Christmas @CBCMarietta

Isaiah 54 is the inspiration for the vision God has given our church. God has given Chattahoochee a miraculous rebirth and a mind-blowing second chance at love, so we can live extraordinary lives and love others well, with the same kind of love. 

As we reclaim the steadfast love of God, His covenant of peace, and His immovable compassion, we will be set like colorful, shining stones reflecting the same promises in our community, nation, and world.

These verses are significant for our church because what is promised in this passage,  is found in our very name, "Chattahoochee." Chattahoochee comes from two Creek Indian words: chatta (rock) and hoochee (river) which translates to mean “River of painted rock” or “River of shining stone.” In Isaiah 54:11, God promises us we will be rebuilt, like “colorful shining stones set in antimony.” 

William Carey, the father of modern missions, summed up this passage best when he said, "Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God." 

Antimony is a brittle, silvery-white semimetal chemical element with the symbol Sb and atomic number 51 on the Periodic Table. It is literally a shining, stone which is used to strengthen other things like metals and plastics. This metalloid literally becomes stronger when it is crushed. It makes things better when it is added. When added to metals, it makes them stronger and harder. When it is added to paint it makes them vibrant, and fire resistance. 

And this is the hope for our church. Like many of you, we have been crushed, but we are coming back stronger. We want to make our community a vibrant place to live, work and worship. We want to intentionally engage our culture and make our community the best it can be by loving others well, resisting the fires of evil and bringing glory to God in the process. 

All this is expressed best in our color logo. Stones and mountains are represented by the darker blues at the bottom to make our solid foundation. The lighter blues are the flowing river representing the church taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. The silver at the top is the shiny antimony.