Yesterday was another good day at FCC! We continued our journey through the book of James, looking at the call to avoid showing favoritism in any capacity. James reminds us how important it is for the church to model this call! Our church, and every church, should be willing to simply see fellow Christ Followers as that - people who have acknowledged they need a Savior and cannot do life with the Lord! Rich or poor; old or mid or young; east side or west side; lifelong resident or transplant; Clinton or Maroa or Heyworth; black, brown or white; it should not matter! In fact, it does not matter in the eyes of Jesus! May we be a church that always wants to look more and more like Jesus! Our vision is to become a Passionate Community of Disciple Makers - where ALL are welcome and the great EQUALIZER is Jesus Christ!
Also on Sunday, we honored and prayed for our educators. Thanks to Samuel Green for creating a prayer for our educators - will you continue to pray this prayer for those women and men in our church who are helping change the world for Christ through education? Here is the prayer: Father, Grant our teachers an abundance of Your wisdom. Prepare their hearts to welcome and love every student that crosses the threshold of their classroom, that they may be the face of Jesus to them in thought, word, and deed. Give them grace as they help struggling and difficult students, courage to say what needs to be said, tools and knowledge on how to balance grace and truth, and grant them strength when they are weak and discouraged. When they feel unseen, remind them that no moment goes unnoticed. They are shaping the future in millions of small - yet incredibly important - ways every day. We are overwhelmed with gratitude for the gift of learning they share with our children. Bless them as they begin another year, Lord, that they may see even just a glimpse of how their faithfulness will forever impact generations to come. In the name of Jesus we pray this prayer, Amen. Dme Three things this morning to PRAY over please: #1 - ROOTED launch for the fall is less than two weeks away - there is STILL room for you! Will you be one of the 100 who will do ROOTED this fall from September 9 through November 11 on Sunday mornings? Please pray for 100! Please pray that ROOTED will help this church grow into a Passionate Community of Disciple Makers. Please pray for a spirit of UNITY throughout the church about ROOTED! ** NOTE about the starting time for our First Service - during the ten weeks of ROOTED, our first service will begin FIVE MINUTES EARLY, at 8:10am. September 9 - November 11, first service will begin at 8:10am. #2 - The Little Galilee 2020 Vision Dining Hall Cycling Ride begins this week. Myself and other area minister's are attempting to raise thousands of dollars for one of God's special places! Several of us leave Wednesday to head south and we begin our 215 mile/3 day ride early Thursday morning. Please pray for us and pray for generosity to flow for one of God's special places! #3 - Please continue to pray for the family of Jan Herzog - Chad, Andrea, Lindsey and the entire family. Both the visitation and the funeral will take place at FCC: the visitation will be TONIGHT from 5-8pm and the funeral will be TOMORROW morning at 10am. Jan was a special woman who made such an impact on this community - lift up this special family in prayer! Please keep the following in mind moving forward: ** We have five sermons left in our study on the book of James. I really think this book is the most difficult in the NT to live our practically - its almost like James is stomping on our toes Sunday in and Sunday out! I really hope you come out on Sunday and support Ben Pertl as he preaches on the last part of James 2 and his teaching on faith without works. ** Don't forget there are GROWTH options for you each and every Sunday morning at 9:30am at FCC. I lead an "open" class in the Family Life Center Alcove - we are currently studying the book of 2 Corinthians and multiple other options are available as well. Connect with Cassandra Benton, Samuel Green or myself if you would like more information about where you can study and grow at 9:30am on Sunday mornings. ** Family Camp at Little Galilee Camp - August 31 - September 3 - usually between 400-500 gather for this weekend of family camp, and this year the preacher is one of the very best, Darrell Bolen from Greenville, IL. The Cornell family from Mattoon, IL will be leading worship and sharing special music throughout the weekend. And GT's Family Trivia Challenge returns on Sunday evening! Call 935-3809 for more information! ** Speaking of LGCC, our church is hosting a second Area Men's Fellowship this year, and every year moving forward! We are up next - Tuesday September 4 at 6:30pm and my good friend Ed Bacon from God's Shelter of Love and Mound Road CC will be preaching. The food will once again be incredible and the fellowship will be a blessing. And we will have you on your way by 8pm! Join us on September 4 and help support one of God's special places! ** FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 7 - FOUR big things are happening: ******* RELOAD for Men returns - at the Clinton Y at 6:15pm - and will meet on the first and third Friday's of each month moving forward. ALL men are welcome as we study together! The breakfast will be a light continental style and the coffee will be hot! ******* BREAKFAST Club returns at 7:15am - ALL Jr High and High School students are welcome! ******* Mom and Tot's play day at 10am in the First Kids area - take advantage of this moms! ******* September Young at Heart at 10:30am in the Family Life Center - "Take Me Out to the Ballgame!" ** The 4th annual FCC Block Party is 15 days away - Sunday September 9 from 5-7pm and once again food, fun, games, music, fellowship and all the fixings are on the menu! Spread the word! ** Wednesday September 12 - FIRST KIDS Midweek is back from 6-7:30pm! ** Saturday September 15 - FCC will be once again hosting the Beth Moore simulcast and thanks to the generosity of a local Christian businessman, there is NO cost to attend! Our generous friend wishes to remain anonymous and we will honor this request, but we would love to pack the sanctuary on Saturday September 15! ** Sunday September 16 - Student Ministry Sunday Nights for Junior High and Senior High return! Junior High will meet from 5-6:45pm and HS will gather from 6:30-8pm! ** Sunday September 30 - ONE service Sunday at FCC at 9:30am! Have a great day! Blessings to you! GT Comments are closed.
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Elder's CornerWeekly update on what's happening at FCC! Glad you're here! |