TRANSFORMING LIVES WITH THE TRUTH OF GOD'S WORD

THROUGH REFORMED THEOLOGY WE HAVE BEEN

TRANSFORMING LIVES WITH THE TRUTH OF GOD'S WORD SINCE 1997

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Men Prepare Sermons; God Prepares Men

2nd Timothy 2:15

"The proper place for a ship to be is in the water, but if the water gets into the ship, the ship will sink. The proper place for the church is in the world,

BUT IF THE 'WORLD' GETS INTO THE CHURCH,

THE CHURCH WILL GO DOWN IN DISGRACE!"

Thank you for taking the time to view our blog;we look forward to reading your comments. DVDs of our services are available upon request. We covet your prayers and friendship. In His Service and For His Glory, Pastor Bill & Kathy ...
"Now fear the Lord and serve Him with all faithfulness...But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve...But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."-Joshua 24:14-15

Is God Calling You to be a Pastor?

The right kind of education is essential to the man who has answered God's call. No army dare send a soldier into battle without proper training. The results would be devastating, not only for the warrior, but for the war.


Saturday, November 23, 2013

November 24

A Time of Thanksgiving!

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OPEN HOUSE/RIBBON CUTTING!

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A number of local residents gathered in the front yard of the Community Christian Church, including The Honorable Tom Shope, the Mayor of Coolidge, Lynn Parson, the director of the Chamber of Commence, attenders and friends of the church.  TO ALL: Thanks for coming.

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Thanks so much for joining us,                     lots of goodies and snacks.


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Mayor Tom- Lynn - Pastor Bill – Jolyn and Brandy share in conversation.


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Fellowship is sweet as we look forward to what the Lord has in store here in Valley Farms.

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Sally- Oscar                                                               Lynn – Kelly

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  A Power Point in the background, created by Kathy, pointing to the activities leading up to this day- Thanks again- Have a Blessed Day!

 

Lost Sheep!

In the Middle East, where the Bedouin culture is very much alive, you’ll find shepherds who care for their sheep with great tenderness and watchfulness.  In a book I recently read, some shepherds were described, tending their sheep.  I was amazed at their intimate care for their flocks.  How they protect their woolly charges from storms and predators, disease and hunger.  And if one of the fluffy creatures becomes lost, they’ll search until it’s found.


You may recall that Jesus revealed this to be God’s posture toward us. He’s is called the Good Shepherd, and His love compels Him to come after all who are separated from Him, and  lost.  The Bible lets us know,  we are all lost—needing Salvation.  “All of us,” says Isaiah, are “like sheep [and] have  gone astray” (Isaiah 53:6).  But God won’t leave us to perish. He comes seeking us.


In His parable of the lost sheep, Jesus put the question this way:  “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?I” (Luke 15:4) Well, anyone who knows a true shepherd knows the answer.


God didn’t leave us to our own devices.  He didn’t push us away after our rebellious wanderings.  Instead, God pursued us.  His love moved Him to act, at Great cost.


God’s  love and mercy is for all people who have strayed.  And Jesus reveals that “there is great joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and turns to Him.” (v.7)  What an amazing God and Good Shepherd we have!


A Reminder!!! Our Church Service starts at 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Prayer Meeting is 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays.
ALL ARE WELCOME!
     CH_ _ CH, What’s Missing? U R!!

THE QUESTION AT HAND

“Can you be a follower of Jesus, and NOT follow Jesus?  AND, If you’re NOT a follower of Christ, are you a Christian?

 

Video files of our worship services are available on the Internet. Last week’s viewings totaled 425 on God Tube TV and 345 on Sermon TV for a total of  770.  We pray that you were blessed by last week’s message and look forward to hearing from you.  To view this week's message click here for God Tube TV or here for Sermon TV.
Continue to pray for us as we seek to serve the Lord here in Arizona.
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It would be encouraging to us if you would let us know that you received our newsletter. We welcome your comments.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

November 17

CHURCH WORK DAY—SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16th. 

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A big thank you very much to those who participated.  The church looks 100% better, both inside and out.


