Christ Fellowship of Wise County

If you have ever had a mother, we would like to welcome you to Christ Fellowship this Sunday. Yes, it’s Mother’s Day this Sunday and it will be a special day. Along with that, we will have the Lord’s Supper (assuming I remember it this time). And our next potluck lunch will be June 7th. We will grill hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill.

We are continuing our study of 1 Peter this Sunday and Pete warns us to submit to the authorities! Ugh! Yuck, right? But remember this. There are rights and responsibilities that are for ALL people. And I’m going to give this little warning right now. I’m pretty fired up about the whole thing. Join us this Sunday morning as we see what really is the truth about submission from 1 Peter 2:13-21. 

I can’t wait to see you! And for those that have been out lately, this is the perfect Sunday to come back! I love you all! — Todd

More good stuff to look forward to at Christ Fellowship: our next potluck will be June 7th. That is in between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and the plan is to have the men bring hamburger meat and hot dogs and the women will bring the sides. Sounds good to me!

This Sunday we will continue our journey through 1 Peter. We are in chapter two where Pete tells us that we are something that most of us have never known that we are. Shoot, most of us are not even the right denomination to be this thing but Peter says we are, so okay. 🙂 Read 1 Peter 2:4-10 and let’s study it this Sunday. I can’t wait to see you all. I love you. — Todd

This Sunday at Christ Fellowship, we are continuing our study of 1 Peter and we are seeing what Peter said happens when we live holy lives. There are some things that just occur in your life if you are holy and, as you can imagine, it’s all good! 1 Peter 1:22-2:3 is our text.

Our church food pantry needs just a few things. We are still stocked up with some things but we have no milk, bread or eggs and not much lunch meat. 

We will have a short business meeting after the service this Sunday.

I love you all and can’t wait to see you Sunday morning at 10, Sunday evening at 6 and Wednesday night Bible study at 7. — Todd

The Bible has a lot of commands, doesn’t it? Do this. Don’t do that. Kill that. Don’t wear that. And don’t even think about thinking that. And sometimes we just have to be obedient even when things don’t always make sense to us. But sometimes God explains to us why and I like that. We are continuing our sermon series through 1 Peter this Sunday at Christ Fellowship and God says through Peter that we are to be holy. And I hear ya. That doesn’t sound very fun or even interesting. But 1 Peter 1 explains to us why and how it will be worth it to us. I like that!  And I love you so I can’t wait to see you Sunday morning at 10 and Sunday evening at 6. If you aren’t here, it’s just not the same. — Todd

This is just a reminder that we are having lunch at Christ Fellowship after the worship time this Sunday 4/12. We are asking the men to provide the main course and ladies, you provide the dessert. There will be no evening Bible study that day. — Todd

Have you seen the news lately? Well, don’t. It’s depressing. Talked to your doctor lately? Well, don’t. It’s depressing. Talked to your kids and grandkids lately? Well, you know. How about some good news? I have some good news to share with you this Sunday at Christ Fellowship and not “just” the Good News of the Gospel. 1 Peter 1 has some encouragement for Christians that I can’t wait to share with you as we start a new sermon series that is meant to encourage and give hope. 

Also, today is auction day at our building. Thank you to all who helped move our stuff out on Wednesday. But we really need some help later today putting everything back. It’s a lot of work and it is more than 2-3 people should have to do. The auction should be done by early to mid-afternoon sometime. If you can help, please let me know and I will text you when it is almost over. Thanks so much! I love you all! — Todd

Can you just imagine? It was about this time in the morning (just before daylight) when the two Marys went to the tomb expecting to see a sealed tomb but instead saw the rock had been rolled away and two angels were just sitting there having a pleasant Sunday morning. Confused and crying, the one Mary turned around and saw who she thought was the gardener. She hadn’t slept much. She was crying. She was confused. It was early. She didn’t know where the body of Jesus was and this was horrible.

Then Jesus just said her name. He said her name and she recognized His voice and everything changed. Everything changed for Mary and everything has changed for you and me because Jesus is alive!

I’ll see you in a few hours at Christ Fellowship to celebrate!

Also, after church we will all meet at Wise County Park to baptize our sweet Linda Forester! I can’t wait! I love you all! — Todd

Jesus was crucified on Friday and finally gave up His Spirit after six hours. Then Matthew 27:57 says, “As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.”

Isaiah prophesied 700 years previously that,

“He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
    and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:9)

Can you imagine what was going through the minds of His disciples and loved ones on this Sabbath day?

In the Holy Week or Passion Week of Jesus, today is called Good Friday. When you understand that this is the day that Jesus was crucified it’s hard to make the claim that it was in any way good but according to GotQuestions.org this is the reason it is commonly called that:

What is “good” about Good Friday? What the Jewish authorities and Romans did to Jesus was definitely not good—it was evil (see Matthew chapters 26—27). The answer lies in the etymology of the English word good. In Middle English, the adjective gọ̄d held the sense of being “holy” or “sacred.” Before standardized spelling, the word also appeared as gode, goed, gude, goid, and good (Middle English Dictionary, Regents of the University of Michigan, 2025). The connotation of being “holy” is carried through in modern observances of “Good” Friday. (What is Good Friday / Holy Friday? | GotQuestions.org)

This day is holy in the sense that we set it apart from other days because we remember that Jesus, who was arrested and tried overnight in a sham, illegal trial, was then beaten and tortured and nailed to a wooden cross to die. The end result was, of course, good for us (as we understand the word “good”) but it was a dark day in history.

I encourage you to read about it in all four Gospels and meditate on it as you go about your day. Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 22:66—23:56; John 18:28—19:37

I woke up early this morning to the sound of thunder, lightning, rain and high winds. It was a typical spring storm that popped up unexpectedly overnight.  On the Thursday of Passion Week, we see a storm popping up that was predicted all the way back to Isaiah 53 and Psalms 22 and 31as well as Zechariah 13:7. Jesus spent the evening celebrating the Passover meal with His disciples. We commemorate that celebration with what we call the Lord’s Supper.

After the meal, Jesus went with His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives to pray. It was a common thing for them to do but this night was different. Tonight Jesus was betrayed and arrested by a crowd of evil men. The last thing Jesus said to the crowd and His disciples that night was, “This has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” (Matt. 26:56)

You can read about this in all four Gospels. Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22 and John 17-18.