Kids are so inquisitive, aren’t they? Like little sponges always learning and wanting to know how things in this world work. Things like, “Where does the sun go at night?” And “Why don’t vegetables taste like chicken?” One question my kids asked me was, “Dad, why do you like old trucks?” To which I replied because they’re fun to work on!
But sometimes kids ask some rather perplexing, and to be quite frank, hard questions. “What is heaven like?” “Why couldn’t God make us perfect?” And “How was God always there?” This is the topic we will address this Sunday. What does the Bible teach us about God’s eternal nature? And more importantly: why is it important?
Psalm 90:2 reminds us, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”
I look forward to seeing you this Sunday, either in person or online, as we wrestle with God’s eternity, His glory and why He is deserving to receive all glory and honor and praise.
To God be the Glory!
Rob Rash
212 STUDENT MINISTRY
Greetings 212 Family, I pray this finds you and your families doing well. We will once again be meeting Wednesday, January 6, 2021. As you all know we have seen an increase in COVID cases in the past few weeks, and as such we have adjusted our rules to help ensure the safety of students and volunteers. The following is the new list of rules that we have come up with to ensure that 212 continues to be a safe place for students to come fellowship and grow together in their faith in Jesus Christ.
Social distancing will be observed to the extent possible by staff, volunteers, and students.
Café will be limited, and any food or drink distributed will be handled by masked and gloved sponsors so as to limit the threat of contamination of any kind.
We will continue to begin 212 meeting outside, weather permitting, and then ask that all students and sponsors use hand sanitizer upon entering the building, as well as upon entering and exiting restrooms.
Masks will be required for staff, volunteers, and students, as we seek to limit the spread of germs.
Tuesday Night Jam is canceled until further notice; however, we will continue to have worship practice from 6-8:30 PM on Tuesday evenings.
We are asking parents to help go over these rules with their kids prior to their arrival Wednesday, so they have a good idea of what to expect. We are also returning 212 to our normal hours, from 6:00 PM. until 8:20 PM. until further notice. As we have learned over the past few months, everything is subject to change in the event the State or County change their guidelines. Again, we are excited to begin gathering together, but again we want each of you to know that we are doing everything in our power to ensure the safety and well-being of your students, your families, and our sponsors. If you have any questions or ideas you’d like to share, please don’t hesitate to contact me at shaunratcliff@fccunion.org or 636-583-5839 ext. 104.
Our New Year’s Party was a hit, even if cut short due to icy conditions, and it was wonderful to connect with our students for a night of fun and faith. Unfortunately, we were unable to get to our lesson and New Year’s communion due to the inclement weather, so this week’s lesson will be focused on God’s faithfulness through a challenging 2020, and the promise that He will continue to be faithful moving forward. A big part of this lesson will be a gospel presentation, centered on challenging students to commit, or recommit to making Christ their focus in the New Year. This presents a great opportunity for parents to engage with their students and ask questions, and we hope you’ll take advantage of the opportunity to engage, encourage, and inspire your children to grow in their faith.
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 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.
CIY 2021: CIY MOVE is a 5-day event where students are challenged through intense, interactive worship, dynamic preaching, small group study and community building. Students at MOVE not only learn and worship together – they spend quality time with their church youth groups, discovering ways that God will use them to impact the world. This is a life-changing experience for students, an opportunity to get away from the distractions of day-to-day life to find themselves and their purpose in Christ Jesus.
This year’s CIY Move youth conference will be held this year from June 21-26 at Milligan Christian College in beautiful Johnson City, TN. The cost of this year’s event is $294, or $370 for students wishing to participate in our extended rec-time activity: white water rafting through the Nolichucky Gorge with USA Rafting. Students should arrive at FCC at 8 PM on Sunday, June 20th, so that we can head out around 3 AM Monday morning via 12 passenger vans. We will return around 10 PM Saturday the 26th.
Due to COVID CIY campus events across the country were canceled last year. What that means is there is a great deal of excitement and a high demand for events this year, which means events are filling up quickly. As it stands FCC has secured 30 spots for this event, with 6 reserved for Shaun and his team of sponsors, leaving 24 spots for students. With that in mind, we want to encourage students and parents to secure your spot as soon as possible. We are asking for a $50 deposit to be made for each student going by January 1, 2021. In the event we go over our number there may still be time to add students at the beginning of January, however we do not expect to have that luxury for long.
