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May 22, 2020

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May 24, 2020
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8:45am DayBreak | 10:30am BreakAway

“Grace to the Humble"
James 4
Rev. Trent Walker
Loie DeVries (230 S. State Street #91 Zeeland, 49464) has been on a heart monitor and is awaiting results to determine treatment plans.

Rachel Morren (11778 Danton Dr Allendale 49401) requests prayers for her mom, a resident of a local nursing home, who has tested positive for Covid. 

Jim Berghorst (1782 88th Ave Zeeland, 49464) was released from Blodgett Rehab post successful neurosurgery and is recovering at home.

Barb Graveling (257 Taft Street Zeeland, 49464) underwent laparoscopic gall bladder surgery Tuesday morning at Holland Hospital and is doing well. 

Arlen Meeuwsen (8810 Ransom St. Zeeland, 49464) was recently diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer, and he began radiation treatment last week. 

Rose Houtman (230 S. State St, Unit 120 Zeeland, 49464) is responding to therapy for cellulitis as well as treatment for abdominal pain. 

Bette Terpstra (2232 Valarie Zeeland, 49464) underwent successful knee replacement surgery Tuesday, May 12.

Shirley Wissink (10686 Brookview Dr. Zeeland 49464) underwent successful knee replacement surgery on Thursday, May 14. 

Lydia Bouwens (1488 Savannah Dr. Zeeland, 49464) has begun chemotherapy treatments. 

Thank you to everyone, for your prayers and cards of encouragement during the last month. They have been appreciated so much.  Larry and Dawn Geuder

Thank you for the calls, emails, and notes both before and after my back surgery.  Pastor Greg, your calls were really appreciated. Walking is getting better and hopefully, strength will keep building. The caring of Community meant a lot. Jack Talsma

Celebrate birthdays with our congregation by downloading the  June 2020 Birthday List .

Annville Donation Drop Off
June 2-6, 2020
We will be taking a trailer of donated clothing, household goods, toys, and furniture to Annville, KY.  Women’s clothing and small household appliances are high demand items.  They do take winter clothing as it does get fairly cold in the mountains in the winter.  If possible bring your items in a box for more compact packing. Bring your donations to the trailer in the northeast corner of the parking lot. Please wear gloves when opening and loading the trailer.
 If you have questions or need boxes picked up from your house please call Sue Zwyghuizen at 616-403-3782.

Hello Friends from Pastor Chris Pieters  

Happy Memorial Day weekend! I think we are all ready for an extended weekend to relax, reflect, and remember. After moving to Zeeland from the Chicago area years ago, I have come to deeply appreciate our city’s annual Memorial Day traditions. Every year we share a powerful moment as large crowds of people fill the streets to stand to honor those who have served, are serving, or gave the ultimate sacrifice while in service to our country. Even though the parade is cancelled this year, I pray we can embrace that same spirit as we this walk through this holiday weekend. 

For today’s devotional, I would like to take a moment to remember the life and impact of Ravi Zacharias, who passed away at the age of 74 earlier this week after a battle with sarcoma. He was a modern-day hero who was an articulate and gracious proclaimer of the Christian faith.

Ravi Zacharias: Most Influential Christian Apologist of the 21st Century has Passed Away. 

Regarded as one of the foremost defenders of Christianity's intellectual credibility, 

Ravi Zacharias is an Indian-born Canadian-American Christian apologist. He is considered one of the great Christian expositors of the 21st century. God has used Ravi to impact millions of people around the globe. 

An official statement from RZIM said: "Ravi Zacharias spent the past 48 years commending the Christian faith and addressing life's greatest existential questions of origin, meaning, morality and destiny with eloquence and grace. "Through his founding and leadership of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM), Zacharias launched a global team of nearly 100 Christian scholars and authors who continue to speak, resource, train and address the questions of millions around the world." 

I am deeply grateful to God for Ravi Zacharias and the impact of his preaching in my life. I have had the privilege to hear Ravi speak several times in person at the annual Passion conferences of thousands of college students in Atlanta. I see in Ravi’s life a powerful combination of keen intellect, eloquent preaching, and a humble personal walk with his Savoir and Lord Jesus Christ.

Today, I have included several quotes below from Ravi that I hope will challenge and encourage each of us in our walk of faith in these times. Have a great weekend.

To hear some of Ravi’s messages or read some of his sermons and articles -  
Visit his ministry’s website – Ravi Zacharias International Ministries
www.rzim.org

Quotes from Ravi Zacharias  

On Worship:
“Worship is a posture of life that takes as its primary purpose the understanding of what it really means to love and revere God.” 
― Ravi Zacharias, Jesus Among Other Gods: The Absolute Claims of the Christian Message

“We are his temple. We do not turn in a certain direction to pray. We are not bound by having to go into a building so that we can commune with God. There are no unique postures and times and limitations that restrict our access to God. My relationship with God is intimate and personal. The Christian does not go to the temple to worship. The Christian takes the temple with him or her. Jesus lifts us beyond the building and pays the human body the highest compliment by making it His dwelling place, the place where He meets with us. Even today He would overturn the tables of those who make it a marketplace for their own lust, greed, and wealth.” 
― Ravi Zacharias, Jesus Among Other Gods: The Absolute Claims of the Christian Message

On Jesus
“I came to Him because I did not know which way to turn. I have remained with Him because there is no other way I wish to turn. I came to Him longing for something I did not have. I remain with Him because I have something I will not trade. I came to Him as a stranger. I remain with Him in the most intimate of friendships. I came to Him unsure about the future.       I remain with Him certain about my destiny. I came amid the thunderous cries of a culture that has three hundred and thirty million deities. I remain with Him knowing that truth cannot be all-inclusive. Truth by definition excludes.” 
-Ravi Zacharias, Jesus Among Other Gods: The Absolute Claims of the Christian Message

On Struggles and Pain 
“So do not fear the struggle; rather, embrace it. Embrace it in the knowledge that the Grand Weaver will take all of your struggles, questions, disappointments, and fears and use them to build your faith and increasingly make you into a man or woman who looks like Jesus Christ.
- Ravi Zacharias, The Grand Weaver: How God Shapes Us Through the Events of Our Lives

On Faith
Faith in the biblical sense is substantive, based on the knowledge that the One in whom that faith is placed has proven that He is worthy of that trust. In its essence, faith is a confidence in the person of Jesus Christ and in His power, so that even when His power does not serve my end, my confidence in Him remains because of who He is.” 
― Ravi Zacharias, Jesus Among Other Gods: The Absolute Claims of the Christian Message

On Faith
“In its essence, faith is a confidence in the person of Jesus Christ and in His power, so that even when His power does not serve my end, my confidence in Him remains because of who He is. Faith for the Christian is the response of trust based on who Jesus Christ claimed to be, and it results in a life that brings both mind and heart in a commitment of love to Him.” 
― Ravi Zacharias, Jesus Among Other Gods: The Absolute Claims of the Christian Message

On Marriage
“Love is a commitment that will be tested in the most vulnerable areas of spirituality, a commitment that will force you to make some very difficult choices. It is a commitment that demands that you deal with your lust, your greed, your pride, your power, your desire to control, your temper, your patience, and every area of temptation that the Bible clearly talks about. It demands the quality of commitment that Jesus demonstrates in His relationship to us.” 
― Ravi Zacharias, I, Isaac, Take Thee, Rebekah: Moving from Romance to Lasting Love


Chris Pieters
cpieters@communityreformed.org
Links to the Community Reformed Church website are listed below:
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There are no classes and activities in the church building through May 31, 2020. 
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