Assigned Dish Type:

If your LAST NAME starts with a letter A-H – Main Dish

If your LAST NAME starts with a letter J-R – Side Dish

If your LAST NAME starts with a letter S-Z – Dessert

Youth Potluck Sign up

After your time at SkyZone, you will be returning to the church to have lunch together and have a short devotional. This will be a good time to conclude your day with some more fellowship.

Sign ups will begin immediately. So please sign up ASAP so I can get an accurate number relayed to SkyZone.

Now for the details that you really care about:

Who: Mothers and their Junior High and High School Daughters

When: May 12th, 2012

- Meet at church @ 9 am.

-Leave church by 9:15 am

-Arrive at SkyZone by 9:45 am

- Jump from 10 am – 11:30 am

- Return to Church by 12:15 pm

- Lunch/Devotion @ 12:30 pm

What: Mother/Daughter event at SkyZone and Lunch/Devotional at Church

Where:

SkyZone

1300 SE GATEWAY DRIVE, SUITE 103

GRIMES, IA 50111

Why: To provide an opportunity for moms and daughters to spend a fun, quality day together.

Cost: $11 per person (Checks made out to First Family Church)

Additional Details: Everyone will need to fill out a waiver which can be found here. Please print it off and fill it out. You will also need to be sure to wear socks as you will be wearing their shoes to jump on the trampolines.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me! nathanhiatt@firstfamilyministries.com

Our focus and purpose for this day will be different than what most people think of when they hear, “Earth Day.” We will be focusing on how the earth is the Lord’s and how we need to be good stewards of God’s creation.

“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness threof.” – Psalm 24:1a

On Sunday April 22nd, we will meet in the youth room for lunch at 12:30. At about 1 or 1:15 we will be heading to a park trail to do some cleanup for the Ankeny Parks and Recreation. That cleanup should take approximately 1.5 hours. If we have some church members submit needs for yard work help, then we will do those after the trail. If we don’t have any additional requests, then we will be finished.

We will be finished no later than 4:30 pm.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me by email (nathanhiatt@firstfamilyministries.com)  or by phone 515-480-7056.

Enjoy this song by the band Gungor!

Who: Jr. High/High School guys and their dads

What: Paintball!

When: March 10th

Where: Action Jack’s

Cost: $35/person

Why: We will be doing four “Parent/Student” events this year in an effort to partner our youth ministry with our parents. This is the first one, so I hope you all are able to come out.

We will be meeting at the church on March 10th around 8 am. We will leave by 8:15 in order to drive to Action Jack’s (Newton). We will paintball from 9 am until 12 pm. Then we will head back to the church for lunch and a short challenge from Pastor Todd.

This is a great opportunity for our guys to spend time with their dads and just have a good time as men.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to call (515-965-8300) me or email (nathanhiatt@firstfamilyministries.com) me.

I thought that I would provide some of my notes on the challenges that were given to us by the different speakers that we heard. All of their messages can be accessed here: Founder’s Week Messages. I have also added a link to each individual message in the section in which I talk about it.

Francis Chan spoke on Wednesday night and was the first speaker that we were privileged to hear. We arrived an hour early because we were anticipating a large crowd. We barely got a seat in time. It was packed. All of the overflows were filled up as well as a few off-site overflows. I heard that there were about 8,000 people in attendance!

Francis Chan did not disappoint. He seemed to discard whatever message he had planned and preach directly from his heart. He is so passionate and genuine, it is hard not to like him. You’ll see what I mean if you watch his talk (Francis Chan).

I will list some of the main points that I drew from his message…

-”It’s a fight to be a “doer” of God’s Word” – Ezekiel 33:30-33

-He talked a lot about the idea of “popping out of the Bible.” He asked if someone would ever describe us personally, or our churches as “looking like we popped right out of Scripture.” That was definitely a challenge to me. Do I live like Christ called me to live?

-”God does powerful, crazy things in the lives of those who know Him intimately.”

-He also talked about evangelism and how we should be sharing like crazy. He admitted that his tendency is to not share his faith, but he has purposed himself against that leaning and has made it his purpose to share his faith. That was a challenge to me as well.

-He mentioned 1 Corinthians 9:19 and encouraged us to be servants to all people in order that we might win their souls to Christ. When we serve with this in mind, it makes it so much sweeter! Knowing that we are serving to win people to Christ. He admitted that unbelievers are not easy to serve, but that is was God has called us to do.

