Greetings Church Friends and Family
A Brief Mid-Week Minute, as I've just submitted my Chapter 2 of my dissertation, and my brain and body is simply DONE!! I did not however want to miss out on the opportunity to briefly share a thought or two with you, together with a smaller than usual amount of announcements. - You will have to come to church and get the bulletin for the rest - nudge, nudge, wink, wink
This week, a young man whose marriage I was privileged to officiate passed away from Covid related medical issues. It was rather shocking getting the news, as he had just been home for around 24 hours after a couple of weeks in ICU. He was joking around on Facebook, liking my pictures, etc. We were relieved that he was home after we prayed for him quite a bit. This is now my 30th death I have to process due to covid. Whenever I get news like this, I have to pause and reflect on what I have been blessed with; my life, family, etc.
Realizing, like our friend, life, a loved one, could be snapped away from you in a mere blink of an eye forces you to appreciate what you’ve been blessed with and to love on and treasure those you hold dear.
Who do you hold dear? What do you hold dear? Do you have a prized possession? Everyone has that one possession that mean the most to us and bring us joy. Maybe it’s a Samurai Sword, or a simple forty-year-old recipe card in your mom’s handwriting. Maybe your grandma’s china. Maybe you value treasured memories—a compliment that encouraged you, a child or grandchild’s giggle, or a special insight they gleaned from Scripture.
What we often keep stashed away in our hearts, though, are things that have brought us great unhappiness: Anxiety—hidden, but easily retrieved. Anger—below the surface, but ready to strike. Resentment—silently corroding the core of our thoughts.
The apostle Paul addressed a more positive way to “think” in a letter to the church at Philippi. He encouraged the people of the church to always rejoice, to be gentle, and to bring everything to God in prayer, “4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. 8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:4–9).
Paul’s uplifting words on what to think about helps us see that it’s possible to push out dark thoughts and allow the peace of God to guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (v. 7). It’s when the thoughts that fill up our minds are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, and praiseworthy that we keep His peace in our hearts (v. 8).
During these troubled times it’s so easy to fill our minds with so much of the “wrong stuff.”
What unwelcome thoughts have stubbornly taken residence in your mind and heart? Life is way to precious now to no not focus on the blessings God’s entrusted us with. Eternal Life is too precious to focus on things that will cause us to miss out on life with Jesus. Let’s take some time to count our blessings, hug and love on our loved ones, and give thanks to God for the gift of his son Jesus.
We will be making some adjustments to our social media accounts shortly, as far as our handles are concerned, once our church name has officially been approved and voted. (More on this later). Since we seem to have lost Admin rights to our Facebook account (we’ve had to create a new one) - We are still trying to acquire admin right to the KSCS Facebook page (if you can help, please contact Pr. Eugene). For right now, please visit and like/follow us at:
Sermon This week by Pr. Eugene – “An Example of Joy”
Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11, focusing in on verse 1-3 NLT
Serving others does not come naturally to everyone. Even while Paul was incarcerated, he was not focused on his release. Instead, he worked on uniting the church even from behind bars. Paul longed to see the local church follow Jesus’ example and choose to serve one another. We hope that you will join us as we learn how to have the mindset of Jesus.
POTLUCK this week (1st and 3rd Saturday of every month) – in the Fellowship Hall, following our service. Please bring your favorite dish, side dish, or dessert to share, and let's enjoy great food and fellowship.
A holistic way to the healthy gut, restored microbiome and immune system, including cases of rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and Crohn’s disease. Find more information related to our seminar series starting this coming Saturday, following potluck.
http://autoimmune.inventanddiscover.com (or Scan the QR code below with your Digital device) Seminar will be presented by our friend Anar Guliyev (who has a medical degree, amongst his list of diplomas and accomplishments.) Plan to join us for potluck next week, followed by the first in a series of presentations.