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News & Announcements for October 22, 2023
JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL
If you’re looking for an opportunity to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ, we encourage you to join us Sunday mornings for a intergenerational Sunday school class, from 9:00-10:00. We look forward to seeing you!
MIDWEEK PRAYER – WEDNESDAYS @ Noon
Please join us on Wednesdays at noon for a time of prayer in the sanctuary as we bring our needs before our loving God.
HELPING HANDS OFFERING – NEXT SUNDAY
Each 5th Sunday, any undesignated offerings placed in the collection plates goes to Helping Hands, a ministry of churches in the Madison Heights-Elon area of Amherst County to help residents in need. It is administered through Madison Heights Baptist Church. Thank you for helping us meet the needs of those in our community!
MISSION FOCUS FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER
Our focus for the month of October is Christmas Food Boxes. Peanut butter, canned meats, canned fruits, soups, and jelly or jam are always a good idea. Since we are closer to the delivery date, mid-December, we can now add packaged foods such as mac and cheese, pasta, and pancake mix. Of course, spaghetti sauce and syrup are welcome too! When buying something for yourself, consider getting two and bringing one for this worthy mission. Donations can be placed in the receptacle in the narthex. Thank you for your support!
SAVE THE DATE! AUTUMN HARVEST PICNIC, Sunday, Nov. 5
Plan to gather with the NEPC church family on Sunday, November 5th at the Hendersons’ farm for an Autumn Harvest Picnic. More details coming soon.
YOUTH MINISTRY SCHEDULE CHANGE
Please note that the youth group will not meet on Sunday, October 8, 15 or 22 for fall break. We will resume next Sunday, October 29 for our annual Halloween Costume Contest & Game Night. See you then!
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News & Announcements for October 15, 2023
JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL
If you’re looking for an opportunity to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ, we encourage you to join us Sunday mornings for a intergenerational Sunday school class, from 9:00-10:00. We look forward to seeing you!
GLEANING FOR THE WORLD – WEDNESDAY, 8:30AM
Please join us in the parking lot of the church for carpooling. We will return to the church around 11:30 am.
WOMEN’S BOOK CLUB – THURSDAY, 10:00AM
The Women’s Book Club will meet Thursday, October 19 at 10:00am at Sharon Bryant’s home. This month’s book is The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. The next meeting will be November 9 at Mary Wilhelm’s house. Leah Weiss, author of If the Creek Don’t Rise will be a special guest.
MISSION FOCUS FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER
Our focus for the month of October is Christmas Food Boxes. Peanut butter, canned meats, canned fruits, soups, and jelly or jam are always a good idea. Since we are closer to the delivery date, mid-December, we can now add packaged foods such as mac and cheese, pasta, and pancake mix. Of course, spaghetti sauce and syrup are welcome too! When buying something for yourself, consider getting two and bringing one for this worthy mission. Donations can be placed in the receptacle in the narthex. Thank you for your support!
SAVE THE DATE! AUTUMN HARVEST PICNIC, Sunday, Nov. 5
Plan to gather with the NEPC church family on Sunday, November 5th at the Hendersons’ farm for an Autumn Harvest Picnic. More details coming soon.
YOUTH MINISTRY SCHEDULE CHANGE
Please note that the youth group will not meet on Sunday, October 8, 15 or 22 for fall break.
PASTOR DAVID AWAY ON STUDY LEAVE – OCTOBER 9-20
Pastor David is away on Study Leave from October 9-20. If you have a pastoral need, please contact Bob Mills or one of the Elders. Thank you to Bob Mills for filling in the pulpit while he is away.
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News & Announcements for October 8, 2023
JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL
If you’re looking for an opportunity to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ, we encourage you to join us Sunday mornings for a intergenerational Sunday school class, from 9:00-10:00. We look forward to seeing you!
MIDWEEK PRAYER – WEDNESDAYS @ Noon
Please join us on Wednesdays at noon for a time of prayer in the sanctuary as we bring our needs before our loving God.
NEW WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY – Monday 10/9, 7pm @ Church
The Women’s Bible Study will begin on Monday, October 9th at 7:00pm at the church! We will be using the book, The Love Stories of the Bible Speak by Shannon Bream. In this book, Shannon Bream draws lessons from the good, the bad, and the ugly of Biblical romances, friendships, and families. These insights into biblical relationships will uplift and encourage you and reveal new dimensions to the most central Christian duty: to love God and your neighbor. Please come and bring a friend!
MISSION FOCUS FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER
Our focus for the month of October is Christmas Food Boxes. Peanut butter, canned meats, canned fruits, soups, and jelly or jam are always a good idea. We are also looking for packaged foods such as mac and cheese, pasta, and pancake mix. Spaghetti sauce and syrup are welcome too! When buying something for yourself, consider getting two and bringing one for this worthy mission. Donations can be placed in the receptacle in the narthex. Thank you for your support!
SAVE THE DATE! AUTUMN HARVEST PICNIC, Sunday, Nov. 5
Plan to gather with the NEPC church family on Sunday, November 5th at the Hendersons’ farm for an Autumn Harvest Picnic. More details coming soon.
