Announcements - June 18, 2017

The Haiti Team Returns! Please join us in giving thanks to God for Haiti team who returned late last night after a week of fruitful ministry. In the coming weeks the team will share some of their experiences with us, but for now we glorify God for his grace in sending us and the missionaries’ kindness in receiving us.

Honoring our Fathers, June 18: This morning we honor our fathers with a brief devotional, a time of prayer, and our traditional offering of beef jerky! Dads, we love you, we give thanks to God for you, and we covenant to pray for you as you seek to serve the Lord and your families.

Gospel of John Outreach Meeting, June 24: Join us at the church office on June 24 from 9:00-11:00 a.m. as we prayerfully discuss the ways that the Lord would have us give out the Gospel of John in our community. We will also consider taking up the challenge to mobilize other churches to distribute 10,000 copies of the Gospel of John per year. Light snacks and drinks will be provided. Contact Pastor Charlie for more information.

Baptism Service and Picnic Sunday, June 25: Everyone is invited to attend a church picnic and baptism service at the Mark and Jill Larson's home in Zimmerman. Bring meat to grill and a side dish to share. You may also want to bring a lawn chair. Boating and swimming (possibly water tubing) will also be available. Please come out and support this year's baptism candidates.

Half-Day of Prayer, July 8: Join us at Otsego Park (weather permitting) on July 8 from 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. for a tech-free time of prayer and training. Pastor Charlie will provide instruction and guidelines for two sessions of personal meditation and prayer, after which participants will debrief their experience and encourage one another. Contact Pastor Charlie for more information.

Wednesday Morning Prayer Meeting: Anyone who would like to join in corporate prayer may do so. The prayer time is from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. at the church office.

Next Week’s Fighter Verse

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

1 Peter 5:6-8

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The Secret of all Failure is our Failure in Secret Prayer

“We may be assured of this—the secret of all failure is our failure in secret prayer” (12). So writes the anonymous author of the classic little book on prayer entitled, The Kneeling Christian (Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids: 1971). He means that the reason we so often fall into sin or live in discouragement or fail to bear fruit is because we do not cling to God in Christ above all things. We do not diligently seek him or lean on him or plead with him or draw on his strength. We give ourselves to busyness over communion with God and in this way we seek to accomplish in our flesh what can only be accomplished in the power of the Spirit. Giving first place to what our dear author calls “secret prayer” is indeed a key to the Spirit-filled life but let’s be clear: prayer is not magic, rather, it’s a relationship. It’s not as if we simply have to file requests with God, being careful to use just the right words so that we can get him to respond as we wish. God is not a vending m

Deacons - How They Serve and Strengthen the Church (Part 1)

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Does the Doctrine Divide? by Patience Griswold

“Oh, I try not to talk about doctrine. It’s so divisive.” This is a sentiment that I’ve heard expressed, as well as implied, on many occasions, and one that raises the question, does doctrine divide? In answering this question, we must keep in mind a very important truth and that is that everyone holds to some sort of doctrine . “Doctrine” is defined as “a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church, political party, or other group.” Regardless of whether or not someone publicly holds to a statement of beliefs from a particular church, every Christian, by definition, holds to a particular set of beliefs. As Carl Trueman observes in his book The Creedal Imperative , [W]hile Christianity cannot be reduced to doctrine, to mere teaching, it cannot be meaningfully separated from it, either. Even the most basic claims, such as “Jesus is Lord,” carry clear doctrinal content that needs to be explicated in a world where, as we have noted before, every heretic has his text and n

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