I can't help it. I just gotta say that I love this church. It's my family- and it's a pretty good one. Good thing, too, since my wife and I spend an awful lot of time with this church- going, doing, fixing, helping, encouraging, leading, following, moving, and enjoying.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Meet the Tapies
Matt and Carolyn Tapie finally made the long trek from Dallas, Texas to Springfield last weekend. They arrived Monday night and are very excited to call Springfield their home.
The Tapies have lived in Texas since 1997. Matt and Carolyn both graduated from Abilene Christian University in 2001 with their bachelors degrees. Carolyn graduated with a B.A. in Biochemistry and a minor in Bible, and Matt graduated with a B.S. in Christian Ministry and a minor in Philosophy. After ACU they were married in Greenville, South Carolina (Carolyn’s hometown).
In 2002 they started graduate work at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Matt and Carolyn attended the Crestview Church of Christ in Waco where they led a young adult Bible class. While at Baylor, Carolyn attended law school and Matt attended Baylor’s Institute of Church-State Studies. They both graduated from Baylor in the summer of 2004 and then moved to Dallas, Texas.
In Dallas, Matt served the Farmers Branch Church of Christ as a Spiritual Formation Minister while pursuing a Master of Divinity at ACU. Carolyn worked at Hughes and Luce LLP (a Texas law firm) and practiced complex litigation and labor/employment law.
In January of this year Matt was accepted to the Catholic University of America’s School of Theology and Religious Studies to pursue a Ph.D. in Theological Ethics. He graduated from ACU with the M.Div two weeks ago and will begin classes at CUA at the end of the month. Carolyn will be working at King and Spalding LLP, and she begins her new job in early September. They are very thankful that God has called them to the Springfield Church of Christ and are eager to help this family of believers serve the Lord.
The Tapies have lived in Texas since 1997. Matt and Carolyn both graduated from Abilene Christian University in 2001 with their bachelors degrees. Carolyn graduated with a B.A. in Biochemistry and a minor in Bible, and Matt graduated with a B.S. in Christian Ministry and a minor in Philosophy. After ACU they were married in Greenville, South Carolina (Carolyn’s hometown).
In 2002 they started graduate work at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Matt and Carolyn attended the Crestview Church of Christ in Waco where they led a young adult Bible class. While at Baylor, Carolyn attended law school and Matt attended Baylor’s Institute of Church-State Studies. They both graduated from Baylor in the summer of 2004 and then moved to Dallas, Texas.
In Dallas, Matt served the Farmers Branch Church of Christ as a Spiritual Formation Minister while pursuing a Master of Divinity at ACU. Carolyn worked at Hughes and Luce LLP (a Texas law firm) and practiced complex litigation and labor/employment law.
In January of this year Matt was accepted to the Catholic University of America’s School of Theology and Religious Studies to pursue a Ph.D. in Theological Ethics. He graduated from ACU with the M.Div two weeks ago and will begin classes at CUA at the end of the month. Carolyn will be working at King and Spalding LLP, and she begins her new job in early September. They are very thankful that God has called them to the Springfield Church of Christ and are eager to help this family of believers serve the Lord.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Praise You in This Storm*
I was sure by now / That You would have reached down / and wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day / But once again, I say, “Amen” / and it’s still raining
As the thunder rolls / I barely hear Your whisper through the rain, / “I’m with you”
And as Your mercy falls / I raise my hands and praise the God who gives / And takes away
I’ll praise You in this storm / And I will lift my hands / For You are who You are
No matter where I am / Every tear I’ve cried / You hold in Your hand
You never left my side / And though my heart is torn / I will praise You in this storm
I remember when / I stumbled in the wind / You heard my cry / You raised me up again
My strength is almost gone / How can I carry on / If I can’t find You
As the thunder rolls / I barely hear Your whisper through the rain, / “I’m with you”
And as Your mercy falls / I raise my hands and praise the God who gives / And takes away
I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth
**
*Casting Crowns, Lifesong **Psalm 121: 1-2
Stepped in and saved the day / But once again, I say, “Amen” / and it’s still raining
As the thunder rolls / I barely hear Your whisper through the rain, / “I’m with you”
And as Your mercy falls / I raise my hands and praise the God who gives / And takes away
I’ll praise You in this storm / And I will lift my hands / For You are who You are
No matter where I am / Every tear I’ve cried / You hold in Your hand
You never left my side / And though my heart is torn / I will praise You in this storm
I remember when / I stumbled in the wind / You heard my cry / You raised me up again
My strength is almost gone / How can I carry on / If I can’t find You
As the thunder rolls / I barely hear Your whisper through the rain, / “I’m with you”
And as Your mercy falls / I raise my hands and praise the God who gives / And takes away
I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth
**
*Casting Crowns, Lifesong **Psalm 121: 1-2
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Hate Your Mom!
