An Encouraging Word ***

Transcription

1 Church Office: THE SOLID ROCK CHURCH Mailing Address: 3601 Cypress Gardens Rd Cypress Gardens Rd., Suite Q PO Box 926 Suite C Winter Haven, Florida Winter Haven, FL Winter Haven, FL (863) Weekly Epistle Services: Sundays 10:00 a.m. Wednesdays: Prayer 4:30 - Supper 5:15 - Service 6:00 p.m. Soaking Prayer: First Wednesday of the month and by appointment Heart and mind An Encouraging Word The first characteristic of heart-worship is that it is rational; the mind is fully involved in it. For the 'heart' in Scripture is not simply equivalent to the emotions, as it usually is in common parlance today. In biblical thought the 'heart' is the centre of the human personality and is often so used that the intellect is more emphasized than the emotions. Thus, the exhortation in Proverbs 23:26, 'My son, give me your heart,' has often been interpreted as an entreaty for our love and devotion. It has served as a convenient text for many sermons on whole-hearted discipleship. But in reality it is a command to listen, to pay attention, to sit up and take notice, an appeal more for concentration than for consecration. --From "Christ the Controversialist" (London: Tyndale Press, 1970), p The Rocket 45 1

2 The Season is: TRINITY SUNDAY Sun., 6/7/09 Is. 6:1-8; Psalm 29; Rom 8:12-17; John 3:1-17 Wed. 6/10/09 (St. Barnabas) Is. 42:5-12; Psalm 112; Acts 11:19-30;13:1-3; Mt. 10:7-16 Preliminary Financial Info thru 5/31/09 $ 52,595 Income to Date $ 58,749 Budgeted Expenses to date $ (6,154) Shortfall The school busses have brought our children home for the summer. What a good opportunity to spend some God time with them. Bring your kids, grandkids, and neighbors kids to church with you. Take them to McDonalds and say grace before you eat your burger. How about a day on one of our many lakefront docks, where you can show them nature and teach them about Creation? "When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this you haven't." Thomas A. Edison JUNE BIRTHDAYS: JUNE ANNIVERSARIES: 6/4 Jim Raub 6/18 Dave Zellers 6/7 Diane and Dale Barrett 6/6 Diane Barrett 6/22 Bill Johnson 6/12 Maggie and Pete Day 6/11 Jeff Simpson 6/23 Carol Ellis 6/12 Kim and Andy Doan 6/14 Sheila LaPanne 6/24 Charlie Ellis 6/16 Sarah and Gary Test 6/15 Elisabeth Belote 6/25 Glenn Hanson 6/16 Israel Mahoney 6/26 Barb Anderson 6/17 Sky Springer 6/30 Zackary Belote The Rocket 45 2

3 The World Beyond Our Parish NEWS FROM THE MILLERS IN HONDURAS: Dear Friends, This past Sunday, we had a much awaited community meeting to share with the leaders of El Venado about La Esperanza de Jesús Children's Home project and invite their help and support. It has been our desire from the start to include the community in the project, so that this is not just another form of American aid to poor Hondurans, but a way to encourage and empower people here to address their own social problems and work for the good of their country. We long to work not only for Hondurans, but side by side with them. We spent much of the weekend carefully preparing for the meeting: rechecking the invitation list, meticulously translating our brochure into Spanish and praying for God to cover over the unavoidable cultural and language barriers that could easily prevent our hearts and intentions from being understood. Sunday afternoon, 30 minutes before the meeting, we sat down to pray. We asked the Lord to come in power, to send His Holy Spirit upon us, to communicate beyond our abilities in Spanish, to soften hearts, to give the Honduran people vision for their own community and an uncharacteristic desire to volunteer. Praise the Lord, He answered our prayers! His Spirit came with power and enabled us to clearly and passionately communicate our vision. We were able to continually point back to the Lord as the Alpha and Omega, the One for whom and with whom and through whom this project exists and the only One who can bring it to completion. And, as we had prayed, the people's hearts were soft and they volunteered. Several community members got up and spoke, encouraging their fellow citizens to join the cause. Then and there, they formed a 9-person committee to help us and to organize others to help in the future. The people rallied around us and our vision in a way that only the Spirit of God could have made possible. All glory and honor and praise to the One who loves the children of Honduras more than we could ever imagine. Yesterday was affirmation for all of us that this work belongs to the Lord and He is mighty. When all we could do was pray that God would take our efforts and infuse them with His Spirit, He was faithful to do so. We now have a community that is commited to helping the children's home project succeed and a poignant reminder that La Esperanza de Jesus is not ours, but the Lord s. In His service, Kim and Mike Miller The Rocket 45 3

4 (The following is a second note from Kim and Mike Miller received in the last week.) Dear Friends, We awoke at 2:30 a.m. this morning to our house shaking from a magnitude 7.1 earthquake off the coast of Honduras. We are fine and received no damage to our home. We are beginning to hear reports (as of 7:30 a.m.) of at least one home in our village that was damaged due to the quake. We will be checking in with neighbors and other missionaries throughout the day. Please pray for all those in Honduras who suffered loss of property or life due to the quake. Blessings, Kim and Mike Miller The Wednesday-night church service coincided with the last day of hunting season. Our pastor asked who had bagged a deer. No one raised a hand. Puzzled, the pastor said, "I don't get it. Last Sunday many of you said you were missing because of hunting season. I had the whole congregation pray for your deer." One hunter groaned, "Well, it worked. They're all safe." The Rocket 45 4

5 Ladies Retreat October 2-4, 2009 Lake Yale Baptist Conference Center Leesburg, Florida Cindi Sholander Retreat Facilitator Praying with Power The weekend will consist of prayer, worship, meditations, talks and free time. There will also be time to speak one on one with the facilitator and/or clergy for direction, counseling or confession. The retreat will begin promptly at 4pm on Friday evening and end noon on Sunday. It is essential that each participant be present for the entire weekend so please set aside this time for your spiritual renewal. Keep in mind that you will probably experience rush hour traffic on Friday after-noon so give yourself plenty of time to get there safely and on time. Rooms are for 2 persons so let us know on the registration who you will be rooming with you.. The Rocket 45 5

6 THINGS YOU WILL NEED TO BRING: Your Bible. Notebook and pen/pencil. Personal Items, toiletries, medications, etc. Linens are provided. Comfortable clothes and shoes. Bring a sweater or light jacket for early morning and evening. A heart ready to be transformed by the Lord. REGISTRATION NAME: PHONE: ROOM-MATE: DIETARY NEEDS: Cost of the weekend is $150 per person. This includes double accommodations, facilitator s expenses and five meals: dinner on Friday night, 3 meals on Saturday, and breakfast on Sunday. Registration with a $50 deposit is required by June 29. This is necessary to reserve space with the Retreat Center. Second installment of $50 is due by August 15 and last installment of $50 is due by October 15. If cost is an issue please see Deacon Anne. If you have any questions about the retreat please call Deacon Anne Hague on Send deposit check and registration to: Trinity Anglican Church PO BOX Orlando, FL The Rocket 45 6

7 This is Prayer Box Sunday. Be sure to pull a name to pray for this month. QUOTE OF THE DAY: "The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance." --Cicero (55 BC) D-Day, Day, June 6 th, years ago today, our troops landed in Normandy and fought one of the most significant battles of our country s history. If you know anyone who was there, be sure to thank them today. If you don t know anyone who was there, be sure to thank God for the courage of so many men who loved their country and what it stands for. God, bless America! Til Next Week, The Rocket 45 7