One other note:
Any donations or funds raised by students last year at the Super Chili Bowl Cook-Off will be applied to student’s accounts this year. We will also have additional fundraising opportunities (including our 2nd Annual Super Chili Bowl Cook-Off in February) in the months ahead, along with a limited number of scholarships available to help students attend. We as a Church are committed to ensuring that money is never a reason why students can’t attend CIY, as we believe this has been and will continue to be an invaluable resource to help our students grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ, as well as their understanding of their roles in serving His Kingdom.
For more information, please reach out to Shaun Ratcliff at shaunratcliff@fccunion.org or 636-583-5839 ext. 104.
I’d like to leave you with a Word from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, “And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” (Revelation 21:5)
The concept of “New Year, new you” is anything but new. That being said the New Year does make for a great time to pause, to reflect, and to recenter our goals and dreams, to recenter our lives on Christ. Coming out of what has certainly been a much different year than any of us would have expected in December 2019, it is perhaps even more appropriate to reflect.
This has been a year largely defined by fear, sickness, death, and unrest in a myriad of different areas of our lives, yet the Lord has helped us through it all, stuck with us in the midst of more storms than many of us can recall. We are 5 days into 2021 as I write this, and nothing has changed. COVID is still raging, politicians bickering, people we love are passing from this life to the next, and Christ is continually with us, giving us the grace and strength to navigate each and every step along the Way. Nothing has changed so far.
The Good News though, the great news, the best news you’ll hear all day is that it won’t always be this way. One day the Lord will gather us Home. Home to a place with no tears or pain, with no COVID, no politics, no hunger, no brokenness, no loneliness, a place where literally everything is perfect. It’s a place where Christ is making all things new. A place where not only our souls are redeemed and renewed, but all of creation is redeemed and renewed. It’s a place where you and I will not walk by faith in a God we cannot see, but will walk face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ, surrounded by each and every person who simply believed God, who have confessed with their mouths that Jesus is Lord, and believed in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9). It is Home, at least it is Home to each and every person who has accepted God’s gracious gift of salvation, been adopted into His family, and is counted amongst His children.
Good News in the New Year, and I pray it has found a home, that Christ has found a home, in your heart. Grace and peace to you friends; God bless and keep you in the week ahead.
Shaun
NEW CITY KIDS
We love having kids' classes, and we, also, love having your kids in our services, too. We understand that for some parents this can be a tough challenge, but we want you to know that 1) we love your children and they are never a distraction and 2) we are working on adding more classes for both services, in the weeks to come. This is where YOU come in…We need YOU and many more people serving in our kids' ministry to make this happen.
What Should You Expect?
Happy Room (otherwise known as the cry room): The Happy Room is available all of 1st and 2nd services for nursing moms or any parents who feel more comfortable watching the service live on the tv, while their babies, toddlers, or preschoolers play.
We love seeing the littles in service and learning how to worship our Savior. What an example for them to see their mommas and daddies worshipping and hearing the Word, BUT we, also, understand that sometimes parents feel more comfortable with their kiddos in a room with toys. So, the Happy Room will be available whenever you might need it.
MarketPlace is Back!
Hey, parents and downtown kids, our MarketPlace is back! What is MarkertPlace? It’s our very own store downstairs where the kids can earn MarketPlace money and make fun purchases like Bible covers, lanyards, and more! The Marketplace will be open on the last Sunday of every month.
All children can earn MarketPlace money by bringing their Bibles, wearing their lanyards, and memorizing the Bible verse. If your child does not have a Bible and you are unable to get one for them, please let us know and we can make that happen.
1ST SERVICE:
Check-In ALL kiddos when you arrive.
ALL kids go to family worship together, until just before the message.
After the worship in song/just before the message, kids will be dismissed.
UPTOWN:
Parents of 0-5-year-olds will walk kids to their class to drop them off.
Nursery- 0-2-year-olds.
Pre-K- 3-5-year-olds.
