Baptism Renewal

>>  BLOG                                                       Wednesday, January 20, 2016                                                          Jeff Lampl   Baptism Renewal   "have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death?  For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives." Romans 6:3-4 (NLT)   "If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there?  Or didn't you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace-a new life in a new land! That's what baptism into the life of Jesus means." Romans 6:2-3 (MSG)  Protestants recognize two sacraments (an outward expression of an inner reality).  They are the Lord's Supper (Communion) and Baptism.   The word, "baptism", is from the Greek language in which the New Testament was written.  It means "immerse" or "be dipped" or "take a bath".   Some churches do baptisms by immersion and others do so by forming the sign of the cross on the forehead with water.    In the New Testament when a man, woman or family became believing followers of Jesus, they were baptized, symbolizing God's having chosen them, Christ's having died for them, their being cleansed from their sin, their old nature having died, and a new life having begun as if risen from death to life as expressed in the passage above (both in translation and in paraphrase).   This Sunday each of us will have the opportunity to renew our baptism.     Some may want to renew their baptism because they understand in a new way that God can be relied on, that it is his faithfulness to me, not the quality of my faith that I can rely on.  Others may realize that they have been counting on God for the benefits of what God offers without reciprocating that commitment.   Others will renew their baptism just as a husband and wife renew their vows.  Others will not do so because for them baptism, like wedding vows, was a one time event and for them it is unrepeatable.     Perhaps the simplest way to view baptism renewal is the opportunity to act out once again the meaning of my Christian faith, which is that the recognition and admission that my life doesn't belong to me anymore   Dear Lord, I am just beginning to understand that it is in my baptism that I know who I am.  My baptism, as what a wedding ring is to my marriage, tells me that you have chosen me to be yours. Yet for the baptism to be complete I must commit myself to you, in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, in plenty and in want.  Lord, in every circumstance of life I proclaim that I belong to you, heart, mind, soul and strength.  Amen"     Comment     For more:           follow on Twitter @jefflampl                   This is a regular communication from Christian Life Center. If you would like to add, modify, or delete your email address from this list please email us atclcfamily125@gmail.com    Christian Life Center 125 Saginaw Road, New London Twp., PA  19352

See what's happening on our social sites

More than a Name on the Rolls

>>  BLOG                                                       Monday, January 18, 2016                                                          Jeff Lampl   More than a Name on the Rolls   29 years ago Kathy, rather than waiting for an ideal husband, instead choose a real one, me.   If she had waited for the ideal, she'd still be single.  So would you.  Real is not ideal. It's messy and wonderful, beautiful and painful, and never perfect.   It's the same with church membership.  Commitment matters.  Keeping my options open is like  living together instead of marrying.  Committing to membership in a local church is saying, "I'm in" "You can count on me to be there in your life just as I am counting on you to be there in my life, all of it in relationship to God in Jesus Christ".   It all starts with commitment, God's commitment to us by giving his life for us on the cross.   The bible tells us that God asks us to reciprocate and that reciprocation always happens by committing to a local body of believers, the church.  Christianity is not a solo "sport" I cannot think of a more effective way to stunt spiritual growth than avoiding commitment to a local worshiping fellowship of believers where I live the rhythm of giving and receiving and doing life together as God leads.   During this month of January, it is the hope of your pastors that you weigh the meaning of  membershipand conclude that it is far more than having your name on the rolls of a church.   For that reason we asking all current members to decide to renew their membership.   Doing so requires consideration, decision, and the action to actually complete the renewal  .  You can renew your membership by clicking here, following the instructions and filling in the comments section with your reason for renewing and what you look forward to experiencing as a member! Below are the fundamental commitments of membership that you made when you joined initially.  Read them, pray through them and ask God to make 2016 a year of spiritual breakthroughs for you and your family as you grow in Christ's family. Lord, thank you for what the bible calls "the Body of Christ", the church family, where you are present in the lives of believers.   Show me, Lord, where I fit and give me the courage, not just to renew, but to "just jump in" to an area of the church family where I can give and in giving, receive.  Thank you, Lord, Amen.     Comment     For more:           follow on Twitter @jefflampl                   This is a regular communication from Christian Life Center. If you would like to add, modify, or delete your email address from this list please email us atclcfamily125@gmail.com    Christian Life Center 125 Saginaw Road, New London Twp., PA  19352

See what's happening on our social sites

Movie Night - Do You Believe?

