Volume 19, Issue 11
Feature Articles
MARCH 2 0 1 8 Columns page 2
Publisher’s Note
page 12
Jason Watson
Faith @ Work
Tiffany Higginbotham is a business owner, wife and mother of three. She shares about her early years with Christ, how her relationship with Him has grown and changed in adulthood, and how she strives to share genuine love and God’s grace in the workplace.
page 4
Pastor's Perspective Steve Walters, The Church at Pike Road
page 14
Pondering the Journey Sam Whatley
page 16
page 18
Women Arising
Easter: Pathetic or Genius?
Pastor Kemi Searcy
page 22
Counselor’s Corner
by Scott Sauls
Rebecca Morris, LPC
Where do you stand on Easter? Was Jesus real? Was he resurrected from the dead? The answers to these questions have eternal significance and Scott Sauls leads you in discovering truth.
page 30
The Intersection Bob Crittenden
page 40
Dave $ays
page 24
River Region Easter Listing
Local churches invite you to Easter musicals, Good Friday services, Easter Egg Hunts, Sunrise Services and more.
Dave Ramsey
In Every Issue page 6
Books to Read
page 32
page 8
Around Our Community
The Home of Second Chances
page 12
by Angela Hardgrave
Discover a local ministry that exists to “assist men recently released on parole for non-violent offenses to successfully reintegrate into the community.” You’ll also find how you can support Renascence by giving of your resources and/or your time. 1
Faith @ Work page 36
Support Groups February 2018
River Region’s Journey
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Our Mission... We believe the Good News concerning the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is worth sharing with our friends and neighbors in the River Region. Each month we deliver this life-changing message to the centers of activity across our community in a user-friendly and relevant way to empower and equip all those seeking to grow closer to God. Join us in this mission by sharing a copy with your neighbor or by becoming an advertising partner starting next month.
Editor DeAnne Watson deanne@readjourneymagazine.com
Publisher
Jason Watson jason@readjourneymagazine.com
Associate Publisher Gena Hill
Research Editor Wendy McCollum
Contributing Writers Tim Challies Bob Crittenden Angela Hardgrave Rebecca Morris Dave Ramsey Scott Sauls Kemi Searcy Pastor Steve Walters Sam Whatley
Advertising Opportunities
Stephanie Parsons, VP of Client Services ads@readjourneymagazine.com (334) 213-7940 ext 703
Digital Manager Scott Davis
Ad Design
From the Publisher When I was a young child my family didn’t attend church very often. I’m not sure why we went when we did, but you could bet we were all dressed in a mix of Spring Green and Canary Yellow sitting up straight in my dad’s newly washed company car headed to church every Easter. Like a lot of you, I have the Polaroid pictures to prove it! More than a celebration of salvation, back then, going to church on Easter was simply a family tradition on par with the egg hunt we would have later that afternoon. It’s just what you did. I don’t think that tradition is as strong as it used to be, and I’m fine with that. I realized a long time ago that practicing Christian traditions without a relationship with Jesus Christ, the religions namesake, is pointless and tiring. This week I asked a neighbor about her faith and she replied “I need to attend church more.” That’s the response you might give too, but it really depends. I would say the best answer is, “I need to spend more time celebrating Jesus and His love for me.” If going to church helps you with that then, yes, we all need to attend church more. The Christian faith isn’t an attendance card. It’s a humble awe-inspired worship of our Rescuer Jesus – the Perfect One! Jesus did what no man has ever done. He obeyed God the Father perfectly then went to the cross and faced the death we deserve. Death is sin’s penalty, but death couldn’t hold the Perfect One. God raised Jesus from the dead declaring Him the victor over sin and Lord of Lords. Jesus now offers His newness of life, for now and eternity, to all those who trust in His work of redemption. What will Easter look like for you this year? I hope you put on some Spring Green and Canary Yellow. I hope you find more eggs than everyone and get a big chocolate bunny, but if that’s it, I hope you’ll consider searching for more. There’s a much bigger celebration that you’re going to miss. Come in and celebrate Jesus...our Rescuer.
Tim Welch, Welch Designs
Distribution Manager Chris Mitchell
River Region’s Journey is published monthly by Keep Sharing, P.O. Box 230367, Montgomery, AL 36123. For information, call 334-213-7940. River Region’s Journey is copyrighted 2018 by KeepSharing. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited. The opinions expressed in River Region’s Journey are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the owners, nor do they constitute an endorsement of products or services herein. River Region’s Journey has the right to refuse any content that is not consistent with its statement of faith.
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Easter
Pl e a se join u s a s w e c e l e br at e
EASTER SCHEDULE
Maundy Thursday | March 29
Holy Eucharist with Foot Washing and Stripping of the Altar at 6:00 pm
Good Friday | March 30
Veneration of the Cross at 12:00 pm | Stations of the Cross with Veneration of the Cross: 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Holy Saturday | March 31
The Great Vigil of Easter with Holy Baptism at 8:00 pm Champagne Reception to follow
Easter Sunday | April 1
Sunrise Eucharist in the Courtyard Garden at 6:00 am | Holy Eucharist at 9:30 am
8800 VAUGHN ROAD, MONTGOMERY, AL 36117 | WWW.CHRISTCHURCHMGM.NET | 334.387.0566 3
February 2018
River Region’s Journey
Pastor’s Perspective Steve Walters, The Church at Pike Road
Are You Fully Enjoying God’s Love? I wonder if I’ve treated God’s love as paramount to my relationships with God and others, but failed to fully enjoy it? A brief glance at a piece of beautiful art, a rushed taste of world-class cuisine, or a muffled hearing of a great piece of music may point to the value of those things, but not necessarily the enjoyment of them. But, when fully taken in, appreciated, and allowed to affect our imaginations, affections, and attitudes we participate in the creator’s intentions. I took some Spanish in college, but I really didn’t know it would open
up and shape new relationships and experiences that would change my life. I valued the concept of communicating in a new language, but enjoying it would depend on what I would do with it. I had to learn it, communicate with it, serve with it, work with it, and above all, enjoy it. I found that it was a doorway to another culture and a world of new relationships. Love is similar to language in this way. When God’s love shapes my relationships through intentional choice, I’ll enjoy it the most. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another,
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River Region’s Journey
March 2018
even as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34). Love is a force for good, but it’s also a motive behind much that isn’t good. It’s important that we choose our first love carefully. When our first love is self or some other idol, the outcome for ourselves and for those around us will likely be negative. When the object and example of our love is Jesus, we have tapped into the source of constant and ultimate good. When I’m tempted to give little more than a cursory nod at God’s love, I want to consider the cross and the breadth and depth of the love that drove Him there for us. Let’s fully enjoy the course on “love-ology” that Jesus wants to show us!
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Kiss the Wave by Dave Furman
None of us makes it through life without suffering. None of us escapes physical pain, emotional distress, or spiritual agony. At some times and in some ways, we all suffer. No wonder, then, that so many authors have turned to the subject. As Christians, we are well-served with books to help us suffer well and books that help us grapple with the deeper theological questions that inevitably arise in the midst of our darkness. New to the market is Dave Furman’s Kiss the Wave: Embracing God in Your Trials. The title is drawn from a quote generally attributed to Charles Spurgeon: “I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.” Furman explains, “When I am in the midst of suffering, I am doing my best just to keep my head above water as the stormy waves of suffering crash over me. I have often longed to be lifted out of the rough and dark waters that feel as if they are engulfing me. I have spent many long nights despising those waves. I have never thought about kissing them.” What he has come to see, and what he wants the reader to know, is that “God is doing more in our suffering than we can see with our eyes.” Instead of flailing against our suffering, we need to learn to embrace it as a mysterious part of God’s will for us. Furman does not write this book from an abstract perspective, but a deeply personal one. For many years he has experienced debilitating nerve pain that has left him in constant pain while stealing his ability to carry out many normal functions. River Region’s Journey
March 2018
Yet while his experience is woven throughout the book, this is in no way a biography. Instead, it is a popular-level theology of suffering. It takes on the big questions and provides answers that, though simple, are satisfying. Why do we suffer? Where is God in our suffering? Would a good God actually permit suffering? Will we suffer forever? He answers these questions and many more. While he writes as a fellow sufferer, he also writes as a pastor charged with caring for others as they endure trials. He does this well, always remaining clear and winsome. If you are currently going through a time of trial, Kiss the Wave will prove a blessing to you, calling you to endure and persevere to the end. If you are currently not going through a time of trial, Kiss the Wave will equally prove a blessing to you as it will arm you for the inevitable and equip you to help others. Whatever the case, I gladly commend it to you.
John G. Paton
Missionary to the Cannibals of the South Seas by Paul Schlehlein There are some figures who tower over the history of the Christian faith. They are marked by their courage, their godliness, and their sheer faithfulness. There are many missionaries in this number and John Paton must rank high among them. Few have carried out a more difficult, costly, or perilous ministry. Few have suffered to the degree that he did. Few have seen so many won to Christ. His story is now told anew in Paul Schlehlein’s John G. Paton: Missionary to the Cannibals of the South Seas. Schlehlein, himself a missionary to the Tsongas in rural South Africa, offers four reasons for preparing his book. First, he wishes to contrast Paton’s indomitable 6
courage and indefatigable moxie with the “diplomacy and emotional sensitivity” that marks the world and, indeed, the church today. Second, he believes Paton’s pen can arrest today’s audience as it did more than a century ago. For this reason, Schlehlein often allows Paton to speak in his own words. Third, he means to encourage missionaries and gospel workers who are fainthearted and weary with their task. He hopes that when such readers learn what God did among the cannibals of the South Seas they will be encouraged to press on in their own work. Finally, he is convinced there are crucial lessons to draw from Paton’s life. For this reason, only half of the book is biography while the rest is dedicated to lessons the biography displays. Paton was convinced God had called him to be a missionary to the South Seas, and went accompanied by his teenaged bride and their infant son. This was known as a particularly dangerous area for it was populated with cannibals who had already shed much missionary blood. Within six months both mother and son had died from disease and Paton was left alone. Despite a double-blow that might have ended the ministry of a lesser man, he pressed on in his work. In fact, he labored there for decades, eventually accompanied by his second wife, Margaret. He lived to reap a great harvest of souls with almost entire populations coming to faith in Christ. His indomitable courage receives a chapterlength treatment as does his theology of risk, his strategy for spreading the good news of Jesus Christ, and the Calvinistic beliefs that fueled his evangelism. Paton’s story is powerful and is worthy of a new telling. Schlehlein has done the church a great service in telling it again and telling it well, for “just as stars shine brightest in a moonless sky, the grace of the Lord Jesus flashes most brilliantly before the man-eaters of the New Hebrides.”
