Thursday, July 19, 2012

7/19 E-News


Announcements

VBS—It's almost that time! VBS begins Monday morning. If you can't volunteer, will you commit to praying for the teachers and the kids next week? We hope & pray that this week is a blessing for them.

School SuppliesIf you want to bring some school supplies Sunday, Mary McMillan or Marilyn Suber can take them Monday down to Room in the Inn, a shelter for women and children.
Family CampRegistrations are due by August 1. We need to know if you plan to come to stay, or even if you're only going to come for the day!


New Hope News

Sermon SeriesWe're at the last sermon in the series What the New Testament says about... This week we're focusing on work.

Sunday School—We'll explore Proverbs this Sunday @ 9:45.

Sunday Evening Prayer Service—We're back this week! 6:00

Have you signed up for Cursillo yet? Oct. 10-14 is the next date. Sign-up info can be found here.

Pray for:

Joseph Townley

David Smith

Links







Book Recommendation

Ever wondered why they called it the land of milk and honey? Or what it means for Jesus to be a shepherd? Or the vine? Margerat Feinberg has a wonderful book called Scouting the Divine that explores these metaphors and offers some deep insights into the heart of God through these images that are so foreign to our modern ears.

Random Thoughts

Commit your way to the Lord, trust in him, and he will act. (Ps. 37:5) I've been living with this verse a lot lately. I can't help but wonder how much I really trust in the Lord—I say that I do, but when I step back and examine my life it looks a lot like someone who may trust in God but sure has a lot of backup plans in place! My lips confess my trust in God, but my choices reflect a fear that God may not always come through.

Of course, anyone who's looked back over human history would say that putting my trust in God is a lot wiser than placing trust in myself. I'm a fallen, sinful, imperfect human. I have my bright, shining moments, but there are also plenty of moments where I have fallen short, where I have displayed my humanity. God, on the other hand, has never broken a promise and is always faithful. He won't answer every prayer the way I may think I want it answered, but he has promised that nothing shall separate me from him, and also that love will defeat evil in the end. He hasn't eliminated evil yet, but his light continues to shine, even in the darkest chapters of human history. God has earned our trust.

So there is a choice to make. Will I trust myself, building up defenses against life's impredictabilities? Or will I trust God, who will be faithful to the end, and right through it, who is stronger than death and the only one to whom nothing is a surprise?

And once I have made that choice, will I continue to choose to trust God, each and every day, so that my baptismal promises will be fresh on my mind each day, so that my faith may be renewed and my spirit strengthened by the one who has come to save?


Text for Sunday, July 22

1 Thess 2:8-10

So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.

 You remember our labour and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was towards you believers.






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