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Week of February 27, 2022 |
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1 Peter 1:3-12, A Living Hope (Part 1)
By Brent Kercheville, February 15, 2009
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3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (ESV)
God has given us a new birth. The idea of a birth has a number of implications. “Born again” tells us that we are a new person, belonging to a new family, and having new relationships. We get a new start in life. This new birth has been achieved through the resurrection of Jesus.
We have been born into two great things by God’s great mercy: a living hope and into an inheritance. In hard times we have a living hope. We live in a world that is often called hopeless. A hopeless world of despair is often how many people feel about life. The Christian, however, has hope that is alive and of immense value. We have something to set our eyes upon when life becomes full of suffering and difficulty. We have a hope that is not based on the futile things of this world. Our hope is not in this country. Our hope is not in its financial system. Our hope is built upon the resurrection of Jesus.
Part of this living hope is the inheritance that is promised for us. This is an inheritance that does not perish, cannot spoiled, cannot be defiled, and cannot fade. It is an inheritance untouched by death, unstained by evil, and unimpaired by time. This could very well be in contrast to the inheritance that Israel received with the land of Canaan. However, Israel’s inheritance became spoiled and defiled as the people were invaded and removed from the land for this disobedience. We have a great inheritance because it is not like all other physical inheritances. Our inheritance has an eternal nature so it cannot be taken away. It cannot fade away. It is not like houses and cars that fade, break, and ruin. This inheritance is permanent.
Further, our inheritance is reserved in heaven for us. This is one of my favorite images in the scriptures because reservations have come to mean nearly nothing today. You can have a reservation at a restaurant but that does not mean the table is ready for you. You can have a reservation at a car rental place but often they do not have the car you reserved. Reserved just does not mean much anymore. But when it comes to our eternal inheritance, it is reserved by God in heaven. God’s reservations are good. When God makes something reserved for you, you can have confidence that your inheritance is waiting for you.
Not only this, we are guarded by God’s power through faith for salvation to be revealed in the end. No one can strip away your salvation. No one can rob you of the hope you have in our Lord Jesus and the salvation we are receiving. The only person who can stop you is you. No one can rob you of what you have except you. No one can steal your joy but you. No one can rob you of your hope except you. This is why we greatly rejoice, as we see in verse 6.
6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (ESV)
Be joyful in the hope you have, even though you are distressed. Our lives, in view of the eternal inheritance and living hope we have, suffer for only a little while. I don’t think Peter has special knowledge that he is giving to these Christians that their suffering will stop soon. Rather, he is saying that even a life full of suffering is only a little while in view of the eternal inheritance.
But Peter is not ignoring the fact that they are suffering. Peter is not saying to just think happy thoughts and everything will go away. Everything is not just sunshine and flowers. Peter is not telling them to live a lie because he says that they are being grieved by various trials. But he wants them to be able to endure these various trial[s] and maintain their hope.
Even though when suffer trials there is hope. First, our tested faith is more valuable than gold. Faith is not a valuable faith until it has been tested. Gold is not any good until the impurities are heated from the metal. Faith must be refined. Faith must go through heat. Therefore, we can say that genuine faith is faith that has experienced testing. Untested faith is good in theory. But we see what a person’s faith looks like when various trials fall upon a person. We want to have faith without suffering. But Peter points out that this is not possible. Faith must be tested so that it can be proven to be faith. Faith must endure tough choices, difficult times, and suffering.
To be continued next week
Lesson adapted from sermon given by Brent Kercheville
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Elders
Leon Cort
Mark Craigwell
Martin Samuel
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Minister
Mark Craigwell
Assistant Minister
Denver Simmons
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Deacons
Raleigh Gallington
Anthony Johnson
Gregory Johnson
Carlfred Malcolm
Albert Martin, Jr.
Walter Maxwell
Richard Meuse
Barry Person
Jason Reid
James Wade, Sr.
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Sermon for Sunday, February 27, 2022
Once Held Hostage (1 Peter 1:18)
Speaker: Bro. Denver Simmons
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Our March Community Outreach will take place on Saturday, March 26, 2022, starting at 10 a.m. at the building to assemble bags of groceries, for delivery to seniors in the community. All are welcome to participate. Masks are required. Thank you to all who helped with our Outreach on Saturday, February 26th. |
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We now offer two Sunday morning worship services to accommodate in-person attendees
The first service begins at 8:30 a.m. and runs until approximately 9:30 a.m.; the second service begins at 11:00 a.m. The auditorium is sanitized between services. The weekly 10:30 a.m. devotional will continue as scheduled. The usual sign-up rules and COVID protocols remain in effect. When you access the online sign up form, you will be required to specify which service you would like to attend. Once capacity has been reached for a particular time slot, the form will no longer accept new registrations for that time slot. We will continue to livestream the 11:00 service on our YouTube channel, and we encourage members to utilize e-giving, even when attending in person.
