Brunswick Reformed Church 3535 Grafton Road Brunswick, Ohio (330)

Transcription

1 Brunswick Reformed Church 3535 Grafton Road Brunswick, Ohio (330) Ministers: The Congregation Pastors: Don Poest Dan Toot Worship & Christian Education Sunday 9:00 & 10:30 a.m.

2 Welcome to Brunswick Reformed Church s worship celebrations. To make our mutual experience more enjoyable today please: 1. Relax - At BRC you can rest assured that you will not be embarrassed, singled out, or put on the spot. 2. Fill Out a Welcome Card - These can be dropped in the offering plate later. The information won t be misused, and will help us know who s been here. It s also a great way to drop a note to, or request a contact from, a staff member. 3. Ask for Prayer - If you have a prayer concern to share, pick up a prayer request form from the cart in back. The completed forms will be collected by the ushers when the Welcome Cards are distributed 4. Know There Are Options for Children - - The small room in the right rear corner has rocking chairs where little ones can be rocked, quieted or nursed. - We have an excellent nursery for ages 0-3 at the far end of our education wing. 5. Join Us for Fellowship - Coffee and juice are served in the fellowship area after each service. Join us and get acquainted. We do ask that you not take drinks into worship with you. 6. Do Not Feel Obligated to Give - If you are a first-time guest, please do not feel obligated to participate in the offering. This is a time when members and regular attendees honor God by giving to his work through this church. Let today be our gift to you. 7. Stop by our Welcome Center for more information about Brunswick Reformed Church! 8. BRC is on the web Who Is BRC? We are a member of the Reformed Church in America, a Protestant denomination that goes back to the Reformation period in Europe when the Church was reformed according to the Word of God. We are a mixture of Christians from many denominational backgrounds, all seeking to grow in our spiritual maturity as we live by faith with Jesus as our forgiver and leader. You will find our calling, mission and core value statements on the back of this bulletin.

3 May 25, 2014 Welcome to worship! On this Memorial Day weekend may you worship the One who gave his life for our eternal freedom, and honor those who gave their lives for our national freedom. Thank you to the worship team for leading us in worship through music. Sunday: 9:00 a.m. Worship service 10:30 a.m.: Worship Service 10:30 a.m.: Children s Sunday school classes meet. 10:30 a.m.: Through the Bible in a Year class meets in Room 10. 1:00 p.m.: Run for God program meets in the worship area. To get a cd of any of our sermons, simply write cd and the requested date on your Welcome Card. You ll then find your requested cds on the shelf across from the kitchen (usually by Tuesday.) The sermon audio files, sermon outlines, study questions, verses and bulletins are available on the church website Blood pressure checks are available today (the last Sunday of the month, as usual) between services in Pastor Don s office. The most recent issue of Today s Christian Living is in our literature racks.

4 REACT Student Ministries... For Sunday, May 25 and upcoming events 9:00 a.m.: Middle School Sunday school, Room 8. 9:00 a.m.: High School Sunday school class, Room 10. On Wednesday, May 28 we ll have the last UNITE of this school year. Come celebrate the last day of school with us from 4-8 p.m. There will be outdoor activities, food, a student led service and a concert by Day Method. Come! Bring friends! Celebrate! Senior High summer Retreat at Lake Mohawk is June 4-7. The Young Women s Renewal Team is currently accepting registrations for our upcoming renewal weekend on June You can get an invitation from any of the team members (Kailey Sikula, Krista Caruth, Amanda Davis, Nikki Bianchi, Emily Nosek or Savanah Manochi) or in the Fellowship Hall by the devotions. The Young Women s Renewal is open to any girl ages 15 to 18. Completed invitations/registrations can be mailed to Donna Jamiol or handed to any of the team members or adult advisors. Please note that registrations are accepted on a first come first serve basis, so get them turned in as soon as possible to reserve a place for this year s renewal weekend. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Kathy Rounds, Shannon Savage, Donna Jamiol or Kelly Kubiak. The Young Women s Renewal Team will be having a car wash on Sunday, June 1 st at Steak-n-Shake on Rt. 303 from noon to 4. We will be taking donations so please bring your vehicle(s) to be washed to our car wash next week. We truly appreciate BRC s love and support of our ministry. For any questions please contact Kathy Rounds, Shannon Savage or Donna Jamiol.

