Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! We are glad that you have chosen to visit our website!  Calvary Presbyterian Church of Big Lick is a welcoming community of faith where we enjoy Christian fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ.  Please take a few minutes to look through the pictures on our website and read about our upcoming events.  We hope that after reading the website you might like to join us in person at one or all of our upcoming activities.  Calvary Church of Big Lick is definitely a place where all are welcome.  We look forward to seeing you soon!

Sunday Activities & Times (Summer Schedule)

Sunday School	9:00am
Worship	10:00am

  Note:  Summer Schedule goes through September 27th!

 DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS!

One of the habits of faithful Christians is daily Bible reading.  The "One Year Bible" provides a helpful way to read through the Bible in a series of 365 daily readings.  Each reading contains a passage from the Old Testament as well as one from the New Testament.  There is also a Psalm reading and a Proverb for each day.  You can access the "One Year Bible" online by clicking on the link below.  Many different English translations are available online!

ONE YEAR BIBLE ONLINE - CLICK HERE! 

    JUNE BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES:
BIRTHDAYS: 
6  Sue Hankins
8  Dianne Speicher
11  Eli Harrison
17  Judy Smathers
18  Ruby Selby
22  Vickie Burgess
22  Jeanne Canova
24  Raegan Grant
25  Glenn Talbott
30  Norma Melton

ANNIVERSARIES: 
2  Lindsay & Jon Hale
6  Mary Nina & Marvin Davis
7  Courtney & Chad Burgess
21  Debby & Al Wilson
30  Leah & Tim Garrison

Wednesday, July 8th - Calvary Session Meeting!  The Session of Calvary Church will meet @ 7:00pm on July 8th for our July meeting.  Elders serving on Session, please make plans to attend.

July 13th-17th - Vacation Bible School @ Big Lick!  Our theme for Bible School this year is "Discovery Canyon".  Each evening at 6:00pm, we will gather at the church to learn about the great depth of God's love for each one of us. "Canyon Critters" will introduce the theme and Scripture for each night as we explore together God's Word for our lives.  On Friday night, we will gather at the church for our closing program and a cookout on the church grounds.  Please be sure to tell all your young friends about our VBS.  For more information or to register children for VBS, please call Pete Ullmann at the church. Saturday, August 1st - Project Celebrate @ Our Church! As you might already know, Project Celebrate is a ministry of our congregation that provides fellowship opportunities for the families of the Foster Family Association of Cumberland County.  Once again, it is our turn to host a party for these families!  Please mark your calendars and make plans to join us at 6:00pm on August 1st for a cookout and fellowship with our friends in the Foster Family Association. Sunday, August 9th @ 3:00pm -7th Annual Big Lick Ice Cream Crankin' - A date has been set for this "coolest" event of the summer.  Bring your ice cream coolers and your favorite homemade ice cream recipies and join us for this annual summer celebration.  Crankers and tasters are both needed, so whether you have a cooler or not, bring your friends and make plans to join us for ice cream on the 9th of August.  American Red Cross Blood Donation Opportunities.  A permanent donation site has been established in Crossville for your convenience.  Donations can be made on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9am- 6pm, and on Fridays and Saturdays from 9am-1pm at 11 East First Street in Crossville.  You can call to schedule an appointment at 337-0247. If you are able to donate blood, please make plans to schedule an appointment to help do your part to save a life!

Big Lick Homecoming Pictures - 2009

Vacation Bible School 2008 Pictures

Big Lick Country Day 2008 Pictures

Children's Christmas Program 2008

Calvary Presbyterian Church of Big Lick
10077 Vandever Road
Crossville, Tennessee 38572

Telephone: 931-788-5240
Email: BigLickPC@aol.com

(Our church directory is available online (courtesy of Olan Mills) by clicking on the picture of the church above.  In order to view the directory, you need to have a password.  If you do not already have that information, please email the church at BigLickPC@aol.com  to get the log-in info.

Directions: 

From Crossville, drive south on Highway 127 S. through the Homesteads.  Approximately 12 miles south of Crossville, and 6 miles south of the Cumberland Mountain State Park, you will cross the "Lick Creek" bridge.  There is a small pond on the right hand side of the road.  Immediately past the pond is Vandever Road.  Turn right on Vandever Road and drive approximately 8/10^ths of a mile.  The church is on the right hand side of the road.

From Lake Tansi Village, drive south on Dunbar road.  The church is located on the left hand side of the road at the point where Dunbar Road dead ends at Vandever Road.

From Pikeville, TN, drive north on Highway 127.  Approximately 3 miles after entering Cumberland County, you will come to the Daddy's Creek bridge.  Immediately, past the bridge, turn left on Vandever Road and drive approximately 8/10^ths of a mile.  The church is on the right hand side of the road.

