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In our Tuesday Morning Men's Study (6:00 am, Epicenter, except first Tuesday of the month at Shari's for breakfast) we're studying the book of Romans. Romans 2:17-28 Here Paul, a Jew himself, points out that Jews, who claim a relationship with God, are no less sinners and lawbreakers than the Gentiles. His argument is directed to any who claim to have special spiritual insight or status, who "approve what is superior . . . are instructed by the law . . . themselves are instructors or teachers of the foolish." It is humbling to recognize that these verses apply to us Christians as much as to Jews or unbelievers. Paul's questions are directed to us, "Do you steal (think of "robbing God" as in Malachi 3:8) . . . do you commit adultery (spiritual adultery as in Hosea 1-3) . . . do you break God's law . . . Do you commit sins for which the name of Jesus Christ is despised by those outside?" He points out that, in the end, it is our heart that matters, not our compliance with the law of Moses or some other external set of rules. We who follow Jesus Christ, if we are honest, must admit that our hearts often condemn us. We find ourselves loving the things that we should not love and not loving the things that we should. We continue to need the cross of Christ, the Gospel of Grace, God's power for our salvation. |
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 June 30 - "Way of the Master" evangelism training starts, 7:00pm, CCC room A1 July 5 - Back Yard Worship, at Gene & Rose Marie Hansen's house, 10:00 am, Potluck lunch to follow July 12 - Kerry Neve Missions Update, Epicenter, 6:30-7:30pm
July 6-10 - Sr. High Camp, http://ofcr.org/ for information & registration or Kevin 524-5433 July 13-17 - Jr. High Camp, http://ofcr.org/ for information & registration or Kevin 524-5433 July 19 - "Testimonies and Q & A," CCC Epicenter, 7:00 pm, Former LDS (Chris Hayes, Jolene Lyle, Sheila Thatcher) will be tell their stories. Contact James Hallmark (208-904-0176)
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Having difficulty giving regularly during summer? Consider automatic "bill pay" through your bank. Contact your bank and arrange for your regular offering amount to transferred from your account directly to CCC each month. Your offering will be recorded and reported just as it would be if you placed it into the plate on Sunday. Most banks offer this free service - no cost to you or to CCC. Many of us use this already to pay regular monthly bills - no checks to write, less chance of forgetting to write a check, no postage costs, etc. What about credit/debit card giving? Some churches now provide for giving by credit or debit card through their websites. There are drawbacks to this method of giving. It's costly. The church pays a monthly fee for this service and part of each gift (usually about 2%) is deducted by the "Automated Clearing House" (ACH) service provider. Another reservation is that we don't want to encourage the use of credit cards in cases where this might increase personal debt. So, for now, we don't offer giving by credit/debit cards. Automatic "bill pay" is probably a better method for most of us. |
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