The next speaker that we had the privilege of hearing (twice) was Mark Bailey. He is the president of Dallas Theological Seminary, which is a very well-known and well-respected seminary.

In his first message, he emphasized the importance of forgiveness and gave a very powerful challenge to us. His text was Matthew 18:21-35.

-”Forgiveness is a beautiful word… until you have something to forgive.” – C.S. Lewis

-This text is the story of the unforgiving servant that I am sure most of you are familiar with. It is a very powerful one when looking at forgiveness.

-Here are his application points.

1. I have offended God infinitely more than anyone has ever offended me.

2. Forgiveness is rooted in compassion, which releases the person and cancels the debt (v.27).

3. Forgiveness is an act of the will to extend mercy to the asking (v. 30).

4. An unforgiving heart transforms the offended into the offender (v.32-33)

5. The failure to forgive will result in the failure to be forgiven.

-”The will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.” – Corrie Ten Boom

We were then extremely privileged to hear James Meeks. He is the Pastor of Salem Baptist Church in Chicago and he is a State Representative in Illinois. He was one of my favorites. His message was entitled, “There is a Mission in Trouble.”

-He challenged the church to determine whether or not the church’s mission is clearly defined. When our mission is not defined, it is really difficult to accomplish the mission.

-He used the illustration of a kids’ television show called, “Wonder Pets.” It was a very humorous illustration, but his point was, that their mission is clearly defined. The Wonder Pets exist to help other animals who are in trouble. In every episode, they help another animal who is in trouble. They accomplish their mission, every time.

-He asks if we, as the church, are talking about soul winning. He says that if we aren’t there’s something wrong!

-The first thing Jesus says after His resurrection is, “Go ye therefore and make disciples.” The last  thing He said before His ascension was that we would receive power to share the gospel.

-He used a great illustration about fishing (listen to his message, you won’t regret it) to illustrate the idea that the job of pastor’s is to teach believers how to share their faith.

-His main points were:

1. The great commission is in trouble and we need to save it.

2. Soul winning needs to be trending in our lives and churches.

Thursday night we listened to Don Sunukjian. I had never heard of him before, but he did a really nice job! He is teacher and writer of homiletics (preaching). He is currently a professor of teaching and preaching at Talbot University.

-Don talked about what heaven will be like. He talked about Mark 12:18-27

-Don expounded on some really deep issues that I found very interesting. I just wish that he would have had more time to go deeper. The notes that I got from him were more personal reflections. If you would like to hear more, please listen to his message in its entirety.

Mark Bailey’s second message was another really good one. He spoke on the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. His text was Matthew 20:1-16. His message was entitled, “Hope in the Context of Uneven Faithfulness.”

-Mark emphasized the fact that God is just, sovereign, and generous.

-Salvation is impossible with man, but possible with God (19:26).

-He emphasized his message with a very solid illustration (watch and see).

-Two lessons to be taken from the message are:

1. I need to be faithful since God rewards proportionately

2. I need to be thankful

Dr. George Waddles was the next speaker. He is the pastor of Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago.

The main thing that I drew from his message was that I need to analyze the way that I treat other believers. I need to make sure that I treat them as brothers and sisters and love them in that way.

The final speaker was Ravi Zacharias. It was such a blessing to hear him. He is a well-known apologist for the Christian faith and has written many books. I need to listen to his message again because 1. He is so smart and 2. We had a crying baby in front of us that was very distracting the first time! His message was entitled, “The 4 Gardens of Truth and Relevance”

-Truth and relevance are very important when talking to anyone, especially skeptics.

-The 4 Gardens

1. Garden of Creation

2. Garden of Context

3. Garden of Contest/Grief

4. Garden of Hope

I hope that you will take the time to listen to some of these messages. I hope that you hear them all and are blessed by their ministries and messages. I definitely was. These are great men of God and it is such an honor to have heard from them.

It is a series of 3 sermons that are well worth your time:

How To Kill Sin Part 1

How To Kill Sin Part 2

How To Kill Sin Part 3

I hope you listen and are challenged. “Be killing sin, or it will be killing you.”

Our Corn Maze events are approaching quickly!!

