CALENDAR OF EVENTS
MONTHLY
First Sunday of Every Month -Friends Day - No Evening Service
Our morning service the first
Sunday of every month will be extended and dedicated to
getting to know our guests and members better. To achieve this
goal, members are asked to invite someone to have lunch with them either
in their homes or a restaurant. By doing so, the service is
extended beyond its regularly scheduled time; therefore, no evening
service will be held the first Sunday of each month only.
March 2010
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MONDAY |
TUESDAY |
WEDNESDAY |
THURSDAY |
FRIDAY |
SATURDAY |
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H2H Prayer |
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Children's Church |
Men's Night Out 7 PM |
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Minister's Training Seminar 9 AM Campground |
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SALVATION SUNDAY |
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Daylight Savings Time |
H2H Prayer |
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Children's Church |
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LADIES YARD SALE |
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SPANISH SERVICE 6 PM |
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FAN THE FLAMES
"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they
were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a
sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the
house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven
tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they
were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit game them utterance." Acts 2:1-4.
Indiana Bible College MagazinePerspectives
Vol. 19/No. 5
"The Place Between"
An article written by our Pastor was recently published. Click on the
links below to read his article it in its entirety.
MOTHER'S DAY 2009
"Mother and Child - forever connected - hand in hand, heart to
heart." Think about it - from the moment of conception a child
is part of the mother. Her heartbeat sustains the life being carried
within her; her body provides the cozy, secure environment and
nourishment for her child's development as the days, weeks and months
pass. There are many changes in the mother's body as the child grows
and develops. She experiences excitement, joy and sometimes
apprehension about what lies ahead as birth nears when her child, once a
microscopic seed, enters into the world as her son or daughter. Any
mother will attest to the joy of hearing her child's first cry; counting
the fingers and toes and that wonderful experience of the small, fragile
hand encircling her finger for the very first time.
The love of a mother knows no bounds. From the very moment she learns
she is "with child" the protective nature for her child exists. There
is no amount of pain too great to be borne to cause a woman of God to
turn away from the awesome miracle and precious life she is carrying.
Her child is God's perfect creation. There is no animal more protective
of its issue than a human mother. Mothers are chosen by God to bring
new life into the world. God's scriptures provide instructions for
training and teaching her child about God and His love. At times, in
the wee hours of the night, she feels alone and often frightened when
cradling a crying or ill child to her breast, yet she knows she has been
chosen by God for this important job - nurturing, training and guiding
her child through the tender young years ahead and into adulthood.
Motherhood is an awesome and very rewarding blessing women have received
from God. Thank you God for this blessing!
We honor all Mothers on a very special Sunday in May each year
designated as "Mother's Day". While each Mother present received a
bookmark commemorating her special day, we honored several for specific
reasons: Having received the Holy Ghost within the past 30 days; most
senior Mother; first time visiting Mother; expectant Mother; "Wanna be"
Mothers, a "Wanna be" Father and, of course, Sis. Sarah Sheppard, our
First Mother of The Church of Columbus. Take a look at these special ladies:
CONVALESCENT CARE MINISTRY
The
Convalescent Care Ministry of The Church of Columbus has two passions:
Jesus and the Elderly. We desire first and foremost to serve in
the example of Christ. We are dedicated to ministering to the elderly
to promote spiritual, emotional and physical healing. Our focus and
prayer is to awaken and remind them of God’s Love, His Salvation; their
worth in this world and that they be healed in all phases of their
lives. Many years ago a story was told of an elderly, frail man sitting
on the sidelines of life, watching others laughing, living and enjoying
their lives. His heart cried out, “Please, bring me back into your
lives and let me live too – don’t leave me on the sidelines by myself.”
Our elderly have served others; they have worked hard and in the
twilight of their lives, they deserve our love, care and concern. They
need to know they are loved by others and, most of all by Christ Jesus.
We are their eyes, ears, hands and feet to aid in time of need.
Over the past few years through community donations and sacrifices of
love, we have provided several local facilities with Christmas gifts. o
In October 2008 we hosted the Third Annual Christmas for The Elderly
Charity Concert on the grounds of Fountain City Care & Rehab, 5131 Warm
Springs Road in Columbus, GA. Through donations received, God provided
the way for us to give over many Christmas gifts to nursing
homes. If you contributed to the success of this event--thank you for
loving and for giving.
For our next Christmas for The Elderly Concert date and time, please see
our Calendar of Events. If you are interested in donating items for
Nursing Home residents, please contact Barbara Sims at
bsims@thechurchofcolumbus.org
or call The Church at 706-571-0919.
