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GET BAPTIZED THIS EASTER! :: Publicly celebrating our death to sin and our new life in Christ is an exciting and significant part of the Christian journey. It is the outward sign of the inward change. If you would like to be baptized on Easter Sunday, April 24th, during the Worship Gathering, click here to find out more! TUESDAY UNIVERSITY CLASSES STILL AVAILABLE :: Click here to find out more about Parent Talk and to register online! SUNDAY, MARCH 20th :: God has really been working in people’s lives during our Worship Gatherings, and many of you have been inviting friends. We’re praying that they say YES! Invite someone to join you this weekend to connect with Jesus in the Worship Gathering. Help us show appreciation to the teachers and staff at Centerburg Elementary School for all they do for our kids and for letting us use their  building for our Worship Gatherings! CENTER POINTE DIRECTORY UPDATE :: Help us update the Center Pointe Church Directory! Everything is online and this will help us manage everyone’s information much better. You can set your security settings and even upload a picture! LENT READINGS 2011 :: What would happen if a group of people committed to listen to God over the same period of time? Join us as we prepare to celebrate and respond to Jesus’ resurrection on Easter! ]]> http://centerpointecma.com/2011/03/celebrate-new-life-and-get-baptized-this-easter-center-pointe-update-04-03-11/feed/ 0 http://centerpointecma.com/2011/03/center-pointe-update-03-06-11/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=center-pointe-update-03-06-11 http://centerpointecma.com/2011/03/center-pointe-update-03-06-11/#comments Fri, 04 Mar 2011 00:19:08 +0000 Josh http://centerpointecma.com/?p=2722

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News, Events and Updates!

• SUNDAY, MARCH 6th :: How do YOU respond to betrayal? To those that wreck any trust in your relationships? You’re not alone. Jesus was betrayed by some of his best friends. Come this Sunday to see how he responded is the model for how we should respond. God has really been working in people’s lives during our Worship Gatherings, and many of you have been inviting friends. We’re praying that they say YES! Invite someone to join you this weekend to connect with Jesus in the Worship Gathering.

Here are the NEW details: Gather at the Bieri’s @ 3pm on March 27, 2011.  We will walk around town and pray in groups.  Around 5pm we will make our way back to our home to have dinner together and enjoy one another’s company!  So that you can find our home in Pickerington, here is our address:

Christina and Clint have been learning so much about the necessity of prayer for daily life, family life and church life.  We would love to have you join us in communicating with Jesus what we desire great things to be done in our lives and in Pickerington!

Again, we are sorry for the change but we are looking forward to our time in Pickerington in March!

News, Events and Updates!

• SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20th :: More from John’s Gospel! God has really been working in people’s lives during our Worship Gatherings. Invite someone to join you this weekend to connect with Jesus in the Worship Gathering.

• CENTER POINTE STUDENTS :: Wednesday, February 23rd is Youth Group! We’re going to have a great time hanging out and letting God’s Word challenge us!

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News, Events and Updates!

• SUNDAY, JANUARY 30 :: We will continue our study of John’s Gospel this coming Sunday during our Worship Gathering. We will be focusing on why Jesus is so intent on having his followers cling to Him and learn to love others. Invite someone to join you this weekend to connect with Jesus in the Worship Gathering.

• CENTER POINTE STUDENTS :: Wednesday, February 2nd is Discipleship Quads! These smaller groups give you an opportunity to share what God has been doing in your life. Come and join us!

WATCH THE VIDEO UPDATE HERE!

News, Events and Updates!

• SUNDAY, December 12 :: We will continue to explore a Generous Christmas in our Worship Gathering with Pastor Clint. This weekend’s message will center on Jesus and his Generous Presence. Invite someone to join you to experience the generosity of Jesus this Christmas season at a Worship Gathering.

Have you seen the cartoons where an angel sits on one shoulder of the cat looking at eating the fish in the bowl and on the other shoulder sits a devil with a pitchfork and a pointy tail? This isn’t how good and evil battle and the devil doesn’t wear tights but the Bible does let us know about how Satan came into being, what Satan’s downfall was, what Satan is doing on the earth today, and what Satan’s future is. Most of the the information we find about Satan comes from the prophet Ezekiel.  Ezekiel 28:11-19 is specifically speaking of Satan and we will glean much from looking at this section of scripture.

How did Satan come into being?
Satan was created by God (Ez 28:13) at some point in eternity past or with the rest of God’s creating in Genesis chapter 1 and was created as a guardian cherub (Ez 28:14) which was a very special type of angel.  Ezekiel 28:12 says that Satan was wise and beautiful and verse 15 says that God created Satan “blameless” in his ways until he was filled with violence.

