June 29, 2008
Holiness
One
of the characteristics of God is His holiness.
Peter repeats to Christians the challenge God gave to Israel through
Moses, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Holiness
is the position of a person set apart by God for His service.
Holiness is the attitude of a person who despises evil and loves the
good. It is the subject of a great
part of Peter’s first letter, beginning in chapter one and continuing through
chapter four.
The
words, holiness, sanctification and saint, are all closely related.
Sanctification is the process by which we are made holy.
The person who has been made holy, by God, is called a saint.
We
need holiness because we cannot appear before God without having been made holy.
In being set apart by God in holiness, we are separated from the world.
In seeking holiness we follow the path that God has laid our for us.
Isaiah describes holiness as a highway upon which the “ransomed of the
Lord will return.” Those who walk
that highway will come with joyful shouting.
They will have everlasting joy upon their heads and they will find
gladness and joy. Sorrow and sighing
will flee away. (See Isaiah
35:8-10.)
Peter
suggests that the first step toward holiness is to “prepare your minds for
action.” Holiness is more than a
state of mind. It is a way of life.
Peter continues by describing how one is born again.
Holiness is a new life, a gift from God, a life that is holy and
represents a new beginning.
This
new life is continue by refusing to be conformed to the world, and instead being
transformed as our minds are renewed day by day.
The pressures of this world exert their influence to draw us back into
the unholy. These pressures may be
financial, they may be psychological (our desire to be accepted and loved by the
people of this world) or they may simply be pressures that arise from our own
uncontrolled desires.
The
word of God describes the holy life. It
tells us of the pitfalls on the right and on the left.
It tells us of things to be avoided and it tells us of the things that we
must do.
God
has called you to be holy in thought, in word and in deed.
“Be holy, for I am holy.”
News, Notes & Prayer
Requests
Þ Frank
Paganini will have back surgery on Wednesday.
Þ Susan
Buckley (Johanna’s daughter) has been diagnosed with cancer and will need to
have surgery.
Þ Seek
out children that you might invite to our VBS in just three weeks.
Plan to be in the adult class (if you are an adult).
Þ There
are tapes and DVD’s on the table next to the door.
These are copies of the TV program that is aired each Saturday.
Þ There
is also a DVD with a lesson that deals with why we sing without instrumental
music.
Þ Tell
your friends about our program on Channel 5 of Cablevision.
“In Search of the Lord’s Way” is scheduled to be broadcast each
Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
Þ Pray
that God will open the hearts of those who are not yet Christians that they
might accept the gospel as you speak to them about Jesus
Þ Pray
that God will give you boldness to tell others about Jesus
Usher
Assignments
This
week—Ken Spitz
Next
week—David Cooper
Nursery
Assignments
This
week—Johanna Buckley
Next
week—Silmara Guimaraes
Cleaning
Assignments (after Wed)
This
week—Johanna Buckley
Next
week—Emerson & Silmara
Lord’s
Table
This
week—Dave Cooper
Next
Week—Ron Dombrowski
Upcoming Events
July
4—Everyone is invited to the Bastin’s house for a cookout beginning at 1:00.
Bring meat to grill and a side dish to share.
July
20—Congregational potluck dinner following the morning service.
July
20-23—VBS with help from the Sherrod
Avenue congregation in Florence, AL. There
will also be a congregational potluck dinner on this date.
The VBS will begin each evening at 6:30 and end at 8:00.
A
July
23—Hot dog picnic following the final evening of VBS
August
10—Congregational potluck dinner following the morning service
Sept
18-20—Men’s Retreat at Camp Gander Brook in Maine.
Bible Notes
Holiness
1 Peter 1:13-21
1 Peter 1:22-23
1 Peter 2:1-3
1 Peter 2:13-3:9
1 Peter 4:1-3
1 Peter 4:7-11
Hebrews 12:14
2 Corinthians 6:17-18
1 Peter 1:16
Leviticus 11:44
Romans 12:2
2 Timothy 4:2
What is holiness?
