THE HEIGHTENER
"Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you." -James 4:10
| Volume XXIX |
June 17, 2008 |
Number 24 |
|
VIEWPOINT In
the film Castaway, Tom Hanks plays Chuck Noland, a
clock-conscious Federal Express manager who gets shipwrecked on a desert
island. Completely cut off
from other people and modern conveniences, he must learn the primitive
skills of a caveman. He puts arduous effort into harpooning fish, making
fire by rubbing sticks together, and opening a coconut to get its sweet
milk and fruit. The movie is
full of clues on how difficult life can become for someone who is
stranded in an isolated wilderness. In
the Bible, the wilderness is often the setting for the mighty work of
God within the human heart. Jesus
made a practice of withdrawing to the wilderness to pray and receive
direction (Mark 1:35). He
also took his disciples away from the crowds (Mark 6:31; Matthew 16:13).
In a similar setting, God fed the despondent prophet Elijah with
heavenly food (1 Kings 19:1-10). It
was in the wilderness the Ethiopian pondered the gospel (Acts 8:26-40).
After Paul’s conversion, he withdrew to the Arabian Desert and was
taught by the Spirit (Galatians 1:15-18). Do
you find yourself in a “wilderness” experience, isolated from
friends and family? If so,
the Lord may want to teach you lessons of faith and endurance that you
could never learn in a busy crowd. Often
we ask “why is this happening to me?”
A better question would be “What does the Lord want me to learn
from this?” We’ll
be talking about “Castaway” quite a bit the next few days.
I look forward to sharing it together.
RA |
|
Castaway Where
Faith Conquers Fear and All Doubts Are “Cast Away” VBS
2008 June
22-25 Sunday
A.M. schedule 9:00 Welcome and
skit 9:10-9:45 class Sunday
P.M. Schedule 5:00-5:30 –
Registration, songs, and skit 5:30-6:00 – Class 6:00-6:25 – Craft 6:25-6:45 – Faith
Survival Challenge 6:45-Dinner (finger
foods/ice cream) Monday-Wednesday
Schedule 6:00-6:30 – Dinner 6:30-6:45 – Skit
and songs (prizes) 6:45-7:15 –
Lesson/activities 7:15-7:40 – Craft 7:40-8:00 – Faith
Survival Challenge The five lessons are: o
The
Challenge to See God – Sunday a.m. o
The
Challenge to Know God – Sunday p.m. o
The
Challenge to Trust God – Monday o
The
Challenge to Obey God – Tuesday o
The
Challenge to Share God – Wednesday |
FROM THE MAILBAG
Dear Cedar Grove Family
I could never begin to thank you enough for "all" the meals that you have prepared for me over the last few months. They were delicious! Your prayers, visits, cards and calls are such a blessing to me. I am so blessed to have my church family.
In
Christian love,
J. W. Raines
SUNDAY EVENING MEAL
We are planning a finger food and ice cream meal to follow our first evening session of VBS. All members are asked to bring your favorites and plan to join us for the meal. If you are unable to stay, we would appreciate your help in providing the food and ice cream.
MEALS BEFORE VBS DAILY
We will be having a meal before ach evening session of VBS Monday through Wednesday. We would appreciate your contributing drinks, chips, pre-packaged cookies, cakes, etc. These items will need to be brought in no later than Sunday, June 22.
SYMPATHY
The sympathy of the congregation is extended to Pat Tatum in the passing of her sister, Mary Clyde Thompson, last week. The funeral was Sunday afternoon.
In addition, former Cedar Grove member Joy Howard passed away last Thursday. (She was the granddaughter of the last Lat Margaret Howard.) A memorial was conducted Saturday.
BUILDING CLEAN UP
In order to better utilize our supply room and classrooms, we are going to be cleaning out a lot of unused items. If there is anything that you have in these places that you don't to be thrown away, please let Melanie King or Sharon Shelton know. There are a lot of items that are taking up space that could be better used. We are hoping to get this done before VBS.
OUR SICK
Shannon Scott is scheduled for out-patient surgery on Wednesday.
Paul Smith is in Douglas Hospital.
Continue to remember Susan Carson, Nell Peters, J. W. Raines, Richard Smith, and Geneva White.
|
THOSE TO SERVE - June 22, 2008 |
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|
Welcome |
Ross Anderson |
|
Song Leader |
Doyle White |
|
Opening Prayer |
Jason RayDick Massey |
|
Lord's Table |
*Romeo Brinkley |
|
|
*Todd Wisenbaker |
|
|
Joe Minichowski |
|
|
Steve Putman |
|
Scripture Reading |
Chris Greenwald |
|
|
Hebrews
11:1, 2 |
|
Closing Prayer |
Bill Moore |
|
Welcome -PM |
Ross Anderson |
|
Song Leader |
VBS Songs |
|
Opening Prayer |
VBS class |
|
Scripture Reading |
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|
|
|
|
Closing Prayer |
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Communion Preparation
|
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|
Nursery Attendant |
Volunteer Needed |
RECORD 6/8/08
|
Bible School |
80 |
|
Worship AM |
122 |
|
Worship PM |
N/A |
|
Wednesday Bible Study |
No assembly (power out) |
|
Contribution |
$ 3,185.01 |