DOWNTOWN:
Our K-5 kiddos will head to the lobby, where their teachers will walk downstairs to class with them.
At the end of the service, all kids can be picked up in their classrooms. Please bring a pickup tag to give to the teacher. K-5 kiddos will be in the large group room downstairs.
2ND SERVICE:
Check-In ALL kiddos.
All kids go to family worship together until just before the message.
After the worship in song/just before the message, nursery age kids only will be dismissed. Parents of 0-2-year-olds can walk them back to the nursery.
Nursery- 0-2-year-olds.
Pre-K- 3-5-year-olds.
K-5- No Class.
Midtown: 3 years- 5th grade This is only available for the kids of parents who are serving that specific Sunday.
*Reminder: All teachers and helpers need to check-in prior to service when they are serving. Thank you!
Midtown is available ONLY during 2nd Service and ONLY for kiddos whose parents are serving either 1st or 2nd service that week. These kids need a place to be since they will have already been to 1st service, and, in some cases, their parent is serving during 2nd service, leaving them with no one to sit with.
All kids can be picked up in classrooms after service. Please bring the pickup tag to give to the teachers when you pick up your child. Midtown kids will be downstairs.
I hope that helps! Please don’t hesitate to ask, if you have any questions. We are excited to get to spend time with your children, as we point them to Jesus and His Word and teach them who God says they are.
Kids Sunday Video
We are always looking for more families to help us create our Bible story video. If your child (or children) would like to participate, please contact Shanda Ratcliff, or email us at kids@fccunion.org.
JESUS STORYBOOK BIBLE - FAMILY READING PLAN
Jesus Storybook Bible - Family Reading Plan
Jesus says in Luke 24 that the entire Bible points to him and what he came to do in one way or another. So in order to understand the Bible, we need to grow in our ability to see Jesus in all parts of it. One of the best ways to do that is by reading The Jesus Storybook Bible.
Over the next 44 weeks, we will read through the JSB together as a church. Each week we will read one story, which will allow for some flexibility. We all know there are crazy nights here and there that can make normal routines difficult, so when those nights arise, take a break. If you find yourself behind at some point, don’t worry! Just jump back in. The goal is to keep reading and orienting ourselves to the Great Story of salvation that God is telling us in and through Jesus. And we will all be blessed as we do.
A note to parents on the suggested questions: The following suggested questions are included to assist you as you read and discuss each story with your children. The questions are intended for school-age children and will probably need to be adapted to children of other ages. For example, with young children, you might ask very simple questions like:
What was your favorite part of that story? Which picture did you like most?
It may be that with very young children you don’t ask any questions at all. The point is that you know your children best, so do what is most helpful to them.
Our hope and prayer is that as your children are immersed in these stories regularly, they will learn to love reading the Bible and in doing so learn to love the Hero of the Bible. We believe that as we begin to see him more clearly in all of Scripture, to see what he has done for us, to take that in deeply, and to trust him in our souls, that’s exactly what will happen! So, as we read this wonderful Story together, may we as a church be all the more convinced of God’s “Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love” that is ours in Jesus.
PRAYER
Are there times that you really need people to pray for you? If you have something that needs some extra prayer send us a prayer request, please indicate if confidential or if you desire the church to pray. Even if you want it to just be prayed for by the staff at FCC you can submit your request here or call the church office to put it on the prayer list. There is also a table in the lobby that you can write out your request.
Do you love to pray? We are looking for more prayer worries on Sunday mornings from 8:00 - 8:45 AM.
SURVIVING THE HOLIDAYS
No matter how long it's been since your loved one died, grief can make the holidays a painful time. But there's hope. Join us for an encouraging seminar that will help you survive the holidays and discover new reasons to enjoy them again.
Wednesday at 10 AM or 6:30 PM.
Sponsored by: First Christian Church Washington 6890 Highway 100 Washington, Mo 63090. To RSVP or ask questions please call 636-239-7560.
WOMEN'S MINISTRY
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 MINISTRY
Bible Study
Join us this Saturday, January 9 @ 7 AM for men's Bible study at Red, White, and Brew coffee house in Union.
CELEBRATE RECOVERY
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.
RIGHTNOW MEDIA
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.
