The Good News August 2014 A Publication of Northfield Presbyterian Church The Pastor s Pen Dear Friends, As I was preparing for the Day Care Chapel service this morning my mind wandered to a different idea and I was struck by all the symbols in life that are intended to remind us about a product, company or person. Think about these symbols or trademarks as we know them. Michael Jackson had his sequined glove on one hand. The Lone Ranger had his mask. The Beatles had their mop-top hair. Ringo had rings on every finger. Automobiles are known by their logos. I knew a boy in Pittsburgh who could tell me the name of every auto manufacturer by seeing their logo on the page of a magazine. A big script G tells us the product is General Mills. Three stripes on the shoes tells us they re Adidas and a swish says it s a Nike brand. Ideally, behind every trademark there is a commitment or guarantee that a certain quality of product or service will be delivered if we stick to that trademark. But we also know that things change: like ownership, leadership, where the product is manufactured or assembled. When I was growing up a friend of our family knew a man who had a very successful hamburger stand. Everything was handmade and of great quality. But he couldn t keep up with demand. At a trade show he learned about a machine that could help him become more efficient. So he bought the machine and it really helped. He invited our friend to see it in action. He said, Watch what this will do, as he put in a pound of hamburger and out came four uniform patties. Now watch this, he said as another pound went into the machine and he pushed a button. Out came 5 patties that looked to be uniform in size to the others. He demonstrated one more time and six patties came out that looked like the others. The price of his burgers remained the same but the quality disappeared. Our friend drove by the hamburger stand about a year later and it was closed. In the Christian life, the quality and character of Christ is sealed into our lives by the Holy Spirit. The closer we grow to Jesus, the more the character and attributes of the Lord come to the surface. They stand out as a trademark of whose we really are. The questions remain, though as to what these are and how we acquire them. Paul s letter to the Galatians identifies a core of them when he writes, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal. 5:22). This certainly isn t exhaustive, but rather a small sample and testimony of Christ s presence in our lives. To acquire these and others requires our study and commitment to God s unchanging Word. The Holy Spirit dwelling in us will take that Word, plant it deep in our hearts and minds; and as it takes root and grows, our hearts and minds will be transformed by it. The quality of our lives will then be a living symbol of His quality built into us. This Sunday we come to the Lord s Table. We will see the symbols of God s love on that table: The Bread representing his body broken for us; a Cup filled with wine (juice) representing his blood poured out for the remission of our sin. These are the symbols of Jesus love expressed as he took our place on the cross, becoming sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God. As we come to worship let us come with our hearts and minds ready to worship the one worthy of honor and praise, and to give thanks for the one who makes us worthy of His name. In His Grip, Art Helin
SonRock Camp, God is calling YOU Aug 4-8 6:30 pm 8:30 pm When we get to camp, we will discover God s lifesaving love, not only for those in the Bible, but for us too! These five days of discovery not only give kids the knowledge of God s Word, they also learn that God is faithful and His Word is true then, now and forever. God s truths reveal: We are Accepted by Jesus, 1 John 3:1 We are Protected by Jesus, Isaiah 41:13 We are Saved by Jesus, Romans 10:9 We are Forgiven by Jesus, Psalm 86:5 We are Living for Jesus, Ephesians 2:10 REGISTRATION Registration forms are available in the Narthex or on the church website: Report from Stephen Groves, Youth with a Mission - Nepal Human traffickers arrested Last week, we witnessed one of our partner communities take a major step forward to protect the children and women of this area. The entire village was buzzing, chaotic even. People streamed in from the surrounding area to see what all the yelling was about, with many people gathering in the central area of the village. Throughout the day, tempers flared, but at the end of it, two traffickers were arrested and in police custody. It all started when two politicians from a nearby village stayed in one of our partner communities under the guise of setting up a youth club. However, members of an opposing political party got into an argument with these two men- if you think politics are divisive in the west, you should see it here (a civil war only ended a few years ago). As the argument broke out, it attracted attention from the many people traveling through for the festival that had happened the day before. One of these onlookers was a victim of sex trafficking. She recognized the two men. They had abducted her and attempted to sell her in India several years ago. Boldly, she spoke up. As she testified that these two men were traffickers, the buzz in the village reached an even higher pitch. Then several other people from the surrounding area stepped forward and testified that these men had taken their daughters and sisters. As my friends and I followed the events unfolding, we prayed. We prayed for God s justice to be done in the valley- that the women who testified would be kept safe, and that these men would be brought to justice. The locals contacted the police, who instructed them to detain the two men, and bring them down the valley to the neares t police station - a four-hour walk away. We followed up with the local authorities, and today these two men are awaiting trial. We will continue to monitor the situation, but we are praising God that the entire atmosphere of this area is changing. In a place that was once notorious for sex trafficking, criminals are being arrested. In a place where women had no voice, they are stepping forward to bring truth and justice to their homes. In a place of darkness, light is breaking through. The next day, we had the first-ever Jesus-worshipping fellowship in this village. It was mostly our team, but a couple of curious locals came. I got to talk to them about God s love. Prayer 1.Prayer for Karmajit that his heart would be opened to God s love. 2.Praise: For the arrest of these traffickers. 3.Praise: My great friends Matt and Mary K Wendell joined me for a couple of weeks. It was a ton of fun, really encouraging, and we got some good work done too! 4.Prayer for the trial of the traffickers- for a fair trial and that the people testifying would have continued boldness. 5.Language study- I m reading and writing now. I even have my report card on the fridge!