2008 CHRISTMAS GALA
The
first Friday evening in December we had our Christmas Gala to welcome
the Celebration Season commemorating the birth of
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Usually festively dressed, we
enjoy fellowship with our friends and family as we have a wonderful time
together in the Lord. There are always beautiful decorations,
delicious food, special music, recognitions and a message from our
Pastor.
2008 CHRISTMAS PLAY
MAYHEM IN BETHLEHEM
Nosey
News Network was the setting for our 2008 Christmas play. Our
Youth and Children's Choir did a superb job of telling the Christmas
story in drama and song.
Complete with an all together overly confident news
anchor, Noah Lott, reporters Vesta Gates, Freddie Factoid and Loran
Limelight, and a cast of others, they reported in story and song the
events leading up to the wise men following the star to Bethlehem where
Jesus was born and delivering their gifts to Him. The Network and
cast of characters, interspersed with commercials for Debonair hair
products, other "news" and breaking news clips of the event, presented
the account of the visit by the wise men and their gifts presented to
identify Jesus as the Messiah in an entertaining, yet informative way.
Even King Herod made an appearance, singing "Pray Tell
Me" as he sought the whereabouts of the Christ child. Each
gift represented something special: gold - a type of kingship;
frankincense - a type of priesthood and myrrh - a type of sacrificial
lamb. There was plenty of laughter to go around as we were
entertained by our children, as evidence of their hard work and
dedication to learning their parts and the songs presented became
apparent.
DEDICATION OF CHILDREN TO THE LORD
When parents present
their children before the Lord for dedication, they consecrate
themselves as parents to bring up their children in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord. They vow to instruct them in the teachings of
Jesus Christ and in the practice of prayer and to guide them in the
development of a Christ like character. They also commit themselves to
scriptural discipline of their children; that is to spare not the rod
but to do so not out of anger but always with love. To the best of
their ability they vow to shape the home life of their children, both by
words and example, so that the children will at the timely spiritual age
seek personal salvation.
The vow is taken before
God, the ministry and The Church congregation to dedicate
children to the Lord Jesus and themselves to the task of rearing them
for God. Parents must address themselves faithfully to this sacred
obligation, with wisdom, patience, devotion and the Holy Ghost. Having
made these vows, they are endowed with the blessing of Jesus our Lord
and Savior upon themselves and their children.
God’s word is replete
with scripture evidencing that children are to be dedicated to the
Lord. Genesis 18:19 says: “For I know him, that he
will command his children and his household after him, and they shall
keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may
bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him.”
In Deuteronomy 6:6-7, we find these words about how we are to
instruct our children concerning God: “And those words, which I
command thee this day, shall be in thine heart; And thou shalt teach
them diligently unto they children and shalt talk of them when thou
sittest in thine house, and thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest
down, and when thou risest up.”
Then, in Proverbs
22:6 – “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is
old, he will not depart from it.”
Matthew 19:13-15
says: “Then were there brought unto him little children, that he
should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked
them. But Jesus said, Suffer little children,
and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of
heaven. And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.”
In 1
Samuel 1:20 & 24-28 & 3:19, we find the story of Hannah and her
son Samuel. Hannah had “… asked him of the Lord.” and
therefore, named him Samuel. When he was still very young, the
scriptures say she took him to the house of the Lord of Shiloh – Eli
and, dedicated him to the Lord. She said, “… For this child I
prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him:
Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he
shall be lent to the Lord, And, he worshipped the Lord there. And
Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words
fall to the ground.”
Then, in Luke 2:
21-2, we find passages where Jesus was presented to the Lord.
The scriptures say, in part: “…his name was called Jesus, which
was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb…. they
brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;”
Respect in any
relationship is important and especially in marriage. In the Greek
sanctified means venerate (respected) and Holy means blameless. 1
Corinthians 7:14 says: “For the unbelieving husband
is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the
husband: else were your children unclean, but now are they holy.”
Here we find that the husband and wife are to be respected by each
other and their children are blameless or holy in God’s eyes.
Therefore, with these
truths in mind, we present our children to the ministry for their
dedication to the Lord Jesus Christ.
MISSIONS SUNDAY 2009
In January we have a special Sunday dedicated to Missions. It is a
time we recognize the numerous countries where the gospel is being
spread among the people by our organization. We have a visiting
missionary who brings us insight into the mission field where he/she
ministers to God's people.
This year Rev. John Wolfram and his wife were our guests. He has
not always been a missionary or a Christian. On
the contrary, he spent many years "in the world". He has had quite
an interesting life and shared some of it with us on this special
Sunday.
