O Divine Presence,
The news reports the number of people in the United States to be over 312,000,000 with a net gain of one person every thirteen seconds. The fastest growing segment of that burgeoning population are those who have no Christian experience, history or memory. Forgive us, O Lord, for failing to share the Good News in word and in example. Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Luke 10:2). This is our prayer, O Lord. Empower us to go into the highways and byways of life to tell of our experience of You. Strengthen our resolve, Loving God, so that we may lead others into a life changing, life-transforming relationship with You. May our church be a place where there is a palpable depth of spirituality, a loving heart and a generous spirit. This we pray in Jesus’ name. AMEN.
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The graveside for Melissa Hula’s father, Jack Edgar, is today at 2:00 at the cemetery in Perry.
Please continue to pray for our Presbyterian friends and specifically for Roy Schneider and the youth minister, who both resigned Tuesday evening.
The Gideon’s are hosting a Pastor’s Appreciation Supper in our Fellowship Hall this evening.
Pray that our Extravagant Generosity program might touch people’s hearts as we seek to move from a culture of fund-raising to a culture of generosity.
Please bring candy and pop for the Trunk of Treat event to be held on October 30. We are distributing flyers at McKinley School, so we should have a number of children from the area attend.
The worship committee is planning a “Convergence Worship” to be held in the sanctuary on 5th Sundays. I am borrowing the term from Robert Webber who states that Convergence Worship is “the coming together of the historic and the contemporary in worship”. This service will have different elements, some from our traditional service, some from the R & R service and some new elements as well. The purpose is to allow the entire 10:15 a.m. worshipping community to come together in a unique worship experience. The first attempt at this new worship experience will be Sunday, October 30th. Please plan to attend and pray that God’s Spirit may be felt as we worship together.
The scripture for today is Titus 1:1-16:
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that is in accordance with godliness, in the hope of eternal life that God, who never lies, promised before the ages began—in due time he revealed his word through the proclamation with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior, To Titus, my loyal child in the faith we share: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
I left you behind in Crete for this reason, so that you should put in order what remained to be done, and should appoint elders in every town, as I directed you:
someone who is blameless, married only once, whose children are believers, not accused of debauchery and not rebellious. For a bishop, as God’s steward, must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain; but he must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled. He must have a firm grasp of the word that is trustworthy in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it. There are also many rebellious people, idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision; they must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for sordid gain what it is not right to teach. It was one of them, their very own prophet, who said, “Cretans are always liars, vicious brutes, lazy gluttons.”That testimony is true. For this reason rebuke them sharply, so that they may become sound in the faith, not paying attention to Jewish myths or to commandments of those who reject the truth. To the pure all things are pure, but to the corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure. Their very minds and consciences are corrupted. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their actions. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
Grace and peace,
John McLemore
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