>>  BLOG                                                       Monday, January 18, 2016                                                          Jeff Lampl       Do You Believe? Kathy and I watched the movie Do You Believe last month and we liked it very much.  We found it challenging to our faith and we also felt that it was a really great complement to our Sunday Message Series called "BELIEVE".       Therefore we will be showing the movie this Friday night, January 22,  at 7:00 pm in the second floor auditorium for anyone who wants to attend.   Please invite your friends, family and neighbors!  No need to be members of our church family.    We'll provide the movie but we're leaving to you to bring a snack to share and also to bring your own drinks.   Feel free to bring a comfortable chair or beanbag or whatever if you like.   We apologize, but we will not be providing child care for this movie.   Please read the review of the movie on the excellent Christian movie review site,Plugged In.   Doing so will help you to decide if the movie will be appropriate for your children.   I also encourage you to check out any movie you are considering seeing on this site  https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=plugged+in+online .   The reviews are thorough, thoughtful, written from a Christian perspective and I have found them extremely helpful In deciding which movies I do and do not want to see.     Comment     For more:           follow on Twitter @jefflampl                   This is a regular communication from Christian Life Center. If you would like to add, modify, or delete your email address from this list please email us atclcfamily125@gmail.com    Christian Life Center 125 Saginaw Road, New London Twp., PA  19352

See what's happening on our social sites

Why Membership?

>>  BLOG Sunday, January 17, 2016 Jeff Lampl A Month of Spiritul Renewal   Why Membership? A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. "So then, you...are not foreigners or strangers any longer; you are now citizens together with God's people and members o the family of God." Ephesians 2:19 For many years I was not quite sure how to explain to other Christians why it is so important to belong to a church.   What if I don't really "get anything" out of the sermons?   What if I just don't like to sing? Couldn't I meet God just as well in nature?   If membership means that I can be on a committee and vote in church meetings, well, truth be told, why bother?    What I have discovered about membership, however, is profound and important beyond words.   The real meaning of membership has nothing to do with membership rolls, dues, eligibility for office, or even my right to pastoral care.   But it has everything to do with my heart and my willingness to grow up.    As there is a difference between marriage and living together, there is a difference between committing to local body of believers and simply being an attender. Just as it is marriage that holds a couple's love together (not the other way around), it is the local body of believers, the church, which provides the committed community that keeps our love of God enflamed and our love of people growing.      I have discovered that biblical community, being together on a regular basis with others who matter to me, who irritate me (but I learn to love anyway and who learn to love me in spite of myself), whom I let down and from whom I receive unmerited forgiveness, beside whom I worship, from whom I learn, by whom I am challenged . . . . all of this is God's means to grow me up into the person God wants me to become.   I forces me out of a me-centered life.    This kind of growth happens only in committed relationship with other believers. It's does not happen without it.    A huge part of the purpose of this month of renewal is giving you the opportunity to renew your membership in a way that it means more to you than it ever has before.   Please check out the membership renewal form , read it over carefully and then decide whether or not you wish to renew your membership.   I encourage you not to do so if the meaning of membership is something you are not ready for.   You will still be loved, honored and welcomed into every aspect of our church life.   However, I do encourage to take the leap.   Jump in. Choose to dive into the body of Christ.   It may be uncomfortable and inconvenient (what "marriage" isn't?), as it was for me, but you will be blessed as I have been. "Lord I will read the covenant of membership and consider it carefully. Father give me the excitement of expecting a new kind of future, one of relationship with you, and of relationships with others, that can only be found in the communion of saints, the church body, other imperfect but loved believers like me. Amen"     Comment For more:           follow on Twitter @jefflampl             This is a regular communication from Christian Life Center. If you would like to add, modify, or delete your email address from this list please email us at clcfamily125@gmail.com  Christian Life Center 125 Saginaw Road, New London Twp., PA  19352

See what's happening on our social sites

You Are Gifted

>>  BLOG Saturday, January 16, 2016 Jeff Lampl A Month of Spiritul Renewal   You Are Gifted A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. 1 Corinthians 12:7 Tomorrow Pastor Gary begins teaching a one session course called Connect.   It is the hope of your leadership team that every one of you in the CLC family will take this one session course.   It is designed to be a springboard for your thinking and dreaming about how God can use your giftedness for the sake of building his Kingdom on earth, edifying and building up others and at the very same time enlivening your faith in way that it has never been enlivened before.    This one session class will be offered at 5 different times:   Tomorrow at 9:00 and 10:30.   Next Sunday, the 24th at 9:00 and 10:30, and Wednesday the 27th at 7:00 pm.    Some of you have taken gifts inventories in the past.   If so I encourage you to do so again. Sometimes our giftedness changes based on our life experiences, spiritual growth, and God's work within us.   As you take the inventory ask God to reveal to you his heart for your place of service.    The assessment is only a tool, a guide, a place of departure for experimentation in serving others in your areas of strength, passion, ability and giftedness.    Mostly importantly, whatever gift God has given you, think of it as the Israelites thought of the manna they received for food in the desert.   The manna could not be stored or held over for the future.   It had to be used or it was wasted.   Not using our gifts for God and others has a way of working against us. We become corroded from the inside out. Conversely using them as God intended in the "now" of our lives makes us alive as never before.   Many of you know exactly what I'm talking about. Others of you will discover this truth when you've jumped into your God-led area of service.    "Lord, I want to know the feeling of being fully alive because of and through you.   Your word tells us that when we give ourselves over to you and your purpose for us, it is then that we find true selves.   Lord, lead me into your purpose for my life, regardless of the cost. Amen"     Comment For more:           follow on Twitter @jefflampl             This is a regular communication from Christian Life Center. If you would like to add, modify, or delete your email address from this list please email us at clcfamily125@gmail.com  Christian Life Center 125 Saginaw Road, New London Twp., PA  19352

