Friends-
The words of Jesus usually do one of three things to me. They bless me. They challenge me. They make me pause and think. Sometimes all three. That alone should tell me I need to be spending more time with the words of Jesus. How about you? The four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) are the account of Jesus' life on earth. A steady reading of these accounts will begin to have a profound impact on our lives. They will challenge us, bless us, and make us pause and think. Just what they did to those who first heard him while he was on earth. And just what they were intended to do by those inspired by the Spirit to write them down. Why not add these 4 books to your summer reading list? You don't have a summer reading list? Then why not make these 4 the whole list? I do have a summer reading list. I am well into it and enjoying it. But I am really enjoying these 4 as I take time to savor the truth, the love, the power, and the insights that each page of each gospel holds for each of us. Sound boring? I assure you it's not. Done prayerfully, I assure you it will transform you... for the good. Start with a chapter or two a day. Ask God to help you understand. Then start to watch things happen in your world! Happy reading! Have a good month! Gary Calendar Sundays - Every Sunday - Worship Service - 10:30 a.m. in person or via Zoom. 7/7 - Worship Service and Communion 7/14 - Worship Service and Baptism of Mariana Josephine Cicero-Upton. 7/21 - Worship Service followed by a picnic - all outside under the oaks. 7/28 - Rain Date for outside worship. No picnic if moved to this date, because of Fire station chicken barbeque. Tuesdays - 7/9 - Church Board Meeting via Zoom - 7 PM - Zoom Link Below. Note the different date. Wednesdays - Every Wednesday Bible Study via Zoom - 7 PM - Zoom Link Below. 7/10 - Birthday Party for long-time member Dorothy Snuggs. Details below. 7/17 - Coffee and Conversation for Women at Jill Grays - 9:30 am - Details below. 7/24 - Rain date for Coffee and Conversation Other New and Details - Zoom - contact Gary at [email protected] for Zoom link Communion - Communion Sunday is July 7. We do offer a gluten-free option for those who want that. And our "wine" is grape juice. If you attend via Zoom, please have your elements ready if you want to participate. Outdoor Service and Picnic - On Sunday, July 21 we will worship outside under the oaks. After the service, we hope you can stay for a picnic. To keep it simple, we are asking everyone to bring a sandwich for themselves. Please bring a side dish to share with everyone. We did this last year at Ginny's and it worked well. Outdoor worship requires a little more work, so help is always appreciated before and after the service. If it rains and we need to move inside we will just have our picnic in the basement after worship. Coffee and Conversation - Want to tour a beautiful yard and enjoy coffee and conversation with other women from church? Then plan on coming Wednesday, July 17 at 9:30 a.m. to Jill Grays's home. She and Mark have a spectacular park-like yard. We will enjoy the beauty of the yard and enjoy coffee (iced tea and lemonade too) and conversation. There is a good chance there will be some food too! If you want to carpool, meet at the church at 9:00 am. Otherwise, just plan on arriving on your own. She has quite a bit of space for parking. Her address is 6528 Charles St in Rockford. Turn right on Charles St. off of South Perryville. This is just past the Menards by Cherryvale Mall. There is a long driveway and her house is the one on the left at the end of the driveway Please let Jennifer know if you plan on coming. Upper Room Devotionals - Be sure to pick up your July/August Upper Room Devotionals. There are always a few extras, so if you know someone who would benefit from it, please take an extra one. Sunday Morning Fellowship Time - We offer coffee every Sunday and now there are some packaged snacks as well. We still welcome any treats/baked goods anyone would care to bring! Firestation Chicken Barbeque - The North Boone Fire District #3 is having its annual Chicken Barbeque Dinner on Sunday, July 28 from 11-3. It will be a 2940 Charleston Ct. This is south on Caledonia Road. The cost is $12 and includes a half chicken, coleslaw, potato salad, beans, dinner roll, and chips. Congratulations to newlyweds Sara Akerlund and Gary Alfson. They were married in Minneapolis on Wednesday, June 19th. We pray God's blessings on them as they start their new life together! Friends-
With summer- at least for me- comes the desire to do all of the things that I have not been able to do during the winter. And it is quite a long list! I can get almost frantic trying to do them all! I won't bore you with my list. I'm sure you have a list of your own. And probably, you are already scrambling to check things off that list. Me too. As good as those things are, and as much as I enjoy them, there is something that I want even more- I want to make my Abba happy. I happen to believe that he blesses me to enjoy life and to live it to the full. Still, that doesn't mean that everything I want to do or accomplish is necessarily on his list. And if it isn't on his list, I will make myself pretty miserable pursuing whatever it is. See, he knows us best and knows what is best for us. This isn't a summer thing. It's an everyday of the year thing. It has to do with how I see God: is he longing to give me a rich, full life, or is he a spoilsport, trying to keep me from what I really want to do? Once I remember that he wants what's best for me, I can relax. I can make my plans. I just hold them loosely, in case he has something better for me. That something better might not look or feel as fun or cool as what I planned. But he sees the big picture. I see only a little piece. Here's praying for a rich, full, joy-full, wonder-full summer for us all, letting God lead us into the adventures he has planned. Gary June Calendar Sundays - Every Sunday - Worship Service - 10:30 am in person or via Zoom. 6/2 - Worship Service and Communion 6/16 - Worship Service outside under the oaks. 6/30 - Raindate for worship under the oaks. Wednesdays - Every Wednesday Bible Study viz Zoom - 7 PM - Zoom Thursdays - 6/6 - Church Board Meeting via Zoom - 7 PM - Zoom Zoom - Contact Gary at [email protected] for Zoom link. Other News - Communion - Communion Sunday is June 2. We do offer a gluten-free option for those who want that. And our "wine" is grape juice. If you attend via Zoom, please have your elements ready if you wish to participate. Dance Recital - Jazmine Boezem has a dance recital on Saturday, June 8 at 11 am. Please see the bulletin board in the fellowship room for more information and the link to get tickets. Outdoor Service - On Sunday, June 16, we will worship outside under the oaks. If the weather does not cooperate, we will plan Sunday, June 30 as an alternative. We are so blessed to have such a lovely area to be outside occasionally. It requires a little more work, so help is always appreciated on those mornings. Flowers for the Altar - We would love for anyone to share flowers from their garden for our Sunday morning worship services. Feel free to bring a vase of flowers and place it in the front of the church on any Sunday! Sunday Morning Fellowship Time - We continue to offer coffee and some kind of treat every week for those who wish to fellowship over some refreshments. But our freezer is pretty empty of treats. We would love it if anyone would like to bring something to share. If we don't need it that day, we can put it in the freezer. Looking Ahead - Firestation Chicken Barbeque - Sunday, July 28. Great way to support our local fire station. More details next month. |
AuthorGary Schwerin, pastor Archives
July 2024
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