Newsletters

March 15-21, 2013

A Word from our Family Pastor:
The Problem with the Problem of Evil
My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust, but one day I asked myself, “if there is no God where had I gotten this idea of ‘just’ and ‘unjust’?”  Because if this universe was all that there is, what was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust? . .  . If this world is all there is then cruelty, violence, and death is just the way things are.  Of course I could have given up my idea of justice by saying the world is not like what I want it to be, that justice was nothing but a private feeling of my own.  But if I did that my whole argument against the existence of God collapsed too.  For the argument depended on saying that the world was really unjust not that it did not happen to please my private fancies.  Consequently I saw that atheism turned out to be too simple (Mere Christianity, 31).
C. S. Lewis here in Mere Christianity, exposes the real problem behind the so-called “problem of evil” which is often posited in an attempt to disprove the existence of God. Many more secularly minded folks will often argue that because there is pointless evil and suffering the world that therefore the God of the Bible cannot exist. They say that because of evil and suffering God can be all powerful but not all good (because he has not gotten rid of all the pointless evil in the world) or all good but not all powerful (because if he is good, they think it must mean he can’t do anything to stop evil and suffering). The big problem with this view is that it assumes that all the evil and suffering in the world must be pointless.
In other words, people who make this argument are actually making a pretty audacious claim—they are claiming that they know that all the evil and suffering in the world do not have a reason behind them. They are claiming to have knowledge that they cannot possibly have. The word that makes the argument against God from the problem of evil fall apart is the word “pointless.”
If you have a God who is big enough and transcendent enough to allow evil and suffering, then you have God big enough and transcendent enough to have reasons for doing so that you cannot think of.  If God is big enough to be mad at because of the evil and suffering in the world, then He is big enough to know something you don’t know.  You can struggle with the evil and suffering that are present in the world, but the presence of evil and suffering in the world is no proof that there is no God.
So the problem with most people who think that the presence of evil and suffering is that the cannot envision a God of the scope, grandeur, and holiness of the God of the Bible. Further, as C. S. Lewis points out, these people’s categories for evil and for good actually contradict their convictions that there is no God, because objective standards of good and evil must come from outside of man—they must come from God.
What makes Christianity even more compelling, is the fact that the Bible not only teaches that God has good purposes for evil and suffering in the world that we don’t see, but it also tells us that God loves us enough to experience our suffering and even suffer for us.  God loved us so much that he took on human flesh, was tempted in every way like we are, did not sin, and died a self sacrificial death on the cross for us. Christ took our sin, he suffers in our place—taking on himself the wrath of God for sin. The cross is the ultimate example of how God can work phenomenal good out of horrific evil. The cross of Jesus Christ represents the most spectacular sin in the history of the universe—the only truly innocent person died for crimes he did not commit and yet God uses this horrific sin against his Son to bring about the salvation of the world.
Acts 2:22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know- 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
In Christ,
Drew
Announcements:
Dates to Mark on Your Calendar:
  • March 17 – (THIS Sunday) Sunday evening service (preaching)
  • March 23 – Saturday – Children’s Easter Egg Hunt and Picnic at the Hellums
  • March 31 – Easter Sunday – No evening services
  • April 3 – Host home night for Wednesday night student meeting
  • April 7 – Community Groups Resume
  • May 1 – Host Home night for Wednesday night student meeting
Praise/Prayer Requests:
· Pray for Kristy Baldwin’s aunt, who is battling breast cancer.
· Pray for Ray Dixon, Drew’s father, he has prostate cancer. Pray God would strengthen him and point others to Christ through this trial.
· Please continue to pray for Jim Parker’s niece, Neci. Praise the Lord! She is home from the hospital. Continue to pray, she is still awaiting two more operations.
· Also, remember the Parker’s this week as Jim’s uncle has recently passed away.
· Pray for Ruth Thompson, Wanda Parker’s mother, who is in the beginning stages of congestive heart failure. Pray for her husband, Dalton, as he cares for her. Pray for Wanda and Jim as they are helping care for both of them as well.
Missions:
M.U.D. Ministries:
If you are interested in supporting M.U.D. Ministries, please contact Eric Hixon at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Volunteers for this week:
Sunday Morning Childcare:
Bed Babies through 2’s – Lisa Spence, Gloria Childress, Gina Smith
3’s and 4’s – Todd Gregg and Allen Bledsoe
Sunday Morning Food:
Denise Bledsoe
Hospice Volunteer:
Lisa Spence
Last Week’s Statistics:
Budget Receipts:
$2,081.00
Budget Receipts YTD:
$31,847.00
Budget Needs YTD:
$39,412.96
Budget (Deficit)/Surplus
($7,565.96)
Building Fund this Week:
$490.00
Building Fund YTD:
$6,730.00
Building Fund Giving to Date:
$181,851.75
Benevolence:
$.00
Missions:
$50.00
Attendance:
71
New Covenant Baptist Church – www.DiscoverNewCovenant.com
104 W. Alabama Avenue, Suite A - Albertville, AL 35950
256-849-2454
Pastor – Brad Williams       Family Pastor – Drew Dixon
Sunday:
9:30am – Sunday School
10:30am - Worship Service
6:00pm – Community Groups
Wednesday:
11:30am – Men’s Bible Study
6:00pm - Children/Student Activities
6:00pm – Adult Bible Study

