acceptance
Showing posts with label acceptance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label acceptance. Show all posts

Ladies Ministry Banquet & FAQ's


The Ladies Ministry of Calvary Baptist Church is proud to present, "Stronger for It", a banquet filled with stories of God's faithfulness and goodness.  Come be encouraged and empowered by our speakers, Debbie Stone and her daughters Stephanie Grounds, Jessica Baker, and Christa Isham, as they share stories of their trials and God's triumphs. 

Isaiah 41:10 (ESV)
Fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Tickets are required and admission covers the cost of lunch catered by Olive Garden. Call Dwana McGowen at the church office (972-262-5656) TODAY to get your tickets! 

"Please join my three daughters and I to see what God has been up to since we spoke nearly five years ago!! Time flies. Stories change. We would LOVE to see you there! Come join us as we PRAISE THE LORD for all He has done!" - Debbie Stone
"Come join my sweet Momma, sisters, and I as we tell the rest of our stories.  Praising the Lord for all He has done!" - Stephanie Stone Grounds
"This is going to be such an amazing afternoon! Ladies getting together talking about GRACE & GOODNESS. Tickets are on sale now! Hope to see you there!" - Christa Isham
"Don't miss out on the immense blessing!  Come be touched by the faith and stories of real people who have had real struggles and the Lord blessed them." - Karen Snead

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

How much is the event?  
Tickets are $15 and cover the cost of a catered lunch from Olive Garden.  Tickets are only available through April 22, 2018 and can be purchased Sunday morning in the Welcome Center or over the phone by calling Dwana McGowen in the church office at 972-262-5656. 

Please note: Tickets cannot be purchased through the church website for this event.

What are the event details?  
The Stronger For It - Ladies Banquet 2018 is being hosted by Calvary Baptist Church on Saturday, May 5 at 12:30 PM to approximately 3:30 PM at Calvary Baptist Church, 401 W. Church St., Grand Prairie, Texas 75050.  Click here to see our Facebook event online for our most recent updates!

Who are the speakers?
Debbie Stone and her three daughters, Stephanie Grounds, Jessica Baker, and Christa Isham, have spoken at several special events around Texas about all the things God has done and is doing in their lives. 

If you would like to see the ladies testimonies from five years ago, click here to watch the 2013 Mother's Day Service at Calvary Baptist Church.

Why "Stronger For It"? 
The theme is inspired by a song called “Stronger for It” and parallels Calvary's theme for 2018 – More Jesus, More Faith. 

What is the Ladies Ministry?
The ladies ministry of Calvary Baptist Church encourages women of all ages to love the Lord through biblical truths and teaching as well as loving each other by getting involved and fellow-shipping together.
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Jonah Chapter 4: Revolutionize Pt. 1

Jonah Chapter 4
Revolutionize Pt. 1

 Leslie and Lauren are two sisters that are looking to Jesus and reaching out to those in need, and as a result they have revolutionized their world. After a life-changing experience at camp, these girls decided to get serious about changing the lives of those around them; specifically the homeless lives. So they got an idea to create a ministry in their church called “H2O: Hope to Others.”

Basically, people from the church can pay $3 for a paper bag filled with food, water, and a Gospel tract that they keep in their car. So when they come across a homeless person they have some way to help them out in a practical manner. The project has provided these not-really-shy but not-really-outgoing girls with many opportunities to trust God and step outside of their comfort zones.

But it gets better. Since they’ve started, they’ve been featured on Oregon’s largest newspaper, have had calls from other churches wanting to start their own H2O program, and they have even started a website for people all around the world to catch the vision and passion. They have revolutionized their world.

In this last chapter you will be see how God loved the people of the city of Nineveh so much that he went to such great lengths to bring a revolution to the city when His messenger was resisting His will. And not only that, but how He is on a mission to bring a revolution to your world as well.

It’s in this chapter that God lowers Himself to actually engage in an argument with Jonah about His plan and desire to bring a revolution to the city of Nineveh. It was a silly argument to say the least, but God took him on nonetheless. And when you read it through, you can’t help but groan a little bit for Jonah. Like, “Jonah, dude, why are you being so selfish? What’s with all the whining?”

Before we start judging him again, though, here’s a few reasons why Jonah was living in self-pity and with a self-absorbed lifestyle. He was not accepting God’s will. He had forgotten how God had been merciful to Him. And he did not love God or his neighbor as well as he should have. So yeah, Jonah failed on several lower levels which led to this emotional breakdown.

But we are just as self-absorbed, self-pitying, argumentative, and disobedient as Jonah, aren’t we? Of course, we don’t like to admit it. But God has an incredible compassion for the people of the world, and thankfully, that involves us. So once again we see that Jonah’s story is our story. But this is the last chapter of his. The final phase of his story. And it’s about creating a revolution.

We’ve said the city of Nineveh represents the world, and it does. But we’re going to narrow it down now. Because what it really represents is not just THE world. It represents YOUR world. Where you live day to day. Your school. Your job. Your family. Your friends. Those are the people you are called to reach right now. We’re not talking about when you’re older, when you’re wiser, when you’re smarter, or when you’ve graduated. We’re talking about right now, you are called to reach YOUR WORLD.

