the Logos

I hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving (and didn't eat too much or hurt yourself on "Black & Blue" Friday. It's truly sad when people are more concerned with possessing material things than valuing the life of someone else (a worker at Wal-Mart, who was trying to do his job, was trampled to death in NY ). And while we were celebrating Thanksgiving, people were dying from terrorist attacks in India . Please keep those affected by these senseless acts in your prayers. And let us stop the sinful complaining about what we didn't have for Thanksgiving or those deals we didn't get on Friday when we were blessed not to be facing terrorist attacks. Please take advantage of opportunities for growth and fellowship at Mt. Zion . There's Sunday School at 8:30am; Prayer meeting on Tuesday evenings at 7pm; Bible Study on Wednesday evenings (the current topic in the Adult class is "So You're Dead…Now What?") and Thursday mornings at 9am.

Thanksgiving is made up of two words: "Thanks" and "giving". Obviously during this holiday, we should give thanks for our many blessings. But not only should "thanks" be a part of our holiday, but we should also include "giving". Give to your local church, give to your favorite charity, give to a local shelter or food bank. Give of your time to visit a nursing home, give of your time to feed the hungry, give of your time to help those in need, give of your time to pray for others. So this Thanksgiving, don't just be thankful for your blessings, but be a blessing to someone else. Happy Thanksgiving!

Please note: We will have Prayer Meeting on Tuesday, but no Bible Study this Wednesday evening or Thursday morning. And no MCON (Mt. Zion Community Outreach Night) on Thursday evening. Digital TV transition: On Feb. 17 2009, TV stations will stop broadcasting in analog and switch to 100% digital. See my previous post for details. If you need to purchase a digital converter box, now is a good time. You must order your coupon by Dec. 31. CompUSA currently has one for $40 (therefore it will be free with the coupon). I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Give thanks to God for His many blessings.

We are starting our next Bible Study series, "So You're Dead...Now What?" on this Wednesday at 7:00pm. Join us for this 4-part video teaching series as we examine what happens after you die. Please note: Bible Study will not be held on Thursday mornings, November 20th and 27th, and on Wednesday evening, November 26th, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. For those who purchased fruit during our Fruit Sale, the fruit is due to be delivered on Nov 19, between 10am and noon in Adult Classroom 3. All fruit need to be picked up on the 19th between 4pm-8pm so that none will be left in the classroom.

We are in the midst of history as the first African-American is elected president of the U.S. As believers we must pray for Obama and our other elected leaders. We cannot ignore the fact that Obama's views on abortion and support for same-sex marriage do not align with the Word of God. 1 Timothy 2:1-6 (NLT): "I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity - the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time." There is no true change apart from God. Do not put your trust in any man, but in Jesus Chri...

If you did not do early voting, I encourage everyone to vote on Tuesday. Exercise your right. After the election, despite who wins, we are to pray for our elected officials. Ladies, you are invited to participate in a morning of fun, fellowship, and service at Super Suppers of Cary on Saturday, November 8th from 9:00am to 11:00am. You will prepare meals for our sick and shut-in members. Click here for more details. If you missed the "One Body" Fun Night on Friday, you missed a great time of fun and fellowship. Here are the top 5 things I learned from "One Body" Fun Night: #5 – 100 people surveyed for church family feud do not know that Adam is a person in the book of Genesis #4 – There's a book of Moses somewhere in the Bible #3 – For earning his team 0 points, Doug earned the nickname "Pepsi Zero" #2 – Pastor Harris should stick with preaching and not join the dance ministry #1 – We learned how to sign, "We are Mt. Zion" Th...

I encourage everyone to vote. We have voter's guides at the Welcome Center for you to pick up. Members are encouraged to attend our Church Family meeting on tomorrow at 7pm. Ladies, don't forget that you have the opportunity to help serve dinner to homeless women at the Helen Wright Center in Raleigh on Thursday, 10/30. Please sign-up at the Welcome Center if you would like to participate in this outreach opportunity. Mt. Zion, join us for the "One Body" Fun Night on Friday, October 31st from 7:00pm - 10:00pm. We're going to have fun and games for everyone (Bible trivia, Bingo, Family Feud, Name That Verse, and many more). So if you're looking for an alternative to Halloween, join us on Friday. Our Thanksgiving outreach is quickly approaching. Next Sunday, the love offering will go towards our Thanksgiving outreach to help families in need. We appreciate your generous giving towards next Sunday's love offering.

