::truth::
“So, how do I know if I am guilty of the sin of isolation or if I am just not a ‘people person’?”
That was the most asked question after last week’s message! As I urge us to greater connection and community with each other I don’t want anyone to fall into condemnation because they don’t glad-hand everyone in the room every time. Remember a few things:
1. It’s not the quantity of your relationships, it’s the quality. Who do you “go deep” with? With whom can you express the hopes, fears and struggles of your heart? With whom do you go from “friendship” to “fellowship”?
2. Who are you inviting into your “inner circle”? Are you reaching out to new people? Are you ingrown or outward focused? Are you a welcoming person, even to one person at a time?
3. Each person is in a different place on the relationship continuum: singular relational, small group relational, or multi-relational. But be careful of the extremes at both ends. “Singular” and “multi” can both be ways of avoiding the risk of relationship.
4. Is the gospel transforming your relationships? Consider this quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer:
“He who is alone with his sin is utterly alone. It may be that Christians, notwithstanding corporate worship, common prayer, and all their fellowship in service, may still be left to their loneliness. The final break-through to fellowship does not occur, because, though they have fellowship with one another as believers and as devout people, they do not have fellowship as the undevout, as sinners (emphasis added). The pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner. So everybody must conceal his sin from himself and from the fellowship. We dare not be sinners. The fact is that we are sinners!”
“But it is the grace of the Gospel, which is so hard for the pious to understand, that it confronts us with the truth and says: You are a sinner, a great, desperate sinner; now come, as the sinner that you are, to God who loves you. He wants you as you are; He does not want anything from you, a sacrifice, a work; He wants you alone.”
The Bible tells us to “welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you” (Romans 15:7). The gospel tells us how Christ has welcomed us; unconditionally, grace-fully, completely, enthusiastically… (you get the point). Now, wading in the river of God’s grace, welcome others the same way!
The well wisher of your soul’s happiness,
Pastor Tom
::prayer::
Check the church “directory” on our website so you can follow-up you prayers with a call or email!
Debbie S.: Pray for safety for Chris as he arrives on Wednesday from Japan, and for wisdom for a job interview he has on Friday. Ai has her visa interview on August 31st. They will also need temporary housing.
Susan F.: Please pray for my adult kids, John and Lindsey, as they have again found themselves without jobs. May they not get discouraged and remember all the blessings that they do have. Please pray that I am able to find ways to serve Him as I encourage them.
Also, pray for my friend Terry. She has gallbladder surgery on Thursday (8/27) and they will be taking that opportunity to look for more cancer. May they not find any!
Barbara B.: Praise the Lord for the new drugs my doctor is using. I feel better than I have in years! Pray that my blood pressure would become stable again.
Eloise B.: Pray for Maurice and me to have the wisdom, patience and all else that we need to meet Nichol’s needs as she is living with us for the school year. Pray for a successful colonoscopy for me on Thursday (8/27). (I dread the prep intensely!)
Sandee L.: Pray for Nichole, Brett and Jordan to keep focused on God and have a desire to be in His word.
Pray that God would use me at work and that I would remember what is important in very stressful times.
Maxine K.: Praise the Lord! Matt’s parents signed a contract on their home in Sorrento on Friday. Please pray the process of the sale will go smoothly and that we can move them into our home in Winter Garden in a timely fashion. In all of this, we have found that God’s timing is truly perfect!
Nancy W.: My mom’s lung problems (severe shortness of breath) are getting worse. Please pray for a clear diagnosis and treatment plan as she goes through testing this week. I also need wisdom to know if I need to go stay with her or if my sister can handle the situation.
Praise the Lord for Janna’s improved health after we prayed for her last week.
Maurice B.: Pray that we might all find ways to reach out to others.
Jim & Deb Thompson: Jim’s mom is struggling with physical problems. Â She’s in a nursing/rehab home right now. Â The Thompsons are going down to Clearwater next weekend to see her.
::community::
This Week:
- Sunday, August 30th –
- 9:15 AM – Family Bible Classes for all ages.
- 10:30 AM – Worship Service
- Coming this September – Dinners for 6! We will have sign ups the next few Sunday mornings for participation in Dinners for 6. What is Dinners for 6? It’s a gathering of 6 fellow church attendees that will meet once a month with 2 people taking a month to either host a meal in your home or choose a restaurant to dine. You can make it anything you want, time after church on a Sunday, Friday night gathering at your favorite restaurant, mid week festivities – whatever works out for your fellow diners! It will be a great opportunity for fellowship and growing deeper together.
- Ladies – Save the date! Please join us for a Ladies’ Bible Study Kick Off dinner Thursday, September 10th. More details to follow!
Set-Up for Sunday:
- Set-up: Jim Phillips
- Nursery: Tricia Phillips
::mission::
Outreach Idea of the Week: Have a conversation with a cashier this week. Use their name. Ask them about their day. Show some love/care to them through conversation. Whether it be at the local Starbucks, grocery store or Wal-Mart, cashiers get brushed by people all day long that don’t speak a word to them. “Just do your job and get me through quick.” That’s how we treat them. Granted it is their job to do that, they are still people just like you and me that deserve some love and care. What if cashiers found some love and care from the most unexpected place this week-their customers? What if we took time to say their name and ask them about their day? What if we treated them as a person instead of a machine?
Tim & Penny Iverson (Taiwan) – Praise that 120 children heard the Gospel during a 2 week English camp. Pray for the Iversons and their decision regarding teaching English at the school that held the camps.
Linda Pace (Home Assignment from Dominican Republic) – National Youth Camps were held from August 20-23 with emphasis on forgiveness and purity. Pray for those that attended, that they will put into practice what they heard and learned. Pray for Linda in her upcoming missions tour to various churches here in the states.
