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Sunday's Message: "The Gospel and Faith"
Romans 3:19-31
What's Good About the Gospel?
At our Easter service, we were encouraged and challenged by the words of Rev. Vernon Anderson from a letter of congratulations to our church upon the consecration of our former building on April 26, 1961, "You have done well in building a church of brick, now your even greater task remains, to build and foster a church of concerned hearts, so that you may reach out effectively in the spirit and mind of Christ to reclaim lives for Him." That two-fold task continues to be our calling; first, to build and foster concerned hearts, and second, through the spirit and mind of Christ to reclaim lives for Him.
This summer, our sermon series is responding to that task by asking the question, "What's Good About the Gospel?" In modern churches all too often the term “Gospel” has been used only to describe a plan of personal salvation. While individual salvation is certainly part of “The Gospel” there is much more to what Jesus and the Apostles had in mind when they proclaimed “The Gospel.” The word “Gospel” is derived in English from the words “god” meaning good, and “spel” meaning news. “Gospel” became the English translation for the Greek word “euangelion.” In the Greco-Roman world, euangelion was the formal announcement of good news. Often the birth of a son to the Emperor, or news of a Roman military victory was considered euangelion.
The early church high-jacked the term euangelion as a short-hand for their story, history, and theology of Jesus. Our task in this sermon series is to strip back the many ways the "gospel" of Jesus has been bent, twisted, and distorted. We will be attempting to get to the foundational news about Jesus and why that news is good so that we can foster concerned hearts and reclaim lives for Christ.
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MUUUCE August 6-8, 2015
Only 2 weeks left until we leave for MUUUCE! If you would still like to go, please see Pastor Jill for the registration forms.
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Putting Hands & Feet to the Summer Sermon Series
Pastor Isaiah recently spoke about the declining statistics regarding Christians attending church or even identifying themselves as Christians. He also shared the plans for new residential growth in our neighborhood. His question was, "What if we had an impact of 15 homes?"
This is your invitation to begin praying together for the neighborhood to the east. You can stay after the monthly potluck and put your hands to work, folding them in prayer with others and following a map of the area, praying for the families, the construction workers and our witness in the area. OR, you can put your feet to work and do some prayer walking in the neighborhood itself. Prayer walking is simply being on the scene without making a scene. A stroll down a few of the streets, praying silently for God to bless and draw the people to Him.
First night for the neighborhood prayer watch: August 5.
We will continue to use the potluck evenings for this purpose and invite everyone to take part. Reminders will be sent out in the weekly newsletter prior to each potluck. If you are not attending the potluck, but want to be part of the watch, join us at 7:15 pm in the Fellowship Hall.
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Faith Night 2015
with the
Sioux Falls Canaries
When: Sunday, August 9th @ 4 pm
Where: The Birdcage (Sioux Falls Canaries stadium)
Who: Everyone
What:
- Prayer between player introductions and National Anthem
- Church choirs will perform the National Anthem & 7th Inning Stretch
- Christian bands will be playing throughout the game
- Player video testimonies from Christian athletes who share about their personal faith in Jesus Christ.
- Faith Concert from 8-9 pm
Cost: $10 per ticket plus $$ for food
How: Contact Pastor Jill for tickets by August 2nd.
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Pick up a copy of the 2015/2016 Covenant Missionary Prayer Calendar on the Welcome table.
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