What was Satan’s downfall?
The original sin of mankind was pride and so was Satan’s.  We can deduct from Ezekiel 28:11-13 that Satan knew that he was the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. Satan’s heart was proud because of his beauty (Ez 28:17) and because of Satan’s pride God expels him from heaven (Ez 28:16-17).

What is Satan doing now?
There are basically six things that Satan is doing in the world today, and in the book of Job, Satan is asked by God where he has been and what he was doing.  He responds to God by saying, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.” Basically he tells God, “I was just hanging out!” But really there is more going on with Satan than just a several thousand year vacation.

First, Satan is man’s common enemy (Matthew 13:39) and adversary who prowls around like a roaring lion seeking those he can devour (I Peter 5:8).  Second, Satan wants all people to fall like he did, and he and his minions will stop at nothing to distract people, especially Christians, from living God’s way. Third, there are several passages in the book of John (12:31,14:30,16:11) where Satan is described as the “prince of the world.” Meaning that he has dominion over a world system that is corrupt just like he is. Satan is also called the prince of demons (Matthew 12:24) or the leader of a third of the heavenly angels who followed Satan when he sinned (see Revelation 12:3-4).  The last prince title that Satan is given is the prince of darkness (Colossians 1:13) meaning that he is the ruler of evil in the world. The fourth thing that Satan is up to is that he is always lying (John 8:44) since he is the father of lies (John 8:44) and is deceitful (I Peter 5:8) to the core.  He tells lies to us about ourselves, to others about us, about others to us and to us about God. There is always something that is twisted coming out of Satan’s mouth. Fifthly, Satan is accusing humans to God (Revelation 12:10) and God to humans (Genesis 3).  For the most part Satan’s accusations are true, such as, “they are such screw ups, they disobey God and live for themselves.”  We in truth can respond, “yes I am, BUT because of Jesus sacrifice I am forgiven, which changes everything! Lastly, Satan is the tempter.  He tempts Eve to doubt that God’s way is best (Genesis 3) and he and Jesus have a spiritual knock-down-drag-out where Satan tempts Jesus (in three areas – the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life – see Matthew 4) and tries to get Jesus to submit to him.  Satan is also called the “tempter” in 1st Thessalonians 3:5.  Always remember that Satan’s temptations are to not trust God and his promises.

What is Satan’s future?
Destruction and Doom is certain for Satan (Revelation 20:7-10).  Satan will be destroyed at the end of time after he has tried time and again to triumph over God.  In Revelation 20 we will finally see the fulfillment of the entire prophecy that God spoke in Genesis 3:16, “he [Jesus] will crush your [Satan's] head.”

There is much more to understand about Satan and the way he works, but we should not be quick to study him and all his workings to figure him out.  We should be aware of Satan’s schemes and what our own areas of weakness are, but we should spend even more time and energy getting to know Jesus better because when we know Jesus well, then we will be able to easily point out the fake.

Books for More Study:

If you are interested in doing a little more study and reading these books are helpful:

• Satan and His Kingdom by Dennis McCallum
• The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
• Angels, Satan and Demons by Robert Paul Lightner

News, Events and Updates!

• SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21 :: The Study of John’s Gospel continues in John 13. If you have ever felt betrayed – Jesus can identify with you.  Come this weekend to experience Jesus in the Worship Gathering.

• WOMEN’S MINISTRY HOT TUB PARTY :: Women, there will be a special time for you this Friday night at Anne Hughes’ home. Come and talk with other ladies from Center Pointe in the HOT TUB!!!  Bring your bathing suits and a towel!  All the fun begins at 7pm this Friday night.

• COMMUNITY THANKSGIVING SERVICE :: Centerburg United Methodist Church is hosting a gathering for the community Sunday night at 7pm to give thanks for the blessings that God has given us. Pastor Josh will be the keynote speaker for this event. Refreshments will be served after the gathering.

• CENTER POINTE STUDENTS :: This Wednesday is Youth Group is CANCELLED. Enjoy a great week giving thanks for what God is doing in your life!Since Winter will be here some day, we wanted to give out cancellation information in case of snow. If school is cancelled, students are sent home early, or if evening school activities are cancelled then Center Pointe Student activities will be cancelled as well.

Coming Soon…

• CHRISTMAS GATHERING :: The Christmas season is for families to come together and celebrate Jesus. This year the Center Pointe family will celebrate with a gathering on Thursday night, December 23rd at 7pm at Centerburg Elementary School. This night will feature Jesus, a Christmas story, music, video, and refreshments. The Christmas Gathering will also take the place of a Worship Gathering on December 26th.

• WOMEN’S MINISTRY :: The women of Center Pointe are starting to hold monthly times for ladies to connect relationally. The next meeting will be held on January 21st. All women are invited and asked to bring a friend. Contact Delilah Hetterscheidt (740) 560-2219) if you need more information!