See what's happening on our social sites

A Month of Spiritual Renewal

>>  BLOG Friday, January 15, 2016 Jeff Lampl   A Month of Spiritual Renewal "I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you" 2 Timothy 1:6 I and all of us on your leadership team are hoping that each of you are in the process of renewing your faith for 2016 and beyond.  God accepts each of us "where we are" but does not leave us where he found us.  His goal is to grow us up.  To that end it is our hope and prayer that you choose to do the following through January 24 as a way to "prime the pump" of your spiritual growth. Attend worship each Sunday:  If you have missed either of the first two Sundays please visit our website and listen to the messages.  They are extremely important for your spiritual health. Pray the 21 days of prayers.  You can get them via text here. Renew your membership.  More on why in tomorrow's post. Connect and serve by attending one of the Connect Classes taught by Pastor Gary at both Sunday services on Jan 17 and 24 and also on Wed, Jan 27 @ 7pm.  Please download and complete the Spiritual Gifts Assessment prior to attending the class. On January 24 renew your baptism vows and attend the CLC family luncheon immediately after the second service.  Lord, thank you for this opportunity to renew my faith in you, my service for you and my commitment to the CLC family.  Please Lord, help me to stay on the path of loving and serving you.  I desire so much for 2016 to be a year I can look back on and say, "I experienced You more deeply and more profoundly than ever before. Amen"      Comment For more:           follow on Twitter @jefflampl             This is a regular communication from Christian Life Center. If you would like to add, modify, or delete your email address from this list please email us at clcfamily125@gmail.com  Christian Life Center 125 Saginaw Road, New London Twp., PA  19352

See what's happening on our social sites

Biblical Community - The Real Social Network

>>  BLOG Thursday, January 14, 2016 Megann Graf   Biblical Community   Pastor Jeff has been doing several blogs on the topic of "why church membership?" He asked me to keep that theme as I write this week. This might one of the easier topics to write about! We came to this church about 10 years ago. Neither my husband or I have family in the immediate area, and it soon became clear that this church was a body of believers that we could not only worship with, but that we could come to trust and count on in times of need. I will be honest, we "joined" the church because we wanted to have our daughter baptized, and you had to be a member in order to do that.   So, we went to the new members class, met a few more new people, stood up before the church, and then we had our daughter baptized. It could have easily been the end of our church involvement story. But, thankfully, God opened more and more doors for us to come to know people at the church and really start feeling like we belonged. The church provided so many opportunities for us to see the love of Christ. The people in KidZone loved our kids and were always excited to see them. In fact, when our son was hospitalized as an infant, it was a nursery worker who was close with my older child (who was a toddler then) who came into the hospital to sit with us one Sunday afternoon, because she had heard at church that day that he was still admitted and would be there a little longer. She came straight from church. She brought us balloons and a smile. And, I will always remember that. We began getting involved in different small groups, which really helped us start to connect with others on a deeper and more personal level. If you have never jumped into a small group, I encourage you to try it out. It can be uncomfortable at first, and I know for many, it definitely is out of your normal comfort zone, but the benefits far outweigh the initial awkwardness. When Pastor Gary talked about our safety net and what people would be there for you, I immediately thought of my friends from home group. I have some sisters in Christ who are praying up a storm right now for my family and some situations we have.   I know if I called out in a crisis, these women would be there with a safety net, and probably food too! While we laugh and have a lot of fun together as a group, we know that these are people in our lives who will come together and support us when we are in need.   As we continue in this month of renewal, I encourage you to look for ways that the church can or does help you. Look for ways that you can or do help the church. Really, these are not separate things. We are the church. Our membership is a commitment, not a piece of paper. And that's because, as a body of believers, relationships are increasingly important to our relationship with Christ. Loving others can certainly be messy. But, I can tell you that when you're the mess that needs some help, you'll be glad to have some folks in your corner, speaking the truth in love to you and speaking the God's truth over your situation to you. That's something the world cannot offer.      Comment     For more:           follow on Twitter @jefflampl                   This is a regular communication from Christian Life Center. If you would like to add, modify, or delete your email address from this list please email us at clcfamily125@gmail.com    Christian Life Center 125 Saginaw Road, New London Twp., PA  19352

See what's happening on our social sites