Announcements
Wednesday
Fun—The
next two Wednesdays are a chance for your kids to come and play on
our playground! They'll be supervised by several church members from
12-2. If you have questions, please speak with Lynne Brock.
Community
Kitchen Spot
There are a lot of hungry and homeless children of God
and the community needs some help feeding them. If you would like to
help out, please bring the following items to church this Sunday &
put them in the grocery cart.
8 oz. Styrofoam bowls
Dry Milk
Styrofoam Plates
Plastic Forks/Spoons
Pasta
New
Hope News
Sunday
School—This Sunday, the adult class will study 2
Peter.
$.02/meal—Next
collection will be July 21. Be sure to save your pennies!
VBS—Will
be the week of July 15-18. Make your plans accordingly!
Pray
For:
Russell
Mabry
John
L. Wright—he's still in the hospital recovering. He's not feeling
up to visitors, but appreciates your prayers.
Links
Keith's
Random Thoughts
They're resurfacing Shallowford Road this week. If you live in
Chattanooga, you know how much of a mess that can create. If you
don't live here, imagine that they've placed a 3 foot wide gate in
the middle of the Rose Parade that everyone (and every float) has to
pass through, and that's about the size of the mess.
But there was no good way and no good time to do it. However it was
done, it was going to be a mess, and whenever it was done, it was
going to create a traffic jam. Perhaps they could have done a few
minor things differently, like divert traffic or encourage drivers to
use alternate routes, but it would still be a mess. They're doing a
pretty good job, all things considered, of working quickly. There
was never going to be a week when the traffic just disappeared.
When I think about habits in my life that need to be broken, or
routines that need to be changed, it's the same way. There's a never
a good time to change, and it's always going to be difficult. I get
bogged down into routines or habits, and it's tantamount to pulling
off a band-aid; it's going to hurt, so just get it done and get back
to work.
I've been trying to change my morning routine to make it more
fruitful, to start my day well. It's hard for me—I've been doing
the same thing for years. (Well, it changed a bit when Caleb came
along. Just like everything else in my life!) There is a lot that
resists change, and there's not going to be a week when the stars
align and everything changes on its own. I just have to grit my
teeth and do it, hoping that when I'm finished things will go more
smoothly.
In our spiritual lives, we often have to do the same thing. God's
presence is always around you. His love surrounds you constantly.
But we often have to slow ourselves down and pick up practices that
help us notice. These are often referred to as spiritual
disciplines, but we often see them as one more thing, one more
time-consuming activity that competes with everything else. We fail
to realize the supreme importance of intentionally carving out time
and practices to make ourselves aware of God's presence around us.
We fail to see how this will transform the way we live all of life.
It's easy to wait for our lives to organize themselves to a point
where we'll magically have time to offer God. The reality: we just
have to bear down and make ourselves change. We have to find time
within our busy lives. We have to force ourselves into practices
that may not seem rewarding at first, trusting that the routine will
bear fruit down the road.
Change is rarely easy. But it's worth the effort.
Text
for this Sunday
Daniel
1
In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. The Lord
let King Jehoiakim of Judah fall into his power, as well as some of
the vessels of the house of God. These he brought to the land of
Shinar, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his gods.
Then the king commanded his palace master Ashpenaz to bring some of
the Israelites of the royal family and of the nobility, young men
without physical defect and handsome, versed in every branch of
wisdom, endowed with knowledge and insight, and competent to serve in
the king’s palace; they were to be taught the literature and
language of the Chaldeans. The king assigned them a daily portion of
the royal rations of food and wine. They were to be educated for
three years, so that at the end of that time they could be stationed
in the king’s court. Among them were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and
Azariah, from the tribe of Judah. The palace master gave them other
names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach,
Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.
But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the royal
rations of food and wine; so he asked the palace master to allow him
not to defile himself. Now God allowed Daniel to receive favour and
compassion from the palace master. The palace master said to Daniel,
‘I am afraid of my lord the king; he has appointed your food and
your drink. If he should see you in poorer condition than the other
young men of your own age, you would endanger my head with the king.’
Then Daniel asked the guard whom the palace master had appointed over
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: ‘Please test your servants
for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.
You can then compare our appearance with the appearance of the young
men who eat the royal rations, and deal with your servants according
to what you observe.’ So he agreed to this proposal and tested them
for ten days. At the end of ten days it was observed that they
appeared better and fatter than all the young men who had been eating
the royal rations. So the guard continued to withdraw their royal
rations and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. To
these four young men God gave knowledge and skill in every aspect of
literature and wisdom; Daniel also had insight into all visions and
dreams.
At the end of the time that the king had set for them to be brought
in, the palace master brought them into the presence of
Nebuchadnezzar, and the king spoke with them. And among them all, no
one was found to compare with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah;
therefore they were stationed in the king’s court. In every matter
of wisdom and understanding concerning which the king inquired of
them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and
enchanters in his whole kingdom. And Daniel continued there until the
first year of King Cyrus.
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