Web logs (Page 105)

Pray – Should we?

Should we pray?  Must we pray?  Absolutely, the history of the church and its advance is one of prayer.  Whether we are talking about Pentecost and the reception of the Spirit and the harvest of 3000 souls, or the release of Peter from prison while the church prayed, or the setting apart of Paul and Barnabas while the church prayed, Prayer is the central element. Unfortunately too many Christians have forgotten the call to pray.  Many believers rarely pray with…

Sacrificial and generous living and giving

Preparing our Hearts to Worship In an effort to help you prepare for the February 7st, 2016, Sunday morning corporate worship gathering and to aid you in your own reflections about church health and vitality, I wanted to pose a few questions and provide a few resources to prayerfully consider over the coming days. Our sermon is about how we are called to sacrificial and generous living and giving. The scriptures, creeds, songs and reflection questions will all help you…

Praying for those you love

Have you ever wondered how to pray for parents, children, friends, and pastors? Does it feel like you repeat the same things day after day and you are starting to sound like a worn out song stuck in constantly repeating loop? Here are seven things (one for each day of the week) that can be prayed for those you love and each can be expanded in a variety of ways. Pray for Hearts that are drawn into a love relationship…

Bulletin – Week of January 31, 2016

Message: A Compelling Christian Community  Scripture: John 17:20-23; Acts 2:42-47 Offering: Benevolence Fund  Prayer Requests: This week we are asked to pray for Ken and Elaine Wick, Joe and Barb Zylstra, Ken Anderson, Elaine Barringer and Mabel Benedict.   Suggestions for prayers would be for their spiritual growth, opportunities to see Christ in their everyday life, and anything else that God puts on your mind for them. We continue to lift Jodi Meir up in prayer as she heals from cancer…

Preparing Our Hearts to Worship – a transforming walk with Jesus leads to compelling Christian community

In an effort to help you prepare for the January 31st, 2016, Sunday morning corporate worship gathering and to aid you in your own reflections about church health and vitality, I wanted to pose a few questions and provide a few resources to prayerfully consider over the coming days. The sermon is about how we are called to create and promote compelling Christian community. (As Jason Hubbard, Light of the World Prayer Center, will be our guest preacher this week, this…

Preparing our Hearts to Worship – a life of Word and Worship leads to a Transforming walk with Jesus

  In an effort to help you prepare for the Sunday morning corporate worship gathering and to aid you in your own reflections about church health and vitality, I wanted to pose a few questions and provide a few resources to prayerfully consider over the coming days. Our sermon is about how a life of Word and Worship leads to a Transforming walk with Jesus. The scriptures below are all referenced in the message. From the Scriptures Read and prayerfully…

Veritas Thoughts

Veritas means Truth and today we completed the first seminar in our Congregational Vitality pathway.  It was a wonderful Friday night and Saturday morning conversation about the process of becoming and maintaining a local church in a healthy missional position. Like all conversations, there was a variety of perceptions from our congregants, but one thing was clear.  We all want to be healthier.  What a wonderful desire.  So what is next?  In the short term, the vitality team will be…

Bulletin – Week of January 17, 2016

Prayer Requests: This week we are asked to pray for Lanny and Christine Speyer, Ruth Stadt, Kylie Thramer, Donna Van Beek and John and Jean Van Hemert. Suggestions for prayers would be for their spiritual growth, opportunities to see Christ in their everyday life, and anything else that God puts on your mind for them. Jodi Meir was diagnosed with colon cancer last week. She is scheduled for surgery on Thursday January 21. Jodi would appreciate our prayers. Roberta Maier…

Praying to know the hope we have in Christ

In Ephesians 1:18-19 Paul prays that the eyes of the heart may be enlightened.  This is a fascinating way to say “I want you to know in your deepest being.  I want you to believe the truth so deeply that it is as if you were able to read it in a book.”  But specifically, he wants the Ephesians to know the hope they have – a hope of being in God’s presence, a hope of being free from sin…