Our mission and passion at New Covenant Baptist Church is to glorify God by becoming a community that  fosters the love of God
with all of the heart, soul, mind and strength, and by learning to love one another as Christ Jesus has loved us.
The answer to every heart's need and the satisfaction of all our longing is found in Jesus Christ our Lord, who is Himself
the very image of Almighty God. We exist to adore Him, and to spread the knowledge of His greatness to the ends of the earth.

February 22-28, 2013
A Word from our Family Pastor:


True Freedom


[19] So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. [20] For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. [21] For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. [22] The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, [23] that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. [24] Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. (John 5:19-24 ESV)
As Brad has spent the last two Sunday mornings preaching on God’s sovereignty in election, I have not been able to help but think about the idea of human freedom. We as humans value freedom. We like the idea of living in a “free country” though we understand that nothing is truly free. We like the idea of free stuff—we want free breakfast at hotels and buy-one-get-one-free deals at stores. Further we like to think that we are free to do and live as we like.
No matter what your view of God and his sovereignty, none of us are as free as we would like to be. There are numerous forces that compel us to live certain ways and do certain things. Having children makes us consider being more careful with our finances, marriage compels us to consider how we spend our time, and the state of our health can even begin to dictate how we spend our leisure time.
Forces outside ourselves are constantly keeping us from being truly free. None of us live every day exactly how we want to live it and it is good that we don’t. If we stopped to think about what life would be like if we did, I think we would realize that such freedom would be an even worse kind of slavery than the demands of daily life that we submit to. If we always did exactly what we want to do we would become slave to our passions and the result is not pretty. For example, if we eat whatever we want we will destroy our bodies or if we sleep with whoever we want we will end up with emotional and physical scars.
I think part of the reason we are not as free as we would like to be is because God is protecting us. He lovingly constrains us so that we don’t destroy ourselves. This gives us a small window into true freedom. The Bible tells us that God made us for himself. So Jesus, as the one true man, exercises his freedom not by doing whatever he wants all the time, but by doing what the Father does. Why, though, do you think the Son isn’t bummed out by always only doing what the father does and always and only
obeying the Father? The answer is found in verse 20—“For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing.”
Jesus has found perfect acceptance, perfect love, and joy in the Father. This tells us something about where true freedom is found. It is not found in focusing on self but on giving it up. Letting go of self and living the way God designed us to live, namely, for His glory! That is where Jesus found joy and that is where you and I find joy. The “freer” we are the more enslaved we become. Giving ourselves over to God in light of the sacrifice of

Christ—that is true freedom!

In Christ,
Drew

Announcements:
 We will be having a NCBC Pasta Bar for the Family Meeting Meal, Sunday night, March 3rd. Please check the back of the sanctuary for a sign-up sheet. We will have slots for a pasta dish (ie. spaghetti, lasagna, ravioli, macaroni & cheese, etc.), slots for a salad (green salad, Cesar salad, fruit salad, etc.), and slots for dessert and bread. Everyone should bring 2 drinks to help restock the drink supplies.

 March 9th, Saturday is Neopolitan Napolean Night – the students will be eating ice cream and watching Napolean Dynamite at Drew’s house. Details to come.

 A bridal shower for Ali Hyatt, bride elect of Jake Ham will be held at the church Sunday, March 17th from 2:00 – 3:30 P.M. There is a sign up sheet to help with this shower on the back table.

