April 12, 2024

In This Week's Update

• Sunday's Sermon and Song List
• Sunday School
• Small Group Opportunities
• New Church App
• Hy-Vee Gift Cards
• Living Free Jail Ministry
• Wednesday Activities
• Praise and Worship Jam Session
• Adult Discipleship Night- 4 Weeks on Marriage
• Family Conference
• Bonus Quote

This Sunday's Sermon and Song List

Love is very poorly defined in our culture. In this year's Superbowl there was a famous ad campaign which showed socially privileged or "upper class" people washing the feet of the marginalized or lowly. The basic idea is that Jesus didn't teach or stir up hate. He taught and modeled sacrificial, humble love. This is very true. No one loves us more or better than Jesus. This week we will be in John 13 where the original foot-washing story is recorded for us. What more could we see here? It turns out - like in all of Jesus' actions - there is a lot more going on. Jesus doesn't just "get us". He doesn't just "love us". His love changes and humbles us (as it did Peter) or it heaps more judgment on us (as it did Judas). Jesus' love is THE most important love and so it's the most important to understand and define. And when you encounter it you can't walk away unchanged. Join us as we continue to encounter Christ's love in John's Gospel!  

To get yourself ready to sing on Sunday you can start listening to the songs we'll be singing together:

• My Soul Magnifies The Lord
• Ancient Words
• He Knows My Name
• Holy Forever
• This Is Amazing Grace

We created a playlist on Youtube in case you want to start listening today. You can find that by clicking HERE.

Adult Sunday School

Sunday we'll continue our Sunday School Class designed to walk us through the book of Exodus. If you don't like mirrors held up to the contents of your heart then Exodus can be an uncomfortable book. Ancient Israel continually forgot the goodness of God and longed to return to their chains in Egypt. And we can often be just like them. But, if you enjoy seeing the enduring faithfulness of God and His amazing grace on display then Exodus is a "can't miss" kind of story. As always, we'll make an extra effort to consider how Exodus points forward to Jesus Himself so that we don't forget the ultimate picture of God's faithfulness in the gospel! Join us Sunday morning at 9!

Did You Know About These Different Small Group Opportunities?

Here are all the study/fellowship opportunities currently available through our church:



• Monday Evening Men's Group - 7:00PM at Dave Hofer's Home
• Wednesday Night Discovery Zone and Small Groups 5:45PM
• Women's Friday Afternoon Study at 1:00PM -Resumes in May
• COMING SOON- Women's Zoom Bible Study- Thursday nights starting in May
• Saturday Morning Men's Group- Please contact the office for dates, times, and locations.

Questions? Contact the church office at (605) 689-2211.

Get Connected With Our New App

The new and free Church Center App allows our members and attenders to access a few handy features that will keep us all "in the loop".

Downloading the app on your smartphone allows you to access the church calendar of events and our directory. You can sign up for events or groups through the app as well.

While we encourage folks to save their giving for the worship service, as an act of worship, the app also has an electronic giving option in the event that you can't be in worship.

Church Center is provided by a service that is officially replacing Church Community Builder (CCB) so, it's important that you check your e-mail for an invitation to join Church Center so that you can view the directory and other features in the app. Your invitations were sent out in July. Be sure to check you spam or junk folder as the email came from Planning Center not the office. As always, reach out to the office if you have any questions. Thank you!

Did You Know You Can Give To The Church By Purchasing Hy-vee Gift Cards?

Discovery Church receives 5% back on all gift cards purchased from the church. You can purchase your $50 or $100 gift cards on Sundays from Jeff and Dawn Herron (Fellowship Hall) or weekdays from the office. There is no limit on how many you can purchase. If you have any questions please feel free to contact the church office. 

Living Free Jail Ministry

Every Thursday 2 volunteers from Discovery lead a group of incarcerated women through Stepping Into Freedom.

Each attendee receives a work book and a Bible.

Please be in prayer for our volunteers and the women they meet each week. May their hearts be open to receive the gospel.