Why do we need holiness?
How is holiness acquired?
Record Last Week
Sun
Bible Study—28
AM
Worship—45
PM
Worship—13
Wed
Bible Study—13
Contribution—$495
June 22, 2008
The Ancient Paths
Jeremiah
followed Moses by almost a thousand years. The
way that Moses laid out for Israel to live had long been neglected by the time
God called Jeremiah to be a prophet. The
words that Jeremiah penned seemed to fall on deaf ears, “Thus says Yahweh,
‘Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good ways
is, and walk in it; and you will find rest for your souls.’
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’”
We
do not know all the ways in which Israel rejected God’s way, but we do know
that at one point they told Jeremiah. “You
are telling a lie!” People now may
be a bit more subtle, but they are still saying that what is in the Bible is a
lie. Well, actually, they just say
that “it is not true.” Or, they
say, “It doesn’t really mean that!”
Jeremiah’s
challenge to them was to stand at the crossroad and ask for the ancient path.
That is where the “good way” will be found.
When the ancient path has been discovered, “walk in it.”
The ancient is not better because it is ancient, nor is the new worse
because it is new. All ways must be
measured against the way that God has pointed out.
In
the days of King Josiah, the temple was being repaired when a book was found.
Upon examination it proved to be the “book of the law.”
When the book was read to the king “he tore his clothes,” as he
realized how far they had traveled from God’s law.
Reforms were instituted. The
Passover was again observed and “such a Passover had not been celebrated from
the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of
Israel and of the kings of Judah.”
They
had found the “ancient path” and Josiah committed himself and the nation of
Judah to return to that path. They
did not continue for long down that path, but soon returned to the ways of their
fathers. Concerning the son of
Josiah, the record simply says, “He did evil in the sight of Yahweh, according
to all that his fathers had done.”
God’s
path, the ancient path, leads to heaven. All
other ways lead to disaster. Each of
us stands at the crossroad. Which
path will you choose?
News, Notes & Prayer
Requests
Þ Jerry
and Bonnie Wheeler were baptized Tuesday afternoon.
We welcome them into the family of God and pray that they will continue
to “grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus.”
Þ Frank
Paganini will have back surgery on July 2.
Þ Susan
Buckley (Johanna’s daughter) has been diagnosed with cancer and will need to
have surgery.
Þ There
are tapes and DVD’s on the table next to the door.
These are copies of the TV program that is aired each Saturday.
Þ There
is also a DVD with a lesson that deals with why we sing without instrumental
music.
Þ Tell
your friends about our program on Channel 5 of Cablevision.
“In Search of the Lord’s Way” is scheduled to be broadcast each
Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
Þ Pray
that God will open the hearts of those who are not yet Christians that they
might accept the gospel as you speak to them about Jesus
Þ Pray
that God will give you boldness to tell others about Jesus
Usher
Assignments
This
week—Mark Timmons
Next
week—Ken Spitz
Nursery
Assignments
This
week—Tina Cooper
Next
week—Johanna Buckley
Cleaning
Assignments (after Wed)
This
week—Mark Timmons
Next
week—Johanna Buckley
Lord’s
Table
This
week—Mark Timmons
Next
Week—Dave Cooper
Upcoming Events
July
4—Everyone is invited to the Bastin’s house for a cookout beginning at 1:00.
Bring meat to grill and a side dish to share.
July
20—Congregational potluck dinner following the morning service.
July
20-23—VBS with help from the Sherrod
Avenue congregation in Florence, AL. There
will also be a congregational potluck dinner on this date.
The VBS will begin each evening at 6:30 and end at 8:00.
A
July
23—Hot dog picnic following the final evening of VBS
August
10—Congregational potluck dinner following the morning service
Sept
18-20—Men’s Retreat at Camp Gander Brook in Maine.