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February 2018
River Region’s Journey
Revival Tour
Women’s Conference
with Clayton Jennings, Blake Whiteley, Joshua Micah
April 19-21 at Fresh Anointing House of Worship, 6000 Monticello Drive in Montgomery. To register visit www.AnointedChurch.org. Cost is $35. Guests will be Singer Vicki Yohe, Apostle Sharon Nesbitt and Apostle Jane Hamon. Call 334.613.3363 for more info.
Tuesday, March 13, at 7:00 pm Doors at 6:30 pm Davis Theatre, Montgomery, AL Order tickets by Phone at 800-965-9324 or visit itickets.com.
David Phelps in Concert Thursday, May 17, at 7:00 pm Doors at 6:00 pm Eastmont Baptist Church, 4505 Atlanta Highway, Montgomery, AL 36109 Visit itickets.com or call 270-627-0570. Organized by: The Carpenters Son Productions
A L O
Saturday, March 31 10:00 a.m.-12:00 noon Preschool-Second Grade First Baptist Church Prattville
Games
Face painting
Inflatables
Egg hunt
Bring an Easter basket River Region’s Journey
March 2018
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Petting zoo
Rain cancels
Pony rides
sj
NINTH ANNUAL
BENEFITING YOUTH & CHILDREN’S MISSIONS @ SAINT JAMES UMC
Auction: Saturday, April 21, 4-6pm Live Preview: Friday, April 20, 4-6pm Online Preview: sjlifeauction.com Free Admission Antique Furniture Home Goods Gift cards Trips & Vacations And much more!
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sjlifeauction.com | 334.481.0735 | 9045 Vaughn Road, Montgomery, AL 36117 9
Vaughn Rd. February 2018
River Region’s Journey
Renascence Re-entry Community Ping Pong Tournament & Party
DROP THE MIC Tour
An Evening of Music, Comedy and Uncompromising Truth
Rick Burgess, Jason Crabb, Brad Stine Friday, April 27, at 7:30 pm; Doors at 6:30 pm
Davis Theater for Performing Arts 251 Montgomery Street Visit itickets.com or order by phone at 800-965-9324.
River Region’s Journey
March 2018
Friday and Saturday, March 2-3 The preview party from 6-9 p.m. Friday is for adults only; the tournament from 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. Saturday is for all ages and abilities. Both will be held at the Alcazar Center, 555 Eastern Blvd. The tournament benefits Renascence and the men coming out of the prison system who need a hand up, not a hand-out, as they transition into society and employment. Like a ping pong, the men of Renascence want to bounce back into productive lives. Preview party costs $45 and includes food, drinks, dance band, silent auction and opportunity to play ping pong. Tournament costs $10 for ages 19 and under; $20 for ages 20 and up. For more info or to sign up, call (334) 832-1402 or visit halfway-home.net.
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We were raised to work hard. Never watch someone else work. Leave things better than you found them. Don’t make more work for someone else. No one was done working until everyone was done working. Wake up happy and ready to go because there was no point in being anything else. Say please, say thank you. All simple but profound disciplines. These most certainly carried over into other areas of my life as a student, an athlete, an employee and as a believer. It was just me and my sister, Tammy, growing up on a farm, with no brothers. We worked just as hard as we would have if we were boys. My dad would always tell us, “I pray that God provides you with a loving husband one day that will do these things for you, but I never want you to say you don’t know how, simply because you are a girl.” I frequently think about how God used this in my life to prepare me to be a female business owner now. They really did parent us with the goal of leaving them and, by God’s grace, to one day become productive members of society and God’s Kingdom. I am eternally grateful.
RRJ: Tiffany, you grew up in a Christian home, regularly going to church. How has this foundation grown your faith in God? Tiffany: A foundation was most certainly laid, and my entire extended family were/ are all believers. I grew up in a home where faith and church were a high priority and our lives and schedules were centered around the church. I learned at an early age to value God’s Word and begin to grid my life and decisions through a Biblical lens. RRJ: Growing up on a hog farm in Slapout, AL is a contrast to living in the city of Montgomery and owning your own business. What did life on the farm teach you and how did it prepare you for your professional and spiritual life? Tiffany: I am always asking myself, how do I teach my own children the work ethic and physical disciplines that I learned as a child. But, the reality is, that probably can’t be entirely recreated living in the city. But, nonetheless, I try every day. River Region’s Journey
March 2018
RRJ: While attending PT school in Birmingham, you grew in knowledge of God’s Word through a Bible study group with friends. And later, a women’s study of Titus 2. How did these studies shape your thoughts and heart? Tiffany: In PT school, I began to intellectualize my faith and ask, “Do I really believe all of this?” I fell into a group of friends that God so graciously organized, and relationships were developed that showed me that not only was there a God, but that He loved me so much. I became absolutely convinced of the sovereignty of God and His hand on my life. I met my best friend, who is still one of the sweetest gifts that God has ever given me. I intricately studied the human body that did nothing but point to an amazing God. I married my high school sweetheart, Keith, and we settled in Montgomery. The church that we were attending had a Women’s Bible Study that was centered on Titus 2 ministry. Here I formed deep friendships, relationships, and mentorships that really shaped me as a woman, wife and mom. These friendships and relationships, nearly 20 years later, are still a huge cornerstone in my life. 12
RRJ: What are some practical ways you are raising your children to know the Lord? Tiffany: I always jokingly saying, I am just trying not to screw them up. I am so very thankful that we serve a God who is gracious to my children despite me. I have always tried and secretly aspired to being one of those families that sit around the table, pray and do devotionals together, but that is just not us. I do pray, though, that we LIVE devotionally before our children. I hope that our home is a place where we can be vulnerable and transparent – a place where it is safe to fail. I hope our children see sinners who mess up but who seek repentance, forgiveness and find grace. I pray that they see parents who love Jesus, love each other and seek to love others. Practically, with near three teenagers now, that translates to a lot of time on our knees and learning to trust the Lord. RRJ: Experiencing the loss of a loved one can be devastating. How did your faith help you and your husband after the sudden loss of your father-in-law early in your marriage? Tiffany: My father-in-law died suddenly and completely unexpectedly, of a massive heart attack, at 51, only about a year after we were married. Realizing how quickly life can change was extremely humbling and terrifying, but our faith was absolutely everything. Knowing that God was in control, that my father in law lived the exact number of days that God created him to live, and that we will see him again one day, changed everything. It was probably the hardest thing we have gone through, but our faith allowed us to “grieve like those who have hope”. Ken was a wonderful, Godly man that left a legacy of the gospel and a love for his family that I pray we will pass on to his grandchildren. RRJ: You have been on a spiritual journey over the last several years made up of small revelations. How has God changed you in this journey? Tiffany: I became a believer very early in my life and although I believe it was genuine, I really had a walk that was mostly concerned with outward conformity. I was very prideful about how well I followed the rules and this
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really became my religion and righteousness. I could quickly dismiss or look down on anyone not in alignment with what I thought, believed or did. I would take a portion of scripture concerning change in behavior and just will to “boot strap” it up until I thought I saw change. Over the last several years, I have realized how very little this looks like Jesus. I began to really study the life and works of Jesus and I became so humbled with the life He lived and what He did for me. This extravagant grace began to change me and I realized I had the cart before the horse. We are saved for good works not by them, and the more I got to know Jesus, the less I wanted to judge, and the more I wanted to extend that same grace that I had received to others. This has changed how I interact with patients on a daily basis. When you allow yourself to just build relationships with people, you will be truly amazed at all that God will teach you about yourself. I have the privilege of doing this everyday and it is truly an honor. RRJ: Do you have favorite Scriptures that you turn to for strength while living out your faith at work? Tiffany: My “slogan” for my PT practice is “heart, soul, mind, strength”. This comes from Mark 12:30: “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind, and with all of your strength.” I picked this because it has numerous meanings for me. First, it reminds me to treat the whole person. There is a mind and a heart and a soul attached to that physical problem that I am treating. May I never forget this. Secondly, it reminds that I am ultimately loving and serving the Lord as I use my own heart, soul, mind and strength to do my job. This makes what I do no longer a job, but now a calling. And, thirdly, it calls me to the very next verse that goes on to say “and love your neighbor as yourself.” All of my patients are my “neighbors” everyday and it reminds me to treat everyone as I would want to be treated if I were them in their situation.
Sunday School - 8:00 A.M. Morning Worship Service - 9:30 a.m. 3rd Sunday Children's Church - 9:30 a.m. Communion & Baptism - 1st Sundays 9:30 a.m. Prayer Meeting - Wednesdays 6:00 p.m. Bible Study - Wednesdays 7:00 p.m. East Campus Office - 334.265.1807 • 1550 East Washington St.
RRJ: What advice would you give our readers who may feel luke warm in their faith? Tiffany: First, I would say, you are normal and we all have days where we feel this way. Thankfully, God remains absolutely the same no matter how we may feel. Go tell someone else. Community and friendship are so important and I don’t know how I would survive without them. God never intended for us to live in isolation, but we are created to be in community and to love and serve each other. We so easily forget basic truths when we are in trial, and we need others to gently remind and encourage us. Tiffany Higginbotham has been married to Keith for 20 years. She is a mom of three: McKenzie (17), Gantt (15), and Nate (10).
