New Year Resolutions - 2010

Through the bleak, cold days of winter, we long for the renewal and warmth of spring.  In 2010, join with friends behind the common purpose and goal of KNOWING CHRIST, and MAKING HIM KNOWN!  Westkirk is pleased to offer several avenues for you and your family to be renewed as we grow in faith and obedience together!  Look below for resolution suggestions for the New Year!

 

Sunday School for All Ages

at Westkirk Presbyterian Church

 

 

Children’s Ministry

 

Sunday School Hour, 9:00-10:15 AM

The 2009-2010 children’s curriculum at Westkirk Presbyterian Church is designed, “to equip the body of Christ to spread to the next generations a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ. Our aim is to impart to children a vision of God, who He is, and who we are in relation to Him, and to establish them with a foundation of doctrine and truth. We want them biblically grounded, seeing God as the hero of every story, with a God-centered world view and a faith that will hold them when the days of testing come. We want them to love the Lord their God with all their heart, and to delight in Him forever.”

 

-- from children desiring God, God-centered resources for training the next generation

 

Contacts:  Karen Admussen, Director of Children’s Ministry; Sandy Tuinstra, Deacon of Christian Education

 

Pre-School – Kindergarten

“He Established a Testimony” - We have been commanded to acquaint the next generation with both the acts and the words of God, by blending our own hearts of faith and affection for God with the powerful stories of our great God.

Teacher(s):  Sasha Mudlaff, Sandy Tuinstra

Room:  1

 

1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th Grades

“Faithful to All God’s Promises” - God's promises are gifts to the believer. The challenge of the Christian life is not to simply know the promises of God, but to place unshakable confidence in them. This study teaches children that God's character is trustworthy; therefore, His promises are true and reliable.

Teacher(s):  Chris and Pam Brown

Room:  3

 

5^th and 6^th Grades

“How Majestic Is Your Name” - The names of God are wonderful revelations of His majestic character. This study presents the Hebrew names of God in the Old Testament and the names of Christ and the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. Each lesson encourages children to see and rejoice in the goodness and greatness of God as they explore the meaning of His glorious names.

Teacher(s):  Karen Admussen, Styles Stadtlander, Linda Wilde

Room:  5

 

Confirmation

“I Believe:  Getting Ready to Profess My Faith” – Every other year, Pastor Michael leads young people, 7^th grade and older, in an exciting and fun time of personal, spiritual growth.  Together we read the Apostles’ Creed and figure out exactly what we believe and what that means for the rest of our lives.  Confirmation at Westkirk provides students an opportunity (optional) to prepare and make public profession of their faith and join the church in membership.

Teacher:  Pastor Michael Mudlaff

Room:  Lounge

Dates:  March 7 – May 2

 

Nursery, 9:00-11:45 AM

“A Sure Foundation: A Philosophy & Curriculum for Ministry to Infants & Toddlers,” is designed to help you to transform your ministry to infants and toddlers into an integral beginning—a place of prayer where young children hear foundational Bible stories, learn simple truth statements, and begin to memorize Scripture verses.

Nursery Coordinator:  Karen Admussen

Room:  Nursery, east wing

 

Sunday Worship Hour

10:45-11:30 AM (dismissed during regular morning worship)

 

Kid’s Own Worship, 1^st-6^th Grade

Parents are encouraged to discern when their child(ren) should remain in the regular Sunday morning worship

“Putting God First – Serving”

Teachers:  Karen Admussen, Sasha Mudlaff

Room:  Children’s Worship Center

 

Kids of the Kingdom, ages 3-5

“Sharing God’s Love in Children’s Church”

Teachers:  Gloria Huyser

Room:  1

 

Sunday Night at the Kirk (SN@K)

1st Sunday of the month, 6:45 – 7:45 PM (dismissed during SN@K worship)

 “Animated Stories from the Bible”

Pre-Kindergarten-6th grade

Teacher:  Karen Admussen

Room:  Room 1

 

 

Youth (Student) Mission

Contacts:  Pastor Steve Randall, Director of Student Mission; Sandy Tuinstra, Deacon of Christian Education

Sunday School Hour, 9:00-10:00 AM

 

BLAST (Bringing Light and Sowing Truth)

“Catechism Kaleidoscope,” study through the Westminster Confession of Faith

Teachers:  Trent & Dawn Vis

Room:  Youth Classroom, east wing, lower level

 

New Life (High School Mission)
“Burn This Book,” devotional by Garth Heckman

Teacher:  Amanda Carlson & Pastor Steve Randall

Room:  Youth Room, east wing, lower level

 

Sunday Evening Student Mission, 6:30-8:00 PM

 

New Life (High School)

We meet every Sunday night for fellowship, fun, worship and teaching about how to live out the wisdom of the Bible practically in our lives.

