the Logos

Part 2 of the Discipleship Training will take place on Sat., March 8th from 8am to 10am. Please read the rest (chapters 9-13) of Disciplemakers' Handbook. Thanks to those who came out to support Bro. Ian Clanton for his Initial Sermon and licensing. I would like to announce a staff change: Sis. Robyn Simpson will no longer be serving as the church administrator as she has accepted a full time position originally as a Program Consultant with Jenny Craig in Cary. But she has already been promoted to Program Director. We thank Sis. Robyn for her service as Church Administrator for the past 12 years. But I'm happy to say that Sis. Robyn will be taking on another position at the church as Clerk/Special Projects to continue utilizing her administrative gifts. Until a formal announcement about a new church administrator, please see Elder Bullock for any administrative needs. Just a reminder that we won't be having Communion on next Sunday, but will have it on Easter Sun...

Our next series for Bible Study is entitled "Protecting Your Family" which will begin this Wednesday (2/20). Don’t forget to sign up by Feb. 20th for the Discipleship Training that will take place on Sat., Feb. 23rd and Sat., Mar. 8th from 8am to 10am. Please read chapters 1-8 of Disciplemakers’ Handbook prior to the first session. I'm pleased to announce the Initial Sermon of Bro. Ian Clanton will be held on next Sun., Feb. 24th at 4:00pm. Everyone is invited to this special occasion. Overseas Missions support: We now have more specific details on what Evangelist Sukumar’s ministry in India needs. Our Outreach Ministry is coordinating the buying and preparation of the items to be shipped to India. Your generous giving next Sunday will purchase these needed items. Also, if anyone works for GlaxoSmithKline, please contact Minister Amekuedi immediately. One of the nutrients that is needed is manufactured by GSK.

Congratulations to Brianna Simpson who competed in the Special Olympics last week. She competed in Bowling and won first place (Gold)! The Discipleship Training will take place on Sat., Feb. 23rd and Sat., Mar. 8th from 8am to 10am. Please read chapters 1-8 of Disciplemakers' Handbook prior to the first session. Please sign-up for this training at the Welcome Center. The deadline to sign-up is Feb. 20th. I announced last Sunday that we would start supporting overseas missions by taking up a love offering every fourth Sunday. Now we have a specific opportunity. Evangelist Sukumar continues his ministry in India despite his beating last month. There are children in their village that need soaps, detergents, hair oils, and food supplements. We will use our missions offering to purchase these items and ship them to India. Your generous giving is greatly appreciated.

Parents who attended the Gang Awareness Workshop we had a few weeks ago can get a copy of the presentation at the welcome center. In keeping with our vision to reach the world with the Gospel, we are going to take the love offering on every fourth Sunday to support overseas missions. I would like to partner with a specific missionary group that is planting a church. If you are aware of such, please forward the information to me. Our sacrificial giving campaign is 79% complete. Even though our campaign was officially over in November, please continue fulfilling the vows you made because you made them to God.

Thanks to everyone who signed up to disciple our young men & women. We have all of our boys and girls assigned to someone who will help them become disciples of Jesus Christ. Ladies, you are invited to accompany the Deaconess' Ministry to help serve dinner at the Helen Wright Center in Raleigh on Thurs., Jan. 31st. The sign-up sheet is available at the Welcome Center. Thanks to all members who attended our Church Family Meeting on Monday. Some important points from the meeting: We are in the process of updating our Constitution & By-Laws and policies and procedures with information regarding our new meeting room scheduling and church discipline. There will some more updates coming so we will let everyone know when all updates are done so that you can download the most recent copy from the church website. We also encourage families to sit together during worship service. We don't want the teens to congregate in one location and end up talking and passing notes. ...

We still need 7 more men to help disciple some of our boys. I know that it's going to be a sacrifice of time, but this is what Jesus commanded us to do. And we cannot complain about the state of our young men if we are not willing to take the time ourselves to work with them. Check out my other blog entry for where you can buy the Disciplemaker's Handbook for $12 or less. The Women's Ministry will be hosting a Fellowship Breakfast on Sat., Jan. 26th at 9:00am. I hope everyone planning to attend signed up at the Welcome Center so the ministry will have an accurate count of attendance. We are proud to announce the Single Sip Café for all singles (18 years and up). So starting next Sun., Jan. 27th at 8:30am in Adult Classroom 3, singles can get together for fellowship, study, and light refreshments.

