This coming Sunday, the Rector’s Council will meet at 5 pm in the Nave. As we meet for prayer and to discuss the business of the church, we bid the people of St. Andrew’s to pray for us that we would be led and guided by the Holy Spirit in all things.
Today’s society does not in any way encourage chastity and purity. In fact our culture encourages promiscuity and is silent about its destruction. Our youth have not been told the truth of the consequences of disregarding God’s plan of purity. Plainly, their choices have life altering consequences and they need to know what they are. We must give our young people a compelling reason to commit to sexual abstinence and chastity.
In four sessions we will discuss the physical, emotional, spiritual and character consequences of sexual activity outside of marriage and God’s plan for teens in regard to sex.
Session 1 - The Physical Consequences
Pregnancy isn’t the only consideration. What dangers are youth in from the runaway epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases?
Session 2 - The Emotional Consequences
Sex is more than just an animal act. Your personhood and future are affected by the choices you make, choices that are sometimes tragically made in the heat of the emotion and that can never be taken back.
Session 3 - The Spiritual Consequences
Where does God fit in all this? Are there standards that you can look to that provide sure guidance? Is there any hope for those who have already made unfortunate choices? What can be salvaged?
Session 4 - The Character Consequences
Your character is being formed day by day. How are you giving thought and direction to the person that you want to become? On what basis are you making your key choices? How do you get a hold of your life?
This program is for parents and their middle and high school children. Please invite your teen’s friends and their parents - especially boyfriends and girlfriends.
This concerns nothing less than their whole life and future. We can make a difference in their lives by giving them the information they need to make the right decisions and the best decisions.
We never want our children to say -
“If someone would have explained the consequences I would have made a different choice, but…NOBODY TOLD ME.”
The following article by Bishop David Epps is a follow-up article to one posted on CECHome.com entitled Show Up.
A few weeks ago, a gentleman attending our church’s Men’s Prayer Breakfast asked me, “What can we, as the men of the church, do to make your life easier?” The first answer I gave was very serious and from the heart. I said. “Show up.” Show up at church, show up at Bible study, show up whenever something is going on to worship, study, and gather with other believers. The second answer I gave was equally heartfelt: “Seek God.”
Over the thirty-five plus years I have been in ministry, I have discovered that most of the problems that people have will find their solution in seeking God and being committed and obedient in a relationship with God.
Jesus taught his followers, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33 NASB). All what things? Everything. All things. Whatever it is that is needed.I have known many people who seek God in hard times and find Him in marvelous ways. Unfortunately, when better times come, these same people often slip back into the same old pattern of ignoring or neglecting their relationship with God. Predictably, “all things” are no longer added and they find themselves, once again, in the middle of hard times.
In 1992, I faced some very difficult days. I complained, I griped, I whined, I moped, I became angry…what I did not do, even though I was the pastor of a church, was to “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.” As a result, my personal ordeal lasted some nine months and I became deeply depressed—so depressed, in fact, that I seriously considered leaving the ministry altogether. When one focuses on the problems, the problems are all one can see. Jesus taught that we were to turn the focus instead upon God with whom “all things are possible.”
In 2007, I encountered problems far more difficult than in those days fifteen years previously. This time, however, I did much better. That’s not to say that I didn’t complain, gripe, whine, mope, or feel angry. It’s just that, for the most part, I didn’t live there. Learning from the past, I determined to focus upon God, even though the problems were terribly real and pressing. Life went much, much better.
Recently, something happened unexpectedly that sent me into an emotional and spiritual tailspin. For several days, it was 1992 all over again. One morning last week, however, while ministering in Illinois, I arose at 4:30 a.m., knelt down by the bedside and simply sought Him. It was to Him that I complained, griped, whined, and even moped. I honestly expressed my anger to Him about the situation. I reminded Him that He was the one who called me to do this work and that, without His assistance and intervention, I was useless to Him and to everyone else as well. What came, as a result, was peace, confidence, and hope. If God is the Number One priority in our lives, then all the other urgent priorities will eventually fall into place. If we seek God with all that we have, life will change. Our family will change, our relationships will change. Even the church and the pastor will change.
Nearly everything positive in the Christ-like life begins with “showing up,” but that must also be accompanied by “seeking God.” Show up. Seek God. Everything else will be added. God guarantees it.
Father David Epps is the founding pastor of Christ the King Church, 4881 Hwy 34 E., Sharpsburg, GA 30277 between Peachtree City and Newnan, and serves as a bishop to Georgia and Tennessee.