Leader:  Pastor Steve Randall

Room:  Youth Room, east wing, lower level

 

Adult Fellowships

9:00-10:00 AM

Contacts:  Michael Mudlaff, Pastor; Sandy Tuinstra, Deacon of Christian Education

 

Logos

Parable of the Prodigal Son, continued studies through 1 and 2 Peter

Teacher:  Dan Marvin

Location:  Hospitality Room

 

Van and the Bible in the Morning

Parable of the Prodigal Son, continued studies through books of the Bible

Teacher:  Van Harden

Location:  Great Hall (west wing)

 

Young Adults Fellowship

“Romans, The Letter that Changed the World, volume 2”

Bible Study Series by Tommy Nelson

Host/Facilitators:  Kevin and Rachel Heer, and Mark and Erica Scheve

Location:  Children’s Worship Center, east wing

 

 

Mid-Week Women’s Ministry

 

 

Beth Moore Bible Studies

 

This new Beth Moore DVD series based on Psalm 16:5-6 is a topical study of inheritance throughout God's Word.

Facilitator:  Benae Duff

Date, Time and Place:  Thursday evenings weekly at the home of Kay Cunitz beginning January 14

 

Esther:  It's Tough Being a Woman

From Scripture, Beth talks about courage and emphasizes a deeper relationship with God.

Facilitator:  Sasha Mudlaff

Date, Time and Place: Weekly from 9:00-11:00 AM in the Hospitality Room at Westkirk beginning in February.  See the Westkirk Weekly News for start time

 

Please contact Sasha (210-0607) or Benae (224-0769) if you are interested in attending so the materials can be ordered, or if child care is needed.

 

Women’s ‘Dorcas’ Circle (Acts 9:36-43)

 

Written by Elmer Towns, My Father’s Names, encourages us to know our God more intimately through the study of His names and the many Bible stories associated with those names. Most of the study then, is from the Old Testament, even though we depart from that in December when we study the names of Jesus Christ, Savior.

Moderator:  Marilyn Long

Date, Time and Place:  Second Thursday of the month, September – May, 1:00-2:30 PM in the Westkirk Hospitality Room.

 

WOW (Westkirk on Wednesdays)

Schedule

5:30 – 6:15 Supper in the Great Hall

6:15 – 7:30 Discipleship for all ages

7:30 – 8:30 Choir Rehearsal

 

Children’s Ministry (preschool to Grade 6)

 

Pre-Kindergarten

“Celebrating God’s World”

Teachers:  Benae Duff and Karen Admussen

Room:  1

 

Kindergarten-2^nd Grade

“The Life of Christ”

Teachers:  Jennie Meza, Nancy Schmidt

Room:  3

 

3rd-6^th Grade

“The Book of Acts:  Paul’s Travels”

Teachers:  Jerry and Sandy Tuinstra, Lee Turnbull

Room:  Room 5

 

Nursery

Open from 6:15 – 7:30 PM

Ages 0-3

Coordinators:  Rachel Heer and Erica Scheve

 

Student Mission (Grades 7 and 8, and High School)

GOSPEL Journey

Relational, relevant and edgy, the GOSPEL Journey^® is all about real questions and real conversations. Seven young strangers with diverse spiritual worldviews and a Preacher named Greg Stier explore spiritual questions together, triggering intense spiritual dialogue and a tidal wave of emotions. "Is there a higher power? What is the purpose of life? What happens when we die?" Ultimately it boiled down to this: Can everyone be right?   The focus of this curriculum to help Christian and non-Christian students understand the gospel together, seeking to understand the message of Jesus more fully and how to share that message within the context of youth culture.  Both Blast (Middle School) and New Life (High School) will study the GOSPEL Journey^® together each week and break up into small groups, divided by age, for discussion of each lesson.

