July 17th, 2021

Greetings, Church Family and Friends!
Another Vacation Bible School is on the books, and we had a great week learning God's Word together! Thank you, Dava Hackett, for leading our VBS. Our theme was "Destination Dig" and our theme verse was Jeremiah 29:13 "You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart." We had 48 children enrolled and 24 or so leaders, helpers, and volunteers. Tomorrow, and the VBS children will be sharing their program at 10:40 am, taking the place of the first 20 minutes or so of the regular worship service. After the program, our regular corporate worship will commence.
**At the conclusion of the service, we will give our Grand Oaks youth campers an opportunity to speak and share camp testimonies.**

TOMORROW is THE LORD'S DAY and I want to encourage you to read and meditate on the following Scriptures that will shape and inform our corporate worship tomorrow:
Call to Worship: Psalm 90:1-2
Old Testament: Isaiah 53:1-10
New Testament: Acts 8:35-39
Assurance of Pardon: Psalm 32:1-2
Sermon Text: Luke 7:1-10
Fighter Verses: Ephesians 6:16-18
Benediction: Numbers 6:24-26

COMING UP:

• Monday, July 19, 7 pm: Monday "Sunday School" via ZOOM with Pastor Kyle
• Wednesday, July 21, 6:30 pm: MIDWEEK SERVICE in person and via ZOOM
• Friday, July 23, 8:30 pm: OUTDOOR FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT ("Big Hero 6") on Independent Farmers Bank Parking Lot. In case of rain, we will meet in Fellowship Hall. Bring your own lawn chairs. Popcorn and snowcones will be provided. (The purpose of these "family movie nights" is not to have the movie itself convey the message of the Gospel. Rather, it is to provide a wholesome entertainment event to the community at no cost, and to serve as a venue where Gospel conversations can happen. When someone asks, "Why are you doing this?" or "Why is this free?" simply say, "We are Christians who want to share the love of Jesus in a tangible way." That is one way to turn the question into a Gospel conversation. From there it might be a Scripture verse or verses, a biblical truth, or a personal salvation testimony that points someone to Christ who is the only Savior).
• Sunday, July 26 - Missouri Baptist Children's Home birthday offering and Baptist Homes anniversary offering will be received at the conclusion of the morning service.
• CHILDREN'S CAMP at GRAND OAKS, previously scheduled for August 9-13, has been canceled. Attached to this email is a letter from the leadership team explaining why this difficult decision was made.

ICYMI Last Sunday’s Message audio from Luke 6:46-49 "Building Wisely"
Please visit our YouTube Channel to see the edited service video. 


READ THROUGH THE BIBLE
Week 29 of the 5 Day Bible Reading Program.
Read through the entire Bible following this plan, or read only the New Testament (in italics).
Day One: 1 Kings 19-21; 2 Chronicles 17; Psalm 129; Matthew 1
Day Two: 1 Kings 22; 2 Chron. 18; Matthew 2
Day Three: 2 Chron. 19-20; 2 Kings 1; Psalm 20; Matthew 3
Day Four: 2 Kings 2-3; Psalm 48; Matthew 4
Day Five: 2 Kings 4-6; Matthew 5


Visit the website for more up-to-date information!


THE LORD'S DAY SCRIPTURES: Please take a few moments to read and meditate on God's Word in preparation for corporate worship tomorrow.
FIGHTER VERSES: Ephesians 6:14-15
CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 24
OT READING: 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12-19
NT READING: Ephesians 1:13-14
PRAYER OF CONFESSION: Psalm 85:4-9
ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Psalm 85:1-3
SERMON TEXT: Luke 6:46-49
BENEDICTION: Numbers 6:24-26






BONUS: Some of you have asked me where we get our Scripture readings from the Old and New Testament that we read each Lord's Day. Well, it isn't just random selection. About 95% of the time currently, those readings come from the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). A "lectionary" is simply a collection of Scripture readings for use on specific days of the year. The RCL is ordered around the so-called "liturgical year" which in turn is based on events from the life and ministry of Jesus and the New Testament Church (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Season after Pentecost). Like other lectionaries, the RCL is a three-year reading plan that covers large portions of every book of Scripture in an orderly way. The idea is to hear from all the Scripture writers (under the Holy Spirit's inspiration, of course) and not simply thematic readings. While we as a church generally do not observe the traditional liturgical year as such, we do count it a blessing to be able to read Scripture aloud in the assembly as commanded to Timothy by the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 4:13 "Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching." I am blessed to be able to share this responsibility with our deacons each week, and with others as appropriate. For example, this week we are deviating from the pattern I described by having our children from VBS read portions of Scripture from the week of VBS.
If you want to take a look at the lectionary readings in advance, you can find them at this website. 
Allow me to offer this disclaimer: None of the above should be understood as a blanket endorsement of the RCL. The RCL is not without its problems, and some folks will take exception to its use due for one reason or another. Sometimes I find myself in that category. However, I have found its helpfulness to outweigh those problems, particularly as a selective resource to provide worship services packed with Scriptural material for reflection and application. 
We may not always use the RCL in the future. I have found continuous readings through books of the Bible also to be a valuable way to hear Scripture read aloud. But for now, we benefit from its use in our worship planning and execution.


See you in church!


Grace and peace,


Pastor Greg