More on the "Seven Churches"

Justin Taylor offered this article on his blog.

Do You Care What Christ Thinks of the Church?

Sam Storms's latest book is To the One Who Conquers: 50 Daily Meditations on the Seven Letters of Revelation 2-3. I'm halfway through the book, reading it devotionally, and have appreciated it very much--especially because Storms models for me the way to meditate on God's instruction day and night.

Here was one section in particular I found helpful (pp. 30-31), commenting on Jesus walking among the seven lampstands (Rev. 2:1):

He is present in and among his people. He guards and protects and preserves the church. He is never, ever absent! No service is conducted at which he fails to show up. No meal is served for which he does not sit down. No sermon is preached that he does not evaluate. No sin is committed of which is he unaware. No individual enters an auditorium of whom he fails to take notice. No tear is shed that escapes his eye. No pain is felt that his heart does not share. No decision is made that he does not judge. No song is sung that he does not hear.

How dare we build our programs and prepare our messages and hire our staffs and discipline our members as if he were distant or unaware of every thought, impulse, word, or decision! How dare we cast a vision or write a doctrinal statement or organize a worship service as if the Lord whose church it is were indifferent to it all!

Do you care “What Christ thinks of the Church”? Or are you more attuned to the latest trend in worship, the most innovative strategy for growth, the most “relevant” way in which to engage the surrounding culture? Yes, Jesus cares deeply about worship. Of course he wants the church to grow. And he longs to see the culture redeemed for his own glory. All the more reason to pray that God might quicken us to read and heed the “words” of Christ to the church in Ephesus, then, and to the church now, whatever its name, denomination, or size. It obviously matters to him. Ought it not to us as well?"

Announcements for Aug. 25-31

3rd Annual Sharing Grace Benefit
Great family outing that also supports missions! Wouldn’t it be great if your entire family could hang out with others while helping further the gospel? Sharing Grace (Jeff & Tammy Dietrich) is having their 3rd Annual Sharing Grace Benefit September 13th. This is a fun filled day of activites (for children and adults) that helps raise funds for mission purposes. The event will be at 5693 Hogpath Rd. Door prize drawings throughout the day for everyone that is participating in the events. A Spaghetti Dinner will be served between 5:30 and 6:00. This year, the funds will go toward the St Clair family (Laredo Stepping Stone) and our own Megan Maurer (Campus Crusade). For details or to purchase your entry or Meal tickets, please contact Jeff or Tammy (548.6811). You won’t want to miss it!

Women's Study--The women's ministry will be offering "Jesus, the One and Only," Thursday mornings starting September 11. Check the sign up sheet in the narthex for more information.

GRACE MOMS GROUP--If you are a Mom with children ages 0-6 or you are expecting, Grace Moms is for you. We meet the first Wednesday of each month from 9:30-11:30. For a list of the year’s dates and topics, pick up sheet on the table in Narthex.

Welcome to Grace--If you are fairly new to Greenville Grace and would like to learn more about our church, or want to consider becoming more committed to our church, our Welcome to Grace time is for you. We gather for three weeks (September 7,14 & 21) at 6pm. If interested, fill out the tear off portion of your bulletin and place in the offering plate or turn into the office.

Children’s Church Registration--You can assist us by pre-registering your child for Children’s Church. The registration is on the tear off portion of the bulletin. Please fill this out and place it in the offering plate. Children’s Church will begin September 14th.

Question and Answer Sunday School--We’ll kick off our Sunday School for adults (September 7) with a Question and Answer session. Simply write your question on the tear off portion of the bulletin and place it in the offering plate.

Coming this fall. The “Weekend to Remember” will be coming to Fort Wayne in October and Columbus in December. If you’d like more information, there are brochures on the table in the narthex, or see Dan or Jeni Berger.

Our LIFE Group ministry is getting ready to start up. LIFE Groups are the small group ministry in our church. These groups are our way of living out Acts 2 as a church and for loving one another in all the ways Scripture describes. We are asking all people who would like to be in a LIFE Group (even if you plan to attend the same group as last year) to fill out a card in the narthex. If you are not sure about our LIFE Groups or would like more information, you can grab a booklet in the narthex as well.

