Sharing With Steve
2018 has finally arrived. Another year of possibilities to look forward to. We have a brand new parking lot. Just walking from my car to the front door is an invigorating experience. We are hoping to see new families come through our doors. We are hoping to see spiritual growth. The elders have already met to examine 2018 and the challenges that it will bring. One thing that we are sure of is the theme of the year. Our theme will be “Think, Act, Be Like Jesus.” We will be emphasizing this throughout the year. This dovetails with the book that we will be studying, Believe, by Randy Frazee. We spent 2016 studying The Story. This is the Bible in narrative form. Believe is the sequel to that book. Now that we (hopefully) understand what the Bible is all about, what are we going to do about it?
We will spend thirty weeks looking at key beliefs, key practices, and key virtues in the Bible. There will be an introductory sermon on the 14th and then on January 21 we will begin a series of ten sermons that look at what we believe. What do we believe about God in general? What do we believe about a personal God? What do we believe about salvation? What do we believe about the Bible? What do we believe about our identity in Christ? What do we believe about the Church? What do we believe about humanity? What do we believe about compassion? What do we believe about stewardship? What do we believe about eternity? This will take us up to Easter. We will have handouts that will help us on this journey. There is new music that we will hear and possibly learn to sing ourselves. Our youth will also be doing age appropriate studies that go along with this. There are children and teen resources that we will use. How can you help with all of this? Please pray. We want God’s blessing and direction. We want to grow in all areas to become more like him. Please be keeping this effort in your prayers. Please participate. Get a book. They are just $5 and are in the foyer. This will help you stay up to date with what is going on. Each chapter is loaded with study helps to move us farther along. Plan to be faithful in attendance. Your presence is an encouragement to others. Invite others. Explain to them that this is a great way to begin understanding the Bible’s relationship to the Christian life. As we move further into 2018 more information will show up in this spot. In this year we want to “live the story of the Bible to become like Jesus.”
Enjoy our Annual Soup Supper
Time to warm up at one of our favorite activities – our Annual Soup Supper on Sunday, Jan. 14, following the worship service. Bring your favorite soup or chili to share. A sign-up sheet is posted to indicate what category of food you’ll be bringing: soup/chili, crackers/bread or dessert.
Gideons Will Visit Meadowbrook
Representatives from Gideon’s International will join us during the worship service on Sun., Jan. 14, to update us on their activities during the past year. The Gideons distribute Bibles throughout the world, and is a mission that Meadowbrook has supported for many years.
Men’s Fellowship Breakfast will be in January
On Saturday, Jan. 13, at 8:30 a.m. the men will be meeting for a home-cooked breakfast in the Fellowship Hall. There will be a time of devotion and discussion as well as prayer. A sign-up sheet is posted in the foyer.
Wednesday Night Activities begin again
Adult Bible Study starts up again on Wed., Jan. 17, at 7 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. At the same time, the younger youth will be meeting in the Youth room. Both groups meet every other Wednesday evening.
The January Sisters in Service meeting will be SATURDAY, JANUARY 27, starting at 10:00am. We are trying one Saturday to avoid driving in the cold, dark night of winter!!
Our project for this month is Adopt a Family, with details provided at the meeting. Please join us for fellowship and this wonderful outreach ministry!!
Meadowbrook Missions: Spotlight on The Gideons International.
Read below a summary of who the Gideons are and what they have accomplished in distributing God’s word. For more heartwarming testimonies of how reading a bible or having interaction with someone from the Gideons have impacted lives, go to their website: https://www2.gideons.org/about
“The Gideons International is an Association of Christian business and professional men and their wives dedicated to telling people about Jesus through associating together for service, sharing personal testimony, and by providing Bibles and New Testaments. While we are often recognized for our work with hotels, we also place and distribute Scriptures in strategic locations so they are available to those who want them, as well as to those who may not know they need them.”
Members of The Gideons International personally witness and distribute God’s Word to police, fire, and medical personnel; prisoners; military personnel; students in the fifth grade and above; and to those with whom they interact on a daily basis. Scriptures are also placed by Gideons and Auxiliary in key locations, including hotels, motels, hospitals, convalescent homes, medical offices, domestic violence shelters, prisons, and jails both in the United States and internationally.
The distribution of the first billion Scriptures by Gideon members spanned 93 years (1908 to 2001). Distribution of the second billion, however, was completed in just 13 years (2002-2015). On average, more than two copies of God’s Word are distributed per second and over one million Bibles and New Testaments are distributed every four days.
Matt Cox – January 8
Don Edwards – January 14
Linda Tingley – January 14
Lothar Rossol – January 17
Darrell Cox – January 19
Aleczander Cox – January 25
Cathy Podvin – January 28
