Athanasius - John 12

This is a quote from Athanasius concerning John 12: “For it is only on the cross that a man dies with his hands spread out. And so it was fitting for the Lord to bear this also and to spread out his hands, that with the one he might draw the ancient people and with the other those from the Gentiles and unite both in himself. For this is what he himself has said, signifying by what manner of death he was to ransom all: 'I, when I am lifted up,' he says, 'shall draw all unto me.'”

John 3.14-21

This coming Sunday we will be focusing on the Mission of the Church. As United Methodists our mission is this: "The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world." Here we can see that what we are about as the church is discipleship. We are to be disciples that make disciples. This changes things ----- and not just a few things, but the entire cosmos. For we are to live into the prayer "on earth as it is in heaven." Our scripture that we will be focusing on is John 3.14-21. Here we see the nature of God. That God is a God of love ---- that loves the world. God loved the world so much that he sent his Son to redeem creation. Hence, Jesus is a missionary God, who came to reveal God's love to us. Have you ever thought of Jesus as a missionary? Does this change how we view ourselves as missionaries?

The Christian Faith

While we are remodeling the downstairs section of our building we are combining our Adult Sunday School classes. These classes will be held in the sanctuary. During this time we are going to be teaching on some of the core beliefs of the Christian Faith. You are invited to come and learn more. Here is the breakdown of the classes:

Sunday, January 8th @ 10am - Rev. Milton Hadley will be teaching on the Missional Church
Sunday, January 15th @ 10am - Jed Poston will be sharing about how the Lord has called him into the ministry and what it means to be called.
Sunday, January 22nd @ 10am - Pastor Ben Burnside will be teaching on the Atonement.
Sunday, January 29th @ 10am - Youth Pastor Colin Knapp will be teaching on Heresies.
Sunday, February 5th @ 10am - Pastor Ben Burnside will be teaching on the Trinity and the Sacraments.
Sunday, February 12th @ 10am - Youth Pastor Colin Knapp will be teaching on the Holy Spirit.