There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations: these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals with whom we joke, work with, marry, snub and exploit: immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.

- C.S. Lewis in Weight of Glory

This Sunday our church recognizes the haunting truthfulness of Lewis’ words as we celebrate Sanctify of Human Life Sunday. Lewis’ words reflect the heart of a compassionate Creator born out in these words:

• You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. (Ps 139:13 NLT)
• Your hands made me and formed me. (Ps 119:73 NIV)
• God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Gen 1:27 ESV)

We Celebrate the Inestimable Value of All Human Life …  

• especially life of the unborn child.
• especially the life of those neglected by our society like the widows and orphans. 
• especially those who’ve had an abortion.

We celebrate the life of all these people … 

• for they’re all made in the image of an incomparably glorious, gracious, and merciful Savior. 
• because he provides the barren woman a home and the broken woman a balm in his dear Son, Jesus Christ.  

Two Ways We’re Celebrating Life This Sunday

1. Make Friends with Pro-Life Agencies & Ministries in Our Community 

Our own Laura T., who’s herself an “expert” with such ministries, has done hard work collecting information from many local ministries and agencies in our community. Sunday we’d encourage you to familiarize yourself with the local ministries. Make friends with them. Give thought and prayer to what part you can play.

2. Dave Cruver from Together for Adoption

Many of you will remember Dave Cruver. Dave and his family played a crucial role in helping start EBC.

Dave works for Tother for Adoption as Midwest & House Conference Director, a position for which he’s still raising support. He blogs regularly at To Tell You the Truth.

We’re glad to have Dave, Carrie, Owen, and Abby back at EBC to serve us this Sunday.

437 W. Butler Rd Mauldin, SC 29662 is our new home. 

Please pardon our “construction” as we settle into our new location. 

• Here’s a link to pictures of the outside of the building. 

Directions from Our Old Location (269 Lakewood Dr. 29607).

• Turn right onto Butler Rd (heading towards Laurens Rd/417). 
• Go through the next traffic light. (The Mauldin Pub is on the right of this intersection and the Mauldin Library is on the left.) 
• After passing though the traffic light, our location is a few hundred feet on the right, in between Brooks Flowers & Gifts and Interstate Battery. 

Three Temporary Inconveniences

  1. Church Signage.

• Don’t look for our church sign, as it won’t be up this Sunday. 

  2. Parking.

• Right now only part of the lot is paved. 
• You may need to park in the grassy lot around the side and back of the building.
• We will gravel the grassy area for parking as soon as possible.  

  3. Entering & Exiting.

• There’s only one entrance, and it’s small. 
• Please be alert and patient when entering and exiting the property.

The Christmas season is a missions emphasis month at EBC. We remember that missions is the purpose of the incarnation: the babe in the manger is on a mission to seek and save the lost.

Several events this month will reinforce the missional purpose of Christ’s arrival into the world.

1. Our Sunday Morning Sermon Series

 Psalm 117 reminds us that Jesus Christ is the Hope of the Nations. 

• During this Advent season we’ll look at three different Psalms revealing God’s gracious plans for peoples of the earth. 
• If you missed the first message from Psalm 117, listen to it here.

2. Two Missionary Families to Visit Us

December 4 and 11 two different missionary families will be with us for both services (0915 & 1030).

We cannot share much information online about their ministries due to the people they’ll be serving, but both families will encourage us with the good news of God’s spreading kingdom around the world.  

3. A Christmas Concert to Invite Our Friends & Neighbors

December 20 at 7:00pm our Christmas concert will retell the story of redeemption, from Genesis to Revelation: “The Word Become Flesh.”  (You can listen to selections of it here, thanks to Dan and Heidi Goeller & our friends at Ligonier Ministries.) 

God didn’t just plan redemption; He orchestrated it. What better way to trace His steps through Scripture than to be accompanied by music?

The entire piece helps us see how Christ’s birth fits into the story of God’s grand plan of redemption. The concert is a great event to invite our friends to and engage them with the   Greatest Story ever told.  

4. Dispatches from the Front: Episode 3 - I Once Was Blind

For our small groups this month, we’ll view and discuss one episode from Tim Keesee’s Dispatches from the Front. 

Dispatches from the Front highlights the marvelous extent, diversity, and unity of Christ’s Kingdom in our world. The journal format of each episode underscores the daily unfolding of God’s activity on the ‘frontlines,’ bringing viewers up-close with sights and sounds from distant corners of the Kingdom.

Most groups will watch and discuss Episode 3 - I Once Was Blind, which recounts the amazing and unstoppable advance of God’s kingdom in Africa. 

Each full episode is broken into smaller scenes along with discussion questions in order to help us apply what we’re watching to our church, our community, and our world.

We hope all these things will help us enter into the Father’s pursuit of worshipers by engaging the world around us with the gospel. After all, missions is the purpose of the incarnation. And missions should be our purpose too!

How are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?

- Romans 10:14-15

Our only service this Sunday (Oct 16) will be 10:30 at Bald Rock. Please join us for a time of singing, Scripture reading, and picnicing!

Bald Rock is located on the way to Caesar’s Head State Park. It may be easiest to enter the following address into your favorite map program and follow those directions. (If you get to Caesar’s Head State Park you have gone too far.)

 Caesar’s Head State Park
 155 Geer Hwy, Cleveland, SC 29635

Essentially, from the Cherrydale area you will take 276 for about 30 miles.

