Tables of Christmas 2

I still remember my very first year for LifePoint’s Tables of Christmas.  I was nervous and unsure if I had the ability to create something beautiful enough to be included in such a special event.  I dug through my house, clicked my way through Pinterest and even stalked Hobby Lobby a few times until I found the perfect pieces for my table.

I walked into grandness of our Sanctuary that first year full of excitement and amazed at the talent that we have in our congregation.  There were many tables already decorated with elaborate displays, some with every day household décor and others with very specific themes.  There was even a table decorated with candy.  At that moment I realized that it didn’t matter if my table was good enough, because we all had our own talents. Each table was as equally beautiful as the next.

This December I will have the honor of decorating a table for the fifth time.  I’m still as excited, as I was that very first time.  I’m excited to have the opportunity to share my creativity with my family and friends; believers and non-believers.  I’m excited to have the privilege of listening to a fellow believer share the gospel with a room full of women.  My hope is that this year I can challenge you to bring Honor and Glory to the Lord by decorating a table, in doing so, share the love of Christ with those special people in your life.

Amanda Sheets

Tables of Christmas 1

Here it is October, and we are beginning to talk about Christmas.  I would like to share my experience of attending my first Tables of Christmas event as someone who was relatively new to LifePoint Church.  Quite honestly, I didn't know what to expect. 

I was invited by a long-time member of the church who told me there would be decorated tables, cheesecake, coffee, and a speaker who would be sharing the gospel.  It sounded like fun and I was excited to meet other women at church. And I love cheesecake! 

The evening of the event I arrived at church to see the Worship Center transformed.  There were over 30 large round tables uniquely decorated by women within the church, ranging in themes from Christmas memories to family heirloom decorations to the beauty and majesty described in Revelation.  The event began with time to walk around and look at the tables, visit with friends, and meet new people.   Then the cheesecake came out.  They are not messing around!  The big slices of cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory) came in a variety of flavors and were all delicious. 

While sitting at my table, I was blessed by a time of singing and fellowship. Then the speaker shared the touching story of her engagement and marriage to her husband. Learn more about their story here. (http://ianandlarissa.com/).  The entire event was such a blessing to me.

If you are new to LifePoint, I would encourage you to buy a ticket to Tables of Christmas. Better yet, invite a friend or two for this special Christmas tradition. You don't have to be invited in order to attend. This year's speaker will be Laura Story, singer, song writer and author. http://laurastorymusic.com/

For those of you who are more familiar with Tables of Christmas, be sure to invite someone who is new to our church and may not be comfortable 'going on her own'.  Please don't assume that everyone will know what the event is about.

We are so blessed to have a healthy and growing church, and that means there are many new faces.  It would be a shame for women to read on a blogpost in January what fun Tables of Christmas was, and they had missed it.

Blessings to you, and Merry Christmas!

Ladies' Morning Break Bible Study

Greetings LifePoint Ladies!

My name is Mary Ann DeMotte and I would like to introduce many of you to a Bible study being held at LifePoint on Thursday mornings from 9:30am to 11:00am.

We are called Ladies' Morning Break Bible Study. Some of us have been meeting together to study God's Word for over 20 years. We have been completely through the Scriptures once and now are tackling them in chronological order. So early we began with Genesis, picked up Job right before Genesis 12 when God's call to Abraham and now continue. We are now in the books of 2 Samuel and concurrent with these passages are ones from 1Chronicles and the Psalms.

It's been an exciting ride through the Scriptures this way. We have looked at the Psalms David wrote while hiding from those who would take his life. It helps make them much more meaningful when studied in context.

We are a group of ladies of all ages. We have young moms, we have great-grandmothers and those in between. We do offer childcare for our little ones. Sometimes this means a grandchild that you may be caring for or your own sweet little ones.

We are interdenominational. There are several of us from LifePoint and with us are Methodists, Presbyterians, Independent Christian church, and Catholics.

We work off a study guide which is a lesson sheet of questions prepared before and distributed either via email or through distribution of hard copies at class. All you need is your Bible, something to write with and a desire to know God's Word.

We send around a prayer request/blessing sheet for any who have needs and copy it so that each of us takes home one to pray over during the next week. We also collect money to pay our faithful babysitter, Maddie. Usually, the ladies put a dollar or two in the "babysitting baggy".

After class, some of us gather for lunch at a local fast food place or other restaurant.

