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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