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This Sunday at 9:30am, we will finish up our journey through the book of I Peter. As Peter closes this letter, written to churches and believers all throughout Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), who had been scattered due to persecution, he reaffirms the overall exhortation of his letter. Because we hold to the true faith in a trustworthy God, we can stand firm in God's grace. In the midst of all oppression, mistreatment, temptation, or trials, we can endure with hope because of the sustaining power of God. In short, through Christ, we can have unwavering hope. Join us Sunday at 9:30am, as we gather together to give praise, glory and honor to our faithful God, who reigns forever and ever!
Adult Sunday School is back!! Stick around after the service as we begin a brand-new study. Join Mark and Jonella as they walk us through the book of Acts. The study is titled, "Going Viral: The Birth and Advance of the Church". As Jesus ascended into heaven, he looked at his disciples and proclaimed, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8. What we will encounter in our study of Acts is a group of people who, after hearing the gospel and receiving the Holy Spirit, became bold witnesses for the gospel of Jesus Christ. This study will remind us that Parkside is made up of people who Jesus has saved and sent to be missionaries in the world. As we will see, the early church could not have advanced without the unwavering commitment of those early believers. Just as he did in Acts 1:8, Jesus sends all of us out to be His witnesses. Join us at 10:45am, as we take a deep-dive into the rapid advancement of the early church. Trunk O Treat is this Saturday (tomorrow) from 4:00pm to 7:00pm. Thanks to everyone who has supplied candy, stuffed goody bags with information about Jesus and Parkside, and to those who will be helping with food, games and passing out candy. We are excited to host this year's Trunk O Treat, as we love and serve the families in our surrounding neighborhoods. Pray that the weather cooperates and that Jesus is glorified! Ladies: Don't forget to sign-up for our 1st Annual Handmade Holidays Women's Craft Event. This fun opportunity to craft, chat and connect will take place on Saturday, November 5th, from 10:00am to 12:30pm, at Parkside Fellowship. Each attendee will learn to create handmade decorations for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We will supply all the materials, instruction, coffee and tea. We are asking each lady to bring 2 dozen of their favorite homemade holiday treat to share. Sign-ups will continue this Sunday. Finally, attached is this week's prayer list. Please continue to pray for the needs within our church family. See you Sunday. Pastor Doug Throughout the New Testament we read of the changed life that follows genuine conversion. When God freely and fully forgives the sins of our former life--when the righteousness of Christ is credited to our account and the Spirit of God takes up residence in our hearts--the old things pass away and all things become new (II Cor. 5:17). This week, Larry Annes will be preaching as we continue walking through I Peter. Beginning with chapter 4, the apostle Peter is going to remind us, as followers of Christ, that we have entered into a glorious relationship with our Heavenly Father, made possible through His Son Jesus Christ. In addition to a new relationship with God, Peter also addresses how this new life impacts our way of thinking and living. Our lives should look very different from the culture around us.
Though almost 2,000 years separate us from Peter's original audience, many Christians today can identify with the apostle's words. Written for a particular time, his words are nevertheless timeless. They speak with incredible relevance today--especially his comments regarding the reaction of those who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus. Join us this Sunday, at 9:30am, as we continue in our series, Resilient Hope. Note: Not only is Larry Annes preaching this Sunday, but we will also be celebrating Larry's recent ordination by our church council! Congratulations Larry! Special Invitation: Immediately following this Sunday's service, please join me as we gather together for a special time of thanking and praising God for his past faithfulness. During this time of prayer, we will also ask God to give us boldness in proclaiming our salvation through Jesus and for a spiritual awakening to grip our city. Finally, we will ask God to guide us in our endeavor to be a light in our community. This "Concert of Prayer" will begin at 10:45am in the large Sunday School classroom directly across from the Fireside Room. Thank you for being a church that actively prays for one another. See you Sunday. Doug I want to thank all those who attended, either in-person or online, last Sunday's presentation from the team with the Calvary Family of Churches. While myself, along with our church council, continues to be excited about the possibility of partnering with this family of Gospel-centered, Great Commission-driven churches, we also recognize that some of you are experiencing mixed emotions that go along with any potential change. Our prayer and hope throughout this process, has been and continues to be, that each member of Parkside Fellowship will make a prayerful, informed voting decision.