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And I Helped! Children can teach us a lot, especially young children. I learned something last fall by watching a landscaper and his four-yearold son. The father was unloading bales of pine straw, breaking them up, and spreading large handfuls around bushes and flowers. He quickly spread a thick layer of loose straw around all the plants, without covering them up. His son snatched a tiny handful of straw from a broken bale, dropped it close to a flower, then gleefully rushed back to get another handful. He repeated this over and over. The smile on the boy’s face and the shine in his eyes made it evident that he was proud to be helping his father with his landscaping.
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March 2018
The father smiled too. His son was showing his love for him by his eagerness. The father displayed his love by his patience. He knew his son was learning a skill, the value of work, and the joy of sharing in his father’s world. Why can’t we be more like that little boy? Jesus made this point to his disciples: “He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven’” (Matthew 18:2-4, NIV) That statement seems strange to us. How different we are from children. Consider my fouryear-old friend. Unlike an adult, he did not tell his dad what he thought needed to be done. He just watched and did what he saw his father doing. The boy did not provide the pine straw. He used the materials his father had brought. The tyke did not ask why the straw must be spread before the winter freezes came. He did not even have to be told to do the work. He wanted to be where his father was, doing whatever his father was doing. Why can’t we be more like that? Sometimes we make serving God into something more 14
complicated than it is. If we would just trust Him more and worry about things less, our work would be so much easier. But to trust Him we must know Him. We learn of Him through His written Word, through prayer, and through sharing our lives with other Christian believers. Once we get to know God, we learn to pay attention to His leading in our lives. As we follow His lead, our service becomes a joy. When the Lord really puts a task on your heart, you can’t help but look forward to doing it. You live to do it. But if we repeatedly take our direction from someone other than God, we tend to do things that need to be done by someone, but probably someone else. If you hate cooking, stay out of the church kitchen. If you do not relate to children, don’t get stuck trying to teach little ones. We may mean well in our service to the Lord, but if it is not a joy, it soon leads to discouragement and burnout. Jesus offers us a better path. He said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30, NIV) The joy of working for the Lord is not in admiring what we have accomplished, but in being connected with the God of the universe in an important enterprise. How important is pine straw spreading? It saved a flower garden from the snow last winter. The little boy did not spread much pine straw. That was not the point. He was together with his father and shared in the work. My prayer is that we will quit asking God to help us do our work, and start asking to be part of His. He knows what we should be doing. He knows how we should go about it and has made provisions for the challenges we will face. He just wants us to find joy in joining with Him in His work. May we work in such a way that we can one day say, “God did it all and I helped!” **Sam Whatley’s latest book, Ponder Anew, is now available at the Frazer Bookstore located inside Frazer Memorial UMC.
st r t
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ot
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Do you know the hidden dangers of heartburn? It can be a cause or symptom of something much worse — including chronic esophageal reflux or esophageal cancer.
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At Jackson’s NEW HEARTBURN CENTER, our team of medical professionals can help you manage mild, severe and chronic heartburn, with treatments ranging from diet and lifestyle changes, to the proper use of antacids and even surgery. Don’t ignore your heartburn. Ask your doctor about a treatment that’s right for you. Learn more at jackson.org.
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February 2018
River Region’s Journey
3
The Contented Heart I love my 9-year-old granddaughter. One quality that has endeared her to me is her desire to read. Abby would come home from school, do her homework, eat dinner, and read until she had to be stopped in time for bed. When Abby received an electronic tablet for a gift last Christmas, I assumed her love of reading would go to the next level. Yet, Abby used the device to watch MTV videos. She began to stand in front of her mirror, twitching her little body, and asking me, “Grandma, do you think I am pretty?” Our society takes its cue as to what is beautiful from a Hollywood standard. This standard places excessive pressure on today’s woman to want to look like the image of the “perfect” woman that is projected through media day in and day out. The benchmarks for this pseudoimage are distorted and far from God’s design and intent. The unspoken expectation placed on women by our society to look a certain way is not what women of God should subject themselves to as their standard of beauty. We do not need to spend money on plastic surgeries, such as nose jobs, tummy tucks, breast implants, butt implants, etc. I am not saying that any of these beauty enhancements are evil in and of themselves. Instead, women of God need to check the reasons why they pursue these procedures. They need to search what their motive is. Has anything been pressuring them to subject themselves to these surgeries? River Region’s Journey
March 2018
God, the Creator, endowed some of us with big bone structures. We can never be a size two, no matter how long and hard we starve ourselves. God gave other women small frame structures, who cannot be otherwise. This variety is as beautiful as the color of skin or the ethnic influence on eye shape. Let’s stop yielding to the worldly pressures. Let’s stop spending money we don’t have trying to please people who won’t be impressed anyway. Let’s fight the mind set of trying to live by the world’s standards and focus our attention on what matters most in life. Let me be clear that I am not saying we should neglect ourselves and look like cave women! We should look our best to show we care about what God has given to us. Life is about living in this world but not of this world. Jesus said that. We must do what it takes within the parameters set by the Holy Spirit to ensure our success. Master yourself and present yourself with dignity and class. You can look fabulous and not spend a fortune. Learn to bargain shop, shop off-season, or shop at consignment stores and you will be surprised at the deals you can find. What I am realizing about my granddaughter is that the continuous dose of MTV and the constant comparison of herself to the images shown are causing discontentment to edge into her young soul about who and how God has created her. This must be addressed quickly 16
before her morals are formed by popular culture. Here are a few points to help overcome discontentment about who you are.
1. Pray for the Heart of Contentment God invoked a blessing on Adam and Eve, telling them to be fruitful, multiply and dominate the earth. He then provided them with all that they needed to succeed. It is God’s will that you do well, beloved, but He also warns, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). Whisper a quick prayer with me, “Lord, I am so sorry for allowing discontentment and dissatisfaction to fill my heart. Please forgive me, and give me the grace to be content with those things You have provided. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
2. Comparison Creates Discontentment The Bible says only the unwise compare themselves with others. No matter how smart you are someone is smarter. Even if you are the next crowned Miss Universe, someone is prettier. Therefore, it is most logical to see that the best place to be is in the place of contentment – being happy with who God says you are. Theodore Roosevelt said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.”
3. Be Grateful Gratefulness is the key to contentment; there is always someone who wishes they had what you have. Start praising God with those obvious assets that you have and move toward those that are more questionable to label as assets. But give Him honor for making you unique and absolutely special in His eyes.
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Jesus didn’t stutter when he said that he is the truth:
your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.
I am the way, and the truth, and the life,” he said, “no one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).
But what is it, exactly, that has made Lewis so certain that Jesus is more than a great human teacher, but is instead the Son of God, the Word who has become flesh, the Incarnate Deity? I believe the answer to this question rests in a single word:
Why did Jesus claim to be the truth, versus one single truth among many other truths? Why did he say that he would not share his glory with any other God or any other religious leader? Why was he unwilling to accept the mere designation of Rabbi or of a good moral teacher or of an exemplary human being? Furthermore, why do his followers seem stuck on the idea that Jesus, in being the truth, is the singular path to God? CS Lewis, a secular atheist intellect turned Christian, answers this question as well as anyone in Mere Christianity:
Resurrection. Jesus, who was crucified, dead, and buried, rose again bodily from the dead. The man Saul of Tarsus was militantly opposed to the Christian religion and a leader in the first century massacre against the followers of Jesus. Yet, Saul of Tarsus later became a follower of Jesus. The turning point occurred for Saul when he was on his way to Damascus to arrest more Christians. Jesus, having risen from the dead, met him on the road, temporarily blinded him, and asked him a question, “Saul, why do you persecute me?” The message to Saul was clear. In standing against Christians, he was standing against Christ, the risen Messiah. And in standing against Christ, the risen Messiah, he was standing against the truth.
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make River Region’s Journey
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In an instant, Saul, once a big shot among the Jews, became small in his own eyes. Saul, a great teacher and leader, was at a loss for words. Instead of striking Saul down, Jesus forgave him. From that point forward, Saul of Tarsus was also Paul the Apostle, the inspired writer of approximately one third of the New Testament. He later wrote these words: I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly and in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life (1 Timothy 1:12-16). How did Paul know that his words were “trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance?” How did Paul know that his belief in Jesus was belief in the truth versus a belief in one of several legitimate, competing “truths?” He knew his words were trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance because Christ had risen from the dead. Because Christ had risen from the dead—a claim that cannot be made by any other religious founder or leader. And if Christ has risen from the dead, everything else that Jesus said and did can be accepted as true. But what if the resurrection of Jesus is actually not true? What if it is a myth? What if in the end, it turns out to be a cleverly made up hoax? If it is a hoax, Christians are the most pitiful people in the world. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church:
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KNOW what to do in case of suspected concussion
A concussion is an injury caused by a blow to the head in which the brain moves rapidly and may collide with the inside of the skull. Even a minor fall or collision may be of concern, so be alert to symptoms such as headaches, unsteadiness, confusion or other types of abnormal behavior. Any athlete with a suspected concussion: n.....Should be IMMEDIATELY
REMOVED FROM PLAY/ACTIVITY n.....Should be evaluated right away
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by a doctor/healthcare professional n.... Should not be left alone n.....Should not drive a motor vehicle
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For a Concussion Clinic appointment, call 205.934.1041 In case of medical emergency, call 911 or go directly to your local ER SPORTS MEDICINE
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If the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we 19
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are of all people most of all to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:17-20). In fact…Christ has been raised. How can we be so sure? As Simon Greenleaf, distinguished professor of law at Harvard discovered, the evidence is overwhelming. Based on the evidence alone, it takes more faith not to believe that Jesus rose from the dead than it takes faith to believe it. As the Apostle Peter once wrote, “We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty (2 Peter 1:16).
