Friday, September 8, 2023

Happy Friday Friends! 

This morning's devotion finds me reading these words from Paul's First Letter to the church in Corinth...

        "Love... is ever ready to believe the best."   (1 Corinthians 13:7 AMP)

You might have noticed that the human mind seems to focus on the negative. We troubleshoot, criticize, and disapprove. We are all critics, it seems. We hope our criticism is constructive -- after all we mean to bring about positive change through pinpointing problems and shortcomings everywhere we find them. But sometimes magnifying the negative does just the opposite.  
   
But friends, God's wisdom and grace directs us toward a different approach. In Philippians 4: 4-8 we are told to always rejoice, be anxious about nothing, but in everything by prayer and thanksgiving make our requests known to God, and the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds.
   
Finally, we are told only to think about whatever is true, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy. We are to be ever ready to believe the best of every person, remain hopeful under all circumstances. That's why love is always ready to believe the best! So, why not today decide to focus on what's going right?    

             God, please help me to believe the best in all things!  

+++ This Sunday we revert to our fall worship schedule with two worship opportunities... 8:30am and 10:00am! The 8:30am worship will be located in the Fireside Room and the 10:00am worship will, of course, be in the Sanctuary. We will continue reading our way through Paul's letter to the Romans and my message, "Satisfying our Continuing Debt" will have me thinking about how we must respond in love to those who we encounter. But boy, sometimes that is a tall order for sure!  The "live-stream" on the church FaceBook page returns to 10:00am, if you are watching at home. And, of course, the worship will be uploaded to our YouTube channel when it is completed. Join us, however you can, for worship on Sunday. And for the kids... KIDZ CLUB RETURNS THIS SUNDAY during the 10:00am worship. We can't wait to see the kids on Sunday!  

+++ Many have signed up to help build 40 beds in our parking lot on Saturday morning when we partner with our friends for Sleep in Heavenly Peace! There is a registration form that needs to be completed by all workers prior to starting work. If you are already signed up... look for the email with the registration link. You can also fill out the registration when you arrive on Saturday.... but doing so ahead of time will save time on Saturday. Thanks! And lunch will be served around 12:00noon as we celebrate the work!

+++ Also happening on Sunday, is our monthly Shut In meal ministry delivery... thanks to Sam and our drivers. And we'll enjoy our first "Second Sunday Lunch" with a delicious meal of Barb's homemade Mac and Cheese! What a great way to kick off the fall season!  

+++ Next week's schedule has the following:
       Chair Yoga on Tuesday morning at 9:30am in the Nursery.  See Barb M. for details.
       Finance Team meeting on Tuesday at 6:00pm in the Fireside Room.
       SPRC Team meeting on Tuesday at 6:00pm in the Nursery.
       Ad Council meeting on Tuesday t 6:45pm in the Fireside Room.  

+++ The fall Trustee's Workday has been postponed until Saturday, October 14th. A list of needed tasks is being updated and you can check with any of the Trustees to find out about the jobs we hope to accomplish!  

Make this day a great day and watch for all the great things God is doing!   
​Pastor Jack