Midweek 2-15-23
In This Issue:
- Music Notes
- Live and Learn
- Parking Information
Update
- Reminders &
Celebrations
- Ash Wednesday Service &
Volunteers Needed
- Lenten Devotional To
Share!
- Party on the 19th!
- Adult Sunday School &
Nursery
- Zionsville Banquet!
- PPM Update
- Storing God’s Word in Your Heart
- Prayer Posture: Personal,
Persistent, Peace-filled
“. . . that we may be mutually
encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.” Romans 1:12
Music Notes: This
Thursday, 2-16, Chancel Choir will rehearse at 7pm. Next week, for Ash
Wednesday, 2-22, Chancel Choir will practice at 6pm before the service at 7.
There will be a rehearsal next week on Thursday, 2-23, at 7pm as well.
Live and
Learn on Saturdays: Live
& Learn on Saturdays will undergo a slight change. As previously expressed,
there is a pause for the senior exercise portion of the program. Lunch will be
sack lunches from now on. Bring what you wish. If there is take-out brought in,
there will be a notice going out ahead of time. If you wish to bring food to
share, you may share this info with Gretel in the office and she can let people
know ahead of time. The Bible study portion of the Live and Learn program will
now be on the book of Luke each week, led by Pastor Je. This coming Saturday,
the 18th, will be on chapter 3 of Luke. Did you enjoy the Psalms
portion of the Live and Learn? We hope so. If you have the book, then you know
we did not get far into it. Please continue on your own, at your own personal
pace. Please feel free to share insights with Gretel in the office (gretel@lebanonfpc.org). Gretel greatly enjoyed learning with
you. Learning as we live and living out what we learn is a blessed part of
being alive but a particularly important part of being in the body of Christ.
Thank you for sharing the Psalms study experience with Gretel.
Parking Information Update: Parking is available for Sunday church and Thursday night music
practice in The Lebanon Reporter lot on N. East Street and the Insurance Agency
lot at the corner of N. East Street and Main Street. Do not park in the Airy
Time lot. Do not park in the small lot on Main Street. The larger lot directly
behind it is public parking and you may park in that larger lot. There will be
a special service at FPC on Wednesday, March 15 and you may park in The Lebanon
Reporter lot for that event. Special permission is required from The Lebanon
Reporter to park in their lot, so please do not park there unless permission
has been given ahead of time. Thank you for your cooperation.
Reminders: Please welcome Neal Crouse as liturgist
for February. We do not have any greeters signed up on the chart. If you wish
to be a greeter for this Sunday, please let Gretel in the office know and she
will put you down. Please add your name to the list for future times. Have a
question on what to do or what is required/expected of a greeter? Send your
questions to Gretel in the office and she will answer them for you. There is
also no one signed up for treats this coming Sunday. If you wish to bring
something to share (it does not have to be a baked good. It can be a
store-bought item. It can be fruit or veggies – feel free to be creative and
bring what sounds good to you), please let Gretel know in the office and she
will put you down. Please add your name to the list for future days. Food adds
friendly fun to fellowship! Please stay for a cup of coffee and a chat after
the service and enjoy the presence of your spiritual family.
“Congratulations to you! We celebrate with you! Know that we love you, and God loves you
too!” Happy birthday Meredith Erwin, 2/16;
Michelle Dies, 2/19; Linda Giger, 2/21!
Ash Wednesday Service
& Volunteers Needed: The Ash Wednesday service, on February 22nd at 7pm,
will be a joint service with Central Christian Church at First Presbyterian
Church. This will be a beautiful service, led by both the pastor from CCC and
Pastor Je, with scripture, reflection and music. We need 2 volunteers to help
with the service. These volunteers would be sharing scripture readings during
the service. If you are interested in helping with this special event, please
contact Gretel in the office.
Lenten Devotional To
Share! The
church has purchased a Lenten Devotional which we would like to share with you.
We can do so via email or printed copy. Join us as we take time each day during
Lent to consider our Lord Jesus Christ through His Word and in prayer. Contact
Gretel in the office to let her know which method you prefer receiving the
devotional. Lent begins on Feb. 22nd – so let her know soon!
Party on the 19th!
There
will be a time of celebration this coming Sunday, the 19th, after
the morning service. Please bring a dish to share. You can sign up for that via
Sign Up Genius. You may have received an email invite last week to this app to
share info regarding church meals. This meal will celebrate three things:
Valentine’s Day, Mardi Gras, and Shrove Tuesday.
