From Dishes to Discipleship...

The Month of January in Women's Ministry

Ladies, as you are getting back into the swing of things with kids off to school and the un-decorating of all things Christmas behind you, let me encourage you to take a moment to open your calendars and prayerfully consider these great opportunities for Bible study and fellowship in the coming weeks (and there are links to make registration easy!). And husbands, this is for you, too--perhaps this will give you a way to encourage your wives to attend our retreat or the evening with Sharon Phillips or surprise her with help finding babysitters! And to our readers who are not FPC members...we invite guests to join us for all of these opportunities, just don't forget to RSVP!


Ladies’ Night Out with Sharon Phillips: Beauty That Really Matters
Friday, January 30th from 5:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Youth House Den

While the men are attending the Mid-South Men’s Rally, ladies, you have an opportunity for a fireside chat with his wife, Sharon! We will enjoy soup and fellowship together, followed by Sharon speaking to us on beauty that really matters-- issues of godliness and inner beauty in the life of Christian women. A nursery is provided, but registration is extremely important as we attempt to juggle all the men and women on this busy evening!
To Register, email: omegas@fpcjackson.org

Young Adult Girls: Breakfast with Sharon Phillips
"How Am I to Understand Dating and Marriage, Biblically, in a Postmodern World?"
Saturday, January 31st from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Location: The Home of Ashley Hall

This breakfast is especially designed with the young adult single woman in mind (college students and older). Rick and Sharon have written a book on this topic entitled: Holding Hands, Holding Hearts -- girls, you might want to pick up a copy before our breakfast with Sharon! This is an informal time where Sharon will do a bit of presenting and a lot of interacting. Come and enjoy breakfast, bring your questions, and be ready for good conversation!
To Register, email: ashleyh@fpcjackson.org

Ladies Retreat at Twin Lakes: Designed by God, Living in a Designer World
February 6th - 7th
Speaker: Ashley Hall

This is a weekend to leave all of the fast-paced busyness behind and retreat to Twin Lakes for encouraging Bible study and fellowship with the ladies of FPC. Our prayer is that you will find rest and encouragement during our girls weekend, as we take an honest look at how very different the world of the Bible is from our own designer world. Whether you are single, married, a mother, a wife, a grandmother, a daughter, or an aunt, we are effected both positively and negatively by our culture. If we desire to be salt and light in a watching world and pass on godliness to the generations following us, we first have to seek to understand where we live and then, how we as women of God, can go about redeeming the culture. Invite friends and sign-up early for the reduced cost!

Schedule
Friday Evening:
4:00 - 6:00 Registration and Settling In
6:30 - Dinner and Fellowship
7:30 - 9:30 Session 1 - Where We Live is NOT the Garden of Eden - From Genesis to Jackson!
9:30 - Fellowship and Fondue!

Saturday Morning:
7:00 - 8:15 Continental Breakfast and Personal Devotions
8:30 - 10:00 Session 2 - Godliness in a Designer World...is it Possible?
10:00-10:30 Coffee and Snack Break
10:30 - 12:00 Session 3 - Replacing Fast and Furious with Slow and Steady in a World that Values More and Better

Registration Costs: (Register online here!)
Before 1/15 - $45
Before 1/30 - $55

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From Dishes to Discipleship…

Christmas Traditions and the Gospel

After moving out of my parent’s home and into a house of my own, I began making my own Christmas traditions which includes the all-important “real” Christmas tree. This year, just after Thanksgiving, I made my annual pilgrimage to the Farmer’s Market to purchase my tree, hoping for the one that is “just right” for the small space I have allotted. And much to my delight, I left with a small tree strapped to my rooftop, ready for lights and trimming...

However, in between the purchasing and the fully decorated tree is quite a process! First the sawing off of the end of the trunk, then the wrestling of the tree stand, then the readjusting because of course the tree is crooked. When I finally got it into the house, there were needles all over the floor, my hands were covered with pine sap, and I had to turn the air conditioner on to alleviate the sweat that had been worked up during this process! And then the thought occurred to me,“what happened to chestnuts roasting on an open fire?!”

Traditions are important and I hope to make the case, biblical. Of course, so many times our right desire for traditions to be established with our families is made slightly more stressful by our own self-imposed heightened expectations, i.e. desires for stockings to be hung by the chimney with care and for children to be nestled all snug in their beds with visions of sugarplums dancing in heads. Wives, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and daughters seem to have an inborn desire to make holidays a special time and dare I say, a perfect time, for all involved. So how do we take right desires for lasting traditions and infuse those traditions with the Gospel so that we keep the main thing, the main thing?

From the very first families in Scripture, we find God commanding man and woman to be diligent in telling and passing on His Truths to each generation. “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deut.6:6-7). Traditions, by definition, are the handing down of statements and beliefs from generation to generation, especially by word of mouth or by practice. As adults who are further along in their walk with Christ, we know of His faithfulness, goodness, strength, and grace in increasing measure, and we are given the privilege of passing on that knowledge to those who come behind us. For Christians, God intended the tradition of teaching His Truths along the way to remind us of where we come from and where we are going – God made us, sin has distorted us, Christ came to redeem us, and ultimately, He is returning to restore all that was lost in the fall. Can we (and shouldn't we!) make this the basis for our Christmas traditions?

