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Grace Free Methodist Church 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NLT |
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Our Weekly Services and events: We are starting a variety of different small groups during the summer and have cleared a lot of our schedule to make this possible. Please check out the different groups and get plugged in. |
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July 2008 Vol. 30 |
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Church Mice artist's: Karl Zorowski
Copyright 2003 Karl
A. Zorowski. All rights reserved. Used with permission. |
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Annual Conference The 2008 annual conference for the North Central Conference of the Free Methodist Church was held earlier this month at Skylodge camp in Montello, Wisconsin. Along with the normal meetings and workshops this year, there were several important items on the agenda. The range of emotions went from sadness to joy and one of hope and anticipation of what lies ahead in the future for the North Central Conference. This year we said goodbye to two men who have helped to lead this conference for pretty much as long as I can remember. As a matter of fact they are the only Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent that I can remember and over the years I have come to know them better and better. They are ones who had truly aspired to fulfill the work that God was calling them to do and in doing so they touch many lives both as Pastors and at the conference level. There was sadness in knowing that they would be leaving the conference office yet joy that God had blessed us by choosing them to lead us for the years they were here. We know that wherever they may go they will not stop reaching out to others with the love of God, and we wish them the best in all they do. John Grover and Ralph Parks – Thank you for your many years of dedication, first and foremost to Jesus Christ but also to the Free Methodist Church and the North Central Conference. But with the leaving of our Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent there is also hope and anticipation of what lies ahead for the North Central conference as the Bishop introduced us to our new Superintendent – Mark Adams.
Our new Superintendent then stood before us and gave us a charge to fulfill God’s calling throughout the conference. He spoke of how in New Testament time there had been barriers placed in the way to keep those who seek God at a distance – barriers that not only keep those who need God away but barriers which hinder the growth in our relationship with God and our worship of God. These barriers were present throughout the Bible and even though some barriers have taken new form, they are still with us yet today. We need to reflect and look at ourselves from the conference to churches and individuals – have we set up barriers whether knowingly or not that prevent people from knowing God? Then are there any barriers that prevent growth and/ or worship? As the Superintendent spoke you were able to see the passion he has and hear the desire he has for reaching the lost. The message was clear – are there barriers between ourselves and God for our own growth and have we placed any barriers up between God and those who need Him? If so, we need to tear down those barriers and reach out to those for whom Christ died along with barriers for the spiritual growth of those who have already come to know Him. We need to place nothing between our God and our mission and in doing so the Superintendent shared with us his goals for church growth and church planting. Please keep the Superintendent in your prayers as he strives to lead us in the direction that God has placed on his heart. We also have several new Assistant Superintendents beginning this year. Having more than one will help to spread some of the work around, giving them a chance to concentrate more on fewer churches. The Assistant Superintendent for our area is Tim Ward. Please keep Tim and the other assistants lifted up in prayer. There was also joy at the annual conference as several Pastors were ordained as Elders. One of which was our Pastor – Pastor David Mann. Some of his family, along with several from here at McConnell, was able to join in this happy occasion. For the Pastor this was probably a time for reflection of all that he had put in to achieving this moment, yet was also the wonder and anticipating of what lies ahead as he endeavors to lead the church God has called him to. Please take time to congratulate Pastor Mann but also remember to keep him in your prayers as he strives to follow God’s calling. Lift him up not only in your prayers but also in your actions of support and willingness to help serve.
Reminder - Book Club Changes There have been some changes to the schedule for the Book Club. This is a great opportunity to grow by reading and meeting with others, so if you love reading check out these changes – pick up a book and plan to attend the following Book Club meetings. June30 - Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan July 28 - NO Book (The Preacher and the Presidents will be rescheduled for next year)
IFI’s Executive Director David E Smith David E Smith from the Illinois Family Institute will speak at the St. John's Lutheran Church. The Book Club had discussed this when reading the book "Because they Hate" and talked about Christian Lobbyists. IFI works with lawmakers at the Illinois Capital with parents contending against secular humanistic indoctrination at public schools, and other social issues including marriage, fatherhood, and other current family initiatives. August 25 - Dandeline Dust by Karen Kingsbury September 22 - The Last Sin Eater (Book and DVD) by Francine Rivers October 27 - Stormie by Stormie O'Martian November 24 - The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer December 29 - Mama Lena's - Book Exchange and choose titles for next year. |
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Sermon Schedule "This Is Your Life" a series in the Psalms. We will be looking at the real life trials and tribulations of the writers of some of the Psalms, and how they related to God. We will also look at how their sentiments and struggles relate to our own, and how the New Testament speaks to the issues raised. The Game Show titles will each relate to the Psalm being studied. Why don't you read the psalms before hand, and try to decipher the relationship between the title and the Psalm!?!
July 6
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Monthly Scripture Reading Follow this schedule to read through the Bible in one year.
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Lena Food Pantry Every month there are families who struggle to have some of the basic needs met. Not only in other countries, but also here in the U.S. and in our surrounding communities, there are families that struggle just to get the neccessities that are needed for everyday life. Some are single parent families where the parent must work more than one job in order to support their children. Every month we put our efforts into meeting one or two of those needs by scheduling one or two items that we as a congregation will focus on for the local food pantry. Some of the items are everyday items that are not usaully covered at the food pantry itself. We have shared this list with other area churches hoping that they will be able to put a concentrated effort into another needed item. The items we are concentrating on for this month are:
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Game Night The game night for July will be
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Promise Keepers 2008 How about you men out there, are you working on your relationship with God? Are you reading His word – going to Him in prayer – meeting with others to be built up and to build up others? Promise Keepers may not be for everyone in every situation, but it can be a great opportunity to meet with a large group of men who are seeking the same thing as you – a closer walk with God. So don’t just dismiss this event like some others rather pray about it and discuss it with someone else. There are price breaks for early registration and you can opt out of them supplying lunch for the day. Peoria is not very far away so the distance shouldn’t keep you from working at becoming closer to God.
The Manhood ‘08
program is aimed at equipping men to get a handle on their life and
mission, amidst a shifting culture that is sometimes outright hostile.
Promise Keepers intends to deliver the message that a real man loves God
more than anything else and is willing to progressively receive his help
in becoming more like Jesus in how he thinks, lives, and relates to
others this side of heaven. So, how are you doing in your daily walk?
Are you responding in the Spirit or in the flesh?
Mark this date on your calendar now and register to attend. Simply go to: http://www.promisekeepers.org/2008/peoria-il Striving to become the Men God intended. |
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Books of
the Bible Brain Teaser Have you been looking for a challenging puzzle in the past newsletters but just haven’t found it. Well this would be your lucky month. All you need to do is fill in the blanks with the correct books of the Bible. I’ll give you a clue – there are a couple that can fit in more than one place – but they probably aren’t the ones you will want at the time. If you think it’s too hard why not try to make a puzzle sometime. Goes fine for awhile, but wait until you get towards the end – they don’t fit quite so easily. Go ahead and try making a puzzle for a future newsletter. For the rest of you who think this is too hard I went ahead and started the puzzle for you. Yes it was the easiest one, but what did you expect. Here is a listing of the books of the Bible to help you
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