Bible Verse for Sunday Service Service July 28, 2024
Psalm 121:3-4
He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
Announcements:
We will have a picnic at Huntley Park on August 18th, right after church. We will find a place under the shade of the trees, and enjoy a time together. Bring a dish or two to share and your lawn chairs. We plan on games like horseshoes and corn hole, as well as utilizing the playground for the children. Make plans to join us.
If you would like to be baptized, please let Pastor know. He plans to have a baptism during the service on August 18.
Awana begins in September, but it is not too soon to be considering helping in this ministry. We need a leader to help Sandy Schlosser with the Cubbies. Please talk to Sandy or Pastor if you have questions about helping with this preschool group. We can also use helpers for the other groups. We would like to have groups from preschool to teens again this year.
Every year, we pack boxes for Operation Christmas Child in November. Now is a good time to be purchasing those items for the boxes. In the foyer, we provide a sign up sheet on the bulletin board. Please let us know what you could provide. Please talk to Natasha or Gaylene if you have any questions.
Special: “Wonderful Grace of Jesus”
We were blessed by choir singing “Wonderful Grace of Jesus.” This song was written by Haldor Lillenas, a Norwegian immigrant who came to American at the end of the 19th century. He worked in agriculture of the Midwest and started writing hymns commercially. He died in 1959. You can watch below, or by using this link on Rumble.
Sermon:
Pastor Jim spoke to us on Hebrews 13:17-19in a sermon he titled “Responsibilities Towards Leaders.” He started by observing that every group has a leader and a church is no exception. In fact, as told by Paul in Acts, he established leaders in every church he founded. With the understanding that the church will have leaders, the question becomes what is our responsibility towards them? The writer of Hebrews wrote on this and Pastor covered it today in two points.
First, he spoke of the need for obedience to the leaders. Now, he was at pains to explain via bad example, Jim Jones, that this is not an unqualified obedience. Instead, we filter everything through the Bible. A Biblical view of leadership established that we have a duty to them, to listen and follow when they guide biblically. We need to do this because although the Bible teaches that we will have to give an account when we die, it also teaches that our leaders are held to a higher standard.
This discussion so far of what is required sets up what is necessary to be leader and our responsibility in helping them. We must pray for them that God helps them, equips them to faithfully execute their duties. Our leaders need it. Perhaps the best example of a leader needing prayer was the prayer for President Trump before the assassination attempt. That prayer, God answered, and saved President Trump. Scripture also has other admonitions to pray for our leaders besides this one in Hebrews. Besides the leaders, the church needs the prayer. Pastor pointed out that the church is not just an institution, it is an organic thing that needs our help and love so that it functions correctly, as God designed it.
Pastor asked us in closing to remember who the true leader of our church is, Jesus in heaven. We can and should pray to him for our church leaders and our church. May he bless it that it serves Him.
Accessing the Service, Bulletin and Sermon Outline:
Here are the pages from the bulletin, click on the images below to see them full size:
If you would like to have the sermon outline, you can download it here, a pdf file.
If you would like a link to this service you can find it here. Perhaps you would like to share it with your friends. You could also share that link on social media, if you use any of the providers. We use Rumble, a safe alternative to Google’s YouTube.