If you would like to donate towards the cost of the workbooks or Bibles, you may put donations in with the offering, but please mark it as jail ministry. There are envelopes in the brown offering box located on the east wall by the sound booth if you are giving cash.

If you have any questions please contact Peg, Brenda, or the office.

Wednesday Night Activities!

This week will be Discovery Zone. Next week will be small groups. If you are interested in joining a small group please contact the office to get connected with one.

Praise and Worship Jam Session

On April 14th at 6:00 PM we will be having a jam session. If you want to join a few people from the worship team by playing an instrument, singing or just listening to them play, we would love to have you join us!

Adult Discipleship Night:

4 Weeks on Marriage Starts April 24th

All adults are invited to attend our four week focus on marriage, starting Wednesday, April 24th at 6:00PM. We will learn about and discuss:

• Week 1: Forgiveness and grace in marriage
• Week 2: Communication in marriage
• Week 3: Conflict in marriage
• Week 4: Children and marriage

Childcare will be provided and everyone with an interest in building up their spouses and the marriages around you are encouraged to attend. This could also be a good way of getting to know other folks in the church if there are more people you'd like to meet and get connected with. There is no need to sign up and all are welcome!

Annual Family Conference

On April 27th we will host our third annual conference meant to help equip Christian's and their families for faithfulness in the world. Each year we've received help from the works of C.S. Lewis as he faithfully points to Scriptural truths that build us up. 

• In Year One we focused on the doctrines of new birth, discipleship, and gender/sexuality as they are portrayed in Lewis' Narnia. 
• In Year Two we focused on what it looks like to have a mind renewed by the gospel of Christ. Getting help from works like C.S. Lewis' letters, the Abolition of Man, Mere Christianity and more Narnia we talked about the redemption of the mind applied to education and Sunday worship. 
• Now, this Year we are going to focus on temptation and spiritual warfare. 

Here are some TOP THINGS you might be interested in knowing about this year's event:

1. It's not just for people with kids - it's for everyone!

2. It's part of our effort to equip Christians to be spiritually armored up

3. One talk will help us define spiritual warfare.

4. Another talk will help us identify and fight temptations that are particular to the home and the church.

5. Another talk will help us identify and fight temptations in reference to modern technology.

6. There's plenty for kids to do.

7. It's great fellowship with believers from SD, NE and IA! 

There will be a sign-up sheet for volunteer spots at the welcome table this Sunday!

You can register your attendance HERE.

A Bonus Quote For the Week

I saw this quote from Pastor Mark Dever this week and want to champion the thought of it. First the quote then a comment or two. 

"Churches don't need programs so much as they need cultures of discipling, cultures where each member prioritizes the spiritual health of others."

Notice something important here: he's not saying programs are bad. I've met Mark and been to his church. His church has plenty of programs. What he's saying is that a greater priority should be placed on individual members prioritizing the spiritual health of others. A "culture of discipling" is a culture where it is ordinary for a Christian to take quality time with other Christians for the sake of helping them follow Jesus. 

A great book on this subject is "The Trellis and the Vine: The Ministry Mindshift that Changes Everything." This book rocked my world when I was a youth pastor. I had been trying to build a big youth group, make things fun, make them exciting. But (1) I'm not a very exciting person so that didn't work. (2) I was trying to do all of it myself. And that definitely didn't work. I realized that what these kids needed was individual attention from multiple members in the body of Christ. We quickly shifted to a model where individual members were tasked with discipling and mentoring a few students at a time. I did a little teaching in the group but after that, I set adult volunteers loose to use their gifts with students. It was a hard paradigm shift but these leaders graciously went for it. Now, 13 years later I still have students and parents tell me that they are so thankful for the fruit of that ministry. 

Brother and sisters, don't underestimate the small, seemingly anonymous efforts of just trying to help one other person follow Jesus. 

Elder Meeting Minutes

To read the minutes from our most recent elder meeting, please click HERE.