If you were at our “vision night” this summer, we mentioned the possibility of a new discipleship resource. We are interested in offering a class this coming fall, provided there is enough interest from the Body. Woould you take the class if it were offered? If so, will you contact Sonda (547-0065/office@greenvillegrace.org) and let her know?ffering or turn into the office.

Men's Prayer Breakfast will resume on Saturday, September 6th.

SHAKE Upcoming Events
District Kickball Tournament - Sept. 6 @ 1pm
Brookville Grace Brethren Church
Parents Night - Sept. 24 @ 7pmn Saturday, September 6th.

Pictorial Directory--September 3-6 Lifetouch Studios will be photographing our church family for our upcoming directory. We would love for everyone who considers Greenville Grace home to schedule an appointment (plus you get a free 8x10 and directory). You can schedule your appointment on line by following the link from our website (greenvillegrace.org). Someone is even in the narthex to help you schedule your appointment today!

AWANA begins on September 3, 2008 at Bible Fellowship Church (937.547.1952). It meets on Wednesday evenings from 6:45—8:15 and is for ages 3 (by Sept. 1) through 12th grade.

This year we are offering the opportunity to serve Christ as a worker in BFC’s AWANA program. If you are interested in helping out this Fall please see Pastor Danny Wright as soon as possible for more information.

All volunteers will go through BFC’s Safe and Secure screening.

Sarah Royer Baptism

The following was Sarah Royer's testimony which she gave during her baptism:

I am so thankful to have this opportunity to stand before you today and confess my love for the Lord. My excitement for the Lord has been bubbling up inside and is now able to be exposed for all to see, and I am so thrilled to express that to all of my brothers and sisters in Christ.

The Lord patiently waited for me through many troubled and lost years, but experiencing those years has made me so grateful to be a witness to Gods grace. He forgave me long before I was able to forgive myself for not only the pain I must have caused him but for the pain I caused my family and myself. God sending Jesus here to die on the cross is truly the only way I am able to stand here today with forgiven sin.

Everyday I strive to be more like Christ, and although as long as I live on earth I, nor anyone else, could ever be as amazing as him, my heart has grown to love the Lord more every minute.
Paul writes in Philippians 3:12, I do not mean that I am already as God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal, but I continue trying to reach it and make it mine. Christ wants me to do that,which is the reason he made me his.

My walk has only begun and it is my prayer that all of you who know Christ will hold me accountable, will teach me all they know, and that we encourage one another in this amazing journey with our wonderful Savior.

Colossians 3 :2-3 reads, Think only about the things in Heaven, not the things on earth. Your old sinful self has died, and your new life is kept with Christ in God.

Abbie Holsinger Baptism

The following is Abbie's testimony, which was read at her baptism Sunday:

I was raised in a loving Christian home and was taught that Jesus paid for my sin by dying on the cross, but I've had a lot of doubt and never fully excepted it. After years of searching and trying to live for myself. Thanks to my friends and family through their love and prayer I have come to realize that without Jesus my life is nothing. That it is the least we can do to live our life for him. That by his Grace alone we are forgiven. And the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ. So this spring I gave my life to Christ. And I am here today to be baptized because I have taken up my cross and I am following him. So that I may have eternal life with my savior Jesus Christ. Psalm 100:3-4: Know that the Lord himself is God; It is he who made us and not we ourselves; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name.

Colin Yost Baptism

The following is Colin's testimony he gave during his baptism this Sunday:

I have been raised in a Christian home with parents who loved me and taught me about God and His love all of my life. I have known about Jesus for all of my 16 years.

About two years ago I realized that just knowing who Christ is wasn’t enough; I needed a personal relationship with Christ. I needed to really know Him. I confessed that I was a sinner; I needed Christ and His redemptive power of the Cross to wash and make me clean.

Titus 3:4-7 says “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

I have submitted to Christ and His finished work on the cross. I believe that I will never be good enough or be able to do enough for salvation, that it is my faith in Christ and nothing else that saves me. It is this same faith that makes me part of His body.

I want to be baptized to show the world that my belief in an awesome and powerful God is real, that He will love me even through the process of growing in His grace. Baptism, for me, makes me accountable to other believers because it is an outward confession of what is in my heart.