I had the pleasure of attending and participating (with a prayer) in a celebration in Cary on 1/15 for Dr. King's 79th birthday. After a brief intro by one of the organizers, we ventured outside for a candlelight vigil. Now it was quite cold that evening, but I was prepared with my coat, gloves, and hat. Although I can't say the same for my two armor bearers (who were complaining about their "paper-thin" suits). Needless to say, I kept my prayer brief while we were outside. After moving back inside, we listened to several songs by a chorus from Cary High School. I felt for them after seeing them outside in t-shirts. But they're young. They sang "Let My People Go", "This Little Light of Mine", and "We Shall Overcome". Next, we heard from a couple of elders who talked about their experience with civil rights. One lady, who was Caucasian, described the time when her school was desegregated and she became friends with Dr. King...

The book we will be using for our upcoming discipleship class will be "The Disciplemaker's Handbook" by Alice Fryling (ISBN #0-8308-1266-0). So go ahead and purchase the book if you want to get a jump on reading it. It's a really easy book to read. I searched the web and found the book for $12 at the InterVarsity Press: http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=1266

Thanks to those who volunteered to disciple those coming forward last Sunday to accept Christ or rededicate their lives. We got more than enough ladies to disciple the girls, but we need 7 more men. We ask that any men who will step up and help disciple some young men to sign up at our welcome center. We will also be contacting those who signed up to disciple to let you know who you will be discipling and their contact info. Thanks to the Couples Ministry in conjunction with the Youth & Children's Ministries for putting on two very informative workshops on peer pressure & gang awareness. We were invited to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday at "Dream of the King Legacy 79th Birthday Anniversary" on Tuesday, 2/15 at Page-Walker Arts & History Center in Cary at 6:30pm. The event included a candlelight vigil, civil rights songs, and 79 expressions & birthday party. I will give my thoughts on this event in another blog entry.

Less than 10% of believers are involved in discipleship. But discipleship is not an option, it is a command! Believers are not saved to merely take up space on earth. When Christ found a person who was willing to commit his life, Christ attached Himself to that person. Christ began to mold and make that person into His image. The word attach is the key word. It is probably the word that best describes discipleship. Christ made disciples of men by attaching Himself to them; and through that personal attachment, they were able to observe His life and conversation; and in seeing and hearing, they began to absorb and assimilate His very character and behavior. They began to follow Him and to serve Him more closely. He envisioned an extension of Himself, an extension of His very being, and an extension of His mission and method. The way He chose to extend Himself was discipleship, attaching Himself to committed persons, and through attachment, the persons absorbed and ...

Happy New Year! What a blessing to see a new year. I'm thankful for what God has done in 2007 and look forward to what God will do in 2008 and another year of serving Him. We had a great turnout for yesterday's youth workshop on peer pressure. The topic for discussion on next workshop on Jan. 12th will be gang awareness. It is open to children, youth and adults. Our theme for 2008 is "Making Disciples of All People". Less than 10% of believers are involved in any form of discipleship. But making disciples is not an option, it is a command from Jesus. This year we want to focus on and train individuals on how to reproduce themselves. This is what Jesus did...He attached Himself to 12 men so that He could reproduce His character and mission. These men would carry on the mission after Jesus ascended back to heaven. Let us follow Jesus' example and invest our time into the lives of men and women.

Lost & Found: If anyone picked up a ladies coat by accident on last Sunday on the bench outside of the ladies restroom, please return to the welcome center or church office (during the week). It’s a black coat with black fur on collar. There was a cell phone in the pocket. I know the owner will be happy to get it back. Don't forget about the two upcoming workshops in January on the 5th and 12th from 9:00am to 12:00pm. Topics for discussion on Jan. 5th will be peer pressure and health, and on Jan. 12th will be gang awareness for children, youth and adults Everyone is invited to join us for our New Year's Eve Celebration on Mon., Dec. 31st at 9:00pm. Please bring a friend and help us praise God what He has done in 2007 and look forward to another great year of serving Him. There will be no prayer meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 1st. We return to our regular schedule on Wednesday, Jan. 2nd.

This is the fourth Sunday of Advent. It represents peace. The first coming of Jesus enabled people to be at peace with God. His second coming will bring peace to world. Worthy is the Lamb of God that came to die for the sins of the world. Just a reminder that there will be a Free Christmas Lunch for individuals and families in need. Click here for details. Thank you for your generous giving to the coat drive. The Men's Ministry collected over 100 coats to give to those in need. Please mark your calendar for two upcoming workshops: January 5th and 12th from 9:00am to 12:00pm. Topics for discussion on Jan. 5th will be peer pressure and health, and on Jan. 12th will be gang awareness for children, youth and adults. Due to the Christmas holiday, we will not have Tuesday night prayer meeting, Wednesday night or Thursday morning Bible Study this week. Enjoy time with your family and friends. Merry Christmas!

