Unbinding The Gospel by Martha Grace Reese is an excellent book about evangelism and mainline churches.
Nowadays, as Ms. Reese's book demonstrates, "mainline" means a church with a great history that is in the process of "getting back to the basics" of the Good News of Jesus Christ...the deep faith that got the ball rolling. But you know how we quick we are to forget God's blessings. After many years of God's blessings it's time to get back to our "first love" - how we loved the Lord when we were so grateful, so enthusiastic, so faithful.
Remember the days? Perhaps you remember Jesus talking about it in His message to the seven churches through John.
"Unbinding the Gospel" forms the theme for our 69th Homecoming in April 29th 2007.
You see, our beautiful church building and reputation for a great preschool may make people think things have always been the way things are... nice preschool, nice building, and any other blessings or burdens that go with those things.
What most people don't know about First Presbyterian's history is our humble beginnings. We didn't always have a nice facility, let alone a preschool.
In fact, we were started my a little missionary lady named Mary Kay Moody who didn't even own a car. She came here to recover from her labors in east Tennessee. She walked all over Lawrenceburg gathering children for Bible Study.
That sacrificial service for Jesus Christ formed the nucleus of Christian people who formed First Presbyterian Church almost 69 years ago.
Our task this Homecoming - and the rest of our lives as individual Christians and as a church is to "Unbind the Gospel". That means getting back to the basics of what God did in forming this church. It means returning to the deep prayerfulness that returns us the the center of God's plan for us as we serve Jesus Christ in this community.
If you're seeking a church where you can faithfully follow the Lord, become a person of faith, prayer, and living out the message of the Bible, we'd love to have you visit us at our special Homecoming Service on Sunday April 22nd! We'll have a special fellowship meal afterwards.
But if living for Jesus Christ, living a life of faith rooted in the scriptures and reaching out to others in Christ's name is your aim... that's where we're headed too. Let's go on that trip together!
You really don't even have to wait for our Homecoming!
We want to see you here soon!
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