5 THIS WEEK: Monday: Grief Share does not meet this week. Wednesday: Men s Study Group, 10-noon, Room 4. Wednesday: Adult Bible study, 10 am-noon, Room 8. Wednesday: Daniel Plan meets at 7:00 p.m. Thursday: Worship Team rehearsal, 7:15-8:30 p.m. Thursday: God s Friends Forever, 6:30-8:00 p.m. with end of session picnic. Friday: Shining Stars Bible study, 1:30 p.m. at SW Commons. "Already Home, A Celebration of Oz Students of Annette Palmer will present a recital at 1:30 pm on Saturday, May 31 at BRC. Reception following. Free to all! Please come help us celebrate with selections from "The Wizard of Oz", "The Wiz", "Wicked" and Andrew Lloyd Webber's music from the 2011 tour of "The Wizard of Oz"! Next weekend s message by Pastor Don, based on 2 Corinthians 8:1-15, will be When the Therefore Gets Personal. Advance: Elders meet on Monday, June 2, at 7:00 p.m. Attendance last week was 100 & 156, plus 75 for GFF on Thursday. Offerings totaled $11,436.88, plus $581 for Nehemiah 3. Please continue to pray for those with ongoing health concerns: Teresa Brown, Sharon and Jerry Burgess, Vivian Cooperrider, Nancy Hanwell, Anna Henry, Peg Jenkins, Flora Kostyak, Rose & Bob Murray, Eileen Raich, Gini Reinke, Jordan Segura, Betty Sweet, Mary & Ted Szenger, Mary Trzop, Nickey Whited, and our friend Pam from GFF, who has terminal cancer. Continue to pray for our military personnel.

6 During my days as a dairy farmer, the cows would occasionally break out of the pasture into a neighbor s corn field or hay field. Some would get cut up by the barbed wire they broke through, on a rare occasion one might have an unfortunate encounter with a car on the road, or they might eat some poisonous weeds or too much green corn that would make them very sick. But whether they were in the pasture, or had broken out, they were still our cows. Their wild streak didn t change that reality. We would eventually find them, bring them home, and nurse them back to health if necessary. During my years as a pastor I ve discovered the same reality: God s sheep often break out of the pasture. We may get a few cuts or bruises, we may get badly damaged, or we may think we got by unscathed, but living outside of God s boundary lines always impacts us negatively sooner or later. But we re still God s kids, and our sins don t change that. He will find us, bring us home, and nurse us back to spiritual health. Occasionally we would have an animal that was a habitual fence-breaker. So we simply wouldn t let her out of the barn. God may also force us to face more severe consequences if we habitually break his laws. But we still belong. And when we really come to understand that, we will no longer want to break out; to stay close to our owner God will become our deepest desire. Wherever you are in this cycle, remember that you belong, and that you are loved. You are free to sin without breaking love s hold. But once you understand the depth of the hold God has on you, you won t even try to break it! Pastor Don

7 DOES LIVING BY GRACE PROMOTE SIN? INTRODUCTION Do you believe that God s grace is for your sins? All of them? Which of these two equations is most accurate biblically? accepting God s grace + my good works = salvation accepting God s grace = salvation Last week some people got nervous about something I told graduates A Letter from Luther to Melanchthon (August 1, 1521) Paul confronted Peter about this same issue in the early church GALATIANS 2:11-21 The Situation Peter, whose ministry was to Jews, had a lot of non-jewish friends When certain Jews came to visit him, he backed off from his friends Paul to Peter: Why are you acting like a? Paul: We know that none of us can be justified by keeping rules Jews had the best religious system ever devised the more laws they made, the more they By obeying the law no one will be justified We ve put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith Key Q: does this mean, therefore, that Christ sin? Shall we go on sinning that grace may increase? Romans 6:1 No, but the answer is NOT to go back to rule-keeping

8 The answer is to understand the meaning and power of Some Lessons Learned in Genesis Earlier This Year When God cut a covenant with Abraham, it was unilateral Abraham pawned his wife off as his sister twice but God loved him Jacob was consistently a scoundrel much of his life, but God loved him God s call on Joseph s life came well before Joseph changed natures God s gracious love eventually won out, and they were Some New Testament Examples A known prostitute boldly crashed a Pharisee s party to honor Jesus (Luke 7) Levi boldly throws a party so that his sinful friends can meet (Matthew 9) Zacchaeus, a bold tax collector, hosts Jesus for dinner (Luke 19) Jesus offers bold forgiveness to the very people who crucified him (Luke 23:34) The Truth of Scripture Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners 1 Timothy 1:15 Jesus sacrifice paid for all my sins, past, present and Nothing, including my future sins, can separate me from God s love I will sin, and I can do so boldly, because Jesus already knows The freedom to sin takes away the power of When I understand this, I will fall at Jesus feet in confession As I live into this grace, my desire to sin will gradually go away CONCLUSION Heidelberg Catechism Q & A 60

9 Heidelberg Catechism Question 60. How are you right with God? Answer. Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. Even though my conscience accuses me of having grievously sinned against all God's commandments and of never having kept any of them, and even though I am still ever inclined toward all evil, nevertheless, without my deserving it at all, out of sheer grace, God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner, as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me. All I need to do is accept this gift of God with a believing heart. Vacation Bible School July :30-8:45 p.m. Ages 4-High School Online registration is now available Contact Kristin Toot with questions

