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PATIENCE
Patience is a virtue,
Possess it if you can.
Found seldom in a
woman,
Never in a man.
For God's perspective
read James
5:7-11
Ronald Reagan gave
us this gem: "Surround yourself with the best people you can
find, delegate authority, and don't interfere."
WHEN TO START
When is a good time to
start your next membership class? Many
churches
begin a class a week or
two after Easter. Pick a date, time, and
place in advance.
Each week put
it in your worship bulletin. Be in prayer
for it privately and in public worship. Church Press has special
inexpensive bulletin flyers
for the "Good News" course. Just hit the
flyer below.
NURSERY
AVAILABLE
An excellent sentence
for bulletins and letters to prospective members: "A church nursery
will be available at the time of the class at no charge." This
gesture is really appreciated by parents with little ones.
CLASSROOMS
Have you walked through the classrooms at
your church lately? Are there old posters, curriculum, or
broken window blinds? Spring is the time for cleaning these rooms
up. Why not take a look?
BE DARING
Once upon a time a man died and
stood before St. Peter to get into heaven. Peter told him to tell
him about the good life he lived so he could get in. The man recited
a lot of good deeds he performed in his life time.
Peter said, "It will take more than that.
Haven't you performed one good deed which really stands out - a
super good deed that involved some courage, some daring?" The man
thought and said, "Oh, yes, I can think of one." "Well, what is it?"
The man said, "I came across this group of Hell's Angels who were
insulting an old lady." "What did you do?" said Peter. "Well," said
the man, "I went up to the leader and insulted his girl friend, I
kicked over his bike, and I spit in his face." "Good!" said St.
Peter. "How long ago did this happen?" "About three
seconds!"
That was daring, but it doesn't compare to
the true story of Elijah and the dare he presented and then
executed, so much so, that when it was over God dramatically sent a
fiery chariot with fiery horses to take the prophet directly up to
heaven. God laughed! Elijah laughed! Let's see if we can be daring,
too.
That is the intro to Lesson 16 from the Old
Testament Bible study, A Time to Laugh... or Cry Part 2, by
Pastor Don. Each Part has ten lessons for only $5.95. The price is
great. The applications to life today are great. Maybe
this is the time for your Bible study group to dig deep into 20
highlights of the Old Testament. Just hit the picture
below.
AMERICANS
RESTLESS
IN SEARCHING FOR
GOD
Americans are shopping for religion, and
brand loyalty is in decline... More than a quarter of adult
Americans polled have left the faiths they were raised in to join
another religion or to belong to no religion at all, according to
the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
Pew's latest survey, was based on
interviews with more than 35,000 adult Americans in May to August of
2007. The survey confirms trends such as the declining loyalty of
people in traditional U.S. denominations, especially among mainline
Protestants and Catholics. - By Electa Draper The Denver
Post.
The following books are very helpful for churches wanting to be
on the cutting edge of church growth in their communities:
Why Men Hate Going to Church
12 Pillars of a Healthy Church
The Seed Planting Church
44 Ways to Increase Church Attendance
21 Bridges to the 21st Century
Go to our website for more details and to
order.
We are also having a great response to our two new children's
ministries - Kingdom Quest (during Sunday School hour) and
Kids Church (during adult worship service). Go to our
website for more details. Also, feel free to talk to Pastor Don
about these new ministries at 888-772-8878. He will be happy to
answer your questions.
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by Don
Ginkel
Deep below Westminster Abbey in London is a burial
vault for ancient kings. One morning a visitor was accidently
locked in this ancient crypt behind it's thick, solid door.
All his shouting and knocking was of no avail. When the
caretaker made his usual rounds, the imprisoned man heard him
draw near but then walk away until finally his footsteps died
in the distance. All day long the entombed man, hoarse and
exhausted, cried as loudly as he could. In terror he threw
himself against the solid oak door until, at evening, when the
Abbey was silent, he heard the creak of the entrance doors,
and it dawned on him that he was buried alive.