Services are held Sundays at 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. Fr Epps is also the Vicar of Christ the King Church in Champaign, IL. He may be contacted at frepps@ctkcec.org. The church has a website at www.ctkcec.org.
This coming Sunday, Palm Sunday (March 16th), we will be going door-to-door to deliver special invitations to our neighbors inviting them to join us for our Easter Sunday Celebration on March 23rd. Instead of meeting for our regularly scheduled faith formation classes on Sunday, we will instead use this time to canvas our local community to hang specially prepared door-hanger invitations (some 300).
We will meet at St. Andrew’s at 9:00 AM and begin our outreach shortly thereafter. With everyone’s help we will be able to deliver our invitations and be back to the church in time for the Palm Procession. Please be in prayer for this special outreach endeavor. See you Sunday.
St. Andrew’s Rector’s Council meets this Thursday, February 7th, at 7:00 PM. As Rector’s Council gathers to pray and to seek the face of God, we ask that all our St. Andrew’s family pray for and with the Rector’s Council that God we lead us in our time together and continue to direct our steps as a parish.
In a report yesterday on the escalating violence in Kenya, Reuters reports that even if UN General Secretary Kofi Anan is able to negotiate some peace agreement between the two factions at the heart of Kenya’s turmoil, ethnic or tribal tension has now taken on a life of its own. Kenya has long since been considered the most stable of the African nations. The extent to which Kenya turmoil might lead to the further destablization of surrounding African nations is yet unknown.
Continue to pray for the nation of Kenya, for our CEC leadership and parishes in Kenya, as well as the ministries of Mt. Zion Farm, The Center for Biblical Studies, and Mt. Moriah Children’s Home in Nyaharuru. We will keep you posted as we get further information on the well-being of our churches and these ministries or as we get further prayer requests.
Below is a very powerful call to evangelism and mission by Christian rap artist Lecrae. May the Lord give our generation the heart and the will to say to God, “Send me, I’ll go.”
January 18th-20th, CEC youth from churches in Georgia and North Carolina participated in YouthQuake ’08 at Ridgecrest, North Carolina.An annual youth conference sponsored by Acts 29 Ministries, YouthQuake is a high-energy charismatic-evangelical event designed to call youth to Christ and inspire Christian youth to a deeper more dedicated walk with God.
This year the theme was Truth.Various young adult missionaries serving in the inner cities from such ministries as the International House of Prayer shared testimonies and encouraged the youth to pursue Christ who is Truth.While the main speaker, Gregg Johnson of J12 Ministries, challenged teens to a deeper understanding of Christ as “way, truth, and life.”The result of the messages were evident as hundreds of youth responded to the opportunities given for ministry and prayer.There were many present who gave their lives to Christ for the very first time.
In addition to the outstanding speakers and times of one-on-one prayer ministry, the youth were treated to some powerful worship music by the band Unhindered, comedic entertainment and drama by Mad Dog and Englishman, and lots of fun, fellowship, and laughter throughout.The youth came back inspired and challenged in their walk with Christ and ready to return next year.
Churches participating in this year’s YouthQuake were the Cathedral of St. Michael’s (Thomaston, GA) and St. Andrew’s Church (Covington, GA) led by Father Randall Allen, Christ the Redeemer (Canton, GA) led by Father Kurt Wheeler, and Church of the Incarnation (Black Mountain, NC) led by Father Gerard Freeman.
This past Sunday, January 27, the congregation of St. Andrew’s was blessed to hear from three of our young men (Tom Cuson, Garrett Holland, and T. J. Wayt) about God’s work in their lives while at YouthQuake. All three professed a renewed commitment to Christ and a deep appreciation for the experience of God’s presence in their lives. Their testimonies were both inspiring and challenging.
On Sunday, January 21st, Churches across the country celebrated “Sanctity of Life” Sunday. “Sanctity of Life” Sunday, for those who may not know, is observed by churches to pray for the pre-born who have been victims of legalized abortion and to call God’s people to continue to be a prophetic voice calling our nation to repentance and to renounce the practice of abortion. It is a very important observance for God’s people in the ongoing struggle to save the unborn and to promote the “sacredness” of human life.This year, while preparing to deliver my annual “sanctity of life” message at St. Andrew’s, God began to stir my heart to address another concern intimately related to the struggle for the preservation of life. In so doing, He led me to the following passage, Malachi 2:15a.