And the whole, “I’m too young to do something spectacular.” is a flat-out lie. Throughout history teenagers have reached their worlds, and they’ve started revolutions, just like Leslie and Lauren. They created a movement in people that all pointed back to Jesus Christ. Teenagers throughout history have done heroic things and many of them have gone unnoticed, and unappreciated, but that makes them all the more honorable.

Even in the Bible we have many stories of young teenaged people making big differences. People like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Daniel, Joseph, Mary, and Ruth. These are all teenagers who did amazing things for God to revolutionize THEIR WORLD. It seems like God prefers to use the young, the incapable, the weak, and the simple to do amazing things.

As a Christian. (young, old, or in between) you are called to abandon your own personal comfort and to bring a Christian revolution to your own world.

But why? If you’re like me, you want to know the why. Not in any sort of disrespectful way. People just want to know why they are supposed to do things. I’ve always asked why, and it’s always driven my mom crazy. “James, take the trash out.” “Why, it’s only half full?” If she was in a good mood I would get an answer, “Because there is meat rotting in it, that’s why.” And if not I got the answer that we’ve all heard before. “Because I said so, that’s why!”

It makes me happy that God doesn’t leave us in the dark. He knows what He is asking is hard. It’s sacrificial. And sometimes God answers our why questions with, “Because I’m God, and I said so, that’s why.” But sometimes He answers our questions. And He has answered this question for us, “Why do I need to sacrifice my personal comfort to bring a revolution to my world?” In my next three posts, the last three of this series, I’ll share with you the why and the how of revolutionizing your world.
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Run Pt. 5 | Jonah: The Astonishing True Story

RUN
Pt. 5 The Cure for Running
           
Jonah 1:15-17 “So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.
17And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”

So what does God do when someone runs?

At first, if you’re like me, your thought is of the terrible consequences. “God punishes those who run from Him!” After all, He created a storm and a giant, awful fish to eat Jonah. But here is the amazing truth, and you have to get this.



The storm wasn’t just Jonah’s punishment, it was really Jonah’s salvation. Hear me out. The storm was raging and Jonah accepted the fact that this was God’s wrath being sent to him. So he decided that there was no more running. He stopped running, he turned and faced God and the storm, and he dove into the waves of his consequences. But just below the storm (the wrath of God) lay a fish prepared by God (salvation). It was when Jonah had no other choice that he plunged himself, by faith, into the wrath of God fully expecting death, that he actually experienced the Lord’s salvation.

Now here’s the deal, God hasn’t really changed. The way He dealt with Jonah is how He is still dealing with us. I mean not with a big fish, of course, but the same principles. We run from God, and His wrath is sent towards us. But instead of us receiving the wrath when we stop running, we receive grace and forgiveness. Isn’t that the story of the cross? God’s wrath is poured out on the world. But Jesus steps in and takes the wrath upon Himself, so all that’s left for us is salvation. In the end, what we believe to be an ocean of God’s wrath turns out to be an ocean of forgiveness and acceptance.

Jesus taking God’s wrath was the most extreme act of love the world has ever seen. It has provided us an escape. But the escape is only through Jesus; by putting our trust in Him and what He did for us. We dive into Jesus, who took the wrath of God, and we receive salvation. And not just salvation from God’s wrath, but salvation from our own rebellion as well. The cure for your running always has been and always will be Jesus’ love. So stop running. When you turn and face the consequences of your sin, you will escape the punishment. You will embrace His love and you will live.

About two years ago I went to the funeral of a man I don’t know. The grandpa of two sisters in our student ministry was honored and remembered at this funeral. As I sat in the service, they had several family members and friends stand up to talk about Robert. It was made apparent from the very beginning that Robert was a good man. He loved God, he loved his family, and he loved his friends. As I looked around the auditorium I was impressed to see how many people came to remember Robert. He had lived a life that was impactful. He served in the church, he served in the city, he served in his family, and his life influenced many people, and they had all come to the funeral to honor his memory.

But as the service went on, the Pastor said something that struck me. He said, “We’re not here to make Robert out to look like he was perfect, because he had his flaws.” These girls’ Papaw had times in his own life when he ran from God. But here’s the thing that made him such a good man. In those times that he ran from God, it wasn’t long before he would stop, turn to face Jesus, and make the courageous decision to dive into the ocean of God’s wrath only to find it to be an ocean of His love.

I know you’re not perfect. But Jesus’s grace says you don’t need to be. His grace simply says, “Stop running. I lived perfectly FOR you. I took the wrath FOR you.” So let me ask you a question; When your time has come, and the funeral is yours, will people remember you as a good man or woman who loved God and loved people? I know you’ve already sinned, you’ve already messed up, and maybe your reputation right now is pretty lousy. But listen; that can change. You can be remembered as a man or woman who glorified Jesus if you stop running from God, face the consequences, and live in grace. If you want that, your only hope is in Jesus Christ.
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