Volume XLVI Number 7 February 17, 2013

“More Than Conquerors”

Worship Leader Scott Wideman

# 647 Soldiers of Christ, Arise

# 749 The Battle Belongs to the Lord

Call to Worship

# Dare to Stand Like Joshua

Scripture Reading Bobby Fojt

Matt. 5:43-48

Prayer

# 429 Oh, To Be Like Thee

Communion Thought Tony Hatcher

Communion

Body Life/Offering Jeff Neaves

Prayer Time

# Holy, Spirit Breathe On Me

# It’s Been Mercy All the Way

# 323The Way That He Loves Me

Dismiss Bible Hour

# Surround Us, O Lord

Sermon Joe Crisp

# 63 I Will Call Upon the Lord

Blessing Dan Marshall

Romans 8:35-39

CCLI#2551496

When someone keeps telling you to “be strong and courageous,” you might suspect you are up against something big. And the Israelites were. About to enter the land that had been promised them 600 years before, they had a giant-sized task awaiting them. Literally. Forty years earlier ten spies had come back and told the Israelites that the inhabitants of the land were so big they felt like they were the size of a grasshopper in comparison. Fear took them captive without a battle and sent them off as a group to wander around in a wilderness where they took their chances against wild animals rather than face their giants. They wandered so long that those who had grasshopper-sized faith died out. Forty years later their children were ready to take the land. They were physically no taller than their parents had been. The enemies in the land were no smaller than before. But the Israelites’ faith muscles had grown. There were two spies who had reported the land was theirs for the taking. One of them, Joshua, is now the Israelites’ leader. He was courageous. And God wanted to keep him that way. So God tells him three times in the first nine verses of the first chapter of Joshua: “Be strong and courageous.” He also reminds him “the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Continued on Page 2

My guess is you have a few giants in your life too. Some uphill battles that appears insurmountable. A task demanding more than you think you have to give. One too many things on your “to do” list than you have the time or energy to do. Unemployment is staring you down. Depression has a grip on you. Bills have raided your bank account and left it empty. An illness hovers in your life like a threatening storm. You’d rather just run and wander. Instead, be strong and courageous. You have a Joshua that will lead the way. The New Testament equivalent of the name “Joshua” is “Jesus.” And he has promised to be with you always (Matthew 28:20). Jesus knows how to lead you through battles. He had a few of his own while he was on this earth. Enemies attacking him with accusations (Mark 3:22). No home and no bed (Luke 9:58). Crowds and expectations pressing in on him (Luke 8:45). The religious establishment eventually insuring he was sentenced to a brutal death. (Mark 15:14). Yet he took on the most barbaric giant there is, death, and lived to tell about it. He can help you do the same. You need only be strong and courageous in your faith. Welcome to worship.

THE STORY

We are in our seventh week of The Story. And what an

experience it has been! It’s more than we expected

although we believed it would be a perfect fit for one of

our goals – making Christ known to everyone in Victoria.

We saw it as a vehicle to take the love of God to all of

our friends and neighbors.

As we read the story of Joshua, we saw one of the

things the children of Israel needed to be successful.

They needed to be people of the Word. We, too, need to

be people of the Word. Not just the elders. Not just

Randy. Not just the Bible school teacher. But everyone

at Central.

When Joshua called the Israelites around for the read-

ing of all the law, he just didn’t call the men. He called

the men, women and children. Everyone.

Using this as a pattern, we want to make sure that eve-

ryone at Central and anyone who visits with us has the

opportunity to learn and understands the heart and story

of God.

So, it was a non-negotiable decision from the begin-

ning that each family would get a free copy of The Story.

In addition, we felt that if it was important for the adults

to have their copy of The Story, it was just as important

for each child to receive a free, age-appropriate copy of

The Story for their own. We also wanted those who visit

with us to share in the experience of The Story, so we

give a copy to them as a gift. So far, we have given away

over 300 adult books, over 40 teen books, over 25 books

for children in grades 3-5, over 20 books for kindergarten

through 2nd grade, and over 30 books for the little ones.

Our Bible school teachers do an excellent job teaching

our children on Sunday and Wednesday. However, the

real equippers of our children are the parents. So, we

challenge parents to sit down each week and read the

chapter of The Story with their children.

We are expecting much more exciting things to come

as a result of this study. Please keep praying for the

continued success of The Story study for the Glory of

God.

