There’s all sorts of activities coming up in the life of our church family! Are these events on your schedule?! Make sure they are, and then come join us! To see everything coming up, head over to our Calendar & Events or visit our Facebook events page.
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Tim Challies is a well known Reformed blogger who publishes daily. Check out his encouraging article, “7 Things Your Church Needs From You.” Where do you want to commit to your church family?
Not too long ago I had the opportunity to speak to a gathering of young adults from several churches across our city. I chose to speak about how any Christian (not only young adults) can make a church better and stronger. Here are some of the things I came up with: 7 things your church needs from you.
Your church needs you to…
…Be Humble
There is no character quality more important than humility. While humility does not come naturally to any of us, it can be learned, because here’s the thing: Humility isn’t a feeling or an attitude—it’s action. If you want to learn humility, you need to act humble. Here are 3 quick tips on becoming humble:
– Find mature Christians who exemplify humility and spend time around them. Learn from them and learn to be like them.
– Volunteer for the lowliest of tasks. Don’t ask to be in the public eye when you serve, but be content to stay in the back. Find joy in doing the lowliest jobs and do them when and where only Jesus will see.
– Get to know Jesus. It was Jesus who said, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:12). And it was Jesus who humbled himself the deepest and was exalted the highest.
…Prioritize Church
Every church has people who make the public gatherings of the church a low priority. These are the people who only come to church when it is convenient and who use any excuse to miss a day or miss a service. Every church desperately needs people who will make the public gatherings a top priority. Today is the day to begin elevating the importance of church in your life.
Let me give you two reasons:
– First, you need your church. God made you part of your church for your good. You cannot do life on your own. You aren’t strong enough, you aren’t wise enough, you aren’t mature enough, you aren’t godly enough. Without the beautifully ordinary means of grace you encounter in the church, you won’t make it. Without the support of your brothers and sisters, you won’t make it.
– Second, your church needs you. God made you part of your church for the good of others. 1 Peter 4 says, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” God has gifted you to be part of your church, and those gifts are to be used for the good of other people. So prioritize church as an expression of generosity toward others.
…Consider Giving God a Day
Why don’t you considering setting aside an entire day of the week and dedicating it to the Lord in a special way? We believe that the Old Testament law has been fulfilled in Christ, though there is some disagreement among Christians about the implications. But even if you believe that the Sabbath command is no longer binding on us, there is still value in learning from it. Continue reading
We will be using the following songs and passages from the Word of God in our corporate gathering this Lord’s Day. Please prayerfully use these resources to prepare your hearts to “come into His gates with thanksgiving and enter His courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4).
The Word of the Lord:
Psalm 128
Exodus 20
Galatians 4
Galatians 5
Numbers 6
Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs:
Psalm 121
In Christ Alone
A Mighty Fortress
Faith of Our Fathers
Heidelberg Catechism Q. #60
Spirit Till We Depart
Means of Grace:
Sermon: “Freedom for One Another”
Do you need to be filled up? Do you need strength to keep going? No matter your need, Jesus is your solution! Come find counsel and support from His cross!
Zion Women,
Join us for a Gospel-centered book study through
Elyse Fitzpatrick & Dennis Johnson’s Counsel from the Cross.
We’ll meet at the parsonage on the 2nd & 4th Tuesday nights
of each month from 7:45 – 9 pm
beginning Tuesday, October 14.
Please order your book online and have chapter one read by 10/14.
Questions? Contact us!
Here’s one of the authors, Elyse Fitzpatrick, giving a beautiful talk on Counsel from the Cross.
See you on October 14 at 7:45!
Our Men’s Ministry Breakfast has been wading into the Christian classic Disciplines of A Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes. This last Lord’s Day, we considered the discipline of leadership, and leading young(er) men to pick up for the next generation.
Meditating on the hand off of leadership from Moses to Joshua, Hughes points out several important qualities for infecting others with leadership:
All of these and more are unpacked by Hughes on pages 179 – 89.
But we were also spurred on by the zeal displayed by Ben Stuart in this short talk he gave at the recent Desiring God National Conference:
Find more information about our Men’s Ministry here.
In our Persevering Promises: God’s Relentless Grace in the Patriarchs we look at “The Gospel According to Genesis.” We see that the same gracious promises that sustained God’s servants then is for us too as we trust by faith in Christ. In Genesis 35, Jacob finally returns to Bethel, where the Lord first met him. Jacob’s new identity – as Israel – is determined by God’s gracious work in his past. We too, like Jacob, keep one eye in the past: not on our own strengths or sins, but on the cross of Christ, as we move into the future by His power!
Persevering Promises
September 21, 2014
“The Future Lies in the Past”
Genesis 35:1 – 18, 27 – 29
In our Persevering Promises: God’s Relentless Grace in the Patriarchs series we look at “The Gospel According to Genesis.” We see that the same gracious promises that sustained God’s servants then is for us too as we trust by faith in Christ. In Genesis 33, Jacob is hoping for heaven’s peace to reign when he must confront his brother Esau. What hope does he have to avoid a tragically worldly conclusion? What hope do we have to avoid the perils of this world, and instead experience heavenly transformation? Listen as the Lord uses repentance, humility, and worship in Jacob’s life – and how He can use it in yours as well!
Persevering Promises
September 14, 2014
“Heaven On Earth”
Genesis 33:1 – 20
We will be using the following songs and passages from the Word of God in our corporate gathering this Lord’s Day. Please prayerfully use these resources to prepare your hearts to “come into His gates with thanksgiving and enter His courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4).
The Word of the Lord:
Psalm 95
Romans 7:14 – 20
Romans 7:21 – 25; 8:3 – 4
Genesis 33:1 – 20
Numbers 6:22 – 24
Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs:
Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee
Oh How He Loves You and Me
In Christ Alone
My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less
Sanctuary
Means of Grace:
Sermon: “Heaven on Earth”
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