Church News (Page 5)
KNOWN AND LOVED
You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. ~ Psalm 139:1 – 3 Many of us were assigned George Orwell’s sci-fi thriller “1984” to read in school. In 1949 Orwell penned a cautionary tale warning that Big Brother is always watching. Over the last seventy years, we’ve transitioned…
First Loves
A couple of weeks ago, Pastor Wes preached on Luke 5:1-10, the story of the miraculous catch of fish. It is the story of a once in a lifetime catch of fish, that happened as a miracle of Jesus. It is even more the story of the conversion of three fishermen. It is easy to get caught up in the miracle of verses 1-10 and miss the greater miracle in verse 11. I have added Luke 5:11 to my list…
SFNAZ Newsletter – March 2024
Click here to view the weekly devotional. SFNAZ ANNOUNCEMENTS REMINDER: TIME CHANGE THIS WEEKEND, MARCH 10th Don’t forget to set your clocks ahead one hour. 2024 ELECTION RESULTS ~ Thank you for participating. Church Board: Facilities – Kodi Aller Policy & Personnel – Rich Barker Life Groups – Rusty Roth Worship – Randy Coffey Missions – Jeff Shea The church voted in favor of changing NMI to “Missions” on the local church level. And the Mission Chairperson will be…
The Temple of God
How many times have you been reading the scripture that you have read multiple times and all of the sudden a particular verse jumps out at you? As I was reading in 1 Corinthians the third chapter, all of a sudden, the 16th and 17th verses caught my attention. What does it mean we are the temple of God? I have read this passage many times over the years and never thought much about it, but this time it grabbed…
Learning to Lent
Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your hearts, with fasting, with weeping, and with sorrow; tear your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, very patient, full of faithful love, and ready to forgive. (Joel 2:12-13) In the years before high school, my family and I were what I would call “church hoppers.” We attended somewhat regularly, but for various reasons we would attend one…
A LETTER WRITTEN BY THE HOLY SPIRIT
In the process of being a Pastor, I am called upon to do different things. Sometimes it is praying for someone or just being quiet and listening. Sometimes I get to have a fun time and pray for a baby or officiate at a wedding. Most pastors do a lot of memorials. I love to walk along with others in whatever life event they are going through. The last memorial was amazing. If ever there was a Proverbs 31 woman,…
SFNAZ Newsletter – February 2024
Click here to view the weekly devotional. SFNAZ ANNOUNCEMENTS REFLECTING GOD DEVOTIONAL ~ Spring The spring devotional, “Reflecting God” is available at the information counter. DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD Dick Boston was presented with the Distinguished Service Award for 2023. We are so thankful for the years of service he has served the church in so many different ministry areas. TITHING ENVELOPES Individual boxes of tithing envelopes are no longer available. The new tithing envelopes are available in the…
God is Light & Love
1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. Very few places in scripture says what or who God is and yet the Apostle John writes in 1 John that God is light and then a few chapters later says that God is Love. Recently I read a book…
Why do bad things happen to good people? – Suffering with Jonah, Job, and Jesus
The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. Romans 8:16–17 I’m sure we all know someone whose life circumstances just don’t seem fair. We might say, “they’re such a good person. Why do things like this happen to such good people?” Even within our own congregation, I can think of…
The Practice of Personal Devotion
Psalm 119: 147-149 I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words. My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, That I may meditate on your promise. Hear my voice according to your steadfast love; O Lord, according to your justice give me life. As a young man I heard over and over again the value and benefit of spending time with God. I was the oldest of seven children; Our house was busy…
Legacies
A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of participating in my mother-in-law’s memorial service. As is true of most funerals, several people shared stories from her past. It was great to remember fun shared times together. I chose to spend my time looking to the future. I was thinking about the parable of the talents the other day. I thought about how the master gave varying talents of money to his servants. At the end of the parable the…
WAITING FOR THE LORD
Psalms 27:13-14 I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Waiting is sometimes a hard concept to tackle. We have to wait for test results, wait in lines, wait for our next vacation. We just finished Christmas and we see through our kids how hard it is to wait to open gifts. The waiting can…