PLEASE NOTE: THE LINK BELOW IS FOR NEXT WEEK'S SERVICE. PLEASE SEE LAST WEEK'S E-BULLETIN FOR THE SIGN-UP LINK FOR THE FEBRUARY 20TH SERVICE.
In-Person Worship Sign-up
Please also note that there is a new registration link each week.
Links from previous weeks will not work.
E-giving link
Livestream link
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Don't Miss Out! Please scroll through the entire e-bulletin each week to be certain not to miss any important announcements or links. Many items are repeated each week, but there are also new announcements that you'll miss if you don't scroll through the entire bulletin.
See the following sections for new/updated announcements.
- News & Notes
- Welcome Onome Ufuoma Odima!
- Baby Gift Registries for Alexanders, Craigwells, & Odimas
- Worship & Class Schedule - Links to Services & Classes; link to worship attendance registration form for next week
- Latest on COVID-19
- Vaccine available for ages 5 and up. Booster shots available for J&J, Moderna, and Pfizer. Walk in appointments available at many clinics
- Current and Upcoming Events/Resources
- Monday-Friday Meal Distribution, 1:30 p.m. daily
- Metro Housing Boston Rental Assistance Application Workshop, Saturday, March 5th, 9:00 a.m.
- Sigma Gamma Rho Virtual Symposium, Saturday, March 12, 11am-1pm via Zoom for youth ages 14-18
- Ellie Fund Assistance for Breast Cancer Patients
- NYU Free Medical School Tuition Information
- Ladies Take Note
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4th Sunday Ladies' Class, 2/27/22 @5pm VIA ZOOM. See below for details.
- Men Take Note
- 4th Sunday Men's Class, 2/27/22 @5pm in person @church building
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New England Lectureship - See updated flier. Register now and book your hotel room before they are all gone!
TextAlertz: If you are signed up to receive church text blasts via textalertz, but have stopped receiving the blasts, please email Sis. Gallington at ggallington@gmail.com so she can troubleshoot the issue.
Please keep us updated: Please keep us apprised of any changes to your address, phone number and email address so that we can maintain an accurate database of member information. Please notify Sis Nagarajah at enagarajah@gmail.com or Sis Gallington at ggallington@gmail.com of any changes to your contact information.
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Midweek Bible Study
Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.
via freeconferencecall.com
(Click image at left to join the class online, or see remote class schedule below for dial-in info)
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Current & Upcoming Events/Resources |
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FREE MEDICAL SCHOOL TUITION AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
Since the 2018-19 academic year, New York University's Grossman School of Medicine has offered full-tuition scholarships to all current and entering medical school students, regardless of merit or financial need. Additionally, beginning with the 2021-2022 academic year, they are also able to offer need based Debt Free Scholarships to students with demonstrated financial need to offset 100% of the cost of attending medical school. Click on the full-tuition scholarships link above for detailed information.
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Held simultaneously, on the second Saturday of March by Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc Alumnae Chapters across the nation, our Youth Symposium is designed to address some of the prevalent concerns that impact our youth.
This year, our workshops will focus on job readiness (resume writing, interview techniques, cover letter writing), investing and budgeting, and STEM/Computer Programming.
Attendees are encouraged to attend the Mental Health Drop-in that will be held from 10AM-11AM. The formal event will start at 11AM; each attendee will choose 2 out of 3 workshops to attend.
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The Department of Public Health continues to urge all who are eligible to be vaccinated and/or boosted to do so, as vaccination is currently the best medical defense against the potentially deadly effects of COVID and its variants.
The DPH also advises continued masking and social distancing, and several Massachusetts communities have reinstituted mask mandates. Click here for the most recent advisory from the Department of Public Health regarding face coverings and cloth masks.
All Massachusetts residents ages 5 and up are now eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and many facilities have walk-in hours. Booster shots are available for the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines at many pharmacies and health care facilities. Use the link below if you need assistance scheduling an appointment or locating a facility.
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Click here or anywhere in the announcement above for more information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). |
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Remote Class/Meeting Schedule |
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Tender Lambs & Pure in Heart Sunday Morning Bible Class
Sundays 10-10:30 a.m. in person and via Zoom
Meeting ID: 861 5908 0656
Passcode: 733792
If you prefer to dial in, use one of the numbers below:
+13017158592,,86159080656# US (Washington DC)
+13126266799,,86159080656# US (Chicago)
Meeting ID: 861 5908 0656
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Wednesday Night Dial-In Bible Study
Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m.