Eyewitnesses. Of his majesty. What eyewitness evidence to Jesus’ resurrection was so convincing to the likes of Simon Greenleaf? There are several excellent books that have been written on the subject, including Who Moved the Stone? by an English journalist attorney named Frank Morrison. Also, The Case for Christ
and The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel, More Than a Carpenter and Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell, and Tim Keller’s The Reason for God are excellent, more detailed treatments of the subject.
It may be helpful to highlight a few of these so-called “evidences.” One such evidence is the Apostle Paul’s undisputed claim that there were over five hundred, real-time eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Christ in the first century, “most of whom (were) still alive” (1 Corinthians 15:3-11). Another evidence is the historical record of how each of the twelve disciples of Jesus died. Judas, the one false disciple, hanged himself over guilt related to his betrayal of Jesus. Ten of the others died as martyrs because of their unwillingness to recant their Christian faith to show ultimate allegiance to the Roman Caesar. The disciple John, exiled to the island of Patmos for the same unwillingness to recant, died of old age
as a prisoner for Jesus. With this historic record in mind, Josh McDowell wrote the following in More Than a Carpenter: If the Resurrection had not happened, obviously the disciples would have known it. I can find no way that these particular men could have been deceived. Therefore they not only would have died for a lie—here’s the catch—they would have known it was a lie. It would be hard to find a group of men anywhere in history who would die for a lie if they knew it was a lie. Other evidence for Christianity includes the countless lives over the centuries that have been changed. In a candid interview about his Christian faith,
Bono issued a challenge to his skeptical interviewer with these words:
Either Christ was who He said He was the Messiah or a complete nutcase. I mean, we’re talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson…This man was strapping himself to a bomb, and had “King of the Jews” on his head, and, as they were putting him up on the Cross, was going: OK, martyrdom, here we go. Bring on the pain! I
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can take it. I’m not joking here. The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me, that’s farfetched. Bono’s point is that the best case for Christianity is the lives that have been changed by Jesus. Liars becoming more honest, crooks returning what they have stolen, anxious and dying people finding peace, cowardly and fearful people finding courage, hurtful people asking forgiveness from those they have hurt, bodies wasting away as the souls who inhabit those bodies become more alive, business people doing the less profitable thing because it is the right thing, aimless people finding meaning in their lives, spouses staying committed to each other through the hard and dry seasons, addicts becoming sober, adulterers becoming chaste, pregnant mothers continuing their pregnancies knowing that they are carrying a child with Down Syndrome, rejected and unappreciated parents persisting in unconditional love toward their straying, entitled children. These are only a few examples of how Jesus Christ changes people. The same power that Christians believe spoke the galaxies into being, that parted the ocean, that caused a blind man to see, that enabled a paralytic to get up and walk, and that raised Jesus from the dead—accounts for the billions of people who, having been brought into relationship with Jesus, have become better versions of themselves. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The
old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Perhaps you have been turned off to Christianity because of intellectual roadblocks. Perhaps, like Francis Schaeffer, you have been turned off by a “lack of reality” that you perceive in the lives and behavior of Christians around you. Amid your questions, doubts, and disappointments, are there any Christians in your life who have shown you glimpses of something different, something more beautiful and lovely, even something admirable? Have you ever seen in Christians something that gave you pause about your doubts, that led you to consider that perhaps there is something to this Jesus character? Something like forgiveness of a hurt, compassion shown to a sufferer, generosity toward someone in need, or perseverance in a hard marriage? If so, could this be Jesus reaching out to you, inviting you to consider, or perhaps reconsider, his claims? If there are no such Christians in your life and if there is no such longing, would you consider, as the Harvard student Jordan Monge did, investigating “the works of the masters” such as Augustine, Anselm, Aquinas, Descartes, Kant, Pascal, and Lewis?
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Better yet, would you consider reading through each of the four “Jesus biographies” in the Bible—the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—each written from the perspective of a first-century believer whose life had been made new by the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus? If you are not ready to open yourself to the possibility that Jesus is the truth, would you consider embarking on the journey that Simon Greenleaf once did? Would you accept the challenge, as he did, of attempting to prove that it is false? Perhaps in your quest to prove Christianity to be false, you might discover, as Greenleaf and Francis Schaeffer did, that there is only one reason to be a Christian: because it’s true. Or perhaps you won’t. Scott Sauls is the Senior Pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, where he lives with his wife Patti and two daughters, Abby and Ellie. Read more from Scott at www.scottsauls.com.
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Prayer, Fasting and the Hands and Feet Spring has sprung! The azaleas are in bloom, and new life sprouts all around us. For Christians, the Easter celebration of the resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate spring – the reminder of the new life we have in Christ. Many Christian traditions observe Lent, the 40-day period before Easter of self-examination and reflection that can prepare us for the full joy of Easter. Observation of Lent is an ancient Christian tradition, a season of penitence, repentance, prayer and fasting leading to a renewal of the soul to allow for greater dedication to serving God and others in the coming year. Fasting reminds us of our mortality and can lead to greater recognition of the sin and brokenness of our earthly life and remind us that the resurrection of Jesus foreshadows a time when the broken world will be healed. Our self-focused lives are interrupted as fasting reconnects the body to the mind, emotions and soul and our priorities are challenged. Lent is designed for self-examination, so that we can identify areas in our lives that need correction and growth, as we are River Region’s Journey
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called to renew our dependence on God’s help. Lent is designed to take us out of our comfort zone to prepare for Easter with gratitude and joy. Fasting in Lent follows the example of Jesus. After his baptism, Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days. (Matthew 4:111; Luke 4:1-13). At his physical weakest, he was tempted repeatedly by Satan to give in to his natural human desires. Using the word of God, he resisted and was victorious over sin. Jesus fasted to prepare for his ministry which changed the world forever. Service to others was a central focus of Jesus’ ministry, and Christians today are called
to follow his example. Prayer, fasting and service are practices during Lent that draw us closer to God and our purpose in this earthly life. Fasting and service can be beautifully blended. I suggest that this Lenten season, we especially focus on the needs of the heart and soul. Many of us and those around us have a deep yearning to experience the fruits of the Spirit – in ourselves and from others. As Paul exhorts in his letter to the Galatians: But the fruit of 22
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23). Lent is a wonderful time to prayerfully seek the fruits of the Spirit and share them.
Fasting and Service Suggestions from Pope Francis: 1. Fast from hurting words and say kind words. 2. Fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude. 3. Fast from anger and be filled with patience. 4. Fast from pessimism and be filled with hope. 5. Fast from worries and trust in God. 6. Fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity. 7. Fast from pressures and be prayerful. 8. Fast from bitterness and fill your heart with joy. 9. Fast from selfishness and be compassionate to others. 10. Fast from grudges and be reconciled. 11. Fast from words and be silent so you can listen. Fasting reminds us of our brokenness and, although this fallen world will not be redeemed until Jesus comes again, we are called to be his hands and feet on earth. Lean in to the hearts of others and be blessed. Happy Easter! Rebecca Rose Morris is a Licensed Professional Counselor, National Certified Counselor, and Counseling Supervisor. She earned her Masters degree at Auburn University Montgomery and graduated with an Ed.S. from Troy University – Montgomery Campus. She works with adolescents and adults addressing a wide range of issues including depression, anxiety, life transitions, and relational trauma.
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Join us for worship each Sunday at 8, 9:30 or 11am now through Easter as we explore why Jesus offers so much more than just ordinary life plus a little religion—he offers a life that is truly brand new.
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Stations of the Cross
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12 PM–7 PM Wednesday 9 AM–7 PM Thursday & Friday
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An interactive prayer journey through the last steps of Jesus toward the cross
Good Friday 7:00 PM Service of Darkness A somber but beautiful remembrance of the crucifixion of Jesus
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Easter Egg Hunt
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F RA ZER P LAYGROU ND 10 AM–12 PM Age appropriate egg hunts, games, puppets and more.
Easter Sunrise Worship BLOUNT CULT URA L PA RK ( AC R O SS F RO M ASF )
6:00 AM with Aldersgate UMC. Bring lawn chair or blanket; rain cancels
Easter Sunday Worship 8, 9:30 and 11AM April 1 You are invited to be our guest as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You’ll find amazing music, exciting children’s programs, and an inspiring message. 6 0 0 0 ATLA NTA H WY MON TG OME RY WWW. F R AZER . C HUR C H FAC EBOOK . C OM/ F RA ZERUMC 23
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worship as we celebrate the resurrection Of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. For more information, call (334) 356.4478 Find us on Facebook: Awaken
Beacon of Hope Church of God 1045 Coliseum Boulevard, 274.0932 Community Wide Easter Sunrise Service (located outside) 6:30 a.m. Easter Celebration Sunday, April 1 at 10:45 a.m. Nursery Available
Bethel Missionary Baptist Church 2106 Mill Street, Montgomery, 262.6825 Easter Egg Hunt Eggstravaganza This Event is Free and Open to the Public On Saturday, March 31st from 3-5 pm Join us for Lots of Fun and Fellowship. DON’T FORGET YOUR BASKETS!
RIVER REGION
Blue Ridge Baptist Church 4471 Jasmine Hill Rd, 567.4325 Palm Sunday, March 25 Children’s Easter Musical, lunch following with Egg Hunt April 1 at 9 a.m. Courtyard service with breakfast following; 11 a.m. with music and Easter message
Aldersgate UMC 6610 Vaughn Road, 272.6152 Ash Wednesday Service Wednesday, February 14 @ 6:15pm Lent Study, Wednesdays February 21-March 21 @ 6:00pm The Day He Wore My Crown Easter Musical, Sunday, March 25 @ 10:30am Maundy Thursday “The Trial of Jesus” Thursday, March 29 @ 7:00pm Good Friday Tenebrae Service, Friday, March 30 @ 7:00pm Resurrection Egg Hunt & Breakfast Saturday, March 31 @ 9:30am Easter Celebration Services Sunday, April 1 6 am SonRise Service @ Blount Cultural Park 8:15 & 10:30am Traditional Worship 10:30am Contemporary Worship
Awaken
River Region Easter Gathering @ Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium ad on Inside Front Cover Sunday, April 1st at 5 p.m., Free One Lord, One Faith Join us for a special time of community River Region’s Journey
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Capitol Heights Baptist Church 2514 Madison Avenue, 264.6461 Palm Sunday Easter Musical Morning Worship March 25, 10:30 a.m. Easter Worship Service Sunday, April 1, 10:30 a.m.
