For DPC Updates & more, please visit the pastor’s blog at…

http://www.ransom-road.com/

OPEN HOUSE PARTY

This Sunday, April 11… the pastor’s home (2422 Jarvis St. SW)… good food, good friends… an unhurried time of fellowship.  Come and go as you please, anytime from 3:00 – 5:00 pm.

DPC 101 CLASSES

Start this week!  9:55-10:30 on Sunday mornings in the Gathering Room.  …a six week introduction to Decatur Presbyterian Church for those who want to consider church membership.

Tonight!

5:30 – Baked Chicken Breast, etc.

6:15 – Adult Bible Study…

“We have a tendency to assess our problems mechanically rather than spiritually.  Our first impulse is to assume there is something wrong in our techniques.  The need is for adjustment, not repentance; there is something wrong in the system that needs doctoring.  How easy for even energetic evangelicals to look for a new gimmick rather than cry out for a new heart.”

~ from Ralph Davis’s comments on 1st Samuel 8… our chapter for tonight…

GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE

This Friday, April 2, 6:00 pm.

A Good Friday service is different than our typical Sunday morning services in some rather “awkward” feeling ways… until you get use to it.  Then it becomes quite meaningful; for many Christians it’s one of the most meaningful services of the year.  The first difference is that we’re going to ask everyone to gather in silence for worship.  There will be some signs on the doors & in the building to remind you of this.

Also, the sanctuary will be darker than usual.  And the service will be more somber than usual.  And when the service is over, we’re going to be asked to depart the sanctuary in silence.

The whole “tone” of the service feels rather stark, but that’s intentional.  We’re remembering and recognizing the role that our sin played in Jesus’ crucifixion.

But on Sunday morning… Easter morning… the Day of Resurrection… we will reconvene with Celebration and Hallelujahs and Joy!  Because when Jesus walked out of that tomb, the New World began to break into this old world.  Everything is different because of what Jesus accomplished in his death & resurrection!  And that needs to be shouted in song!

But we must first enter into solemn bleakness of the Good Friday service if we want to be well prepared for the glorious feast of Easter.

Come join us.  Invite a friend.

DPC 101 CLASSES

…will be meeting on April 11, 18, 25… (2 week break)… & May 16, 23, & 30.  It’s a six-week introduction to Decatur Presbyterian Church for those who want to consider church membership.  Attending the class does not commit you to membership, but this is the place where you can ask any and all questions you would like.

The class will be meeting in the Gathering Room on Sunday mornings, from 9:55 – 10:30 am.

EASTER EGGSTRAVAGANZA

This Saturday, April 3, 9:00 am.  Pancake breakfast, puppet show, egg hunt.  Invite two friends!

OPEN HOUSE PARTY

You’re all invited to an open house at the pastor’s home on Sunday, April 11.  Drop by (coming & going as you please) anytime from 3:00-5:00.  Enjoy some food & fellowship!

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

“When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

~The Apostle John, eyewitness to Good Friday

“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?  Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was brought upon me, which the Lord inflicted on the day of his fierce anger.”

~Lamentations 1.12

Marriage Conference

God’s Game Plan For Marriage

with Steve Farrar

God’s Game Plan for Marriage Conference

with Steve Farrar

April 16-17, 2010

Capshaw Baptist Church

Madison, AL

$40 per person

For more information or to register contact:

Great Commission Network

(256)298-0171

About the Conference

God’s Game Plan for Marriage is a conference for couples with Dr. Steve Farrar.  In today’s culture that challenges the very foundations of the home and family, God’s game plan is still the same since the day He instituted it.  This conference provides the tools and biblical foundations for married couples, and also singles who look toward the day of marriage.  The sessions focus on the mortar and cement the marriage needs to withstand the storms of life, teamwork in the marriage, family 101 detailing the two essentials (provision and care) required in every family and God’s recipe for a right marriage.  It will bring alive and give answers to the marriage vow of “for better or for worst” that is a part of every marriage.  It will clarify the roles and responsibilities of the husband/father and wife/mother.  Good marriages don’t just happen by chance anymore than a gourmet meal comes from randomly throwing a few ingredients into a pot.  God’s recipe is proven, tested, and clearly laid out in Scripture.  Learn how the end result is not only highly desirable but is also lasting with a taste of sweet joy.  Steve will share his heart, his own experiences and how God has worked in his own home for more than 20 years.  The playbook for God’s game plan is His Word.  This conference will change your marriage and family forever and will bear fruit for generations to come.  It will be an investment for your family and His Kingdom.

