Northeast Community Church of the Nazarene
Northeast Community News – August 07, 2012
Dear Friends and Family,
What a glorious day we had in the Lord, Sunday! First, after Shannen Parsaca brought us our announcements, we had five people lead worship in the Praise Team! Glory! Likewise, we had at least 10 visitors this week! Glory! Praise God!
And finally, we were ushered into the presence of the Savior and His Good News by Pastor Amy Orban on her first message proclaiming God’s Word! I don’t know what everyone else thought, but within moments I had forgotten this was her first message and was captured by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit flowing through her words, His Word, and my heart and mind. I was challenged, encouraged, and blessed! To God be the Glory! Amen? Amen!
Paul wrote:“…if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved…As the Scripture says, ‘Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame’ for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:9-10, 14-15)
Bless you Pastor Amy for preaching the good news to us in all of its clarity and power! You did not flinch or pull back and we were blessed! God is good! Could you please share your message with us once more in the newsletter for those who could not come or would like to ‘hear’ God’s heart once more! Thanks!
Love and blessings, Pastor Dan
(PS: If you would like a copy of Pastor Amy’s message burned to an audio CD simply let Janie Hathaway know and she will make a copy for you! It is one everyone needs to hear! You can reach Janie at allsmiles@comcast.net )
Hello Friends and Family!
God’s message this week came from Matthew 9:18-25 and was titled “Come As You Are.” Several months ago I read this passage during my devotions, was struck at the power in it, and knew it would be the first message I would preach.
We began by asking – have you ever been desperate? Can you think of a time in your life when you simply had nowhere to look but up? Or have you ever doubted God? Been angry with him? Wondered about His plans for your life?
The answer is that yes, most of us have had these moments with God at one point or another. But because we know who God is, we don’t have to let our struggles and doubts separate us from Him. He is the only one who can give us the rest and freedom which we so long for, and Christ invites to come to Him, just as we are – full of all kinds of struggles and imperfections. Isn’t it a relief to know we don’t have to have ourselves all straightened out before coming to Christ?
As we looked at Matthew 9:18-25, we saw how Christ allows us to come to Him just as we are. We see a bleeding woman who had been suffering from a humiliating disease which separated her from God and from people for 12 years, and we see her reach out in desperation to Jesus for healing. We also see a synagogue ruler, a man with connections, a man who also was probably among those who would have wanted to see Jesus dead at that time– but his daughter has just died, he is desperate, and he comes to Jesus.
The woman was an outsider, it was made clear that she was not good enough for fellowship with God or with people. She shouldn’t have even been in the crowd that was pushing against Jesus. But she was so desperate that she took her tiny little bit of hope, and she reached out to touch Jesus’ cloak. And her little faith, manifested in this tiny desperate act, is what – according to Jesus, healed her of her illness. What a tiny faith to result in such a miracle!
Likewise, the synagogue ruler was desperate. He would have tried anything and everything, and Jesus would have been a last resort. It was likely that up to this point, like many of the religious rulers at that time, he had hated Jesus. So he went to the very man whom he considered an enemy to plead for the life of his daughter. This little faith, mixed and blurred and tainted, resulted in Jesus raising the daughter from the dead!
So you see, we come to Jesus with inadequate motives and inadequate faith. We don’t have to try to be good enough, we don’t have to have the perfect theology, and we certainly don’t come with hearts overflowing for love with God and the faith of a saint. No, his invitation is that we come to Him, just as we are – inadequate in every way.
And not only are we inadequate in our motives and our faith, but we are full of need, incredible need. Would you call yourself needy? From a worldly perspective, it’s not very flattering to say, “I’m a very needy person.” But the needs of the bleeding woman and the synagogue ruler are enormous needs – needs which point to our great needs, the needs which can only be met by the Savior. Neither of these characters denied their great needs, but came to Christ with them.
Even if we try to deny it away (and we do!), mankind still suffers from a spiritual sickness which can only find healing by the Savior.
He knows all of this about us – He has taken it into account, He has seen us at our worst. He knows every dark corner of our inadequacy, and He knows well the incredible depth of our needs. And he could have turned away, but instead he continues to call us to come to Him, just as we are, so that He can make us who we should be.
