Weekly Newsletter 4/19-4/26
FBC Marysville Weekly Newsletter
This past week:
- Baby bottle campaign totals: We received word from New Path Pregnancy Center that our church contributed $723.36 to their $19,401 total that they raised through the baby bottle offering. Thank you for being the hands and feet of Jesus in our community!
Announcements:
- Business Meeting: Church members, we have a business meeting this Wednesday 4/22 at 6pm. Please participate in this to discuss new members, finances, and our goals.
- Discipleship Cohorts: Beginning in the end of May, we will start our discipleship cohorts back up again and will add a new cohort into the mix. We will continue our Grow and Know 100 and 200 series' which focus on the spiritual disciplines as well as theology. Then, we will add the DMC, or the Disciple Makers Cohort, which will be a training on how to disciple others.
Prayer Requests:
- Pray for Dale and Patty Madison: Patty's mother is set to be placed on hospice care, so pray for her comfort, for the Madison family's comfort, and for God to be glorified even in the worst of circumstances.
- Russ Williams: Pray for our dear brother Russ as he continues to undergo testing and procedures for his abdominal issues. Pray the Lord would restore him to full health as soon as possible.
- Pray for gospel opportunities in our community. Times where we would be allowed the privilege of sharing the gospel with people and the opportunity to invite them to church.
Weekly Devotional from Acts 20:1-38
On Sunday we studied a big text, that being the entire chapter 20 of Luke's second letter. In this passage, we discussed Paul encouraging the disciples at both Ephesus and around Macedonia. We then studied the worship gathering at Troas, where Eutychus fell asleep and out of the window before Paul, by The Spirit, raised him back to life. Finally, we saw Paul's heartfelt final words of charge, departure, and love to the Ephesian elders who he had called to meet him at Miletus.
I think the heart of the end of Paul's life and ministry can nearly be summarized by verses 22-24 of chapter 20, saying, "And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."(Acts 20:22-24 ESV).
In these short verses, we have a glimpse into the heart and mind of the Apostle Paul. When compared to that of my own, I am often convicted by my lack of diligence to seek and serve the will of the Lord. Notice how Paul first says that he is going to Jerusalem, 'constrained by the Spirit.' We discussed in chapter 19 how Paul was discerning and wise when it came to making these spiritual decisions. He was one who lived by a calendar and compass set by the Lord, and not his own desires. Luke recounting Paul's word of choice as 'constrained' or bound in some translations is quite indicative of Paul's motive for life. He has discerned that God Himself desires for him to go to Jerusalem, and nothing will stop him from doing so.
Next, Paul acknowledges that what will be waiting for him in Jerusalem will not likely be good. He would not receive the praise that Christ got when He entered the city during the triumphal entry, instead he would get a similar welcome that the Lord received the night He was arrested. This still does not deter Paul. He continues saying that his life, essentially, is just a mist. His life is one that has been laid down for Jesus and His will. His life, to him, is not valuable and instead was meant for the purpose of reaching the world with the gospel. A calling and mission that the Apostle Paul, perhaps fulfilled better than anyone else who has ever lived.
This week, consider the way Paul speaks of the purpose of his life. HIs mindset is biblical and reflects the very words of Jesus that He spoke to His disciples. The Lord did in fact tell His followers that they should think in this way. One example of many is Christ's words in Matthew 16:24-25 which read, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."
Now, what I am not saying is that we should seek martyrdom because that would be foolish. Instead, we need to consider why it is we exist, and know that we exist to glorify God. We were fashioned by His hands on purpose for a purpose which can only be fulfilled by our devotion and obedience to His calling on our lives. May we never be like the rich man who comes to Jesus and asks how he can be a follower of Jesus'. The Lord responds by telling him to follow the Law, to which the man replies, 'I have followed the Law perfectly.' Then, the Lord calls for him to sell everything and follow Him, but the man leaves sad. The picture is, he valued his stuff and his way of life more than Christ and following Him. Paul certainly does not feel the same way. Paul is one who could sing, "I have decided to follow Jesus, not turning back, no turning back. The cross before me the world behind me, no turning back, no turning back. Though none go with me I still will follow, no turning back, no turning back.
Anthony Lampron, Pastor