Look at the following quotes from Jesus:
Luke 12:51-53
51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."
Luke 14:25-27
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple."
Can you imagine if Jesus were invited to speak at Focus on the Family and he preached a message like these?! Hate your father and mother? Hate your wife and children? Hate your own life? Certainly these are descriptions of maladjusted, strange people in need of counseling? Or not?
John tells us God is love and Jesus spoke a lot about love, but in these difficult verses he seems to say that there are times when hate and strife are appropriate in the life of the believer. This week we will look at those tough words from Jesus.
Mark
Luke 12:51-53
51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."
Luke 14:25-27
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple."
Can you imagine if Jesus were invited to speak at Focus on the Family and he preached a message like these?! Hate your father and mother? Hate your wife and children? Hate your own life? Certainly these are descriptions of maladjusted, strange people in need of counseling? Or not?
John tells us God is love and Jesus spoke a lot about love, but in these difficult verses he seems to say that there are times when hate and strife are appropriate in the life of the believer. This week we will look at those tough words from Jesus.
Mark
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Toughest Things Jesus Said: A Look at Last Words
As we sort through all the red letters in our Bibles looking for especially difficult words from Jesus, eventually we come to his very last words. Perhaps one of the most difficult things Jesus ever said was the last thing he ever said. As he hung on the cross he said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
You have heard the same explanations of these words that I have heard. Before Jesus, mankind was so sinful and so deep in debt to God that no human being could ever pay it all. So God sent Jesus to die for our sins, erasing the debt once and for all. This is the most traditional view of the cross, but it does not answer the question of suffering. What kind of father demands the death of a son in order to pay off a debt to himself?
According to another view, it was God who died on the cross, putting an end to divine bookkeeping through the voluntary sacrifice of divine power. But this view asks the question, “If Jesus was God, to whom was he talking in the garden and from the cross?” It’s clear he believed that someone else had the power to remove the cup of suffering from him, or at least to be with him while he drank it down--but who, in both cases, declined to do so?
I’m not sure if there is anything worse I could have my sons accuse me of. If they looked at me in a moment of desperation and said, “Why have you left me now?” I would feel horrible as a father. Yet we have those troubling words there at the end of Jesus’ life. This week I won’t pretend to be the final word on Jesus’ final words, but we will look at how difficult they are and try to explore what they mean for us and our lives.
You have heard the same explanations of these words that I have heard. Before Jesus, mankind was so sinful and so deep in debt to God that no human being could ever pay it all. So God sent Jesus to die for our sins, erasing the debt once and for all. This is the most traditional view of the cross, but it does not answer the question of suffering. What kind of father demands the death of a son in order to pay off a debt to himself?
According to another view, it was God who died on the cross, putting an end to divine bookkeeping through the voluntary sacrifice of divine power. But this view asks the question, “If Jesus was God, to whom was he talking in the garden and from the cross?” It’s clear he believed that someone else had the power to remove the cup of suffering from him, or at least to be with him while he drank it down--but who, in both cases, declined to do so?
I’m not sure if there is anything worse I could have my sons accuse me of. If they looked at me in a moment of desperation and said, “Why have you left me now?” I would feel horrible as a father. Yet we have those troubling words there at the end of Jesus’ life. This week I won’t pretend to be the final word on Jesus’ final words, but we will look at how difficult they are and try to explore what they mean for us and our lives.
Mark
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Wait! I Think I Might Be Possessed!
