Announcements
SYMPATHY: to Dan & Brenda McLaughlin and their family at the passing of his mother, Golda McLaughlin, on Tuesday, January 2. The funeral was held on Saturday, January 6, in Hermon, Maine.
THANK YOU: to our Church family for all the prayers, calls, and cards for my mom and my family, as we dealt with her health and finally her home-going. We love you all in Christ. Buck & Cheryl Bowers & Family
SOUL-WINNER’S CLUB: The best way to serve the Lord in 2024 is by learning how to win souls to Christ and teaching others to do the same! The next session begins this Wednesday, January 10, downstairs in the Music Room at 7:00 p.m. Sign up online through the Church Website or at the Welcome Desk.
GRIEF SHARE: The new sessions for adults and for teens/children will begin this Tuesday, January 9, at 6:30 p.m. in rooms 417/418. Please see Kathy Reed or Judy Hannah for questions.
LIVE STREAMING CORRECTION: There was an error noted in the link which was listed in the previous bulletins. The correct link for our live church services which went into effect on January 3, 2024, on Vimeo is: https://vimeo.com/event/3935395.
From My Heart
Jordan Davis - UMMC N11E24
Leona Eng - CHC ER4
Larry Haines - UMMC P3H09
Ken Marsh - St. Joseph ICU
Harold Switzer - CHC 519
Hospitalizations
When the servant of the Lord Moses died, God called Joshua who was the “right-hand man” of Moses to take Israel into the Land of Promise. They had been wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, but now it was time to cross over the Jordan River! They gathered on the eastern shore of the Jordan River and God told the Levites to carry the Ark of the Covenant into the swollen river. And when they did, the waters of the Jordan parted to allow them to walk across the riverbed on dry ground, just like it was with the Red Sea crossing.
In Joshua 3:4, the Lord reminded Joshua that He would be with them and would show the Canaanites and the rest of the tribes of people who lived in the land, that as God had been with Moses, so would God be with Joshua. The Lord told Joshua they had “not passed this way heretofore.” Everything they were about to encounter would be new to them.
To prepare for such new adventures, Joshua told the people to sanctify themselves. Notice that Joshua did not tell them to “Canaanize” themselves! They were not to become like the worshippers of false gods who lived in the land! They were not to adopt the idols and the icons of Baal! Instead, Joshua told them to “sanctify” themselves. It takes a “set apart” and “clean” life to be blessed by God!
To sanctify oneself means they were to have a clean heart before the Lord. The word, “sanctify” means just that - “to cleanse.” The idea was for everyone to get thoroughly right with the Lord. The word “sanctify” also means “to set apart.” To set yourself apart from the world and from sin and turn toward the Lord for His richest blessings.
In Joshua 3:10, Joshua told the people, “Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, etc., etc.” And that is what we need in 2024! We need to know that the living God is among us! We need the hand of God guiding our steps, enlightening our path, and empowering our service. This comes as we “sanctify” ourselves before the Lord. I would love to see the Lord do “wonders among us” in the coming New Year.
Let’s begin 2024 by daily walking with the Lord, yielding our lives to His service, by reading our Bible daily, and being faithful to Church! I want the Lord’s richest blessing for my life, for your life, and for the Church of the Open Door.
Have a blessed day!
Pastor Norris