get these kids to church. We are not sure, but we want to explore the option further. In order for such a ministry to work there needs to be a team of two (non-family) that are willing to champion this effort. It is not just about driving, but is also about contacting the kids throughout the week to ask them if they are going to be at church and continually encourage them to slip away. A Sunday morning van would need to pick kids up in time for Sunday school, so anybody volunteering for this effort would need to go to second service to worship. Please prayerfully consider whether or not you might be able to offer this service to the church and to these young people.

Prayer Concerns

That our students would shine Jesus' light at school That we would not only see God delivering new students to our door, but that we would also see our congregation stepping out in faith to find and connect with students in order to bring them to know Jesus We would really like to start praying about getting a Sunday morning van ministry started That God would raise up workers from within the church who are passionate about working with young people