Here are a few things to remember…

Jr High is this Saturday (15th) from 4pm – 9pm. We will be leaving the church by around 4:15 to allow some of the kids who are playing in band to make it to the church in time. Remember to bring your flashlight and $10 for admission. We should return to the church around 9pm.

High School is next Saturday (22nd) from 4pm – 9pm. Make sure to bring your flashlights and $10 for admission.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at nathanhiatt@firstfamilyministries.com or call the church at 965-8300

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Worth was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

In this passage John uses three different names to refer to Jesus: the Word, the Life, and the Light. Now it’s easy to see why John would use ‘Life’ and ‘Light’ to describe Jesus because those are terms that Jesus used to describe Himself! But why did John use the word ‘Word’ to describe Jesus? We’ll attempt to answer that a little later.

The first thing we encounter in John’s gospel is that “In the beginning was the Word.” When we see these words, they should make us think of another portion of Scripture. What other book of the Bible begins, “In the beginning…”? Genesis. Genesis begins, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” I think that John uses those words in his gospel to make us think back to the beginning, to creation. John wants us to see that the Word was present in the beginning, in creation. It is important for us to note here how we know that this ‘Word’ that John is talking about, is indeed Jesus. If you skip down to John 1:14 we get a clear picture, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The Word is Jesus.

As we move forward in this passage John tells us that, “the Word was with God.” Here, John shows that there is distinctness between Jesus and God the Father. While the word ‘Trinity’ is never used in Scripture it is passages like these that reveal the truths behind the doctrine of the Trinity. We see that Jesus has a relationship with God the Father.

Then John makes a bold statement and says, “and the Word was God.” John tells us that Jesus is God! As Christians this is a very important thing for us to know and believe. Jesus is God!

Right before we get to verse 3, John emphasizes that Jesus was in the beginning with God. This sets up what he is going to talk about next. Here is where I will attempt to help us understand why John uses the word ‘Word’.

In verse 3 John says, “All things were made through him.” Let’s think back to Genesis. How did God create? By speaking, He spoke things into creation. Well, when we speak, what comes out of our mouths? Words. Words come out of our mouths. So if, “all things were made through him (Jesus),” wouldn’t it make sense for John to call Jesus the ‘Word’? God spoke words, and His Word (Jesus) carried out the action of creation. Christ is the vessel through whom God created.

John continues in verse 3 by saying, “and without him was not anything made that was made.” So without Christ… nothing was created. We see this in Colossians 1:16, “For by him (Jesus) all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him.” Also in Hebrews 1:2, “but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.”

These passages help us to understand that Christ created the world. The entire Trinity had a part in creation, but Jesus is the one who actually physically created. I believe that this explanation for why John calls Jesus the ‘Word’ is faithful to Scripture and also helps us to understand his purpose better.

Then we look at verse 4 which begins, “In him was life.” When we look at this verse, we need to examine what kind of life was he talking about? I think the main focus and intention of the author is to help us understand that eternal and spiritual life is found in Christ. This works in perfect unison with the author’s written purpose in 20:31. Also in John 14:6 Jesus refers to himself as the life, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…”  However, I think it is reasonable for us to think that John may have been referencing physical life as well. Although that is not the main point of this verse. Jesus was the creator, he is the originator of physical life. So in him was spiritual life and in him was physical life.

Verse 4 concludes, “and the life was the light of men.” Then verse 5 continues talking about the light, “The light sines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” In this verse we see the illustration of light and dark that is used so many times in Scripture. Darkness represents sin, death, Satan, lies, deceit, etc. and Light represents holiness, truth, Christ, salvation, etc.

When Jesus was crucified, the religious leaders thought that they had won. They thought that they had rid the world of someone who was blaspheming the name of God and that they would go back to waiting on their messiah. They were wrong. They symbolize the darkness. John tells us that the Light shines in the darkness and the darkness HAS NOT overcome it. I believe that John is referencing the resurrection here. Darkness – sin and death, has not overcome Christ. He has defeated sin and death in his resurrection which is an AMAZING truth.

When we look at all these things, it is important for us to remember John’s purpose for writing this book found in 20:31,

“But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and by believing you may have life in his name.”

I think that John gives us a lot to chew on in this passage. He makes the claim that Jesus is God, he tells us that Christ created the world, and he tells us that Christ has defeated the darkness. John starts off his gospel very strong. He is accomplishing his purpose right from the beginning.