Bible Notes
The Ancient
Paths
Jeremiah 6:16-21
Exodus 1-20
1 Tim 4:1-2
2 Thess 2:3
2 Kings 23:21-23
Matthew 15:7-9
Acts 2:17-41
Acts 8:35-39
Ephesians 5:15-19
Luke 11:1-2
The ancient paths are the ways of
God
The ancient paths are often
overgrown and neglected
The ancient paths are the good
way
Record Last Week
Sun
Bible Study—19
AM
Worship—35
PM
Worship—8
Wed
Bible Study—19
Contribution—$1117
June 15, 2008
More on Prayer
Everyone
needs to learn how to pray. One is
not born with an innate knowledge of prayer.
It is behavior that is learned and there is only one source from which it
may be learned, the Bible.
Some
say that prayer began when “men began to call upon the name of Yahweh.”
(Gen 4:26) Others might argue
that prayer began as a conversation between God, on the one hand, and Adam and
Eve, on the other, in the Garden of Eden.
The
Bible records many prayers as men and women spoke to God concerning their needs
and they spoke to God to glorify Him. In
many ways, the book of Psalms is a collection of prayers offered by the people
whom God had chosen to be his elect nation.
Yet
in spite of a long history of praying, Jesus’ disciples asked the Master to
teach them to pray. His response is
a prayer familiar to millions. What
is surprising is that instead of learning from Jesus’ words, people have
simply memorized the words and used them, often without any reflection on what
they mean, simply parroting what they have heard.
Learning
to pray seems so simple, yet for those who have studied the matter, there is a
realization that there is much more to prayer than appears at first sight.
Prayer is not simply a “wish list” that one submits to God.
Prayer
is a recognition of the eternal nature and divine power of the one to whom we
are speaking. It is a humbling of
oneself in the presence of the Creator of the world.
It is submitting before the power of the one who began the world and who
will bring the world to an end. In
recognition of this there are many who have fallen to their knees, even
prostrating themselves with their face to the ground as they understand with
whom they were speaking.
Prayer
is about God’s will, not our own. It
is a recognition that we are entirely dependent upon Him for all that we are and
all that we have. It is a hope that
He will come to our assistance and help us become what He wants us to be.
Prayer
moves us from where we are to where we ought to be.
It is a learning process as we pour out our hearts to Yahweh God.
News, Notes & Prayer
Requests
Þ Susan
Buckley (Johanna’s daughter) has been diagnosed with cancer and will need to
have surgery.
Þ There
are tapes and DVD’s on the table next to the door.
These are copies of the TV program that is aired each Saturday.
Þ There
is also a DVD with a lesson that deals with why we sing without instrumental
music.
Þ Mark
Timmons is now living at 20 Forest Court in Torrington.
Þ Frank
Paganini recently had an MRI on his back. He
is awaiting the doctor’s recommendation for what can be done to ease his pain.
Þ Louis
McBurney is looking for work. Let
him know if you are aware of any opportunities.
Þ Tell
your friends about our program on Channel 5 of Cablevision.
“In Search of the Lord’s Way” is scheduled to be broadcast each
Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
Þ Pray
that God will open the hearts of those who are not yet Christians that they
might accept the gospel as you speak to them about Jesus
Þ Pray
that God will give you boldness to tell others about Jesus
Usher
Assignments
This
week—Emerson Guimaraes
Next
week—Mark Timmons
Nursery
Assignments
This
week—Amanda Cadiz
Next
week—Tina Cooper
Cleaning
Assignments (after Wed)
This
week—Susan Nomelli-Crosley
Next
week—Mark Timmons
Lord’s
Table
This
week—Steve Bastin
Next
Week—Mark Timmons
Upcoming Events
July
20—Congregational potluck dinner following the morning service.
July
20-23—VBS with help from the Sherrod
Avenue congregation in Florence, AL. There
will also be a congregational potluck dinner on this date.