 Calvary Presbyterian Church of Big Lick
is the proud sponsor of

PROJECT CELEBRATE!

Project Celebrate works with the Churches of Cumberland County to organize and provide fellowship gatherings for the children and parents who are part of the Foster Family Association of Cumberland County.  Our goal is to provide these families with a time of fun and rejuvenation in which the children can come to know God's good gift of unconditional love and acceptance.

You can also visit our Presbytery Website or the PCUSA website at:

www.PresbyteryMiddleTennessee.org
or
www.PCUSA.org

“A SEARCHING LOVE”
LUKE 15: 11- 32
(This sermon was preached by Rev. Pete Ullmann on Father’s Day Sunday, June 21, 2009, at the Calvary Presbyterian Church of Big Lick in Crossville Tennessee.)

I’d like to start today by suggesting that there is a serious problem with the way we approach this parable. Actually, I think there are several problems with it; things which sometimes keep us from being able to hear, understand and grasp God’s Word for us. Now don’t get me wrong. I love this story of the prodigal son. I think that it is a parable that we all need to hear and reflect on at different places along the path of Christian discipleship. When I say that there are serious problems with this story, I’m not talking about problems with the parable itself. I’m talking more about problems with the way we are inclined to hear it.

The first problem I see in this story of the prodigal son is the problem of familiarity. It’s simply too familiar! We’ve heard it too many times. The younger son’s demands no longer astound us. The way in which he squanders his inheritance on careless living no longer makes us angry. The incredible and loving response of the father to his son’s return no longer surprises us. The older brother’s jealousy no longer makes us sad. We’ve heard this parable so many times that it all starts to just seem normal. That’s the parable of the prodigal son, we say. That’s exactly the way it happened! But I’m afraid that we begin to overlook or forget the message that the parable has to teach us today about God and His relationship with us.

I would suggest that if we are to really allow this story to speak to us afresh, we must do everything in our power to set aside our familiarity with the parable long enough to hear it speaking a new word to us this day. If we are to allow this parable to speak God’s Word to us, we must try to regain some portion of the surprise and joy that the parable has the power to elicit. To be honest with ourselves and our God, we must recognize that the two sons - each in his own way - are at times like us, and the Father, although seldom like us, is just like our God who surprises us with new mercies each day; showering us with His grace, love and joy.

The second problem I see with this parable involves identification. This story is one of those that is so rich with meaning that it’s hard to know exactly where we are meant to inject ourselves into the story. Shall we identify with the prodigal himself who first demanded his share of the inheritance and then proceeded to squander it foolishly? Certainly, each of our lives has - at times - been marred with the stains of sin and foolish living. We may or may not have been quite as extravagant in our straying from God’s will as this boy in Jesus’ story, but we have strayed just the same. Our sins may not always be as visible and arrogant as those of the prodigal, but they separate us from the righteousness of our Father just the same. Undoubtedly, our lives also show signs of obedience to God’s will and faithfulness to God’s plan, but those efforts - and even successes - at faithfulness do not erase the stains of sin that mark up our lives. As we look deep within ourselves and seek to be honest about our shortcomings and our need for forgiveness, it becomes clear that we could do a lot worse than to identify ourselves with the prodigal.

However, sometimes we may be inclined to identify ourselves with the older boy - the one who stayed at home and did what his father asked of him. This identification may be a bit easier to accept. Certainly, the older son was able to take justified pride in his good behavior, his hard work, and his dedication to helping his father with the chores of the farm. Those who choose to identify with this son may be tempted - like he was - to start thinking that their faithfulness stands deserving of God’s reward. There was no obvious wrongdoing in this boy’s life. When his brother left for the bright lights and sinful living of the big city, this boy stayed behind and did everything his father asked of him. Sure, there were times that he messed up. There were times that his anger got the better of him. There were most likely times that he chose to do his own thing rather than what he knew needed to be done. But he always came back. He always managed to do the right thing in the end. But now he had a problem! His brother had returned from the big city, and now his father was making a big “to-do” about his return, showing him more attention than this older son who had done all the work. Maybe we can identify a little with this brother and the sin of pride and jealousy that he had to contend with. We can understand the kind of anger which this brother felt. After all, he was the faithful one! If there was to be partying and celebrating and killing of the fatted calf, it should be for him, not this wayward brother.

Maybe, however, you don’t want to identify with either brother! Today is Father’s Day after all, and maybe you want to try and identify yourself with the Father - this man of love and grace who cared more about the life and well-being of his son than he did about punishing the boy for his foolishness and sinful behavior. Most parents seem to understand that love is stronger than anger; mercy stronger than vengeance, and although there are times when children are certainly deserving and in need of punishment - this was not the time. This was the time to celebrate the fact that one who was lost had at last returned home. Most parents could find a way to identify with the father in this parable. At least that is how we hope that we could respond in such a situation.

