Announcements
SYMPATHY: to Andrew & Veronica Mouring and family on the passing of Patricia Mouring on Monday, October 12. A private service was held.
THANK YOU: I want to express my heartfelt thanks to our wonderful church family for the prayers and kind notes and cards I’ve received. I also want to thank Pastor Holbrook and Pastor Jung for their visits while I was in the hospital with heart problems. It is such a blessing to be part of a caring church family. With gratitude, Cindy Goodwin
CONQUEROR’S MEETING: For those who purchased tickets for our trip to Sight & Sound, we will meet in Baker tonight after the evening service.
SUPER SIXTIES SPECTACULAR: Open to all ages! Today is the final day to register!
LADIES FELLOWSHIP: Join us for painting on Saturday, November 7, at 11:00 a.m. in the Great Room! The $5 supply fee may be paid at the Welcome Desk or the day of the event. Drinks provided. Please sign up at the Welcome Desk and bring a brunch item to share.
NEEDED: Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen are urgently needed in uniform for our Veterans Day Program during the Sunday morning service on November 8. Please contact Don Graf at 443-605-8800 if you can participate.
SPORTSMAN BANQUET: Join us Saturday, November 14, from 4:00–8:00 p.m. Tickets are $15. Register online or at the Welcome Desk.
From My Heart
I appreciate the prayers and support from all of you, my church family, for my Dad and my family last week. It is so helpful to know folks are praying for you and holding you before the throne of God’s grace! Every time I got a text or an email, I would tell Dad, and he would smile and say, “Tell them thanks!” So, we are thankful for your prayers!
My little sister, Cheryl, and I were talking as I started working on this column, and she asked what I was typing. I told her it was for the column that I write for our church bulletin each week. She said, “You should write on the peace that passes understanding; that is what keeps me going!” I smiled and responded it keeps me going too! In Philippians 4:7, Paul says, “And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” This tiny little verse has encouraged many of God’s people through the decades, and it is a verse that has sustained me through the decades.
Imagine a situation where you cannot understand why things had to go the way they did! In our situation, Cheryl was almost in tears as she was asking me why good people have to suffer so much. She said it just didn’t seem right that Dad should have to suffer as he is after spending his entire adult life working hard, serving as a bus captain for decades, being a faithful deacon and a tremendous soul winner, and being a wonderful father to the three of us.
I explained that the wages of sin is death, and sin begins its destructive ways on all of us the minute we are born. Ultimately, sin will bring death to all of us! Since all of us are sinners, sin is going to impact each of us in some form or fashion. But the believer in Christ, the saved person, has something the unbelieving world does not have. We have a relationship with the Lord, and with that relationship, God makes His peace available to us. And that peace passes all understanding! In other words, Paul is saying when there is no understanding of a matter, through the Lord Jesus Christ, God gives us a peace which allows us to keep pressing on even when we cannot understand the “why” of the situation!
We often have things happen, and there is no rhyme or reason to them, and we protest within ourselves and say, “ It is just not fair! Why does this have to happen to me, or to my loved one?” And the reality of the matter is you may never know “why.” My mother passed away at 47, when I was 22 years of age, in 1978. I have never understood why the Lord called her home so young, but the Lord has given me a peace that passes my lack of understanding.
Keep looking to the Lord and trust His grace, His Word, and His goodness, and He will keep your heart and your mind strong! We have all been in a situation where we could not find the answers, and I am sure we will all face other similar times in the future! But let’s not lose trust in the Lord!
Have a wonderful day and may God bless you richly.
Pastor Norris