Don't forget to pick up your voter's guides at the Welcome Center. Members, mark your calendar for our next Church Family meeting on 10/27 at 7pm. Ladies, don't forget that you have the opportunity to help serve dinner to homeless women at the Helen Wright Center in Raleigh on 10/30. Please sign-up at the Welcome Center. Next Sunday is Family & Friends Day. There are 3 things that you can do to make this day a success: Pray. Pray for the salvation of those that attend who do not know God. Pray that people will come one step close to God. Invite. Personally invite your friends, family, co-workers, and those who are unchurched. Donate. Donate money to help us off-set the cost of the food; donate water; and a dessert.

Psalms 119 176-day challenge: Sunday's verse was 175 and Monday concluded our challenge. I hope that everyone who participated in the challenge found it beneficial to read Scripture daily and will continue to do so. The challenge to read the Word daily never ends! We have voter's guides available at the Welcome Center or you can download it here . Don't forget to invite your friends, co-workers, etc (especially those who don't know the Lord) to our Family & Friends Day on Oct. 26. We have flyers available for you to use as invitations and will make them available at the Welcome Center. You can also download the flyer to email. During the first part of this year, we used our overseas missionary love offering to provide much needed supplies to a ministry in India for the children of their village. Evangelist Sukumar sends his thanks to the Mt. Zion family. Dear beloved brother in Christ, Willie, greetings and best wishes to you in the Mighty name of Our Lor...

How do you prepare for death? We can only prepare for the grave through faith in Christ. Psalms 49:15 (NLT): "But as for me, God will redeem my life. He will snatch me from the power of the grave." 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 (NIV): "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Jesus demonstrated His power over the grave. He resurrected Lazarus and Jairus' daughter. He came out of His own grave after the Crucifixion. The living Christ saves all who come to Him giving them eternal life. Hebrews 7:25 (NIV): "Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them." Jesus is able, once and forever, to save everyone who comes to God through Him. No one can add to what Jesus did to save us; our past, present, and future...

Psalms 119 176-day challenge: Today's verse is 161. We had a great time at our Fall Renewal services last week. Minister Harrison kicked things off talking about stripping off the old nature so you don't give the devil opportunity in your life. Pastor Snead encouraged us that our wings are almost ready if we just wait on the Lord and don't give up. Minister Clanton finished things off by exhorting us to cry out to God and worship Him so that we can be delivered from captivity. It was truly a great time of renewal! Don't forget to sign-up by this Wednesday for the upcoming Spiritual Enrichment class starting on Oct. 12th. Sign-up at the Welcome Center. I will not be a church next Sunday as my wife and I will be cruising on the high seas to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. Keep us in your prayers as we are traveling.

How do we prepare for death? We cannot prepare through increased wealth. Psalms 49:16-17 (NLT): "So don't be dismayed when the wicked grow rich and their homes become ever more splendid. For when they die, they take nothing with them. Their wealth will not follow them into the grave." Expensive homes do not increase the length of life. Earthly honor and glory fade; they cannot prevent death. Wealth is worthless in the grave. We can't take wealth with us. Ecclesiastes 5:15: "Naked a man comes from his mother's womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand." All the pomp and circumstance you get in this present life will perish with your last breath. The grave levels the playing field between the "haves" and the "have nots". Remember the story of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus. Despite all the wealth of the rich man and the lack of wealth of Lazar...

How do we prepare for death? We cannot prepare through increased education. Psalms 49:10 (NLT): "Those who are wise must finally die, just like the foolish and senseless, leaving all their wealth behind." Degrees cannot deliver us from death. Educated people have been unable to find a way to escape life's common end. Eternal life cannot be gained by accumulating facts on healthy living. Even the wisest have been unable to avoid the grip of the grave. Medical science comes up empty in its search for a pill to give eternal life. Science has been studying cryogenics (just like in the movies) so you can one day freeze someone and bring them back years later. No matter what medicine or science comes up with, death is inevitable. Miracle drugs work only for a season. Many diseases have been conquered, but life still ultimately ends. In spite of earthly honors (degrees, achievements, etc), we all march steadily toward the grave.

Psalms 119 176-day challenge: Today's verse is 154. Thanks to all the Couples who attended the Couples Retreat yesterday. We had a great time and there was a lot of kissing going on as well!! The next Couples event will be to go see the movie, Fireproof . If you are interesting in going, contact the Couples Ministry . The Couples Ministry is also sponsoring a voter registration drive. Oct. 10th is the last day to register, change your party affiliation or your address. I also encourage young adults who are now voting age to register to vote. Our Fall Renewal services will be taking place on this Wednesday through Friday starting at 7pm. Everyone is invited to come and bring a friend. Don't forget that on Oct. 26, we will be having our Family & Friends Day. We're asking for members to donate bottled water, punch, desserts, and money to help us purchase food that hospitality will cook and prepare.

