Christmas Program Pictures

Photobucket did not do a good job downloading our slideshow to the blog, so we are listing individual pictures for your enjoyment.

Joy to the World 09

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE MARTIN FAMILY!

From the Pastor

As I spent time celebrating an early Christmas with my wife and children last evening, I couldn't help but be touched by the fact that I believe that I am the most blessed individual on the face of the planet. Everyday, God extends His mercy and grace into my life and I realize how I am truly loved. There is no greater time of the year to stop and take an assessment of God's gifts than during Christmas. His gifts rarely come wrapped in ribbons and bows, but they are seen in the beauty of friends and family. Take time this year to be thankful for the most precious gift ever given - His Only Begotten Son. It's never too late to receive this gift with gratitude and love. Merry Christmas to one and all!

Joy to the World!

Our annual Christmas Musical was entitled, Joy to the World! It truly was a joyous day as the Lord broke through and blessed our celebration of His birth. The choir, musicians and actors did an excellent job presenting the Christmas story to a crowd of 170.

Thanks to everyone who made this day special. We hope to show you more pictures of the day as they are submitted for publication.

The Care Package

The Care Package Food Pantry, a ministry of CCC, was active this holiday season in distributing food to the needy. This month's distribution broke records and the Lord blessed us to have enough food to help those who stood in line for over an hour in 30 degree temperature.

Through God's help we were able to supply over 450 people with food for the holiday. This is the largest number of people we have ever helped at one time. We give honor to God for His grace and provisions.

The need continues to grow. We are desperately looking for more contributers to fund this ministry. 100% of all the money received is used to purchase food. If you would like to donate to this ministry please contact us at: (205) 553 - 9413.

Stuffed Animal Give-Away

Derry Meade and crew were blessed to organize and participate in another Stuffed Animal Give-Away. This ministry has continued to grow every year. The team was able to visit 7 nursing home & assisted living residence and distribute over 1200 stuffed animals to the residents. It was also a special time to share the gospel message with each visit and to wish those who are restricted by age and health a Very, Merry Christmas! Thanks to everyone who donate and participated in this endeavor.

Secret Sister Party '09

The ladies from CCC had a wonderful evening at their annual secret sister party. The event was hosted in the home of Yvonne Dewberry and the evening was a great celebration of food, fun and fellowship. Special thanks to Linda Griffith and Pamela Martin for putting the activity together. The ladies are looking forward to more of these great events in the near future.

Mr. & Mrs. William Curry

Congratulations to 5 and Liz on their recent wedding. They make a great couple and truly the Lord has brought them and their families together. We are blessed to have this family as a part of our community of faith. May God richly bless their marriage for many years to come.

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

Ron & Pamela would like to extend early Christmas greetings to everyone! There is no holiday like Christmas. Spending time with friends and family make this the perfect time of the year. Greater still, is the acknowledgement of Christ's coming and His redemptive work. We honor Him and invite everyone to find a joyous relationship with The Creator of all Life.

The True Light

The Gospel of John tells us that Jesus Christ is the True Light, who brings life and light to all who wander in darkness. Modern Christianity is filled with teachers and preachers who have abandoned sound teaching and doctrine. Things like modalism, iconaclism, eternal security, predestination, serpent seed and prosperity teachings have de-valued the work of Christ on the Cross and have confused some into believing heretical practices. One of the greatest hinderances to the Gospel has been the emergence of TV evangelism. In and of itself, not necessarily evil, but too many lazy Christians will watch Christian TV instead of reading their Bibles, and will accept anything that comes out of the mouth of false teachers just because they mention the name of Jesus or sing gospel music.

There's nothing wrong with listening to good sound TV minsters. But as a safeguard, why not use your Bible while you're listening to them as a guide to determine whether they are teaching sound doctrine. I enjoy hearing men like Billy Wilson, Jentzen Franklin, Tony Evans, David Jeremiah and Billy Graham. But if the words they speak are not Biblically based then I would not be willing to embrace their teaching.

Jesus came to bring light to a fallen world. He is the one and only True Light.

Welcome to our Family!

CCC would like to welcome Regan Curry White to our family. She is a beautiful, healthy girl and we are blessed to have her as a part of our family. Thank God for this precious little gift.

Stuffed Animals

Derry Meade has already collected over 1000 stuffed animals to be given away to the nursing homes during the Christmas season. We still need more to help accomodate all the facilities. If you would like to donate or contribute stuffed animal to this ministry you can contact us by calling: (205) 553-9413. Office hours are every Wednesday from 9:30 to 2:30.

Give Thanks 4 Everything!

There is a true story of GIs stationed in the Philippines during WW II. Although the region was secure, sometimes the enemy tried to infiltrate their food storage area. One such adversary, dressed in GI clothing, had worked himself into the noontime chow line. But the camp cook spotted him, pulled a pistol from under the serving table and yelled for the MPs to come and arrest the man.After it was all over, the soldiers asked the cook how he knew the man wasn’t one of them."I figured it wasn’t one of you guys, ’cause he was coming back for seconds."