Just before leaving the building, however, the custodian
stopped, for he seemed to hear a slight tapping. He listened
more carefully, and there in the silenced Abbey he heard a
muffled rapping, a low moaning. Following the sound to the
crypt, he unlocked the massive door and lifted his light to
see the imprisoned man fall unconscious to the floor. Had he
not been rescued then, he would undoubtedly have gone
insane. [Complete
Article]
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Bridge the Gap
by Kent
Hunter
John caught Fred in the hallway at
church near the drinking fountain. He got Fred in the corner
and asked, "You know that preschool our church runs?" Fred
gave an acknowledging nod. John continued, "It takes up a lot
of space. And, according to our budget, it's not paying its
way. We subsidize that thing with janitorial service, heat,
and lights. Half the kids are from families that are uncharted
and nobody over the last five years has come to our church
from that preschool. What good is it, anyway?"
Churches have all sorts of
auxiliary ministries. That's a good idea: find a need and fill
it; find a hurt and heal it. These types of ministries (I call
them enterprises-The Jesus Enterprise, Abingdon Press,
2004) are key to impacting a secular culture. In developing
relationships, we can share Jesus.
Churches have preschools, day care
ministries, coffee shops, athletic programs, money management
seminars, single's ministries, Christian elementary schools -
the list goes on. These are bridging ministries to invite
people to your church. Why doesn't it happen more
often? [Complete Article]
Dr. Kent Hunter (LCMS) is nationally
known as the Church Doctor. You can contact him at (800)
626-8515, or visit his website at www.churchdoctor.org.
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Stack of Stuff 
Wow! Our
Winter/Spring 2008 Catalog went out early February, and
every congregation in the country received a new pastor!
Deleted congregations were now back on the mailing list.
Actually, we experienced a major software glitch. We're sorry
for the confusion this caused.
Need some assistance with worship and
music planning? Rev. Mike Zehnder (LCMS) can
offer excellent guidance. He has a Master's Degree in Theology
and a Master's Degree in Church Music with 27 years of
ministry experience. Check his website for
more information.
A German's point of view on Islam
- Dr. Emanuel Tanay is a well known and respected
psychiatrist. He writes a startling article on Islam from a
German viewpoint. It will take about two minutes to read.
We hope you'll take the time. [Complete
Article]
From Pastor Don - In April my wife,
Nadine, will be traveling to NE India (Manipur - near Burma)
to help set up a library for the Sielmat Christian School.
Over 12,000 books were donated and shipped to the school last
fall. Finishing touches on the library building are just now
being completed. Nadine, Library Administrator at Denver
Seminary, and Kathleen, Anita, and Terri, will work
for 2 weeks to organize books, set up the library system and
train staff. The library is in need of many supplies, most
notably a computer, printer and generator. We ask for your
prayers for God's protection for these four women
and His blessing on the work they hope to
accomplish. We also encourage you to
consider donating to this mission project. All donations
are tax deductible and should be sent to: Bibles for The
World, Attn: Julie Thompson, PO Box 49759, Colorado
Springs CO 80949-9759. Please indicate "Library Supplies India
April 2008" on your check. Thank you.
The Church Invitation: This continues to
be the most productive means to bring guests to your church.
Try this - for four consecutive Sundays place two church
business cards in each bulletin. Have pastor encourage
everyone to invite two people that week to worship and give
them a card. We can promise that this effort will produce
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Jelly Bean Prayer
A great idea for practical and
timely outreach: Ask your youth, Sunday School classes, any
organization, or just a group of people to make up several
hundred jelly bean bags (clear plastic). Mix the colors of the
beans, tie with a ribbon with this note attached and
distribute to homes around your church and give to friends and
neighbors. We've tried it, and it really works!
JELLY BEAN
PRAYER
Red is for the
blood He gave.
Green is for the
grass He made.
Yellow is for the
sun so bright.
Orange is for the
edge of night.
Black is for the
sins we made.
White is for the
grace He gave.
Purple is for His
hour of sorrow.
Pink is for our
new tomorrow.
A bag of jelly
beans, colorful and sweet,
Is a prayer, is a
promise, is a special treat.
May the joy of
Christ's resurrection fill your
Heart and bless
your life now and forever!
Happy
Easter!
St. John Community
Church
777 Colfax
Avenue
Easter Worship: 8:30 & 10:30
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He Is Risen and Lives -
Therefore:
- quit going about gloomy and
dejected as though you were going to God's funeral, but know
that He lives and shall forevermore...
- quit living your life with
the attitude and expression that you have little or nothing,
when a living Lord guarantees that you have the greatest
gifts that one can possess...
- quit looking at all the
obstacles and problems about you, the wind and the waves
that surround you, and look up to see the living God and
know that He still reigns and rules...