We want to invite everyone to join us, Cary Christian Church, and others in a day of "Prayer for Light" on Saturday, September 20th. On that day, the NC state fairgrounds will be the site of the Central NC Pagan Pride Day Festival – one of several related festivals being held around the state. For them, it will be a day dedicated to both celebrating and educating people about various forms of paganism – earth religions, tradition witchcraft, magick, worship of the Aesir & Vanir, Wicca, and others. You can read about it in more detail at the festival website: http://www.ncpaganpride.org/ . For us, it will be a day of prayer. Cary Christian Church will begin a prayer service at 9:00 am and Mt. Zion will have a prayer service at 3pm. With area churches working together, we want to bathe the day in prayer. I also encourage members to pray on their own at various times throughout the day. It is our intent not to involve the press/media in this at all. This is not an...

It's a subject that we don't like to talk about. We don't want to think about it but we are reminded of it quite often. That subject is death. But one of life's greatest deceptions started in the Garden of Eden when Satan said, "You will not surely die". Millions of people live as if this lie were true. They store up riches as if they would never leave them. The Bible says "for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also". But sin has brought the prospect of death to us all. It does not matter who you are. Graves await the rich and the poor. We each have an appointment with the grave. Hebrews 9:27 (MSG): "Everyone has to die once, then face the consequences." How do we prepare for that coming day? Over the next several days, I'll share how NOT to prepare and the only way you can prepare.

Psalms 119 176-day challenge: Today's verse is 147. There are a couple of great opportunities for growth (especially those who have completed New Members): For those new in their faith, the next New Believers class starts on 10/5; and the Fall session of the Spiritual Enrichment class starts on 10/12. Couples, don't forget about the Couples' Retreat hosted here at Mt. Zion on 9/20 to discuss "How Deep Is Your Love?" On 9/20, the NC state fairgrounds will be the site of the Central NC Pagan Pride Day Festival (see http://www.ncpaganpride.org/ for details)– one of several related festivals being held around the state. It will be a day dedicated to both celebrating and educating people about various forms of paganism – earth religions, tradition witchcraft, magick, worship of the Aesir & Vanir, Wicca, and others. Cary Christian Church is asking area churches to join them for a "Prayer for Light". Mt. Zion will join with them to pray for those who...

Psalms 119 176-day challenge: Today's verse is 140. Still looking for a couple of prayer coordinators to represent Mt. Zion with the Raleigh-Area Concerts of Prayer (coordinates praying for our community, ministry events in our area, etc). If you are interested or would like to find out more info, please call the church office and leave your name. I encourage all of our newest members to complete the New Members Orientation class. This class helps you understand the church, its structure, the vision God has for us, and more. It is a requirement before you can serve in a ministry position. And starting this Wednesday, this class will be available on Wednesdays for members who are unable to attend on Sunday mornings.

Psalms 119 176-day challenge: Sunday's verse is 133. I would like to encourage all of our newest members to complete the New Members Orientation class. Many have started but not completed. This class helps you understand the church, its structure, God's vision for us, and more. It is a requirement before you can serve in a ministry position. And starting September 10th, the New Members Orientation Class will be available on Wednesdays for members who are unable to attend on Sunday mornings. On Wednesday, we start a new Bible Study series, "Ministering through Spiritual Gifts". For those that signed up for the next Discipleship Training starting next Sunday, don't forget to buy and read the book, The Disciplemakers' Handbook, by Alice Fryling. I'm looking for a couple of people to be prayer coordinators from Mt. Zion for the Raleigh-Area Concerts of Prayer. This ministry coordinates with area churches to pray for our community, ministry events in ...

We are continuing on our Psalms 119 176-day challenge: Sunday's verse was 126. Thanks to all the women and young ladies who participated in the Women’s Ministry Knee-to-Knee fellowship on last Friday. I hope that the testimonies and experience that were shared by some of the women will help our young ladies to avoid and overcome certain situations in life. Hearing about some of what was shared at the fellowship reminded me of our discussion of Joseph from Wednesday's Bible Study. Joseph said in Genesis 50:20 (NLT): "You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people." Even though some of the women in our ministry have been through some terrible situations, God intended it for good so that these women could be in a position today to help save the lives of other women and young ladies who may be facing similar situations. The next Discipleship Training will start on Sept. 7th. The trai...