Please join us in the Function Hall anytime this coming Sunday morning (5/16) for the DEC Ministry Fair. This is a great place to see the big picture - what DEC is doing through its ministries, and how you might serve at DEC. I can almost guarantee there’s more going on and more opportunities to serve than you expect!

If you’re unsure of how to get involved at DEC - or if you’re under the assumption that all the ministries are “all set” without you - THIS IS THE PLACE TO BE!

For the record, we don’t even look at ministry like that. One of DEC’s big values is Serving Together. That’s because Jesus has gifted you and called you to serve. He has placed you in this church to be a blessing to others. And He invites you to find real Life as a Christian by giving your life away. Sometimes people just don’t know this, so consider the following Scriptures.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (1 Corinthians 4:4-7 ESV, emphasis added)

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (Galatians 5:13 ESV)

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 16:25 ESV)

Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. (Romans 12:11 ESV - ouch! I think that one was for me!)

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16 ESV)

Serving God in a DEC ministry is a great way to give glory to God, using your life and time and gifts in a way that says, “God is worth serving! Building His Kingdom is the best investment I could make!”

The Worship Ministry has lots of different places for people to serve - and they’re not all on stage! They don’t happen all on Sundays!  It’s not only for musicians!  Did you know that? Come to our table and find out more.

So if there’s any question in your mind: YOU BELONG HERE! God has a place for you to serve, build His Kingdom and taste the joy that is found by following in His footsteps.

See you downstairs this Sunday!

A quick update on the progress for our first CD, My Father’s Face, just to let you know we’ve finished all the actual recording work. That means it’s editing and mixing time. Hopefully all of that will be done by the end of April, then it’s off for printing and getting ready for sale.  I think we’re looking at the end May before we’ll be ready to go public with this.

And I know I’m biased, but the team has done a great job and I think you’re going to be very blessed by this CD!

Oh, by the way, isn’t that a beautiful painting Molly Torrey made for my office…? 

Hey friends,

I realize this is shameless. Shameless, shameless, shameless. But I know Lincoln Brewster.

OK, I don’t “know” him… but we hang out. Well, not exactly “hang out,” but I met him once, and he put his arm around me just like we was old buds. Yeah, he keeps tabs on me - like when I sell my house and stuff (thanks Donna!).

You don’t know who Lincoln Brewster is? Sure you do. We sing his songs: “Today Is The Day,” “God You Reign,” “The Power Of Your Name” (lots of you like that one), and “Give Him Praise.”

Well, I wanted you to know that worship leader / recording artist / songwriter / guitar monster Lincoln Brewster is coming to the Alton Bay Christian Conference Center on July 9.  Particularly if you love to worship God and/or dig the whole “guitar monster” thing.

Oh, and he’s running a Guitar Workshop the following day. Yes, I know that’s intimidating, but I’m still gonna go and would LOVE to have some of you guitar players out there to go with me.

Call the Alton Bay Christian Conference Center at 875-6161 to get tickets soon!

For anyone interested in a progress report on the first DEC worship recording, here you go!

We’re working hard on 10 songs that will (hopefully) bless our church and speak to our friends and family outside of DEC. So far have recorded drums, bass, organ, some guitars, lots of vocals and choir and keyboards. We have a couple nice surprises for you too. Flute, more vocals and guitars yet to go. And we’re choosing the name of the project as you read this!

Hopefully more soon!

In light of God’s perfect and proactive plan to grant forgiveness, righteousness and eternal life to the unworthy (including the “chief of all sinners”), it’s time to celebrate and say, as the Apostle Paul did to his Roman readers, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? For I am sure that neither death nor life… Nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:31,38-39 ESV).

Selah,
Chris

(Oh, here’s my meditation on this. Lord willing, we’ll be singing this in 2 weeks -the choir sounds great on it!)

My God is for me, He’s not against me
And if God is with me what shall I fear?
He who died for me - Emmanuel to me -
Lives today in me, drawing me near

CHORUS
Nothing can separate me from the Father’s love
I am secure in Him whatever may come
He who was crucified and was raised back to life
Always stands by my side in power and love

My God has loved me, gave himself for me
Set His seal on me, washed in His blood
No great Accuser of things behind me
Can stand in the presence of my saving God

CHORUS

BRIDGE
I belong to Him
He’s my God and Friend
To the very end ever near me
I am not my own
I am not alone
He has told me He’s never leaving

In honor of the Advent season which is upon us, here is part 2 of a 2-part article originally shared in DEC’s “The Times” newsletter. Part 1 of this article can be found here. Enjoy and comment!