- quite worrying about whether
the government is doing all it can for you and know what God
has done and what He will continue to do for you in all your
needs...
- quite playing around with
God's Word and know that He who lives will carry out that
Word to the letter...
- quite finding an excuse for
staying home from church and from serving God when He not
only sees you, but also knows how feeble that excuse really
is...
- do know that as a child of
the living God you are the most blessed and fortunate of all
people...
- do know that you did not
choose God, but that He chose you, that you might be His
own, live under Him, and serve Him...
- "Therefore, my dear brothers,
stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves
fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your
labor in the Lord is not in vain" (1 Corinthians
15:58).
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Do You Understand
This?
by Bob Tasler
Corrie ten Boom, Dutch evangelist who
survived the horrors of Nazi Germany, once wrote, "Yesterday
is a cancelled check, today is cash, and tomorrow is a
promissory note to them that accept the victory of Jesus."
One of the big troubles Christians have is understanding
forgiveness and redemption. Forgiveness is erasing past sins;
redemption is repayment of the debt of our sin. Mankind is
often able to accept forgiveness but not always able to accept
redemption.
A man once approached Corrie ten Boon and said he
believed he could be forgiven but not redeemed. "The
consequences of my sin cannot be erased," he said. He told of
how he had fathered a child in his youth and how the living
child and the memory of his sin would remain with him forever,
thus never allowing him to be redeemed. [Complete
Article] |
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How to Ask Good
Questions
by Craig Loving
In my last article (A Good Question May Be More Valuable
than a Good Answer, January 2008), I discussed some of the
benefits of asking good questions. Based on that article, here
is my theory on the use of questions in our ministries: Good,
strategic questions help our conversation-partner open his or
her thinking to the work of the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of
truth who guides us into the truth. In contrast, ineffective
questions can have the opposite effect of inoculating a person
against Spirit-led thinking.
The Scripture on Jesus' use of
questions: A significant amount of Jesus' teaching in
the Gospels is presented as a monolog; a uni-directional
"telling" style of instruction. However, He also strategically
and effectively advanced His message through the use of
questions; a bi-directional dialogical style of instruction.
Both "telling" styles and "asking" styles help people come to
faith in Christ, grow in faith, learn to serve, etc. In the
long-run, a dialogical questioning style may be more effective
in helping people develop a mature, internalized faith. [Complete
Article]
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The Sunday After
Easter
What will the worship services at your church be like
after Easter?
- After Easter Sunday worship one
Christian said, "Why can't we do church this way every
weekend?"
- On the first Sunday after Easter
another Christian said, "Just seven days ago I was filled
with the excitement of the Easter service. The choir was
alive, the music was great, the message was direct, and the
congregation showed up in record numbers. But now, it's back
to normal." Think about what can be done to keep it from
"returning back to normal."
- Put a great deal of thought, prayer, and
planning into every worship service so that you do
not have "the same old, same old." Preach with conviction
and enthusiasm the great Word of the Lord. Have a good blend
of both traditional and contemporary hymns. Use special
instruments. Every Sunday try to have a special presentation
by a soloist, duet, singing group, or choir. Use special
instruments along with or in place of the organ such as
piano or strings.
- Develop a plan to contact
all Sunday guests in person (preferred) or by
phone. Mail the "Thank You for
Visiting Us In Worship" card, No. 404, from Church
Press. Your guests must know how important they
are to your church and to the Kingdom. Seniors can deliver a
dozen home made cookies. This is always a well-received
gesture.
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"Speak O
Lord"
We highly commend this song for both a moving melody
and the inspiring words. One of the better ways of introducing
a new song is to have a soloist, duet, or choir sing the first
stanza and have the congregation join in singing stanza two
and following. "Speak O Lord" is an excellent
sermon hymn with congregation standing. It was writen by Keith
Getty and Stuart Townend. Here are just two
stanzas.
Speak, O Lord, as
we come to You
To receive the
food of Your Holy Word.
Take Your truth,
plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion
us in Your likeness
That the light of
Christ might be seen today
In our acts of
love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord,
and fulfill in us
All Your purpose
for Your glory.
Speak, O Lord,
and renew our minds;
Help us grasp the
heights of Your plans for us -
Truths unchanged
from the dawn of time
That will echo
down through eternity.
And by grace
we'll stand on Your promises,
And by faith
we'll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord,
till Your church is built
And the earth is
filled with Your glory.
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