About Steve Farrar

Dr. Steve Farrar is the founder and chairman of Men’s Leadership Ministries.  He is a graduate of California State University, Fullerton, where he majored in Speech Communication.  He holds a Master’s degree from Western Seminary in Portland ,OR and an earned doctorate from Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, TX.

Steve Farrar is the author of the best-selling book, Point Man: How a Man Can Lead His Family.  With over 500,000 copies now in print,Point Man was the catalyst for his leaving the pastorate after 15 years and focusing his ministry on equipping men and couples.

Since the release of Point Man in 1990, Steve Farrar has also authored many other books, including the best-selling Finishing Strong, King Me:What Every Son Wants and Needs From His Fatherand How To Ruin Your Life By Forty.  He is a frequent speaker for Men’s Leadership Ministries conferences, Promise Keepers, Momentum Events, Men at the Cross and many other events throughout the nation.

Steve’s wife, Mary, holds her Master’s degree from Dallas Theological Seminary and has published the best-selling book,Choices: For Women Who Long to Discover Life’s Best.  The Farrars have three grown children and currently reside in suburban Dallas, Texas.

Dr. Chuck Swindoll

Chancellor

Dallas Theological Semminary

“Steve Farrar is right on target, he understands our times, he talks straight, he does not mess around…and best of all, he walks the talk!”

For More Information:

www.stevefarrar.com

For Directions to the Conference:

www.capshaw.org

NO WEDNESDAY NIGHT MEETINGS THIS WEEK:

Spring break…

Thought of the Week:

Lorica of Saint Patrick

I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through a belief in the Threeness,

Through confession of the Oneness

Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today

Through the strength of Christ’s birth and His baptism,

Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,

Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,

Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today

Through the strength of the love of cherubim,

In obedience of angels,

In service of archangels,

In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,

In the prayers of patriarchs,

In preachings of the apostles,

In faiths of confessors,

In innocence of virgins,

In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today

Through the strength of heaven;

Light of the sun,

Splendor of fire,

Speed of lightning,

Swiftness of the wind,

Depth of the sea,

Stability of the earth,

Firmness of the rock.

I arise today

Through God’s strength to pilot me;

God’s might to uphold me,

God’s wisdom to guide me,

God’s eye to look before me,

God’s ear to hear me,

God’s word to speak for me,

God’s hand to guard me,

God’s way to lie before me,

God’s shield to protect me,

God’s hosts to save me

From snares of the devil,

From temptations of vices,

From every one who desires me ill,

Afar and anear,

Alone or in a mulitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and evil,

Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,

Against incantations of false prophets,

Against black laws of pagandom,

Against false laws of heretics,

Against craft of idolatry,

Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,

Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul.

Christ shield me today

Against poison, against burning,

Against drowning, against wounding,

So that reward may come to me in abundance.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,

Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,

Christ in the eye that sees me,

Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through a belief in the Threeness,

Through a confession of the Oneness

Of the Creator of creation

St. Patrick (ca. 377 A.D.)

Men’s Conference in Birmingham:

This looks like it could be really good.  If you have an interest in attending, see Skip Thompson or me.

http://www.oakmountainchurch.org/mens-conference

An Absolutely, Positively TRUE E-mail:

As a pastor in St. Louis I sent this e-mail note to my congregation in March of 2009…

Cornerstone,

Just a reminder that on the second Sunday in March at 2:00 AM we move our clocks forward an hour.  As a personal service to the flock, I’ve committed to calling every one of you (in alphabetical order), starting at 2:00 AM this Sunday morning to remind you to do so.  Bandermans… you’re up first.  Youngers… I should get to you by 2:220 or so.

Don’t thank me.  It’s just part of the job,

Pastor Lee

Then, a few days later, I got this e-mail back from a dear, grandmotherly widow in the congregation…

Tommy -

I certainly hope you aren’t serious about calling in the middle of the night.

You can cross me off, as I know I must set the clocks ahead before I go to bed tonight.

Besides – you need to get some sleep, yourself!

Love,

Carol

… one of the best e-mails I’ve ever received in my whole life.

Don’t forget to set your clocks up an hour on Saturday.  Spring Forward.

Yahweh vs. Dagon

… at tonight’s Bible Study

5:30 – meal

6:15 – study

Next week (March 17) we will have no Wednesday night activities.  Spring break.

Thought of the Week:

“I am Ignatius, also called Theophorus, writing to the Church at Ephesus in Asia… predestined from eternity for a glory that is lasting and unchanging, united and chosen through true suffering by the will of the Father in Jesus Christ our God.”

~ St. Ignatius to the Ephesians, 110 A.D.

“My Lord and my God!”

~ Thomas speaking to Jesus, 28 A.D., John 21.28