Adult
Sunday School: Sunday School is now in session: Sundays in the church library
from 9:00 to 10:15. Meeting Jesus at the Table is an 8-week Lenten Bible
study. Books are $11.05 each plus tax. Imagine yourself going on a glorious and
nourishing progressive dinner. At each stop we gather at a different table with
Jesus, learning how to love, serve, and expand the hospitality of God's grace
to others. Please come and join the feast. Debbie Crouse will be leading the
study.
Nursery: We have space
for a nursery for ages infant to 3 yrs. but need a couple of volunteers to take
care of the children during the 10:30 service. If you feel you are being called
to be a part of this ministry, please call Gretel and let her know.
Zionsville Banquet! The Zionsville Spring Great Banquets are just
around the corner! The Women's Banquet: March 2-5; Men's Banquet: March
16-19. Location: Zionsville Presbyterian Church. Complete the Guest
Application at www.zpc.org/great-banquet/. There is room at His table, and you are
invited!
PPM Update: We have really been enjoying this warmer weather and the
opportunity to be outside. We have a few classes already full for next year and
registration for the community begins March 1st. We are so blessed to
have a strong program and staff. Please continue to pray for
the Pre-K teachers, Mrs. Vickery and Mrs. Toloeos and the children in
their classrooms. All of the Pre-K kids will be going to kindergarten
this fall, we will miss them.
PPM will host
parent-teacher conferences the week of March 13th. Correction from a few weeks
ago, our Family engagement night will be April 11th with Mary Jo Huff.
Next Tuesday, February
21st, PPM will be having a Spirit Night with Chick-Fil-A in Whitestown. I
have attached a flier with more information. We are also planning a
fundraiser with Nothing Bundt Cakes in April to be ready for pick-up
right before Mother's Day. Information will be sent out in April.
We are excited to
expand our outdoor learning environment this Spring, adding a few
more items to the courtyard. Blessings, Miss Lori
Storing God’s Word in
Your Heart: Have you tried to
memorize scripture and found the task, even just the idea of it, daunting and
intimidating? This is a normal reaction, especially for adults. However, we are
encouraged in scripture to store God’s Word in our hearts. How do we do that? I
have a few suggestions. First, start small. If there is a passage you want to
know, start learning one verse at a time. Second, write out or print out the
scripture and put it up where you will see it. On your refrigerator, on your
bathroom mirror, in your car, on your TV remote, inside your fridge near where
you grab the cream for your coffee, on your favorite cereal box. Third, read it
out loud whenever you see it. As you can, repeat it to yourself – in portions
or in general theme if not word for word. Continue this until you have mastered
it. Then start the process over with the next verse, building on what you know.
What do you do when you find there is a word from Scripture which is hard for
you to internalize? Proclaim it according to what scripture says. For example, do
you find it hard to believe you can do things? Say out loud: “Philippians 4:13
says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Let the authority
rest on the scripture, not on you.
"Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer, Go,
gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me,
and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will
fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the
law: and if I perish, I perish." Esther 4:15,16
Personal: As
Esther prepared to stand in the gap for her fellow Jews, she recognized her own
need. Before she pleaded with her earthly king for the lives of her fellow
Jews, she may have pleaded with her Heavenly King for her own life: "Lead
me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight
before my face." (Psalm 5:8). We, too, can approach the Heavenly
Father and ask that He lead us and make His way straight before us. We can ask
for the strength and courage to follow Him in joyful obedience.
Persistent:
Esther committed to fasting (and praying) for three days. She recognized she
would need an army of prayer warriors behind her. Have you sensed a need for
persistent prayer in an area of your life? Have you reached out to an army of
prayer warriors to stand behind you? FPC can stand in the gap with you. Reach
out to us and let us know how we can be praying for you.
Peace-filled: When Esther
reached the third day, we know she was ready. She had received the peace in her
spirit to go forward. She had placed her trust in her God. Perhaps she went
forward with a joyful heart as well as a willing spirit. Do we have a joyful
heart as well as a willing spirit when we follow the Lord in obedience? Do we
find ourselves submitting out of a sense of obligation rather than out of a
place of love? Do you enjoy following the Lord? Do you take delight in
listening for His voice? "But as for me, I will come into thy house in
the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy
temple." (Psalm 5:7).
Interested in joining the
prayer chain? Contact Phyllis Duff at
(765)482-1485/
raduff2@att.net.
"But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice:
let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that
love thy name be joyful in thee. For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with
favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield." (Psalm 5:11,12).
Dear Heavenly Father,
You compassed Esther with Your favor as with a shield. Do the
same for these here today. Where we are not trusting You, convict us, challenge
us, bring us to our knees before You to surrender, trust in You, and thereby
have peace. I pray for peace for these souls here today. I pray for peace in
their relationships. I pray for a ministry of reconciliation between each of
them and You. I thank You, great and gracious God, living and loving God, for
the victory already promised through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment