Particularization Service This Friday

Posted by Walter | Filed under Services

This Friday night at 7:30 pm at Defoor Centre is a special worship service and major milestone in the life of our church. After two and a half years of being governed by borrowed elders from ChristChurch, we will ordain and install our own elders, and one deacon, to share the work of leading our body into the future. In the Presbyterian system this is known as becoming a “particular,” or self-governing, church.

These officers were nominated by the members, vetted by the temporary elders, examined by a presbytery commission (on their character and theology), and last Sunday were elected by the members. Of 104 current members, 63 cast their votes, and each of the five candidates received at least 58 votes (or 92%). They are, for elder: Jeff Heck, Jim Irwin, Chuck Johnston, and Michael Vestal; and for ordained deacon, Joel Iverson.

If you are a member, attender, or simply a friend of Atlanta Westside Church, we hope you will plan to attend this special worship service, which will include a sermon by guest preacher Rev. Jonathan Inman of Grace & Peace Presbyterian in Ashveille, NC. Light refreshments will be served after the service.

Read more | Comments (0) | Mar 9, 2010

The One Name Given

Posted by Westside Church | Filed under Services

Acts 4:1-22 finds Peter and John on trail before the Jewish leaders for healing in the name of Jesus. In his defense, Peter makes an unambiguous claim for the “exclusivity” of salvation in Christ. This teaching is of course extremely unpopular in our current pluralistic world, with at least five common objections: that it’s: a power play, unloving, judgmental, ignorant or arrogant. Surprisingly, this passage addresses each of these objections in compelling ways.

Regrettably, we didn’t capture a decent recording of the sermon. If you REALLY want to listen to it, you can still hear it in this recording (or you can right-click the link and select “save as” or “download linked file”).

Read more | Comments (0) | Mar 9, 2010

Times of Refreshing

Posted by Walter | Filed under Services

When Peter explained how a lame man was healed through the name of Jesus, he offered his hearers a lot more: a promise of blessing from God (including “times of refreshing”), a sober assessment of his fellow Jews, and a call to action in response. His message is still good news today for those of us who desire such times of refreshing and need to define our relationship to Jesus.

 

Read more | Comments (0) | Mar 1, 2010

Lame No More

Posted by Walter | Filed under Services

In Acts 2:1-9, Peter and John heal a man who had been lame from birth, through the power of Jesus. This event shows us our own need for spiritual restoration through Jesus, while providing a beautiful example of how Jesus uses us to help other people in need.

 

Read more | Comments (0) | Feb 23, 2010

An Uncommon Life in Common

Posted by Walter | Filed under Services

Acts 2:41-47 give us a beautiful picture of the life of the brand-new Christian church. While every aspect of this picture is not attainable for us today — nor was it for long even for them — we can experience the same power of the Spirit to a great extent by devoting ourselves to the same practices together: the apostles teaching, the breaking of bread (Lord’s Supper), the fellowship, and prayer.

 

Read more | Comments (0) | Feb 20, 2010

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