Habitat For Humanity Build Begins

Christ Church has partnered with Wilshire Baptist Church, Cliff Temple Baptist Church, Union Cathedral, and First Baptist Farmer's Branch on a Habitat build in west Dallas. See the update below from Minister of Missions Wes Keyes at Cliff Temple. It was a record-setting start!

From Wes:
Wow...just wow. I can't say how much of a blessing it was to see over 40 folks come together and begin to build a house. I was blown away by our togetherness, construction acumen, and overall speed at which we worked.

If you haven't heard it already our lead builder from Habitat, named Scooter, claimed that we set a new record (for him at least) for amount of worked completed on day 1 (we actually left the build site around 2:30). That's just awesome!

So awesome in fact that I say we do it again this Saturday! See you guys and gals there!

If you have any questions regarding schedules, food, drink, etc, please don't hesitate to ask. Thanks again!

Grace and Peace,

wk

Current Sermon Series

What difference does being a follower of Jesus make in your life today? Much emphasis is often placed on the individual salvation of the soul and the afterlife. Yet it is difficult to read the Gospels and believe that the main point of Christianity is “to go to heaven when you die.” Jesus’ teaching about what he called the kingdom of God reveals that life in Christ is not first and foremost about life after death. Neither does the gospel mean that we agree with abstract theological propositions in order to qualify to go to heaven when we die. The gospel invites us to live a new way of life—here and now. Following Jesus means there is a true and genuine “life before death.”

This sermon series explores what it means to experience “life before death” and live into the Lord’s Prayer that God’s “kingdom come and God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Join us this Sunday for Life Before Death.

Serving Others at The Well Community

Christ Church will be worshiping with The Well Community on Saturday night, August 22nd at 5:00PM. Christ Church will also provide the evening meal beginning at 6:00PM.

The Well is a faith-based provider of mental health services to low-income people experiencing mental illness. The Well seeks to provide a life-giving community of peace, love, and hope.

The Well currently meets in the facilities of Cliff Temple Baptist Church. CTBC is located in north Oak Cliff, just south of downtown Dallas.

Meet new friends and learn more about this vital ministry. Please join us for a great night of worship and fellowship--Saturday, August 22nd.

New Sermons Posted

All the sermons from the Lenten series, "Cross Words," have been posted at www.ChristChurchRockwall.org/sermons.htm, including the Easter Sunday and Pentecost Sunday sermons. If there are any you missed or would like to hear again, have a listen. And send a link to your friends.

Grow in Your Faith This Summer

Current Book Study

Currently on Tuesday nights a group of guys are meeting to talk about Parker Palmer's "Let Your Life Speak." It is a book full of wisdom about finding one's true calling.

Beyond economic ups and downs, many of us seek to have careers and jobs that give us a sense of purpose and that expresses something significant about who we are. When our "role" matches up with our "soul," we can move from simple having a job to finding our vocation (our true callings).

Here is a snippet for you today:

"I first learned about vocation growing up in the church...But the idea of vocation I picked up in those circles created distortion until I grew strong enough to discard it. I mean the idea that vocation, or calling, comes from a voice external to ourselves, a voice of moral demand that asks us to become someone we are not yet--someone different, someone better, someone just beyond our reach.

It is a notion that made me feel inadequate to the tak of living my own life, creating guilt about the distance between who I was and who I was supposed to be. Today, I understand vocation quite differently--not as a goal to be achieved but as a gift to be received. Vocation does not come from a voice 'out there' calling me to become something I am not. It comes from a voice 'in here' calling me to be the person I was born to be, to fulfill the original selfhood given me at birth by God."

• In what ways is Palmer's insight about vocation similar or different to ways you understand vocation?

Serving Others at Rockwall Boys and Girls Club

Last month (April 18) a group from Christ Church volunteered at the Rockwall Boys and Girls Club's Spring Carnival. We weeded flower beds, planted fresh flowers, and mulched.

We were invited by Common Art to help beautify the Club grounds. Common Art is a partner with the Boys and Girls Club of Rockwall. Common Art exists to promote arts through a safe and loving environment in the Rockwall community. Many volunteer opportunities are available now, so be sure to go to their website and find out how you can be involved in the lives of local youth in Rockwall. Christ Church members are welcomed and encouraged to become regular volunteers through Common Art.

Thanks to Carol, Pat, Alison, Pete, Jolene, James, Sharon, and Andrew for representing Christ Church on this special day.