Book Review: Heaven

Deborak Cook,
Business Office

I can remember when I was a nine year old enjoying those long summer days, having limitless time to think and daydream.  I would lie on the grass on my back with my hands cupped behind my head looking up to the sky and wonder what heaven was like.  As I grew older, I heard sermons on heaven and the thoughts of it only grew more intriguing.  Recently my small group at Atlantic Shores Baptist did a study on heaven and used the book entitled Heaven by Randy Alcorn.  I feel that in this book, Randy answered the most frequently asked questions regarding Heaven and what to anticipate using scripture as his measuring stick.

 

The first portion of the book informs us about the Present or intermediate Heaven.  This is the place to which  Christians go when they die.  It is a temporary location where we dwell until our bodily resurrection occurs.  He explains how the Present Heaven will differ from the ultimate, the eternal Heaven-the place where God will dwell with His children on the New Earth.  He explains who will go there and what it will be like.

Section two of the book deals with the New Heaven and the New Earth.  This was the most exciting part to me because this is where we will rule and reign with Christ forever.  These chapters seek to answer questions like, what will our lives and relationships be like?  What about animals and what will we do in Heaven?  What will we remember and will we recognize our loved ones?  The more I read, the more excited I became knowing the glory that awaits us.

One quote I recall that resonated within me was by G.K. Chesterton, “The modern philosopher had told me again and again that I was in the right place, and I had still felt depressed even I acquiescence….When I heard that I was in the wrong place….my soul sang for joy, like a bird in spring.  I knew now….why I could feel homesick at home.”  Realizing that one day this earth will be a New Earth, a beautiful, peace filled place where the curse of sin has been lifted; our Heaven, our home, brings joy to my soul! 

While reading this book, it brought back an even fuller love and desire to do my best for Christ while here on earth, but still agreeing with Paul as he wrote in Philippians, “ to be with Christ, which is better by far.”

Do It Anyway

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17

I love how God uses people or maybe there are angels on Earth to keep us focused. Several years ago, I sat in an 8am service by myself, feeling very “by myself”. I don’t remember the message, but I do remember that it made me tear up.

I returned to my desk to find a piece of paper, purposely anonymous… here is what it said:

While we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10)

.
DO IT ANYWAY
People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest people with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for the underdog anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People really need help, but may attack you if you help them.
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you’ve got and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

And attached was a little prayer that I have prayed many times over the year: “Lord, I purpose today not to listen to my detractors or look to the left or the right, but to stay on the clear, sure path you have set before me.”

I thank God for how He used the purposely anonymous in my life on a day\season of ministry when I needed encouragement to persevere.  This has hung in my office for 5 or 6 years. I would love to know who gave this to me…hint, hint!

{Lord, I purpose today not to listen to my detractors or look to the left or the right, but to stay on the clear, sure path you have set before me. Please help me give You everything today. Amen.}

Book Review: Parenting Beyond Your Capacity

BOOK REVIEW:
Parenting Beyond Your Capacity: Connect Your Family to a Wider Community
by Reggie Joiner and Carey Nieuwhof

As both a parent and the Children’s Ministry Director, I loved this book! As a parent I am always looking for great parenting tools and information. This book gave me a fresh and new perspective. As I read, I realized that I had totally underestimated the power of community. I felt so blessed that God had provided me support from ASBC, I just had not recognized it or used it to its fullest potential. The church is the most significant place for community.

As the Children’s Ministry Director, I am always looking for ways that our ministry can live out the Deuteronomy 6 principle. As your church, we want to partner with you and give your children another voice in their lives, as we provide you with tools to teach them more about the topics we discuss on Sundays. Parenting Beyond your Capacity was given to every Children’s Ministry volunteer because of the excellent message it provides about how our leaders can be used by God in the life of a child and family.

ASBC is blessed with volunteers that want to partner with you as you parent your children. I personally have experienced the power of having another voice—the voice of a small group leader—in my children’s lives. A voice that is saying the same thing I am saying, but because it isn’t me, my teenagers hear it in a different way and respond. The church community definitely expands my capacity for parenting!