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CHURCH OPEN HOUSE

Our open house is November 19th at 10:30 a.m.  There will be a ribbon cutting and light refreshments.  Come on out and say hi.

 

November 6th, A Birthday to Remember!

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It was Kathy’s birthday and it got started off with our son Jim preparing a surprise “Birthday Breakfast”.  And was rounded off with trip to down-town Seattle, with a visit to the piers, …

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… and on to a dinner in the rotating restaurant atop of “The Space Needle”, having  a 360 degree view of Seattle. Seated from left to right are; Jim, Eric, Kathy and Bill,

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Sons, Eric & Jim with Bill    (Mukilteo Ferry to Whidbey Island WA)     Sons, Eric & Jim with Kathy

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     A little fog, but, otherwise, Smooth sailing                    Full Speed ahead! (With Caution)
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  Jim! Stand by to grab that line

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                       GOT IT!                                                                  O.K., let’s go inside to warm up.
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  On the Western slope of the Cascade Mountains-Leavenworth, WA with a Bavarian flavor

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Heading up toward “Stephen’s Pass- we ran into plenty of SNOW!

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The farther we went, the more we were thinking of how we Love Southern Arizona

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Ski country and a magnificent view of “Mount Baker” in the background.


A Reminder!!! Our Church Service starts at 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Prayer Meeting is 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays. ALL ARE WELCOME!
     CH_ _ CH, What’s Missing? U R!!

THE QUESTION OF THE MONTH

“Can you be a follower of Jesus, and NOT follow Jesus?  AND, If you’re NOT a follower of Christ, are you a Christian?

 

Video files of our worship services are available on the Internet. Last week’s viewings totaled 418 on God Tube TV and 303 on Sermon TV for a total of  721.  We pray that you were blessed by last week’s message and look forward to hearing from you.  To view this week's message click here for God Tube TV or here for Sermon TV.
Continue to pray for us as we seek to serve the Lord here in Arizona.
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It would be encouraging to us if you would let us know that you received our newsletter. We welcome your comments.

Saturday, November 9, 2013

November 10

    1 Corinthians 11:26

    “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup…

    …you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”


    PRAY FOR GODLY PASTORS!

    Question: Why are more and more pastors, walking away from the ministry?

    Today, I want us to consider the importance of the “Calling” of the Lord into the work of ministry, or as I like to refer to it as “the calling factor”. There seems to be some confusion concerning this. From some of the testimonies we hear at ordinations, I’ve  learned that not just a few of the young men going into ministry today have never truly sensed a divine call to the ministry, but rather, they only have an over-whelming desire to serve the Lord. That being the case, you see, they have simply volunteered. I would never question their dedication or love for the Lord, but I would question their ability to stay the course, or on course, without a divine call from the Lord. The implication from Paul’s claim to having been called to be an Apostle, is that a call is also necessary for the other three men gifted to the church, namely the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastor (Eph. 4:11). When Paul wrote to young Timothy in II Tim. 1:9, he challenged him concerning his call to the ministry. And when Paul said in I Tim. 3:1, “if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desires a good work,” he was not equating this desire with a divine call. He was simply introducing the subject of being a bishop and the qualifications there of.


    Historically, the subject of a divine call to ministry had little to do with volunteerism. But, a divine call was surely a prerequisite to entering the ministry. Because, apart from a divine call from the Lord, few men have the spiritual stamina to stay the course. The trenches of preparing and delivering 3-5 sermons, or more, every week year after year, will drive a volunteer out of the ministry faster than almost anything, if he isn’t truly called of God. He also has to counsel, program, plan, guide, direct, perform, encourage, visit, win souls and much more. Believe me, without a divine call, he will be finished almost before he gets started. Apart from God’s call, a man will sooner or later walk away from the ministry to do something else, which isn’t all bad, that is, if he is not called. Blessed is the man who finally finds his calling in life. Continue to pray, sometimes it takes awhile.

     

    FAITH AND MARRIAGE

    Family members pleaded with him not to marry. But the young man wouldn’t listen. What was the family’s concern? He was a believer in Jesus; she was not. They knew that the union would dishonor God and that the two would face struggles due to disunity. They were right. One year after they walked the aisle, the couple divorced.


