Family Fun Day was a lot of FUN! Check out our online gallery for some additional snapshots of the day. I had a blast watching all the kids, big and small, having such a good time. I only have one regret, I never made it on that obstacle course in the gym! Wow! That thing was awesome! The whole day really was a huge success. What a refreshing way to touch our community with the love of Christ.

I am so proud of all of you who helped! THANK YOU! I'm especially grateful to Tonya and Stephanie for planning and organizing everything. I know that most of us have absolutely no idea how much effort you put into pulling this off – thank you to both of you!

Don't forget that I'm kicking off a new series of messages on Sunday entitled, Old Testament Journey - Yesterday's Stories, Today's Questions.

Over the next several weeks we're going to hit some of the major themes in the first five books of the Old Testament. Come find out why Jesus was so passionate about this selection of Scripture. Bring someone with you!

I just received an amazing email from someone in our Christ's Church family. Some background before you read it. Gil is a member of Grace Covenant Church in Harrisonburg. He's 38, married and has a young toddler. He is finishing up his engineering degree at Virginia Tech. This account was written by a close friend of Gil's from Grace Covenant Church. Read More...

Hey, help us get the word out!

This Saturday Christ's Church is hosting a Family Fun Day from 11:00 am - 2:00 pm. It is free and open to everybody!

There will be games, prizes, face painting, crafts, as well as a jousting competition and an obstacle course. We'll be serving hot dogs and sodas. It's going to be blast! Hope you can make it!

A Michigan teenager was suspended last week for donning a message to voice his objection to a pro-homosexual event being held at his high school. You can read the news article here.

Paul warned Timothy that everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Here in America, we haven't had to worry about that the way Paul did or the way Christians in other parts of the world do now, but that is changing. Read More...

"The one concern of the devil is to keep the saints from prayer.  He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion.  He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray."
Jonathan Edwards

After lunch today, Laurie and I were enjoying a cup of coffee together. We were talking about the importance of relationships and she read me a couple of discussion questions from the study guide in the back of Brennan Manning's Abba's Child.

They were excellent! So much so, I thought I would pass them along for you to consider as well.

After asking the group to read Matthew 12:17-21 and Galatians 5:6 together, he wrote, "The truest test of our faith is how we live with each other day by day." And then he posed the following for reflection and discussion:

• Do I give life to others or do I drain life from others through my negativity?
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• In my relationships do I leave a person feeling a little better or a little worse?
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• Am I in the habit of offering to others what they need most for their lives - a word of encouragement?

In light of the horrible tragedy that has taken place at Virginia Tech this week, I've decided to put the Old Testament Journey sermon series on hold for one more week. It's been said that preaching involves at least two responsibilities.

The first is to explain the Bible and relate it to life. The second is to take life and explain it in light of Scripture. With the Lord's help, I hope to tackle both by teaching on A Biblical Response to Crisis and Tragedy.

If any of you know someone who has been struggling with questions like, "How could God let something like this happen?", invite them to come with you on Sunday. Read More...

We were on our way home from Indiana when a friend called, telling us about the shooting rampage at Virginia Tech. We immediately called Mark and Cindy to check on Gavin. Thankfully, he did not have a morning class yesterday, so he was not on campus when the unthinkable took place. It is being called the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.

Please continue to pray for the families effected by this horrific tragedy. I have a daughter on a university campus. In fact, we were all together this past weekend for her junior recital. As a parent, I can't imagine having to deal with something like this. Again, please continue to pray.

Along with praying, we need to be proactive and prepared. I just finished reading an excellent post by Tim Stephens dealing with church security. Nobody likes to think about it, but we can no longer afford to simply assume that we're immune. We are not. In fact, I'm very thankful for all the organization and work that has gone into making our own children's ministry safer and more secure. Unthinkable tragedies like this underscore the importance of being proactive and prepared.

I want personally thank Jay and Tim for beating the security drum at Christ's Church, and for implementing security measures that are designed to make our classrooms and ministries as safe as possible.