Celestial GPS

One of the most common desires that Christians express is that God would give them clear guidance about His will for their lives. Whether it's a big question (Who should I marry? What career should I pursue?) or the daily, small ones (How should I use my free time this weekend?), we long for clear direction and the confidence that we're following the mysterious "will of God".

The thing is: while we most likely will not receive audible directions from the Lord, God has already given us everything we need to know how to get in a right relationship with Him and how to live a life in the center of His will. The Bible is the Word of God and, as the catechism states, it is "the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct". We need to put our trust in scripture and understand its necessity, sufficiency, clarity, and authority.

Our current sermon series, "God's Word Is..." will be continuing this Sunday, September 16th, on the topic of how the Bible is enough and all we need to know how to experience salvation and to know how to live life as a Jesus-follower. Do you believe the Bible is enough or are you relying on a bible teacher or other literature? I hope you'll be able to join us.

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Sunday, September 23rd, following our worship celebration, we will put our faith into action by spending a couple of hours serving our community along with a few other congregations.

We'll enjoy a BBQ lunch here at the church and then divide into work teams to take on a number of projects such as picking up trash, helping the elderly, and writing encouraging notes to people.

You have my permission to come to church on the 23rd dressed for work. We'll finish up by around 3:00. Let's unite with our brothers and sisters from other churches in the valley and love our community in word and action.

Let's Start at the Very Beginning...

it's a very good place to start (as you "Sound of Music" fans well know). And that's exactly what we'll be doing this October and November as we read together through the first 5 books of the Bible using the "Immerse: Beginnings" volume. Over the course of 8 weeks, we'll read about 10 pages a day, 5 days a week, and experience scripture in a new way.

You can pick up a copy of "Beginnings" at church for $10 or, if you prefer, you can purchase a Kindle version from Amazon. There is also an audio podcast you can subscribe to so you can listen to it as you read or exercise or drive. We're encouraging everyone to join an Immerse Small Group during this time which will function like a book club: no "teacher", but just fellow readers sharing what they discovered, were challenged by, and what God is revealing to them through His Word.

You can learn more by going to the website www.immerse.covchurch.org/beginnings

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Valuing Our Children

Children have always been an important part of our church family. Many of us have seen our children grow from being in the church nursery, through elementary years, and on through junior high and high school. Some of those former children of our church are now active as adults within our congregation raising children of their own among us.

But a larger portion of each generation is walking away from church and faith. Our legacy of faith is in danger unless we are intentional about how we care for our children and nurture them in their faith.

Thankfully, we are not alone in trying to address these issues. Our Denomination has developed a strategic approach to enable us to re-imagine our children’s place of priority within our church and God’s Kingdom. Legacy is a four-dimensional framework which will help us to reach, equip, and empower our children towards becoming the church of today and the future.

On Saturday, October 6th, Steve Burger, the Director of Children, Family, and Inter-generational Ministry for the Evangelical Covenant Church, will be meeting with our church leaders and those involved with our Children’s Ministry.

During a half-day experience, we will
· Assess and celebrate our current ministry
· Identify which area to focus on
· Dream of possibilities
· Turn the dream into a reality
· Develop a plan
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Please join us in prayer for our time with Steve and consider joining us as we make strategic plans for a strong children’s ministry here at CCC. For more information, contact Naomi Murray at [email protected] or 509-668-7517

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