YOUTH MINISTRY SCHEDULE CHANGE
Please note that the youth group will not meet on Sunday, October 8 or 15 for Fall Break.
PASTOR DAVID AWAY ON STUDY LEAVE – OCTOBER 9-20
Pastor David is away on Study Leave from October 9-20. If you have a pastoral need, please contact Bob Mills or one of the Elders. Thank you to Bob Mills for filling in the pulpit while he is away.
Read more...
October 2023 Pastor’s Corner – Uniquely Christian
“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?”
— Matt. 5:46-47
There’s a prayer that pops up in my daily devotional (Seeking God’s Face by Philip Reinders, if you’re interested) every few days: “for God to equip us to serve in uniquely Christian ways in the public arena.” Praying for God to help us to serve in “uniquely Christian ways” seems such an obvious and unnecessary thing, doesn’t it? And yet, over the past several months, this particular prayer has needled away at the back of my mind.
The hard truth most of us probably don’t want to admit is that there is very little that is “uniquely Christian” in how we go about our daily lives. When it comes to living as a Christian, long as we’re generally nice to others, basically good in most respects, and overall relatively happy and content in our lives, we figure we’re doing pretty good. And there’s nothing wrong with any of those things. Most every person should attempt to live that way. But that’s just the thing. Most every person does live that way. There is nothing wrong with that, but there’s nothing uniquely Christian about it either. If that’s the extent of our witness, of how we represent the hope and joy of the Christian life to others, it’s not all that surprising that people aren’t interested in learning more about the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It’s pretty clear from Scripture that there is supposed to be something about how we live our lives that is fundamentally and uniquely different from how the rest of the world lives. Consider what Paul writes: “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.” (Eph. 4:17) For the Hebrews, there were only two kinds of people: Hebrews and Gentiles. “Gentile” is simply a name for someone who is not Hebrew. But when Jesus and Paul, and the other New Testament writers, use the term, it’s more helpful to think of it as “people who don’t believe in Jesus.” So Christians aren’t supposed to live their lives the same way non-Christians do. But what does that look like? Paul continues, “put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Eph. 4:22-24)
What does living and serving in uniquely Christian ways look like? Pretty much every book of the New Testament talks about this, but a great place to start is the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7, a portion of which is quoted above. In summary, Jesus says that a uniquely Christian life is one that seeks reconciliation with others, honors the image of God in all people, is a person of their word, turns the other cheek instead of seeking retribution or revenge, loves their enemies, gives generously to those in need, seeks God in all things without flaunting their faith in front of others, radically trusts God in the present and in the future, focuses first on personal holiness rather than judging what’s wrong in others. There’s obviously a lot of nuance in what Jesus says that I just skipped for the sake of summary, but you get the gist. Another great place to continue your study of what it means to live and serve in uniquely Christian ways is to read the rest of Ephesians 4, which we looked at in the previous paragraph. Start with Ephesians 4:17, and read through the end of chapter 5.
As followers of Christ, our lives ought to be fundamentally different than those who don’t follow Christ. Peter writes, “…in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.” (1 Pet. 3:13-17) Our very way of interacting with others and the world around us, the love we extend to each and every person, the faith we hold on to, the hope that secures us, should be captivating and intriguing to those who don’t know Jesus. We are called to be different.
Take some time to look at yourself and your life. How are you serving and living in uniquely Christian ways? What might need to change so that you reflect Christ more clearly and brightly to those around you. These are great questions for any Christian to ask, at any point in their walk with the Lord.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
— Matt. 5:14-16
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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News & Announcements for Sunday, October 1, 2023
JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL
If you’re looking for an opportunity to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ, we encourage you to join us Sunday mornings for a intergenerational Sunday school class, from 9:00-10:00. We look forward to seeing you!
MIDWEEK PRAYER – WEDNESDAYS @ Noon
Please join us on Wednesdays at noon for a time of prayer in the sanctuary as we bring our needs before our loving God.
MISSION FOCUS FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER
Our focus for the month of October is Christmas Food Boxes. Peanut butter, canned meats, canned fruits, soups, and jelly or jam are always a good idea. Since we are closer to the delivery date, mid-December, we can now add packaged foods such as mac and cheese, pasta, and pancake mix. Of course, spaghetti sauce and syrup are welcome too! When buying something for yourself, consider getting two and bringing one for this worthy mission. Donations can be placed in the receptacle in the narthex. Thank you for your support!
DISASTER RELIEF DONATIONS
When disaster strikes locally or abroad (such as the Maui wildfire or Hurricane Idalia, and you would like to contribute to the recovery efforts through the work of the church, you may do so by putting “Disaster” in the memo field or by going to https://epc.org/donate/emergencyrelief/. Relief funds are distributed through local EPC churches in the impacted communities so the aid goes to those who need it most.
DOWNLOAD THE CHURCH CENTER APP
Scan the QR code with the camera on your smartphone to download our app! In the app are the church calendar, small group and volunteer opportunities, the online church directory, and more.
YOUTH MINISTRY SCHEDULE CHANGE
Please note that the youth group will not meet on Sunday, October 8 or 15. We are meeting today, October 1 and will resume on October 22.
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