Who Do You Say That I Am?

Jesus asked his disciples this question, “Who do the people say I am?”  This is a valuable question for us to think about after the creation of the Church.  Peter did have the right answer, but the right answer was not as important as the origin of where it was revealed.  Jesus proclaimed Peter as, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.” (Matt 16:17)

As His Church, we are called to derive our identity and strength from the origin of God and not man.  We have a direct categorical imperative from God to define His Church according to the work and identity of Christ.  This means we have one reference as we expose the identity of Christ to the world.  We are a people of imagination, curiosity, and experimentation as we fill the depravations of time, money, and personal agenda.  We can have opinions, ideas, and hopefully not stubbornness in dealing with situations inside and outside of the church.  We are created this way for the purpose of building up the church and not tearing it down.  We have the responsibility of holding the keys of the kingdom of Heaven and to be strong against the gates of Hades.  The fence is around Hades and not the Church. (Matthew 16:18)

I want to encourage us to exhibit our identity as His Church in the form of attitudes, actions, and attributes according to the Christ and not the world in all circumstances.  In the name of Christ, do not embitter the cross as His Church with worldly attitudes.  Let us take the responsibility of how others see the Church by harnessing the power of Christ crucified and showing His identity by the way we conduct ourselves.  Praying for our enemies, turning the other cheek, conscious of what we think and say, while giving, forgiving, and loving.  Jesus asked another question, “Who do you say that I am?”

Mike Bailey

WE NEED YOU! There is a need for more teachers and helpers for several areas.  You would not be expected to stay for a extended period of time and curriculum would be provided.  Please see Mike if you would like to be involved in this exciting ministry experience.

We are collecting paper towels for Christian Homes of Abilene.  Please drop your donation off in the foyer.

The camp in Cisco’s current need is detergent and bleach.

The children of Woodlawn are invited to go to the Gymnastics Sports Center this Saturday from 10:30-12:00.

A dinner to benefit Christian Homes and its ministry of finding loving Christian adoptive parents for the babies of young women with unplanned pregnancies will be October 20th at the Civic Center at 6:30 p.m. Tina Wesson, winner of CBS Survivor is an adopted child and the special guest. Tickets are $30 each. For reservations call 325.677-2373.

We are still collecting canned vegetables for the Thanksgiving Food Drive.

Donna Sikes' new address is 3634 Georgetown, Abilene, TX 79602

Hope things are going well for everyone at Woodlawn.  I wanted to drop everyone a quick note to ask for special prayers as we here at Cascade Hills are preparing for our official “grand opening” in the south Salem community.  I’ve included a general invitation that we are giving to people that we know, inviting them to experience worship with us as we officially open our doors for business.  I wanted to let everyone at Woodlawn know that there is a new church of Christ in Salem, Oregon.

Dwayne Hilty
www.cascadehillscoc.org

STATISTICS FOR SEPTEMBER 25, 2005