IN THE HOSPITAL
Ø Johnny
Powell
is in Huntsville Hospital after falling and breaking his left hip. He is not in
a room as of this writing as he is in surgery. Please keep him in your prayers.
PRAYER REQUESTS
Ø Dot Bowen: “Please pray for Tiffany Crum.
She is former member, Mary Robinson’s niece. Mary says Tiffany
has COVID and has difficulty breathing. She is home with four children. Please
pray for complete healing.”
Ø Pat Canterbury: “Thank you for your prayers for my
cataract surgery last Thursday. Everything went well. Please continue your
prayers, as I will be having my right eye done this coming Thursday.”
Ø Dittos: “The lives of our brothers and sisters in India are
increasingly endangered due to religious radicals and an oppressive government.
They truly are sheep led to slaughter. Pray for their faithfulness to bring the
light of Jesus to the darkness of that country.”
Ø Greenleafs: “1) Thank you for prayers for our
friend, Erskine Valerie. He is still in CCU in Birmingham. Please pray
for success today in weaning him off the ventilator. 2) Please pray for our
son-in-law, Jon Cummings, who is recovering from coronavirus and for our
daughter, Willa, who has symptoms and will be tested tomorrow. Thank
you.” (Updates: “1) Mr. Valerie is doing well getting off vent. He is
talking some now. 2) Willa does have COVID. She is not as sick as Jon
was.”)
Ø Please keep Tim and Jimi Johnson
in your prayers. While checking on her parents’ home in Florida and visiting Jimi’s
nieces, they have both coming down with COVID. At the present time Tim
is in a hospital and Jimi is at her parents’ homestead. (Update from Tim
and Jimi's daughter: "It looks like dad may be released
today – Wednesday, January 13 – from the hospital which is great news. I'll let you know when he's for sure been discharged. Mom
has COVID and pneumonia, but she's at the house with
some meds. It sounds like they're helping some, but she's still feeling pretty
rough." Tim and Jimi’s youngest son, Seth, is down there with Jimi.)
Ø Phil and Arina Lowery: “We would like to request prayers for Arina’ green card interview tomorrow (Monday, January 11th) afternoon. We have waited over a year and are both nervous and excited to finally be moving forward.” (Update from Phil Monday afternoon: “Arina and I just finished our interview for her green cards. We have been told that it will be approve and we should receive it within a week. I want to thank everyone who wrote letters to stand as witness to our relationship and all of you who submitted prayers to God on our behalf. We have so much joy. Thanks to God!”)
Ø Steve and Karen Lowery: “Please pray for Phil and Arina
Lowery as they leave for Montgomery today (Sunday, January 10th)
to have Arina’s green card interview. Pray for a safe trip and a good
interview.” (Update: Phil and Arina arrived safely and all went well. Arina
should receive her green card shortly.)
Ø Grant Ralph: “Sometimes I have thoughts of harming
myself because of deep depression due to my mother’s passing and having too few
friends to talk to about things that stress me out because of seemingly
strengthening symptoms of my mentally disabled self. I need my brothers in
Christ now more than ever before and especially God. Please pray for me so that
my symptoms will lessen or stop.”
Ø Update on Kim Smith from his wife, Teresa Smith: “My
sweetie is coming home Monday (January 11th)!!! Praise the Lord!!!! All of your prayers were answered – he survived – he is
alive – he is so thankful to everyone – he shares his stories of your
prayers/his prayers to every nurse to every doctor to every tech to every
housekeeper that comes into his room. What’s great is
that those listening want to share their stories of the powers of prayer. They
see firsthand the devastation of this evil virus and they share – it gives them
the opportunity to vent their fears and concerns. Pray for them because they
are truly on the frontline – not just to administer healthcare – they now have
the patient’s family – the patient’s friends – they may even have to minister
to them. Everyone has been very kind to Kim and
he is trying to think of ways to replay their kindness – for now all he can do is
share to us what they are doing for our community. Please keep these people on
the top of your prayer list. It’s been since November since our family has
hugged and seen each other – we are coming home – praise God!!!” (Update: Kim
is happy to be home. Please continue to pray as he builds his strengthen back
up, as he is very weak.)
Ø Louise
Williams: “Prayers of thanksgiving. Both brothers are doing well after
being diagnosed with COVID. Their roommate was released from the hospital
Friday evening. We are so thankful for the prayers from everyone. Love you
all!”
Ø Our Shut-ins:
Amelia Biser, Deborah Brown, Jamie Cole, Johnny Powell, Lee Strickland, and
Bill & Sherill Townsley.
Ø Mothers-In-Waiting: Jessica
Ogle (2/4), Allison Goad (2/7), Caroline Lowery (3/16), Heidi Haviland (5/5)
and Anna Mosley (5/17).
Ø Our Missionaries: Denisovs
& Rahimovs (Tomsk, Russia), Kishore Etwaroo Family (Port Kaituma, Guyana), Carlos & Linda Eguizabal
(Juayua & Salcoatitan, El Salvador) & YOU (Huntsville Area)
SYMPATHY
We are saddened for us, but at the same
time rejoicing for James
Hall, who passed away
Monday morning, January 11th. James was a very sweet brother of our family,
and we will miss him. We will let you know when there will be a memorial
service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Childhaven, 1816 Childhaven Rd NE, Cullman, AL 35055
in James’ name.
