Good morning church family,
As always, we hope you all remain well. Please contact any of us should you learn of a member or family in need. How blessed are in this church family to have so many loving and concerned brothers & sisters in Christ!
We have so much going on over the next few weeks, please take note, plug in, and find JOY in the LORD along the way!
“The grace of the LORD JESUS be with God’s people.” Revelation 22:21
GIVING THANKS:
- Nadine’s Mother’s surgery went well. Prayers for her healing.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Mel will be moving into an assisted living center at Wesley Heights in Shelton on October 13th. Prayers for this transition to go smoothly as Mel is struggling.
- Continued prayers for Flo who is following up with her doctors this week.
- Karen Ohrenberger needs prayers as she is going through medical testing
- Paula Ross continues to struggle with migraines and will be seeking treatment alternatives soon.
- Jeremy Sanzone who attends the Waterbury church of Christ is dealing with a rare and serious bone disease.
- Eric Reynolds has not been feeling well, and is undergoing medical testing.
NEW EVENT UPDATE:
- Trunk or Treat Saturday, October 29th at 6:30. This event is being hosted by Jayden Rzasa one of our teens who offered to lead this this year. Thanks to Jayden for stepping up! It will be an outdoor event in the upper parking lot. A sign -up sheet for those who wish to decorate their trunks will be posted on the back door. Flyers will be on the back table. The more cars, the more fun for the kids! This is a safe and fun activity so invite friends and neighbors. Sadly, last year’s event was cancelled due to inclement weather. Be sure to Bring treats for the kids, we usually get 25-30 children.
COMING UP:
- The BIG E trip is coming up next weekend! September 24th. Brother Keller has provided information below:
Hi church Family, Our church trip to the Big E is coming up soon. Feel free to invite and bring friends and guests. This is a great way to introduce them to your church family in a non-intimidating environment!
You can either drive up and join us there, or meet at the church parking lot at 8:45 and we will leave to caravan up at 9am sharp.
It takes about 1:45 mins (depending on traffic). We should arrive around 11am.
We will park in the gate 9 parking area and meet at the COURT OF HONOR STAGE as soon as you enter.
If you have any questions, Please feel free to contact brother Keller at 203-218-9517
In His Service,
Patrick
For more info and to effectively communicate on the day of the event, please sent a text to
81010
Containing this message
@bigecoc
and follow the instructions (Choose PARENT)
We will be using a system called Remind, you do not need to download any apps. This is a quick and easy way to keep everyone posted.
You can purchase your tickets in advance online @ thebige.com
ADULTS – $12 CHILDREN (6-12) – $8 5 & UNDER – FREE (+ $1.50 per ticket convenience fee)
Or you can purchase at the Gate:
ADULTS – $15 CHILDREN (6-12) – $10 5 & UNDER – FREE
Note: Parking is $10 per vehicle (cash only) So, please come prepared.
- Next Sunday, September 25th Lord willing & weather permitting, we will be taking a group photo outside of the church building right after worship. If it is raining, we will take the photo up front in the auditorium. Thanks to Angela Weber who will be taking the picture! We understand that many are working and several due to health concerns are unable to be here for this picture. The photograph simply represents the whole church.
- The New Haven Church of Christ is hosting a Ladies’ Day on October 1st from 10am to 2pm. Registration and Continental breakfast: 9am to 9:45 am.
- Friday night, October 14th at 7pm will be the next Ladies bible study. We will put together 10 COLLEGE CARE BOXES for our college students. There will be a container in the foyer for donations. List of suggested items are on the back table.
- October 15th is our next building clean-up day beginning at 9:00 a.m. Come when you can, many hands make light work. Bring a bag lunch! For those who cannot make it this day, feel free to come whenever you are able when the building is open, Tuesday through Friday. A list has been posted for things that people can help with, whenever they are able. Just leave a sticky note in the kitchen on the counter as to what you were able to do! The post-it-notes are in the right top drawer of the granite counter.
- November 4th, 5th & 6th – Trumbull’s 150th church anniversary! Please let us know if you are coming; if you have any food restrictions; or if you are unable to be here; what you can do to help (i.e. bake cookies, etc).
- November 11-13 is the Manchester / Meriden Youth Rally in Manchester.
Life of Jesus Christ has been a rich study about his miracles, his teachings, and his purpose.
In Matthew Chapter 27 we read of the brutal Crucifixion of Jesus.
Vs. 27 “Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. “
Vs 45 “From the sixth, hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Elio, Elio, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God , My God, why have you forsaken me?”
Vs. 51 “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. “
Vs. 54 “When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God.”
We simply read what happened but Jesus endured it.When we hear of the word grace, it means different things to different people. God’s grace is amazing because it is undeserved and a gift. A gift of the greatest worth. A gift of love in its finest form.
God provided the perfect Lamb, Jesus to be the Holy sacrifice for our sins! His plan was in place, before time began.
What happened to Jesus was brutal and un-deserved, yet He fulfilled His Father’s plan. The love of the Father, the Love of the Son.
