Weekly Newsletter 7/12-7/19
FBC Marysville Weekly newsletter
Last Week:
- Attendance: On Sunday, we had an attendance of 71 in our gathering. What a joy to see the Lord adding to our family on a regular basis.
- Children: Shout out to Mary and Samantha Price who did a great job handling 10 kids for the children's lesson. It is a privilege to have a parade of little ones going to hear God's Word.
- Discipleship Cohorts: We postponed our Grow and Know 200 discipleship course and will release a new date for our Cohorts in the near future.
Announcements:
- Background checks: The second wave of checks will be sent out at the end of the week. If you have already gone through your screening, you do not need to worry about this. All of the first wave checks came back complete and successful.
- Workday: Inquire about our church workday's where we gather to do projects at the church building and spend time serving together. We will hold a Workday near the end of August.
- Community Groups: Join a community group to form relationships, study God's Word, and to do life with our family. Our groups are as follows:
- Monday 6pm: Larry McDonald
- Wednesday 11am: Juanita Williams and Beth Sebring (Women's group)
- Wednesday 6pm: Anthony Lampron
- Thursday 6pm: Larry McDonald
- Every other Saturday 10:30: Doug and Corinna Wheeler
Prayer Requests:
- Betty Williams: Betty is dealing with severe back issues and has recently undergone surgery to remedy the issue, but the effects of this procedure are wearing off.
- The Madison and Roberts family: As you may well know at this point, Patti Madison lost her mother. Taylor Roberts, who is also a member in our church, is the granddaughter of the deceased.
- Esmae: James and Teresa Erwin's granddaughter Esmae (14 months) is likely to undergo surgery dealing with her heart. Pray for their family and for the doctors steady hands.
- Gospel Opportunities: Pray for the privilege to share Jesus with someone and invite them to church.
Weekly Devotional from: Colossians 1:24-2:5
This past Lord's Day we continued our study of Paul's letter to the church at Colossae. From the 24th verse of chapter 1 through the 5th verse of chapter 2, we see Paul's heart for ministry. In this text, we see his motivations, his goals, his labors, and hope that he has for the Colossians.
[24] Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, [25] of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, [26] the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. [27] To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. [28] Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. [29] For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.[1] For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, [2] that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, [3] in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. [4] I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. [5] For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
As I mentioned in the sermon on Sunday, it seems as though Paul gives us the outline of his ministry to the Colossians, Laodiceans, and anyone else who could benefit from his efforts.
Firstly, the Burden of faithful gospel ministry: As observed in verses 24 through part of 25, the burden of gospel ministry suffering on the behalf of the Lord and His people in order to be a good steward of the ministry entrusted to us. Ministry is a burden for people given to us by the Lord in order for us to be useful workers for His purposes.
Secondly, the Task of ministry: In verses 25-27, we see that the Task that weight on Paul's heart and mind is to make the Word of God fully known to the people. It should be a primary concern of ours to help walk people through God's Word.
Third, the Who of ministry: Verses 27-28 tell us that Jesus is to be the point of our ministry. See, we can feed the hungry and clothe the poor out of the kindness of our hearts, but if we do acts of compassion without Jesus we receive the glory and not Him. What makes our works ministry is that they display Jesus and convey His message to hurting people.
Then, the Why of ministry: The second part of verse 28 shows us why we should teach Christ from God's Word to God's people, and that simply is to aim at maturity. We are called to make mature followers of Jesus as Christians. We all must consider whether we are, for example, a 10 year old Christian, or a 1 year old Christian 10 times over. The aim is growth in our walk with the Lord, not a shallow religious experience.
The next portion of the text could explain the Cost of ministry: Verse 29 of chapter 1 and verse 1 of chapter 2 show us the hard work and toil that goes into faithful gospel ministry. The words Paul uses such as struggle and toil are athletic terms akin to what you would say of an Olympic runner who exhausts themselves to cross the finish line first. The labor of Paul is one of deep love for God and His people, which fuels him to be able to do amazing things for his Savior.
Lastly, the Results of faithful gospel ministry: In verses 2-5 of chapter 2, Paul lists several things that are his goal in faithful ministry. He says, essentially, that he works hard in order that the people would be: Encouraged, in community, knowledgeable, assured, discerning, and firm. This ought to be our prayer for the people we minister to, that we and they would attain all of these things as we pour into one another.
Anthony Lampron, Pastor