God of Grace and Glory,
Life is full of joys and disappointments. Sometimes it seems as though we experience more of the latter. Please forgive our shortsightedness, O Lord. Even when we feel beaten down, may we know You are there. Even when the struggle seems futile, may we fell Your love and embrace. The dark night is always broken by the rising sun. Each new day brings hope and the possibility for new successes. May Your Spirit sustain us, Loving God. And may we rejoice. In Jesus’ name we pray. AMEN.
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Please pray for the family of Paul Sprat, Paula Redding’s father. Paul died yesterday. His funeral will be at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday at Anderson-Burris Funeral Home.
We celebrate the marriage of Joe Capra and Jade Hiland. Their wedding was held in our sanctuary yesterday evening. Please pray for this couple as they embark on a new life together.
The Youth Garage Sale was a great success.
Bert Sims had a wonderful 90th birthday tea.
Today is World Communion Sunday. Please join us as we worship.
Today at 6:00 p.m. the new study “Does God Exist?” begins.
Please pray for Bob Emery. He checks in at McBride Clinic in OKC tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. for hip replacement surgery.
The scripture for today is 2 Thessalonians 3:6-18:
Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right. Take note of those who do not obey what we say in this letter; have nothing to do with them, so that they may be ashamed. Do not regard them as enemies, but warn them as believers.
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with all of you. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the mark in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.
The Psalm for this week is Psalm 94:12-22:
Happy are those whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law, giving them respite from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked. For the Lord will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage; for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it. Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers? If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. When I thought, “My foot is slipping,” your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul. Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who contrive mischief by statute? They band together against the life of the righteous, and condemn the innocent to death. But the Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.
Grace and peace,
John McLemore
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