 

BLAST (Middle School Youth Mission)

Leaders:  Pastor Steve Randall, Amanda Carlson

Room:  Youth Room, east wing

 

 

New Life (High School Youth Mission)

Leaders:  Pastor Steve Randall, Mark and Hanna DeGroot, Molly Yentes, and Scott Withers

Room:  Youth Room, east wing

 

 

Coming up:

April – Go Deep

Using a typical public school setting as his backdrop, Go Deep will give teens an action plan to reach their friends for Jesus. Youth will learn how to Pray, Pursue and Encourage: how to pray for their friends who don't know Jesus, pursue their current relationships on a deeper spiritual level (AKA "bring God up") and encourage their non-Christian friends to learn more about Christ and connect to our youth group.

 

May – Don’t Waste Your Summer 

We will begin this series by considering what a wasted summer might look like and then challenge students to recognize that our lives belong to God (James 4:13-16) and that we're called to, in all things, use the gift of life that God has given us to glorify Jesus.  And we will conclude by encouraging students to not waste their summer, to use it to serve God and continue learning about Him.  The objective is for students to understand what it means to waste our summer, and our lives, and to recognize the foolishness of that way of living (Luke 12:16-21).

 

 

Adults

 

6 Secrets to a Lasting Love

 

As part of our commitment to equip Westkirk couples to experience a great marriage for a lifetime, Westkirk annually provides a Bible-based study on relationships.  The secret to a strong marriage is more than love—it’s six specific kinds of love that are all rooted in God’s Word:  

• forgiving love

• serving love

• persevering love

• guarding love

• celebrating love

• renewing love

Find out where you are in your relationship.  Experience new levels of love, commitment, and intimacy.  Re-create the marriage you dreamed of and build a love that will last a lifetime. (7 sessions)

 

Facilitators:  Pastor Michael and Sasha Mudlaff

Dates:  January 6 - February 17

 

Bridges

The start up of our upcoming class on Islam has been delayed due to Wednesday evening weather cancellations.  But now is the time to consider attending this exciting class at WOW

BRIDGES is a 6-week curriculum developed by Crescent Project that is meant to introduce Christians to Islam and pave the way for building relationships with Muslims in your community.  Christians have responded to Muslims in many ways, but all too often, without the compassion that characterized Jesus.  BRIDGES seeks to replace fear and intimidation with love and gentle boldness, reshaping the way Christians view and respond to their Muslim neighbors. 

BRIDGES is one-of-a-kind because it focuses on similarities, not differences. Christianity and Islam are not the same, but they are similar. You can learn how to take similar concepts in Christianity and Islam, and build a bridge.

BRIDGES meets you where you are. The teaching found in BRIDGES is easy to understand even if you don’t have much prior knowledge of Islam. The material is also valuable to those seeking to build on what they already know about Muslims.

BRIDGES is practical and biblical. BRIDGES allows you to gain biblical insight into Islamic history and Muslim beliefs, while providing useful next steps and stories that help you put the teaching into practice.

 

Dates:  Begins March 24

Facilitators:  Glenn and Carol Ginder, Missionaries with Frontiers, along with Pastor Michael Mudlaff

 

Men’s Fraternity

Men's Fraternity provides men with an encouraging process that teaches them how to live lives of authentic manhood as modeled by Jesus Christ and directed by the Word of God. The Quest for Authentic Manhood is the foundational level or ground floor of manhood. This 24-session study focuses on a man's core identity and gives an overview of basic manhood issues. It will help men deal with various identity issues by looking back at past wounds and other things that may have distorted their idea of biblical masculinity. Throughout the course of the study, men will learn how to clearly define manhood and will finally be able to give a succinct and passionate answer to the questions, "What is a man?" and "What am I living to be?"  This captivating journey helps men:  resolve wounds from their past, embrace a biblical definition of manhood, and develop their own personal manhood plan.

 

Facilitator:  Russ Harrison

 

Walk Through the Old Testament

 

This Old Testament Survey will being with a ‘walk through’ introduction of the Old Testament.  From there, participants will use a variety of resources in order to learn how to think through and discuss the high points of Old Testament history.  The discussion will touch on the covenants, the canon, the different genre of Scripture, and a survey of individual books will take place as time permits.