But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks a godly offering.
What is the message God had me address? Here it is in a nutshell: God desires godly seed not just seed!Since the Roe vs. Wade decision which legalized abortion-on-demand in our country, the Church has been waging an ongoing battle to preserve human life - the life of millions of innocent children. Just so you know, over 40 million babies have been aborted since 1973. The struggle is real. And it can be said, to varying degrees, the Church has fought long and hard to preserve the seed of human life.
But…God desires more of us. He desires a “godly seed.”
You see, we are not just to fight to save the seed of human life, we must be committed to help nurture the seed we save. The question before us is this: “We are ready and willing to enter the public arena to fight for a policy to save human life, but are we ready and willing to roll-up our sleeves and provide the care and nurture needed to raise up a godly seed?”
Last October 2006, my heart was first awakened to the need to raise a godly seed when I was priviledged to attend an adoption fair in Atlanta. As I listened to the statistics given of children in state care and the need to find good foster and adoptive parents, the Holy Spirit began to speak to me about the neglected seed that was in the state system. I remember thinking to myself, “I am more than willing to write my congressman, protest in the streets, and make donations to pro-life endeavors to save an unborn child, but am I willing to commit myself to raise a child in need to be a godly man or woman?”
And here in lay the challenge not only to me but to all God’s people who are engaged in the struggle for human life. God, I believe is attempting to say to us, “it is not enough to save the seed it must be nurtured to become godly seed.” To fail to do so, is to fail to complete the mission.
Consider the following:
1. James 1:27 tells us that “pure and undefiled religion” which pleases God is to take care of the widows and orphans in their distress.
2. Psalm 68:5 tells us that God is a “father to the fatherless.” The term fatherless in Scripture is the more common term for the orphan. A good word study is to look up all the references to the word “fatherless” in Scripture. You will find time and again that God is especially concerned for the needs of the fatherless and warns emphatically that God’s people should never mistreat them or neglect them.
3. Psalm 68:6 also tells us that God delights to take the “solitary” and place them in families. He is committed to finding the fatherless a home.
4. Genesis 1:7 tells us that all life is sacred for we are made alive by the very breath of God. Malachi 2:15 confirms this by stating that we have a portion of the Spirit given to us at conception. And just as the child in in the womb is holy and sacred, so is the child who finds himself abandoned, fatherless and motherless.
5. Note that John 1:12-13 and Romans 8:15 remind us that we who are in Christ were once all orphans and that through the redemptive work of Christ, God the Father has adopted us as His sons and daughters. In fact, consider this, the largest adoptive family in history is the Church. Who better to take on this issue of the abandoned and abused than the Church?6. Finally, consider what one child saved not only from abortion but from abandonment can accomplish. Just look at Moses, who was adopted by Pharoah’s daughter and saved from death. And our Savior, Jesus, who like Moses was preserved from Herod’s slaughter of the children in Bethlehem. It was Joseph, his adoptive father, who carried him to safety and helped Mary raise Him. Through Moses, God saved a nation. Through Christ Jesus, God the Father enables all mankind to be saved.
I do not know what God intends for all of us to do with this word. For some, I pray, you will be stirred to explore adoption. For others, I pray, you will consider being a foster parent. For others, I pray, you allow God to show you how to partner with area agencies and programs to support and impart into the lives of the children in your community who, out of neglect, abandonment, or abuse, find themselves in State custody needing someone to share with them the love of God.
According to statistics from State of Georgia website, just in the State of Georgia alone there are over 15,000 children in State custody. 85% are in State custody for severe neglect, 11% for physical abuse, and 5% for sexual abuse.
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The following article by Bishop David Epps is a follow-up article to one posted on 
This coming Sunday, Palm Sunday (March 16th), we will be going door-to-door to deliver special invitations to our neighbors inviting them to join us for our Easter Sunday Celebration on March 23rd. Instead of meeting for our regularly scheduled faith formation classes on Sunday, we will instead use this time to canvas our local community to hang specially prepared door-hanger invitations (some 300).
In a report yesterday on the escalating violence in Kenya, Reuters reports that even if UN General Secretary Kofi Anan is able to negotiate some peace agreement between the two factions at the heart of Kenya’s turmoil, ethnic or tribal tension has now taken on a life of its own. Kenya has long since been considered the most stable of the African nations. The extent to which Kenya turmoil might lead to the further destablization of surrounding African nations is yet unknown.