We do not deserve God’s mercy or His grace, yet it is free to all. Grace was purchased at a great price. Not sure about you, but just reading about the pain, agony, and torment that Jesus endured, makes one wonder why God allows the sun to rise each day?
After what happened at Calvary, how can God continue to give us life? And yet, offer us eternal life with him?
Even in His agony, Jesus’ concern was for the forgiveness of those who hung him on the cross…the Roman soldiers who mocked Him, spit on Him put a crown of thorns on His head, and nailed him to the cross. He forgave, his enemies. He fulfilled Old Testament Prophecy. Isaiah 53:12, and in Mark 15:29-30.
In Luke 23:34 Jesus said, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Jesus’ prayer does not mean that mankind is forgiven without repentance & faith.
We’ve all seen this acronym…
God’s
Riches
At
Christ’s
Expense
God’s life, power and righteousness have been given to us by His grace, un-merited favor.
Justice is getting what we deserve.
Mercy, is not getting what we deserve.
Grace is about forgiveness, and about not getting what we deserve; It is about redemption and that our soul can be delivered from despair through and by the GRACE & MERCY of GOD.
GRACE is forgiveness that forgets as the apostle Paul shared in Ephesians 2:8-10. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are all God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do!”
It is the absence of merit. For those of us who do not deserve anything, grace gives EVERYTHING for nothing.
None of us deserve salvation. Yet God allows sinners to believe in His Son…the one whom he sacrificed for all sin!
God’s grace flows from the essence of His being. “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” Exodus 34:6
We must have Faith….
As noted in Hebrews 11:6 “..And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Romans 3:22-23 “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.” Not just some, but everyone.
In vs. 25-26 of Romans 3, “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished – he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Our righteousness comes through our faith in the blood of Jesus Christ! God provided the mediator between God & man, the bridge between the spiritual and the flesh.
Romans 3. It is here that we read of God’s entire plan!
God’s grace is manifested in Jesus Christ. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth…Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” John 1:14-17
God welcomes us all… sinners, the unlovable, the ungodly! All that we are, He makes perfect through the blood of Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:6 “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the un-godly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
We have a beautiful opportunity to accept his gift of GRACE…and have an eternal relationship with the Father.
Believe – John 3:16
Repent – Luke 13:1-5
Confess him before men – Matthew 10:32-33
Be faithful until death – Revelation 2:10
Humbling…
AMAZING….
John Newton wrote the song Amazing Grace after a near death experience. At age 11, his mother died, and his father took him off to sea. On a visit back home, he was impounded by the Navy and pressed into service. He escaped from the Navy, only to be impounded by the Navy again. But this time, the Navy traded him to a slave trader, and he became involved in the slave trade and gross immorality. He was eventually imprisoned, and then rescued by a friend of his Father. In 1748 be boarded the ship the Greyhound headed for home, but encountered a terrible storm on the way. After 27 days of being lost at sea, the crew finally sighted land. This experience drove Newton back to the faith taught at his mother’s knee. He became a preacher, and the fire that was now lit, would never again be extinguished.
At age 82, near death, almost blind, and with fading memory, he spoke these words:
“My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things..
I’m a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.”
AMAZING GRACE
“Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace.” Romans 5:1-11
Amazing Grace!
How sweet the sound!
That saved a wretch like me,
I once was lost,
But now I’m found,
‘Twas blind, but now I see.
Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved,
How precious did,
That Grace appear,
The hour I first believed!
Thru many dangers,
Toils and snares,
I have already come,
‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
When we’ve been there
Ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days,
To sing God’s praise,
than when we first begun.
HIS GRACE REACHES ME
“Justified freely by His grace through…Jesus Christ.” Romans 3:24
Deeper than the oceans,
And Wider than the sea,
Is the grace of the Savior for sinners like me;
Sent from the Father and it thrills my soul,
Just to feel and to know,
That His blood makes me whole.
His grace reaches me,
Yes His grace reaches me,
And twill last thru eternity;
Now I’m under His control and
I’m happy in my soul,
Just to know that His grace reaches me.
Higher than the mountains
And brighter than the sun,
It was offered at Calavry for everyone;
Greatest of treasures and it’s mine today,
Though my sins were as scarlet,
He has washed them away.
His grace reaches me,
Yes His grace reaches me,
And twill last thru eternity;
Now I’m under His control and
I’m happy in my soul,
Just to know that His grace reaches me.
God’s grace is abundant. There is no end to the goodness, mercy, love, healing, forgiveness, and countless other ways He pours out his blessings on His people.
2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”
Ephesians 2:7 “So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 4:7 “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”
2 Corinthians 8:9 “You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.”
James 4:6 “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
God patiently waits for all to come to Him.
Let us reflect the AMAZING GRACE that God showers upon each of us, to all the world and spread the Gospel message, the good news of Jesus Christ.
As the words so beautifully say in the hymn “When I survey the Wondrous Cross” written by Isaac Watts,“Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life my all…”
God bless,
Bruce & Paula
God’s Amazing Grace
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