Pastor’s Note 09/26/2024
“27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:
to look after orphans and widows in their distress
and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
(James 1:27)
Every week during our worship service we pause and take a few minutes and to pray for one another, our world, and for the church. This time is called “The Prayers of the People” and it is an opportunity for us together, to lift up our prayers for situations that are close and dear to us and for situations that are in places that are far away and foreign to us.
One area of the world that we have briefly lifted up in prayer over the past few months is Sudan, where a civil war has occurred since 2023 and has now displaced more than 12 million people. This has caused a severe humanitarian and hunger crisis in this country and the surrounding countries of Chad, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Uganda, and Ethiopia. These countries have absorbed the large number of refugees that are fleeing the conflict and violence in their home regions. A majority of these refugees are women and children, the most vulnerable of the population.
Continue to pray for this area of the world and if you feel led, see how you can support the efforts of relief organizations like World Vision (https://www.worldvision.org) or Samaritan’s Purse (https://www.samaritanspurse.org) that are helping refugees who have fled the violence.
Thanks for reading this and for all of your prayers.
Pastor’s Note 09/19/2024
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,
continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him,
strengthened in the faith as you were taught,
and overflowing with thankfulness.”
(Colossians 2:6 & 7)
I want to again encourage you to get the book Practicing the Way, by John Mark Comer as we together, as a church, learn how we can “Be with Jesus, Become Like Him, and Do as He Did.” I know that as you read this book it will change your life to be more and more like Jesus.
The easiest and best deal in purchasing the book is through Amazon, but if you need help (or don’t have an Amazon account) call the church office and we will help you purchase one.
You also have read or heard that not only are we reading this book, but we are also gathering in a variety of small groups to talk about the book. Groups start the week of September 29 and run through the week of November 17. This is the best way to interact with the content of the book, but you can also read the book on your own or get together with a friend or two and talk about what you are reading. You can sign-up for a group or find out more about the different groups by calling the church office.
Finally, another tool to help you get the most out of the book and your small group experience is the Practicing the Way Website (https://www.practicingtheway.org) which offers you an online workbook to use, and variety of “tools” to help as you grow as an apprentice/disciple of Jesus. At the website, there is a “Spiritual Health Reflection” survey that will help to give you a snapshot of your life as an apprentice/disciple of Jesus and help you in your progress as you grow. All of the resources on the website are free and helpful tools to use in your “toolbox” as you grow as a disciple of Jesus.