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ARE YOU FOLLOWING A MAD MAN OR THE GOD-MAN?

“I am God’s Son.” (John 10:36) What a startling claim! "Either Jesus is a totally mad person, on a par," as C. S. Lewis put it, "with a man who claims to be a poached egg -- out of his mind, uttering meaningless, garbled, rambling, megalomaniacal statements -- or he is telling the truth. And if he is telling the truth he is the most important Being in the universe. He is at the center of everything: He is the center of life, the giver of truth. Jesus of Nazareth is the center of everything. To ignore him is to grope in darkness, to live in rebellion, to miss out on joy, peace and love, and end at last as part of the world's fiery judgment."
 
What we decide to do with Jesus is a test of our sanity. We can pretend that we are following him, dismiss him completely, delay the decision of accepting him, or receive him as Savior and Lord. The very first verse of the New Testament book of John opens with the claim that Jesus is God in the flesh. John the Baptizer testified that Jesus was the Son of God. The disciples who followed Christ proclaimed that he was the “Son of God”. They maintained that truth to their deaths (and then on to eternal life).
 
John 9 was about admitting blindness and receiving sight. “Once I was blind but now, I see.” In John 10, we learn that the only way to new life is following the right Shepherd. Are you pretending, denying, delaying or committing? See you Sunday.

Alan
 
We are collecting FULL-SIZE CANDY BARS or CANDY for this year's Boo Bash.  We are asking for #1,000 Candy Bars or Candy, we still need #83. 

Any questions please call the church office at 636-583-5839.
 

Life is better in community! We have a handful of small groups that meet on various days and times and could be a great fit for you! 

We gather weekly, share in fellowship and take the Word of God deeper into our hearts and lives. 

If you are interested in joining a LIfeGroup or starting a LIfeGroup, please contact Rob and he will help get you started.

You can email him at: robrash@fccunion.org

 

Our second annual, YES! God, Youth End of Summer Gathering and Hog Roast, will be held Saturday, October 23, from noon until 8 PM at Joe and Theresa Johnson’s property on Massey Ford Road. Parents are asked to drop off their kids (6th Grade - 12th Grade) at noon for a day of fun, fellowship, and really great food. We will have 9-square, Cornhole, football, a haunted trail, and of course a bonfire if weather permits. If students are in need of transportation they must contact Shaun so arrangements can be made.


Ribbon Cutting and Open House

Sunday, October 24, 2021, from 1 PM - 4 PM.  Dedication service at 2 PM in the chapel.  There will be refreshments, live music, and tours of the buildings. 
 

Sunday, November 14 we will be expressing our gratitude to God for all His blessings to the family of Christ at FCC.  The dinner will begin at 5 PM.  The church will be providing the turkey, gravy, dressings, mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls, beverages and table service, etc.  You are asked to bring a side dish of green beans, a corn dish, salad, and or dessert.  

Come and celebrate with your church family and friends at FCC.  
 
This year we are inviting everyone to join us as we partner up with 212 students providing Thanksgiving Dinners for families in need in our community. Every year at CIY students are given the opportunity to take part in a Kingdom Worker challenge where they draw a card from random that contains a ministry project for them to tackle in the coming year. Alex Craig’s project is to provide Thanksgiving dinner for area needy families, and this is where you come in. Through our partnership with Your Other Mother here in Union, we were able to identify 11 local families who would benefit from receiving these meals. The average cost of a Thanksgiving meal this year is right at $60 and we are asking for donations so that we can meet this need, totaling $660 and help Alex complete his challenge. We are also inviting you to join us from 3-5 on Sunday, November 14, 2021, as we pack these Thanksgiving meals up and deliver them to area families, right before we come together as a Church family from 5-7 for our All-Church Thanksgiving Dinner. This is a tangible way to make an immediate impact in our community, in the life of one of our students, and to kick off the Thanksgiving season right.

Thank you for your faithfulness FCC!

Volunteer Help!

“The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” - Luke 17:5

We love seeing how the Lord is working at First Christian Church and in New City Kids. We are BUSTING at the seams and we need your help!

As more and more families come back to church, we are in need of more kids volunteers.

We Want You!

The disciples had their worries when it came to following Christ and becoming kingdom-minded people. In Luke 17:5 they shout out, “Increase our faith!” What a subtle yet incredible prayer of faith. We are asking the Lord to increase our faith so that we may increase our ministry. 

So, we are adding people to our children’s ministry team now. We need YOU to pray and consider being a part of this awesome team. You get to teach, help, pray and love on our kids as we point them to our savior, Jesus! Is there anything better than that? 