    The principle of believers marrying other believers in Jesus is found throughout God’s Word. In Ezra 9, for instance, Jewish leaders came to the prophet and told him that Israelite men had begun marrying women who did not follow the God of Israel. They said, “The holy race has become polluted by these mixed marriages” (v.2).


    In the New Testament, the the Apostle Paul asks us to consider these verses:

    • Marry only a believer—“A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but only if he loves the Lord” (1 Corinthians 7:39).

    • Be one in Jesus—“Wives . . . submit to your husbands as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22). “Husbands . . . love your wives, just as Christ loved the church” (v.25).

      A shared faith in Jesus with the one you marry is vital. You husbands must give honor to your wives. . . . She is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life (1 Peter 3:7).


      A Reminder!!! Our Church Service starts at 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Prayer Meeting is 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays. ALL ARE WELCOME!

           CH_ _ CH, What’s Missing? U R!!

      THE QUESTION OF THE MONTH

      “Can you be a follower of Jesus, and NOT follow Jesus?  AND, If you’re NOT a follower of Christ, are you a Christian?

       

      Video files of our worship services are available on the Internet. Last week’s viewings totaled 418 on God Tube TV and 303 on Sermon TV for a total of  721.  We pray that you were blessed by last week’s message and look forward to hearing from you.  To view this week's message click here for God Tube TV or here for Sermon TV.
      Continue to pray for us as we seek to serve the Lord here in Arizona.
      *********************************************************************************************************************
      It would be encouraging to us if you would let us know that you received our newsletter. We welcome your comments.

      Saturday, November 2, 2013

      November 3

      I will sing of the Mercies of the Lord Forever!


      The Harvest is WHITE, but the workers are few!

      Cotton Fields

      People Fields

      Praise the Lord for the few that are willing to go out into the fields, the highways and byways (Luke 14:23) to invite all who are looking for the Truth, to Come, Come and be satisfied by the Words of the Lord.


        

      As we join for prayer, counsel, and sweet  fellowship!


        

      “Come all who are weary…” Matt. 11:28



         You are ALL invited to join us on November 19th - 10:30 am. at the Church in Valley Farms for our ribbon cutting and open house.



      A Reminder—our Church Service starts at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday--ALL ARE WELCOME!

       

      WORDS ARE POWERFUL!

      Our Words Are Seeds Planted in Other People's Lives. Our vocabulary should be filled with words of Hope. Be known as someone who speaks the Truth in Love.


      A few years ago, in a diner in North Dakota, I saw a sign under a mounted large mouth bass. It read, "If I had kept my mouth shut I wouldn't be here." How true! Don't jump into trouble mouth first. Starting this very day, what would happen if you stopped referring to your challenges as problem, and, instead, started referring to them as opportunities?


      A conversation is said of a husband talking to his wife, “Linda,just so you know, I never want to live in a vegetative state dependent on some machine. If that ever happens, just pull the plug." At that she immediately got up, walked over and unplugged the TV.


      "Our words create our thought worlds," “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” Prov.23:7. Your words have the power to start fires or to quench passion. Don't be known as a person whose words are negative. If you're a member of the "negative grapevine," resign today. Contrary to what you may have heard, talk is not cheap. Talk is powerful! Talk is powerful! Don't wait another moment to become the person you are meant to be. “Seek first His Kingdom, and His Righteousness…” Matthew 6:33


      A dear Sister sent this-

      Surely something to think about!

      THE QUESTION OF THE MONTH

      “Can you be a follower of Jesus, and NOT follow Jesus?  AND, If you’re NOT a follower of Christ, are you a Christian?

       

      Video files of our worship services are available on the Internet. Last week’s viewings totaled 418 on God Tube TV and 303 on Sermon TV for a total of  721.  We pray that you were blessed by last week’s message and look forward to hearing from you.  To view this week's message click here for God Tube TV or here for Sermon TV.
      Continue to pray for us as we seek to serve the Lord here in Arizona.
      *********************************************************************************************************************
      It would be encouraging to us if you would let us know that you received our newsletter. We welcome your comments.