No better proof of this exists than the Cross of Jesus Christ. He came to a broken world full of inadequacy and need, so that we might be ransomed from the power of sin and darkness. He didn’t come to die for a world full of principled people who had love for God overflowing in their hearts. He didn’t wait for us to get it together and do better, because He knew that we couldn’t do it. Instead, He provided us with a Savior who meets our every need, today and forever, amen and amen!
So no matter where you are in your walk with Christ, you can rest assured that you are, in fact, inadequate and needy. We all are. None of us are good enough. None of us have it all together. We all have seasons of desperation and doubt and fear and anger and alienation from God. But He knows this about us, and he continues to call us to come to Him, just as we are, and he will not leave us unchanged.
We ended our service by celebrating the sacrament of Communion. The Lord’s Supper was a great reminder of what has been done for us by Jesus on the Cross. It was also a great reminder of how He comes to us just as we are, no matter where or how we are, to bring us salvation and glad tidings. To come to Him, we don’t have to look far, because He is already seeking us.
This week’s Wednesday Night adult Bible study is titled “Taking a Stand” and examines the meaning of Baptism and Membership. Join us at 6:30pm to discuss the importance of making public declarations for God. Have you crossed the line and made your witness public?
See you Wednesday!
With Love, Pastor Amy
Hello From Pastor Amy/Your Part-Time Church Secretary
My office hours will be on Tuesdays from 8am-5pm, but if you need to see me, you may want to call first. My responsibilities also include preparing our weekly program, so if you have an event that you would like to put in the program or newsletter, please feel free to contact me!
On Prayer Requests: If you have a specific praise or prayer request which you would like to appear in the program and/or newsletter, please make sure to fill out the tear-off sheet in the weekly program, or contact me at any time.
Please Update Me! We have a long, ongoing list of prayer requests. Please keep me updated. Requests will be pulled from the newsletter & program after 3 weeks. Thank you!
NEWS & EVENTS
Northeast Community Potluck: THIS Sunday, August 12
We will be holding another one of our famous potlucks on Sunday, August 12 immediately following our morning worship service. Bring a dish to pass, and invite friends and family to visit – everyone is welcome! There is always a ton of delicious food and good conversation. See Irene Pratt to help set-up or tear-down.
Three Kids are Going to Chuckie Cheese!!
When the dust settled 3 of our 11 children read all 6 children’s missionary books last year (June 2010-May 2011) and won a trip to Chuckie Cheese at Pastor Dan’s expense! (ouch!) Congratulations go to ALANNAH PARSACA, BRADLEE TOOLE, and KARLEE TOOLE for all their HARD WORK! You three set an example for all of us! May we all grasp the importance of reading our missionary books! Thanks to everyone who read to the kids, encouraged them to read, and believed in them! ATTENTION KIDS! Want to go to Chuckie Cheese next year? Start reading this year’s children’s missionary books! Let’s see if we can send 10 kids next year!
Highland Park Neighborhood News!
Hey fellow Highland Park Neighbors, don’t forget ‘Dumpster Day’ is this weekend in the upper parking lot at St. Isidore from 8am-12noon. Remember, this is only for neighbors of Highland Park and they will be checking driver’s licenses. But this is a great opportunity to get rid of all that junk for FREE! Pastor Dan will be working from 10-11am! Feel free to come dump on him!
MEIJER COMMUNITY REWARDS IS HERE!
Jean Christoffersen recently told us of a program at Meijer’s that gives a small portion of money (.5%-1%) of most purchases back to non-profits like Northeast Community Church of the Nazarene! The Meijer website states:
Meijer Community Rewards was developed to meet our customers' growing desire to support k-12 schools and religious groups in ways that don't stretch their budget...or their time. Your k-12 school or religious organization can now raise group funds without administrative costs or sales of any kind!
So, after signing up Northeast Community Church of the Nazarene up and being approved we are pleased to announce you can now help us doing what many of us do already – shop at Meijer!
For those who have a Meijer Credit Card or choose to get one we receive 1% cash back. For those who use a Debit Card we receive .5% cash back. Unfortunately, we receive nothing for those of you who use a check or a non-Meijer Credit Card.
To participate you DO NOT need to attend our church! So, if you have friends or family members that want to help Northeast Community, well, that’s just great!
