Good Morning Reflecting, Doers! We are filled with God's Light when we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior. His Light drives back the darkness. Amen! Jesus has called us to reflect His Light and glory and to go forth as His aroma. As we go forth in Christ into the darkness and show others the Way, we build treasure in heaven and are preparing ourselves for our eternal blessings and duties. God brings dreams and visions to us that align with our true identity in Christ, our created purposes, and His plans for us. As we process those with Him and others and pray into those plans and visions, God directs our steps and uses us to reflect Him, be His image and aroma bearers, and impact the world around us. He also reveals small corrections along the way or sometimes tells us to stop and redirect totally. Are you seeking, listening and responding well? Do you have some inner circle friends you process with and are held accountable to? I'm praying for God to raise up some of these types of huddles in our fellowship and to bring in more as He brings in the harvest through us. Check out our devos below and process them with God. Maybe reach out to a friend or two to process what you are hearing and feeling and begin making some plans.
God loves you and has created you for some special plans. He is with you. Choose to seek, listen and follow well today and then praise God with your mouth and choices! Amen! Jesus is standing before you right now with open arms of invite to join Him as He leads you today. PTL!
Sarah Prayer Letter9s):
Good afternoon, church family!
I have a few prayer requests to share with you today:
Josie is headed back to Florida tomorrow and we would all like to pray her safely there. Pray that she settles in easily
with her friend that she is staying with and pray that the contractors are able to get her apartment completed by the early
Spring so she can return to Emmaus.
Josie has also asked for prayer for her friend Ruth, she survived a last minute heart surgery and is moving into an
apartment this Friday! Please continue to pray for recovery and safety. She is 94 years old.
Josie has also asked for prayer for her Chestnut Ridge neighbor-to-be, Lori Epler's elderly mother. The mother
has a very bad fall this week. Pray for her recovery from fall and God's peace to surround them.
Yay God, Ed Roher (Lori's husband) had surgery and it went well. Let's pray for his recovery and healing. Pray
for Lori and the girls as they care for him.
I (Sarah) am asking for prayer for my family. My mother's health is declining rapidly. She is resting peacefully, and
she is ready to run into the arms of Jesus. Please pray that God will send His angels soon to guide her
home and may God's peace surround the homestead.
We are still collecting for Angel Network - cans of beans (no baked beans or green beans - other organizations are collecting
those things) We have until November 15th. Thank you to all of you that have brought some beans in so far!
Sunday hopefully we will have a count on how many we got. Our goal is 150.
Sunday we will be collecting for Everlasting Life Ministries. There will be a basket, clearing marked by the offering plates,
for your love gift.
Tomorrow, the Support Team will be meeting. Please keep your Support Team in your prayers
as they discuss and seek God's wisdom in all the decisions that may come up. And also keep the Finance commission in your
prayers as they discuss the budget for 2024.
Bell choir is starting up. If you are interested in playing bells or know someone who might be interested in playing bells,
please let Patti know. Bells practice is on Sundays at 11:30am - 12:30pm.
Thank you for all your prayers and support for those on our list.
Blessings to each of you!
Have a great rest of your week!
Sarah
Just received another request for prayer:
Lisa Wenner’s boss, Ed that we have been praying for… had a heart attack and passed away.
Please pray for Ed’s family and his work family as they go through this difficult time.
May God’s peach surround each of them.
Blessings and peace,
Sarah
Don's updates:
Funeral went well yesterday. Thanks for praying! I encountered a few that were moving through fresh grief themselves. Funerals really hit home harder after a fresh loss. Please pray for God's comfort, peace and strength for the whole Bailey family, the Arnold's, Sonya G, and Brittany H and those you know moving through grief.
I also encountered the step-mom of Glen that I am praying for to be open to hear about Jesus. Thanks for praying! The door is opening. Possibility of meeting with them this week.
Pray for Erika and Chris Yob's friend who tragically lost their 15 month old after she got her routine shots. Ask God to use them to bring comfort.
Pray for Dani, Caleb's mom, for God's leading and provision as she meets about coverage and provision for her and his future.
