Pastor Jack's Weekly Chimings Message
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Weekly Inspirational Message & Church Happenings for the Upcoming Week
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Happy Friday, Friends!
Today's scripture takes us into Paul's second letter to the church at Corinth... "We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV) Do your thoughts ever run like mine... through an occasional trail of offense? You might be singing praise songs in your car... when suddenly someone cuts you off in traffic or you get slowed down by someone driving five miles under the speed limit. Suddenly angry exclamations race through your mind in an attempt to find some way out of your mouth. The joy of the Lord's presence evaporates and you struggle simply to hold your tongue! But we are promised that in Christ we are able to interrupt those "opposing thoughts" by taking a deep breath and reminding yourself of God's infinite mercy. We can take every thought captive! Allowing patience to do its perfect work, we can let the peace of God guard our hearts and still our minds. We can remember once again our hope of glory and allow the love of God to rule in that moment. Because remember friends, God's grace is always sufficient. So when someone says something mean to you, or you are stuck in stop-and-go traffic, or you open your credit card bill after Christmas, join me in praying, Help me control my thoughts, O Lord. Amen. +++ This Sunday we will worship at both 8:30am and 10:00am with special services of Thanksgiving and Praise. Guest musicians, sermon Talk-Back moments, and lots of fun will encourage us to bring our full thanks and praise to God! We will save you a seat and, in case you can't be here with us in the Sanctuary, we will look for you on our Faceook "live-stream" at 10:00am or in the recorded version of worship on both Facebook and YouTube after worship is completed. In case you forgot to bring it last week, you can also still return your 2025 Commitment Card in the offering plate on Sunday. We are off to a great start on our financial pledges to provide ministry in 2025 and we hope to be able to fully fund all the missions and ministry we are planning for next year. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR GIFTS that support Immanuel's ministry! +++ Sunday is also United Methodist Student Sunday when we receive a special, church-wide offering to help provide scholarships across our United Methodist connection. Look for the special offering envelopes as you enter the Sanctuary on Sunday. +++ As of this writing, our Angel Tree has only 2 angels left to be claimed and all Angel Tree gifts need to be returned by Sunday, December 1st! This will allow us to get them prepared for delivery to kids in December. The Mitten Tree is up and able to accept your gifts of mittens, hats, and scarves! Door sprays will be available to pick up on Sunday, as well! We are doing lots of mission work here at Immanuel in December! +++ Also... this Sunday you can look for Helen and Sara and get involved in our Heifer International Mission project that Immanuel has sponsored for over 20 years! You can be a direct part of changing someone's life for the better through all of these projects. +++ The church office will be closed next Thursday and Friday as we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. Emergency numbers are on the answering machine if needed. The office will re-open on Monday morning, December 2 at 9:00am. +++ Our Advent Study begins on Monday, December 2nd, as well. We will gather at 12:00noon and look at our Advent theme, The Word Made Flesh. Bring your lunch, enjoy a bowl of hot soup and plan to join us for this time of study as we prepare our hearts to welcome the Babe of Bethlehem. +++ And finally a couple of dates for you to mark on your December calendars....
Make this day a great day and always remember to join me in praying... Help me control my thoughts, O Lord. Amen. Pastor Jack Comments are closed.
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November 2024
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