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 8/15/2026
Good morning church family,
GIVING THANKS & PRAISE TO GOD:
Leo Benevento came last Sunday morning to thank the congregation for all of the prayers offered up on his behalf while he was sick. This young man went through so much, and God brought him through it all. We give God much thanks to God for answered prayers, and will continue to pray for Leo’s wellness.
Before we even saw Leo in the auditorium, Malachi Carter in his bible class asked to give a prayer of thanks to God for His healing Leo! Mali has never met Leo until Sunday, but continued to pray for him!
PRAYER REQUESTS:
Ashley Stephens requested prayers for her brother Courtney Leslie who had a heart transplant on Wednesday. Thankfully the surgery went well. Prayers for his healing.
Continued prayers for Sam Cotte’s upcoming spine surgery on 8/21.
Continued prayers for Randy Springer who is waiting on a date for triple bypass surgery.
Continued prayers for Nadine’s upcoming shoulder surgery on September 10th.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Many events are happening over the next few months…all LORD WILLING and with Praise and Glory to God.
Ron has started a bible study of the Gospel of John on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. This book is foundational to the Christian faith and a great study for everyone! If you are unsure as to how to share God’s Word with someone, please invite them to join this study.
Saturday, August 22 at 11:00. –
The young adults will be going to the Beardsley Zoo. Please see Zach or Tori for more details and discounted tickets.
SUNDAY, August 30th – POT LUCK
Join us after worship for a Pot luck lunch after worship. Bring food to share and also bring a friend!
FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN event:
Derin & Kristen Wilson are having a “BACK TO SCHOOL FUN DAY” on September 5th at 3:00 p.m. Please bring a towel and HAVE FUN!
Also on September 5th will be the first Saturday Ladies Bible study at the building at 10:00 a.m. Sister Nadine Keller will lead the study as we finish up the series by Casandra Martin “The Aroma of Christ”.
Jay Repecko will be teaching a Discipleship class on September 11th and 12th.
Please take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about how you can use your talents to serve Him and the church.
“and teaching them”
What does this mean and what does it have to do with me?
Join us September 11th and 12th to find out.
Schedule:
Friday Night
6:30-6:45 Welcome/Singing/Prayer
6:45-7:45 What is Discipleship and why is it an important topic to discuss
7:45-8:00 Break
8:00-8-15 Spiritual Gifts Inventory (These will be returned later and will be included in the discussion)
8:15–8:30 Song/Closing Prayer
Saturday
9:00-9:30 Welcome/Singing/Prayer
Also time for those who did not take Gifts Inventory Friday night
9:30-10:30 Session 1: What Discipleship is Not
10:30-10:45 Break
10:45-11:45 Session 2: Biblical Discipleship
11:45-1:00 Lunch provided
1:00-2:00 Session 3: How do we incorporate biblical discipleship into the body
2:00-2:15 Break
2:15-3:15 Session 4: Practical Matters
3:15-3:30 Song/Thank you/Closing Prayer
Please RSVP to Jay Repecko by August 30th
to ensure we have enough food for lunch
jrepecko@comcast.net
OUR ANNUAL HYMN SING will be on Sunday, September 27th at 3:30 p.m. Stay tuned for more details.
May 2027 is the New England Lectureship.
Saturday October 10th at 10:00 a.m. Ladies Bible Study at the church building.
Our annual TRUNK or TREAT will be held on October 24th at 6:00 p.m. Set up will begin at 5:00 p.m.
Psalm 19:1
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”
If you haven’t watched a documentary about how bees make honey, it is worth your time to do so. Honeybees are an engineering and biological marvel of our Heavenly Father.
There are more than 20,000 species of bees, but only eight species of honeybees.
Most honey bees will make only one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in their lifetime. The lifespan of a worker bee is about four weeks in summer and spring. In winter, it increases to six months.
The temperament of a honeybee hive can be dependent upon the queen. If a hive is aggressive, introducing a new bee can bring calm.
The queen is the largest bee in the hive, her primary responsibility is to lay eggs.
The worker bees gather nectar, produce honey, guard the hive and honey, keep the queen fed, and make wax.
Drones do not have stingers to defend the hive or body parts to collect pollen or nectar. Their only job is to mate with the queen.
Honeybees cool and heal their hives. No matter the temperature outside, honeybees will keep their hives at a constant temperature of approximately 92 degrees.
Honeybees dance to communicate with each other. If a forager finds a site that is heavy with nectar or pollen, it will do a waggle dance to communicate the location. When swarming, the dance is meant to lead other bees to suitable nest sites.
Honeybees instinctively create cylindrical tubes out of warm beeswax. The hexagonal shape happens naturally through physics. As the warm cylinders press against each other, body heat from the bees softens the wax and surface tension pulls the walls into flat, shared sides just like soap bubbles. Tens of thousands of individual bees work as a single unit.
