Oh Be J yful news I
january 2013
PO Box 175 | 625 Maroon Avenue | Crested Butte, CO 81224 | (970) 349-6237 | www.ohbejoyfulchurch.org have never been one to reflect on the past. Seldom do I think about my years growing up in Pennsylvania, reminiscing on the “good old” days. Nor do I look back on my early years in Colorado, getting through college, remembering my first full time job, thinking about the “could haves, should haves, would haves” and how things might have been different if I had made better of different choices. No sense of regret about losing out on certain opportunities because I chose to live in the mountains and small towns of Colorado. It seems that my personality has always been about the present and what is happening in the “now” with a little bit of thinking about the future...and that is seldom beyond a five year period. Forecasting life is like trying to forecast the weather in Crested Butte…nearly impossible…except that it will be changing–soon. So this time of year…the beginning of the New Year doesn’t quite affect me as it does many...as it might be affecting some of you who process differently. For you the New Year may be a great time of reminiscing on the past and planning for the future…or falling into deep regrets about the past with a sense of impending doom about the future.
From Our Pastor
Interestingly, in our Sunday morning messages out of the Gospel of Luke Jesus is teaching us about such mindsets with some warnings and encouragements. In Chapter 11 and moving forward into 12 and 13 Jesus gives His listeners instruction on prayer…and who are we depending on for this life. He warns us about pride…and how we process our understanding of ourselves in light of God and His workings in this world through Christ. He instructs on the dangers of hypocrisy and following religious leaders who live their lives that way, as well as warnings against greed and one’s focus on possessing “stuff”. Not to mention His all too familiar passage on worrying about what we have (or don’t) and our worries about our tomorrows…the future. Then there is the encouragement to be watchful for His second coming and be a servant prepared for the masters’ return. How will He find us? His teachings once again hammer the point home that yesterday, today, and tomorrow are not about us…but are all about Him. He continues to put our short few years into an eternal perspective that brings incredible meaning and purpose to our lives if we focus on and pursue Him. In Him and the pursuit of Him we find our value–the love, redemption, and provision for all of this life and the one to come. “For your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” If we have received such a kingdom why would we fear the “fiscal cliffs” of this world? Let us take opportunity at the beginning of this new year to praise and worship God with thanksgiving for our past if we go there. Let us look to the future eagerly waiting for Christ’s return. And let us keep our focus on Him in the present that it might take our focus off of the worries of this world and bring into focus the Kingdom that has been given to us in Christ. Reread these chapters in Luke and let Christ instruct your heart so that your happiness in the New Year may be found in Him. In His love and service,
-Jim
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from the new adam’s house The New Adam’s House (Part 2) The New Adam’s House Program will help the resident gain recovery skills through the use of Christian and Traditional 12 Step recovery principles and the healing truths of the Bible. The program will utilize material from Celebrate Recovery and Alcoholics Anonymous. Residents will participate in meetings in house as well as in Crested Butte and Gunnison. There will also be encouragement for daily morning devotional meetings, church attendance, educational “classes”, and scripture study. The Phase Program of The New Adam’s House is designed to help the resident work through three critical components of recovery; humility, reconciliation, and service. The New Adam’s House will provide a program structure and the participant will be asked to find and keep employment during their residency.
chris gibson
We closed 2013 with the first part of our review of purpose at NAH. In the New Year let’s finish it off! We have exciting news at the New Adam’s House. We have been approved for Colorado Access to Recovery grant funding. The men at NAH can now apply for support through this program. More information is forth coming. Until then we wish everyone the best in 2013.