Jesus interacted with a lot of people who were “possessed”. That term, as we use it, is generally used in reference to people who have been taken over by a demon. However, he warns us of another type of “possession”…that is when we are possessed by things that we think we possess. In other words, Jesus had a keen eye for seeing that money and the things it buys for us can end up not only providing us with “possessions” but can also very easily possess, or own, us.
As we move along through our series on the toughest things Jesus ever said, this week we come to a whole list of tough things that he had to say about money:
Matthew 10:9 When you go, don’t take any gold or silver with you!
Matthew 5:40 If someone sues you, give him your cloak as well.
Matthew 19:21 Sell everything you have and give it to the poor…
Jesus seemed pretty intent on getting the message across to his disciples that dependency on money and possessions was not something that was compatible with joining his team of followers. He had lots of good things to say about the poor and generally not a lot of good things to say about those who had money. That’s a tough thing to hear for those of us who tend to have some money at our disposal. Or are we at its disposal??
Today we look at a few of Jesus’ radical statements about money and possessions.
Mark
As we move along through our series on the toughest things Jesus ever said, this week we come to a whole list of tough things that he had to say about money:
Matthew 10:9 When you go, don’t take any gold or silver with you!
Matthew 5:40 If someone sues you, give him your cloak as well.
Matthew 19:21 Sell everything you have and give it to the poor…
Jesus seemed pretty intent on getting the message across to his disciples that dependency on money and possessions was not something that was compatible with joining his team of followers. He had lots of good things to say about the poor and generally not a lot of good things to say about those who had money. That’s a tough thing to hear for those of us who tend to have some money at our disposal. Or are we at its disposal??
Today we look at a few of Jesus’ radical statements about money and possessions.
Mark
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Don't Look Back
I have a friend who is a staff member for a US Senator, and he has some great stories about that particular Senator having an uncanny ability to stand up, talk extemporaneously and say just the right thing. He also has almost as many stories of that same Senator getting on the opposite sort of “roll.” The kind where you dig a hole, and it gets deeper and deeper as you say all the wrong stuff to the wrong crowd!
I wonder if Jesus’disciples ever felt like this? Sometimes he would just get on a roll and say the hardest, most unpleasant, unpopular things. We looked at a section in Matthew two weeks ago where he seemed to do this, and today, we will look at the closing verses of Luke Chapter 9, where he gives us perhaps his most unpleasant example of this.
“I’ll follow you Lord…after my father’s funeral.” “I’m about life not death,” Jesus says. “Let the dead bury the dead.” “I’ll follow you Lord, but I need to at least have the courtesy to go back and say goodbye to my family.” “I need people who are serious,” Jesus replies. “No one who starts plowing a field and looks back is fit to join my crowd.”
I wonder if the disciples felt like crawling in a hole somewhere after Jesus said, “Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but we are not going to be staying in the best hotels!” I can just see the disciples working the crowd afterwards. Surely there must have been a few of them who were sort of like me--spin doctors who said with a nervous laugh, “He has not had a lot of sleep lately. Go say goodbye to your family and meet us in the next town. He’ll never notice.”
Today in our series, The Inconvenient Truth, we look at what Jesus meant when he said, “Put your hand to the plow and don’t look back.”
I wonder if Jesus’disciples ever felt like this? Sometimes he would just get on a roll and say the hardest, most unpleasant, unpopular things. We looked at a section in Matthew two weeks ago where he seemed to do this, and today, we will look at the closing verses of Luke Chapter 9, where he gives us perhaps his most unpleasant example of this.
“I’ll follow you Lord…after my father’s funeral.” “I’m about life not death,” Jesus says. “Let the dead bury the dead.” “I’ll follow you Lord, but I need to at least have the courtesy to go back and say goodbye to my family.” “I need people who are serious,” Jesus replies. “No one who starts plowing a field and looks back is fit to join my crowd.”
I wonder if the disciples felt like crawling in a hole somewhere after Jesus said, “Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but we are not going to be staying in the best hotels!” I can just see the disciples working the crowd afterwards. Surely there must have been a few of them who were sort of like me--spin doctors who said with a nervous laugh, “He has not had a lot of sleep lately. Go say goodbye to your family and meet us in the next town. He’ll never notice.”
Today in our series, The Inconvenient Truth, we look at what Jesus meant when he said, “Put your hand to the plow and don’t look back.”
Mark
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