From the Pastor

We have been talking about ministry the past 3 weeks. We believe that ministry (service) is one of the five purposes of the church and individual alike. God did not create us to be passive but to serve. Even before man sinned, God commanded that he (Adam) tend the Garden of Eden.

Last week was particularly interesting as we looked at the Motivation for Ministry.

We read from Matthew 9 where Jesus had compassion on the multitudes because they were like sheep having no shepherd. This compassion is the motivation for ministry even today. We need to see people the way Jesus did.

Today, our topic is along the lines of Worship/Thanksgiving. It is the time of year that we think about the blessings that are ours and give thanks to God for these.

Really, we don’t express thanks enough.

If you are a Christian, the blessings that are yours outweigh by far the problems that you have. It has been a discomforting thing for me to see the mass of Christians complaining about things like our economy when in reality, God has never failed us. We are in danger of becoming people who complain with full stomachs. We need to change our hearts!

Christian people have much to be thankful for. Let’s list a few

1.         Forgiveness of Sin

2.         Redemption from the curse

3.         A Shepherd to provide for us

4.         Fellowship with God

5.         _________________________

6.         _________________________

7.         _________________________

8....      _________________________

Need I go on?  To list all our blessings, we would need more room! A lot more room! Today, fill in #5. You can add 6,7,8 etc. Do this and see if your heart doesn’t turn from being negative to one that is full of Worship to God!

Take a moment and let it sink in……………………………………………………………..

I would like something prepared for the worship service.

It should be a quarter page sheet of paper with a few things on it.

Here is what I would like for it to say……….

If it weren’t for God _____________________________________________________________

I thank God for _________________________________________________________________

I ask God for __________________________________________________________________

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;                                                                                                                            Philippians 4:6    

Christmas Basket Ministry

December brings a lot of ministry opportunities to us. One of these is the giving away of Food Baskets. This will be our second annual ministry.

We are looking for team members who would like to help prepare the baskets, coordinate the giving and actually give them out. To sign up, go to the Welcome Table or see Danny Simmons or Joe Troutman. Tell them, “put me in coach”.

Manna Ministries

A few of our men have started doing weekly visitation once again. If you would like to go with them or if there is someone you would like for them to visit, please see Brian Abbott or Danny Simmons.