Centerpoint Fellowship Church Prattville (Senior Pastor, John Schmidt) Marriott Conference Center – 2500 Legends Circle, Prattville, AL Saturday, March 31 at 6:00 p.m. at Marriott Conference Center Sunrise Service Sunday, April 1 at 6:00 a.m. (Clock tower in Prattville) Easter Worship Services Sunday, April 1 at 8:00, 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. at Marriott Conference Center
Centerpoint Wetumpka (Site Pastor, Tom Gaylord) 9301 U.S Highway 231, Wetumpka (NEW LOCATION!) Easter Egg Hunt Saturday, March 31 – 10:00 a.m. Sunrise Service Sunday, April 1 at 6;15 a.m. Easter Worship Service Sunday, April 1 at 9:35 a.m. 24
Centerpoint Pike Road (Site Pastor, Don Darling) Jim WIlson YMCA 1445 New Park Drive, Montgomery AL Easter Worship Service Sunday, April 1 at 9:30 a.m.
Christchurch
ad on page 3 8800 Vaughn Road, 387.0566 Maundy Thursday March 29 at 6:30 p.m. Stations of the Cross Friday, March 30 at 12 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Easter Vigil Saturday, March 31, 8 p.m. Son Rise Service Sunday, April 1, at 6 a.m. Easter Sunday Services April 1, 9:30 a.m.
Christ Community Church ad on page 21 8285 Ryan Road, 273.8110 Easter Celebration April 1 at 10:00 a.m.
Church of the Brook 2890 Highway 14, Millbrook, 285.5783 Easter Services Sunday, April 1, at 10:30 a.m.
Church of the Holy Comforter 2911 Woodley Road, 281.1337 Holy Eucharist Monday, March 26 - 6:00 pm; Tuesday, March 27 - 10:00 a.m. Stations of the Cross Wednesday, March 28 at 6:00 p.m. Maundy Thursday, Holy Eucharist March 29 at 6 p.m. Good Friday March 30 at 12 noon and 6 p.m. Great Vigil March 31 at 8 p.m. Easter Sunday April 1, 10 a.m. Family Service w/Holy Eucharist
Community Congregational Church 3481 South Court Street, Montgomery Easter Sunday, 11 a.m. Join the disciples of Community Congregational Church as we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Enjoy passionate worship (including a guest recording artist), a wonderful dramatic presentation through dance and mime, and a powerful sermon.
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Dalraida United Methodist Church
ad on page 14 3817 Atlanta Highway, 272.2190 Easter Sunday Worship Services, 8:30 and 11 a.m.
Eastmont Baptist Church 4505 Atlanta Highway, 277.6300 Passion Play March 24 at 5 p.m. and March 25 at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Easter Morning Worship April 1, 8:10 and 10:30 a.m. with a Baptism service at 5 p.m.
Evangel Church 3975 Vaughn Road, 272.4882 Easter Egg Hunt Saturday, March 24 at 10 a.m. Easter Sunday April 1, Worship Service 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Evangel at Prattville (meets at Prattville Christian Academy) April 1, Worship service 10 a.m.
First Baptist Church, Montgomery
ad on Back Cover 305 S. Perry Street, 834.6310 Palm Sunday Service March 25 at 8:30 and 11 a.m. Easter Communion and Lord’s Supper service March 28 at 6:15 Good Friday Service March 30 at 12 p.m. Easter Sunday Worship Services Sunday, April 1, 8:30 & and 11 a.m.
First Baptist Church, Prattville
ad on page 8 138 South Washington Street, 365.0606 Eggcitement Saturday, March 31, 10:00-12 noon Preschool-Second Grade Games, Rides and Prizes! Free admission, popcorn and cotton candy! Pony rides and petting zoo. Rain cancels the event. For more information, visit fbcprattville.org.
First Presbyterian Church 9299 Vaughn Rd. Easter Service April 1, 10:30 For information call the church at 279.1372. Visit www.firstpreschantilly.com.
First Presbyterian Church, Prattville
ad on page 26 211 S Chestnut Street, 365.6387 Easter Sunday Worship Service, 10:45 am Call for more information.
First UMC, Montgomery 2416 West Cloverdale Park, 834.8990 Palm Sunday Festivities March 25, 8:45 – 9:45 The Last Supper, Maundy Thursday March 29, 5:30 - 8 p.m. Good Friday Tenebrae Service March 30, 7:00 p.m. Easter Sunday April 1, 7 a.m. Sunrise Service 9:45 and 11:00 a.m. Worship Services
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Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church
RIVER REGION
ad on page 23 6000 Atlanta Highway, 272.8622 Palm Sunday March 25 at our 8, 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Stations of the Cross March 27-29 from noon until 7 on Wednesday and 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursday –Friday. Good Friday Service of Darkness 7 pm, March 30, Sanctuary Easter Egg Hunt March 31 from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. From Birth to 5th graders at the Frazer Playground at the rear of the building. Joint Service with Aldersgate UMC Easter Sunrise Service 6am, April 1, Blount Cultural Park Easter Services 8am, 9:30am, 11am
Gateway Baptist Church ad on page 19 3300 Bell Road, 272.9494 Good Friday March 30, Service at 7 p.m. Easter Services April 1, 10:30 a.m.
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Glynwood Baptist Church 376 N. McQueen Smith Rd, Prattville, 361.9180 Easter Sunday April 1, Morning Worship 10:15 a.m.
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Goodship Missionary Baptist Village Green Park in Millbrook Easter Egg Hunt March 31 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cotton Candy, Popcorn, Hotdogs and Bouncy Houses. Come and enjoy the fun! For more information please call (334) 538.3961 or (334) 322.1681.
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Grace @ Bell Road 5 Bell Road at Atlanta Hwy, 272.4930 Easter Sunrise Service April 1, 6:30 a.m. Free breakfast following Sunrise service. Worship Service, 10:30 a.m.
GracePointe 1565 Ray Thorington Road, 271.2525 Palm Sunday March 25, 10 a.m. Easter Worship Services Sunday, April 1, 10 a.m. Easter Egg Hunt following service.
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Heritage Baptist Church
ad on page 34 1849 Perry Hill Rd, Montgomery, 279.9976 Seder Service March 29, 5:30 p.m. in the Worship Center Easter Worship Service April 1, 10:15 a.m. Please visit hbcm.net for more information.
Lakeview Baptist Church
9225 Atlanta Highway, 213.3080 Sunrise Service Sunday, April 1, 7 a.m. (on the corner of Atlanta Hwy. and Tech. Center Dr.) Easter Worship Service Sunday, April 1, 10:45 a.m.
Memorial Presbyterian Church 2130 Bell Road, 274.1018 Easter Sunrise Service Sunday, April 1, 6:30 a.m. Easter Celebration Sunday, April 1, 11 a.m.
Messiah Church, Prattville ad on page 37 2072 Fairview Avenue, 730.4300 Easter Sunday Sunday, April 1, 10:30 a.m.
Morningview Baptist Church 125 Calhoun Road, 272.2304 Maundy Thursday Service Thursday, March 29, 6:30 p.m. Easter Services Sunday, April 1, 10:30 a.m.
The Ridge Church
ad on page 33 Meets at Wetumpka YMCA, 200 Red Eagle Drive Easter Sunday Services April 1, 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. For more information, please call 452.3650
Ridgecrest Baptist Church 5260 Vaughn Road, 277.0011 Easter Cantata, Palm Sunday March 25, 10:45 Easter Sunday April 1 at 10:45 a.m.
Saint James UMC
ads on pages 9 and 29 9045 Vaughn Road, 277-3037 Palm Sunday March 25, Children’s processional with palm branches at the 9:30am contempo-
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rary service, with an Easter Cantata at the 11:00am traditional service. Walk with Christ Tuesday, March 27th - Friday, March 30th See what took place before Jesus’ ultimate victory that Easter morning! Scriptures will come to life with this self-paced, hands on journey through 40 engaging stations. Experience His final hours as you walk with Christ to the cross. Hours: Adults 11am8pm. Children & Groups: 9am-11am. Child supervision required. Groups contact: jen@sjlife.com Maundy Thursday Communion Service March 28 at 6 p.m. Good Friday Service March 29 at 6 p.m. Eggstreme Egg Hunt March 31, 3:00 p.m. Bring a basket for arts & crafts, snacks, games and more! Easter Sunday, April 1 We will celebrate the Resurrection in our Worship Center and our Sanctuary. Sunrise at the Pines Service, 6:30 a.m. Contemporary Services: 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. (Worship Center) Traditional Services: 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. (Sanctuary)
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Saint John’s AME Church 807 Madison Avenue, 265.4136 Holy Week Explosion April 12-14, 7 p.m. nightly Visit www.stjohnsame.com
his jail cell, meet a Roman guard who was part of Jesus’ crucifixion detail, and finally, experience the power of the empty tomb and Jesus’ resurrection. Please call (334) 567-0923 or (334) 452-6111.
