Hi Friends!
Now to Him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith — to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen. (Romans 16:25-27, ESV)
Paul ended his great letter to the Romans with the statement above, but I wanted to start my message to you with it! May our only wise God be exalted as He strengthens us in our faith!
Remember parents, tomorrow morning is the Awana Grand Prix at 9am! Hope you all have your cars ready to go. This is a great opportunity to enjoy some fun and excitement with the kids, and also a good chance for us to interact with guests who will be here who don’t normally attend a church. Let’s pray that some seeds will be planted in hearts tomorrow.
On Sunday I will be continuing in the series on the Spiritual Disciplines with a message on FASTING. Thankfully we are pa
st the church potlucks and a couple weeks before Thanksgiving! The Bible has a lot to say about fasting, and often the biblical writers just seem to take it for granted that their readers have an understanding of and experience with fasting. But for us today, I think fasting is probably the most neglected of the spiritual disciplines. So please be in prayer for Sunday’s message, that the Lord will challenge and encourage us in this important discipline. We will look at many Scripture references this week, but an intriguing one for you to meditate on is Isaiah 58:3-7. You may want to read all of Isa. 58 for the context.
Please remember the My Hope with Billy Graham presentation. We are still looking for more people to be willing to open their homes to be “Matthews” and show the powerful gospel message on DVD. See me or pick up one of the brochures on the table in the foyer for more information.
Also, at the end of last week’s message I suggested we prayerfully consider giving financially to the relief efforts for the Philippines. We’ve decided to give to Medical Teams International, a Christian medical organization out of Portland. MTI has had a big part in the work of Haiti Foundation of Hope, which a number of people from FBC have participated with on short-term mission trips. So in the next few weeks we will be receiving those gifts. You can write a check out to FBC, and put Philippines on the memo line. We will send the total that we collect on to MTI. Please pray about this and consider a generous gift. I believe these gifts will be a “fragrant aroma” to our Lord!
Praise the Lord for all He is doing, and all He is going to do!
Love From Your Pastor,
Michael