Fairfield Good News. KNOWING HIM AND MAKING HIM KNOWN September From the desk of Pastor Scott:

Transcription

1 Fairfield Good News KNOWING HIM AND MAKING HIM KNOWN September 2017 Upcoming Events Monday, Sept. 4 Labor Day Sunday, Sept. 10 Fellowship & Adult Study noon Worship 1:00 Monday, Sept Remembrance Tuesday, Sept. 12 Prayer Meeting Monday, Sept 18 Eveready Meeting Friday, Sept. 22 First Day Fall Fairfield Reformed Church 360 Fairfield Rd. Fairfield, NJ reformedchurch@gmail.com oldchurchnewsong/ From the desk of Pastor Scott: And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are the Holy One of God. But Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be silent, and come out of him! And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him. And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. (Mark 1:21-31) The large blue sign announced our next stop as Capharnaum The Town of Jesus. All that remains of Jesus adopted town is a few ruins and a new church. The most prominent ruin is the ancient synagogue that dates back into the third century and stands upon the spot where Jesus taught 300 years before. But it is the newly-excavated ruins beneath the modern church that drew the most attention on our trip. Recently some archeologists are saying that this place was once the house of Peter! In this site where Christian symbols and fish hooks have been found, Jesus healed Peter s mother. Here He watched as the roof was torn up to let down the paralytic. To this place He would

2 Cont d from pg 1 come and rest at the close of His journeys throughout Galilee. If Mary and Martha s was His home away from home near Jerusalem, this home was His stop in Capernaum. What an honor it must have been for Peter to open his home to the Savior! Jesus is still looking for homes that will be open to Him. Places where He can come in and find receptive hearts and willing hands. Jesus wants your home and mine to be places where He still can minister grace. Behold He stands at the door and knocks. What are some ways we can open our homes to Jesus? PRAYER: Lord, help us to make our homes Your home too. Enter in. Amen. September 1 Ron Watterston 7 Val Ianco 20 Allen Lentz 27 Charlie Peters 30 Robert Nichols Monday, Sept. 4 Labor day

3 September 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Coffee Hr noon Worship 1:00 4 Labor Day (Callers 8:30 noon) Coffee Hr & Adult Bible Study noon 9-11 Remembrance Prayer Meeting 7:00 8:00 Worship 1:00 17 Coffee Hr & Adult Bible Study noon 18 Eveready Meeting 7:00 PM 19 Prayer Meeting 7:00 8: Worship 1:00 24 Coffee Hr & Adult Bible Study noon Worship 1: Prayer Meeting 7:00 8:

4 Sunday, Sept :00 noon Adult Bible Study resumes meeting in Our Tuesday evening Prayer Time will resume meeting on Sept. 12th. Meet with us from 7:00 to 8:00 pm in the Ivory Room every Tuesday to pray for our country, our church and the needs brought before the church West Orange Memorial (overlooking NYC) O God of heaven and earth, who s bigger than nations and factions, be with us as we live through times of terror, despair and danger. Be the strength of people who ve been touched personally by disaster. Come with healing to those who are injured. Be the eternal rest of those who ve died. Be the energy, compassion and fortitude of those who must pick through wreckage. Grant our leaders courage and a double portion of your wisdom. The day of universal brotherhood seems farther off than ever, O God, but help us not despair of trying to accomplish it. Strengthen our faith. In Jesus name. Amen. By pastor and author Stan Purdum Eveready Ladies Meeting Monday, Sept. 18 7:00 PM School Lunch During lunch at a Christian school, the pastor placed a basket full of apples on one end of the table with a sign, Take only one apple, remember that God is watching. On the other end of the table was a plate of cookies where one of the children placed a sign, Take all the cookies you want, God is watching the apples.

5 Choices... In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and populated the earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives. Then, using God s great gifts, Satan created Ben and Jerry s Ice Cream and Krispy Kreme Donuts. And Satan said, You want chocolate with that? And Man said, Yes! And Woman said, And as long as you re at it, add some sprinkles. And they gained 10 lbs. And Satan smiled. And God created the healthful yogurt that Woman might keep the figure that Man found so fair. And Satan brought forth white flour from the wheat and sugar from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from size 12 to size 18. So God said, Try my fresh green salad. And Satan presented Thousand Island Dressing, buttery croutons and garlic toast on the side. And Man and Woman unfastened their belts following the repast. God then brought forth running shoes so that His children might lose extra lbs. And Satan gave cable TV with a remote control so Man would not have to toil changing the channels. And Man and Woman laughed and cried before the flickering blue light and gained pounds. Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition. And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fried them. And Man gained pounds. God then gave lean beef so the Man might consume fewer calories and still satisfy his appetite. And Satan created McDonald s and its 99-cent double cheeseburger, then said, You want fries with that? And Man replied, Yes! And super size them. And Satan said It is good. God then said, I have sent you heart-healthy vegetables and olive oil in which to cook them. And Satan brought forth deep fried fish and chicken-fried steak so big it needed it s own platter. And Man gained more weight and his cholesterol went through the roof. God then created a light, fluffy white cake, named it Angel Food Cake, and said, It is good. Satan then created chocolate cake and named it Devil s Food. And God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery. Then Satan created HMOs. Thought for the day God gives us a multitude of choices along with free will. What choices are we making in our lives? (The above article was forwarded from First Reformed Church in New Brunswick.)