Taylor Road Baptist Church
Thorington Road Baptist Church
1685 Taylor Rd., 271.3363 Easter Service April 1, 10:30 a.m.
450 Ray Thorington Road, 396.9376 Good Friday March 30, at 6:30 pm Easter Service Sunday, April 1 at 10:30 a.m.
Titus New Home Baptist Church
RIVER REGION
Corner of Sewell and Spigener Roads Road to Resurrection March 25, 3-5 p.m. at the This Easter, travel the road through Jerusalem as if you were in ancient Israel when the greatest man who ever lived walked the earth. This family event takes travelers on a mini-tour featuring reenactments of the final days of Jesus’ life on earth through to His resurrection. Walk down the road that Jesus travelled beginning with Palm Sunday and meet characters who take you inside the scriptures as you experience the Triumphal Entry. Travelers will also taste the Passover meal, pass by the garden at Gethsemane, visit Barabbas in
2600 Bell Road Montgomery, Alabama 334.277.6690
Vaughn Forest Church 8660 Vaughn Rd., 279.5433 Easter Party March 31, 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. Please visit www.vaughnforest.com.
Woodland United Methodist Church 4428 Wallahatchie Rd, Pike Road, 272.7230 Palm Sunday Cantata March 25 Easter Day Services Easter Sunrise Service at 6:30 a.m. in the Courtyard. Worship service times will be Traditional Service times will be 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Contemporary Service 9:15 a.m.
460 McQueen Smith Road Prattville, Alabama 334.358.6411
Dr. John H. Payne IV • Dr. David Stanley • Dr. Davis Denney • Dr. Rob Owen River Region’s Journey
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March 20
Standing Alone Standing alone has the potential to get attention and enact lasting change. On The Meeting House on Faith Radio recently, I interviewed Joyce Im Bartholomew, who is a singer who has recorded a pro-life song; the video of that song was banned from YouTube, and so she took legal action against the Internet behemoth. Even though she initially lost her challenge, others who had experienced restrictions came forward, as well. Ultimately her video was allowed to be posted. I related the story of Greg Schiller, whose story was told in a WORLD News Service story on ChristianHeadlines.com. He “began to minister to the homeless, first in his garage, and this year in his betterequipped basement.” The article continues: But city officials in Elgin said Schiller’s basement didn’t meet its “sleeping regulations” code. When police officers inspected and shut down the basement “party” space last week, they cited the ceiling height as too low and the windows as too high and small to be used as an egress. So here you have one man, taking action - in this case, exhibiting compassion for the homeless. But, that action resulted in the city taking steps to provide for those homeless in need. The article states: After the showdown at Schiller’s home, the city is now helping lead the creation of new shelters and has even offered the police department lobby for people with nowhere River Region’s Journey
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to go, including those who have a criminal record that keeps them out of shelters. One man, standing alone – providing leadership in his singular focus and action. There’s also the story of a former gymnast who took a series of bold steps. Esther O’Reilly wrote at The Stream about Rachel Denhollander, one of the many athletes abused by former Michigan State and Olympic doctor Larry Nassar, who, according to the article, “received the maximum sentence of 175 years in prison for multiple counts of sexual assault on his patients. He already faced 60 years for possession of child pornography.” O’Reilly rightly stated: If there’s one single person who can take the credit for finally bringing Nassar down, none have a better claim than Rachael Denhollander: victim zero, first to speak out and open the floodgates of justice. In 2000, Nassar repeatedly abused her over the course of a year after she sought his care for back pain at the age of 15. Confused, afraid, and assured by the responsible adults around her that nothing was amiss, she kept silent for years. Now married with three children, she has become an advocate for sexual assault victims. Rachael was the final witness to speak against Nassar before he was sentenced. Because of her Christian faith, she was able to give an eloquent and stirring perspective of the gospel. She said, in part: Should you ever reach the point of truly facing what you have done, the guilt will be crushing. And that is what makes the gospel of Christ so sweet. Because it extends grace and hope and mercy where none should be 30
found. And it will be there for you. I pray you experience the soul-crushing weight of guilt, so you may someday experience true repentance and true forgiveness from God, which you need far more than forgiveness from me — though I extend that to you as well. In the midst of her own pain and brokenness, Rachael has been involved in advocacy for sexual assault victims in another context - in the Church, according to a gripping Christianity Today article. The Church is no doubt being challenged in these days in its response to matters of sexual abuse. Reflecting on what Rachael said in the Christianity Today article, I would say that people do not have to be afraid to enact church discipline for those who have sinned in this manner for fear that somehow their own reputations or the reputation of the church or the gospel itself would be damaged. God’s reputation and His glory are far greater. We can reflect on these three individuals who have been willing to take a stand, and in their respective stands, they encouraged others. We can be reminded that standing alone can make an impression. Joyce Im Bartholomew challenged the policies of YouTube and others came forward. It took a bold step. Greg Schiller took a bold step and provided a home for those who had none – and influenced city officials. Rachael Denhollender came forward to speak out on assault and to share the gospel and extend forgiveness to her own abuser. Remember, sometimes compassion calls for a bold step. We can check our hearts to make sure that we are open to the promptings of the Spirit. Bold steps can contribute to changed hearts, and as people are influenced and embolden by acts of faith, there are infinite possibilities.
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Listen for music on Faith Radio at these times:
The uplifting music on Faith Radio will point you to Jesus Christ and His saving power.
12am - 6am PRAISE THRU THE NIGHT
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6:30am - 8am MORNING PRAISE with Jeremy Smith 10am - 12pm FAITHSONGS with Kelly Treadwell 4pm - 6pm THE MEETING HOUSE with Bob Crittenden 8pm - 12am EVENING PRAISE OnceDean again with Russell
ALL MY HOPE Crowder feat. Tauren Wells American Prodigal
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Faith Radio will soon distribute Christmas crosses to our listeners! Thanks to a very gen- YOU ARE MY KING 2pm - 6pm (Sat. & Sun.) erous and faithful donor, we will have hundreds of thesePassion feat. Christy SHINE with Kim Hendrix 7-foot crosses which listeners can cover with lights and Nockels display as a bright symbol of Christ this Passion: Better is One Day season. Like last year, we will have the crosses availFaith Radio is able in listener supported and Our your support matters! Montgomery, Dothan and Andalusia around Thanksgiving. 800.239.8900 | www.faithradio.org cross be made donorWLBF requests that a donation of at least $35 per FM to Faith Radio. This gift helps Faith Radio continue to spread the Montgomery Good News of Jesus There to: is aFaith limited supply and210789, last year February 2018 River Region’sAL Journey 31 Mail Christ. your donation Radio, P.O. Box Montgomery, 36121
89.1
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by Angela Hardgrave
There are circumstances and decisions that take our lives in unexpected and sometimes heartbreaking directions. It is then that we must take up the broken pieces and begin again with a fresh start and a new life. However, forging a new life for ourselves is never easy. The process can be made more bearable with someone to share the burden with us. For some in Montgomery, that help comes from an incredible ministry called Renascence Inc. Their mission is “to assist men recently released on parole for non-violent offenses to successfully reintegrate into the community.”
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According to statistics from Renascence, over 8,500 men are released from the Alabama Department of Corrections each year. Many of these men have no support from family or friends, no job, and no marketable skills. They may have other circumstances that make finding employment difficult, such as a lack of education, a history of chemical dependence, physical or mental disabilities, or a lack of transportation. Over half return to prison within a few years. Renascence is working to change these men’s lives and to give them a hope for their future. Joe Crowley, a member of the Board of Directors, said, “These reentering men are my brothers in Christ, and I must share blessing with them, as I have been loved by God and my family. They enrich me as much as I help them. I have also been inspired by dedicated, competent Renascence board members and staff.” According to Crowley, Renascence begin with a woman named Susan Douglass Porter, who was involved in Christian education in the Episcopal church. Porter felt called to care for “the least of these.” She responded to this call by teaching a job preparation course at the City Jail in Montgomery. Porter also tried to assist her students in finding affordable housing after they were released, but that proved to be an exceedingly difficult task. In 1997, she gathered other like-minded individuals with the intent of establishing a house where men
who were released from prison could live. This house was named Renascence, which means “rebirth,” and was inspired by both the fresh start the men would make, as well as a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millet. Crowley joined the Steering Committee in 1998. He said, “I was invited by a friend in Christ who was at the Alabama Prison Project doing mitigation research for the defense in capital murder cases. In 2002 and 2003 Renascence formed a board of directors and became an independent nonprofit organization. An Executive Director was hired, Mr. James Walden, who had successfully transitioned from prison and addiction to graduating from Auburn University Montgomery and working as a Drug Treatment Counselor in the Alabama Department of Corrections. Between 2004 and 2006, Jim was joined on staff by Shelagh Morrison, Dereck Wise, and Dana Dunklin. A diverse, competent board of directors, many committed volunteers, and growing community involvement supported the project.” Also during this time, the house was renovated, the roof was repaired, and the exterior repainted. In 2005 and 2006, the major interior renovations happened thanks to two successful HUD HOME Funds grants through the City of Montgomery. Once the renovations were completed in 2006, Renascence opened its doors to the public, providing transitional shelter and services to residents. From that time through November 2017, the ministry provided a home to over 280 men. Benefits go well beyond affordable housing, however. The men receive clothing, transportation, supervision, support groups, life skills training, and services tailored to each resident’s specific need,
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such as health care, education, and chemical dependency treatment. Renascence also assists men in reconnecting to family members in healthy ways. Timothy Barkley, who lived at Renascence from Fall 2016 to Summer 2017, knows the value of this assistance first-hand. Barkley recently made his first trip home in years to see his whole family—his mother, sons, daughter, brothers, and grandchildren. “I know this wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Renascence and God,” he said. “Words can’t describe the feeling I am having. The people responsible for Renascence’s existence [must have] known all the feelings you experience when you get out of prison—the hopes and fears. They know how to teach you responsibility and to do the right thing.” Barkley expressed his gratitude for all that has been done for him and for the care and love he has been shown. He said, “I could never tell each and every one of you how much I love you for making this miracle happen in my life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for a safe, drug-free home and a second chance at a life for me. May God continue to bless Renascence and you, the supporters, and the many more miracles to come. My sons and daughter are actually proud of their dad.” Besides the life-changing benefits to residents and their families, the impact on
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the City of Montgomery is huge. “Renascence affords local employers workers who come to the job sober and with adequate rest, food, and communal support, and provides the Montgomery community a stable home and support for men who might otherwise be casting about. Renascence currently saves Alabama taxpayers over $17,000 a year for every resident who does not return to prison,” said Crowley. Obviously, to sustain such an incredible ministry, you must have sufficient funding as well as dedicated people devoted to ensuring that the men leaving the prison system are not forgotten. “What makes Renascence go are good persons paying good attention to these men individually, encouraging them and holding them accountable, while modeling the responsibilities we want them to practice. To do this, we need competent, dedicated professional staff and funds with which to pay them a living wage and provide them with health insurance. We need board members and volunteers who will invest time and money for this work. Each year, we need new board members with a heart for our ministry, for a term of three years. Volunteers are needed to do mentoring, bring a meal, provide transportation, or donate needed items. And, we need prayer that we will stay in God’s will and Spirit,” said Crowley. To find out more about their needs and how you can donate, go to their website, halfway-home.net.