There is never a bad time to join us. We certainly welcome new members at any stage of Christian growth. Some of us are lifetime Christians, some only a few weeks. God calls each of us to know Him better through His Word. 2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Each of you are invited to come check us out at any time. We meet through the summer months. We do take occasional Thursdays off, so please check with me. You can contact me with questions of any kind at maryanndemotte@gmail.com or via my cell 317-626-4740. I would love to speak with you!

Rejoice in Suffering!

…And we rejoice in the hope of the Glory of God.  Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.                 

Romans 5:2b-3

When I think of suffering, I think of Jesus on the cross and His physical suffering; When He was in the Garden His mental suffering.

The dictionary defines suffering as pain in a broad sense, misery or agony, the state of being in physical or mental stress or strain. 

We all have suffered at some time in either in a physical, emotional, or spiritual way.  Suffering is not meaningless.  It serves a purpose.  If it is physical pain our body is giving us a signal that we may need medical attention.

When we are in emotional or spiritual sufferings we can go to the Word of God and find comfort.  Our church or a Christian friend may be able to help us. Sometimes the suffering does not just go away.  We must be patient and let God work in us.  As the verse in Romans states the process we go through causes us to be stronger and gives us a character that will help us be more capable to handle the situation.  Our approach to each situation changes in how we react when we have the knowledge that God is with us.  As I have gone through losses this past few months I find myself depending more on God.  My Christian friends and my family have also been supportive, but I find that the more I depend on God the more I feel secure in His Love.  As in Romans, I am more patient with my emotions.  I am more able to recognize that “this shall pass”.  Sometimes the suffering causes us to change, a little or drastically.  I often have had situations that have drawn me closer to God.  This is what God wants.  He wants us to depend on Him; depend on His Word and Promises.  I don’t think the suffering gets easier.  We learn to live with our loss and keep God close to us so we lean on Him.  

As we approach Easter I think of the horrible suffering Christ went through-For us!  No matter how bad my own situation might be, Christ went through so much more so I can be covered in His love and grace.

I have Joy in my heart because I have the love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Dear Father, help us to remember your grace, love and forgiveness.  Help us to depend on Your comfort in times of suffering.

In Your Precious Son’s name.  Amen

Donna Harrison
LifePoint Member


UPCOMING EVENTS

Welcome!

Welcome to the new “LifePoint Women” blog!  One of the goals of LifePoint Women is to provide an opportunity for women of LifePoint to use their talents, gifts, and abilities to worship, grow, connect, serve, and share with one another.  Yes, you may have recognized the five priorities of our church as a whole.

I am excited and honored to be co-leading this new ministry of LifePoint Church.  Our goal is to encourage women in their faith and empower them to serve others in the best way possible.  I think of Ephesians 4:12-13a: “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,  until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God...”

I’ve been serving in women’s ministry for about the last 30 years or so (most of my Christian life), been involved in 5 church planting teams, have served in churches as small as 15 and as large as 5,000, lived in the Southwest, Midwest, and the former Soviet Union!  Yet, among all of that diversity, one thing has been constant in every church and in every women’s ministry – women have a need for relationship.  They have a need to serve, and, yet, can so easily not get along with one another.  We tend to let our emotions and feelings cause us to feel inferior to one another, or allow our insecurity force us to compare ourselves with one another, as well as other issues, that cause there to be disunity among the body. 

This is certainly not a new issue.  We read from Paul’s letter in Philippians 4:2, “I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.”  Women have not really changed much over the centuries.  Regardless of age, culture, race, etc., we are all created in the image of God with a role He assigned to us back in the Garden of Eden.  If, at times, I find myself getting irritated at a sister in Christ, I try to remind myself that she is not the enemy.  Satan wants us to be divided; God wants us to be unified.  I try to remember that she is my sister, and just like a real blood sister, we are going to have disagreements, but, at the end, we are the same family and love each other deeply.  I would die for my sister, so I need to be willing to lay down MY desire, MY preferences, MY opinions, and show grace, mercy, and love, to my sister in Christ – just as God showers me with His grace, mercy, and love.

My prayer as we start 2016, is the LifePoint Women will be an encouragement to all women of LifePoint and that all women know that they have a place to come and encourage and be encouraged, to serve and be served, and to love and be loved.

Becky Gluff

LifePoint Women Co-coordinator