With this goal in mind, each member of our council is available and ready to meet with you, in-person, over the phone, through emails or whatever method is appropriate, in order to answer any questions or concerns you might have regarding our recommendation to join the Calvary Family of Churches. Please don't hesitate to reach out to any one of our council members (Bitsy Law, Kurt Lynam, Shirley Anderson, Mark Hester or Pastor Doug) and we would be happy to schedule a meeting with you. This Sunday, at 9:30am, please join us as we continue to walk through the book of I Peter. Due to his own struggles as one of the original disciples, Peter had developed a heart for the hurting and broken. He had a ministry to the suffering. So we shouldn't be surprised that Peter wrote his first letter to hurting people on the brink of hopelessness. Sincerity and truth, encouragement and exhortation. The words provide us with a proper foundation for our study in I Peter. Join us on Sunday, at 9:30am, as we continue are series, Resilient Hope. Special Invitation: Immediately following this Sunday's service, I am inviting you to join me, and our church council, as we continue to pray for God's discernment in the future of Parkside Fellowship. We will meet at 10:45am, in the large Sunday School room directly across from the Fireside Room. Remember, prayer is the foundation for any new direction a church might take. Prayer leads us to humility. Prayer produces faith. Prayer is a privilege and is a powerful tool! Join me this Sunday as we engage in the ancient practice of bold, relentless, dependent, expectant prayer! Thanks for continuing to pray for those in our church family who are hurting. See you Sunday. Pastor Doug So far in our study of I Peter, we've learned that as elect exiles, living in a foreign land, we should expect pushback and opposition to the way we conduct ourselves as followers of Jesus. We've also been reminded that, as we encounter opposition, Christ is our hope and heaven is our home. These two truths were delivered by Peter to a group of Christians who had been scattered, distressed, tempted and tested. With this letter, Peter took on the role of a coach or personal trainer, encouraging the early church to pull together, support one another, and to keep the end goal (heaven) in mind.
Amazingly, even today, many of us are still in need of a personal trainer, a coach, who like Peter, will encourage us to not forget our kind, loving heavenly Father who held us in His arms, protected us, and fed us just what we needed to grow. New believers feel free to ask God anything, sharing everything with him. But as we advance in biblical and theological knowledge, an erosion begins to occur. We drift from the childlike intimacy with God and before long, that caring Father seems distant, uninterested in our everyday problems, even a bit irritated by our constant mistakes and nagging requests. We need a Peter to come alongside and remind us of who we are and our role in this world. This is the message of I Peter 2:4-12. Join us this Sunday at 9:30am, as we continue in our series called, Resilient Hope. In I Peter 2, we will be reminded that we are God's chosen people, living stones, royal priests, called on by God to pursue holiness so that a world without God, might come to know Him and accept His free gift of salvation. Please join me this Sunday at 9:30am, as we continue to wade through the book of I Peter. Special Invitation: Immediately following this Sunday's service, I am inviting you to join with me, and our church council, in praying for the future of Parkside Fellowship. We will meet in the large Sunday School room directly across from the Fireside Room. The most critical key to any church revitalization and renewal is prayer. Prayer is the foundation for beginning any new direction a church might take. It anchors the future and the past by drawing us closer to the Lord. Prayer produces faith. Prayer leads us to confession. Prayer leads us to humility. Prayer leads us to make God glorifying decisions. Prayer is a privilege. It is a powerful tool. Prayer is where you meet God. Prayer is where you and I are shaped. So let's pray! We will also spend time around the communion table, as we remember that Christ died for his bride....the church. Thank you for praying for our church. See you Sunday. Pastor Doug Last Sunday, we kicked-off a brand new series called, Resilient Hope. In this series, we are reading the book of I Peter together and diving into some of the incredible truths and insights that Peter gives us about God, the gospel and our pursuit of holiness. Last week, we focused our time on the question, "How can I remain joyful in the midst of suffering?" In his opening remarks, Peter emphasized that our hope, in the midst of pain and suffering, grows stronger as we focus on the promise of heaven.
This week, Peter will address the question of, "How can I stay clean in a corrupt society?" Throughout history Christians have responded to this question with all sorts of extremes. However, the Bible tells us that we, as believers, have a mission to accomplish in this world, and therefore we can't afford to lock ourselves outside the world. Charles Swindoll writes, "The Christian's solution to the problem of holy living in an unholy world is not isolation, but insulation." This week, I Peter 1:13-21 will challenge us to be different from our depraved society without completely separating ourselves and living as underground Christians. Join us this Sunday at 9:30am as we continue to walk through the book of I Peter. Reminder: As our church leadership, along with our church family, continues to discern where God is moving, so that we can join with Him in what He is already doing, please continue to pray in 4 specific ways:
Thank you for praying for our church. See you Sunday. Pastor Doug Together, I and II Peter form a combination of encouragement and admonition. The book of I Peter was written to encourage the early church, which had been scattered due to persecution. These early followers of Jesus were living in uncertain and unstable times. Through his letter, Peter reminds the church that they have a living hope in the person of Jesus Christ. Though separated by centuries, the difficulties that were facing Peter’s audience are very similar to what Christians are facing throughout the world today, and we need a similar encouragement and admonition to remain faithful to the Lord in our trials and suffering.
This Sunday at 9:30am, we will begin a series titled, Resilient Hope. Through Peter's letter to people just like us, my prayer is that we will find encouragement and hope as we live in a world filled with pain and disappointment. How Christians respond to suffering is what separates us from the world. As we begin this series, I want to encourage you to take time and read the entire letter of I Peter in one sitting. I believe understanding the context in which this letter was written will help us better understand the individual topics addressed by Peter. Also, this Sunday, we will be having a good old-fashioned hymn sing. Come ready to give praise and glory to our God, as we sing some of your favorite hymns! Please continue to pray for our church as we continue to watch where God is working, so we can join him in what he is already doing. See you Sunday. Pastor Doug |
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February 2023
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