 

Facilitator:  Dan Marvin

 

Special Events

 

Prodigal God

Together we begin an unforgettable journey of discovering one of the most powerful yet most misunderstood parables of the Bible – the parable of the Prodigal Son.  In Housekirks and during Sunday morning worship, beginning in January, The Prodigal God sermon series and DVD curriculum will help us uncover the essential message of the parable:  that the Gospel is neither religion nor irreligion, neither morality nor immorality, but something else entirely.  Don’t miss it!

“One of the signs that you may not grasp the unique, radical nature of the gospel is that you are certain that you do.” – Timothy Keller, Senior Pastor, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York City

Small Groups:  Housekirks will launch and begin The Prodigal God during the week of January 10.  Each group will study together, get to know one another, and grow in faith through serving together with a Christian community organization or ministry.

Sermon Series:  January 17 to February 14

 

Not in a Housekirk?  No problem!  Contact the church office or sign up in the Narthex during the first two weeks of January.

 

 

Concerts of Prayer

The Prayer Ministry of Westkirk Presbyterian Church invites you to come and worship at these specially scheduled, 6:30 PM prayer services:

• Thursday Night, New Year’s Eve, December 31; “Looking Back and Looking Forward,” bring your Operation Andrew names for prayer

• Sunday, January 17^th, Prayer Service of Spiritual Renewal

• Sunday, February 21^st, Prayer Service of Confession

• Wednesday, March 31^st (Wednesday of Holy Week), “The Passion of the Christ” Movie in the Sanctuary

• Sunday, April 18^th, PM Prayer Service

• Sunday, May 23^rd, Pentecost Prayer Service

 

Holy Week at Westkirk

 

Palm Sunday, March 28

9 AM Sunday School; 10:30 Worship

 

Holy Week Wednesday, March 30th, 6:30

No regular WOW activities

Film showing in the Sanctuary – The Passion of the Christ

Mel Gibson's stunning masterpiece portrays the final twelve hours of Jesus' life.  This film offers an unforgettable experience of the profound love of Christ's sacrifice.  It features audio on Aramaic/Latin/Hebrew languages and English subtitles.  Rated R (scenes of graphic violence), parental discretion is advised.  Approx. 126 minutes.

 

Maundy Thursday, April 1, 7 PM

Christ in the Passover

A special service of communion, Christ in the Passover, led by Jews for Jesus, shows the link between the ancient Festival of Redemption and Christ as the Lamb of God—you will never forget it!  This sermonic demonstration is visual, you will actually see a table set with traditional Passover items. The missionary uses Scripture as well as the visual items to walk through a Jewish Passover Seder, weaving the story of the Exodus together with the life, death and resurrection of Christ.  The words He spoke in the upper room come alive as each Hebraic item is carefully explained.  We will close this powerful presentation by celebrating communion.

 

Good Friday, April 2, 7 PM

A Service of Shadows and Stones

Jesus’ last words are remembered through readings, prayers and moments of silent reflection.  As we enter, each worshipper receives a stone and is encouraged to hold it, place their worries upon it, and feel its weight.  At the end of the service, as the congregation departs in silence, we leave our stones at the cross – leaving behind our worries, letting go of the weight, marking an encounter with Jesus, and remembering the time Jesus spent in the grave until Easter morning.

 

Resurrection Sunday, April 4

Easter Breakfast in the Great Hall, 8-9:30 AM

Easter Sunday Worship, 10:30 AM

The Worship Ministry of Westkirk Presbyterian Church
presents the Easter cantata,

Journey to the Cross 

The final days of Christ's earthly journey span the spectrum of human emotion: from joyous hosannas by adoring crowds to painful rejections by His closest friends; from lonely moments of agony in a solemn garden of prayer to euphoric resurrection alleluias in front of a borrowed tomb.  The journey to the cross was life-changing for those who witnessed it firsthand.  The impact of that journey is still life-changing as the compelling message of the cross continues to impact our lives today.

 

 

Plan Ahead! 

 

Missions Sunday, May 2

Children’s (Mother’s Day) Sunday, May 9

Music Sunday, May 16 

 

 

 

 

Pastor Michael