Announcements for Aug. 18-24

LIFE Groups--Our LIFE Group ministry is getting ready to start up. LIFE Groups are the small group ministry in our church. These groups are our way of living out Acts 2 as a church and for loving one another in all the ways Scripture describes. We are asking all people who would like to be in a LIFE Group (even if you plan to attend the same group as last year) to fill out a card in the narthex. If you are not sure about our LIFE Groups or would like more information, you can grab a booklet in the narthex as well.

Family Life Marriage Retreat--Coming this fall. The “Weekend to Remember” will be coming to Fort Wayne in October and Columbus in December. If you’d like more information, there are brochures on the table in the narthex, or see Dan or Jeni Berger.

Welcome to Grace--If you are fairly new to Greenville Grace and would like to learn more about our church, or want to consider becoming more committed to our church, our Welcome to Grace time is for you. We gather for three weeks (September 7,14 & 21) at 6pm. If interested, fill out the tear off portion of your bulletin and place in the offering plate or turn into the office.

Children’s Church Registration--You can assist us by pre-registering your child for Children’s Church. The registration is on the tear off portion of the bulletin. Please fill this out and place it in the offering plate. Children’s Church will begin September 14th.

Pictorial Directory--This fall (September 3-6) Lifetouch Studios will be photographing our church family for our upcoming directory. We would love for everyone who considers Greenville Grace home to schedule an appointment (plus you get a free 8x10 and directory). You can schedule your appointment on line by following the link from our website (greenvillegrace.org). Someone is even in the narthex to help you schedule your appointment today!

Men’s Prayer Breakfast--Just a reminder that Men’s Prayer Breakfast is postponed for the month of August and will resume September 6th.

Labor Day Weekend--On August 31, we will have a combined service at 10am.

Question and Answer Sunday School--We’ll kick off our Sunday School for adults (September 7) with a Question and Answer session. Simply write your question on the tear off portion of the bulletin and place it in the offering or turn into the office.

Women's Study--The women's ministry will be offering "Jesus, the One and Only," Thursday mornings starting September 11. Check the sign up sheet in the narthex for more information.

GRACE MOM”S GROUP--If you are a Mom with children ages 0-6 or you are expecting, Grace Mom’s is for you. We meet the first Wednesday of each month from 9:30-11:30. For a list of the year’s dates and topics, pick up sheet on the table in Narthex.

Haitian Art

Art, Mindy and Ryan Pavelski attended Greenville Grace while Art was between pulpits. Today, he sent out the following email, asking for prayer:

Hello friends,

Some of you may not have heard from me for quite awhile. I would fill you in all the details of life since we last met, but that will have to wait. Let me answer a couple of questions that this email may spark. I am the Senior Pastor of the Evangelical Free Church of Vestal. I have been here for two years. It is a wonderful experience. Our church has a partnership, albeit a fairly new one, with a church in Berard, Haiti. It is one of three EFCA churches that have been planted by Henoc Lucian as a part of Vision of Hope Ministries.

I have a request for a prayer team for me next week. I write this to you because I covet your prayers.

As many of you may already know I am leaving after church this Sunday and going to the Newark airport to leave on a plane on Monday morning to Santiago, Dominican Republic to get a ride from there to Cap Haitian, Haiti. I will be with a team of teachers (Gene Wilson, a missionary with the EFCA, Henoc Lucian, Rollo Casiple Pastor of La Viña EFC in Miami, Florida and myself) to teach church leaders from the three churches planted by Henoc on teaching and preaching techniques. I praise God for the opportunity to do this. I would definitely like you to help me on this trip by joining a prayer team. I have attached a tentative teaching schedule so that you know what is going on. Here are some specific prayer requests:

--That I go well prepared (mentally, physically and spiritually)
--Safe travel (I will be crossing an international border between Dominican Republic and Haiti) there and back
--Safety while there for the teaching team
--That I am able to teach well
--That the students learn well what we are trying to teach
--Good communication between the teachers and the students (I think Gene, Rollo and I will have an interpreter, I also want to be available after class to answer questions and I’ll need an interpreter)
--Stamina for the week
--Good relationship between all the teachers (we are all strangers to each other at this moment, except for Henoc)

That’s a lot of stuff to begin with and I hope that God adds more to your mind and spirit if you wish to join the prayer team. All you need to join the team is to respond to this email and say, “Sure, Pastor Art, I’ll commit to pray for you next week.” If you would like to choose a specific day and tell me what day that will be I’d appreciate it, but it’s not necessary. Thank you in advance for being part of my prayer team! (And parents, let your kids know about this request, maybe one of your children would like to pray for me, thanks!)

