::truth::
“We had to celebrate and be glad†– Luke 15:32
The parables in Luke 15 follow a similar pattern: Something is lost. That something is found. So somebody throws a party. Pretty simple.
But how do we wrap our minds around the idea that God likes to celebrate? We are used to thinking of God sitting austere, disinterested, and disconnected from our emotions. A God that parties is not in our mental filing cabinet.
Yet it is clear from Luke 15 (and a bunch of other scriptures) that God truly celebrates. But what does God celebrate? What makes him throw parties?
We celebrate victories (championships, setting records), occasions (birthdays, weddings), and achievements (retirements, graduations). We want to celebrate, we feel the need to celebrate, I suppose you could say we have to celebrate!
So does God celebrate our victories, occasions, and achievements?
Nope. He celebrates our repentance. That’s right, repentance. He celebrates when a sinner (like me and you) first comes to Christ in repentance. But who’s to say he doesn’t celebrate every time we repent? Every time we turn from sin and believe his superior promises. Every time we choose faithfulness to Christ over compromise and ease. Every time we kill the selfish flesh and lay our lives down for Christ’s sake. Every day we live repentance as a way of life.
So, let make heaven happy. Not by offering our victories and achievements, but by offering our repentance. And then listen for the party!
The well wisher of your soul’s happiness,
Pastor Tom
::prayer::
Lindsey: “I won’t be able to e-mail for awhile because I am going out to a village tomorrow morning until Friday. The team that is here is not Christian so I hopefully I will be able to be a witness to them this week! 
”
Pray for Wendy as she travels home, arriving Wednesday evening, June 9th at 11:40 pm.
Jim P: Please pray for Lindsey’s health and for God to bless her efforts for His Kingdom. Pray for God’s perfect will to be accomplished in Whitney’s life.
Deborah T.: Selling bread on Monday so pray people will taste it, like it and buy it. Praise God for all his goodness!
Denise D.: My mother- recovering from surgery from a broken wrist, my friend (Dave) – suffering from Lou Gerhig’s Disease, my sister’s mother-in-law, Mary Ann Dubb, major cancer surgery Monday (12 hour operation).
Eloise: Praise for a definite improvement in Trent’s behavior and attitude. Pray for Ren as he witnesses to him (they live together), and for Trent’s salvation.
Barbara B: Pray for my eyes- infection keeps coming back. Praise- my parents have gotten rid of many of their possessions as they prepare to downsize from a large home to an apartment this summer. Pray as my parents and I have to put down my cat. She came with me from Brazil. My dad is very attached to her.
Nancy W.: Praise God for His amazing provision of $390 for Stephen’s garage sale for camp! Many thanks to those of you who helped & donated items! Please continue to pray for the needs of our family.
::community::
Garage Sale for Summer Camp: Thanks so much to all who helped in our garage sale. We raised over $340 for camp!
NEW DATE! Matthew’s Hope Homeless Dinner: On Tuesday, July 6th, we will be having dinner with the homeless at Matthew’s Hope. We need “worker-beesâ€, meal planners, chefs, and relationship builders. Please plan to participate and thanks for your response!
Family Fun Night at the YMCA: This summer we will be hosting a series of family fun night activities for the community at the Roper YMCA Family Center. We kick it off on Saturday, June 12 at 5:30 PM with a family movie night complete with hotdogs and popcorn! Fun ‘n Games night will be Saturday, July 10th and a poolside “Dive-in Movie†will be August 21st. If you can help plan or be a “worker-bee†please let us know!
Sunday, June 13th
Set–up: Joe Relich & Kellys
Nursery: Jolene Small
Snacks: John Dishinger
Prayer: Glenn Tindall
::mission::
DISCOVER STORIES: Evangelism starts with communicating your story and God’s story, right? Wrong. We seemed to have condensed sharing the love of Christ to a mechanical formula. Traditionally speaking, Christians often view evangelism as getting the seeker to listen to us while we share a verbal witness — give our testimony in the hopes that they will better understand the gospel. We’re missing a step. We’re omitting a critical part of the process — the other person’s story. Non-Christians are eager to tell their stories. I’ve never met anyone who didn’t want to share their story. I’ve just not met too many Christians willing to stop talking long enough to listen.
Tim & Janice Greenfield (Mexico) – Praise for the blessing of 33 years of marriage for the Greenfield’s. Pray for the 30 women who have attended Bible Study this past year, pray that they will continue to grow in Christ during the summer, even though they are taking a break from meeting together.
