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This Sunday
August 13, 2017
Sermon Title:
"Our Strong Deliverer"
"Lord, Teach Us to Pray" series
Scripture:
Matthew 6:9-13
1 Peter 5:6-10
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 August 10, 2017
Dear MLEPC Members and Friends,
It is hard to believe that Fall Kickoff Sunday is in one month! Slowly but surely, you all are coming back from vacation, kids are gearing up for school (and parents are celebrating!), and the air is even starting to get a little cooler - which thrills me as a Southerner, because that usually doesn't happen until the end of September in North Carolina!
As we begin to make the mental shift toward the new season, I wanted to give you a couple of glimpses of things we have coming up. We want you to be thinking about activities you can invest in, and we also appreciate your prayers for the overall ministries of the church!
- Studying Ephesians: Starting September 10, we will begin a new sermon series on the book of Ephesians. It is one of my favorite books, because it is full of truth, encouragement and challenge. Have you ever read straight through the book? It only takes 30 minutes or so to read the whole thing. Sometime in the next month, will you set aside a half hour and read through it? Or read it out loud with your family, a spouse, or a friend. Perhaps even jot down a few notes or questions you have. Hold onto those, because starting at the same time will be....
- Small Groups: You will learn more about our plan for small groups in the upcoming TTL, so I will just give you a few highlights. We as a congregation will be using a small group curriculum together centered on the book of Ephesians and tied to the sermon series. We will have small groups meeting on Sunday mornings, during Family Fusion, and in homes throughout the week. Start praying now about getting involved, and even better, pray about bringing a friend. Often people who are uncomfortable walking into a church building are much more comfortable walking into a living room and having a discussion about a book. Do you have a friend who would be blessed by joining a group like this?
- Children and Youth: In addition to small groups, we want to see the children and youth ministries in this church continue to grow and thrive. This church has one of the best ministries to young people I have seen in recent years. We have hundreds of kids coming into this building every month who do not even attend here, and we as staff and session members have been struck by the opportunity that literally walks in our door. When most people think about outreach, they have to go out of their building. All we have to do is stand here! Please be praying for these ministries. God is up to something, and we want to get in on what He is doing! Pray for Fired Up Friday, our once-a-month outreach where kids of all faiths come to play and also hear the gospel every month. Pray for Mothers Morning Out and the Single Moms Small Group - young moms need our support and encouragement! Pray for Kingdom Kids, our preschool, which draws families from all backgrounds in our community. Pray for our youth group as they try to reach teens at a critical time in their lives. And pray for Jubilee Christian School, the Christian elementary school that meets in our education wing. Our session has recently recommitted to a closer partnership with the school, and we want to serve and build relationships with their families in a more intentional way this year.
If you want to learn more about any of these ministries, feel free to ask! I or any of the staff team would love to talk with you about how you can get involved. But again, the first and most important involvement we need from all of you is prayer.
Speaking of prayer, we only have two Sundays left of our Lord's Prayer sermon series! This week we will be talking about the challenging request, "Deliver us from evil." What is evil? How does it impact our walk and our faith? How do we protect ourselves from the "flaming arrows of the evil one" that Ephesians talks about? And where is God, our Strong Deliverer, in the midst of it all? We will be looking at several scripture passages, including Ephesians 6 and 1 Peter 5:6-10.
Many blessings to you all as you enjoy the last weeks of summer. I hope you are finding good rest in the Lord!
Pastor Carolyn
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