In Him and for His glory,
Pastor Art Pavelski, Senior Pastor
Evangelical Free Church of Vestal
efcvestal.org

If you want Art to know you are praying for him, you can email him here.



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Announcements for Aug. 10-16

Fall Schedule - Service times starting September 7th

1st Service: 8:30 am Nursery for infant - 3 years
Sunday School: 10 am for all ages
2nd Service: 11 am Nursery and Children’s Church
(4 yrs. - 4th grade)
Children’s Church will begin September 14th

BABY DEDICATION--It is our joy to witness the dedication of Malachi Joel Wright. In many ways, this is a dedication of Danny and Charity and a commitment from the family of Grace to help equip them to bring Malachi up in the “discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

If you are also having a baby dedication, there are information brochures near the coffee bar.

Family Life Marriage Retreat--Coming this fall. The “Weekend to Remember” will be coming to Fort Wayne in October and Columbus in December. If you’d like more information, there are brochures on the table in the narthex, or see Dan or Jeni Berger.

Welcome to Grace--If you are fairly new to Greenville Grace and would like to learn more about our church, or want to consider becoming more committed to our church, our Welcome to Grace time is for you. We gather for three weeks (September 7,14 & 21) at 6pm. If interested, fill out the tear off portion of your bulletin and place in the offering plate or turn into the office.

Pictorial Directory--This fall (September 3-6) Lifetouch Studios will be photographing our church family for our upcoming directory. We would love for everyone who considers Greenville Grace home to schedule an appointment (plus you get a free 8x10 and directory). You can schedule your appointment on line by following the link from our website (greenvillegrace.org).


Baptism--We will be having a baptism celebration on August 17th. Please plan to join us to celebrate the work of Christ in the lives of people here at Grace!

Men’s Prayer Breakfast--Just a reminder that Men’s Prayer Breakfast is postponed for the month of August and will resume September 6th.

Labor Day Weekend--On August 31, we will have a combined service at 10am.

Women's Study--The women's ministry will be offering "Jesus, the One and Only," Thursday mornings starting September 11. Check the sign up sheet in the narthex for more information.


Fantasy Football League--If you enjoy NFL football, friendly competition, and teasing Matt Strader, you’re invited to join our Fantasy Football League. Draft will be held August 31, shortly after second service. If you’re interested in joining, see Matt Strader.

Question and Answer Sunday School--We’ll kick off our Sunday School for adults (September 7) with a Question and Answer session. Simply write your question on the tear off portion of the bulletin and place it in the offering or turn into the office.

From Tim and Evelyn Wolfe

Click the link below to see a note of encouragement from Tim and Evelyn:

Encouragement Note

Announcements for Aug. 3-9

Pictorial Directory--This fall (September 3-6) Lifetouch Studios will be photographing our church family for our upcoming directory. We would love for everyone who considers Greenville Grace home to schedule an appointment (plus you get a free 8x10 and directory). You can schedule your appointment on line by following the link from our website (greenvillegrace.org).

Communion. We’ve added a communion service to our annual schedule! On August 10th @ 6:30pm, we’ll be celebrating the Lord’s death, burial and resurrection on behalf of our sins! If you know Christ as your Savior, we hope that you will join us for this beautiful service.

Baptism--We will be having a baptism celebration on August 17th. Please plan to join us to celebrate the work of Christ in the lives of people here at Grace!

Greeter’s Needed--If you call Greenville Grace your home and would be interested in serving as a Greeter, please see Todd Finch or contact the office.

Life Groups--Summer is almost over and we’re getting geared up for LIFE Groups to start. Our LIFE Groups (Living In Faith Everyday) are more than just a Bible study. These groups are our attempt to fulfill Acts 2, supporting, encouraging, challenging, praying and caring for one another. Even if you were in a LIFE Group last year, please fill out another card. If you’ve never been in a LIFE Group, this is the perfect time to sign up. And, if you’d like a little more information about our LIFE Group ministry, there is some information on the back table. Please fill out the LIFE Group card and place in the offering plate today!