MEMORIAL
SERVICE FOR SALLY MANS
There will be a memorial service this Saturday,
January 16th, at 1:00 p.m. at Central for our sister, Sally Mans, who passed away Sunday,
December 20th. If you are not able to attend, you may live-stream
her service by either going to our website (centralfamily.org). On our homepage
go to “live streaming” and click on “click here”. You can also go to YouTube
and type centralfamily and click on it.
THANK YOU
Thank
you all so much for the prayers for me and my family, along with the wonderful
meals. I am recovering well, and Nathan has been wonderful taking care of me.
Deborah Brown
Dear
Family,
Thank
you for all the expressions of love that have been shown to us. Your calls,
cards, the delicious basket of fruit and other goodies, and most all the
prayers on Dean’s behalf. He is feeling better and will start cardiac rehab
soon. Also, thanks to the sweet “elf” who delivered the afore mentioned
basket!! And thanks to the Teens, for the cookies and other yummy treats.
We love you all,
Dean and Sandy Oden
JACK AND JILL
WALK-THRU WEDDING SHOWER
Please join us as we celebrate the
upcoming marriage of
Reece Howell and Courtney Jones
Sunday, January 31st – from
2:00 to 3:30 PM
Central’s Family Life Center
Reece and Courtney are registered at Amazon,
Target, and Bed Bath & Beyond;
They would also appreciate gift cards to
Cabela’s and Rural King.
Please note: We follow COVID state
protocols – masks are required.
CENTRAL
ADULT WEDNESDAY NIGHT ONLINE CLASS
Winter Term – January 6
through March 3 – Wednesdays at 7 pm
Living the Ways of Jesus
A paradox is a statement that on
the surface that seems self-contradictory or even absurd. But when one
considers a paradox closely, one often discovers profound truth. We find
paradoxes as near as the currency in our wallets: “E Pluribus Unum”: “Out of
Many, One.” Perhaps the deepest paradox of the Christian faith is the cross of
Jesus—a symbol of God’s justice and God’s love, a symbol of Christ’s defeat and
Christ’s victory.
The Bible also presents paradoxes
for Christian living. For example, “Whoever wants to save their life will lose
it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it” (Mark
8:35). Another paradox for how the church is called to live the ways of Jesus
is found in Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church and Peter’s first letter to
Asia Minor. Both letters describe the church as God’s chosen people. Yet
Ephesians describes the church as a diverse people unified and brought near
together, whereas 1 Peter describes the church as a scattered people. How are
both true at the same time? And what does this have to do with how Christians handle the challenges of home life, politics,
racial injustice, culture shifts, and ministry?
During the winter terms, the adult
midweek class will explore what it means to live the ways of Jesus in our
relationships within the church and toward the world. Each week, we will read a
text, observe the flow of thought, identify the main ideas, and discuss what a
specific point looks like in practice. We look forward to your participation!
|
DATE |
CONCEPT |
APPLICATION
AREAS |
|
1/13 |
Unity,
diversity, and maturity (Eph. 4:1-16) |
Ministering
together |
|
1/20 |
Out
with the old and in with the new (Eph. 4:17-5:18) |
Listening
and speaking in ways that honor God |
|
1/27 |
Worship
and gratitude (Eph. 5:19-20) |
Focusing
on God versus preference |
|
2/3 |
Household
dynamics (Eph. 5:21-6:9) |
Showing
love and respect in close relationships |
|
2/10 |
Government
(1 Pet. 2:13-17) |
Engaging
in God-honoring politics |
|
2/17 |
Unbelievers
in the household (1 Pet. 2:18-3:7) |
Navigating
close relationships with unbelievers |
|
2/24 |
Witnessing
to Jesus amid persecution (1 Pet. 3:8-22) |
Dealing
with injustice |
|
3/3 |
Living
between Jesus’s cross & second coming (1 Pet. 4:1-11) |
Dealing
with culture shifts |
Zoom
link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81356466276?pwd=UTZ4T09pYWV5VHV0WFNmbUk5dSs1Zz09
NOTE FROM
FRITZ NELSON
Dear Church
Family,
Happy New Year
to all. I can hardly wait to get a COVID shot so that I can come to church
services. I hope everyone is doing well. A big thank you to all of Santa’s
helpers who remembered me with a bag of goodies.
Your brother in
Christ,
Fritz
PLEASE SIGN UP
The campus ministry will resume Friday
Night Lives (FNL) this semester on January 22nd. Help is
needed from LIFE Talks, other groups, or individuals to provide meals for their
FNLs begin January 29th. The food may be either dropped off
at the building or brought and served in the building. Masks will be
required (and provided if needed) for both those serving and those being
served. Gloves will also be provided for those serving. Those providing
meals will need to “sign-up” via email to pat@centralfamily.org or if you have any questions, please contact Carla Campbell at 256-882-6449.
CENTRAL
LADIES
It appears that COVID will prevent our Tuesday morning Bible study
and fellowship from meeting in person. However, we desire to remain connected,
and plans are in progress for this. It is possible we may study together using
the e-mail format we used this fall and will be seeking your input. Please
consider joining us. Finalized plans will be appear in the bulletin and church
e-mails. Questions or ideas: Contact Terri Apgar, Janice Greenleaf,
or Sue Underwood.
MEN TO SERVE
Chair
Set-Up – Tony Callins’ Team
Counting
– Yocus Jones’ Team
Ushering
– James Ryans’ Team