The Outdoor Recreational Opportunities locally are abundant and range from alpine and cross country skiing and snowboarding in the winter to hiking, mountain biking, and equestrian in the summer. The New Adam’s House is Located at the top of the East River Valley, just south of the town of Crested Butte, and the access to the National Forest Service land is easy. Our program will incorporate outdoor outings “We were therefore for fellowship and education. The Gunnison Community Center will be utilized for year buried with him round exercise, swimming, activities, and fellowship. through baptism into death in order that, just The Cost of The New Adam’s House is $600.00 per month, plus an admission fee. Once as Christ was raised admitted to the program the resident will be asked to make a regular monthly payment from the dead through which will include: a bed, closet space, linens, breakfast and lunch 7 days per week, and the glory of the Father, home cooked dinner Monday through Friday. On weekends residents will be responsible we too may live a new for their dinner. Outdoor activities and extra memberships (to the Gunnison Pool for life.” example) will be the resident’s responsibility. Romans 6:4
women’s retreat coming this month This year’s annual winter women’s retreat will take place on January 18-20, 2013. It will be a great chance to relax, fellowship with other women and spend time in the Word. It’s so much more than a Bible study! Please email Cari Freeman at cari@thegreenhousecb.com for more information or give her a call at 970-596-5093.
about the ministry of
reconciliation
Oh Be Joyful exists to bring glory to God through the ministry of reconciliation as outlined in Colossians 1:18 and 2 Corinthians 5:11-21. To be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, to sustain a vital relationship with Him, to be used of God to bring all people into this same relationship, to live in love and reconciliation with one another. As a church, we strive to be about the ministry of reconciliation through six areas: • Ministry of Equipping • Ministry of Harvest • Ministry of Healing & Recovery • Ministry of Retreat • Ministry of Service • Ministry of Worship To find out more about the mission of OBJ and the ministry of reconciliation, please visit ohbejoyfulchurch.org or facebook.com/objchurch
OBJ is in the transition to going paperless with our correspondence. If you would like to start receiving this newsletter as an email rather than snail mail, please email your information to objnewsletter@yahoo.com. Or, like us on facebook and every month there will be an embedded newsletter you can view right there from your social network. Thanks!
FAcebook Find us on facebook at facebook.com/objchurch. There you will find weekly updates with church happenings, music from OBJ, and valuable resources. And it’s a great way to stay connected!
Sunday worship recordings CDs of every Sunday’s worship service are now available immediately after the service. Find Tyler after the service and he will be happy to help you out. Or email a request to objnewsletter@ yahoo.com.
deadlines If you have something you would like included in the newsletter, bulletin, website, or church facebook page, please email it to objnewsletter@ yahoo.com. The deadline for the newsletter is the 10th of the month and bulletin is Wednesday morning each week.
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A fresh start
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away…” 2 Corinthians 5:17
Come find out what’s going on at
nancy osmundson
Happy New Year! The New Year gives us a fresh start, a beginning, a chance to do things different. We have the hope of life being better than before. Yet, as with every year, the New Year will also contain failures, sins, and disappointments. The New Year parallels our life as Christians.
This is the promise of the Word, the foundation of Christianity. When we come to know Christ we are born again. As Christians we are given new life. We feel different and see the world in a new way. Once we come to know our savior, Jesus Christ, we will never be the same again. There are two types of people who are born again: those whose lives are noticeably different to the outside world. The change in them is very evident. Then there are others in which the change is not so drastic. Their change/ growth in Christ is more internal, more of a process and maybe less evident to the world around them.
“No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Jesus Christ, is calling us up to heaven.” Philippians 3:13-14 There is good news in Christ! With each day and each decision we make we have the opportunity for rebirth through the word of God and the forgiveness of sins. Each day in the life of a Christian offers hundreds of opportunities to become new again…to do things better, according to God’s Word. Being born again in Christ Jesus is both a miraculous event and a daily walk. Thank God for rebirth, for the New Year. God Bless your 2013.
newsletter archives If you have missed any of this past year’s newsletters and you would like to read them, good news! Archived versions of the newsletter are available to view at www.issuu.com/ohbejoyful. There you will find easy to access digital versions of all our past newsletters.
