Pleasant Grove Community Church
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A pastor explained to his congregation that the church was in need of some extra money, so he asked them to consider being more than generous. He offered that whoever gave the most would be able to pick three hymns.
After the offering plates were passed around the church, the pastor glanced down and noticed that someone had graciously offered a $100 bill. He was so excited that he immediately shared his joy with his congregation and said he'd like to personally thank the person who placed the money in the plate.
A very quiet, elderly, saintly lady in the back of the church shyly raised her hand. The pastor asked her to come to the front, so she slowly made her way towards him. The pastor told her how wonderful it was that she gave so much, and in thanks he asked her to pick three hymns.
Her eyes brightened and she looked toward the congregation, pointed and said, "I'll take him and him and him."
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A Devotional Thought
by Pastor Phil
Stuck at Home?
Feeling useless?
Like you've just lost 2 months of your life?
And the mission and work of God has been put on hold
Consider this:
- Joseph was in prison
- Paul was in prison
- Jeremiah was imprisoned in a well and left to die
- David was forced to hide out in caves
- Jonah was in the belly of a whale for 3 days!
Yet, God's plans were not thwarted or even slowed. God used the "stuck" time in their lives to develop them for the ministries he had planned for them, things that at the time they had no inkling of. They may not have been excited about their circumstances, but they accepted them, because they trusted God despite their situations. In fact, Paul did some of his best and lasting ministry while stuck in prison.
So, if you are feeling stuck, you are amongst some prestigious company.
Know this, God has not been put on pause. God is still working in you and can work through you. Trust God despite your situation. Draw closer to God through scripture, prayer and worship. Look for the opportunity, however small, to bless someone.
Let us all make this part of our daily prayer:
And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message,
so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains
.
Colossians 4:3
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MAKING PREPARATIONS TO REOPEN!
We are actively preparing for when we can reopen our church for in-person worship services and Bible Studies.
We want to gauge your desires and feelings about reopening which will help us in our preparations so we are using a free survey offered by an affiliate of the Barna Group. This is a nationwide survey, but we will get the results for our church based on how you answer the questions. The survey is anonymous.
Tomorrow,
we will share our current plans
for how we will reopen when it is permitted.
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God's Art
Photo by Jeanne Wade
Do you have any original art that you created yourself and would like to share? It could be paintings, drawings, crafts, sewing, photography, sock puppets ... If so, send a picture of it to us at
1730pgccoffice@gmail.com
.
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TODAY IS GIVING THURSDAY
by Lois Coady
One of the things that I love about our God is that He is constant. He never changes, never withdraws His love, never fails us in our time of need. He is always with us. Today is Giving Thursday. As you spend time in His word, in prayer, in reaching out to others and in giving, remember His faithfulness to you.
Give time to reading your Bible and prayer
Every morning, whether I get up before or after the birds do, I get my coffee pot ready to brew and then go to my favorite chair in the living room and enter into God’s presence. I have a devotional that I read from, then I look up the scripture references associated with the thought for the day. As I read God’s word, I let it soak into my heart and mind and, more often than not, the verses are perfect for the situation I find myself in that morning.
After consuming God’s word, I spend some time talking with Him directly. I have an app on my smart phone (Echo prayer) in which I keep all of the requests that I am praying for along with other heartfelt desires and I spend time reviewing each one in my talk with God. Some days I spend several minutes on each request, other days I quickly go through them in my mind knowing that God already knows the need and will respond in due time.
Beginning each day with this routine helps ground me. It strengthens my faith and walk with God. It allows me to draw close to Him just as I do when I sit across from someone I love and share intimate and loving thoughts with them. So, please do not forgo spending time reading your Bible and praying today. God is waiting for you.
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Give time to reach out to someone
Over the past weeks we have done some really fun things to reach out to others. We have gathered food items for St. Vincent de Paul and continue to do so. We have sent thank you notes to our first responders. We have sent thank you notes and cards to the employees at Raley’s. Last week, we sent thank you’s to our primary and secondary care physicians during National Hospital Week. All of these people have been serving us on the front line through this unprecedented time and the thank you’s have meant a lot to them.
We have also been focusing on our neighbors, checking in with them and providing assistance wherever we can. Sometimes that assistance meant sharing a few rolls of toilet paper or a half dozen eggs. I spoke to one of our church members yesterday and she said that she and her neighbor did some “pandemic bartering,” they had extra cherries and in return, requested a few lemons.
I can envision God smiling when He sees us reaching out to one another this way. Loving and caring for each other in a deeper way. This has been one of the best outcomes of this difficult time in my opinion—sharing and caring for each other in a much more tangible and meaningful way. Let’s never stop touching other people for Him. “Love is patient, love is kind…it is not self-seeking…It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails” (I Corinthians 13:4-8). Amen.
Continue to give your offering to the Church
Thank you for continuing to give your tithes and offerings to support each one of us and the ministry of Pleasant Grove Community Church. This has been a long haul but you have been faithful each and every week. Thank you!
Please continue to give your tithes and offerings in one of these two ways:
Mail
Send your check to PGCC, 1730 Pleasant Grove Blvd, Roseville, CA 95747
Online
Go to our website,
www.pgcc.church
, select the COMMUNICATE tab at the top right, then select “
Giving Made Easy
” from the drop down menu. Have your checking account number and bank routing number handy then follow the directions through the process of setting our online giving up. Be sure to fill out the profile form before entering the amount you want to give. It is easy, fast and secure.
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You may remember that last year RSVP was filmed in concert at our church as a part of a documentary on the singing group's charitable work. The documentary was nominated for an Emmy award. If you'd like to see it, you can watch it by
CLICKING HERE
. It is 30 minutes long.
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STAY IN TOUCH
Call us at 916-771-4447
(Please leave a message if no one answers.)
Write us at 1730 Pleasant Grove Blvd, Roseville, CA 95747
Blessings, PGCC staff
If you know of someone not receiving this email, they can request to receive it by emailing
keapgcc@gmail.com
but they must request it themselves.
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Pleasant Grove Community Church
1730 Pleasant Grove Blvd., Roseville, CA 95747
(916) 771-4447 www.pgcc.church
Email: 1730pgccoffice@gmail.com
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