Emmanuel

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 (ESV)

“God with us.”

The name itself implies that we have to have room in order for Jesus to be there. No room, no Jesus. He is with us. Maybe the question this Christmas is, “Are we with God?”

Will busyness and overcommitment crowd Jesus out this Advent season, or will we cultivate hearts that say, “O come, Emmanuel! Ransom us! Rescue us!”  Will our hearts cry out with the author of the Revelation, who wrote:

He who testifies to these things says, Surely I am coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! Revelation 22:20 (ESV)

In some ways, today is no different than the night Jesus was born: busy streets, people struggling to meet their responsibilities and crowds competing for high-demand items. Yet amid the noise and clamor of that night, God himself stepped into time. And above it all, a star pointed willing eyes toward this Miracle Child.
…And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. Matthew 2:9 (ESV)

Amid all of our noise and clamor, there’s a light today to point willing eyes to the Messiah. Actually, it’s a city on a hill. And while store fliers and party invitations are clamoring for our attention, God whispers, “Let your light so shine…”

So let’s not miss it this year. Let’s make room, be available. Be attentive. Let the flames of our longing hearts light the way for others. And our hearts, lips and lives declare, “O come, Emmanuel!”

Prayer

God, our hearts and lives are gifts from your hand. We pray that you’d fill them with genuine faith - a faith that would make us receptive - eager! - for you this Christmas. Rescue us from busyness and forgive us for allowing other occupants take your place. By your grace, we are your temple. We have room for you. We have a throne for you!  For your praise of your great name, King Jesus. Amen.

Can you believe it?!  Thanksgiving already?!  More amazing to me is the fact that Advent begins this Sunday. In honor of the Advent season, here’s the first a two-part article I wrote for a previous Christmas season.

Enjoy!

O Come, Emmanuel!

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. Luke 2:7 (ESV)

No place. No room. Due to the census decree issued by Caesar Augustus, Bethlehem was bustling with activity. A swollen city, full of inconvenienced citizens. The inn was in high demand, and like most malls this time of year, it was full.

It’s not a unique story in Scripture. The Bible is peppered with stories of people who didn’t have “room.” Room for a wedding feast (Matthew 22), for a prophet who was running late (1 Samuel 13), for a hard saying about eating flesh (John 6) or for a the impossibility that the man standing in front of you is the Son of God, raised from the dead (Matthew 28). There’s no shortage of people who have no room for God.

But this Christmas, God is calling us to have room.

I have a friend I eat with from time to time, and he says, “Dessert is not something you save room for; it’s something you MAKE room for.” And I’ve seen him do it! It isn’t pretty sometimes, and it can cause some discomfort! And if that’s what it takes this Christmas, maybe we need to make room for Jesus in our own lives, even if it causes some discomfort.

Recently Pastor Terry mentioned that the elders have been taking a deeper look at the meaning of communion. We’re also beginning to wonder why attendance at communion services is about 1/3 the attendance on Sunday mornings. The answers may be simply logistical (we only offer 1 communion service, but 3 Sunday morning services). Or there may be deeper reasons for us to discover.

Do you attend DEC’s communion services?  Why or why not?

Coming off tonight’s Communion Service, I’m sitting in my office with this Scripture running through my head:

“Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.” (Psalm 33:1 KJV)

“Comely,” according to Dictionary.com, means: 1. pleasing in appearance; attractive; fair: a comely face. 2. proper; seemly; becoming: comely behavior. Praise is certainly “proper” for the redeemed worshipers of God, but tonight I was reminded how uniquely stunning the Bride of Christ is when she worships her King.

No One But You

A few weeks ago, the Lord reminded me of the vast importance of worshiping God, and along with that came a reminder:  no one else can love God for us, or give Him the glory that WE were created to give Him.

Having great friends in our lives who visibly love God in what they do, how they talk and how they worship Him is a blessing, for sure. But that’s not the same as actually doing it!  Listening to our favorite worship artist is not the same as loving God. Attending church where the worship team pours out their hearts to God doesn’t mean that we do it. I’m the only one in my life who can worship God for me. I’m the only one who can deliberately live my life for the glory of God.

If you’ve gotten stuck vicariously living out your relationship with God through others, can I encourage you to step back into it?  Get out of your comfort zone and walk by faith. God’s looking for you, and He’s ready to walk with you again.

It’s the difference between looking at a postcard of the Grand Canyon and standing on its rim.