We know that this may be a step of faith for you, but it’s only when we take those steps of faith that we are stretched and real growth happens. You can do this! You will get so much joy and satisfaction in being a part of this team. We have spots for teachers, helpers, check-in helpers, and more. 

We will be available this Sunday and in the weeks to come to help answer your questions and get you connected. You can fill out a card this Sunday, connect with Christine Rash or you can email us at: kids@fccunion.org

Thank you all and may God continue to bless our church, families and community!
Upcoming Events

October
  • 22, City of Union Boo Bash
  • 23, 212 Students Hog Roast
  • 24, Bethel Hills Ribbon Cutting & Open House
November
  • 14, All Church Thanksgiving
December
  • 2, Women's Christmas Dinner
  • 4, Drop-N-Shop
  • 24, Christmas Eve Service
Mark your calendar for these special events.  All events are subject to change so keep an eye on the "E-newsletter" and the "First to Know" bulletin for more details.

Jesus Storybook Bible - Family Reading Plan

Hi parents!  This week's Jesus Storybook Bible reading is week three for October, "God sends help".  You can find it on page 326 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. 

Last week we continued our series on Galatians, Freedom in the Kingdom, with a focused study on love, and specifically on agape love, as opposed to more worldly concepts of “love”. This week we will continue the series by studying the concepts of joy, peace, patience, and kindness, and how they serve as individual cuts, or facets, on the multi-faceted diamond that is love.
 
I’d like to leave you with a Word from the Apostle Paul, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:22-24)
 
If we consider love the singular fruit that is the substance of the Fruit of the Spirit, everything that follows in Paul’s list are the various characteristics, or reflections of what that love really looks like. If love is a diamond as alluded to before, these characteristics are the various cuts or facets that showcase the beauty of a diamond in the hands of the Master Jeweler.
 
Joy, peace, patience, and kindness are the facets we consider this week, and in a world rife with discontentment, despair, despondence, impatience, indifference, and flat-out hatred, the light of this diamond, of Christ’s love for and in us, could scarcely shine brighter.
 
The joy of the angels announcing the birth of Christ (Luke 2:8-14), of Jesus as He welcomed the children to His arms (Matthew 19:14), or of the Father Himself when one of His children repent and turn from their sins to His grace in Christ Jesus (Luke 15:10), or even of Christ Jesus as He, “who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2) for you and I, radiates through the pages of His Word in a tangible way that draws us ever closer to Him and His boundless love for each of us.
 
That same joy is reflected in the life of the Apostles as they experienced Christ’s joy, witnessed the power of His resurrection, witnessed the explosive growth of the early Church as the Gospel was proclaimed, and even in the way the Holy Spirit empowered them to endure suffering, even at the expense of their earthly lives, for the Name of Jesus. That same joy, His joy, is still being produced in each of us as Christians today, to one degree or another, reaching beyond our circumstances, rooted in who He is and what He has and continues to do in each of us. Joy is a blessing, and to be conduits of joy in this world is a double blessing, enriching our lives and the lives of those around us.
 
This same statement could be made of every facet on our list, as ultimately it is all rooted in God’s love, His agape love for us, and being duplicated in us through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, enriching us and everyone around us. It’s a big part of what being the “salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13) is all about, and a very real way in which the Lord uses us to draw others to Himself.
 
May the joy of the Lord, a joy that can’t be counterfeited any other way, radiate through each of you this day; Grace and peace to you friends, God bless and keep you in the week ahead.

For more information, click here.

Shaun


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.

For more information click here.

Bible Study

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.

 

Men's Bible Study

Join us Saturday, October 23 @ 7 AM for a men's Bible Study at Red, White, and Brew Coffee Company.

 

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 PM.  We have childcare starting at 6 PM. Please follow the sign for check in. We want to spread the love of Jesus to everyone in recovery from life's hurts, habits, and hang-ups. 

So many times we hear “leave a legacy'' which sure- we should leave a legacy; Dave Ramsey has spent the better part of his life teaching how to do just that financially with his ‘7 Baby Steps’. There are many people who have left legacies, like Albert Einstein in the educational world and who can deny the spiritual legacy left by Billy Graham? What if, instead of dying to leave a legacy we strive to live a life of legacy. Check out how Celebrate Recovery can help you start living your best life and living to leave a legacy. Click here to see our new blog!
 
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.
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150 Joel Ave
Union, MO. 63084

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