We reap the benefit of delicious honey all from these tiny creatures who live & labor to make HONEY!
Praise GOD for His awesome creation!
Honey appears over 60 times in the Bible, serving as both a valued natural food source and a rich spiritual symbol. It represents extreme wealth, the bounty of the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey in Exodus 3:8, and the supreme sweetness of God’s Word in Psalms 119:103.
John the Baptist survived in the wilderness eating locus and wild honey. Matthew 3:4
Jacob sent honey as a luxury gift to the ruler of Egypt to secure favor during a famine. Genesis 43:11
Samson found a swarm of bees and honey inside the carcass of a lion he had killed. Judges 14:8-9
Honey is sweet! In ancient times, honey was a luxury, a source of energy and a powerful medicine used to heal wounds. King Solomon compared our words to the healing power of honey in Proverbs 16:24. “Kind words are like Honey, sweet to the soul.”
Kind words can act as a soothing medicine, or a source of deep strength to someone who is hurting. Kind words bring health to the body and peace to the soul.
Love and kindness are deeply tied together in God’s Word. 1 Corinthians 13:4 “Love is patient, love is kind“
Love is the core motivation, and kindness is Love put into action.
The Psalmist in Psalm 63:3 wrote,
“Because thy loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.“
Psalm 107:1
“Say thank you to the LORD for being so good, for always being so loving and kind“
Psalm 136:1
“Give thanks to the LORD for he is good; His loving kindness continues forever.“
God’s kindness & mercy are eternal. Psalm 100:5
Our God is slow to anger, full of love and compassion Psalm 103:8
Psalm 145:17-18
“The LORD is fair in everything he does and full of kindness. He is close to all who call on him sincerely.”
God is Love and Kind because it is His nature – He can’t be any other.
He sustains us with Life and blessings daily.
God showers us with His goodness and kindness.
The Apostle Paul describes it in Ephesians 2:4-7
“God, being rich in mercy, brought us to life with Christ even when we were dead in our sins. In union with Christ Jesus, He raised us up and enthroned us with Him in the heavenly realms, so He might display how great is His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.“
verse 8 “Because of His kindness, you have been saved through trusting Christ“
Can we imagine a world where kindness abounds?
Jesus Christ lived 2,000 years ago. As we read the Gospels we read about a man who was different than everyone else.
Jesus lived in a time of brutality and selfishness. When he brought a different teaching, people wanted to hear more.
Luke 19:1-10
Zacchaeus, the tax collector, was despised by the people. Jesus made it a point of becoming his friend much to the amazement and disapproval of the religious establishment.
Matthew 14:13-21
When hungry crowds flocked around Jesus to listen to Him, he took pity on them and provided food all from a small boy’s lunch of 2 fish, and 5 loaves of bread.
Luke 7
A prostitute came to see him during a meal with Simon the Pharisee, unannounced. She was distraught with guilt and anguish over her lifestyle and needed diving forgiveness, and Jesus took the time and showed compassion and told her, “Your sins are forgiven”. He was kind to her, when others would have nothing to do with her.
Jesus washed the dirty feet of others, touched and healed lepers, and reached out to the forgotten people. Verse which says that He did many miracles which are not included in scripture.
John 21:25
“Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”
Jesus shared the biblical account of The Good Samaritan in the gospel of Luke. It was about a Jew who one day travelled from Jerusalem to Jericho and was attacked by bandits and left on the side of the highway. They attacked him so badly it looked as if he had died. Two religious leaders came by and ignored him, but a Samaritan man – who was part of a despised race – came by and took pity on him and cared for his physical needs, then took him to a place for help. He paid for the cost.
Jesus showed powerful kindness that knew no limits.
Jesus said in Matthew 20:28 “I did not come to be served, but to serve , and give my life as a ransom for many“
Kindness is one of the Fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23
Kindness focuses on the needs of others, rather than ourselves.
Kindness works for peace and unity, and is sensitive to the feelings, hurts, pains, and joys of others.
Kindness moves beyond the spiritual and the emotional, to the physical and the practical.
Kindness allows us to let our lights so shine in this world.
Jesus said in Luke 6 to show as much compassion as your Father does. Never criticize or condemn, or it will come back to you. Go easy on others; then they will do the same for you.
Luke 6:36-37
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Do not judge, and you will not be judged.
Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
KEEP SINGING:
LOVE ONE ANOTHER
Love the Lord, thy God with all thy heart
With all thy soul, all they strength, all thy mind
Love the Lord, thy God with all thy heart
For God is Love, God is Love, God is love.
To God be the glory great things He hath done.
In Him,
Bruce & Paula
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