This week: Tue 10-11 ZOOM Huddle (Zoom only this week)
Wed 10-12: Bread distribution
Wed 6-7:30 Dinner Huddle for adults and Family Ministries. All welcome! We will be meeting with Revival Church to work on plans for Light in the Night Trunk or Treat Oct. 25th.
Sat 10-1 Clothing Closet
Sun Worship 10 AM in person and on Zoom (Study Philippians 4)
Prayer needs:
Provision and favor for new insurance and roof replacement (our insurance expires Oct 15th and we need to have a new roof or at minimum a signed contract, start date and deposit for a new roof before we can get insurance for the building) We are working on getting liability insurance for the interim so we can keep the building open.
Wisdom, unity, provision and favor with Emmaus borough for Light in the Night Trunk or Treat with revival Church. (We are collecting bags of candy bars to be used with the many visitors we expect)
Pray for a smooth and easy transition back from vacation to work for Karen and me. Thanks! Thank God for Sarah, Mike and Sally covering last week and Sunday!
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Good Morning Reflecting, Friends of God! I pray God spoke to you last week as much as He did to me during vacation. It took a lot of restraint for me to disconnect and not write a blog each morning we were off. God was really speaking to my spirit. Thanks Lord! Wonder what you were hearing? I'd love to hear! Friday was a bit frustrating with dealing with the tyranny of the urgent concerning the roof and insurance. There is some much that needs to happen in the next few weeks or we will be forced to lock our doors until we get a roof and then can procure insurance. BUT GOD! He knows, has a plan and will provide and guide. Pray for His Kingdom to come, will to be done, wisdom for leaders and provision. And so we transition back to almost daily blogs thinking about our Friend, Jesus and becoming more like Him.
Yesterday Mike brought a great Word from Phil. 3. I stretched him a bit with assigning a text to preach on and he sought and heard God and shared about the Joy of our salvation and of knowing Christ more and choosing to live more for Him. Paul attacked the legalist mutilators of flesh (Those of the circumcision) and reminded us of the freedom we can know in Christ as we allow Him to circumcise our heats (cut away the flesh and hardness). God loves our soft, surrendered hearts and uses people with those. May that be us! Amen! To live is Christ involves crucifying our sins, dying to self, and allowing Him, inviting Him to be our Lord and Savior. He created you, me and has gathered us for such a time as this. Let us humble ourselves and keep seeking Him and allowing Him to mold us and lead us to His perfect plans. Amen!
Since you have had some practice this past week seeking God and listening on your own during your quiet time and with your devotionals, I will only share two you do not have and Harvest's blog this morning as a kick start to seeking, listening and discerning at Jesus' feet. What's God saying to you. Jesus is standing in your presence, looking deep into your heart and inviting you to come to Him, receive His, love, peace, wisdom and directions for the day. Be still and know how much you are loved! Sarah Young from her Jesus Calling devotional has a great word and reminder today. meditate on what she is reminding us this morning. Draw close to your Creator and follow Him to His purposes for you. Charles Stanley in his "God's Purposes for Your Life" devo reminds us about the dying to self and allow God to cut away the hard hearts and fleshly/worldly stuff in us. Stop striving in your own strength and trying to earn God's favor. be still, turn off the noise and allow Him to fasten Jesus' easy yoke around you as you choose to walk with Him through this day. Well. OK, here's Our Daily bread's reminder that We are being built on Christ. We are His living stones that He is using to build His Church. Will you allow Him to lead you and place you where he knows is best for His plans? Ok so then the Upper Room reminds us that God is always speaking. Are you listening and willing to trust and obey today? God has custom made great plans for you, me and us together! Let us surrender, listen trust and follow well! And let us find some team mates to travel with as we follow Jesus together! Please pray the prayer from Harvest as we seek God and long to do His will and purposes.
Mike shared this image from our vacation of the misty waters at sunrise. The Son is rising over us and wanting to reflect His glory through us! We may be a bit foggy but as we allow Him to shine through us we will reflect Him more clearly. We are being formed into His image. Surrender, draw close, listen, receive, and go live and love more like him today. That's all he asks. be you and allow Him to use you for His glory! Amen!
