the Logos

The Lenten season and its encouragement to take an extended time to focus on the death and resurrection of Christ provides us with an opportunity to honor God as we prepare for Easter Sunday. Another way to consider the value of recognizing Lent is to consider the ways you currently prepare for Easter Sunday. New clothes for the kids? A flower for mom? A roast for the oven? Candy for baskets? Now, consider if there might be a better and more beneficial way to think about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

"And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." Matthew 6:16-18 (ESV) Fasting has great spiritual value, but some hypocrites, such as the Pharisees, had turned it into a way to gain public approval. During a fast, they made themselves look pale and disheveled so people would notice and admire them. The Pharisees negated the purpose of their fasting by making sure others knew that they were fasting. Public recognition would be their only reward. When you fast, Jesus said, go about your normal daily routine; don't make a show of it. Then no one but God will suspect you are fasting. Jesus commended acts of self-sacrifice done quietly and sinc...

We are invited to Christ First Christian Fellowship Center's 2nd Annual Easter Musical, "At the Foot of the Cross," this evening at 6:00pm. We are having an Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday at 1pm. Join us for the fun and fellowship. Next Sunday, we have our Sunrise Easter Celebration at 6am. That will be our only service. We will not have Children's Church so all families can worship together. We will celebrate Communion and have breakfast right after the service. Invite your family and friends to come and spend Easter with us. Don't forget to join us at Bible Study this Wednesday where we'll watch a message regarding helping Haitian churches and explain how we will be helping. The video is a little over an hour long so we'll start promptly at 7pm. Click through to the blog post if you can't see this video. We're having a big Tailgate Party on October 2nd. During this event the Red Cross will be on site taking blood donations for the local ...

Our visit to Phoenix Assisted Care today was canceled due to sickness among the residents and the staff. The staff has asked that we pray for them. Don't forget that we will have only 1 service on Easter at sunrise. Following the service we will celebrate community by having breakfast together. Please invite family & friends to spend Easter with us. Mt. Zion will be joining churches across the country to help rebuild churches in Haiti. Join us at Bible Study on Wednesday, 3/31 where we'll watch a message regarding rebuilding Haitian churches and explain how we will be helping.

Often the money that is saved from giving up something for Lent can be given to help the poor and oppressed (giving of alms). As we fast, we are reminded that we have a Savior who is rich in mercy. In response to this mercy, we follow the pattern set by the One who became poor for our sake, so that we, by his poverty, could become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9 (ESV): "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich." As we give of our resources (time and treasure) to those in need, we remind ourselves of Jesus' self-giving mercy and we demonstrate to those in need the kind of Savior we serve.

The controversy over Bishop TD Jakes is whether he denies the Trinitarian nature of God (that God exists in three distinct persons: the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit). Jakes appears to be a Oneness Pentecostal (or Modalist). Oneness Pentecostals deny traditional Trinitarian doctrine, while affirming their belief that God took on flesh in the man Jesus Christ. Like Trinitarians, Oneness adherents believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. However, whereas Trinitarians believe that "God the Son" (a being whose existence is denied in Oneness theology), the eternal second person of the Trinity, became man, Oneness adherents hold that the one and only true God—who manifests Himself in any way He chooses, including as Father, Son and Holy Spirit—became man. Oneness believers view "Father", "Son", and "Holy Spirit" as titles, reflecting different manifestations of the one true God in the universe. Oneness Pentecostals are regarded by ...

Where are the men who are not ashamed to proclaim the Gospel in front of millions?! This is a great response from Steve Lawson on the uncertainty of Joel Osteen. Here's the referenced Larry King interview:

We are extremely proud of some of our youth who attended a purity conference called Silver Ring Thing and committed to abstain from sex until marriage. Let us as a church family continue to encourage them as they face great pressure from the culture to have premarital sex. For Easter this year, we want to do something special. We will have only 1 service at sunrise (6am). We will celebrate Communion as a family and following the service we will celebrate community by having breakfast together. Invite family and friends to spend Easter with us.

The following comes from "Why Bother with Lent?" by Elliot Grudem & Bruce Benedict Fasting and prayer are two traditional focuses of Lent. Fasting, joined with fervent prayer and reading of Scriptures, is a spiritual discipline of humbling ourselves in abstinence before God to turn away some tragedy, or for obtaining of some special blessing. Fasting is traditionally the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a limited time. Some people give up a certain behavior or habits during the season. We fast (not just during Lent) because Jesus told us to do so (Matt. 6:16, Mark 2:20). We fast because we continue to see the pattern of fasting practiced in the church (Acts 13, for example). We fast because it is one of the means God uses to break the power of sin in our lives, prepare us well for prayer, and humble us before him (for unlike God, we need food to live). The act of self-denial can be a helpful tool in your Christian growth. There is n...

Just a couple of items... Don't forget our Drive for Change to raise funds for the purchase of our church van. We are also actively seeking volunteers to provide transportation for those who are without transportation on Sundays. Anyone interested in working in this ministry is asked to please contact the church office. Ladies: The Women of Worship is having the 'Sweet Life Cafe' conference on Saturday, March 27. Conference cost is $40. Stop by the registration table today to sign up and make a deposit.

As adults, we get pretty excited about a lot of things. Some get excited about new cars, homes, clothes, etc. Personally, I get excited about computers, gadgets, turtles (the candy not the animal), and chocolate cake! But do we get excited about sharing the Gospel to others? Here's a wonderful story from one of the parents at my church about the excitement her son had to share the Gospel with a classmate... When I picked up Dominic last week from school he was running down the sidewalk as fast as could to get to me. Out of breath, he says with great excitement, "I had the best day ever at school, Mama!" I ask why and he proceeds to tell me that he and his friend got to share the Gospel with another classmate on the playground. They talked about Jesus and what Christmas is really all about, Passover, Easter and "on and on" he tells me. Then he says to me "Mama, I don't know if he believed me or not but I'm excited I was able to plant the seed!...