I’ve always enjoyed playing board games, card games, really any kind of game where you have to interact with other people face-to-face. It’s during those moments that you can really get to know someone. There are so many different types of people out there playing games. Their personality and quirks come alive in the heat of competition; some for the good, others not so…
Well, in our family, we’ve got a common phrase which seems to be spoken at least once during an evening of playing cards. It really doesn’t matter what kind of card game; any game will do. The phrase usually is uttered in frustration after an opponent lays down their hand and wins the game. Usually, I’m the individual shouting, “I ONLY NEEDED ONE MORE CARD!”
One more turn around the table, one more draw from the stack of cards, one more opportunity to play my hand and I would have won.
Unfortunately, life is sometimes like a game of cards and it seems the deck is stacked against you and someone else is going to win. If we were playing partners, you would at least have someone else to blame, but life isn’t that way. We’re on our own in the game of life! Yet, if we only had one more opportunity, one more chance, one more circle around the sun, we’d finally have it all together.
In our message this Sunday, we’re going to discover that there is only one thing needed, one thing necessary to make life worth living. I hope you’ll join us this weekend as we uncover what it is that we all truly need.
John
TONIGHT Pot luck dinner on May 4, 2021, at 6:00 PM in the fellowship hall.
We need your help! THIS SATURDAY, May 8 at 8:30 AM. Bring your gloves, rakes, and shovels. Join us as we dig some holes and spread some mulch.
The Men’s Ministry team is excited to invite everyone to our first FCC Fishing Fellowship tournament of the year! This event will be held at the Menke farm outside of Etlah, Missouri on Saturday, May 15, from 7-4. Prizes will be awarded for the largest and smallest catch. As always, we will be providing fresh fried fish with all the fixings 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 Hardees’s in Union
Take Highway 50 East towards I44
Make Left on to Highway 47 North towards Washington
Make left on Highway 100 West towards New Haven/Hermann
Make a right on Highway B towards Etlah, approximately 3.6 miles West of New Haven.
The destination is exactly 1.2 miles to Pehle/Menke Farm/Indian Gardens (look for FCC sign), make left and follow the driveway in between the torn down hog barns until you see the next FCC sign, then turn left and follow gravel road down to the lake
401 Pehle Lane
Berger, MO 63014
It’s time for a little fun and something we are calling a Goodwill Date Night!
During our last date night, we slowed down and spent some time considering how grace is the key component to having a long, joy-filled and lasting marriage. That was a great night and we were all encouraged!
Our lives are filled with busy schedules, long days, stress and the like. And we can easily forget to slow down and enjoy one another. That’s why for this month’s Date Night, we are just going to have a night of FUN!
So what is a Goodwill Date Night?
Here are the details: We will meet here at the church at 7 PM to coordinate together. You will then leave the church building with one or more other couples and head over to Goodwill in Washington. You will then spend $10 per person on an outfit from Goodwill for your spouse which they will wear out to dinner.
You only get to spend $10 so make your choices wisely. As you go out to eat in your new threads, you have to act like everything is ‘normal’ about your clothes. Once dinner (and the laughter) is over, return to the church at 9 PM where we will hear your stories and hand out prizes for different categories like Most Creative, Most Hideous, etc.
Once again, we will be meeting here at the church at 7 PM on Friday, May 21st for a quick meeting and directions for the night. You’ll need $20 per couple plus plans for dinner. So make sure to Save the Date, Friday, May 21st.
Hi parents! This week's Jesus Storybook Bible reading is week one for May, "Operation...no more tears". You can find it on page 144 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/.
Last week we continued our series, Freedom in the Kingdom, with a study on Galatians 3:1-9, and a lesson from another man who believed in God, Abraham, and how he serves as an archetype for all of us who are justified by faith. It was a great night as students were able to see Justification by Faith rooted as far back as Abraham, the Father of our Faith. This week we will continue our series by looking at Galatians 3:10-14 and Paul emphasizing that the righteous shall live by faith. Once again the contrast between performance-based religion and Justification by Faith through a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ will be on display as Paul continues his argument against the heretical influence of the Judaizers in the Galatian Church.
I’d like to leave you with a Word from the Apostle Paul, “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Galatians 3:10-12 ESV
Paul’s argument here is as simple as it is powerful: in order to be justified by works of the Law, one must fulfill the Law perfectly, otherwise, they stand condemned. The problem is that you and I are completely incapable of living sinless lives, which means that each and every person who puts their trust in their own performance for salvation stands cursed, hopeless to be declared righteous through their own merit.
The Good News is that for each and every person who would forsake putting their trust in themselves, but who would rather place their trust, their faith, in The Lord Jesus Christ, His perfect fulfillment of the Law, His work to redeem for Himself a people, to secure for His children salvation, we can stand boldly before the Lord, clothed in His righteousness which has been so graciously provided for those who would live by faith in Him.
We are incapable of standing on our own, but through Christ in us, “the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27), we will stand in victory on the day of judgment, enjoying Freedom in the Kingdom forever in Christ. I hope to see you there; 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.
We pray you are finding our new adult class helpful to you as we learn to become more like Christ. We are excited about it as well.
We just wanted to give you a couple of updates about a couple of changes.
We will not be live streaming the class BUT we will be pre-recording the class and posting it 'live' on our Facebook page every Wednesday evening at 6:30. Ultimately nothing will change but this will help protect the live conversations.
For those attending on Wednesday evenings, we are asking you to park downstairs at the rear of the building and to use the downstairs doors. With the students meeting upstairs, this will help us keep our facility secure.
Also, it's never too late to join the class and we have a few books still available. Come join us!
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.
WOMEN'S MINISTRY BIBLE STUDY It's not too late to join. Click here to see the trailer.
Bible Study
Join us this Saturday, May 8 @ 7 AM for 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.