The VBS will begin each evening at 6:30 and end at 8:00.
A
July
23—Hot dog picnic following the final evening of VBS
August
10—Congregational potluck dinner following the morning service
Sept
18-20—Men’s Retreat at Camp Gander Brook in Maine.
Bible Notes
More on Prayer
Luke 11:1-13
Exodus 3:13-15
Exodus 20:7
John 17:3-6
1 Peter 2:9
Matthew 4:17
Matthew 6:9-13
Matthew 6:33
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
1 Timothy 5:23
2 Timothy 4:20
1 Timothy 6:6-10
Romans 8:28
1 Corinthians 10:13
Hebrews 12:1-2
Matthew 5:14-16
Matthew 5:48
Matthew 10:32-33
1 Peter 3:21
Record Last Week
Sun
Bible Study—17
AM
Worship—32
PM
Worship—7
Wed
Bible Study—20
Contribution—$1104
May 25, 2008
Potpourri
Bill
Lyons from the Sherrod Avenue congregation in Florence, Alabama called this past
week to discuss their plans to come to Torrington this summer.
The date has been finalized and they will arrive here on July 19.
We will have the Vacation Bible School from Sunday (July 20) through
Wednesday (July 23). There will be
about 15 to 20 people coming and they have made local arrangements for housing.
We will have a potluck dinner on Sunday for the congregation and we hope
that you will participate and bring extra food for our guests.
The VBS will be held in the evening and we will give specific times
later, but will probably begin at 6:30 each evening.
Plan now to invite family and neighborhood children to share this time
with us.
God
has blessed us with many people who have helped us to establish a congregation
of His people in this place. The
congregation in Falls Church, Virginia has sent people to help us on two
occasions. The Northeast
congregation in Cincinnati, Ohio sent their youth group another summer.
God has blessed us with many people who have supported us financially,
with their prayers and with their visits over the past five years.
We continue to receive financial support from congregations in Folsom,
PA, Falls Church, VA, Florence, Sheffield and Russellville, AL, Lancaster, OH,
Cloverdale, IN, Edmond, OK and Dallas, TX. Many
individuals and families have also contributed to help us here.
We
will celebrate the completion of five years in Torrington on the second Sunday
in October. We will have our annual
Friends’ Day and potluck dinner on that Sunday and we want everyone to
participate by inviting friends and family to worship with us.
Steve
will be away on Saturday, June 14 conducting a Church Growth Seminar for the
West Keene congregation in New Hampshire. This
is a small group of Christians numbering about 25-30 who have a desire to make a
positive impact on their community.
There
will be no bulletin for the next two Sundays.
Assignments for today and the next two weeks are included in the schedule
on page 2. (Please note that
cleaning assignments are for the week following in each case.)
News, Notes & Prayer
Requests
Þ Frank
Paganini recently had an MRI on his back. He
is awaiting the doctor’s recommendation for what can be done to ease his pain.
Þ Betty
McDowd has returned to Indiana. Pray
for her as she makes decisions about her future.
Þ Beth
Timmons mother, Betty Cleaveland, is recovering from hip replacement surgery.
She is now at home.
Þ Louis
McBurney is looking for work. Let
him know if you are aware of any opportunities.
Þ Tell
your friends about our program on Channel 5 of Cablevision.
“In Search of the Lord’s Way” is scheduled to be broadcast each
Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
Þ Pray
that God will open the hearts of those who are not yet Christians that they
might accept the gospel as you speak to them about Jesus
Usher
Assignments
This
week—Mark Timmons
Next
week—Ken Spitz
Next—David
Cooper
Nursery
Assignments
This
week—Johanna Buckley
Next
week—Silmara Guimaraes
Next—Joanna
Lorusso
Cleaning
Assignments (after Wed)
This
week—Emerson & Silmara
Next
week—Dave & Tina
Next—Marie
& Barbara
Lord’s
Table
This
week—Emerson Guimaraes
Next
Week—Ken Spitz
Next—Ron
Dombrowski
Upcoming Events
June
6-7—Northeast Men’s Retreat at Kent, CT.