Our neighbor Nan just asked for prayers for her daughter Kelly who was taken to ER for coughing up blood.
Pray for Josie as she heads back to Fla today for safety and for God to use her while there.
Pray for our support team meeting tonight that we would seek, hear, understand and follow God's plans for us and glorify His name. Thanks!
Pray for the Clothing Closet for Sat. May God connect us through our serving to others and connect them to Him. Thank God for all our servants!
Pray for Sunday worship for many to experience God's presence, celebrate what He is doing and doing through us, and for many to respond to our invites to join us. Ask God who you should invite and do it!
Pray for Donut Day next Wed at the Bread Ministry. Ask God to use us well and to draw many to Him. Thank Him for His provisions and for using us!
Thank God for all He is doing in, through and around us! He is at work and bring fruit alive! PTL!
Our Daily Bread:
|
I recently visited Athens, Greece. Walking around its ancient Agora—the marketplace where philosophers taught and Athenians worshiped—I found altars to Apollo and Zeus, all in the shadow of the Acropolis, where a statue of the goddess Athena once stood.
We may not bow to Apollo or Zeus today, but society is no less religious. “Everybody worships,” novelist David Foster Wallace said, adding this warning: “If you worship money and things . . . then you will never have enough. . . . Worship your body and beauty. . . and you will always feel ugly. . . . Worship your intellect . . . [and] you will end up feeling stupid.” Our secular age has its own gods, and they’re not benign.
“People of Athens!” Paul said while visiting the Agora, “I see that in every way you are very religious” (Acts 17:22). The apostle then described the one true God as the Creator of all (vv. 24–26) who wants to be known (v. 27) and who has revealed Himself through the resurrection of Jesus (v. 31). Unlike Apollo and Zeus, this God isn’t made by human hands. Unlike money, looks, or intelligence, worshiping Him won’t ruin us.
Our “god” is whatever we rely on to give us purpose and security. Thankfully, when every earthly god fails us, the one true God is ready to be found (v. 27).
By Sheridan Voysey
REFLECT & PRAY
|
|
What other “gods” do you see society worshiping today? What do you rely on to give you purpose and security?
Father, forgive me for placing wealth, beauty, politics, or other things first. I take them off the altar of my heart and place You there instead.
Discover how Christianity differs from other world religions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
We often use Paul’s interaction with the people in Athens as a model for evangelism: know your audience and tailor your message to them. The apostle observed the religious behavior of the Athenians and demonstrated his knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures and the life and work of Jesus. But we also see that Paul’s speech was a refutation of the Athenian approach to religion. In a place where they had many idols to which they offered sacrifices of food and drink, the apostle asserts that there’s only one God, and He doesn’t live in temples and doesn’t need to be served by humans.
J.R. Hudberg |
|
|
|
|
|
Charles Stanley:
Upper Room: Small Corrections
Whoever heeds life-giving correction will be at home among the wise. Those who disregard discipline despise themselves, but the one who heeds correction gains understanding. - Proverbs 15:31-32 (NIV)
When I was a young boy, I enjoyed watching my father drive the family car. His feet were always moving between the clutch pedal, gas pedal, and brake pedal. But it was the small movements he made with his hands on the steering wheel that fascinated me. So, when the family car was safely parked in the driveway, I would sit behind the steering wheel and pretend to drive. My legs were too short to reach the pedals, but I could make those small movements with the steering wheel, as if I were heading down the road. When I was finally old enough to learn to drive, I quickly understood that without those small corrections on the steering wheel, the car would drift off course.
I’ve come to realize that my life has been a little like driving a car. At times I’ve had to slam on the brakes to avoid a disaster in my life. But most of the time, I’ve just had to make those small corrections to keep myself on a steady course.
Now I think of God’s word in scripture as my compass and my road map. Together, they can keep me on God’s path, leading me to greater understanding of what God expects of my life.
TODAY'S PRAYER
Dear God, you know what is best for each of us. Help us to make the small corrections that will guide us to a better understanding of how to please you. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.The Word for You Today:
LISTEN ONLINE
