CONNECTIONS Newsletter - 12/26/2010

Your latest issue of CONNECTIONS (for week of 12/26/10) is available online at: http://connectionsnews.wordpress.com/2010/12/27/connections-12262010/

    GOD SO LOVED, HE GAVE: ENTERING THE MOVEMENT OF DIVINE GENEROSITY
by Kelly Kapic
Our passion to possess jeopardizes the joy of belonging to God. Especially in the affluent West, our sense of self can become so wrapped up with the idea of self-ownership that the thought of belonging to somebody else -- including God -- looks like a threat and not a hope. Fearing to give, we grasp ever more tightly. We constantly clamor for our 'rights' and clink to the impression that we own our bodies, our money, our ideas, our time, our property, and everything else we can manage to slap our name tag on. But more than anything else, we feel sure that we own *ourselves*.... Read this in full at
http://www.scribd.com/doc/45045489/God-So-Loved-He-Gave-by-Kelly-M-Kapic-Excerpt


    POPULAR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS
Check out some New Year's resolutions that are popular year after year.
* Drink Less Alcohol
* Get a Better Education
* Get a Better Job
* Get Fit
* Lose Weight
* Manage Debt
* Manage Stress
* Quit Smoking Now
* Save Money
* Take a Trip
* Volunteer to Help Others
.... Read this in full at
http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/New_Years_Resolutions.shtml


    BIBLE READING PLANS FOR 2011
http://www.youversion.com/reading-plans/all
http://www.zondervan.com/Cultures/en-US/Product/Bible/Plans.htm
http://www.biblica.com/bibles/daily-reading/
http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.html
http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/readingplans/
http://www.navpress.com/dj/content.aspx?id=138
http://www.bibleplan.org/
http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/dept.asp?dept_id=1117841&TopLevel_id=190000


    EVANGELICAL CHURCHES UNITE IN RARE MERGER
Two Madison, Wisconsin evangelical churches — both among the city's largest in their heydays — have merged in what church leaders say is an unusual case of congregations uniting instead of splintering. Lake City Church and Mad City Church now will be known as City Church.

"Churches are used to blowing apart," said the Rev. John Ruck, who was the senior pastor at Lake City Church. "Putting two of them together is pretty rare." The union, which church leaders attribute to God's will, joins a longtime city fixture with a relative newcomer.

Lake City Church began as a Bible study group in 1927. Its sanctuary, 4909 E. Buckeye Road, can seat more than 800 people and will be the new congregation's home. Lake City Church also runs Abundant Life Christian School.

Mad City Church started 14 years ago as an alternative to traditional churches. Known for its contemporary worship services, it rented office space at a shopping center and met Sundays at Madison La Follette High School.

Both churches are nondenominational and were roughly the same size before the union — about 450 adults and children each, down from more than 1,000 each several years ago.... Read this in full at
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/article_65b78794-04b8-11e0-aff5-001cc4c002e0.html

Read more online at: http://connectionsnews.wordpress.com/2010/12/27/connections-12262010/

 

Frank Coleman

http://www.pathoflifeministries.org

http://www.ekklesiachicago.org