Dear Friends and Family!
What another wonderful day we had in the Lord, Sunday! If you were in church Sunday, you no doubt heard a simultaneous service taking place downstairs as we worshipped upstairs! What a joy it was to hear the children singing, praying, and praising God in their own Children’s Church Service downstairs! Bless everyone who made ‘Children’s Church’ happen! Praise the Lord! The only thing left to do now, is for the rest of us to invite kids! So, be on the lookout for a kid in the neighborhood or in your own family who would like to come to a worship service full of wiggles, giggles, and the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit! God is good…. All the time! Amen!
Sunday, we continued our series on Discipleship Essentials by talking about another essential belief: Bearing Fruit! In Galatians 5:16-23, we discovered we all bear fruit! The only question is, “What kind of fruit are you bearing?” For unsaved and unsanctified believers, the fruit can be pretty bruised and ugly…and are pretty obvious! Paul listed them in vv. 19-21:
“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like” (Galatians 5:19-21a).
But, for those walking in holiness and led by the Spirit, the contrast is quite striking! “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
Why doesn’t everyone bear fruit of the Spirit? First, because there is a conflict between the sinful nature and the Holy Spirit. In v. 17 we read: “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want” (Galatians 5:17).
If you’ve been saved longer than 4 hours, you know about the conflict between the Holy Spirit and the sinful nature living within you! The Spirit convicts, counsels, and leads us in the ways of holiness, but the internal sin nature wars against the Spirit living within! The only answer is to get rid of the sinful nature! How? Paul tells us it must die! In v. 24 we read, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24).
So, will you? Will you yield everything to God and ask Him to crucify your sinful nature and fill you with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit? Look, if you’re still trying to produce fruit of the Spirit while living in sin you may fool me, but you’re not fooling yourself, those who know you best, or God. Besides, pretending is exhausting! It’s time to 1) realize the war, 2) surrender completely, 3) be sanctified, and 4) abide in Him! His fruit is always best! Blessings! Pastor Dan
NEWS AND EVENTS
SEPTEMBER IS ALABASTER MONTH!
Alabaster offering sends 100% of the money to the Mission Field to build buildings, and to purchase property for our missionaries. You can still give money to this if you forgot!
RENUCCI HOUSE BREAKFAST – OCTOBER 21
If you are interested in joining in with this fun event, let Cherry or Deb know. We will be feeding 45-50 people who are staying here. We serve breakfast for one hour – 9 to 10 AM. These people have loved ones in the hospital. We will give them a good first meal of the day and pray for those who wish us to do so. There is still time to be a part of this!
A NEW BIBLE STUDY IS HERE!
Beginning in September, Mary W. will begin a study titled, “Remembering the Forgotten God”. This will be held Tuesdays at 10 AM for 7 weeks. {began Sept. 12th}.
CHILDREN’S CHURCH BEGAN!
There is a new program where the children have the whole church time for their program. They will meet in the basement for a social time at 11 AM before their service with a snack and a drink. Then, there will be singing praises and a lesson.
IGNITE – MOBILIZING THE CHURCH IN MISSION!
Go and listen to some of our missionaries here as they speak about the work God is doing in the countries they are serving in! October 8th @ 6 PM at Mt. Pleasant First, 1980 S. Lincoln Road, Dan & Coralee Behr from the Philippines will be speaking. Also, on October 8th @ 6 PM at Chapman Memorial in Vicksburg, 7520 E. U Ave., Ellen Gaily Decker from Africa will be speaking.
PEOPLE WANTED TO PRAY FOR STRANGERS!
Our church has placed a “prayer mail box” out by the bus stop. The Holy Spirit has indicated that there are many hurting and broken people walking right past us without a church to pray for them! If you are interested, let Pastor Dan know by calling/texting (616) 204-1153 or email him at hathdan@me.com.
FREE ONLINE SECURITY TRAINING!
