Parkside Mission

2013 Year end Gospel partnership opportunity  Planting a Christ-centered, community focused, and mission minded church in the Piedmont Park area will provide wonderful opportunities for the people and institutions of this great area and, by extension, the world, for years to come! Planting a church as part of a mission to plant churches everywhere in Atlanta's intown neighborhoods requires a strong base of support and prayer from people and partnering churches. As we finish a great 2013, we still need additional support!! You can be a partner in this project in a number of ways including: 1. Prayer  - please pray regularly for us or with us. Let us know if you would like more specific info about prayer requests or how to join us for a prayer meeting or prayer walk.  2. Giving  - please join our support team with monthly, quarterly, annual or special donations.      a. Use our  online giving options ,  remember to designate to "P...

Notes from a recent sermon on Acts 2:14-41 : Looking into the story of the apostle Peter, what was it that turned him from cowardly yet impulsive to bold and patient? If you look at the backstory of Walter White in the series, Breaking Bad, it is clear what lead to his breaking point and the new life he lives as a Meth producer. His wife's unexpected pregnancy, his son's cerebral palsy, and finally his own lung cancer. The Apostle Peter experienced a breaking point as result of Jesus's arrest and his our denial of Jesus. After the resurrection of Jesus, Peter rejoins the little launch team of the church. But no one would have expected to see the power God work so effectively through Peter as we see in Acts 2.    "41  Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number  that day." What might it look like if God worked powerfully like this in your life? Most of us have not seen anything quite like this in anyone...

Spiritual Formation Groups, also known as Discipleship Groups, are small groups for spiritual growth and leadership development. Beginning in the Fall of 2013 many of our groups will study the book of Acts as we enter a season of growth aimed at being ready to  multiply a new congregation. The New Testament book of Acts is a real account of the explosion of Christianity and the first church planting movement! Trent McEntyre One the resources we are going to use is the following Bible study guide book. It is available in Kindle and print version. If you are going to use it in a small group study you may want to pick up a printed copy so that you can write your personal notes more easily in it...and more safely and inexpensively throw it at your group leader if necessary!  Acts (N.T. Wright for Everyone Bible Study Guides)   by N. T. Wright

Jesus Christ lived a real human life, but no ordinary life. Most people I speak with who are familiar with Jesus are certain that he represents some of the best human teaching and good deeds. Those who identify themselves as Christians believe even more. They believe that Jesus is the divine Son of God who died as substitute for their sin. They believe Jesus rose from this death and ascended to heaven, where he lives today, alive forever as Lord of the universe. If what I just summarized is what Christians believe, then it stands to reason they should have a bold outlook on their faith's relationship to others in the world. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, if they really happened, warrant clarity in our faith. If Jesus resurrected, clearly, mere opinions and fashions of the day should not dampen spirits of those who know it to be true. Doubt and timidity saps vitality All of us lose what we call the innocence of youth sooner or later. Our experiences of suffering or ...

This summer City Church Eastside has presented a series on sermons on the Ten Commandments.  Each week we have looked at what each commandment implied positively for the Christian life. And each time we have found that these commandments illuminate our need for Christ and the wonderful provisions of grace in the Gospel. Series Summary Diagram Visit our website for sermon recordings: City Church Eastside If you would like to study the Ten Commandments for your only personal study and personal reflection I recommend JI Packer's  Growing in Christ.

How does God speak to your desires? Desires might be the difference between humans and any other creature. Never content to have just what we need, we are driven by desire. Call it a thirst for something more. Call it a hunger for more than bread, more than meat. The ancient revelation of the scriptures ask us to not just control desire, but to listen to our desire.  For example, the Hebrew prophet Isaiah poetically related our desire to an invitation from God. Listen to how God wants to meet us in our quest: “Come, all you who are thirsty,   come to the waters; and you who have no money,   come, buy  and eat  .  Come, buy wine and milk   without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread,   and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,   and you will delight in the richest  of fare.   Give ear and come to me;   listen,  that you may live. 1 Did you not...

Strange looks occasionally resulted when I would begin to speak English in the university student dorm in Zagreb, Croatia in 1993. "What is an American doing here?" some would ask curiously, but what followed was always some expression of Croatian hospitality. I had moved there with a team of recent college graduates to help start a Christian ministry for the university students. We had been warned that that young people in the former Yugoslavia might be disinterested in Christianity after their government being held for 50 years by secular, Communist leaders. Thankfully, this was not really the case. We found many students interested to learn about God, the Bible, and especially worship. Worship can describe the excitement we feel in the presence of music hero or the awe we experience in the face of a huge natural phenomena. Part of what it means to be human is to respond to beauty, power, and wonder with feelings of respect and admiration. We are wired to worship. And hi...

All Things New Season of Easter 2013 at City Church “Supper at Emmaus” by Michelangelo da Caravaggio (1573-1610). Wouldn't it be amazing if there was a time in life where we could stop trying to get it right and just celebrate? That is actually the point of Easter, or resurrection day. But,  o ne day out of 365 is hardly sufficient to celebrate the great victory of our faith — that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. In Biblical and church tradition, the season of Easter lasts seven weeks (a “week of weeks”), spanning the 50 days from the Sunday of the Resurrection to Pentecost Sunday and encompassing the day of the Ascension of the Lord. In the pressure cooked world most people live in, a season of joy that celebrates a whole new way to live is a welcome change. The season of Easter should be a joyful time for celebrating the presence of the risen Christ, God the Holy Spirit, in the church. At City Church we celebrate the Lord’s Supper (a feast with the risen Lord) ea...

Have you heard the three word secret to cooking according to the French?    butter, butter, butter In real-estate?    location, location, location In ministry?    Jesus....right? The first and last word is always Him. Yet, Jesus cares about people and the places they live, work, and play. That is why the people and places we are called to serve must be clear in our vision and calling. Here is a link to a google map that sketches out our "parish" for the Parkside Plant. As you explore it please pray for the people, the institutions, and special places that make up these neighborhoods. If you have any questions or ideas about neighborhoods, we' love to hear from you. Grace, Trent