Another way that the community can support the ministry of Renascence is by attending their annual Ping Pong Tournament. This year’s tournament is Saturday, March 3 from 9:00am to 3:00pm. This is an exciting event for all ages and abilities—anyone who wants to “play for purpose.” For more information, go to halway-home.net. * Photo of two men on previous page: Former Executive Director, Al Smith [left] and Nelson [Smitty] Smith, president of the Board of Directors of Renascence. Angela Hardgrave is a graduate of the University of Mobile with a degree in journalism and currently works in the Marketing Department of Faulkner University as a graphic designer. Angela is also a freelance writer for several publications in the River Region. She resides in Wetumpka, Alabama, with her three awesome daughters and her dog, Emmy.
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Our Statement of Faith In keeping with Protestant theology, we believe that the Bible, as contained in the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, is fully inspired by God and therefore inerrant in the original manuscripts. The Bible is the only essential and infallible record of God’s self-disclosure to mankind. The Scriptures are the authoritative and normative rule and guide of all Christian life, practice, and doctrine. They are totally sufficient and must not be added to, superseded, or changed by later tradition, extra-biblical revelation, or worldly wisdom. The Bible is perfect in every way and shows us how to become and live as Christians. The way of becoming a Christian is by faith alone in Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, who came to us, born of a virgin, in full human form while remaining fully God. Jesus was, and is, perfect, and was crucified so that others could live. Three days later He rose from the dead, never to die again. He ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God the Father, where He, the only mediator between God and man, continually makes intercession for His own. Those who have faith in Jesus as their Lord in this life, and Savior from damnation in the next life, now live by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, becoming more like Jesus everyday. We believe that God is one God. The one God has three persons: the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Just as God is one, so also, all believers are to be one. We believe in the unity and fellowship of all those that have faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. We are one in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, His Body, which is composed of all men, living and dead, who have been joined to Him through saving faith. *All editorial content published needs to be in agreement with our Statement of Faith
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February 2018
River Region’s Journey
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Adoption Location: Frazer Memorial UMC, 6000 Atlanta Hwy and First UMC, Millbrook APAC, Alabama Pre/ Post Adoption Connection Support Group: This group provides education and social interaction for adoptive families. Meets 3rd Tuesdays, 6-7:30 p.m., Room 8114 at Frazer. For more information call Jill Sexton at 409-9477.
Location: Grace Presbyterian Church, Corner of Bell Road and Atlanta Hwy. Alcoholics Anonymous and Alanon meetings are held Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, at 6 p.m. An Open AA Speaker meeting is held on Saturday at 6 p.m. An Alanon & AA held on Sundays at 2 p.m. Location: Grace Point Community Church, 78223 Tallassee Hwy (Hwy 14), Wetumpka Celebrate Recovery- every Tuesday night- 6:15pm. All are welcome! These meetings are a safe and loving environment for individuals seeking to conquer their hurts, habits and hang-ups! gracepoint.info.
Location: Caring Center of FBC, 52 Adams Avenue CrossRoads Support Group is for addicts/alcoholics and family members. Meets at 6 p.m. Tuesdays and follows a Christ-centered 12-step program. Call 264-4949.
Location: Journey Church, 435 Sheila Blvd, Prattville Celebrate Recovery - Christ-centered 12-step for anyone struggling with addiction or life-challenging issues. Mondays beginning at 6:15 pm. Childcare available. Call John Pearse at 303-243-4308 or visit myjourneychurch.com.
Location: Dalraida UMC, 3817 Atlanta Highway Alcoholics Anonymous meets at 6 p.m. on Tuesdays. 272.2190. Alanon meets at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays.
Location: Landmark Church, 1800 Halcyon Blvd. RSVP- This is a 12 step spiritual recovery program for overcoming addictions. Using the steps and Bible
Alcoholic / Addiction
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we help build self-esteem, responsible behavior, the making of amends for our destructive actions, and to fill the void in our hearts in a loving relationship with God. Wednesday @ 6:30pm in Rm. 121 of the Life Center. Location: Prattville Church of Christ, 344 E Main St. CASA - 12 step (Christians Against Substance Abuse) spiritual recovery program, for overcoming addictions. Class begins each Wednesday evening @6:30 PM. Please call 334-365-4201 for additional information. Location: Santuck Baptist Church, 7250 Central Plank Rd. (Hwy 9), Wetumpka Celebrate Recovery meets each Thursday evening at 6:15 in the Fellowship Hall. This is a Christ centered 12 step-program for anyone struggling with hurts, habits, and hang-ups. Call 567-2364.
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Sex Addicts Anonymous (SAA) is open to all struggling with addictive sexual behavior. If you believe you have a problem with sex addiction (or are wondering if you might) and you want to change your behavior, we recommend you visit our group. For locations, please visit- https://saa-recovery.org/ or please contact – MontgomerySAA@outlook.com. Meetings are held: every Sunday night - 7:45 p.m, men only. Every Monday night - 7:30 p.m, men and women. Location: St. James UMC, 9045 Vaughn Road Celebrate Recovery meets every Thursday night from 6-8 pm in the Youth Room. This is a Christ-centered 12-step group for anyone struggling with an “addiction or life-challenging issues.” For information, call Chris Henderson at 334-215-0427. Location: Trinity Episcopal, Wetumpka (Across from Winn Dixie on HWY 231) Gamblers Anonymous-Saturdays at 7 p.m. Location: First United Methodist Church, Wetumpka 306 W. Tuskeena Street ‘Fresh Start’ Recovery meets every Thursday, 6-8pm (meal included). In 2011, Fresh Start Motorcycle Ministry (FSMM) began when God laid it on the heart of a lifetime biker to minister to those with his background. All are welcome, not a requirement to own/ride a motorcycle. Format used is the Holy Bible. For any info contact ministry leader, Paul Henderson, 334-201-5428.
Alzheimer’s / Dementia
Location: First UMC, 2416 W. Cloverdale Park, Wesley Hall Bldg. An Adult Parkinson/Alzheimer’s respite ministry
Divorce
meets from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Lunch is served. Contact Daphne at 834-8990.
Location: First Baptist Church, 305 S. Perry Street Divorce Care Wednesday nights @6:30-8:00 pm in Room 405B. Child care is available. Contact Kathy Cooper at 241-5125 for
Location: Frazer Memorial UMC, 6000 Atlanta Hwy An Alzheimer’s and Dementia Caregivers’ Support Group meets on the first Thursday of each month at 10:30 a.m. in Room 3103. Call 495-6350 for more info.
Cancer
further information.
Location: Aldersgate UMC, 6610 Vaughn Rd Cancer Survivors Support Group is sponsored by Samaritan Counseling Center. We would love to have anyone (patient or family member ) join us. Thursdays at 1 pm. Please call before attending just to make sure we are meeting that week. Please call Debbie D at 467-4578 or Ben W at 202-1912.
Location: Frazer Memorial UMC, 6000 Atlanta Hwy Divorce Care meets each Tuesday from 6 – 7:30 p.m. Come to the Library area. This group will provide support & guidance to assist you in working through the issues, pain & pressures surrounding divorce. Also, Divorce for Kids is available. Call 495-6350 or e-mail jan@frazerumc.org. January 9 - April 3, 2018
Location: Dalraida Baptist, 3838 Wares Ferry Road. Just for Men -- Faith based cancer support group for men. Meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. in the conference center. Please call 272-2412 email stan.hurst@knology.net.
Location: Vaughn Forest Church, 8660 Vaughn Road DivorceCare fosters a weekly supportive and caring environment to heal the hurt of separation and divorce. Call 279-5433.
Location: ChristChurch, 8800 Vaughn Road Cancer Support Group for general cancer. Tuesday afternoons at 1 pm. For more info, please call Christy Holding at 531-1390 or Debbie at 467-4578. Location: Frazer Memorial UMC, 6000 Atlanta Hwy. Women of Hope Breast Cancer Support Group, providing education, awareness, and mentoring for breast cancer patients/survivors, family and friends, meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. in Room 8114. Call 220-4599 or e-mail womenofhope@charter.net
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Gambling
Location: Cedarwood Community Church, 10286 US HWY 231 in the Wallsboro/Wetumpka community. The church is 1 1/2 miles past Tutweiler prison. Gamblers Anonymous, Saturdays at 6 pm. and Mondays at 6:30 pm. Call 567-0476. Location: Mental Health of America, 1116 South Hull Street, Montgomery. Sundays @ 5 pm. For more information about the GA meetings call 334399-6918. For information about counseling services or to request a guest speaker please call the Alabama Council on Compulsive Gambling at 334-277-5100.