Due to the generosity of Janie H. and her employer, we have free access to their online security training class for anyone interested. Here is some information from the training site:
More than ever, your users are the weak link in your network security. KnowBe4 is the world’s most popular integrated Security Awareness Training and Simulated Phishing platform with over 10,000 customers.
Our basic training modules specialize in making sure employees understand the mechanisms of spam, phishing, spear-phishing, malware and social engineering, and are able to apply this knowledge in their day-to-day job. You get high quality web-based interactive training combined with common traps, live demonstration videos, short comprehension tests and scenario-based Danger Zone exercises.
As someone who has helped many clean up viruses, I think this could be valuable. Here is the link: https://www.knowbe4.com/homecourse Use the password: homecourse
Have questions? Email or text Pastor Dan – hathdan@me.com / (616) 204-1153
SIX (6) CHILDRENS MISSIONARY BOOKS ARE HERE!
Anyone with children, have them read these enjoyable books. For any child who reads all 6, a special event will be planned for them (a movie, Chuck E Cheese, or Craig’s Cruisers). See Cherry. [For adult missionary books, please see Sherry J.]
SUNDAY AFTERNOON BIKE RIDES
Let Pastor Dan know if you’re interested or have questions. This would be a great event to invite a friend!
What: Weekly Bike Rides
Time: 2:00pm until aprox. 4:00pm
Where: From Rogue River Park in Belmont to Rockford on the White Pine Trail. Rogue River Park is located at 6300 Belmont Ave NE – Belmont, MI 49306
Cost: Free! (unless you plan to buy ice cream!)
INTERESTED IN CHURCH MEMBERSHIP?
A series of membership classes will be starting soon. If you are interested in learning more about the Church of the Nazarene, or becoming a member of our church, please let Pastor Dan know by contacting him at: 616-204-1153 or hathdan@me.com.
SOUND BOOTH PERSON STILL NEEDED:
The church is looking for someone who is interested in being a sound booth technician. You will need to be able to attend music practices Sunday morning at 9 AM. Let Janie know if you are interested at 616-204-2499 or hathjan@icloud.com.
GATHER BOX TOPS FOR NAZARENE INDIAN MISSIONS!
Thank you to everyone who is collecting Campbell Soup labels and General Mills box tops! While it seems small, the cash they generate really adds up! This program has provided PA equipment, computers, and even a 15-passenger van for Nazarene Sun Valley Indian School. Questions, labels and box tops should go to Fran S. or Sherry J.
CHURCH POSTCARDS ARE AVAILABLE!
Is there someone missing or would like to invite to church? Why not grab a few church postcards and send them out? A simple hand written note blesses everyone! You will find them on the table under the missionary bulletin board in the Annex.
DAILY DEVOTIONS – “REFLECTING GOD” IS AVAILABLE! FREE!!
“Reflecting God” is a daily devotional guide our church makes available free to anyone interested. The devotions provide a brief truth from the Bible every day. Reflecting God also has a section for reading the Bible in a year and praying for our missionaries! Feel free to take one! You’ll find them located on the table outside the sanctuary!
GUIDELINES FOR PRAYER REQUESTS:
Remember, to keep our prayer lists current, we only place requests in the newsletter and bulletin for 3 weeks without an update. If you want to keep your prayer request in the bulletin or newsletter, just keep filling out the tear off tabs and keep us informed!
UPCOMING EVENTS
September 26 Bible Study “Remembering the Forgotten God” @ 10 AM
(downstairs)
September 27 Wed. Night Meeting @ 6:30 PM
October 1 Sunday Afternoon Bike Ride @ 2 PM
October 8 Church Potluck after the AM service
October 8 Ignite Missions @ Mt. Pleasant & Vicksburg 6 PM
October 19 3rd Thursday Chinese Lunch @ Hibachi Grill – 11:30 AM
October 21 Renucci House Breakfast served @ 9 AM
No comments:
Post a Comment