Ambassador Presbyterian Church

Dear Friends,
A quick update on the building progress. We are thankful that our rezoning petition passed the town council and our site plan approval should come through any day now. An architect has been secured to draw up our building plans and once we have those, we will be able to negotiate a formal contract with the builder and apply for building permits. There will be more congregational involvement in this next phase of building construction as we put together subcommittees to oversee different decisions that need to be made about the building details. Please continue to pray for smooth sailing with the town, with our new neighbors around the property, and with the the builder and subcontractors with whom we will be working.

Thanks,
Steve Brown
Building Committee Chairman

Tonight the site plan that we submitted to the Town of Apex was unanimously approved by the town council.  We are now waiting for some additional staff approvals, which should happen over the next couple of weeks.  Meanwhile, the architect is working on the drawings.

God continues to bless us in this process!

As we’ve been meditating on Isaiah 53 the during the past two Sundays, I’ve been reminded of the great price Jesus paid to secure our forgiveness and acceptance into God’s kingdom as his children.   At Easter, we are reminded afresh that the payment was sufficient, the sacrifice acceptable as God raised Jesus from the dead for our justification.  

Join us this Sunday as we gather to worship our risen King Jesus.  We will have a Sunrise service at 7:00 am at the church property, 722 Center Street (directions), followed by a continental breakfast at the home of Laura and Scott Smith, 306 Kettlebridge Drive in Cary (directions).  Then we will have our regular Easter service at 10:00 am at Olive Chapel Elementary School.   I eagerly look forward to our glorifying God together this Easter.  Blessings!

We rejoice together at the election of seven new men to serve as officers at Ambassador.  Tony Clark and Steve Brown were elected as Ruling Elders and Joe Ballou, Buck Hodges, Matt Peedin, John Page and Scott Smith were elected as our first team of Deacons.   Please keep these men and their families in your prayers as they seek to shepherd and serve God’s flock at Ambassador. 

On February 5th, we submitted our site plans to the town of Apex.  This included the site layout, landscaping, building elevations, and more (14 pages of drawings).  We should begin to get feedback later this month from them on the issues that we need to address.  I’d encourage everyone to pray that this goes well.  Getting through this process quickly would be a blessing!

This Sunday (February 18^th) after the worship service, we will have a congregational meeting for the purpose of electing officers.   After a thorough process which included congregational nominations, elder/deacon training this past fall, written and personal interviews with each candidate, the Session is pleased to put forward a slate of candidates for election
The slate of candidates is as follows:
 

For the office of Ruling Elder: 
            Steve Brown
            Tony Clark
For the office of Deacon:
            Joe Ballou
            Buck Hodges
            John Page
            Matt Peedin
            Scott Smith

To read a brief bio and testimony from each candidate, click below. 

Candidate Bio and Testimonies
 

Each year we sponsor a team in the T-ball and Machine Pitch leagues run by the Apex Jaycees.  If you have a son or daughter (age 5-8) interested in playing, you can register online during the month of February at the Jaycee’s website.   You can request being on the Ambassador team.  We don’t have anything to do with running of the league and registration is on a first-come basis, so sign up early. 

In my sermon on Sunday, I referenced a book by Lou Priolo entitled, “The Heart of Anger.”  This book deals specifically with the issue of anger in children, and how we as parents can help them understand and deal with anger.  However, I found chapters 7 & 8 helpful in terms of how to identify and address biblically the root issues of anger.  

Click here for more info or to purchase Priolo’s book.

Stephanie’s Joy and Hope

Stephanie was certainly a ray of sunshine and joy to those who knew her, and we will miss her dearly.  Yet, we rejoice that her joy is complete and that she is with the Savior she loved so much.  Stephanie would want each of us to know the source of her overflowing joy and hope and that was her strong faith in Jesus Christ.  For those who were unable to attend the service here in Cary celebrating her life, I have attached a link above to the message I shared entitled “Stephanie’s Joy and Hope”. 

Paul said, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain.”  While we will miss Stephanie’s Christ-like joy here with us, we can be comforted knowing she has gained the fullness of joy in the presence of Christ.   

In the sermon last Sunday, I addressed the seriousness with which the Bible speaks against lying and the importance God places on our being rooted in truth.  Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:25 to “put off falsehood and speak truth to one another.”  One question I did not address is “Is it ever right to lie?”   Christians often point to the story of the Hebrew midwives in Exodus 1 who deceived Pharaoh in order to spare the lives of the Hebrew baby boys, or to the story of Rahab in Joshua 2 who lied to protect the Hebrew spies hidden in her house.  Both the midwives and Rahab are commended in the Bible for their fear of the Lord and their faith, yet both intentionally lied.

            So the questions is, “Are there times when it is right to lie?”   I like the way that John Piper answers (or doesn’t answer) that question in his sermon on this passage.  He says,

It is possible to be a person who never intentionally lies and yet be a hardened sinner, living in darkness and cut off from Christ in unbelief; and it is possible to be a person who fears the Lord, walks by faith, and yet feel constrained in extreme, life-threatening situations to oppose evil by lying intentionally.

           Piper goes on to say that the Bible clearly teaches in these two cases that those who feared and trusted God also intentionally lied to “oppose evil” and spare lives.   It is also clear that in both cases, the people involved are commended: the midwives for fearing the Lord and Rahab for her faith and for welcoming the spies (see Hebrews 11:31).  But in neither case is the lying itself specifically commended or condoned.        

Thus, I don’t think you can make a biblical case that there are times when it is “morally right” to lie.  Once again, I think John Piper says it well:

I’ve struggled a long time with how to think and teach about these borderline cases. And I have concluded that pastorally the wisest thing for me to do is to acknowledge that in the fear of God and in the walk of faith worthy saints have chosen to oppose the effects of evil by concealing the truth from wicked men.    (John Piper’s sermon on Ephesians 4:25)