Ladies Bible Study

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Volunteers are needed for Outreach.

At National Night Out, we are giving out hotdogs and chips this year. We need volunteers to work the table at Heratige Park (behind Colony Bank), transport bags from the kitchen to the park, and assemble bags in the kitchen. Please let Jonathan Or Vicki Brown know if you can help. National Night Out is August 1, beginning at 6 PM.

National Night Out is an annual community campaign that promotes community partnership with Police, Sheriff, Fire, and EMS. Not only will the local emergency personnel be giving out school supplies. This event provides an excellent opportunity to bring emergency personnel and neighbors together under positive circumstances.

Help us Get the word out. Only one week left.

Click here for more information and to register.

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We will take the Bus to this event for anyone who is interested. We will attempt to order tickets on Monday, July 24th. If you would like a ticket, Let Jonathan or Sue Mastrario know by July 23rd. The cost will be $40.

If you would like to purchase a ticket yourself, click on the link below.
Click Here

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Giving as of July 18, 2023

Budget for 2023 . . . . . . . .  $348,707.00
Tithes Needed to Date . . . . $193,766.38
Received to Date . . . . . . . . $140,220.67
Needed for weekly budget . . .  $6,705.91
Tithes Received this week . . . . $3,295.00

MID-WEEK DEVOTION

Don’t forget to check out Brother David’s Mid-Week Devotion in the book of Psalms. They are uploaded each Wednesday on the sermon page.

From Our Family and Music Minister

I have been known to work on computers now and then. By far, I am not an expert, but I know my way around them a little bit. When I started tinkering with computers, my knowledge came more out of necessity than interest. After my mother had lost many computer files when a hard drive crashed, she decided to install a backup tape drive in her computer. To make a long story short, after a few weeks of not having a computer that worked and many parts laying off to the side, my dad purchased her a new computer. My mom had completely lost control of the situation and had to abandon it. However, this allowed me to have my very own computer. After some tinkering and trial and error, I had the computer working again and had my own computer to use.

In my last article, I discussed how we can set up illusions to give us a sense of control, but we must resist setting up those forms of idols in our lives and learn to trust in God to direct our lives fully.  Another way we try to control our circumstances is through knowledge and information. We think that the more we know about a situation, the better equipped we are to control it. Of course, there is nothing wrong with being prepared, but we can’t allow our desire for control and predictability to keep us from relying on God or noticing the detours He has placed in our lives.

Trying to control our circumstances on our own can lead to anxiety, especially when it is humanly impossible for us to control. We put our bodies through unnecessary worry and fear when we try to take uncontrollable circumstances out of God’s hands and put them on our shoulders. In Philippians, we read, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” True peace comes from knowing that God is in control of our circumstances.

Another consequence of trying to control our circumstances is exhaustion. Even though it is very honorable to have a good work ethic, we can’t fool ourselves into thinking that we can have complete control if we work hard enough. That will lead us to a vicious cycle of always working. When we fill our lives with too much work and responsibility, our quiet time, study time, and fellowshipping with believers will be the first things we cut short as we try to fit it all in. Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” A yoke was a heavy wooden structure that attached an ox to a heavy piece of equipment so that the ox could pull it. We must allow our Creator to carry our burdens, or we will exhaust ourselves trying to do it alone. We must rest in His love, grace, and control.

The final cost of controlling our circumstances is a weakened faith. Trying to control our circumstances limits our ability to trust God fully with what we can’t see or predict. We can’t be prepared to control every event that will happen in our lives. Faith requires knowing that God is in complete control—not us. Our circumstances are unpredictable. Even when we plan for the unexpected or prepare for a particular outcome, things that are entirely out of our control can happen.

My mother thought she was completely prepared to add a tape drive to her computer. She backed up her data and read the install manual. However, she was unprepared when her computer had a different cable than the instructions. The computer not working came down to the wrong cable being connected. It looked the same and would plug up just like the correct one; however, it wouldn’t work. Trusting God with our futures can feel difficult sometimes. But remembering that God has complete control and understands our circumstances should reassure us that we can give Him complete control and not lean on our understanding.