As Christmas day is quickly approaching, let me encourage you to take a moment to consider the traditions that you partake in and are perhaps endeavoring to pass along to your children and grandchildren—are those traditions rooted and grounded in God’s unfailing love for His children? Rather than trying to create the perfect atmosphere for tree trimming, instead consider the conversation possibilities with those young and old who will be helping. As you hang ornaments, talk about those who gave you the ornaments and how you have seen God at work in their lives. As the needles fall to the ground and the tree begins to turn brown, turn the conversation towards Heaven where “death shall be no more” (Rev. 21:4).

Consider what an opportunity we have this month to reflect Christ, to pass on the tradition of being Christ-like, to a watching world by serving them rather than demanding to be served. Christ was born to be a servant. Reflecting on Bethlehem ought to encourage us to “have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:5-7). Serving is not a matter of doing more and becoming more overwhelmed. Serving is about denying self and putting the needs of others first, so that the expectations for perfectly wrapped gifts become secondary to looking to the needs and interests of others, counting others better than ourselves (Philippians 2:3-4). Let us prayerfully consider how our Christmas traditions can promote and remain consistent with the desire to embrace and to pass along to our children the tradition of knowing and loving God, of spending time in His Word, and of reflecting Christ by serving and loving others.


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From Dishes to Discipleship...

The Month of December in Women's Ministry

Our theme and focus for the next two years in women’s ministry is, “Living for God’s Glory: Custom-Made for His Kingdom.” During the month of December and with Christmas fast-approaching, what better question to ask ourselves than, how can we, as women, glorify God in the midst of all the shopping, cooking, planning, and hanging the stockings by the chimney with care?

What does it look like to reclaim God’s presence in the midst of December, a month that really does call us to consider Christ? I hope to take up this question more in the days ahead. For now, here are a few upcoming opportunities that will take you away from the hustle of your Christmas season to-do list, and I encourage and invite you to attend if possible, as we seek to give God glory through fellowshipping with His saints and serving His Kingdom…

Tuesday, December 2: Christmas Dinner – "To God Be the Glory"
Appetizers at 6:00 p.m.; Dinner and Program at 6:30 p.m.

Our annual Christmas dinner and program is a long-standing favorite of our ladies, as it is an evening where we have the privilege of recognizing a few women who have served and ministered faithfully for years within our church.

When we begin reading in the book of Matthew, we find that the story of good news of a great joy begins with a long genealogy listing those who came before Jesus. Take a moment to read through this list (Matthew 1:1-17) and consider the significance of the names that appear there: it is a family history filled with good and bad men and women. From Abraham to Ahaz and Ruth to Rahab, Matthew is preparing us for the birth of Christ by telling us that Christ’s lineage was very normal. It was not filled with super-spiritual Christian examples who had no problems and who held everything together. In fact it is just the opposite. It’s a family history filled with sins and troubles, as well as saints who made every effort to walk by faith and trust their God. Does this sound familiar—do you see perhaps some similarities with your own family? Let us find encouragement here, because one of Matthew’s purposes in writing this genealogy was to remind us that everyone, Jew and Gentile, male and female, good and not-so-good…even the family of Jesus, needs a Savior. The hope for a ruined humanity is coming by way of the baby in the manger. How does this connect to our Christmas dinner, you might ask?

The ladies that we will recognize are not super-spiritual Christians either, but rather, they are just like those listed in the genealogies – normal, everyday redeemed sinners who have sought to live their lives in obedience to God, walking by faith with their eyes focused on the author and finisher of their faith, Jesus Christ. They are examples to us of what it looks like to glorify God with our time, talents, resources, and energies. Their testimonies will encourage you in your own walk with Christ as you hear of the many different and often unnoticed ways that they have faithfully served God for years. The theme of the evening is, “To God Be the Glory” and how appropriate to truly give Him thanks for these ladies for great things He has done in their lives and ours through Christ.

Make your reservations by calling the CE Office: 601-973-9115

Partnering with Gateway Rescue Mission: Christmas at Ruth’s Refuge - Friday, December 5th at 5:30 p.m.

As a church, we support Gateway Rescue Mission (click here to learn more about the ministry) and we are always looking for ways to partner with the ministries we support and to foster relationships with them. Ruth’s Refuge is the new women’s shelter at Gateway, and we are looking forward to the opportunity to take a bit of the holiday festivities to these ladies at the end of the week. During our service night in October, we made Christmas wreaths and ornaments to take to these ladies, and we are going to make the night more special by preparing and sharing a meal with them. If you would be interested in helping us cook the meal and/or to go out and have dinner with them, we would love to have you join us! Contact Anna Brand for cooking and departure instructions: annabrand@bellsouth.net

A Christmas Party with the Ladies at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility: Saturday, December 13th from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.

A group of ladies at FPC have an ongoing, monthly mentoring ministry with the ladies at our nearby prison, and each year, we have the privilege of helping hostess a Christmas party for these inmates. Along with taking and serving a meal, we will also sing Christmas songs and hymns with them, as well as share a Christmas devotional. This is an excellent opportunity to share Christ with others in word and deed. Consider this avenue of service – it is our desire to share a Christ-centered Christmas party with them. We will meet and depart from the church at 2:15 p.m. and the party will conclude at 5:00 p.m. Contact Gail Jones if you would like to join us: gbjones5@comcast.net

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