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Grief
Location: Cornerstone Christian Church, 301 Dalraida Road River Region Survivors of Suicide meets on the second and fourth Thursday of every month (excluding holidays) from 6:30-8:00 PM. This is an open group for those who have lost a loved one to suicide and welcomes anyone regardless of their religious beliefs. Contact Cheryl Vinson at riverregionsos@gmail. com with questions or for more information. Location: Eastmont Baptist, 4505 Atlanta Hwy. Compassionate Friends is a national self-help support organization for families grieving the death of a child meeting first Tuesdays at 7 pm. Call (334) 284-2721 for info. Location: First UMC, 100 E. Fourth St, Prattville Grief Share, Tuesday evenings at 6:30 pm in the church parlor. Call 365-5977. Location: Frazer UMC, 6000 Atlanta Hwy Grief Recovery Support Group meets Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m., Rm 3105. Call 495-6350 for more info. Location: Grace Baptist Church, 304 Old Montgomery Highway, Wetumpka Mourning to Morning is a Christian growth group for mothers who have lost a child, from before birth through adulthood. Meets the last Thursday night of each month. For info, contact Alice Scarborough (334) 462-4775 or Gwen Ellis (334) 567-8754 or e-mail mourningtomorning@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook. Location: Millbrook FUMC, 3350 Edgewood Rd Grief Share meets Sundays from 5-7 p.m. For more
information or to sign up, please call the church office at 285-4114 or email churchoffice@mfumc.org. Location: Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church 1550 E. Washington Street Grief support group meets every Monday at 6:00 P.M- 7:00 P.M. For additional information, please contact Alice Glover at (334)281-2754. Location: Vaughn Forest Church, 8660 Vaughn Road GriefShare is a support group that meets Wednesdays from 6-8 pm. This program is non-denominational and features biblical concepts for healing your grief. GriefShare will be led by Howard and Carol Payne and Jim Williams. Call 279-5433 for more information.
Mental Health
Location: Frazer Memorial UMC, 6000 Atlanta Hwy NAMI Montgomery (National Alliance on Mental Illness) meets 2nd Monday of each month from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. in Room 7205. Group provides understanding, education, & information to family members & friends of those who suffer mental illness. Call Mary Jo Logan at 271-2280 for more info. NAMI Connection (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Support group for individuals with mental illness. Meets every Thursday. 6-7:30 p.m., Room 3103. Call Mary Jo Logan at 271-2280 for more info.
Parenting
Location: First Baptist Prattville, 138 S. Washington Moms LIFE (Living In Faith Everyday) meets twice monthly from 8:30 - 11:45 am in the chapel at the Church
from Aug - May. We offer a time of fellowship, Bible study, musical guest, special guest speakers and a lot of fun!! Cost is $5 per meeting. For moms of all stages and ages of life. Childcare provided by reservation. Call April Scott at 828-446-6666. Location: First Baptist Church, 305 S. Perry Street MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) is a place you can share a good meal, make new friends, and find encouragement as you face the everyday challenges of raising your little ones. We have educational speakers, great conversation, and fun activities. Free childcare is provided. Meetings are every 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, 9:30-11:30 a.m., September through May. Contact Tiffany Alewine at 241-5165.
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Location: Frazer Memorial UMC, 6000 Atlanta Hwy Frazer mom2mom is a playgroup to connect mothers of ages birth to 5 at Frazer UMC to share fun and inspiration in our journey together, with our children, and with Christ. Email Mom2mom@frazerumc.org for more information. Location: Landmark Church, 1800 Halcyon Blvd. Single Moms Support Group, Wednesday nights at 6:30 p.m. in classroom 118. For information call 277-5800. Location: Perry Hill UMC, 910 Perry Hill Road Single Moms’ Care and Support Group meets 2nd and 4th Thursdays from 6:15 - 8:00 PM. December meeting will be on the 11th. Free snack supper provided to moms and children. Child care for infants -16 years. Call 272-3174. Location: Redland Baptist, 1266 Dozier Rd, Wetumpka A MOPS group will be held 1st and 3rd Tuesday’s of every month during the school year, and has scheduled play dates and moms nights out through the summer
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and beyond. While moms are in a MOPS meeting, their children are lovingly cared for in the MOPPETS program. Email Denise Braswell at deniseorscott@ yahoo.com. Location: Vaughn Forest Church, 8660 Vaughn Road Are you in need of a time-out? MOPS joins mothers together by a common bond, to be better wives, moms, and friends along this journey in the trenches of motherhood. We meet the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month from 9:30—11:30 a.m. Childcare is provided. For info e-mail VFCMOPS@gmail.com.
Physical Challenges
Location: Aldersgate UMC, 6610 Vaughn Road Visually Impaired Support Group – Meets monthly on second Thursday 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. The group is called Outward Sight - Inward Vision and is for those with vision loss and their caregivers. Our mission is to assist those experiencing vision loss to maintain their independence. Call 272-6152. Location: Frazer Memorial UMC, 6000 Atlanta Hwy. Parkinson’s Support meets 4th Thursdays at 6 pm in Room 8114. Call 495-6350 for more info. Location: Frazer Memorial UMC, 6000 Atlanta Hwy. Ostomy Support meets every other month on the 2nd Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in room 3101. In 2018: Feb., April, June, Aug., Oct., Dec. Call 495-6350 for more info. Location: Vaughn Park Church, 3800 Vaughn Rd. Montgomery Area Down Syndrome Outreach Group meets 2nd Friday of each month from 6:30- 8 PM. We have activities, speakers and special events throughout the year for the parents, siblings and children with Down Syndrome. Childcare is provided. Please visit www.montgomeryareadownsyndrome.com or our Facebook page (MADSOG) for information. Please contact MADSOG at montgomeryareadownsyndrome@gmail.com.
Same Sex Attraction
Location: : Young Meadows Presbyterian Church, 5780 Vaughn Road, Montgomery Upstream Support Group for those dealing with unwanted same sex attraction and family members or loved ones of those who are gay identified. The group meets at 6:30 pm every first, third and fifth Tuesday evenings. For more information call 334.244.1385.
Singlehood
Location: Frazer Memorial UMC, 6000 Atlanta Hwy Boundaries study for singles meets each Tuesday from 6-7:30pm in the Fellowship Hall Lobby. This study will help singles learn to set boundaries with emotions and help avoid the harmful behavior of others. For information, call 495-6386 or email singles@ frazerumc.org. Location: Frazer Memorial UMC, 6000 Atlanta Hwy Single and Parenting! A New Group for Single Mom’s. This group meets every Tuesday from 6-7:30pm for hope & encouragement & guidance & parenting ideas. For information, call 495-6386 or email singles@frazerumc.org.
Send support group info to deanne@readjourneymagazine.com 39
February 2018
River Region’s Journey
Quit Job for School? Q. My wife and I have $72,000 in debt from student loans and a car loan. We’re trying to pay off our debt using the debt snowball system, and we each make about $45,000 a year. She’s a teacher, and she’s planning on going back to school for her master’s degree, but she’s thinking about quitting her job to do this. She’ll be able to make more money with the additional education, and she would only be unemployed for two years. The degree program will cost us $2,000 out of pocket per semester for two years. Does this sound like a good idea? A. There’s no reason for your wife to quit her job to make this happen. Lots of people — especially teachers — hold down their jobs and go back to school to further their
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March 2018
education. I’m not sure trying to make it on one income when you’re that deep in debt is a good idea. Whatever you do, don’t borrow more money to make this happen. Cash flow it, or don’t do it. We’re talking about $8,000 total, and you’ve got $72,000 in debt hanging over your heads already. My advice would be to wait until you’ve got the other debt knocked out, then save up and pay cash for school. You could slow down your debt snowball, and use some of that to pay for school, but I’d hate to see you lose the momentum you have when it comes to getting out of debt. The choice is yours, but don’t tack on anymore student loan debt. I know her income will go up with a master’s degree, so from that standpoint it’s a good thing to do. But if you do a good thing a dumb way, it ends up being dumb!
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Rent-to-own Ok? Q. Is it okay to buy something using a rentto-own plan?
A. I advise against rent-to-own deals. Rentto-own places get people in the door with promises of low monthly or weekly payments. But when it comes to rent-to-own furniture, washer and dryer sets, and that kind of thing, you’ll end up paying much, much more than if you saved up and bought item outright. The amount you’ll pay out of pocket is even more ridiculous if you compare it to buying the same item, slightly used, somewhere else. I don’t recommend rent-to-own scenarios when it comes to buying a home, either. Most of those offerings are listed at full retail price and then some. Plus, the contracts are tilted toward the seller’s side of the equation. When it comes to real estate deals, the only thing I would consider is leasing with an option to buy. That’s different than rentto-own, because in a rent-to-own situation you’ve committed to purchase. On a lease with an option to buy deal, you have the right to purchase, but not the obligation.
Prescription opioids can be ADDICTIVE and DANGEROUS.
IT ONLY TAKES A LITTLE TO LOSE A LOT. www.alabamapublichealth.gov/pharmacy
HOLY WEEK OPPORTUNITIES Saturday, March 24 10:00 AM TO NOON SPRING CELEBRATION
Sunday, March 25 8:30 & 11:00 AM
PALM SUNDAY WORSHIP
9:45 AM
BIBLE FELLOWSHIP CLASSES
5:00 PM
DISCIPLESHIP CLASSES, VISITATION, CHILDREN’S MISSIONS & YOUTH CHOIRS
6:15 PM
EVENING WORSHIP
Wednesday, March 28 5:00 PM
5:45 PM
NO CHILDREN’S CHOIRS, TUTORING, DISCIPLESHIP OR OTHER ACTIVITIES
6:15 PM
EASTER COMMUNION WORSHIP
Friday, March 30 12:00 PM
GOOD FRIDAY WORSHIP
Sunday, April 1 8:30 & 11:00 AM
EASTER WORSHIP CELEBRATION
9:45 AM
BIBLE FELLOWSHIP CLASSES
5:00 PM
AWAKEN EASTER GATHERING AT RIVERWALK STADIUM
FIRST FAMILY DINNER
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH MONTGOMERY
JAY WOLF, PASTOR / 305 S PERRY STREET / MONTGOMERY, AL 36104 334.834.6310 :: MONTGOMERYFBC.ORG