In 2003 Frank Gehry finished his landmark creation of the $274 million Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Now, with all that money you'd expect the building to shine, and it does. The shimmering stainless steel concert hall is truly marvelous to see.
Originally, Gehry had designed the Disney Concert Hall with a façade of stone, because as he said, “At night stone would glow. Disney Hall would look beautiful at night in stone. It would have just been great. It would have been friendly. Metal at night goes dark. I begged them. No, after they saw Bilbao (the Guggenheim Museum in Spain), they had to have metal.”
In fact, people living in a condominium facing the structure agreed that the view was glorious, but that glory became overpowering when the sun shone at midday. Portions of the gleaming concert hall reflected brilliantly into the windows of the condominium, and temperatures rose by as much as 15 degrees inside their condominiums. This forced residents to get off their patios, draw the blinds, and turn on the air conditioner until the sunlight shifted.
The reflective qualities of the surface were amplified by the concave sections of the Founders Room and actually created hot spots on adjacent sidewalks that raised the temperature to as much as 140°F. There was also the risk of traffic accidents due to blinding sunlight reflected from the polished surfaces.
As Disney officials looked for a way to dull the glare, they placed mesh blankets over the mirror-like steel. While this diminished the problem, everyone agreed that it looked terrible, and a more permanent solution was sought. Eventually, after a computer analysis of the building’s surfaces identifying the offending panels in 2005, they lightly sanded the panels to dull them and eliminate the unwanted glare.
All too often, many of us try to tone down God's demands and reduce the glare of His holiness so we can live more comfortably. But the truth is, He wants us to shine brightly with the radiance of His holiness in a world covered in darkness. And in doing so, we should be prepared that it will also raise the indignation of those around us who don’t like the Light of Christ shining in the darkness of their sin. Persecution will be inevitable for those who reflect the holiness of God in their lives.
This Sunday, we’ll dig into the last half of 1 Peter 1 and examine our call to holiness.
John
THIS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
Join us for a fun weekend of fellowship and relaxing out at the Matthews’ Farm Friday and Saturday, June 11-12!
We will begin Friday @ 6:30 PM with worship, fellowship, campfire, and s'mores. Set up is anytime after 4 PM for your tent. Be sure to eat beforehand and bring snacks and drinks for Friday night. There is a cabin on the property with a bathroom and a limited number of extra beds.
Items to bring:
tent
lawn chairs
bug spray
sleeping bags
all your favorite camping comfort essentials
A warm breakfast will kickstart our Saturday, followed by a devotional and plenty of time to fellowship and enjoy the sunshine! Everything should be wrapped up by 3 PM. We hope the weekend will leave you feeling refreshed and closer to Jesus! Please email or call Kristen Wideman at 832-513-8345 or kristenwidemanjp@gmail.com with any questions or if you are interested in staying in one of the beds.
See you there!
Directions from Union to 4847 Hecht Road Leslie Mo, 63056
Highway 50 West through Beaufort
Turn left onto Highway CC go 7.9 miles (Antioch Christian Church is about halfway)
Left on Hecht Road - 1 mile, farmhouse on the left (look for balloons)
The Men’s Ministry team is excited to invite the whole family to the 4th annual Father’s Day Fishing Classic, our second stop on the First Christian Fishing Fellowship tournament trail! This event will be held at the Matthews' farm outside of Leslie, Missouri on Saturday, June 19, 2021, from 7-2.
Prizes will be awarded for the largest and smallest catch. As always, we will be providing fresh fried fish with all the fixings as well, and everyone is invited to bring a side dish or dessert if you'd like. The best part is that this is all free of charge. So, gather the family, your friends, and your coworkers, and join us for what promises to be an awesome day of family, fishing, fellowship, and food. We’ll see you there!
Directions from Union to 4847 Hecht Road Leslie Mo, 63056
Highway 50 West through Beaufort
Turn left onto Highway CC go 7.9 miles (Antioch Christian Church is about halfway)
Left on Hecht Road - 1 mile, farmhouse on the left
Hey, dad’s! You are not going to want to miss Father’s Day this June because we will be having a “Flash Corn Hole Tournament.”
What’s a Flash Corn Hole Tournament? We are setting aside thirty minutes before the first service and before the second service where you will get the chance to compete in a flash corn hole competition. You will get 8 bags to throw in under 30 seconds and the dad with the most points after all 8 throws, wins!
We will award the overall winner with a special T-shirt the following Sunday and in case of a tie, we will have a ‘throw off’ the following Sunday. It’s going to be a great time.
We will also have some soda pops for pops available after each service so make sure to stop by, have some fun and worship with your family.
Hi parents! This week's Jesus Storybook Bible reading is week Two for June, "The Light of the whole world". You can find it on page 184 of your book. Gather the kids around and have fun reading this story.
Keep it simple. Read the story and ask your kids what their favorite part of the story was? Or what picture did you like the most? And then say a short prayer. That's it!
We pray this is a blessing to you and your family.
HIGH HILL CHRISTIAN CAMP
High Hill has set the dates for their summer camps. To register or find out more information click here or go to www.highhillcamp.org/summer-camp/.
Pack The Pantry for the 2021 summer camp season is here. Every year the Christian Church’s in the area make donations that help save the camp over $5,000. in food costs. This year we need 25 cans of Great Value Olive Oil Cooking Spray (7 oz.).
If you would like to help with this please bring your can or cans in by Sunday, June 13. If you have any questions please call the church office at 636-583-5839 or send an email to fccunion@fccunion.org.