Almost forty years ago at the tender age of 20, he was the first person
Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins
saw when they splashed down in the Pacific Ocean following their
historic moonwalk. That was July 24, 1969; John Wolfram was a Navy
Seal and had every appearance of being a "flower child" of the 60s with
flowers plastered all over his wetsuit.
As a young Navy man, he served two tours of duty in Vietnam and
received a purple heart. He lost more than half a dozen close
friends in Vietnam knows he was fortunate to
be able to return to the United States and pick up his life where he left off.
He is a published author of the book "Splashdown, The Rescue of a Navy
Frogman". In it he tells not only his story of becoming a Navy
SEAL and of the now famous splashdown of the shuttle when our three
astronauts returned from the moon but also recounts his personal struggle with drugs;
his plans for
suicide while in Vietnam and his amazing journey to salvation through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Never would he have thought this journey
would have led him back to Vietnam, to dwell among those he fought
in order to lead them to Jesus. He has been making trips back
there every year since the early 1990s. His life is truly an
example of what God can and will do for a person when they seek Him and
answer His call to arms.
Rev. and Mrs. John Wolfram
2009 Easter Sunday Morning Worship
Followed By
Balloon Launch
On
Easter Sunday morning
countless
people searched for
what the Easter Bunny left them, prepared for Easter egg hunts and
picnics without a thought to the true meaning of this sacred day.
Conversely, our sanctuary was filled with 658 souls who had gathered
to honor and celebrate Jesus Christ on this wonderfully sacred day.
Jesus died on an old, rugged cross for our sins but rose again over
2,000 years ago on that first Easter morning. Our choir ushered us
into the presence of the Lord with beautiful voices and instruments
as we celebrated and rejoiced His resurrection. There were dramas
and replicas of the cross at Calvary as well as the tomb before and
after the stone was rolled away.
Our Pastor delivered
his Easter message, using I Corinthians 1:18 as his text -
"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness;
but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." He
said, to sinners and the unsaved the cross means very little or is
mere foolishness. But, to the saved, is the power of the Almighty
God. To so many Calvary and Golgotha are just words but to the
Christian it is a place of public crucifixion. To many the Cross of
Calvary is simply an iconic symbol. For example, some religions
make the sign of the cross; some people use crosses as jewelry while
still others hang them on the walls of their homes as decorations.
Many worship the symbol of God rather than God himself. Jesus
Christ, who knew no sin, was made to become sin for us. Calvary
took away everything about Jesus that made Him human - He completely
lost his human identity on Calvary. Today men and women are
transformed when they encounter Jesus Christ - the One who gave His
all for their sins. The transformation strips away humanity and
creates something beautiful. Everything comes with a price and it
is never cheap or found in the bargain basement. We must always
consider the cost of anything we plan to do before undertaking it.
For Christians, Calvary means submission to self and allowing Jesus
to live through us. There is joy and fullness of life in Christ
Jesus and it is well worth the price that we must pay for it.
After the awesome
message from our Pastor, we adjourned to receive a helium filled
balloon and then gathered in the parking lot for our annual balloon
launch, signifying the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. As the
gentle breeze carried our balloons up, up and away, we rejoiced in
the knowledge that because Jesus became sin for us, we can look
forward to all of our tomorrows with the peace that comes from
knowing we can be with Him for all eternity, if we are willing to
pay the price. Later in the afternoon, there was a picnic provided
for all who wished to attend, an Easter egg hunt for the children,
other events and a wonderful time to fellowship with our brothers
and sisters in Christ.
Preparing for the Launch Fellowshipping while awaiting the Launch
Getting Ready
Up-up and Away
Homecoming
Held in May each year, Homecoming is a time to
reminisce and reflect on our past, revel in the present, and anticipate
the future with great faith. This wonderfully memorable day includes slide
presentations, singing and worship, and a delicious meal served up
with an enthusiastic helping of fellowship.
"The lines are fallen
unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage." Psalms
16:6
"Old Time Religion Sunday"
We
continued our tradition of worshipping our Lord
Jesus Christ the second Sunday of 2009 the "Old Time
Religion" way. Many of our members dressed in attire considered
old to them; while others donned very impressive outfits of by-gone
eras. In simpler times many churches met in buildings with dirt
floors often strewn with straw. Housed in our beautiful edifice
with modern day comfort, we did not have the dirt floor but our
vestibule was decorated with bales of hay, backless benches and rocking
chairs. Songs reminiscent of our heritage
were sung; testimonies given and the praises of God's people
ushered His presence into our midst. Pastor Sheppard delivered a brief,
yet powerful message. Many of our members, and even some guests had their pictures taken.
Enjoy looking at a few on the link above.
  
  
Pictures
From Ole Time Religion 2009
Movies
from Ole Time Religion 2009
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