Scroll Who Do You Say I Am? Join the Fiesta!

V o l u m e
1 0
I s s u e
2
S u m m e r
2 0 0 6
Scroll
the
N E W S L E T T E R
O F
C H R I S T
T H E
Who Do You
Say I Am?
K I N G
P R E S B Y T E R I A N
C H U R C H
Join the Fiesta!
Vacation Bible School
B y Pat R o a c h
R
ecently, I was reading an article about a famous
minister and his enterprising work with his church.
Accompanying the story were several photos of him
in his home. One of the photos in particular
captured my attention. In it I noticed a painting of
a person that hung on his wall who I assume was meant to be
Jesus. Long, feathered hair; an earnest look in the eyes (like you
might have right before you get mugged); and an in-the-know
smile. Yes, this was supposed to be Jesus, alright. Except, the guy in
the picture really looked like Barry Gibb. Who you might ask? You
know! Barry Gibb-the former lead singer of the 70’s disco supergroup the Bee Gees. I got a laugh thinking that this preacher
might in fact have a picture of Barry Gibb on his wall and was
ironically trying to pass Barry off as Jesus. And I further began to
wonder why it is that folks in America typically tend to picture
Jesus with the same wispy images.
But after the moment of smug levity
prop for my own agendas, spiritual and
passed I began to think to myself, “Maybe I
otherwise?
think of Jesus like Barry Gibb too!” I don’t
Now don’t get me wrong. I am not
mean that I often picture Jesus in a pearly
saying that the way out of this
white leisure suit and a sleek gold chain.
Christological myopia is simply to figure out
What I mean is this - how often do I think
who you are, what you value, what you do,
and talk (and preach!) about Jesus in a way
and then assume Jesus is the exact opposite.
that is too culturally comfortable for me and Rather, in the gospel the Lord graces us
those to whom I minister? Is “my” Jesus the
with an enforced objectivity whereby he is
Jesus who offers himself to me in the
presented to us both as brother (he shares
Scriptures or is he the frantic, middle-class,
our experiences and joys) and Savior (he
theologically-wonkish Jesus who does things redeems us, hence stands against our sinful
just like I do, prays for the things I pray for,
thoughts and ways). And from where comes
and on the whole fits nicely in the schemes
this enforced objectivity? The Bible
of my private world? Does “my” Jesus ever
interpreted and applied in and by the
F
a
l
l
S
e
r
m
o
n
S
e
r
i
e
s
2
0
0
5
challenge or critique me? Or is he simply a
household of God. You see, if left to my
July 17-21
9:00 -11:30 a.m.
At
Bethel
Independent
Presbyterian
Church
Singles Mission Trip
to New Orleans
August 5-11
Join us as we partner with
Redeemer Presbyterian Church
in New Orleans to help clean up
and rebuild homes devastated
by hurricane Katrina.
Scholarships available.
Please contact Clay Holland if you
are interested in participating in
this trip.
own devices of just reading the Bible on my
own, not withstanding the gracious work of
the Holy Spirit, I am sure that the Jesus I
would begin to fashion for myself would
look too much like me, or too much like
the embodiment of my fallen aspirations.
And if we just had a community without
C o n t i n u e d o n pag e 3
By Kristen Harris
Lord, Thank You for
Growing Our Children in Grace!
Precious children at our church as young
as three years old are asking these questions
and making these prayers. I am humbled by
the Holy Spirit’s work in their young hearts
to plant the seeds of faith in them that they
can begin to formulate these questions and
pray to our Lord to help them change. I get
so excited when I hear questions like these,
and they give me great joy as I work here at
Christ the King.
These questions are not much different
than the questions we ask. They are
struggling with the same issues that most of
us have struggled with at some point in our
Christian lives. They want to know about
truth. Why do they base their whole life on
the testimony of the Bible? They are
thinking about how they are made right with
God. Is it based on what they do, or on what
their Savior, Jesus Christ, has done? They
know that one day they will be with Jesus in
Heaven, and they think about what it will be
like. They might even long for it like we do!
Starfish Class - 4 & 5 year olds
Panthers Class - 9 - 11 year olds
Elephants Class - 3 & 4 year olds
Dolphins Class - 6 & 7 year olds
Dinosaurs Class - 2 & 3 year olds
Seahorses Class - 5 & 6 year olds
Puppies Class - 2 & 3 year olds
C
hildren always surprise me with
what comes out of their mouths!
The following quotes are from
children at our church:
“How do we know that the Bible is
true?”
“Will we be forgiven if we don’t know
what we did was sin?”
“What will our new bodies look like in
Heaven?”
“O Lord, please help me not get angry.”
“Did it hurt when they put the nails into
Jesus’ hands?”
“I have a special code for my light saber
that only me and my sister know.” When
asked if God knew the code, he responded
after thinking a moment, “God sees
everything. He just looks over my shoulder
and sees it.”