• Take 276N (or Poinsette Hwy.) /25 towards Furman/Ceaser’s Head
• Stay on 276 through TR, Marietta, Slater and Cleveland
• When Hwy 11 & 276 splits, turn right to follow Hwy 276 up the mountain.
• There is a pull-off (on the right) for Bald Rock as you near Caesar’s Head State Park.
• There should be other cars along the pull-off giving you the signal that this is the place!

For the third year in row our church family has the wonderful opportunity to serve our community through volunteering from 8:00 to 2:00 at the Maudlin End of Summer Bash on September 10!

In addition to the great activities for families and children, the South Carolina Barbeque Association will be present to host a professional BBQ Cook-Off. Come ready to enjoy some great food and great fun!

The city needs our help with registration and running the events. If you’re able to volunteer, and you haven’t signed up please email Kimberly Grant with the times that you are available (from 8:00-2:00), or be sure to sign up at church this Sunday.

The following day we’re having a church service at 10:30 a.m. at a picnic-shelter in Sunset Park. We’ll also have a bring-your-own-picnic lunch following the service, and we’d love to see some of the Summer Bash attendees join us for the service and picnic.

Pray for a great weekend!

This fall we’ll look at what the Bible says about gender identity issues, especially as they relate to manhood and womanhood. Brad will preach a series of sermons on the topic, which will be followed by a short, interactive series in our Family Bible Class led by the Lawrence’s and the Payne’s. 

We are excited to announce that Andrew Franseen, pastor of Grace Bible Church, and Andy Naselli, member of Grace Bible Church and Research Manager for D.A. Carson, will help kick off the series for us with a special seminar Saturday, August 27th from 9:30am-12:30pm.

Manhood and Womanhood is not finally about sorting our roles in the world and the church. The issue is important because the nature of God is important. We are created to reflect his image, and the way we view gender roles reveals the way we view God. Andrew and Andy will help us think through The Relationship of the Trinity to Manhood and Womanhood. 

The following is a tentative schedule:

9:30-9:45 Welcome and Introductions 

9:45-10:25 Session 1: The Tri-Unity of God (Franseen)

10:35-11:35 Session 2: How Does the Trinity Inform How Husbands & Wives Should Relate to Each Other? (Naselli)

11:45-12:20 Session 3: What the Trinity Means for Life in Our World, Our Homes, & Our Churches (Franseen)

12:20-12:30 Q&A

Please pray for Andrew and Andy as they prepare to serve us in this significant way on a special day. 

Each Christmas season we remember that missions is the purpose of the incarnation: the babe in the manger is on a mission to seek and save the lost. To help remind ourselves of the missional purpose of Christ’s arrival into the world, two missionary families are ministering to us during December.

Nathan and Krystal Young (and their two children, Miles & Madeleine) are taking the gospel to Scotland. The Youngs will be with us this Sunday (Dec. 5) for both services! Please take the time to familiarize yourself with their lives and ministry by exploring their website here.

                                           On December 12 another missionary will present his gospel ministry. Due to the sensitive nature of this person’s work and geographical location, we have been asked not to disclose specific information. But during his visit he will be sharing much with us regarding God’s glorious work among the nations. 

Each year our church sets aside a day in October to celebrate the surprising work of God through the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation began with a German monk named Martin Luther asking a simple question: What will I do about my sin? This year’s celebration falls on the very day the Reformation symbolically began: October 31.

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther walked up to the church door in Wittenberg where he nailed his Ninety-Five Theses. Here were ninety-five statements that exposed the corruption of the Church of Rome through the false assurance of pardon held out by indulgences. In addition, Luther would declare later (in sharp contrast to Rome) that people are declared right with God through Christ alone, by grace alone, by faith alone. It was upon this article of justification by faith alone, Luther argued, that the church stands or falls.

As in previous years, our order of worship on Reformation Sunday will center on the five solas of the Reformation: sola scriptura (by Scripture alone); sola fide (by faith alone); sola gratia (by grace alone); solo Christo (through Christ alone); soli Deo gloria (glory to God alone).

Dr. Mark Sidwell and Dr. Michael Barrett will also be with us to help celebrate the truths of the Reformation. Both are members of Faith Free Presbyterian Church.

During our Family Bible Class, Dr. Sidwell will present a biographical sketch of the life of Martin Luther. Dr. Sidwell is a member of the American Society of Church History. He has published and edited several books, one of which is an outstanding biography of Martin Luther entitled The Triumph of Truth: A Life of Martin Luther. (He also likes the Three Stooges.)

During our worship service, Dr. Barrett will deliver a message on the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Dr. Barrett has taught ancient languages and Old Testament Theology for over thirty years. Currently he serves as the president of Geneva Reformed Seminary and he is a gifted minster of the word. One of the most helpful books he has written is Complete In Him: A Guide to Understanding and Enjoying the Gospel. (He also fancies himself to be a good hunter.)

Bald Rock is located on the way to Caesar’s Head State Park. It may be easiest to enter the following address into your favorite map program and follow those directions. (If you get to Caesar’s Head State Park you have gone too far.)

Caesar’s Head State Park
155 Geer Hwy, Cleveland, SC 29635

Essentially, from the Cherrydale area you will take 276W for about 30 miles.

• Take 276/25 towards Furman/Ceaser’s Head
• Stay on 276 through TR, Marietta, Slater and Cleveland
• There is a pull-off (on the right) for Bald Rock as you near Caesar’s Head State Park.
• There should be other cars along the pull-off giving you the signal that this is the place!

Friends, fall foliage, frankfurters, fellowship, frisbee, and fun!

Enjoy a quick camping trip Friday evening and Saturday, October 8, 9. Everyone is invited!

Contact Brian P. for details.