To sign up you need to go to the Meijer website (link below) and sign up. You will have several options. 1) sign up for a Meijer credit card, 2) sign up for a Meijer One card, or 3) if you already have a Meijer credit card you can ‘link it’ to our Church so you purchases will automatically be credited to us. Please know we aren’t ‘pushing’ credit cards! We just want you to know all of your options!
To complete your application online you will need our organization # 214242. No internet access? No problem! Paper applications can be found outside the sanctuary or inside any Meijer store. Simply ask for a ‘Community Rewards’ application from the Customer Service counter!
To find out more about Meijer Community Rewards click here:http://www.meijer.com/rewards/
To sign up for the program click here: (remember our code is 214242)http://www.meijer.com/mcr/
choose_card.jsp
God bless you for participating! If you have any questions, call Pastor Dan at the church at616-459-2773 or email him at: hathdan@me.com
School Pal-Paks Drive!
The Church of the Nazarene operates numerous primary schools around the world, providing quality education for children. Unfortunately, children around the world often do not have the supplies needed for school. In countries with economic challenges, families cannot afford to purchase supplies, and sometimes siblings have to share supplies.
In response to this need, Nazarene Missions International partnered with Nazarene Compassionate Ministries Inc to provide School Pal-Paks.
We will be collecting supplies through the end of August. Please use the shopping list provided in the bulletins this Sunday, or you can give money to Janie Hathaway or Irene Pratt who will shop for supplies. Shopping lists can also be found by the missions bulletin boards in the back of the annex.
Where can you buy the supplies CHEAP this Week???
1 package of 10-12 #2 Pencils – Office Max 79 cents
1 package of 10-12 black pens – Office Max $1; Dollar Store $1
Pink erasers – OfficeMax 75 cents for a 3 pack; Office Depot 25 cents; Dollar Store $1
Ruler – OfficeMax 5 cents; Target 49 cents; Dollar Store $1; most stores have cheap rulers
Colored pencils (12-15 count) – Target 49 cents; Dollar Store $1; Meijer 97 cents; Staples $2
Pencil sharpener – hand held not battery or electric – Office Depot 25 cents; Office Max 10 cents; Dollar Store
Blunt end scissors – OfficeMax 50 cents; Office Depot $1; Dollar Store $1
Composition notebooks – OfficeMax up to 5 free if you spend $5; Staples $1; Dollar Store $1
Come to the Fire 2012
Olivet Nazarene University is hosting the 2012 Come to the Fire Women’s retreat from October 11-13. This is an amazing opportunity for women to fellowship and be spiritually nurtured in a powerful way. Check out the poster on the bulletin board, and there are also brochures on the table for more information. We want ALL WOMEN to know that we are already planning for hotels, food, etc! So if you are interested, please talk to Janie Hathaway or Pastor Amy.
Praise Team Singers Wanted!
Would you like to sing with Pastor Dan on Sunday morning? One commented they ‘didn’t know they could join me’ and she was surprised. Pastor Dan would love to see more folks use their gift of singing with him on Sundays. All he requires is a humble spirit, a willingness to attend practice on Wednesday night after bible study and Sunday morning at 9:00am, and a desire to worship God! Interested? Let Pastor Dan know!
Want to help, but not sure how?
If you are wondering where to plug in, but are not sure how, we have opportunities. Current opportunities include a soundboard worker, nursery helpers, childrens workers, potluck coordinators, visiting our shut-ins, greeters and ushers, visitor follow-ups, Sunday School teachers, music leaders, people willing to shovel snow in the winter, and much more. It doesn’t matter how long you have been attending our church, serving is a great way to honor God and get to know the people around you! If you sense a call to a specific area or need some ideas to pray about, please contact Amy Orban or Cherry Pakiela or Irene Pratt.
Upcoming Events
August 12 NE Community Potluck after morning worship service
September 2 Communion Sunday/Family Church
September 7 First Friday Chinese Lunch
August Worker Schedules
Nursery
August 12 SS –Janie Hathaway & Emily Morse
Worship – Anna Boeve & Alannah Parsaca
Counters
August 12—Terry & Larry
August 19—Pat & Dick
August 26—Terry & Jerry
Announcements
August 12– Pat Parsaca
August 19 – Irene Pratt
August 26 – Joan Grinwis
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