J.J. Turner will be the speaker. See
announcement on bulletin board.
June
11—Congregational potluck dinner following the morning service.
July
20—Congregational potluck dinner following the morning service.
July
20-23—VBS with help from the Sherrod
Avenue congregation in Florence, AL. There
will also be a congregational potluck dinner on this date.
Bible Notes
Prayer
Luke 18:1-14
Acts 4:31
James 4:3
Revelation 3:17-18
John 14:6
1 Peter 3:21
Matthew 6:5-15
Luke 6:12
John 17
Ephesians 1:15-21
Philippians 1:3-5
Colossians 1:3
1 Thessalonians 1:2
2 Thessalonians 2:3
1 Timothy 2:1-2
2 Timothy 1:3-4
Philemon 4-7
Record Last Week
Sun
Bible Study—17
AM
Worship—35
PM
Worship—13
Wed
Bible Study—
Contribution—$625
May 18, 2008
A Living Sacrifice
Paul’s
letter to the Christians at Rome was addressed to people very familiar with
sacrifices. Both the Jews and the
pagans offered sacrifices. Animals
were killed and burned on an altar. That
is the immediate context for Paul’s instructions about a living sacrifice.
Yet
Paul differs from that traditional offering by encouraging Christians to offer
themselves as “living” sacrifices. This,
he states, is “your reasonable (or spiritual, depending on your translation)
service.” The Greek word is one
from which we get “logical” so, reasonable seems like a good translation.
There
are two quite different views that people take of God’s mercy.
The more common view is to consider that mercy is a “right.”
It is considered to be like air. “I
have a right to breathe.” In an
age when a woman is assured that she has a right to choose abortion for her
unborn child it is not surprising that people would feel they have a right to
mercy.
Just
as a woman who has made a choice that led to pregnancy, now has a right to
terminate that pregnancy, so also, the person who has made the choice to sin,
now has a “right” to receive mercy for that sin.
If one grants the first, then why not also the second?
It is all in the view one holds of God.
As God could not have intended that responsibility of one’s choice to
get pregnant could not be His intention, so responsibility for the consequences
of sin could not have been His intention.
Mercy
is God’s choice, not ours. Thus
mercy is on God’s terms, not ours. In
the first eleven chapters of Romans, Paul lays out clearly God’s terms for
extending mercy. It should be
obvious that mercy is granted on God’s terms.
He decides whom shall be the beneficiaries.
He decides when and how and where His mercy shall be extended.
Our desire for mercy does not qualify us to receive it.
It is in God, who wills and acts.
Until
we understand God’s mercy, we will never consider the offering of a living
sacrifice to be an acceptable choice. That
which we have received at no cost will not move us to pay a price.
It is only in consideration of the costly gift that mercy entails that we
will be prepared to offer ourselves as living sacrifices.
Until
we understand God’s mercy we will never understand our need to worship and
serve God. Cheap grace leads to a
cheap response. Mercy results in a
burden placed on those who receive it. That
burden must be born. Therefore, in
view of God’s mercy, offer your body as a living sacrifice to God.
That is your logical response to what God has done.
News, Notes & Prayer
Requests
Þ Frank
Paganini recently had an MRI on his back. He
is awaiting the doctor’s recommendation for what can be done to ease his pain.
Þ Betty
McDowd has returned to Indiana. Pray
for her as she makes decisions about her future.
Þ Beth
Timmons mother, Betty Cleaveland, is recovering from hip replacement surgery.
She is currently in rehab.
Þ Louis
McBurney is looking for work. Let
him know if you are aware of any opportunities.
Þ Tell
your friends about our program on Channel 5 of Cablevision.
“In Search of the Lord’s Way” is scheduled to be broadcast each
Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
Þ Set
aside a daily time for prayer and Bible study.