Dial in number: 978-990-5000
Access Code: 261232#
Or join the class online at
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Mid-Week Youth Bible Study
Wednesdays 7-7:30 p.m. via Zoom
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Women's Saturday Prayer Meeting
Join us for prayer on Saturday mornings at 9:30 a.m. via freeconferencecall.com
Dial-in: 701-802-5069; Access code 3730930#
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REMINDER: Please remember to mute your phone or computer when joining any of the above conference calls to avoid interrupting the class or service you are entering, particularly if you are joining the call after the event has started. |
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January: Friday, January 14th and 21st @7:00 p.m.
February: Friday, February 18th, virtual dinner @7:00 p.m.
Beginning in March, 1st & 2nd Fridays of the month @ 7:00 p.m.
Click here for full size image to scan QR code
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4th Sunday Ladies Class
Sunday, February 27th at 5 p.m.
VIA ZOOM ONLY
Sis. Elizabeth Nagarajah
Hospitality - We Can All Do This
1 Peter 4:8-10
Click here to join class online
Meeting ID: 842 7265 5713
Passcode: 037668
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Sunday Morning Devotional: Brothers, please see Bro. Phillip Morrison if you would like to present a Sunday morning devotional at 10:30 a.m., prior to our Sunday morning worship service.
4th Sunday Men's Class Sunday,February 27, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. at the church building.
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Click here to download full-sized flier.
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No announcements at this time. |
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Young Adult Ministry (YAM) |
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No announcements at this time. |
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Monthly Ministry Meeting 1st Sunday of each month at 2:00 p.m. |
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Meetings & Events
1/30-2/4 - Daily Lunch Distribution 1:30-2pm @church building
2/7-11 - Daily Lunch Distribution 1:30-2pm @church building
2/14-18 - Daily Lunch Distribution 1:30-2pm @church building
2/19 - Family & Friends Skating Outing in West Roxbury (details above0
2/21-25 - Daily Lunch Distribution 1:30-2pm @church building
2/26 - Community Outreach, 10am @ church building
2/27 - Roxbury 4th Sunday Ladies' 5:00pm @via Zoom
2/27 - Roxbury 4th Sunday Men's Class, 5:00pm @church building
Masks are required for all in-person events
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Ministry Meetings - Please contact your ministry coordinator for remote meeting schedules.
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Weekly Events - ALL SERVICES, CLASSES, & MEETINGS NORMALLY HELD AT THE CHURCH BUILDING ARE SUSPENDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, except as noted below:
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- Sunday Bible Class (children) See above for connection info and times for individual classes.
- Sunday Adult Devotional/Bible Study, 10:30am @church building
- Sunday Worship Service 8:30 and 11:00 am in person and 11:00 a.m. via livestream on YouTube. See above for details.
- Men's/Women's Classes, 5pm (4th Sunday of the month); Men @church building; Women via Zoom (details above)
- Youth & Family Ministry (1st Sunday of the month at 2pm)
- Young Adult Ministry (2nd Sunday of the month at 6pm) VIA ZOOM
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Mature in Heart Women's Prayer (Tuesdays @ 10:30am) VIA TELECONFERENCE (connection info above)
- Prayer Meeting (Tuesdays @ 7pm) VIA TELECONFERENCE (connection info above)
- Mid-Week Bible Study (Wednesdays @ 6:30pm) VIA TELECONFERENCE (connection info above)
- New Converts' Class (Wednesdays @ 7pm) @church building
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Healing Hearts (Thursdays @6:15pm) VIA ZOOM
- Couple's Ministry (Fridays @ 7 pm)
- Women's Prayer (Saturdays 9:30am) VIA TELECONFERENCE (Connection info above)
- Ministers/Elders/Deacons Wives Meeting, (3rd Saturday @10 am) @church building
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Bro. John Kurpiel, minister for the Lawrence congregation, hosts an international radio program, “Soul Food,” on Mondays and Tuesdays from 11AM until 3PM. The program airs on Ignite Radio Broadcast via Mixlr, an interactive internet radio platform. Use the link below to tune in to listen, or to participate in the conversation. Always free to listen. https://mixlr.com/ignite-radio-broadcast.
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Church of Christ in Roxbury
81 Walnut Avenue
Roxbury, MA 02119
617-442-5826
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