JoyLink Newsletter-June 26, 2016: "A Sudden Awakening"

JoyLink June 26, 2016

This week, we continue our study of the Prodigal son in Luke 15. The Prodigal son has hit rock bottom, he finds himself in a ‘pigpen’, and he is hungry and broke. In the midst of the mess he has created, the Prodigal son has a light bulb moment, what Kyle Idleman refers to as a Sudden Awakening!

The Prodigal son asks himself, “What am I doing here?”, he remembers what life was like in his Father’s house, he realizes that it is his actions that have brought him to this current place and he longs for what life would be like back with his Father. When we are in the distant country, more than anything God desires to wake us up and bring us home. “The longer you have been asleep, the more difficult waking up can be…maybe you’ve been asleep too long, maybe you just can’t hear the alarms, maybe you’ve grown so accustomed to being the only voice you listen to that you can’t hear anything else”. God longs to wake us up and for us to come home, we hope you will come share in the Prodigal son’s Sudden Awakening!

Luke 15:11-19 (VOICE)

The Parable of the Prodigal and His Brother

Once there was this man who had two sons. One day the younger son came to his father and said, “Father, eventually I’m going to inherit my share of your estate. Rather than waiting until you die, I want you to give me my share now.” And so the father liquidated assets and divided them. A few days passed and this younger son gathered all his wealth and set off on a journey to a distant land. Once there he wasted everything he owned on wild living. He was broke, a terrible famine struck that land, and he felt desperately hungry and in need. He got a job with one of the locals, who sent him into the fields to feed the pigs. The young man felt so miserably hungry that he wished he could eat the slop the pigs were eating. Nobody gave him anything.

So he had this moment of self-reflection: “What am I doing here? Back home, my father’s hired servants have plenty of food. Why am I here starving to death? I’ll get up and return to my father, and I’ll say, ‘Father, I have done wrong—wrong against God and against you. I have forfeited any right to be treated like your son, but I’m wondering if you’d treat me as one of your hired servants?’” .

Lucas 15:11-16 Dios Habla Hoy (DHH)

La parábola del padre que recobra a su hijo

Jesús contó esto también: «Un hombre tenía dos hijos, y el más joven le dijo a su padre: “Padre, dame la parte de la herencia que me toca.” Entonces el padre repartió los bienes entre ellos. Pocos días después el hijo menor vendió su parte de la propiedad, y con ese dinero se fue lejos, a otro país, donde todo lo derrochó llevando una vida desenfrenada. Pero cuando ya se lo había gastado todo, hubo una gran escasez de comida en aquel país, y él comenzó a pasar hambre. Fue a pedir trabajo a un hombre del lugar, que lo mandó a sus campos a cuidar cerdos. Y tenía ganas de llenarse con las algarrobas que comían los cerdos, pero nadie se las daba. Al fin se puso a pensar: “¡Cuántos trabajadores en la casa de mi padre tienen comida de sobra, mientras yo aquí me muero de hambre! Regresaré a casa de mi padre, y le diré: Padre mío, he pecado contra Dios y contra ti; ya no merezco llamarme tu hijo; trátame como a uno de tus trabajadores.”

Join Us on Wednesday Evenings at 7pm

AHA: The God Moment that Changes Everything

We've all had "aha!" moments in our lives, times when a sudden revelation surprises us with insight. According to pastor and bestselling author Kyle Idleman, we can experience this same kind of "aha!" in our spiritual lives. With everyday examples and trademark testimonies, Idleman draws on Scripture to reveal how three key elements can draw us closer to God and change our lives for good.

Awakening to the reality of our true spiritual condition, we see ourselves and our need for a Savior with renewed honesty. This realization leads to action, obeying God's commands and following the example set by Christ. As we see in the transformation of the prodigal son, the result is a life-changing, destiny-altering collision—an AHA moment that leads us home to our loving Parent.

In an effort to keep accurate records, and for periodic follow up, we ask that you please take a moment to record your attendance. As you enter JoyMCC through the front doors, the Attendance sheet will be located on a stand to your left. Please insure you record on the correct sheet (1st and/or 2nd service)Thank you in advance for your help in our accurate reporting.

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On June 18th, Joy MCC came together to bring Project Care to the community; it had been the toughest week in our church’s history but everyone dug deep and brought our community day to fruition. I just want to personally THANK every single person who was on the planning team, volunteers on the day, folk who gave donations, folk who gave their time and to everyone who supported us all and held us in prayer.

The stories we heard from the folks [who came to receive from us] were so moving; many of us were in tears throughout the day as we heard the stories; as we talked to some of the homeless and as each person received a shower, new clothes, a haircut, a health check, a manicure, food and so much more, we could see smiles emerging from faces that were previously sad and lost.

I sincerely hope & pray that this is just the beginning of more days like this – WE CARE, YOU MATTER – Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Blessings,

Marina

I am so proud of our community and how we have come together to support each other during this difficult time. We have shown the world the strength of our city and how we are better together and will not be divided.

As our community continues to recover from the Pulse tragedy, we have opened a Family Assistance Center to serve as a critical connection between victims and the important services they need as part of their recovery. Over the past two days since we opened the center at Camping World Stadium, 94 families and 256 individuals have visited to receive help. But we know there are still more victims in need of help and we want them to know we are here for them.

The Family Assistance Center isn’t just for those who lost loved ones or were injured, it is for anyone affected by the tragedy. If you, your friends or family members have been affected by the shooting, please encourage them to seek help. We have made access to these services as easy as possible. Hours of operations and resources available at the Family Assistance Center are listed on our website cityoforlando.net/familyassistancecenter.

Thank you for continuing to stand together as one Orlando.

Buddy Dyer

Mayor

Click to Donate to the community outreach efforts related to Pulse shooting tragedy

There will be a free, outdoor concert (Orlando Pulse Benefit) at American Legion Post 19 (5320 Alloway St, Orlando, FL 32810) Sunday June 26th 12 PM - 6 PM

Come out and enjoy Live Music & Food...feel free to bring your blankets and chairs and PRIDE FLAGS.

Any food donations are being donated to the Joy MCC food pantry. If you are able please plan to attend.

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Support JOY when you order from Amazon. Use AmazonSmile! Choose JOY METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH!

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Joy MCC continues to be filled with giving and talented people like you. These are just a few of the many ways to share your time and talents. To join one of these, or one of our many other ministry teams, or to share a specific talent/skill you may have (ie, computers, networking, webdesign, handywork etc) or if you would like to learn more, please email Angela at admin@joymcc.com.

BE THE CHURCH!
Pull a Post It, Play Your Part

Weekly in the Welcome area, you'll see this board! Check it out and see how YOU can be the church here at JOY and pull a post it and play YOUR part. These are simple things that are needed--places to volunteer, areas to give back, and opportunities to serve! There are 6 categories: Worship, Ministry Teams, Volunteering, Skills, Outdoors and Items. There are a variety of things you can choose and in so doing, you can provide help and hope to those in our community!

Joy MCC's First organizational meeting/potluck supper and worship service was on January 14, 1979 in the home of Rev. Arthur Fleschner with 22 attending.

Each Worship Service needs up to 25 volunteers to help with altar serving, reading scripture, usher duties and multimedia. Whether you feel led to be up front praying, holding the elements, reading or behind the scenes running sound, video or camera, we need your talents and time. Please prayerfully consider how you can offer your talents to help contribute to each Worship experience.

email admin@joymcc.com for more information.