(Reader’s Digest 5/93, p.46)

What gave the enemy away? He was grateful for all the food he could get.He was thankful for the food no one else wanted. Being thankful was what set him apart.

In Ephesians 5, God tells us He wants us to stand out. He wants us to be known for something. He wants us to be known for being thankful.

Ephesians 5:20 says we should be “always GIVING THANKS to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Colossians 3:17 tells us “whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, GIVING THANKS to God the Father through him.”

And 1 Thessalonians 5:18 evens says we should “GIVE THANKS in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

A few years ago, the Peanuts cartoon pictured Charlie Brown bringing out Snoopy’s dinner on Thanksgiving Day. But it was just his usual dog food in a bowl. Snoopy took one look at the dog food and said, "This isn’t fair. The rest of the world is eating turkey with all the trimmings, and all I get is dog food. Because I’m a dog, all I get is dog food." He stood there and stared at his dog food for a moment, and said, "I guess it could be worse. I could be a turkey."

Happy Thanksgiving

Have a Gloriously Happy Thanksgiving!

More Thanksgiving Celebration

The Lord blessed during our Community Thanksgiving Service and the congregation responded with a wonderful offering of $825.00. This offering will go to The Care Package Food Pantry. The next distribution date will be Saturday December 19th from 8 - 10 a.m. If you want to celebrate the holidays as Christ would have intended, volunteer your time on that day to help the needy. It is a tremendous blessing.

Happy Thanksgiving Celebration

The Lord moved wonderfully during our Thanksgiving Celebration this past Sunday. Pastor Ron preached on the subject of "In Everything, Give Thanks!" The basic plan of God's will is that we 1. Rejoice Evermore; 2. Pray Unceasingly; 3. Give Thanks Continually!

Sunday evening brought a special time of community fellowship. Our annual Cottondale Community Thanksgiving Service was held at the Cottondale Community Church. There was an overflow crowd of 340. The presence of God was in every word spoken and every song sung. Pastors and churches who participated were: Ben West, Cottondale Christian; Simon Hunter, Benville Baptist; John Hassell, Cottondale United Methodist; Dale Glover, Cottondale Baptist; Mark Potter, Bible Methodist Church; Ron Martin, Cottondale Community Church.

The congregation was blessed by the music of choirs from Cottondale Baptist and Benville Baptist churches. The Cottondale Community Church youth drama team ministered dynamically and Pastor Mark Potter's Thanksgiving message was outstanding.

A wonderfully prepared fellowship dinner followed the evening service. We thank God for His bountiful supply and awesome presence during our community gathering.

Sour Grapes

Jeremiah 31:29-34,
"In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."

God has taken away our excuses for sin. He has taken away our excuses for not living a holy, sanctified life. God has removed the skin of our reason for not obeying his voice and revealed the lie that is stuffed inside. We stand on our own now and we cannot blame another for the sin we commit.God has given us everything we need to be saved. He has provided a way out of our death penalty if we will only confess that we are wrong in the first place and face up to our own guilt.We will all live or die based upon what we do with the gospel and death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

John Killinger tells about the manager of a minor league baseball team who was so disgusted with his center fielder’s performance that he ordered him to the dugout and assumed the position himself. The first ball that came into center field took a bad hop and hit the manager in the mouth. The next one was a high fly ball, which he lost in the glare of the sun--until it bounced off his forehead. The third was a hard line drive that he charged with outstretched arms; unfortunately, it flew between is hands and smacked his eye. Furious, he ran back to the dugout, grabbed the center fielder by the uniform, and shouted. ’You idiot! You’ve got center field so messed up that even I can’t do a thing with it!

Only when we face up to our own “sour grapes” and confess that we are the ones at fault and no one else, can we find true repentance and forgiveness for sin.

Great Service!

The Spirit of the Lord was overwhelming as He tabernacled in our presence Sunday morning. We enjoyed the ministry of Steel City Quartet. What a great anointing that flowed throughout the service. God showed up and His blessings were ministered.

Veteran's Day at Merrill Gardens

Ron & Pamela had the priviledge of being guest at the Veteran's Day celebration at Merrill Gardens
Assisted Living Center. We were honored to present several certificates of appreciation to the veterans in the audience and acknowledge their achievements.

Following a session of patriotic music by the Martins the group was treated to a wonderful reception. It was a wonderful celebration.

Jumping Through Genesis

There is a great warning in Genesis 19 for all nations, especially the United States. The hallmark of the grievous sin that consumed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah was homosexuality. Such was the condition that when the two men, who are really two angels, show up in the city, all the men of the city want to gang rape the two heavenly host. This condition of the city, that would face the judgment of God, should concern us as Americans because the moral condition of our own nation is not far behind Sodom and Gomorrah. I have to agree with one commentator who said, “If God does not judge America, then the Lord will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.”

Join us Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. as we continue our study in the book of Genesis.

Steel City Quartet

CCC is delighted to welcome Steel City Quartet to our church this coming Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. Join us as we worship the Lord and exalt His name in praise.