Announcements
Recognition—I
don't want this to be advertising, but I would like to take a moment
to offer some recognition. Two weeks ago we had a heck of a flood in
the basement, and we were told it was going to cost well over $5,000
to dry out the air, carpet & walls. In shock, we called Affinity
Environmental, and they have helped us out tremendously at no
profit to themselves, saving us thousands. I am tremendously
grateful for their service & kindness. If you are in need of
environmental or construction services, I hope you'll give them a
call. Their phone # is 332-7077.
Family
Camp!—If
you haven't yet signed up for family camp, please let the office
know! We need to send a final head count pretty soon. Sept. 1-3 is
the date. You are welcome to come for any or all of it!
Lookouts
Game—We'll
head down to catch a Lookouts game on Saturday, August 18th.
Let Keith know if you're interested in joining us.
Family
in Need--From
Family Promise (Formerly Interfaith Hospitality) --The
Scruggs family will be moving into their three bedroom apartment in
the next week or two. They are in need of beds, sofa, chairs
for living room, end tables and lamps and coffee tables.
A dining table and chairs and four twin beds, one queen bed
and a crib. Dressers are a need as well. Sheets, towels,
dishes, silverware, drinking cups are needed too. The Furniture Bank
is backed up with approximately 50 people in front of the Scruggs
family for requests. If anyone has any of the above items, please
contact Linda Smith our case manager at linda.fpg@epbfi.com
or call her at 756-3891.
New
Hope News
Sermon
Series—We
began a new sermon series last week. We'll be exploring the 'I Am'
statements in John. It is my hope that we can learn about our own
identity by focusing on what Christ says about his identity.
Sunday
School—We'll
explore Song of Solomon this Sunday @ 9:45.
Sunday
Evening Prayer Service—We're
back with a Taize-style servicve this week!
6:00
Pray
for:
Lee
& Kris McCloud, whose premature infant passed away this week.
Lee is JoAn's niece.
Jeff
Joyner
David
Smith
Links
Book
Recommendation
What
does discipline mean to you? While it may conjure up images of your
mother with a wooden spoon, as it does to me, it can also be a gift.
Our spiritua disciplines can help draw us closer to Christ, helping
us see how God is at work in our lives and in the world. Richard
Foster's classic Celebration
of Discipline
is
a great exploration of the spiritual disciplines, both individual and
corporate, and can help provide some guidance and structure for your
spiritual life.
Random
Thoughts
I
love watching the Olympic swimming. There's something about the
urgency of it, the pure athletic talent on display, the drama and the
competition of the races. Even though I often know the results of
the events before I watch them, I still have a hard time taking my
eyes off them.
But
one of the things that is evident to me this week is how important
genetics are in swimming. Almost all of the men on the US Olympic
team are huge. It's like they were designed by God just to swim—they
are 6'8" with huge wingspans. Perhaps I could have made the
team with enough work, but it's more likely that someone my height is
at too large of a disadvantage to overcome.
But
that's ok. I could probably be an archer or a star on the handball
team. It's just a matter of discovering one's gifts.
I
don't think it's any different in the church. We are all so
very different. We try so hard, though, to fit in the same box, to
be the same, to emulate the lives of those who we view as
'successful'. We need to drop this idea—you are a beloved child of
God, and your ministry is whatever you are doing right
now.
It's not that you need to wait until you're in a place where you can
do ministry. You need to look for the opportunities before you. God
is constantly bombarding us with his love and opening windows for us
to spread this love. Don't lament who you are not and what you
cannot do—celebrate that you are a beloved child of God and focus
on serving him in whatever you're doing right now.
Text
for Sunday, August 5
John 8:2-20
Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, sir.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.’Jesus the Light of the World
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’ Then the Pharisees said to him, ‘You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.’ Jesus answered, ‘Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf.’ Then they said to him, ‘Where is your Father?’ Jesus answered, ‘You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.’ He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
New
Hope on iTunes
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