on-going church
activities
Sunday Schedule: 7:30 a.m. - Intercessory Prayer (in OBJ Café) 8 a.m. - Adult Bible Study 8 a.m. - Worship Team Practice 9 a.m. - Worship Service 9:30 a.m. - Children’s Sunday School (midway through service) 10:15 a.m. - Post-Service Fellowship Ladies Bible Study: Thursday - 9 a.m. (OBJ Lounge - Childcare provided) celebrate recovery worship: Thursday - 6 p.m. (OBJ Sanctuary)
bigger barns I was blessed to have the opportunity to preach this month and promptly woke up Sunday morning sicker than I have been in a long, long time. Needless to say, I didn’t make it to church and Mark filled in on the fly like a consummate professional. It may have secretly been a blessing in a disguise because I was set to preach on a topic that I personally struggle with deeply. In Luke 12 Jesus tells a parable about a rich fool. At first blush it’s a pretty easy text to understand but it can be twisted and misinterpreted quite easily as well. First off, it is important to understand that a walk with Christ is not synonymous with poverty. We are not required by our Lord to shun the material goods and wealth that this world can afford. Solomon is a picture of that. God had rich communion with him and his wealth would dwarf any we could imagine. What we see in the parable of the rich fool is a man who is blessed with success and wealth and material goods and rather than use those blessings as a means to worship, he builds bigger barns so he can fill them with even more of that abundance. He isn’t worshipping with his wealth, he is worshipping his wealth. It is an incredibly important distinction to draw and one that I think we need to be aware of as Americans. The sheer fact that we live in the United States automatically makes us wealthier than a huge portion of the world’s population. Even the poorest among us have access to clean water and abundant food and infrastructure that many could only dream of. We are magnificently blessed, much like the man in Christ’s parable. How I want to challenge you, just as I challenge myself, is in how you view that abundance? Is it a tool that can be used to bring you closer to the Lord and with which you can serve him? Or is it a safety net, a status symbol, a token of self worth? Let us not worship our wealth. Rather, let us worship with our wealth and abundance in the new year.
tyler hansen
Whatever your experience it is important to know that being born again is not just a onetime event, but an opportunity for a new life each day. Much like the New Year, we expect the old to be gone, to be better. Sometimes there is disappointment in ourselves that while we are born again, we don’t do things better. We must remember that our life in Christ is similar to the “New Year.” While we are born again in to a new life, it is still a human life. We will sin, fail, struggle and suffer.
CB Community Youth
Contact Courtney Kirby, CB Community Youth Minister (865)406-6876 • courtneykirby@gmail.com • www.cbym.net
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Oh Be Joyful Church • in christ PO Box 175 (Mailing)/625 Maroon Avenue (Physical & Shipping) Crested Butte, CO 81224 • (970)349-6237 www.ohbejoyfulchurch.org • www.facebook.com/objchurch objchurch@crestedbutte.net (Jim Kunes) • objnewsletter@yahoo.com (Bulletin/Newsletter) • objsecretary@crestedbutte.net
additional ministries
church staff
Crested Butte Community Youth Ministry - Courtney Kirby, Director courtneykirby@gmail.com • (865)406-6876
Jim Kunes - Elder/Pastor Al Van Dyke - Elder/Trustee/Treasurer Mark Ewing - Elder/Trustee Chris Gibson - Elder Tyler Hansen - Elder/Worship and Arts Pastor Annette Runion - Minister of Sunday School
New Adam’s House - Chris Gibson, Director christianjgibson@gmail.com • (970)596-6633
Oh Be Joyful Church was established in 1982 and is a member of the Southern Baptist Convention
PO Box 175 Crested Butte, CO 81224 return service requested
January prayer needs CB Community Youth Ministry New Adam’s House Ministry Care & Share Foodbank Ministry Reconciliation Resource Ministry The Kunes Family as they nuture our OBJ Family Those in our community and church body with health struggles The OBJ team of Elders This Time of Transition at OBJ Our Marriages and Families OBJ Sunday School Team OBJ Worship Team Our members & friends in missions throughout the world: David and Linsey Gardeen - Ecuador Harol and Coni Knepper - Tanzania Bill and Patty Bokelman - Israel Shaw Family - Peru Iserman Family - France Ives Family - Argentina