The Pastor’s Blog
The Christian Ed Committee invites you to a
Kid’s Carnival
at MFC on Saturday, October 13th – 1 to 3 p.m.
“Fun with God”
There will be lots of fun game booths, face painting,
popcorn, hotdogs and drinks.
Invite your friends and family to join us.
Friends Women Fellowship will meet at MFC on Thursday, October 18th, at 10:30 a.m. Following the meeting there will be a buffet lunch. All women are welcome.
MFC is Celebrating 76 Years – Sunday, October 21st
All Church Potluck – Please join us in the fellowship hall for a time of celebration following the Sunday School & Bible Study hour. Please bring your favorite potluck main dish, and a salad or vegetable enough to feed eight people to share. Cake will be provided for dessert! David Howell will be guest speaker in Worship that day.
Make Medicare an easy step. Gain confidence and clarity about moving to Medicare with guidance from Everence, a faith-based organization that partners with our church. Join an upcoming webinar: Wednesday, Oct. 17: 2 or 8 p.m. (EDT). Learn your key steps to getting Medicare, how to move from current coverage, plus enrollment details and deadlines. To register, visit everence.com/MedicareMadeEasy or contact Melissa Short at (800) 222-5054 ext. 3392 or melissa.short@everence.com.
Friends Summit 2018
Sponsored by Evangelical Friends Church -North America
December 28, 2018 – January 1, 2019 in Denver, CO
“Summit 2018 is coming up at the end of December! This is a great opportunity for youth and young adults to explore their place in the Friends Church. As an attender of the last two Summit sessions, in 2010 and 2014, I was blessed to be there and take part in some amazing conversations and a great conference. If there is a young person in your life please take a flyer and ask them to check it out. It is well worth it and if they are interested there should be some financial or other assistance from the yearly meeting for travel. Please be in prayer for this Summit session and all those who are involved!” – Pastor Jesse Davis
October is Pastor’s Appreciation Month.
Sunday, November 4th Daylight Savings Time Ends.
Be sure to set your clocks back 1-hour Saturday night, November 3rd.
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Healthy Hearts
And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
Mark 7:14-23
In this passage we see that Christ is challenging the idea of dietary uncleanness within Israel. He uses the biological process He created as an illustration for teaching. Food goes into your stomach, is processed, and then expelled. By highlighting this process Jesus is showing that it is not food which defiles a person but their hearts. What goes into you isn’t defiling, what comes out of your heart is.
Christ says that it is what comes out of our hearts that matters. The thing that reveals what we are consuming in our hearts is what we are producing from them. Good goes in and good comes out or evil goes in and evil goes out. Sometimes we receive evil things and, through God’s processes in our hearts, He is able to make good come out. A healthy heart is revealed by its output. We are known by our fruit. As we go into fall, a time of harvest, I wonder what kind of fruit is being produced in our hearts and what bounty the Lord will gather in us.
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Putting Down Roots
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8
The idea of trust as the thing that roots us and sustains us is a pretty amazing one. In the passage above we are told that trust in the Lord is essential to getting through life’s difficult times. Trusting God’s goodness to sustain us is not always easy though. We experience a lot of pain and suffering in this world and it often makes us question God’s goodness. We wonder why He would allow terrible things to take place. Or why our loved ones have suffered in the ways they have. Or why He hasn’t come back yet.
Whatever we wonder it isn’t unique to us. Humanity has been asking these questions about God’s goodness since the first time we questioned Him in the garden and found ourselves in a broken relationship with Him. Yet over and over again throughout scripture God continues to reveal His goodness and love to us. He remains faithful to provide a source of life in the deserts of life. Sometimes it is hard to trust in His goodness but it is the only way to make it through the darkness and the drought of pain and sorrow. God provides fruit for our lives even in those seasons when we trust in Him and allow Him to be our sustainer.
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Wednesday Night Bible Study will begin on September 5th, at 7 p.m. Pastor Jesse will be using the book “The Good and Beautiful Community” by James Bryan Smith. The book is available online.
Friends Women Fellowship “Back to School Bake Event”
Look for us in the fellowship hall
September 9th, between worship and Sunday School
This fun event celebrates the beginning of the new school year with a variety of treats that would make any sack lunch proud! Cost is by donation. Funds go toward unbudgeted needs of Friends Serving Abroad and local outreach projects.
September 14-16, Twin Rocks' Men's Retreat will once again combine the comforts and quality of a top-notch weekend retreat with the rugged outdoorsy flair of an old-fashioned camp-out with good friends.
Camp speaker David Williams & music led by worship leader Dan Banham.
AFFORDABLE PRICING. $160/person (sleeping in a cabin), $98/person (bringing own tent), or $60/person if your wife attends Women's Retreat. For registration and answers to Frequently Asked Questions, please visit: www.twinrocks.org
Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018 – All Church Business Meeting We will meet in the sanctuary after the worship service. Sunday School will follow the meeting.
All Church Potluck We always have a great time of fellowship and good food!
Did you know the word "potluck" originated in 1592, describing an unplanned meal — the "luck of the pot?”
Sunday September 16th! You are invited to join us for fellowship and a “luck of the pot” following the Sunday School & Bible Study hour. Please bring your favorite potluck main dish, and a salad, vegetable or dessert enough to feed eight people to share.
Friends Women Fellowship will meet September 20th, 10:30 a.m. at MFC to begin the 2018-19 program year. Following the meeting there will be a buffet lunch. All women are welcome. If you are interested in being a part of the Friends Women program but cannot attend the regularly scheduled meetings, contact Nadine Brood for a way to do it.
NWYM Friends Women 2018 Fall Retreat
September 28-30 at Twin Rocks Friends Camp
Speaker – Mindy Burns
Brochures filled with information and registration form are located on the table in the foyer. This year first time attenders are offered a partial scholarship. Registration must be postmarked by September 15th with a $25 deposit (after that the fee is $35). Questions about housing or registration, please call or e -mail: Meg Rice at 503 -701 -2971 clanrice@aol.com
What a Blessing! Thank You to Everyone who donated school supplies for Howard Elementary School.
Donations can still be brought to the church for the Shoe Box Ministry. More information to come on that project. If you have questions contact Kay Goeres.
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