Announcements
Baptism
& Potluck—Next
Sunday, October 21, we will celebrate Caleb's baptism. Following
church, we'll have a potluck lunch.
Trunk
or Treat—Saturday, October 27th from 2-5. Plan to
join us!
New
Hope News
Project
Time!—Sunday, October 28 there will be a short
meeting following worship for all those interested in working on any
of the Building & Grounds projects outlined in the Session's plan
for the money from the city.
Sunday
School—This Sunday, the adult class with study the
book of Obadiah.
Wednesday
Night Supper—Join us for supper & study this
coming week!
Pray
For:
Lynn
Meyer—she
and Roger celebrate their daughter's wedding this weekend!
Jan
Edwards' mother
Jacob
Geerlings, who
passed all 4 ordination exams!
Peace
in this troubled world
Pray
for those who do not know Christ.
Links
The
Grateful Gobbler is November 22. (Monies raised
go to support Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition.
Keith's
Random Thoughts
I know that I wrote about Caleb last week. I'm pretty fascinated by
him, so this probably won't be the last time I write about him,
either.
He's now over a year old. When I look at him, I no longer see an
infant—there's now a toddler crawling where an infant once rolled
across my living room floor. He vocalizes his opinions now, whatever
they may be, and is very expressive when he wants something. He's
growing.
But he doesn't change much day-to-day. We don't see as much because
we're always with him, but when our parents drop in to visit they
notice how much he's grown in the 4-6 weeks since they've last see
him. Change is more noticeable over time.
Our faith isn't much different. We want to see noticeable change in
our spiritual lives everyday. We spend some time praying and reading
the Bible and then wonder when it will have an effect. We grow
frustrated when we can't seek growth.
Well, just like it's a pretty bad idea to stop feeding your child
when you don't see noticeable growth, it's a bad idea to stop feeding
your soul when you don't notice the changes taking place. Growth is
occurring—God just works at a different speed than we would like.
I promise you that God is at work within you—he promises to
constantly be working on and in us. We do have to be patient and
stay faithful—to trust God's work and rely upon him. Keep feeding
your soul, keep praying and studying, and in years you'll look back
and notice how much you've grown. It might not be an immediate
change, but God will do a work in you if you make yourself available
to him. Be patient and give thanks for God's faithful love.
Text
for this Sunday
1
Kings 17:17-24
After this the
son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; his illness
was so severe that there was no breath left in him. She then said to
Elijah, ‘What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to
me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!’
But he said to her, ‘Give me your son.’ He took him from her
bosom, carried him up into the upper chamber where he was lodging,
and laid him on his own bed. He cried out to the Lord, ‘O
Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom
I am staying, by killing her son?’
Then he stretched
himself upon the child three times, and cried out to the Lord, ‘O
Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.’ The
Lord listened to the voice of Elijah; the life of the child came into
him again, and he revived. Elijah took the child, brought him down
from the upper chamber into the house, and gave him to his mother;
then Elijah said, ‘See, your son is alive.’ So the woman said to
Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of
the Lord in your mouth is truth.’
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