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ODB:
We have all sorts of names for groups of animals. No doubt you’ve heard of a flock of sheep, a herd of cattle, or even a gaggle of geese. But some names may surprise you. A group of crows is called a murder. How about a congregation of alligators, or a crash of rhinoceroses? Have you heard of a building of rooks (Eurasian crows)?
Building, in fact, is one of the names in the Bible for believers in Jesus. “You are . . . God’s building,” wrote the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 3:9). There are other names for believers as well: “the flock” (Acts 20:28), “the body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:27), “brothers and sisters” (1 Thessalonians 2:14), and more.
The building metaphor recurs in 1 Peter 2:5, as Peter tells the church, “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house.” Then, in verse 6, Peter quotes Isaiah 28:16, “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone.” Jesus is the very foundation of His building.
We may have the sense that it’s our job to build the church, but Jesus said, “I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18). We’re chosen by God to “declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). As we declare those praises, we become instruments in His hands as He does His good work.
By Bill Crowder
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What does it mean for Jesus to build His church? How can you participate in that work?
Dear God, forgive me for the times I think it’s all about me. Please use me to serve You and love others as You build Your church.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The apostle Peter describes believers in Jesus this way: “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5). He wasn’t the only New Testament writer to utilize the building metaphor. In fact, Paul uses that imagery multiple times in Ephesians alone. In Ephesians 2:21-22 we read, “In [Christ] the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” God crafts His people into a “building”—a “spiritual house”—which is His dwelling place. Not only is this true of believers in Jesus collectively, it’s also the case for individual believers. The apostle also wrote: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19).
Bill Crowder |
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The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. - Psalm 29:4 (NIV)
As part of my fitness program, I try to walk at least two miles each day around my neighborhood. When I first started, I would listen to music through my earphones. One day I decided to remove them and just enjoy the beauty of God’s creation. I began to notice different types of trees and flowering plants in my neighbors’ yards. I also saw different kinds of birds and the occasional deer.
As I approached the end of my walk, I entered the alcove of my front door. Then I heard a bird whose song sounded to me like it was saying, “Hear me! Hear me!”
As I thought about the bird’s song, I decided it was a reminder to listen for God. God can speak to us in many ways — through nature, a friend, or even a stranger. It may not be a direct conversation, but if we are willing to pay attention, we might just encounter God.
Today's Prayer
Dear Lord, help us to seek and receive your guidance. We pray in the name of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Harvest:
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September 16 - Spiritual DNA
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One definition of prayer is the conscious and unconscious connection between our self and God. As such, prayer is part of our soul’s DNA. It is the honest speech of the soul, that part of us created in the Divine image.
Much of my current play with my four young granddaughters involves showing them an object and asking, “What’s this?” I am delighted when they can name the object or picture. Even before they were able to name things I brought objects to them, often with cooing sighs of delight. I experience pleasure as their eyes follow the object and then return my gaze.
Those first smiles of recognition and connection are forever etched in my soul. This repetitive interaction is a form of basic speech and connection. It is both spoken and unspoken adoration. It is “primary speech.”
God creates us in His image, then invites us to notice, name, and respond to that Divine image as God’s desire for connection. As we increase this awareness, we also increasingly connect with that part of us that is God breathed, our spiritual DNA. Developing a lifestyle of prayer is increasingly attending to this inner image of the Divine, as well as to the reflection of God in the whole creation.
Majestic Father, Creator of all things, I am in awe of all that You are! I praise You for creating me in such a way that we are intricately connected through the prayer that is birthed from the depths of my soul. As Your creation, I yield myself to Your purposes. May my life be a reflection of Jesus, who lives in me and prays through me, yet who always lives to intercede for me…a divine mystery filled with love!
--Adapted from Giving Ourselves to Prayer: An Acts 6:4 Primer for Ministry (Chapter 34, Developing a Lifestyle of Prayer by Gerald Schmidt). This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount.
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