My prayer for those of you reading this blog is that you come daily into the presence of God and seek His path, His wisdom, and His direction for all things in your life. There many roads to choose from in this life travel but there is only one road that will take you to the promised land. “One!” “1” “Uno”. Don’t be mislead by the masses of people who think there are many paths. Don’t be mislead by false doctrine that all religions are the same. They are not. Truth comes from one source and that source is God the creator of all things in the universe. Jesus is the truth and it is only through Him and By Him that you can be set free! I have said it over and over and will continue to say and preach it, “Don’t get lost in your religion!” The reason so many people are abandoning the church today is because the only thing most of them have ever experienced at church is religious experiences, not the living God and the Holy Spirit! There is a huge difference. God will come into anyone who has a sincere desire to know Him. God is seeking those who are willing to become vessels for Him to work through but we must develop a knowledge of God and His teachings so that we are not mislead. We do that by reading our bibles everyday, by listening to Spirit filled teaching everyday and by praying and seeking Him frequently everyday. In times of trouble, which will come to all of us, we need to double down on our reading, and seeking and praying. That is the way to knowing and experiencing God. One of the biggest hinderances to people walking in the Spirit today is time, or lack of it. People claim they just don’t have the time in their schedule to pray, read the bible, and listen to spirit filled preaching. But there is an answer to that fictitious obstacle. Here is a guaranteed method of finding time for God. You can be with Him either before, after, or instead of! It’s a choice. Find time before you do other things, after you do other things or the biggest time slot will be instead of doing other things. Where does God fit into your priorities? You can quickly find out just how important God is to you by looking at how much time you have spent with God in the last 5 days. God is the answer to a better, more joyful, peace filled life! Period! Amen.
Our Prayer list:
Jennifer Kaburik has started her Chemo treatments. We pray for God’s strength and healing and quick recovery.
Pete Fornof continue prayers for Pete as he is dealing with a very rare form of cancer. He has begun treatments and needs God’s strength and power.
Mike Portell Mike has had surgery on his back and is recovering. We pray for healing and strength for Mike and his wife Ruth who is taking care of him.
Linda Cassens continue healing prayers for Linda who has been battling bladder cancer and continues treatments.
Pastor Jackie healing prayers as she continues her treatments for skin cancer and recovers from the surgeries.
Prayers for the ministry of Praise Community Fellowship and Immanuel Methodist asking for God’s guidance and wisdom so that we can become more effective for His Kingdom.
Announcements:
This Sunday there is only one service at 10:00am. This service will be lead by pastor Jackie and Jordan Grammer and IUMC. See below.
Church Picnic Moved Indoors . Due to the forecasted excessive heat this coming weekend, the IUMC worship service, church picnic and staff appreciation have been moved to the lower level of Immanuel this Sunday, July 1. The worship service will be held at 10:00 am in the Journey’s Inn Room. Following worship, we will move to the Fellowship Hall for our “picnic” lunch. You are asked to bring an entrée plus a side dish to share, along with serving utensils. Plates, cups, napkins and tableware will be provided, as well as cold drinks and coffee. We hope you will then stay to play some fun family games and some special games for the children. We hear that we will play Human Battle Ship and have some Minute to Win It challenges which will be fun for all ages to play and to watch. We hope to see you this Sunday!
IUMC Breakfast Mission on Sundays, July 8 and 15 IUMC plans to shorten their 8:45 am worship service on a couple of Sundays in July in order to leave the building and serve breakfast to our communities at University Flats Mobile Home Park and our very own prayer garden. Next Sunday, July 8 and July 15 are the Sundays that we will meet at 8:45 am, share prayers, sing songs, and be sent out to minister with God’s children. If you are interested in being a part of this ministry, please sign the volunteer sheet on the table in the Fellowship Hall this Sunday. There’s a place for everyone to volunteer – loading our supplies, cooking and serving the food, clean-up, or financial contributions. The Holy Spirit calls us to a place of service every day of the week. This ministry gives us the opportunity to truly serve on the Lord’s Day! Please join in and see what blessings God grants us all.
Holy Communion . . Due to the IUMC church picnic on July 1, Holy Communion will be served at both services on Sunday, July 8th
Vacation Bible School begins July 30 and meets until August 3 from 6-8:30 pm each evening, with an optional meal being served at 5:30 pm. Children age 3 through those just finishing 5th grade are welcome to attend. There is no cost for the meal or for VBS, thanks to the generous donations we receive each summer. Children should register online by July 10th to ensure that they will receive the correct size T-shirt. You may register at this link. https://vbspro.events/p/events/iumcedwardsville
PCF will be back to lead worship on July 29th!
See you soon. Love pastor Kent