Good morning church family,
e4234e85-26ea-4b70-5dd6-a0a179350c5d@yahoo.com>”>GIVING THANKS:
* Thanks to God for the rain that we’ve had over the past few days and for all of His provisions. He is SO Good!
* Thanks to our Young Adults who will be volunteering at Spooner House soon. It’s a beautiful thing to see them give back. For anyone who has interest in volunteering here is the website. May we continue to support this good effort with our food contributions, service and prayers for all who are in need.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
* Leah Fernandes’s cousin Lisa Tobey needs prayers since she recently learned that she has cancer. She sees the oncologist soon to confirm the diagnosis and determine the next step.
* Nadine requested prayers for the family of Christine Nelson. We’ve been praying for Christine for many months during her struggle with cancer, which ultimately took her life recently. She just celebrated her 40th birthday. She leaves her husband and two young boys ages 8 and 10. Our prayers go out to all of the family at this difficult time.
* Prayers for all those in our membership and families who will be traveling over the holiday.
* Prayers for Linda Cerminara as she may need to have a shoulder replacement. Today also happens to be her 76th Birthday! Happy Birthday Linda!
FUN PHOTO TO SHARE:
Eric Stephens and Leah Fernandes work at St. Vincent’s Medical Center, each in different departments. They recently bumped into each other and snapped this photo. Our Christian Fellowship brings INCREDIBLE JOY!
4af62b7e-727b-bc2f-f20e-4245e854aeae@yahoo.com>”>COMING UP:
18b22f28-c76b-9aa0-6713-1f9ad1f7f312@yahoo.com>”>The Young Adults will be having a dinner, devotional and games at Ron & Lisa’s home on Saturday November 23rd at 6:00 p.m. Young Adults can please bring desserts and snacks.
Sunday, Dec 1st the Young Adults will be volunteering at the Spooner House from around 2-4:30! (Volunteering will include serving lunch and cleaning up the kitchen as well as sorting and shelving donations.) Please see Zach or Tori for more details!
c37b3e51-c53c-fc4d-9d48-8c4b6cb65bb6@yahoo.com>”>Wednesday night zoom class 7:00 p.m. on Death and the afterlife classes continues. These classes are all taped and available on our church website. Watch for the zoom link and be sure to invite others.
eee50262-9f19-2336-175c-184f52c203b8@yahoo.com>”>TUESDAY, November 26th at 9:30 a.m. will be the next zoom mid-week ladies bible study lead by Lisa and Mary Lou Saracino. Next lesson is chapter 8 in the book. Please see Lisa or Mary Lou if you would like to join the study and need a book.
78daced5-8bf7-056b-4741-476881d9c35c@yahoo.com>”>FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT – LIVING BEYOND YOURSELF – Galatians 5:22-23 Ladies bible study continues on the second Saturday of the month. The next class will be December 14th 10:00-12:00 Tammie Carey will be leading us in the next fruit of the Spirit – “THE JOY OF THE LORD IS OUR STRENGTH”. If you are unable to make these studies and wish to participate in the benevolence – “Adopt a senior”, including our shut-ins, please see Paula or Lisa.
f08321d6-b1a1-4219-ec7b-513961169ec6@yahoo.com>”>There will be a men’s breakfast held here at the church building on December 7th at 9:00 a.m.
GLOW WILD
Families with young children are encouraged to join in on the fun at the GLOW WILD exhibit at the Beardsley Zoo on December 7th at 6pm. Tickets can be purchased on the Beardsley Zoo website. Thanks to Derin & Kristen Wilson for organizing this!
GET READY TO “GLOW WILD”! TICKETS NOW ON SALE FOR CONNECTICUT’S EXCLUSIVE ILLUMINATING LANTERN FESTIVAL AT BEARDSLEY ZOO
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177916b1-2314-c487-de88-061098a81e1a@yahoo.com>”>We wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving holiday. Savor the precious moments with family and share the good news of Jesus Christ.
We share the message below about The Bread of Life….
cda37eb6-781f-19c1-e687-ccdffbc0376e@yahoo.com>”>Bread holds a place of powerful significance in Scripture with multiple layers of meaning. Bread was critical for physical existence and was the most basic, yet essential food. It was not just a food, but a symbol of God’s provision and eternal life. Bread was the symbol of God’s providence and care for His people.
The labor intensive process of making bread from seed to loaf, taught valuable lessons about patience, hard work and gratitude for God’s provision.
In the Old Testament, references to bread are mentioned 300 hundred times or more. When the Israelites wandered in the desert in the book of Exodus 16, the LORD provided manna from heaven. Bread that sustained them on their journey. This bread nourished not only their bodies, but also their faith in God’s loving providence.
0d83a5c8-ae17-4b75-9483-d028f774cd5d@yahoo.com>”>Bread was also significant with the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt. God gave clear instructions for this Exodus in scripture. Since the children of Israel left Egypt hastily, they did not have time for the bread to rise, so it was made on the very first day of Passover without leaven (yeast). Deuteronomy 16:3 “Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste – so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt.” Additional commands regarding unleavened bread are found in Exodus 12:8, 29:2 and Numbers 9:11. Leaven is symbolic of sin in scripture as we read in Galatians 5:9. In Romans 6:23 we read “the wages of sin is death”. Thus our need for a savior! Christ died to provide for us a way out of a life of sin. If man will repent of his sins, accept Jesus Christ as his Savior, have a changed heart and follow God’s commands, he will have eternal life. 1 John 1:9
In 1 Kings 17, we read about the prophet Elijah who was obedient to the LORD and how God can provide in un-expected ways! The mystery of how God works in mysterious ways is eye-opening!