LONG-RANGE PLAN

The elders are presently in the process of developing a

long-range plan for Central. The first item discussed was

financial planning/budget. There will be several other

elder’s meetings to put in place a strategy for carrying out

the long-range plan. In the near future, we will be calling

on some of you for your input and help.

Continued from Page 1

Please pray for the following: John McFarlin, Kathy

Hanselka, Elroyce Metting, Roxi McCutchan, Lisa

Hosek and Ann Wasicek. Mark Spaeth has asked that

we pray for Billy Mudd (grandfather of Mark’s chil-

dren). Billy is in DeTar. Remember Randy and Jodie as

they travel in China over the next ten days. Evelyn

Urbick is suffering from shingles.

We offer our heartfelt sympathy to Kevin and Janice

Lovel in the death of Janice’s sister, Tracy Rawlinson.

Services were held in Cuero on Saturday.

The Jim Schumann group and Mark Spaeth group

will be going to the Food Bank on Thursday, February

21st at 6pm. More volunteers are always appreciated.

Please feel free to just show up to help.

We will have a fellowship luncheon next week in the

annex immediately following services. If you have

been visiting and plan to be here next week, please

remain after services and have lunch with us.

Corey and Lindsey Boucher are the proud parents of a

baby boy. Cullen Campbell was born Monday,

February 11th. He weighed 8 lbs. 8 ozs. and was 20

1/2 inches long. Larry and Linda Winters, and Karan

Boucher are the proud grandparents and Frank Farris is

a very proud great-grandfather.

Tim and Pam Hanselka are moving back to

Victoria. They are needing help to unload a U-Haul

truck next Sunday afternoon, February 24th. If you

could help, please contact Dan Spaeth for further

details.

The forms for Camp Bandina can be found on the

information center. The camp dates are June 16-22.

The deadline for registration has been moved up from

June 15 to May 15. There is a limited amount of

space so get your forms mailed in as soon as possible.

Call the office if financial help is needed.

There will be a Zambia Barbeque on Saturday,

February 23 here at Central. Tickets can be purchased

at the information center for $7 each. You may pick up

your to-go plates from 11-2 in the annex. Proceeds will

help send a group from Central to Africa to be part of

Zambia Medical Mission team in July. Be reminded

of the garage sale coming up in April. Clean out your

closets and bring items to the bus barn.

Victoria Christian School presents The Heart of

Texas Championship Barbershop Chorus and

Victoria’s Solid Strings featuring Scott Devos and

Rick Collie on Saturday, March 16 at 6:30 at the Leo J.

Welder Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are

$20. Seniors (65) and Military are $15. Tickets can

be purchased at the Leo J. Welder Center and Victoria

Christian School.

Junior High and High School young people are

encouraged to attend a Game Night in Room 100 on

Friday, March 1 from 6-10pm. Bring $5 for pizza.

Drinks and dessert will be provided.

The menu for Wednesday evening will be Tacos.

The cost is $5. If you have not been attending the

meals on Wednesday, come and be a part of the

fellowship and remember all the funds are donated to

the Zambia Medical Mission Team.

WEDNESDAY

February 6, 2013 155

SUNDAY

February 10, 2013

Bible Class 172

AM Worship 251

Evening Service 40

Small Groups 70

CONTRIBUTION $14,712.63

WEEKLY BUDGET $7500.00

YEAR-TO-DATE $167,611.59

Fiscal Year October to October

Day 1

1. God used Israel’s enemies to turn them back to himself. Have you ever had a painful

or dangerous experience that led you back to God?

2. Deborah’s military leader was named Barak, which means “lightning” or “flashing

sword.” Did he live up to his name? Describe a time when fear held you back from

living up to the name “Christian.”

3. In the evil days after Joshua, “every man did what was right in his eyes.” In a plu-

ralistic society, why is it dangerous when everyone gets to pick their own definition

of right and wrong?

Day 2

1. What are some characteristics of Deborah that make her a good role model for young

women?

2. The angel of the Lord greeted Gideon as a mighty warrior though he was from the

weakest clan and of the least in his family (p. 89). Do you tend to define yourself by

your weaknesses or by the potential God sees in you because He is with you?

3. Samson’s strength did not make up for his moral weaknesses. When has a strength

of yours been insufficient to overcome your conditions?

Day 3

1. In examining Samson’s marriages, what takeaways would strengthen yours?

2. Think of some of the prayers in this chapter, such as Gideon’s or Samson’s. What

does this teach us about prayer?

Personal Devotion Questions

Chapter 8

A Few Good

Men and Women

Has Everyone In Your Family Received The Story?