Last week we continued our series by looking at Chapter 4:1-7. Using well-known pop culture references like Mary Poppins, Maria von Trapp, and even Yondu from the Guardians of the Galaxy series, we were able to not only grasp the idea of the Law as a guardian, manager, or nanny until Christ came, but the distinction between a father and your daddy, as well as the selflessness of the Lord Jesus Christ to give Himself for us and the privilege of being called heirs through God. This week we will be continuing our series with a study of Galatians 4:8-20, as Paul continues to point out the foolishness of embracing the works-based salvation being spread by the Judaizers and revealing the heart of a pastor yearning for the spiritual well-being of his flock as he is forced to confront the Galatian Church.
I’d like to leave you with a Word from the Apostle Paul, “Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!” Galatians 4:12-19
As Paul continues to labor for the hearts of the Galatian Church, his spiritual children, he goes through great lengths to point out their mutual affection of the past. “You did”, “You know”, “you would have,” at each and every point the personal connection between Paul as a pastor and this Church is brought to the forefront of their minds. This is all in effect to say, “you know me, I know you, and you know I love you and am only confronting you because I love you and don’t want to see you led astray.”
Love sometimes means having to tell someone what they don’t want to hear. Love sometimes means hearing something we don’t want to hear. Speaking the truth in love. Jesus was the best at it, and here we see Paul endeavoring to do the same.
In our lives, God’s Word will often confront us in truth and love, and as Christ works to sanctify us, to conform us to His image as He refines His children, let us not lose sight of His great love and the personal relationship we are blessed to enjoy in and with Him.
Grace and peace to you friends, God bless and keep you in the week ahead.
We Need You
As I Am Music, our student-led worship band and music ministry, has grown so has our need for leaders and teachers. If you are musically gifted and would be willing to spend Tuesday evenings from 6-8:30 PM pouring into our students, I Am Music is looking for you. Even if you could only spare one Tuesday a month, please contact Shaun at shaunratcliff@fccunion.org so we can work together to help our students grow as musicians, Christians, and leaders.
Tuesday mornings from 9-11 AM. The Bible is always applicable, so even if you can't make it at the beginning, you are always welcome! The gathering is in the Fellowship Hall downstairs.
Bible Study
Join us this Saturday, June 12 @ 7 AM for a men's Bible study at Red, White, and Brew coffee house in Union.
Needs arise more than just on a Sunday morning. If you need prayer at any time, please know you can text ‘prayer2fcc’ to 94000 and a staff member will receive your request any time and be praying for you.
You can also email your request or call the church office to be placed on the prayer list. There is a prayer table in the lobby where you can place a prayer request in the box and we will pray for you!
We are family, and we want to support you in any way we can and prayer is always the first and best place to start. Please feel free to reach out to us at any time.
Join us in the Fellowship Hall downstairs for Celebrate Recovery. We will start with a time of food and fellowship at 6:00 PM. We have childcare starting at 6:30 PM. Please sign your child in at the welcome desk and a team member will assist you in helping them to their class.
We know a lot of us are huggers...please ask before hugging, and maybe try to just offer a high five or fist bump for a few weeks.
We are LIVE! Please check us out on Facebook to view our large group Live! We want to spread the love of Jesus to everyone in recovery from life's hurts, habits, and hang-ups, and while we don’t share some things, we understand the others are uncomfortable in sharing space due to COVID. At this time please feel free to worship at home and interact! We love you all!
Check out our Facebook page at @FCCUnionCR. If you have any questions, comments, or requests feel free to email us.
TAI CHI FITNESS
Tai Chi Fitness Fun for All!
Monday's from 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM, First Christian Church,Union will be a place to participate in a free class for (mostly) senior citizens, but anyone pursuing a healthier life is welcome. Tai Chi fitness is a program developed by Dr. Paul Lam, a Chinese physician living in Australia. It is used worldwide for anyone who wants to improve their physical health and strengthen themselves for fall prevention.
Tai Chi originated in the orient, but the emphasis will be on Christ, beginning and ending each session with prayer. Any reference to any kind of oriental philosophy will be turned toward Christ and His sovereignty.
The medical field and Medicare recognize its effectiveness in improving health and vitality. It is a slow-moving exercise designed to deliberately make a mind/body connection, enabling awareness of our center of gravity, weight distribution and where our balance lies. It is not rigorous, and we don’t get down on the floor. If necessary, this program of Tai Chi can be done by holding onto a chair or even sitting in one. So, if people can get into the building, they can do it! Sessions will be held downstairs in the large, blue room nearest the glass double doors.
Questions? Call the church office, ext 5, or Jenny Hannaford.
Have you ever wanted to do a Bible study with your spouse, kids or maybe a group of friends but you didn’t know where to start? Leading a Bible study can seem like such a big task. Planning what to say and what questions to ask can be one of the reasons people are so hesitant to lead a study. Well, what if we took all the planning and prep work out of it and made it easy for you to do right in your own living room?
As someone who attends First Christian Church you have access to RightNow Media, a website with hundreds of video-driven studies. There are studies on just about every topic you may want; from parenting to having “the talk” with your older kids, marriage, studies on books of the Bible and so much more. There are even cartoons for the kids that teach Biblical principles. And the best part is, it costs you nothing! If you would like to check out this incredible resource you can sign-up here.
Franklin County Fair
June 10-13
Fairgrounds near City Lake
This year's fair theme is "Cornfields to Ferris Wheels". For more information click here.
Union Firework Festivities
July 3, 2021
Veterans Memorial Park (600 Progress Parkway)
Approximately 9:30 PM.
Bring lawn chairs, coolers, blankets and yard games to make an evening of it at the park!