 Next Nursing Home Ministry date is THIS Sunday February 24.

 LADIES' BOOK CLUB: We will meet Saturday morning, March 2, 8:30 am, at the Food Basket to discuss this month's selection "When People are Big and God is Small". See Lisa Spence if you have any questions ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Next month we will be reading "Unbroken" by Laura Hillebrand.

 Women’s Community Bible Study meets Tuesdays at 10:00 A.M. at Grace Fellowship Church. They are studying The Lamb of God by Nancy Guthrie. All ladies are invited. A nursery is provided.

 We are participating in the annual Real Life Crisis Pregnancy Center Baby Bottle Fundraiser. We have a basket of baby bottles at the back of the church, fill it up with loose change and bring it back by the end of this month. All proceeds go to help the Pregnancy Center’s ministry. Dates to Mark on Your Calendar:

 February 24th – THIS SUNDAY - Last Day of this round of Community Groups and Nursing Home Ministry

 The Family Meeting has been moved to Sunday Night, March 3. Please attend if at all possible; the Building Committee is going to go over the future plans for construction!

 March 10 – Sunday evening service (preaching)

 March 17 – Sunday evening service (preaching)

 March 23 – Saturday – Children’s Easter Egg Hunt and Picnic at the Hellums

 March 31 – Easter Sunday – No evening services  April 7 – Community Groups Resume
Praise/Prayer Requests:
 Pray for Kristy Baldwin’s aunt, who is battling breast cancer.

 Pray for Emri Legg, 6 week old daughter of a friend of Josh and Staci Bledsoe, was born with a mild form of spina bifada. Facing surgery and life-long trials.
 Pray for Ray Dixon, Drew’s father, he has prostate cancer. Pray God would strengthen him and point others to Christ through this trial.
 Please continue to pray for Jim Parker’s niece, Neci. Praise the Lord! She is home from the hospital. Continue to pray, she is still awaiting two more operations.
 Also, remember the Parker’s this week as Jim’s uncle has recently passed away.
 Pray for Ruth Thompson, Wanda Parker’s mother, who is in the beginning stages of congestive heart failure. Pray for her husband, Dalton, as he cares for her. Pray for Wanda and Jim as they are helping care for both of them as well.


Missions:


M.U.D. Ministries:
If you are interested in supporting M.U.D. Ministries, please contact Eric Hixon at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Volunteers for this week:
Sunday Morning Childcare:
Bed Babies through 2’s – Sam & Misty Merilien, Randy Spence
3’s and 4’s – Amber Knight & Reagan Gregg


Sunday Morning Food:
Jennifer Dixon


Hospice Volunteer:


Last Week’s Statistics:
Budget Receipts: $7,190.00

Budget Receipts YTD: $22,916.00

Budget Needs YTD: $27,589.08

Budget (Deficit)/Surplus ($4,673.08)

Building Fund this Week: $1,150.00

Building Fund YTD: $4,555.00 Building Fund Giving to Date: $179,676.75 Youth: $25.00 Attendance: 75
New Covenant Baptist Church – www.DiscoverNewCovenant.com
104 W. Alabama Avenue, Suite A - Albertville, AL 35950
256-849-2454


Pastor – Brad Williams

Family Pastor – Drew Dixon

Sunday:
9:30am – Sunday School
10:30am - Worship Service
6:00pm – Community Groups
Wednesday:
11:30am – Men’s Bible Study
6:00pm - Children/Student Activities
6:00pm – Adult Bible Study
Our mission and passion at New Covenant Baptist Church is to glorify God by becoming a community that fosters the love of God with all of the heart, soul, mind and strength, and by learning to love one another as Christ Jesus has loved us. The answer to every heart's need and the satisfaction of all our longing is found in Jesus Christ our Lord, who is Himself
the very image of Almighty God. We exist to adore Him, and to spread the knowledge of His greatness to the ends of the earth.

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Our mission and passion at New Covenant Baptist Church is to glorify God by becoming a community that  fosters the love of God
with all of the heart, soul, mind and strength, and by learning to love one another as Christ Jesus has loved us.
The answer to every heart's need and the satisfaction of all our longing is found in Jesus Christ our Lord, who is Himself, the very image of Almighty God. We exist to adore Him, and to spread the knowledge of His greatness to the ends of the earth.