10 There will be a co-spiritual discernment for the Traveling Woman's team on June 1, 2014 at BRC at 2:30 pm. Prayerfully consider whether God wants you to attend. Contact Cathy Poest with any questions. On Wednesday, June 11 the Footsteps study and the Men s Bible study will conclude for the summer. At 12:30 p.m. the Encore group will gather for a potluck lunch. All retired & senior citizens are invited to come. Please RSVP to Gina Koch at or GiniaK@aol.com if you are planning to attend. Sermon Study Questions Galatians 2:2:11-21 DOES LIVING BY GRACE PROMOTE SIN? 1. Do you believe that God s grace is sufficient for all your sins? Why, or why not? 2. What do you believe Luther meant when he wrote, God does not save people who are only fictitious sinners. Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly.? 3. For what reason did Paul confront Peter in our passage today? 4. In what ways do you act different among Christians than among non-christians? 5. Why is it impossible to be justified by keeping the law? 6. If my sins are forgiven by God s grace, what s wrong with continuing to sin? What s wrong with trying to hide my sins? 7. How would you describe the meaning and power of God s grace? 8. When Bible characters came into direct contact with God/Jesus, do you think they immediately ceased sinning? Why or why not? Does it matter? 9. In what way does the freedom to sin take away the power of shame? 10. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being a fear of sinning, and 10 being the freedom of living by grace, where do you find yourself? Explain. 11. What is one thing you will do differently as a result of this message?

11 Serving at BRC Sunday, May 25 Greeters (9) - G & B Shuster (10:30) - J & R Niedermeyer Welcome Center - M & A Pasko Nursery (9) - M Fazekas (10:30) - K Rhue, E Kisner Ushers (9) - D Sensiba, E Gentile Assisting - N Virzi, M Wilk (10:30) - J Cook, H Centa Assisting - D Herwerden, B Besida Verse Cards (9)-P Lods, B Cognata (10:30)- T & J Dalzell Coffee-&Juice (9) - M Zeigler, T Lezark Sunday, June 1 Greeters (9) - M Zeigler (10:30) - P Walker Welcome Center - C Rounds Nursery (9) - M Herbert (10:30) - C Wright, Renee Garapic Ushers (9) - N Virzi, M Wilk Assisting - P Buser, M Pasko (10:30) - D Herwerden, B Besida Assisting - B Zielinski, E Kramer Verse Cards (9)-J Dalzell, M Zeigler (10:30)-J & R Niedermyer Coffee-&Juice (9) - P Lods Sunday, June 8 Greeters (9) - T & S Michelson (10:30) - M & P Herbert Welcome Center - J Jansen Nursery (9) - T Smyrak (10:30) - S Goots, M Cook Ushers (9) - P Buser, M Pasko Assisting - P Morgan, T Michelson (10:30) - B Zielinski, E Kramer Assisting - M Draiss, P Walker Verse Cards (9)-G & C Lenart (10:30)-G Brualdi, Coffee-&Juice (9) - E Leight

12 Sunday, June 15 Greeters (9) - M & A Pasko (10:30) - J & E Smalley Welcome Center - D & R Sensiba Nursery (9) - J Poore (10:30) - E Kisner Ushers (9) - P Morgan, T Michelson Assisting - B Jacobs, D Parker (10:30) - M Draiss, P Walker Assisting - C Dickens, C Rounds Verse Cards (9)-E & K Gentile (10:30)-D & M Cook Coffee-&Juice (9) - B & N Hanwell Sunday, June 22 Greeters (9) - G Koch (10:30) - I Fultz Welcome Center - R & J Smalley Nursery (9) - K Toot (10:30) - G Smith, A Pasquale Ushers (9) - B Jacobs, D Parker Assisting - E Raich, E Holzheimer (10:30) - C Dickens, C Rounds Assisting - K Wright, M Herbert Verse Cards (9)-P Lods, B Cognata (10:30)- P Walker, K Rounds Coffee-&Juice (9) - T & S Michelson Sunday, June 29 Greeters (9) - R Demeter (10:30) - J & R Smalley Welcome Center - M & P Herbert Nursery (9) - B Vega (10:30) - K Rhue, M Nara Ushers (9) - E Raich, E Holzheimer Assisting - E Draiss, G Shuster (10:30) - K Wright, M Herbert Assisting - I Fultz, L Wisniewski Verse Cards (9)-J Dalzell, M Zeigler (10:30)-J& E Smalley Coffee-&Juice (9) - J & D Cook

13 Brunswick Reformed Church Why Do We Exist? BRC exists to be a church where the love of Jesus is transforming lives. What Do We Do? BRC offers opportunities for Christ-centered worship, discipleship, fellowship, service and outreach. What Are Our Core Values? Scripture: In all of life the Bible governs, guides, shapes and sends us out. Humility: God and his grace is the lens through which we view and respond to ourselves and others. Compassion: The love of Jesus empowers us to value and love all people, and to serve those for whom God is equipping us. To What Values Do We Aspire? Discipleship: We will continue to develop a wise understanding of God s Word, an ability to discern God s will, and an eagerness to obey God s leading. Worship: We will continue to grow in our commitment and love for both personal and corporate worship. Kingdom-focused: We will place involvement in God s mission before personal preferences or human traditions. Faith sharing: With humble confidence we will live out our faith, sharing our stories and inviting others to join us on the journey as we have opportunity. Prayer: We will live all aspects of life dependent on God and in communication with him, sharing our hearts and listening for his leadings.