2
c o n t i n u e d o n pag e 3
By Carrie Pillsbury
They pray to the Lord to help them. They
have tried to change, but they know that
only God can really help them change and
not get angry. What a beautiful moment
when a child starts to understand the great
love God has for us by sending his own Son
to take the punishment we deserve. Children
are pondering the character of our God. Does
God really know all things? How powerful is
God? Hopefully, knowing God’s character
will lead them to worship him.
The Bible tells God’s people that “One
generation shall commend your works to
another, and shall declare your mighty acts.”
(Psalm 145: 4) The Lord commands all of
God’s people, whether you have children or
not, to be involved in passing on the story
of our redemption in Jesus Christ to the
next generation. We even make a promise
in our church that we will help parents to
raise their children in the Lord at their
baptism. Throughout all of Scripture we see
God’s people, his family, worshipping God
together as an extended family. Many
children ask me why they have to stand up
in front of the whole church when they
take their first communion. I simply say
that the church is their extended family,
and they want to celebrate this time when
they can say that they believe that Jesus
lived, died, and rose again for them!
I recently attended a Children’s Ministry
Conference where Paul Tripp was the main
speaker. He told us that what children
needed most in our various ministries was to
have “seasoned warriors” in the Christian
faith teaching, exhorting, training, and
showing them the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
Please pray that the Lord will continue to
grow his Church by bringing our smallest
members to the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
We always have room for new volunteers,
“seasoned warriors,” to serve in the Ministry
to Families with Children! I am convinced
that Lord will richly bless you as you serve
and teach our children and lead them to
worship our risen Savior!
Kristen Harris is the Children’s Education Coordinator
at Christ the King.
Vacation Bible
School 2006
W
e need every age and stage
of members and their guests
to join Christ the King’s
2006 Vacation Bible School “Fiesta!”
This year, we will focus on five stories
from the New Testament to learn that
Jesus is our Leader, Helper, Savior,
Friend and Life.
A new aspect of VBS this year is our
“Friday Night Fiesta,” a Friday evening
Mexican dinner celebrating the
culmination of a fantastic week. After
the dinner and short performance by
our kids, we’ll head outside to an oldfashioned summer carnival with booths
created and manned by YOU! This
evening is not only a time to celebrate
God’s faithfulness throughout the week,
but also to come together as a church
and welcome those who are not
members into our family. Everyone is
encouraged to come, even if this is your
only participation in VBS all week!
We need volunteers to teach, as well
as help in set construction and
decorations. The Friday Night Fiesta
team needs volunteers, as well, to plan
and host booths (pastor dunking booth
VBS Work Days!
Save the dates to help build
and paint the set for VBS!
Saturday, June 10,
9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Saturday, July 8,
9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
At the home of Dan & Kathy Puperi
13730 CR 184
Alvin, TX 77511
anyone?). Please consider ways you can
show Jesus to our children and our
visitors through the exceptional
ministry of Vacation Bible School.
For more information, please contact
Carrie Pillsbury at [email protected].
Carrie Pillsbury is a member of Christ the King
Presbyterian Church.
Who Do You Say I Am?
c o n t i n u e d f r o m pag e 1
God’s Divine Word standing as an authority
to challenge and shape us, well, we’d have a
self-righteous social club that would never
cease to apotheosize their own will. But
God so kindly gives us what we need. I
thank God for others in my congregation
and for other saints in other congregations
who bring their faithful eyes to my life and
God’s Word and help me to see and be
something beyond my fractured
imagination’s grasping. Amazingly, by the
power of God’s Spirit, I get to serve that
same role in their lives too. Most
importantly, through this work of God, we
come to know, share, and bear witness to
the living God-Man Jesus. And that friends
is not “jive talking.”
Pat Roach is the Campus Minister with Reformed
University Fellowship at Rice University.
3
Welcome Our Newest Members
Nate Ahern
Max Buja
Rebekah &
Grant Elam
Meredith Ellis
David Hilmers
Charlotte Hsieh
Monica & Nick Massad
Spencer Moore
Phillip & Mandi Bush
Ale & Bo Evans
Chris Hunniford
Tom Myers
Julee & Rob Casey
Elizabeth Gilbert
Cliff, Alison,
Madeline, Ezekiel, &
Isaiah Champney
Megan & Jonathan Graf
Shanna Johnson
James Reavis
Mary Collins
Elizabeth Kyne
Robert Schudy
Naomi, Chris, Annamarie,
& Mary Sophia Dewhurst
Travis & Alyssa Graham
Cindy Lang
Mia, Cindy, & Jason Schulze
Rob Hays
Caroline &
Sharon Lubel
George & Cecille Shannon
Not pictured:
Valerie Rogotzke
Joan Somma
4
Taylor Urbanowicz &
Donna Freeman
Emily & Nathan Vaughn
Vicki Vroble
Ryan Whitley
Joe Bill & Emily
Whittenburg
By Linc Ashby
Farewell, Tiffany! Hello, Amy!
