Author: wfelmlee

It is good to give thanks to the Lord
06 Nov
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It is good to give thanks to the Lord

…so says the Psalms.  Center Hill had it’s annual Thanksgiving dinner in the church fellowship room this past Sunday.  It was a great reminder for us to give thanks to the Lord for His blessing of the past year.  We used every table the church had to seat everyone.  For that we are thankful. Even though we are not driven by numbers at Center Hill, God has increased us numerically and for that we are grateful.  But mostly we give thanks to Him for growth and discipleship in the individual lives of the members of CHCC.  God is bringing about change in each of us, constantly conforming us to His image, through the daily struggles and blessings of life.  It has been encouraging to see folks at Center Hill align their responses to the ‘heat’ of life to the standards of God’s Word.  For that we are eternally thankful to our faithful Lord. Soli Deo Gloria

5 days to seminar
03 Nov
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5 days to seminar

As I noted last month on a blog, Dr. George Scipione, from the Biblical Counseling Institute of Pgh. will be conducting an afternoon and evening seminar this coming Saturday challenging the contemporary church to counsel itself using the Word of God as it’s authority.  It will be a most instructive and encouraging evening.  The seminar is being hosted by our friends at the First Baptist Church of Clarion, Pastor Keith Richardson. Click for information Fall Bible Conference – Are YOU Competent to Counsel? Plan to attend, nothing is more important to the Church than this issue.

Great grace was upon them
30 Oct
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Great grace was upon them

Picture the first century church with me  “…..they received… with glad and generous hearts”,”…. and having favor with all the people”,”….. great grace was upon them all”,”….when he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad.”  This all according to the book of Acts. Picture the 21st century church with me “…..they received…with glad and generous hearts”,”….and having favor with all the people”,”…..great grace was upon them all”,”….when he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad.”  This all according to the experience of this Pastor. The month of October has been Pastor Appreciation month, not sure what official body of authority established this or how it is to be observed but our local church and the church at large has surely shown it’s appreciation for this  Pastor.  CHCC honored us with a gift of a large hand made quilt featuring a stitching of the church and the name of each member.   What a treasure!  It will proudly (I mean proudly in a ‘Christian’ sense) be displayed in our new house.  It truly is a heart felt gift both given and received. The church at large has displayed grace, generosity, and love to us in our recent move from one house to another.  What a wonderful example of Christ likeness is the body of Christ  as it finds itself both recipients and givers of ‘great grace’.   We often compare ourselves as the contemporary church to the first century church, mostly in a negative light.  And at times we do fall short in areas of discernment, depth of doctrinal understanding, and commitment to proper worship of a Holy God. But when it comes to showing grace within the body of Christ  Center Hill and our friends at First Baptist of Clarion, First Baptist of New Bethlehem and Zion Baptist excel.  This has been proven time and time again over the past years as the Body has risen to extend favor where favor is not deserved and certainly not earned, the very meaning of grace.   What a privilege to be a part of the church today.  Thank you Center Hill and friends for being Christ to my family and me. soli deo gloria

Upcoming Seminar
14 Oct
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Upcoming Seminar

At CHCC, we have been using the Biblical based book “How People Change”, to gain insight into our natural condition in a fallen world and how God is in the process of transforming us into proper image bearers of Himself in all situations of life.  It has been a great study.  I am excited to announce that there will be a Bible Conference featuring Dr. George C. Scipione of the RPTS Biblical Counseling Institute of Pgh. on November 7th and 8th.  This seminar will re-enforce what we have learned from God’s Word over the past several months, that we are in constant transformation and God’s Word addresses the “Heat” in our lives and our involvement in counseling of Christian brothers and sisters. The conference is being hosted by the First Baptist Church of Clarion, at the corner of Main and 7th streets in Clarion.  There is no charge for the Saturday evening seminar and dinner is included.  There is also a brunch being held earlier on Saturday for Pastors/Elders/Leaders. Check out the link below for further information and conference details.  I can’t encourage you enough, if you are in driving distance, to attend this seminar.  The church needs to get back to counseling one another through God’s Word.  Join us on November 7th and 8th. Fall Bible Conference – Are YOU Competent to Counsel?

Baby/Parent Dedication
12 Oct
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Baby/Parent Dedication

What a great day we had at Center Hill on Sunday.   We had a dedication of two new babies and their parents to bring them up in the knowledge and grace of our Lord.  At Center Hill we rejoice in the fact that God blesses families with children ( Psalm 127:3)!  He blesses churches with the responsibility to encourage and instruct the family to bring up a child in the way he should go.  We as a local congregation have the solemn duty to come along side our young families and by using our gifts, wisdom and experience assist them in their vows to raise Godly children. We as a congregation do not take that responsibility lightly.  Just as the parents of Lilly Reagan and Nicolai Britton made vows to seek God’s blessing and guidance for their children, our congregation made vows to love and support these families as they fulfill their promise.  What a great day! Nicolai and Nadine Britton                                                          Ron, Joni and baby Lilly Reagan You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.  And these words which I am commanding you today shall be on your heart. And you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. (Deuteronomy 6:5-7)

Love God and do as you please
21 Sep
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Love God and do as you please