6 Operation Christmas Child UPDATE We still need: School Supplies Hygiene Products 3 Pencil boxes Combs and brushes 16 Boxes (24) crayons 20 Coloring books for young children Fun Stuff Some fun items we have included in the past: hand held games (we have 9), balls (we have 12), jump ropes, small Slinky s, pinwheels, baseball-type caps, toy cars/trucks, girls headbands (we have 40), bracelets (we have 8), pocketbooks, sunglasses (we have 10 small), yoyo s (we have 6). There are 3 age groups and we are filling 10 shoeboxes for each age group: 2-4 yrs. 5 each girls & boys shoeboxes, 5-9 yrs.- 5 each girls & boys yrs.- 5 each girls & boys IMPORTANT!!! NO LIQUIDS OF ANY KIND (no Elmers Glue, liquid soap, etc.) We no longer can include toothpaste or candy of any kind. ITEMS MUST BE SMALL ENOUGH TO FIT IN A SHOEBOX WITH ALL THE OTHER ITEMS Also remember we pay Samaritans Purse for shipping each box (this year $9.00 ea.) so any donations to cover that cost are appreciated. God has blessed... Thanks to our early shoppers and many items discovered in closets in FH, we already have: 258 pencils, 152 pens, 153 erasers, 32 glue sticks, 23 boxes colored pencils, 50 sharpies, 42 pencil sharpeners, 54 highlighters, 50 toothbrushes, 31 bars soap, 30 washcloths, enough stuffed animals and, of course, 30 plastic shoeboxes. Where to shop? $ stores, Walmart, Target (check the party favors isle), Walgreens. In Need of Prayer A boy called the pastor of a local corner church to ask the pastor to come by to pray for his mom who had been very ill with the flu. The pastor knew the family and was aware that they had been attending another church down the road. So the pastor asked, Shouldn t you be asking Brother Simon down the road to come by to pray with your mom? The young boy replied, Yeah, but we didn t want to take the chance that he might catch whatever this is that mom has.

7 Phil and Shirley DeCicco are an FRC supported missionaries working for Global Gates Network/ Turkish Outreach & Hispanic Mobilization. They minister to Turkish people in northern NJ. I hope this note finds you and your loved ones walking in our Lord's grace and peace! We have had quite a bit going on, and it has been too long since we have been in touch! We value you and your partnership with us and wanted to give you an update on what is going on in our lives and ministry. Shirley and I spent almost a month in Costa Rica during July, primarily visiting family, but also reconnecting with students and friends from the ministry at the TEC. Shirley's mom is 92, and we had a great time connecting with her. She is doing great, and it was a blessing to spend time with her. She loves to talk, and is always keeping busy with embroidery and is now enjoying some coloring books Shirley gave her. Philip, our eldest, spent the summer in Oman, on a scholarship for an intensive Arabic class. He was there during Ramadan, and had some great experiences, and his level of Arabic is now quite advanced. John, our second son who will be a senior in HS, was in Thailand on a missions trip with Campus Crusade's MK2MK program for children of missionaries. He had a great summer and feels that he grew in his faith as well as understanding himself as a "third culture" kid. Work at the Restaurant with A* & S* As you may remember, I was helping out some friends at a local restaurant, and this gave me good opportunities to improve my Turkish, and opened doors for spiritual conversations. I sensed my time there was coming to a close, and there was a training in NY with Global Gates that I was scheduled for in May for 3 days. Shirley gave S* a Bible in her language just before we left for Costa Rica, and she plans to follow up soon to see if she has any questions and has been reading it. 4 Fields Training In May, I was in NYC for three days with my pastor from our church in Princeton, at a church planting/disciple making training called 4 Fields, hosted by Global Gates. As part of the preparation for this time, we were asked to do various assignments. One of the things we did was to share with someone an outline called the 4 W's. It is answering four questions: 1. Why? do we share the Gospel? 2. What? do we share? 3. Who? Identifying our Oikos (Gr."household") or relational map. 4. When? We help them choose a regular time to pray for these people and a time to share with someone on their list. I sat down with O*, a newer T*kish believer we have been spending time with for over a year now, and his wife. As we started sharing with them, they shared the news that they had just received their green cards which was a HUGE answer to prayer. So on O*'s map of family he wants to share the Gospel with are his mom, dad, and five siblings (and their families). Since he got his green card, he s returning home for the first time in over 10 years. This is also HUGELY significant, because O*'s family comes from a minority group with no churches, and only a handful of believers, and no full-time workers seeking to see a church planted among them. Thanks for your continued partnership and prayers! Philip & Shirley

8 Proper Burial Several children found a dead robin. Feeling that a proper burial should be performed, they secured a small box and some cotton batting, dug a hole in the back yard, and made ready to dispose of the deceased. The Preacher s 5-yr-old son was chosen to say the prayer. And so with great dignity, he began, Glory be to the Father and unto the Son and into the hole he goes. Phil & Shirley DeCicco and family As you probably know by now, worship services are being held in Fellowship Hall while renovations are done in the church sanctuary to repair damage to the walls. Praise God for supplying the finances to have this work done. The company doing the work is the same competent company that fixed the exterior of the building a couple years ago so moisture could no longer damage the interior. We look forward to worshiping in the new beautiful sanctuary soon!! A sample of the sanctuary damage being repaired.