W
e have just said good-bye to
Tiffany Forth. This saddens me
a great deal. She was a faithful
servant to me and the entire Student
Ministry for two years. Even more, she was a
close friend to us all. She will be sorely
missed. Her husband, Michael, is now
enrolled in the Master of theology program
at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.
And Tiffany will tell you that she’ll be
footing his bill for the next few years,
graciously and willingly of course!
So that’s the bad news. The good news is
we have already found a wonderful woman
to replace Tiffany. Her name is Amy
Kortman. She is originally from Kingwood
and is a recent graduate of Texas Christian
University. And she really loves Jesus.
While she was at TCU she served as a
leader in RUF
(Reformed
University
Fellowship).
Following graduation
she worked for the
American Cancer
Society. Now she has
joined our staff.
Amy Kortman
Please welcome Amy when you see her
around at church (you can’t miss her thick
long dark curls of hair) and also pray for her
transition, that the Lord would give her
peace and wisdom as she takes on the role
of Student Ministry Coordinator.
Grace Whittle, Hilary Hazel, & Amy Rasplicka
Amy Kortman (pictured) is the new Student Ministry
Coordinator at Christ the King taking the place of
Tiffany Forth.
Pictures from the Student Spring Retreat
Annie Whitehead & Mary Caroline Schuster
Fall Mission Trip
to Guerrero, Mexico
October 21-28
Stephany Cobb, Katy Craft, Lauren Neblett, Kelsey Mathis, & Leah Poffenberger
Student Ministry Summer Schedule
June 4-10
Middle school Inner City Mission Trip
June 17-25
High school Africa Mission Trip
July 9-13
Galveston Trip with Grace Presbyterian
July 17-21
Vacation Bible School
August 13
End of Summer Swim Party @ the Synnott’s house
We will be working with the
Mexican Presbyterian Church to
minister to orphans and street
children as well as assist in rural
church planting.
Medical & non-medical
people needed!
If interested in participating,
please contact John Browning at
[email protected]
or Alan Curry at
[email protected].
Scholarships available.
5
Congregational News
Josiah Nathan was born to Jason and
Lydia Sommerlad on January 30, 2006
James Wyatt was born to Christie and Jeff
Brennan on March 2, 2006
James Davis was born to David and Erin
Tooley on February 8, 2006
Our sympathy is extended to Susan Renz
in the loss of her father on March 4, 2006
Ann Claire Ferguson Cook and Sara
Anne Ho celebrated their first
communion on February 12, 2006
Annie Margaret was born to Julie and Jack
Perry on March 5, 2006
Leah Anna and Andrew Luke were born
to Acee Collins on February 15, 2006
Yvette Keener and Brian Smith were
married on February 25, 2006
Anna-Sung Juliet Park, O’Neal Uyan
Moore, Odell Nyelflan Moore, John
Orlando Moore, and Issie Chie Blamo
were baptized on February 26, 2006
Our sympathy is extended to Sue and
Mark Austin in the loss of Mark’s mother
on February 26, 2006
Braden Michael was born to Blake and
Erica McKinney on March 7, 2006
Pablo James Jonsson, Kathryn Elizabeth
Mueller, and Mary Eliza Boone were
baptized on March 12, 2006
Adrienne Keppel and Will Stokes were
married on March 25, 2006
Christopher David Hunniford was baptized
on March 26, 2006
William Henry was born to Karre and
Lance Orton on March 30, 2006
Our sympathy is extended to Mary Collins
in the loss of her husband, David Fouwad,
on April 8, 2006
Rebecca Susanne was born to Steve and
Elizabeth Rizzotti on April 18, 2006
Jackson John was born to Jason and Ashley
Rubli on April 20, 2006
Anna Clare Beard, Abigail Rae
Cunningham, and Natalie Marie Herreid
celebrated their first communion on April
23, 2006
Elisabeth Wright and Sergio DeLeon were
married April 23, 2006
Abigail Rita was born to Dastan and
Zhazira Aitzhanov on April 23, 2006
Alejandra Urrutia and Bo Evans were
married on April 29, 2006
Our sympathy is extended to Tom West in
the loss of his father on April 3, 2006
extended in Houston and beyond.
He is honored and His reign is powerfully
to worship, know and serve the King so that
Christ the King Presbyterian Church exists
Mission Statement
Please join us on Sunday mornings at:
Houston Community College
Southwest Campus
5601 West Loop South
(Just south of the Galleria)
Worship at 9:00 and 10:30 a.m.
Children’s programs all morning
For more information please contact us at:
713.892.5464
www.christtheking.com
[email protected]
Christ the King is a congregation of the
Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).
Christ the King
Presbyterian Church
777 Post Oak Blvd., Ste. 340
Houston, TX 77056
Houston, Texas
Permit No. 10572
PAID
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage