How To...#8 - Look Forward
In our October and November series, we'll be looking at many "How To" topics from God's perspective.
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Grace Church holds a Meet & Greet for those who are newer to Grace Church on the 4th Sunday of each month. Our next Meet & Greet will be held today (November 24th) following the service in CJ's coffee shop. It is a great opportunity to meet the staff and leadership of Grace Church and learn a little more about the church. It also gives us an opportunity to learn a little about you! Contact Leslie Booher if you have any questions ([email protected]).
The deacons at Grace Church are partnering with Helping Hands in Charlotte for a coat drive.
We are collecting new or gently used coats of any size to donate to Helping Hands. If you have these, please hang them in the Lost & Found coat rack next to the church office on or before December 1st. If anyone in the church has a need for a coat themselves or a loved one, please feel free to take a look and help yourself. Any questions, contact Denny Shaver ([email protected]).
We are collecting new or gently used coats of any size to donate to Helping Hands. If you have these, please hang them in the Lost & Found coat rack next to the church office on or before December 1st. If anyone in the church has a need for a coat themselves or a loved one, please feel free to take a look and help yourself. Any questions, contact Denny Shaver ([email protected]).
Grace Church Anniversary
Today Grace Church celebrates its 31st anniversary. We invite everyone to stay after the service for lunch which will be provided by the hospitality team.
Today Grace Church celebrates its 31st anniversary. We invite everyone to stay after the service for lunch which will be provided by the hospitality team.
If you have interest in sharing Christmas Card greetings with your Grace Church family, you can drop your cards at the Welcome Kiosk now through December 22nd. The Welcome Team will be sorting the cards and distributing them to families on Sunday mornings. Contact Leslie Booher ([email protected]) if you have any questions.
CJ's coffee shop will be open on Wednesday nights 6:00-7:30 pm. This is a great time to invite others and "pull up a chair" to have conversations.
If you have ordered pies and have not yet picked them up, you can do that today, from the freezer (or on the counter if you ordered fresh baked) in the kitchen before you leave church. Pies will be labeled with names so please be sure to take only the pies that are yours.
Contact Susie Butler with any questions regarding your pies ([email protected]). A big thank you to Susie for continuing this fundraiser while recovering from surgery. She has a great team!
Contact Susie Butler with any questions regarding your pies ([email protected]). A big thank you to Susie for continuing this fundraiser while recovering from surgery. She has a great team!
Tuesday, November 26th - Bernie Hickey
Thursday, November 28th - Tom & Bev Oleson
Thursday, November 28th - Tom & Bev Oleson
Cards
Our memory verse this month is Philippians 4:8
Philippians 4:8
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8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things.
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Our Fall series is entitled "How To". Each week a topic will be added to make a complete statement. These topics will be looked at from God's perspective.
So far our topics have been, How To...Be a Friend, Pray, Deal with Difficult People, Forgive, Use the Bible, Live Like Jesus, and Practice Generosity.
So far our topics have been, How To...Be a Friend, Pray, Deal with Difficult People, Forgive, Use the Bible, Live Like Jesus, and Practice Generosity.
This morning our final topic is How To...Look Forward.
Each of us, and the church as a whole, are another year closer to our meeting Jesus someday. At that time we will give an account of the stewardship He has entrusted to us.
Hebrews 4:13
Each of us, and the church as a whole, are another year closer to our meeting Jesus someday. At that time we will give an account of the stewardship He has entrusted to us.
Hebrews 4:13
Hebrews 4:13
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13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
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Anniversaries are used to commemorate a variety of occasions. Such as marriage, work, organizational milestones, cultural events, and historic celebrations.
Today we give thanks and celebrate the 31st anniversary of Grace Church!
Today we give thanks and celebrate the 31st anniversary of Grace Church!
The celebration of any anniversary should cause the participants to look at the event through three different lenses:
First - The Lens of the PAST.
Philippians 3:13
Romans 5:3-4
Each of us has been on a journey. We've experienced our own mixture of good and bad...successes and failures.
The Apostle Paul wrote about forgetting the past in Philippians 3. This doesn't mean that we have no remembrance of people or events, it's just that we aren't to be defined, trapped, defeated, or puffed up by our experiences in life.
In Romans 5 Paul wrote that God uses these things to make us more like Jesus and much less like the person He died for.
LESSONS LEARNED
This week think of 2-3 past life events and encounters that have bruised you and another 2-3 that have blessed you. Are you a better person because of these?
First - The Lens of the PAST.
Philippians 3:13
Romans 5:3-4
Each of us has been on a journey. We've experienced our own mixture of good and bad...successes and failures.
The Apostle Paul wrote about forgetting the past in Philippians 3. This doesn't mean that we have no remembrance of people or events, it's just that we aren't to be defined, trapped, defeated, or puffed up by our experiences in life.
In Romans 5 Paul wrote that God uses these things to make us more like Jesus and much less like the person He died for.
LESSONS LEARNED
This week think of 2-3 past life events and encounters that have bruised you and another 2-3 that have blessed you. Are you a better person because of these?
Philippians 3:13
BSB
13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
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Romans 5:3-4
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3 Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.
4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.
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Second - The Lens of the PRESENT.
Colossians 1:1-4
An anniversary is surely a time of celebration. It should cause us to look around at where we are in life and who we are sharing it with.
If we don't make an effort to slow down, open our eyes, notice, appreciate, and enjoy these gifts of God, we will miss out on so many of His blessings.
Anniversaries mark the passing of time. But also, we've seen people's lives fade into the distant past. Because organizations are comprised of people, they change in nature as people come and go, for whatever reason.
The Apostle Paul would often recognize people who had displayed affection for him, who worked alongside him in God's mission, and those he cared deeply about.
LIVES GATHERED
This week, focus on the lives around you and across your path. Express your appreciation to them and for them, just as Paul did.
Colossians 1:1-4
An anniversary is surely a time of celebration. It should cause us to look around at where we are in life and who we are sharing it with.
If we don't make an effort to slow down, open our eyes, notice, appreciate, and enjoy these gifts of God, we will miss out on so many of His blessings.
Anniversaries mark the passing of time. But also, we've seen people's lives fade into the distant past. Because organizations are comprised of people, they change in nature as people come and go, for whatever reason.
The Apostle Paul would often recognize people who had displayed affection for him, who worked alongside him in God's mission, and those he cared deeply about.
LIVES GATHERED
This week, focus on the lives around you and across your path. Express your appreciation to them and for them, just as Paul did.
Colossians 1:1-4
BSB
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
4 because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints—
2 To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
4 because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints—
BSB
Third - The Lens of POSSIBILITY.
James 4:13-16
Ephesians 3:20
Most people would use the word "future" here. But God wants us to remember that we have no guarantee or certainty that another day will be provided for us. We see a subtle warning in James regarding people who make arrogant and self-centered plans for their lives without acknowledging God's sovereignty and aligning our will with His.
God has given each of us and this church a tremendous opportunity to serve Him.
31 years ago, Ephesians 3:20 was imprinted upon the soul and injected into the DNA of Grace Church.
LANDS UNDISCOVERED
To find these undiscovered lands for our family and this church, we must pray, we must be passionately committed to accomplish God's will and not our own, and then by faith we must pursue in faith what the Lord has placed on our heart.
James 4:13-16
Ephesians 3:20
Most people would use the word "future" here. But God wants us to remember that we have no guarantee or certainty that another day will be provided for us. We see a subtle warning in James regarding people who make arrogant and self-centered plans for their lives without acknowledging God's sovereignty and aligning our will with His.
God has given each of us and this church a tremendous opportunity to serve Him.
31 years ago, Ephesians 3:20 was imprinted upon the soul and injected into the DNA of Grace Church.
LANDS UNDISCOVERED
To find these undiscovered lands for our family and this church, we must pray, we must be passionately committed to accomplish God's will and not our own, and then by faith we must pursue in faith what the Lord has placed on our heart.
James 4:13-16
BSB
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.”
14 You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.”
16 As it is, you boast in your proud intentions. All such boasting is evil.
14 You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.”
16 As it is, you boast in your proud intentions. All such boasting is evil.
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Ephesians 3:20
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20 Now to Him who is able to do so much more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,
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