Monthly Events

· Marriage Conference, Feb. 9&10

· Ladies Bible Study, Tuesday Evenings and Wednesday Morning

· November 19th in the Adult SS class. Abraham Nhial, a “Lost Boy of Sudan” and author of Lost Boy No More

· November 19th, immediately following the worship service. “Carry-in” style. More details coming.

In this Issue

Alias for Life

Letter from Pastor

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November Birthdays

• Asa Stone (15th)

• George Leavell (25th)

• Meghan Routzhan (25th)

• Mike Reuss (26th)

• John Michael Stitt (28th)

• Katie Haase(29th)

Alias for Life

Ever feel as if you and your spouse are on opposite sides of the net?

Are the stresses of life bombarding your marriage?

Need time to focus on enriching your relationship?

February 9, 6:30pm- a free event where Dr. Zachary Eswine, Covenant Theological Seminary, will present marriage basics with an emphasis on being “Allies for Life”.

February 10, 9am to 4pm- Dr. Zachary Eswine will continue to discuss “Allies for Life” along with discussion groups and forums with psychologists and chaplain. $10 per person.

For more information call 931-906-6650 or www.clarksvillepca.org. Mail $10 per person to 1230 Rossview Road, Clarksville, TN 37043 by February 1.

And One More Thing…

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree

planted by streams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3, ESV)

Why is that? Why is it that such a person is so fruitful and knows such deeper prosperity? Because such a person is “planted” in the Word of God. And His Word is good, true, and exactly what our ears were made to hear.

But is that the end of the story? No. It’s also because of who this Word is about and who we ultimately get to know through it. Not just Abraham, Moses, David, and Paul but our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. After all, what does Jesus Himself teach to His discouraged disciples on the Emmaus Road?

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luke 24:27, ESV)

Did you catch it? It’s all about Him – from the Table of Contents to the maps! Where do we see this working itself out? Certainly in the Gospels and Acts (historical accounts of Jesus’ work) and the letters of the New Testament (reflecting on the ramifications of His work). And certainly in the prophecies, the sacrificial system, and the “types” (persons and patterns anticipating His coming) of the Old Testament as well. But what about the Law?

In our sermon series through the Ten Commandments, we talked about how the Law is like a multi-use tool – a muzzle restraining our sin, a mirror revealing our sin, and a map redirecting the path of our lives into godliness. That’s all true, especially as we come to understand in greater degrees the extent to which we need Jesus working in our hearts to serve and obey in even the slightest way.

But there is another area worth considering as to how the Law points us to Jesus. He bore the just penalty for our failing (even rebelling against) His Father’s standards. He died because we are idolaters, murderers, adulterers, liars, etc. But He lived for us as well. He was punished on our behalf. He also obeyed on our behalf. And so now – hard as this is for us to accept at times – we stand before the Father not only forgiven but righteous, as if we had obeyed ourselves. He worshipped in spirit and truth, treasured life, embraced purity, breathed truth, etc. – for us! What does that mean for us as we look at the Law? Not only does it show us our need of Jesus but it shows us the love of Jesus as well – for the Father and for us. “What was Jesus like?” we ask. Well, certainly, to get at that we should immerse ourselves in the Gospels. But read the Law as well.

Through the Word, this life giving Word, we come to know many things – who we are, where we came from, what’s wrong with the world, and where things are going. And that’s a lot! But over it all, soaking through and through, is Jesus. There we get to know Jesus.

Well, got to go. I’ve got some reading to do. And someone to get to know.

Uganda Ministry

(An overview of Uganda Ministry that Christ Presbyterian Church supports financially)

This year Trinity Church Central Oahu is preparing to plant our eleventh church. To understand the seriousness of our mission, you have to put yourself in a rural village in Uganda—Branch in human terms is in the middle of nowhere. It is a poor village with no infrastructure; the people eek out a living through raising crops; the village is not even on large maps of Uganda. I suspect most of its residents have never heard a clear presentation of the Gospel.

Our major goal this year is to raise up a Christian witness in this village, by building a church facility and pastor’s home to the end that a congregation of worshippers is raised up. The materials for these structures must be transported over miles of dirt roads that often resemble stream beds. Last week we were able to send the funds needed to purchase two acres of land for this new ministry. Already God has provided a host of workers to erect the building. We hope to start on the construction soon before the rains come. Upon our arrival on June 14th, our plan is to go hut to hut doing evangelism during the day, while sharing the Gospel with many in the village through evening crusades. Then, on our last Sunday there, we hope to install the new pastor and dedicate the new facility.

This is not easy work; it takes God’s providence, as well as the focus, determination, prayers and financial support of many of God’s people. Nothing this important can be accomplished without sacrifice and holy sweat. It takes 40 hours to get to Uganda from Hawaii, and then we travel seven hours up into the mountains. Each member of the team must carry supplies—medicines, Bibles, Sunday School literature, generators, musical instruments, sound equipment. But as a team, we can be used by God to change a village.

Please pray for this work and help us financially if God lays this on your heart. In keeping with the command of Christ to "Go and make disciples of all nations" and our desire to help expand the Kingdom of God in Uganda, we share with you our vision for this year.

1. Start a new church in the village of Branch. We want to build a church facility and a house for the pastor. Remaining project cost: $32,000.

2. Send Pastor Pete to Uganda to preach the Gospel. His main responsibilities include leading the church planting team and overseeing the work of our school, clinic and orphanage. Project cost: $4,000.

3. Modernize Yancey Medical Clinic we built in Kaserem in 2002. We want to bring electricity to the clinic and maternity ward, add windows to the maternity ward, and provide a refrigerator in the clinic for vaccines and medicines. In addition we plan to continue our monthly support of our medical clinic. Project Cost: $23,400.

4. Initiate "Million Student Vision," a program to reach out to one million Ugandan school children by financially supporting and equipping a core of speakers who would show the "Jesus film" and evangelize in schools throughout Uganda. We already have a dozen people trained and ready to begin this ministry. Project Cost: $37,400 over three years.

5. Construct two Christian radio stations, one in the Kampala-Entebbe area and one in Kapchorwa Town. Pete’s brother, Sid, a missionary in the Czech Republic, will be installing these stations. Project Cost: $7,500.

Welcome Home!

Welcome home from your service in Iraq! Christ Presbyterian Church wants to support you in your reunion with your family. Please contact us with any concerns or questions you might have.