As a parent of small children, buying toys has been a challenge this year with so many recalls. But I found this info on a a couple of websites that could make buying toys easier. One is HealthyToys.org (contains a database that provides a detailed breakdown of the substances found in over 1,200 toys they tested for lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, and PVC plastic) and the other is MomsRising.org (you can text message this one to get these test results on a toy back to your mobile phone). So as you shop for your little ones, I hope these websites will help you buy safe toys. read more | digg story

This is the third Sunday of Advent. It represents joy. We have joy in celebrating the birth of Jesus and joy in anticipating of His second coming. Don't let materialism and commercialism steal your joy. Thanks to those who attended our Christmas program and social on yesterday. Everyone participating in the play did a wonderful job. Everything went very well for our first stage production at our new facility and we look forward to things just betting better and better. We have started our new College Ministry. This ministry is for college students, high school graduates, and young adults. The ministry will be having it's first Bible Study and meeting this Wednesday at 7pm. We are actively working to get our Transportation Ministry back up and looking for a small church bus. We are looking for drivers to join this ministry. So if you have a good disposition and a valid NC driver’s license and would like to volunteer contact Minister William Fields or the church office. T...

This is the second Sunday of Advent. It represents love. As we prepare for the coming of Jesus, we remember that God is love and gave us the greatest gift of His Son. Thank you for your generous giving to the love offering last month to help the victims of the California wildfires. You gave a little over $500 and the church added to it so we could donate a total of $1000 to Samaritan's Purse. Please spread the word that there's a free Christmas Lunch for individuals and families in need. The time is 11am to 2pm on Christmas day and the location is the Golden Corral at 6129 Glenwood Ave. Check our website or call the church office for details about attending. We will be going out Christmas caroling on Friday, the 14th at 6pm to the area nursing homes. Our Christmas program is on Saturday, the 15th at 4pm. Invite someone to come and join us.

Just a reminder about the upcoming movie "The Golden Compass"...Do not take your kids to support this movie. The intent of the books that this movie is based on is to kill God who is senile. The author is an avowed atheist and wants to spread an anti-God message. If you want to see a good, quality movie, pick up the DVD, " Facing the Giants ". For everyone's information, we made several changes to the format of our Tuesday night's Prayer and Testimony service: Testimony time will be from 7:00 to 7:30pm in the multi-purpose (MP) room Individual prayers (or small groups) will be from 7:30 to 8pm (people can pray in the MP room or in the sanctuary) The final close-out prayer will be at 8pm in the MP room The sanctuary will be open/available at 7pm for people who have time constraints and can't stay until 7:30pm to pray We are now in the Season of Advent. Advent means "to come". During this season we celebrate the first coming of Christ as we ...

There are various outreach opportunities: Service at With Love from Jesus on Sat., Dec. 1st ; the love offering from today will go toward purchasing food to be served to the women at the Helen Wright Center on Thurs., Nov. 29th; and the Men’s Ministry is collecting winter coats for those that need them in the community. Thanks to everyone who supported our Youth Ministry’s fundraiser (selling fruit and 2008 calendars) which ended today. What a great day as we conclude our Sacrificial Giving Campaign today. Since November of last year, we have been giving sacrificially to purchase furnishing and other items for the new building. I hope that everyone has completed giving their vows, but if not, you can continue to give until you are finished.

It's easy for people to be naturally happy on occasions such as Thanksgiving and other holidays. But a Christians' joy is not dependent on any circumstance, but on what Christ has done for us. Paul admonished the Thessalonian church to be thankful. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV): "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." What a tall order that can be. It's easy to be thankful during good times. But the Word says give thanks in all circumstances. No matter where you are at in life, give thanks to God. If you are on top, give thanks. If you are in the middle, give thanks. If you are on the bottom, give thanks. When you have money, give thanks. When you don't have a dime, give thanks. When you feel great, give thanks. When you don't feel so good, give thanks. When the car is running smoothly, give thanks. When the car is broke down, give thanks. When you can afford filet mignon, give thanks. When you can only affo...

Community Service Opportunities: Help reach our community through service at With Love from Jesus in Raleigh on Sat., Dec. 1st from 8am to 1pm. Next Sunday's love offering will go to purchase food for the women staying at the Helen Wright Center. We will be serving a meal to them on the 29th of this month. Sacrificial Giving Campaign: Do you realize that sacrificial giving imitates Christ. Jesus became "poor" by giving up His rights as God and becoming human. In His incarnation God voluntarily became man—the wholly human person, Jesus of Nazareth. As a man, Jesus was subject to place, time, and other human limitations. He did not give up His eternal power when He became human, but He did set aside His glory and His rights. In response to the Father's will, He limited His power and knowledge. Christ became "poor" when He became human, because He set aside so much. Yet by doing so, He made us "rich" because we received salvation and eternal l...