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Message from Steve
Prodigal |prä-di-gal| adjective
1. spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant
2. having or giving something on a lavish scale
When the word, "Prodigal" is said, what comes to your mind? What are your immediate associations? Typically, we think of an extravagantly wasteful and wayward child, namely the prodigal son in Jesus' story in Luke 15:11-32. (You may want to read the story to refresh yourself... Here's a quick link:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%2015:11-32&version=31) But what if the story isn't about a prodigal son but a prodigal father? What if the one in the story who is actually extravagant and giving on lavish scales is the father in the story? What if the father is actually the prodigal one because he lavished grace, spent his forgiveness recklessly, and gave his resources freely?
Since the father depicts God in Jesus' story, that means God is a prodigal God! That means God is reckless with his grace in Jesus. That means God is wastefully extravagant in his forgiveness through the cross of Christ. That means God has given us lavishly in Christ our adoption into his family, an eternal inheritance and life!
The question we have to ask though is: how much do we really believe this? How deeply has the good news of God extending himself in this way to us through Jesus Christ really penetrated our lives? Of course, at first blush, we'd all say, "Of course, that's what I believe. I believe Jesus died on the cross for me and has given me a relationship with God through that." But really, how deeply has the cross penetrated, not just our belief system but also how we live life? How much does the cross, the good news of Christ, penetrate our family life and how we do life with them? How much does it rule and govern our finances? How much does it color our perspective in life in how we work, how we play, and what we do?
My sense is that though we believe in Christ, we all need it to penetrate our consciousness more deeply. Though we believe in the gospel, we need the gospel to be more deeply rooted in our lives. That will be our journey this year. To see and experience the gospel become more deeply rooted in our heart and lives so that the gospel colors how we do life in the power and presence of God.
So on September 13th, we'll begin this journey with some introduction and instruction. Then beginning on September 20th the whole rhythm of our church will be paced by Tim Keller's book, The Prodigal God (the books will be made available to you for $10 per copy). On Sunday morning I will use sections to inform my messages that will springboard you to read that same section of the book yourself during the week, which will then become the conversation topic for your Life Community Groups beginning the week of September 20th. So as a church, we'll preach, read, and process The Prodigal God together as our first step in this journey to have the gospel become more deeply rooted in our lives.
So be ready on September 13th... Get the book. Listen to the messages (live or via the website or podcast). Sign up for a Life Community Group. Process with your Life Community Group. And in that, we'll be taking a few more steps for the gospel to become more deeply rooted in us.
Needing a Prodigal God like You (and to believe it more deeply),
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Volunteer Spotlight
This month's volunteer spotlight is on Connie Perlin for her ministry on the prayer team. Many of you might know Connie as the woman in the back of the church, ready and willing to pray with anyone after the service. It is this one-on-one prayer where God has truly gifted Connie. She uses this strength to let the Holy Spirit work in the lives of those seeking prayer.
Connie has a Masters in Pastoral Counseling and is trained as a chaplain. She currently works as a hospice chaplain, and has been able to incorporate her training into her service on the prayer team. It was through all her years of training that she discovered her spiritual gift of prayer. She feels blessed that she had mentors who helped her identify her gifts. Throughout her training, she learned to pray with reverence and persistence.
After identifying this spiritual gift, Connie's eye caught an ad in the Grace Chapel bulletin asking volunteers to join the prayer team. She felt God's calling and joined the team. She grew to love the intimate moments she would share with those seeking prayer. After coming to GracePoint, she knew she wanted to continue this ministry and has been blessed by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the church community.
Connie believes that prayer is one of the most powerful mechanisms in a church. She believes a church without prayer is not a church. Prayer helps not only one's spiritual growth, but also draws the community together and encourages church growth. Her favorite part of this ministry is seeing the powerful force of the Holy Spirit at work. She experiences this from hearing a person's story, to asking God to come into their lives, and also from seeing Him work through her prayers. Besides her role on Sunday mornings, Connie also receives the specific requests sent out from the church on a weekly basis and is able to pray through these requests during the week.
Connie also co-leads a Life Community Group with Tony & Elaine Russo in Andover. While she helps facilitate the lessons and discussions, Connie believes the importance of the group is to connect families in the church and to provide support though life's good and difficult times.
Connie has been married to Neil for 32 years and they live in Tewksbury. She has attended GracePoint for three years. We are so blessed to have her as part of our church family and are thankful that she has answered God's call to use her spiritual gifts of counseling and prayer for the church body.
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Financial Update Below is an update of our financial status through July 2009.
(Our fiscal year runs from May 1, 2009 - April 30, 2010.)
FY2010 Budget: $318,500
YTD Budget (2 Mos.): $79,626
YTD Giving (2 Mos.): $55,900
YTD Difference: $ -23,726
Average May Attendance: 92
(includes KidsTown) |
