ENCOURAGING NEWS
FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH
P.O. BOX 594, 110 W. Waits Road
KENDALLVILLE, IN 46755 (260) 347-1729
[email protected]
Web: firstchristiankendallville.com
Thomas Clothier, Sr. Pastor
Robert Farmer, Associate Pastor
Michael DiSanto, Pastor of Youth & Evangelism
Jonathan McCord, Pastor of Worship & Small Groups
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PERMIT NO. 124
KENDALLVILLE IN
Or Current Resident
Sunday Worship 8:00 & 10:30 AM
Sunday School 9:25 AM
Wednesday — Bible Study 9:30 AM
Sr. & Jr. High Youth 6:00 PM
DATED MATERIAL
May 24, 2016
On Friday, June 3rd,
10:30AM-4PM, there will be a
fundraiser (High’s Chicken) at
Shepherd’s on US 6 to raise money
for the adoption process for Pastor
Mike and Anna and soon-to-be
daughter, Natalie, from
Bulgaria.
Workers are needed to help serve that day. Please sign up at
the Welcome Center if you are willing to help serve!
Pre-sale tickets ($7) for chicken halves are on sale now at
the Hospitality Center or see Rebekah McCord.
THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!!
On behalf of the FCC Student Ministry, we just want to thank
our church family for all their loving support at the Garage
Sale and Auction the weekend of May 20-21st! We were able
to raise over $11,000 at this event! Your gracious and
sacrificial giving will serve to help our students learn more
about the Gospel of Jesus Christ at both Crossings and Bear
Lake Camps! Thanks especially to Amy & Jeff Houser,
John & Christine Mory, Dean & Brenda Rummel, and
Jen Klaassen for serving on our planning committee! Your
kind and willing service is most appreciated!
Coming Events
7:30-8:00 a.m. Abide Prayer (room 111)
6:30 p.m. Celebrate Recovery
9:30 a.m. Bible Study
7:30 a.m. Yard Birds
6:45-8:45p.m. GriefShare
June 3
Chicken Fundraiser at Shepherds
June 5
Food Pantry collection day
June 5
Alaska Mission trip commissioning
9:30 a.m. Sunday school Promotion Sunday
June 8
Youth trip to Cedar Point
June 12
2016 Graduates’ acknowledgements
June 19
South Dakota Mission trip commissioning
June 20-25
Bear Lake Camp-upper elementary
July 18-22
Vacation Bible School
August 28
Family Picnic
Sunday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
FCC Student Ministry Announcements!!
Cedar Point Trip! On Wed., June 8th, the teens
and families of FCC will be going to Cedar
Point! Cost is $45 per person due June 5th..
Meet at the church at 6:30AM. Teens—invite
your friends!
Wednesday Night Bash: The first Wednesday
Night Bash is on Wednesday June 15th at Pastor
Mike and Anna’s Home! More info soon!
Hire a Teen: If there is anything you would
like help with around your home, hire a teen to
do this. All money earned will go towards their
South Dakota Mission trip this summer. See
Pastor Mike or Anna if you have any questions!
Soapy Joe’s Fundraiser: A great way to
discuss God’s adoption of His children with
friends and family as we raise funds in the
community! Our goal is to sell 300 buckets of
suds (quality guaranteed!) in order to cover all
upcoming home study fees for Mike and Anna.
Sale ends May 29. For questions, see Jen
Kramer, Addie Dewey, or Rebekah McCord.
Food Pantry collection day will
be Sunday, June 5.
NURSERY SCHEDULE - May 29, 2016
8:00 AM Rebekah McCord
10:30 AM Janelle Foster, Brooke Haney
COMMUNION - Lucretia McKenzie
WELCOME CENTER - May 29, 2016
8:00 AM Pastor Mike
10:30 AM Anna DiSanto
GREETERS - May 29, 2016
8:00 AM Chris Davis
10:30 AM Nelson & Georgia Bradford
ENCOURAGING NEWS
FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH, P.O. BOX 594, 110 W. WAITS ROAD
KENDALLVILLE IN 46755 (260) 347-1729
[email protected]
LESSONS FOR LIFE
from Pastor Bob
Recently I was reading in my Daily Bread a devotional entitled, great Literature. The article attempted to
describe what constitutes great literature. As a former high school English teacher, this make me reminisce
about short stories that I had taught and very much liked during that period of life. The author suggested that
great literature “changes you. When you are done reading you’re a different person.”
I am going to attempt to briefly tell about a story that had quite an impact on me. The short story was
entitled The First Seven Years and was written by Bernard Malamud. The story takes place in New York
City sometime shortly after WWII. A shoemaker, Feld, is wanting his nineteen year old daughter, Miriam, to
get married. She seems not to be interested in any young man that her father thought suitable. Ultimately the
reader finds out that Miriam falls in love with an ugly, bald 35 year old man name Sobel “who by the skin of
his teeth had escaped Hitler’s incinerator. Sobel works for Miriam’s father.
When Feld finds out that Sobel wants to marry Miriam, he can’t believe his daughter would be interested
in a man like Sobel. Sobel says that he and Miriam fell in love by reading each other’s books. Each of them
wrote notes in the margins of the book sharing their reactions to the events of the stories. In this way they
began to know the core of who the other really was. All the dad knew was the outer shell of each . . . things
like physical attractiveness and the ability to provide.
Interestingly, Feld tells Sobel that he won’t consider letting his daughter marry Sobel for two more years
when she is twenty-one. This would make a total of seven years of waiting for her because Sobel has already
been working for Feld five years and watching Miriam for those five years. Sounds like the story of Laban,
Jacob, Leah, and Rachel (Genesis 29:16-27).
For me, this was quite eye opening. How would I go about looking for a bride or anything else? Are there
things much more important than the exterior? Are issues such as wealth and position that important when
measured by eternity?
Great or at least good literature to me is literature that has helped me to plumb the depths of what is really
important. As a result, many of my best friends have been stories and novels that caused me to explore
beyond what my community and culture said was good and appropriate.
While I appreciate and enjoy exploring the ideas and thoughts given in books, I am so thankful that God
led me to a Godly woman and His Holy Word, the Bible. I was ultimately changed from a person who
thought he was a pretty good person into a person who is saved by the blood of Christ.
Reading the Bible challenges us to be better. Stories of biblical heroes inspire us to be courageous and
persevering. The wisdom and prophetic books warn of the danger of living by our fallen instincts. God
spoke through various writers to pen life-changing psalms for our benefit. The teachings of Jesus shape our
character to become more like Him. The writings of Paul orient our minds and lives to holy living. As the
Holy Spirit brings these Scriptures to our minds, they become powerful agents for change in our lives.
The writer of Psalm 119 loved God’s Word for its transforming influence in his life. He recognized that
the ancient Scriptures handed down from Moses made him wise and more understanding than his teachers (v.
99). It kept him from evil. (v. 101). No wonder he exclaimed, “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all
day long,” and “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (vv. 97, 103).
And I learned that I will never be able to do things perfectly. I thank God there is forgiveness through His
Son. Welcome to the joy of loving great literature, especially the life-changing power of God’s Word!
Christ’s servant, Pastor Bob
SUNDAY MORNING
May 29, 2016
Committed to a Biblical Ministry When Facing Challenges
Because of the Gospel
1 Thessalonians 2:14-16
Dr. Thomas Clothier
SAVE THE DATE
First Christian Church
Vacation Bible School
July 18-22, 2016
SUBMERGED
Finding Truth Below the Surface