Þ Pray
that God will open the hearts of those who are not yet Christians that they
might accept the gospel as you speak to them about Jesus
Usher
Assignments
This
week—Emerson Guimaraes
Next
week—Mark Timmons
Nursery
Assignments
This
week—Tina Cooper
Next
week—Johanna Buckley
Cleaning
Assignments (after Wed)
This
week—Johanna Buckley
Next
week—Emerson & Silmara
Lord’s
Table
This
week—Mark Timmons
Next
Week—Emerson Guimaraes
Upcoming Events
Today—Congregational
potluck dinner after the morning service. All
visitors are invited to stay and eat with us as our guests.
June
6-7—Northeast Men’s Retreat at Kent, CT.
J.J. Turner will be the speaker. See
announcement on bulletin board.
June
11—Congregational potluck dinner following the morning service.
July
13—VBS with help from the Sherrod
Avenue congregation in Florence, AL. There
will also be a congregational potluck dinner on this date.
Bible Notes
A Living
Sacrifice
Romans 12:1-2
Acts 20:7
Acts 2:14-40
Acts 2:41-47
Romans 1-11
Our response to God is in view of
His mercy
Our reasonable service is to
offer ourselves as a living sacrifice
Record Last Week
Sun
Bible Study—25
AM
Worship—40
PM
Worship—12
Wed
Bible Study—19
Contribution—$900
May 11, 2008
What Is a Mother?
“Honor your father and mother (which is the first
commandment with a promise), so that it may be well with you, and that you may
live long on the earth.” (Eph
6:2-3)
Today, many people will give honor to their mothers.
Yet “honor your mother” is not about what one does one day of the
year, but what one does every day. Children
do not honor their mothers by giving them a card on Sunday and ignoring them on
Monday. Nor does an adult child
honor their parent with hugs and kisses on one day of the year while living as
if they did not exist the rest of the days.
There are five reasons that I would like to suggest as
reasons to give honor to mothers. All,
except the first, might be described as optional, yet they are reasons that many
(perhaps most) mothers are deserving of honor.
Every mother is a person who has chosen to give birth
to a child. The book of Genesis
reminds us that childbirth involves pain. The
extremity of that pain I cannot imagine, but from the accounts of those who have
experienced it, it is serious pain.
Every mother has also gone through an experience that
could have cost the life of the mother. There
is always a risk in child birth, regardless of the modern medical advances.
For this every woman who has given birth, whether of a stillborn child or
of a child that lived a full life as an adult, is deserving of honor.
Mothers are deserving of honor for the sacrifices they
make. Whether it is getting up in
the middle of the night (for months, sometimes years) or whether it is giving up
some item of personal comfort, or even need, for the sake of a child, mothers
have often sacrificed for their children.
Mothers are deserving of honor for the stability that
they give to their families. Whether
it is a mother whose husband has gone off to war, or a mother whose husband is
absent from home for long periods because of his job, the child is assured of
parental love by the mother who is always there.
Mothers are deserving of honor when they provide
spiritual training and spiritual leadership for their children.
Whether it is in reading the Bible, teaching the child to pray or making
sure the child is in Bible class at church, such mothers are deserving of honor.
Mothers are deserving of honor because they love their
children. They accept them when
others will not. They love with a
love that has no conditions.
Today, we give honor to those who are mothers.
News, Notes & Prayer
Requests
Þ Happy
Mothers’ Day!
Þ Mark
Timmons was with us Wednesday after being hospitalized with an infection.
Þ Betty
McDowd has returned to Indiana. Pray
for her as she makes decisions about her future.
Þ Beth
Timmons mother, Betty Cleaveland, is recovering from hip replacement surgery.
She is currently in rehab.
Þ Amanda
Lorusso had surgery on Friday and is recovering.
Þ Louis
McBurney is looking for work. Let
him know if you are aware of any opportunities.
Þ Te