This week the couples of Vision are looking to magnify God’s attribute of being “eternally forgiving” in their marriage. You might say that marriage is a snow globe for God’s love towards the church. We believe that many of the issues our country is facing could be remedied by more people seeing the love of God in the marriages of Christian people. This week we are going to live out some challenges that are going to help us in the area of forgiveness.
Choose a topic that has been the cause of bitterness, resentment, or unforgiveness and write your thoughts on the matter on a small piece of paper. After discussing it and praying over the matter burn the paper over a candle.
Write down 1 thing to go on your list for the last week. (The last week has 3 blank spots where you can fill this in.)
Read Ephesians 6:2 at the beginning of the day together. Resolve to not say anything negative about your spouse today.
Talk with your spouse about establishing healthy rules of engagement. If your mate is not ready for this, then write out your own personal rules to “fight” by. Resolve to abide by them when the next disagreement occurs.
Eliminate the poison of unrealistic expectations in your home. Think of one area where your spouse has told you you’re expecting too much, and tell them you’re sorry for being so hard on them about it. Promise them you’ll seek to understand, and assure them of your unconditional love.
Act out Luke 7:37-50. Then discuss what the story teaches.
We have three days left in the “Take Initiative” week of the Unfailing Love Campaign! This week was intentionally placed at the beginning of this series. Unless we die to ourselves in marriage we have no way of drawing closer to our spouse. “Taking the Initiative” is a attribute of God we clearly see from the Word of God that should be clearly seen in our marriages. Because He cares God took the initiative by the way He made the world. (Romans 1:19,20) Because He cares God takes the initiative by showing us His love through Jesus Christ. (John 3:16) Because He cares God takes the initiative by showing us how to reach Him. (John 14:6)
Take Initiative
February 1st – 6th
Discuss your Bible reading plan with your spouse. Commit to daily Bible reading during these 4 weeks.
Write out your date night two nights before you go on it.
Go on your date night and follow the plans you wrote out 2 days earlier.
Take initiative and do something your spouse has been asking you to do for a long time.
Learn each other’s love language. Online at www.5lovelanguages.com
Write down 1 thing to go on your list for the last week.
Michelle had back surgery yesterday. The surgery went well. She is in Emory at John’s Creek. The doctor is keeping her one more night to get the pain under control. Please pray for her.
The church is supposed two consist of only two types of people, as missions in concerned, “goers” and “senders”! This Thursday night, Feb. 4th, we will be having a very special night where these forces combine for a night of mission centered preaching and praying.
You will not want to miss out on this exciting night! We will have missionaries in on furlough, those on deputation, and our M.I.T.s (Missionaries in Training) sharing their heart for the nations. The service will start at 7 pm and will go to 9 pm with an intermission around 8 pm for those unable to stay past the normal church times.
Let’s be honest, traveling around the world is expensive. Airfare alone with all its hidden costs can easily break anyone’s budget. But what if you could see the world, without leaving the United States?
The world itself has gotten smaller. It was once normal that in order to taste authentic Indian food, you would need to travel to India. Or, if you had an interest in Somalia, it would be nearly impossible to get to Somalia to meet and converse with a Somalian. Those days, however, are over.
This summer in Atlanta, Georgia; high school and college age students can see the world in what is becoming one of the most culturally diverse cities in the nation. In the city of Atlanta, within one hour you can make it to either the largest Islamic mosque in the Southeastern United States or the largest Hindu temple within the entire country. There are an estimated 100,000 Chinese and 75,000 Muslims living in the Atlanta area. In addition to these people groups there are also Korean, Japanese, Indian, Pakistani, Vietnamese, Bosnian and many more ethnicities that are all found in the city.
This five day long camp is also unique in that it directs students towards the cause of world missions. Students will spend time on the street, in a mosque, at a Buddhist temple and visit many other places as they learn about cultures and religions from all over the world that need to hear the Gospel message. Not only will they be able to have experiences that many Americans have not had, but they will also be challenged by missionaries from around the world and spend time with them as well.
The camp takes place June 14-18. What is the cost? At only $125 ($25 registration fee and $100 camp fee), it is certainly cheaper than flying round trip to nearly any city within the USA. You can find out more information and register now by going to bcwe.org and clicking on events. You do not want to miss this camp, it is five days that can change the world.
I am so excited that we will start the Consumed Teen Revival tomorrow night! We are asking God to do a mighty work in the hearts of our teenagers and youth workers. May a fire be started in our hearts that will spread through our churches, community, and cause bring light to this world.
Even though this is the Teen Revival it is open to everyone to attend. We would love to have you join us! Tomorrow night (Wednesday) we will be meeting at Victory Baptist Church in Loganville, GA. On Thursday night the service will be held at our church, Vision Baptist Church in Alpharetta, GA. On Friday night we will meeting at Corinth Baptist Church in Loganville, GA. Our services will start at 7:00 pm each night.
Special Information for the Students of Vision:
Make sure you bring you Bible and notebooks with you each night.
We will be leaving the church at 5:15 pm on Wednesday and Friday. Please, eat supper before you come.
We gain points for the team competition from memorizing the Bible verses and bringing our friends! On Friday night we will be claiming our trophy from the teens of Corinth who won it last year.
You need to bring a signed permission form to ride the van on Wednesday & Friday.
You need to bring $5 on Friday night to help cover the expenses of the week and for pizza that night.
During the month of February we are going to spend some time looking at the wonderful attributes of God’s “unfailing love” towards us and how that should be applied to our marriages. As we learn more about the way that God loves us then we are better able to love our spouses.
Throughout the month all of our married couples will be challenged to work through the “unfailing love” book.
Zach and Whitney Elrod are our first new members of 2010. They joined this morning. This is a wonderful young couple that has been attending our church for quite some time. Zach is a wrestling coach at South Forsyth.