There was a famine in the land and Elijah was asked by the LORD to go to a dry land of Cherith east of the Jordan. He tells Elijah that he will drink from the brook and ravens will give him food. 1 Kings 17:4
Elijah obeyed and was fed by the ravens who brought him manna (bread) and quail.
013c5ece-5dba-0823-d3d3-bdd238788b68@yahoo.com>”>The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening. Elijah drank water from the brook. Our great GOD could have chosen any means to feed Elijah, but God chose a raven! In Luke 12:24 Jesus said to his disciples, “Consider the ravens; They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” And the ravens brought Elijah BREAD.
In the New Testament bread appears 99 times. Bread takes on a richer meaning in the New Testament as it refers to Jesus Christ.
70fe14bc-6902-627e-9ffa-2fcb2c201a52@yahoo.com>”>In the book of Matthew 14:13-21 we read about the account of one of the most well known miracles in scripture, the feeding of the 5 thousand. Jesus takes 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, and blesses them and multiplies them to feed 5 thousand people. God can meet our needs beyond our imagination!
1532c865-7ce3-7ab1-f14d-78ab09e9f12a@yahoo.com>”>In the gospel of John, Jesus reveals one of His “I AM” statements.
Jesus referred to Himself in John 6:35 “I am the Bread of Life“. Jesus acknowledges that He is the symbol of spiritual nourishment; Christ Himself who feeds our deepest hungers – our souls – and gives us eternal life.
182148bc-b9b6-19b4-9c1b-23a527dd98cf@yahoo.com>”>In the book of Matthew 26:26 and also in Luke 22:19 we read about the Last Supper.
Jesus takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it and gives it to His disciples saying , “Take and eat; this is my body.”
vs. 27 “Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
b2b6a607-5378-de96-acbc-3dde72a40362@yahoo.com>”>Here the bread symbolizes the body of Jesus Christ, broken for US! His sacrifice of love that fills us UP.
Our fellowship in sharing communion together the first day of the week – the body and blood of JESUS – brings us into the closest possible union with God, Jesus and each other.
JESUS welcomes ALL to come to Him. All nations, people in every walk of life.
God in all of His glory clearly shows us in scripture, that He will not only provide for our physical needs, but for our spiritual needs, and that the physical and the spiritual are intimately intertwined and connected through Jesus Christ.
We read about JESUS THE BREAD OF LIFE in John 6…
John 6:25-51
“When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?
Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.
Do not work for food that spoils,
but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.
On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.
Then they asked him, “What must we do to the works God requires?”
“Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.“
So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert;
as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.‘
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven,
but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
“Sir”, they said, “from now on give us this bread.”
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life.
He who comes to me will never go hungry
and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.
For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.
And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none or all that he has given me,
but raise them up at the last day.”
“At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, who’s Father and Mother we know? How can he now say, “I came down from heaven?”
Stop grumbling among yourselves” Jesus answered.
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
It is written in the Prophets: ‘ They will all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God: only he has seen the Father.
I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.
I am the bread of life.
Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died.
But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven.
If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever.
This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
This holiday season will likely bring tables filled with food and plenty. How very blessed we are to have food and so many things in abundance. May we give God thanks for it all and may we focus on JESUS CHRIST, who is the living bread who gives us eternal life.
May we all try to grasp the unfathomable love of God, His Mercy and His Grace through Jesus Christ who is the spiritual bread that will nourish our souls for eternity.
LET US PRAISE HIM IN SONG:
BREAK THOU THE BREAD OF LIFE
- Break Thou the bread of life, dear Lord, to me,
As Thou didst break the loaves beside the sea;
Beyond the sacred page I seek Thee, Lord;
My spirit pants for Thee, O living Word! - Bless Thou the truth, dear Lord, to me, to me,
As Thou didst bless the bread by Galilee;
Then shall all bondage cease, all fetters fall;
And I shall find my peace, my all in all. - Thou art the bread of life, O Lord, to me,
Thy holy Word the truth that saveth me;
Give me to eat and live with Thee above;
Teach me to love Thy truth, for Thou art love. - Oh, send Thy Spirit, Lord, now unto me,
That He may touch my eyes, and make me see:
Show me the truth concealed within Thy Word,
And in Thy Book revealed I see the Lord.
HEAR THE INVITATION
All things are ready, come to the feast!
Come, for the table now is spread;
You famishing, you weary, come,
And you shall be richly fed.
Chorus
Hear the invitation,
Come, whosoever will;
Praise God for full salvation
For whosoever will.
All things are ready, come to the feast!
Come, for the door is open wide;
A place of honour is reserved
For you at the Master’s side.
All things are ready, come to the feast!
Come, while He waits to welcome you;
Delay not while this day is your,
Tomorrow may never be.
All things are ready, come to the feast!
Leave ev’ry care and worldly strife;
Come, feast upon the love of God,
And drink everlasting life.
Come, for the table now is spread;
You famishing, you weary, come,
And you shall be richly fed.
Chorus
Hear the invitation,
Come, whosoever will;
Praise God for full salvation
For whosoever will.
All things are ready, come to the feast!
Come, for the door is open wide;
A place of honour is reserved
For you at the Master’s side.
All things are ready, come to the feast!
Come, while He waits to welcome you;
Delay not while this day is your,
Tomorrow may never be.
All things are ready, come to the feast!
Leave ev’ry care and worldly strife;
Come, feast upon the love of God,
And drink everlasting life.
332b0236-1491-65eb-444f-7c5b886d6757@yahoo.com>”>Sunday mornings at 10:00 AM we offer bible studies for all ages.
Sunday mornings at 11:00AM we come together to PRAISE & WORSHIP our Heavenly Father.
Invite someone to come and hear of the LIFE GIVING, SOUL SAVING message of JESUS CHRIST.
ALL THINGS ARE READY, COME TO THE FEAST!
In Him,
Bruce & Paula