As a parent, I am thankful to ASBC for being the church that “has my parenting back!”As a ministry director, I want to encourage you to ask your child’s small group leader for a copy of this book. I promise you that it is a great resource as you parent beyond your capacity.

View the Book’s trailer below:

Coming Soon

We plan to begin sending out weekly emails with notes, reminders and thoughts from the pastors. If you would be interested in subscribing to these emails, send your name and information to contactus@asbc.net.

We are currently in the registration process for our summer trips to Guatemala! We have two trips scheduled in August, a trip through our Elevate High School ministry and a family trip. For more information, you can visit our Guatemala page by clicking here, or attend the family trip meeting this Sunday at 12:30pm in the Fellowship Hall.

Small Group Lending Library

The Apostle Paul was imprisoned and awaiting execution (2 Tim.4:6). He wrote his last letter during this brief imprisonment to Timothy, his beloved son in the faith and apprentice in the ministry. Paul made this request of Timothy, “When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments” (2 Timothy 4:13 ESV).

If you were near death, what would you ask someone to bring to you?

Paul wanted books so he could study about his God that he would meet face to face very soon. What Paul especially wanted were the parchments. And the text says, “above all the parchments.” Vines Expository Dictionary says that a parchment [Gr. membrane] denotes a skin. The writing material was prepared from the skin of a sheep or goat. The skins were first soaked in lime for the purpose of removing the hair, and then shaved, washed, dried, stretched and ground or smoothed with fine chalk or lime and pumice stone. The finest kind is called “vellum” and is made from the skins of calves or kids.” Pg.458

Paul’s request was most likely for portions of the Old Testament that were written on animal skin or vellum that he cherished.

In this same letter Paul wrote in chapter 2 – “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” (2 Timothy 2:15 ESV). Paul’s request for the books and the parchments were characteristic of his lifelong pursuit of getting know his God better!

We are currently developing a wonderful collection of study tools and curriculum for our small group leaders. If you have any training as a librarian or would be interested in learning & serving in this area please contact Pastor Rick at rickl@asbc.net  or 757-479-1133 ext.152.

God Time

The Children’s Ministry is intentional about teaching the indergarten through fifth grade kids that time with God should be a part of their routine.

If you are a parent of a child in this age group, make sure you are reminding your kids to spend their time with God. They each go home on Sundays with a great devotional tool – their “God Time” cards. This weekly devotional provides 4 days of God time. Assist your kids with developing this very important habit. It’s one of the best life-long habits you can create in your child. Hopefully, it will be a set part of their daily routine for life, and won’t be something they’ll have to add to their resolution list each New Year.

Greeting One Another

I am so proud of the grace of God in those that attend Atlantic Shores Baptist Church! Last week we received back a First Impressions Card that we send out to first time visitors. They wrote back and said they were greeted as if they had been coming to the church for years! It made a huge impression on them. Way to go church! Did you notice today in our culture people rarely make eye contact. You are actually shocked if someone takes the initiative and says “Hi” to you.  Greeting one another warmly and affectionately is a Christian virtue. The brotherly love that is expressed in a church doesn’t go unnoticed. It makes a huge impression on newcomers.
These greetings were not one sided but reciprocal. The specific command to “Greet One Another” occurs 4 times in the New Testament (Rom.16:16; 1 Cor.16:20; 2 Cor.13:12; 1 Peter 5:14) and is alluded to many other times.

Jesus taught that just loving and greeting those who love and greet you only qualifies you to be an unbeliever. There is nothing exceptional about this kind of behavior. Jesus said, “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same” (Matthew 5:46,47)?

Christians ought to be easily identified by their quickness to greet those who haven’t greeted them. Let’s be a welcoming person outside the four walls of the church. A winsome & warm personality is a magnet in a culture where people’s love is growing cold.

