Christ Reformed Info

The second Ladies Christian Classics 2008 book club took place on Saturday, March 30. The book discussed at Karen Akiyoshi's home was On The Incarnation by St. Athanasius. Karen made everyone feel at home and had plenty of space for all readers. Several new faces joined some of the ladies from the first meeting. A special guest, Kathy Chappelle, who attends the URC in Escondido, made the trip north to also attend the meeting. Her son in Chicago told her about the book club and encouraged her to attend. She participated with the hope of having the same format for the ladies in Escondido.

The timelessness of a book written during the fourth century, the unrelenting focus on the benefits of Christ's death and resurrection, and the forward by C.S. Lewis encouraging the reading of "old" books were some of the favorites discussed, as well as the bonus interpretation of the Psalms, which were at the back of the book.

The third meeting of the Ladies book club will be on Saturday, May 31 at 2:00 p.m. We will meet at the home of Rhonda Szucs, 9192 Stanford Avenue, Garden Grove, 92841, (714) 636-9518. Our focus for this meeting will be on St. Augustine's Confessions. All interested ladies are welcome to join us for this time of discussion and fellowship.

The bulletin for Sunday, May 18 has been posted.  christreformedinfo.squarespace.com/this-weeks-bulletin

The Sermon for Maundy Thursday-- "Christ our Prophet" http://links.christreformed.org/realaudio/MaundyThursday20080320.mp3 

The Sermon for Good Friday-- "Christ our Priest" http://links.christreformed.org/realaudio/GoodFriday20080321.mp3

The Sermon for Easter -- "Christ our King"
http://links.christreformed.org/realaudio/EasterSunday20080323.mp3

Seventeen readers gathered Saturday, February 2, to discuss Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. Judith Sniegowski hosted the first meeting and her hospitality, preparation and joyful sprit was greatly appreciated. The participants enjoyed refreshments, an opening prayer and a brief period of introductions.

Many opportunities for conversation came up that afternoon, among them, Lewis’ writing style, particularly his use of analogy, the book’s origins and historical setting. The topics of repentance, morality, sanctification and reasoning were brought up for discussion. The attendees listened and shared their impressions, questions and insights. An informative article about C.S. Lewis, written by Kenneth Samples (published in FACTS & FAITH, 1998) was provided as supplemental material.

The inspiration to read these six Christian classics came from Kenneth Samples’ “New Year’s Resolutions for the Mind” Sunday school class. That Sunday school challenge, given at the end of 2007, quickly materialized into the Ladies Christian Classics 2008 Book Club.

The Christian Classics Book Club format is unique. Six books are featured with a suggested timeline of reading one book approximately every two months. Thus, just one meeting will be held to discuss each book. It allows all interested ladies to read great Christian works, meet for discussions and take advantage of the time for fellowship, while being free to attend any of the meetings as she is available.

Coming up in late March: On the Incarnation, by St. Athanasius. http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/history/ath-inc.htm#ch_1 Each meeting will be hosted by a different member, so the five subsequent meeting locations and dates will be announced at a later date. Please contact coordinators Kristina Mellon (562.284.0372) or Jessica Schlotter (310.970.2210) for more information and/or to add your name to the contact list.

The complete reading list, in the order to be discussed, is listed below. Many of the books will be available for purchase from the Church bookstore at select times throughout the year.

Reading List

· Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis

· On the Incarnation, St. Athanasius (Edition with introduction written by C.S. Lewis)

· Confessions, St. Augustine (’61 Penguin Classic Edition, RS Pine-Coffin)

· Cur Deus Homo (Why the God-man), St. Anselm

· On The Bondage of the Will, Martin Luther (Edition with introduction written by J.I. Packer)

· Pens ées, Blaise Pascal (Penguin Classic Edition (95), Translated by A.J. Krailsheimer)

Mr. Andrew Compton passed his candidacy exam with flying colors!  Thanks to all of you who worked so hard to provide food, help with sound, and clean-up!  Classis went very well, and all of our guests seemed to appreciate your hospitality and hard work.

Meanwhile, we can be certain Andrew had his best night of sleep in some time.

For a report on classis from Christ United Reformed Church in Santee, Click here: pilgrim people-christ urc-reformed - the latest post - Classis Southwest Update 

For those of you in the Southern California area, the Academy is back! Dr. Riddlebarger is finishing his series on the New Perspectives on Paul

The next lecture is entitled "An Interesting Dialogue Between James Dunn and N. T. Wright."

Text books for this series include: Cornelis Venema's two books which we used for the previous set of lectures; Getting the Gospel Right (Banner) and The Gospel of Free Acceptance in Christ (Banner). We will also use two recent books: Michael Horton, Covenant and Salvation: Union With Christ (Westminster John Knox Press, 2007); and John Piper, The Future of Justification: A Response to N. T. Wright (Crossway, 2007).

Our Academy lectures begin at 7:30 p.m. Academy lectures are free of charge and are followed by a time of discussion and refreshments. We look forward to meeting you!