Love God and do as you please. What a dangerous and yet liberating concept. A ‘biblical’ concept I might add. One not taught too often in our churches today. Oh sure, in recent times we have heard that Christians should follow their new heart in Christ and somehow find their identity within that journey. But that’s not what Augustine and Luther meant when they said, Love God and do as you please. For Jeremiah 17 tells us that our hearts are deceitful and wicked. Even after Christ has regenerated us, making us alive to Him and changing us from enemies of God to lovers of God, we still have within each of us the potential of the vilest of sins and our hearts are still capable of being deceived by The Deceiver himself. Just because I strongly desire something doesn’t mean God has placed that desire on my heart. Just because something is ‘natural’ doesn’t mean it’s aligned with God’s will. Our hearts can and will deceive us. So what makes the statement biblical? LOVE GOD and do as you please. The greatest commandment, according to Jesus is ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’. When we find ourselves so in love with God, so aligned with His purposes, so submitted to His will, so consumed with His glory, we will discover that His desires have become our desires. What He wants is what we want. What pleases Him is what pleases us. The danger is when we reverse the cause and effect. First we love God THEN we do what pleases us. It is my desire that we at CHCC become so passionate about the greatness of God and His glory and so in love with God that we can say with every decision, we simply did what pleased us. soli deo gloria

And all who believed were together
08 Sep
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And all who believed were together

This past weekend Knoxdale held it’s annual Homecoming Celebration sponsored by our fire company.  What an enjoyable time.  Hometown hospitality at it’s best.  One person from outside the area was overheard saying ‘you know, this is how life should be’.  She of course was referring to the simplicity and congeniality of the event.  Barbecued chicken and pork sandwiches, watching a 3 day one-pitch softball tournament and the annual gun raffle.  Life doesn’t get too much more idyllic and that is a good thing. From a personal perspective, I spent two afternoons getting re-acquainted with old friends and neighbors, some I haven’t seen in 15 years.  I also counted it a great privilege to meet new friends from the community, especially those of the faith.  For you see, we as a church participated in the community church service on Sunday morning, held jointly with the Knoxdale and Mead Chapel United Methodist churches and their Pastor, Reverend Les Hutchins. I was reminded during the church service of the New Testament church in Acts chapter 2 where it was said of them that ‘all who believed were together.’  All who BELIEVED were together.  This is the church, it is not confined or defined by ecclesiastical boundaries or denominational edict but it is declared by scripture to be ‘all who believed’.   Believed what?  They believed that Jesus Christ was who He said He was, God incarnate, and did what He came to do, to seek and to save the lost.  They believed that Jesus provided eternal life to all who believe by becoming sin for them, when He himself was blameless of all sin, so that they, the undeserving, might enjoy a right relationship with God Himself.  They believed that it was apart from their works that they were made part of the church.  They believed it was all of Christ.  They believed Jesus when He said, repent and believe the gospel. It was a great weekend in Knoxdale.  Not only because it showcased our little slice of Americana but it allowed those who professed Christ as Savior and Lord to gather together.  Yes, ‘you know, this is how life should be’. Soli Deo Gloria

Our Urgency and Our Desire
01 Sep
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Our Urgency and Our Desire

In the past several weeks, as I have been studying the book of Acts, the Lord has been impressing on me, the importance for the church today to remain ‘urgent in our waiting’.   The disciples were told to ‘wait’ at Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit and His accompanying explosive power.  Being human, I can only imagine their impatience and desire to be about fulfilling the last instructions of the Lord, to be His ‘witnesses’.  Yet Jesus told them to wait.  There are numerous reasons for Jesus telling them to wait and we at CHCC will be unfolding those reasons over the next several weeks.  However, the scriptures seem clear that the attitude of the New Testament Church in these days following Jesus’ ascension is one that the contemporary church needs to study. Whether or not we see this first band of believers as a proper example in every aspect for today’s church, we must agree that their urgency and desire for their Lord, is certainly a trait which we lack and should  aspire to.  Jesus’ last instructions to them and the angels admonition is just as timely and as germane to us today as it was 2000 years ago.  He is coming back!  He is faithful and true to His word and promises!  The Holy Spirit is just as dynamic in power as He was then in transforming souls from enemies of God to lover’s of God through the proclamation of the gospel message! Are we urgently desiring His return today?  Is the urgency of our message and the impetus of our lives  a desire to make much about God?  Do we desire Him?  Nothing has changed in the 2000 years since the these words were written except our complacency.  The urgency of the time and message has given way to satisfaction. C.S. Lewis wrote that as Christians  ‘we are far too easily pleased’.  Meaning that we are too easily satisfied with messing around with the temporal pleasures and blessings of this world when infinite joy is available.   We need to begin to desire God with all of our being and develop an urgency like that of the first century church. I came across the following excellent short video that expresses far better than I can, what should be the desire of each of us that call Him Lord. Do You Desire God? – Paul Washer from I’ll Be Honest on Vimeo. Soli Deo Gloria

New AWANA addition
27 Aug
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New AWANA addition

This is the third year for the AWANA program at CHCC.  God has chosen to bless this ministry tremendously to the degree that we will be adding another level of participation for ‘clubbers’.  The TREK level is for 7th and 8th graders and continues the AWANA commitment to instilling biblical principles in young people through bible lessons, scripture memorization and interaction with a ‘road trip’ theme. Check out ‘Our Awana’ page on the website for more details. Two weeks to launch of this year’s AWANA.  You doing the ‘happy dance’ yet? soli deo gloria!