BELIZE MISSION TRIP WRAP UP The NPC Youth Mission trip to Belize was a true blessing to everyone involved. The trip included NPC members Molly, Chris, and Patty Fenn, Jonathan Oliver, Olivia and Michelle Galambos, Zachary Miller, Dylan Maholm, and Connor Louis, Victory Baptist member James (Tre) Dowdell, and friend, Beth Palsha. The 11 volunteers departed early July 19. They stayed in San Lazaro, a poor village of about 2000 people located about 90 minteam arrives at Belize Airport utes north of Belize City. Most of the lo- N. Belize - Trial Farm Children s Worship cals (particularly the adults) spoke only Spanish, but the language barrier didn't stop our team. They led a successful VBS for four days, averaging about 125 kids per day. While there, they took some time to buy bulk amounts of food, divide it into boxes, and deliver those supplies to families in need. Two other churches joined NPC on this trip. A church from Texas built a new roof for the local church in just four days (NPC contributed funds toward this project), and a doctor/pastor from Virginia brought his wife and two friends to run an acupuncture clinic, healing 90 people in the time they were in San Lazaro. God had clearly been in the village even before the team got there, preparing the hearts of the locals. The trip was life-changing for everyone involved. The team wishes to express their deepest gratitude to the congregation for all of their support throughout all of the preparation for the trip. Praying Pelican Ministries helped to arrange and facilitate their time in Belize. San Lazaro Prayer Walk and VBS invite Sorting bulk foods for distribution Where we were Northern Belize San Lazaro - Sunday, August 3rd. Hear about the trip in more detail During the 10:15 a.m. service and... During a pizza luncheon immediately following the service in Fellowship Hall
When is this? August 17, 2014 Behind the Trunk Food Drive What is it? This is an easy food drive! All you have to do is purchase food and bring it to church (don't forget to leave it in the grocery bag!) Put the bag of groceries behind your car s trunk and we will do the rest! What do you need? Right now, The Emergency Assistance Center is in need of canned meat, canned fruit, cereal, pasta, pasta sauce, rice, boxed potatoes. Stewardship Report We appreciate your keeping up with your pledges during the summer months. JULY YEAR TO DATE INCOME: $ 13,776 $ 108,896 EXPENSES: $ 14,788 $ 121,388 Congratulations Graduate We gave a summer graduation to celebrate. Brandon Van Der Meulen has graduated from Muskingum University with a degree in Biology. Pastor s Special Fund Balance: $870.13 QUARTERLY MISSION DISPURSEMENT: Wycliffe, The Seed Company: Africa $ 625.00 Globe Ministries: Scotland $ 625.00 Gospel for Asia: India $ 625.00 Intervarsity Christian Fellowship-OSU $ 625.00 Interlink Ministries: Cleveland $ 625.00 RAHAB Ministries: Akron $ 625.00 Great Commission Ministries - Kent $ 625.00 Youth with a Mission - Nepal $ 625.00 Congratulations to 2014 NPC Scholarship Recipients: Courtny Bican (University of Akron) Kristyn Van Der Meulen (Wittenberg) Molly Fenn (Kent State) Zachary Miller (University of Pittsburgh) Kenzie Tartaglione (Kent State) Thank you to those who donate to the Scholarship Fund. Checks can be made out to NPC, memo Scholarship Fund. Help us help them! Keith Miller Shirley Griffith Cherie White Keri Forsythe Amber Satola Loraine Ellett Maribelle Rudin Donna Jackson Owen Fox Pat Spagnola Karen Koenig Steve Brooks 1-Aug 2-Aug 2-Aug 3-Aug 4-Aug 5-Aug 5-Aug 7-Aug 8-Aug 9-Aug 9-Aug 13-Aug
August 2014 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 8am Men s Bible Study at Chick-fil-A 3 COMMUNION 11:30 Mission Trip Report Luncheon 4 5 6 6:30 am Men s Bible Study at Chick Fil A 7 7:30 pm Christian Career Group 8pm AA 8 9 10 11:30 am Deacons 11 12 7pm Evening Bible Study 7:30 pm Congregational Prayer at Helin s 13 14 8pm AA 15 16 7am Session Prayer 8am Men s Bible Study at Chick-fil-A 17 Behind the Trunk Food Drive 11:30 am Anti- Trafficking Meeting 18 7pm Session 19 7pm Evening Bible Study 7:30 pm Congregational Prayer at Helin s 20 6:30 am Men s Bible Study at Chick Fil A 21 7pm Building and Grounds 22 23 24 31 SAME 25 7pm Boy Scouts 26 7 pm Day Care Board Meeting 7:30 pm Congregational Prayer at Helin s 27 28 8pm AA 29 5:30 pm Community Meal 30 8am Men s Bible Study at Chick-fil-A
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