 Sunday was a great day of worship. We had a good crowd, we had a good offering, the music was outstanding as always and we were able to welcome fifteen new members to New Life. Here is an alphabetical list of those who joined: Kristin Albert Jerry Albert Beverly Barton Bill Barton Donna Blake Sharon Jansen Jeff Jansen Nancy Johnson Jerry Johnson Richy Kammarada Susan McCullough Lynn Miller Tom Miller Viola Schuler Marney Weatherly I said the music was outstanding and it was. Pam Davis and Lynn Bowman sang “Somebody Prayed”, The choir and orchestra presented a powerful number, “This Blood” and our ladies ensemble, “Hearts of Praise” closed out the services with “Your Love Awakens Me”. Great job everyone! I hope you will give some thought to signing up for my class, “Restoring the New Testament Church” It will meet on Wednesday morning at 10:00am and the start date is June 4. You can sign up on line or in the foyer this Sunday. Coming up is Memorial Day weekend. Over the years, that day has come to mean a lot of things different from what it was intended to mean when it began. For instance, Memorial Day is generally thought to be the start of summer. When I was growing up it meant that if we were not out of school already it wouldn’t be long! Memorial Day is often the day that cities open their public swimming pools. For people in Indiana, at one time it meant the running of the Indianapolis 500 race. For a lot of folks it is a welcomed three-day holiday. My cynical side wonders how many present-day school kids would have any idea of what Memorial Day actually means. Identifying when Memorial Day began kind of depends upon where you live. The Department of Veterans’ Affairs notes that about 25 different places claim to be the originators of the day. The recognizing and honoring those who have served our country goes back a long way. There is evidence that soldier’s graves were decorated in the U.S. before and during the American Civil War. At its beginning Memorial Day was a day set aside for remembering those who died serving our country in the military. Many would visit cemeteries and memorial services to mourn and honor those who died in military service. As time went on it became a day to honor all military personnel, living or dead. Sunday we will honor those who served and especially those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Thank you.
0 Comments
  Sunday was a great Mother’s Day. We had a good crowd with lots of guests and a lot of enthusiasm. The photo booth was open again and every lady present received the gift of a succulent plant. We had great special music, the Men’s Trio sang, “I’m Going There” and Amy Thomas closed out the service with a great song, “The Mind of Christ”. Thanks to everyone who made Sunday happen.
I am excited to tell you that I will be teaching a class in the Life Group semester that is coming up. You have heard me talk about New Life having roots in what is called The Restoration Movement, a movement that has as its goal, restoring the church that we find in the Bible, especially in the book of Acts. There will be seven lessons beginning on Wednesday, June 4, at 10:00am. With all of the construction taking place I can’t tell you for sure where we will meet but as soon as I know I will make sure you will know. I’m calling the class, “The Restoration Movement; Bringing the New Testament Church to America.” We will look at the beginning of this unity movement that began in England and especially Scotland. The principles of the movement began to be found in various churches on the American frontier around 1800. Churches began coming together and finding unity with one another based on two propositions: The Lordship of Jesus Christ and the authority of the Bible. I hope that you will give some thought about joining us. You will learn some pretty cool stuff about churches on the American frontier and the unique and interesting founders of this movement. You can sign up on Sunday. What a day of worship! For me any time Lynn Bowman sings the “Goodness of God” it is a great service. But, we had more. The orchestra played an arrangement they did at Easter called, “Easter Celebration”. It was great at Easter, and it was a great Sunday. The choir did a song they did at Easter called “Dirt and Blood” It is a thought-provoking song that points to Jesus as creator and savior. Bob Kapp brought the message, “Living With Confidence In A Chaotic World.” It was a really good sermon reminding us that while things appear as chaotic, God is always in charge. Thanks to Bob and everyone who made Sunday special. Connie and I will occasionally get interested in putting together a jigsaw puzzle. A year or so ago someone gave us a 1,000-piece puzzle. It wasn’t long before I realized that it was a work of Satan. We about never got that thing completed. Our 2-year-old niece has a puzzle with about 16-20 pieces that she can put together in a snap. After the 1,000-piece fiasco I suggested we could do it and see how well we would do. Last weekend we finished our latest puzzle. (We stepped down to 500 pieces.) We had about 6 pieces left, and I told Connie, “I don’t think we have enough pieces to fill the empty spaces.” But we did! It turned out just right. Not too many pieces, not too few. I thought this is how God works. He doesn’t leave us not having what we need to complete the job. Two scriptures came to mind. In Ephesians 6:11 the Apostle Paul writes, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” The words “full armor” is one word in the original language, the word, “Panoplian”. It comes from two words, “Pan” which means all and “Oplon” which is a a word for tools. Paul said that we have been given all the tools we will need to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. The other scriptures come from II Peter 1:3, “…His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness…” We live in a sinful, corrupt world that is governed by Satan. There is no way we can successfully live a life of godliness on our own. But we are not required to do so. God has given us everything we need to overcome the world and achieve a life of godliness. With our puzzle, we had everything we needed to successfully complete the picture. We are in a battle where the stakes are higher than just completing a puzzle. We are fighting the prince of this world, and the stakes are eternal destiny. But take heart. We are not doing this alone; God has given us everything we need to win this battle.  |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
RSS Feed