The question of identification in this parable is a serious one. Certainly, there are any number of ways that we could inject ourselves into this story, coming away with a different message of the parable each time. Who shall we identify with? One of my friends in seminary actually wrote a first person sermon on this parable from the point of view of the fatted calf. That may be stretching it a little. But the point is - depending on where you place yourself in the story - the parable can be seen to have quite different points to make.

That doesn’t make preaching this text any easier. Not because there is too little to say, but rather, because there is so much. Like the prodigal son, we who walk the path of Christian discipleship must be willing to examine ourselves and allow God to “bring us to our senses” and see that the only way for us to really live is to return home to our Father. We need to recognize our faults, confess them, repent of them, and seek God’s forgiveness.

Like the Father in this parable, we should see that God is more than willing to forgive our sins and to offer us forgiveness and reconciliation. Our Heavenly Father loves us so much that He will welcome us home with open arms, if only we will come to our senses, set aside our pride, and realize our need. We must recognize that wallowing with the pigs is not the purpose for which God made us and remaining trapped in the mire of our sin is not much better.

Like the older brother, sometimes the hardest lesson for those of us in the church may just be learning that church people are no more, and no less, loved by God than those who have returned after having strayed for a time in the far country. Pride and jealousy are things that are just as dangerous to our spiritual health and our lives of faith as the things for which the prodigal was noted. Maybe the lesson taught by this older son is meant to show us that our faithfulness and obedience to God should be done out of gratitude for God’s grace and love, rather than for the purpose of gaining reward and status within the Christian community. Those who enjoy salvation in the name of Christ are meant to rejoice at the return of a brother or sister who has strayed, rather than lift ourselves above others, trying to see ourselves as better than those who have been less obedient or less faithful.

The lessons of this parable are many! Because of the vivid nature of the story and the ease with which we can inject ourselves into the lives of the characters, it helps us to take away with us some very clear points. As we tread the path of discipleship, it is important that we take the time to stand back and look at our lives and realize our need. It is important that we allow the Holy Spirit the opportunity to work within us, recreating us, and bringing us to our senses, so that we can return to our Father in heaven who loves us. It seems that this story is indeed a good one! The prodigal reminds us that we are people who have - at times - strayed from the path that God has asked us to walk. This boy reminds us that it is not yet too late to come to our senses, turn back, repent of our sins, and seek the forgiveness of our God. He shows us that returning to God’s way is the right thing for us to do.

But today, I want to direct your attention to one part of this parable in particular. On this Father’s Day, if there is one thing that you take away from this story and digest in your mind over the next couple of days, let it be this one verse of the parable that speaks about the “Good Father”. Verse 20 says, “While the boy was still a far way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.”

Did you get that? Not only did the father welcome his wayward son home with open arms when he finally “came to his senses”, turned away from his sin, and returned home, but the father was standing on the front porch of his house waiting for his son. With eyes stretched wide open, he was searching the horizon for signs of his son’s return. And when he saw his son coming, the father ran to greet him when he was still a far way off. The father loved the boy so much, that he was waiting for his return. He cared so much about his son who was lost that he stood with eyes pealed, searching the horizon day after day, in the faint hope that one day his son would return.

The point of this parable is that God is just like that father, but only better. Not only is God willing to forgive us our shortcomings, our sins, and our flaws. But God stands on the threshold of His kingdom, with eyes wide open, searching the horizon for signs of each child’s return. God stands waiting for us to come to our senses and to turn back to Him. God eagerly awaits our decisions for renewed living and faithfulness as we turn away from our sin and turn toward His way of Kingdom living.

The wonderful good news of this parable is that God loves us with an unending, unconditional love that will never give up on us. Even when we willfully turn away from God and seek our own paths, God stands waiting, calling, and beckoning us to return. Even when we find ourselves in desperate situations of our own making, it is not yet too late for us to turn back and to seek God’s forgiveness. The wonderful promise of the Gospel is that God is more than willing to welcome back all of His lost children. In Jesus Christ, God has shown the great depths of His love and His desire to restore us to relationship with Him. God stands waiting for us to make our decision to turn back and to accept His grace.

As we gather today to consider the immensity of our Heavenly Father’s love for us, I pray that we may each find the strength and the grace to come to our senses, to admit our need, and to turn to our loving God for restoration and forgiveness. I pray that we may each experience the incredible nature of God’s endless love. For friends, God stands waiting for our decision. He stands on the threshold of His kingdom, with eyes open, searching the horizon for signs of our return. God stands willing to grant us mercies beyond our greatest needs and blessings beyond our greatest desires. The decision to recognize our need and to turn around is ours to make. Friends, let us come to our senses and let us return home to our gracious and loving God. In Jesus’ name we ask all things! AMEN