Prayer Request

Hi all - Could you please join us in prayer on a very tragic situation? Yesterday we lost a friend... We both went to college in MN and volunteered with our youth group at our church during that time. Two of our youth group kids grew up and got married - Nick and Heidi. Early yesterday morning, someone broke into their home in St. Paul and both Nick and Heidi were shot. Heidi died almost immediately of her injuries. Nick was treated and released for a gunshot wound to the leg. He is 27, she was 25. They are some of the most wonderful people....

This has obviously been devastating for all who know and love them. Please pray for Nick as he wrestles with this horrible situation, for peace and comfort from God which will surpass our ability to understand. Please also pray for us as we make decisions on how to get out there for the memorial service - we may be packing up the minivan and heading out in the next couple of days, depending on when the services get planned for.

Thank you for standing with us in prayer for Nick, Nick's family, Heidi's family, and all of their many friends...
Jon and Lindsey

Diaper Drive!

 During the month of May, SGC is holding an all-church Diaper Drive  to benefit the ministry of Love INC of Littleton  (Love in the Name of Christ). Love INC has a “Gap Ministry” in Littleton  called “Dipes and Wipes” which makes available diapers and baby wipes to local mothers-in-need. This drive will help provide diapers and baby wipes for this ministry; financial donations will also be accepted.

Volunteers from our class, III Strands, are needed to supervise the diaper drive collection area (near the Compassion Ministries Kiosk in the Welcome Center), collect donations, and provide receipts for financial donations from 10:10 to 10:40am every Sunday in May.  I will bring a sign-up sheet this Sunday for those who would like to help.  If you would like to volunteer, but will not be in class this Sunday, please respond below to which Sunday you would like to sign up for and I'll put you down.
Thanks!
Tami

Clothing & Bake Sale coming up...

Below is the information for St. Philip's annual clothing sale (their biggest fundraiser of the year).  It is a BIG sale and usually has good quality clothes at good prices. 

Love Inc.

Hello Faithful Volunteering Servant Leaders,

This Sunday, Al Hodges will be in our class again to give us more details regarding the Diaper Drive. The idea is to have our AC spearhead a church-wide campaign to collect diapers during the month of May. The diapers would then be distributed through Love, Inc. to mothers and families who cannot afford to buy them.

Immediately after the second service there will be a brief meeting with Dori Sear in the Welcome Center to lay the initial groundwork for a church-wide promotion.

We need one or more couples to lead the effort. If you feel the least inclination to be involved, please plan on being at the meeting after the second service.

Read Jonah. We'll see you on Sunday.

John

Teaching Topics

I've got a few ideas about what to teach over the summer and I'd like to get your feedback. Which of the following studies most interests you? And yes, you can pick more than one.

Ruth
1 John
Colossians
Theological Doctrines (a week on each point of the church's statement of faith)
Heroes of the Faith - a study of the key figures in the Bible
Apologetics - A biblical response to major ethical issues (abortion, homosexuality, euthanasia, etc.)

Thanks for your thoughts,
John

Divine Presence

In the Bible the words used to describe the presence of God convey three main senses. First, there is the sense in which God is present everywhere or omnipresent (Ps 139:7-10). Second, there is the special presence of God with his people. In the Old Testament this is often tied to God's dwelling in the tabernacle and temple (Ps 48). In the New Testament this special or manifest presence of God is linked with Jesus as Immanuel, God with us (Mt 1:23), as well as with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:16-17). Third, there is the direct, unmediated presence of God in heaven, before which the angels receive their messages (Lk 1:19).

The main emphasis of the Bible is not on the divine presence as immanent everywhere (omnipresence), even though this is a valid and important theological point. The focus typically is on the second sense of God's special presence with his people. Thus, it is natural for Jonah to try to flee from God's presence by leaving his dwelling place among the people of Israel (1:3). I do not think Jonah was so naive as to try to escape God's omnipresence; for, he even admits later that the Lord is the God of heaven, who made the sea and land (1:9). Rather, if we understand the phrase "from the presence of the Lord" to refer to Jonah's standing before the presence of God in a special or even in a direct sense as a prophet (note how Elijah speaks about standing before God in his prophetic role in 1 Kings 17:1 and 18:15), the verse calls attention to his blatant rebellion and unwillingness to continue to serve God.

- Michael

Campin' trip

Ok, so I know I have talked to a few families about trying to get a camping trip up an running, so here is my feeble attempt to go public. There is an area that we have been camping at for the last few years that seems like it might be a good location for our first annual 3strandscampaganza. it is a private campground which means that it is by reservations only, but it also is considered to be "camping light." by that i mean that there is full flush toilets (not just outhouses) and hot showers. there is a large grass area, a playground, a few horseshoe pits, and a river all on the premises (not to mention standard fire pits and picnic benches on each site). also, the camp ground is right outside of Buena Vista which has a lot of other things that people can do, the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness for 14ers/hiking, tons of lakes/streams, and the Arkansas river for fishing, there are 4x4 trails in the area, a 1,000 yrd shooting range, and white water rafting. Anyway if you are interested, let me know so we can start pinning down some dates. the location is about 2 hr drive from here. if we can get 20 people, we can get the group site which would be very advantageous over a number of smaller, 4-6 person sites. anyway, the place is called chalk creek campground. If you all would like someplace closer, let me know, i just thought this would be a good location with pretty nice amenities for people who are not used to camping and/or have small kids that might make "roughin' it" a little more difficult. Let me know what you think.
-damon