“Greet one another”
2 Corinthians 13:12

To read more on this “One Another Command” go to: http://atlanticshores.org/greet.

Twitter, a brief explanation

Let’s face it. Twitter can seem confusing, daunting even. But once you understand the basics, it’s a fun and informative way of gathering and sharing information.

If you’re familiar with Facebook, think of Twitter as a status update that is limited to 140 characters. If you’re new to both, think of it as a headline.

So here’s how it works:

You can sign up for free at www.twitter.com.  When you sign up, you can choose your twitter username, which is how people can find you or reply to your tweets.  One of the first things you will want to do is to start following accounts. Twitter has some great search resources to help you find feeds that will be interesting to you.  Here’s an easy way to start:  follow @ShoresChurch!

So what does it mean to follow? When you follow an account, every time something is posted, it will show up on your Twitter homepage. You can favorite tweets, reply to tweets or re-tweet them. When you re-tweet, you send the tweet out on your account, with a note that it was originated elsewhere.

You are able to make your account a private account (click here for directions), so only people you personally approve can see anything you post.

Common Questions

@ – The @ symbol precedes account names and allows you to link to other accounts. If you include @ShoresChurch in your tweet, it becomes a link to the ASBC twitter account.

# – Hashtags allow you to more easily categorize or add a keyword to your tweets. These are great to create a buzz for an event or campaign; for example, if a lot of people tweeted #aShoresChristmas, those tweets would be more likely to show up in searches and on local twitter accounts.

You can visit Twitter’s FAQ by clicking here.

You can get started by following ASBC’s main twitter account, or Pastor Kyle, Pastor Ira, or Pastor Roger. Many of our ministries have their own accounts. To see which ministries you can follow, click here.

Celebrating the New Year in Guatemala

This gallery contains 9 photos.

Today’s challenge: describe all that we did in Guatemala from December 31- January 6 without writing a book. Challenge Accepted! It was one of the most amazing trips EVER!  19 people from Atlantic Shores and 2 people from World Help … Continue reading →

Kid’s Thang Family Production

Excitement and anticipation filled the Theater!  The Team was prepared and ready to go.  The family Take Homes were packaged.  We had invited God into our day and asked Him to give us each a moment to minister to the heart and life of one child, one parent, or one family.  Then the doors opened.

If you missed our Kid’s Thang Family Production on January 8, you missed an awesome morning with God in the theater. After worshipping God through song and dance with the praise team (a little exercise was a necessary when we sang “Get Down”), the Hosts put everyone at ease and brought the first ripples of laughter from parents and kids alike!

We learned about the virtue of Self-Control and what God has to say about “doing what you know to do and not what you want to do.”  In the Clubhouse, nature-loving Sam beat Vinny, our resident athlete and gamer extraordinaire, at his new skateboarding video game.  He became so angry and frustrated he called Sam names and tried to put her down, and she yelled right back at him before she took his game controller and ran away.

Mrs. Ann, the Storyteller, with help from the audience, gave Sam and Vinny ways they could have handled their situation differently.  Sam and Vinny learned through Proverbs 12:18 that “Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”  God knows how powerful our tongues are and how hard it can be to control them!  He wants to give us His power to be able to practice Self-Control.  All we need to do is ask God for His help.  The Bottom Line was “God can give you the power to control yourself.”

One of our new songs this month was ”Think It Through,” which reminded the kids to slow down and think through what they are about to say and do, and then make a wise choice and practice self-control!  It was so fun to watch the audience respond to the words of the song and see parents joining in and doing the motions to the songs too!  At the end of the day everyone was smiling and talking about the things that made them laugh, and what they learned about Self-Control.

Next month we will do it all again!  Come to church with your children for Kids Thang Family Sunday.  The next date is Sunday, February 5, at 9:30 and 11:00am in the Kid’s Thang theater.  Don’t miss out on sharing this day with your children.  You will laugh together, sing and dance, learn what God says about our new virtue, and leave church talking about what you experienced together!