Announcements

MEMBER ALERT:

Text messaging to the congregation has been suspended until a better approach is discovered. Emailing has resumed.

Bible study for the ladies on the English-speaking side: October 12th at 10 AM via Zoom. For additional information, contact Winnie Sylvester or Rosemary Dayie.

Men’s Bible study – Friday, October 20th at 7 PM, at the church building. Zoom will be available if you can't attend in-person: https://zoom.us/j/99914262031?pwd=STZLR3dUcEl3QW1uSTUzWjBqZ XdBQT09/; Meeting ID: 999 1426 2031; Password: 139492 or Dial: +1 301 715 8592. Volunteers to lead/facilitate future Bible studies are needed.

Parents, remember to review and work with your children on the new books and the things that they learned/talked about in Bible class and that they are prepared for Bible class.

Ladies, the Heritage Christian University offers a credit certificate program: “The Certificate in Women’s Ministry”. It is designed to provide training to better equip women to provide holistic ministry in the congregation for discipleship, mentoring, teaching and leading. This is 15 credit hours program

Lessons are taught Sundays 10-10:45am, and Wednesdays 7:30- 8:15pm. We encourage you to bring your young ones to both classes so the can benefit most from lessons. Our prayer and goal is that our young ones will love the Truth and internalize the Truths in scriptures so they may become obedient and faithful disciples of Christ. Let us all do our part to encourage our young ones to memorize scripture, develop holy habits, and love to come to Bible classes and worship services. Parents and guardians, we are honored to journey with you on this path. If you did not receive the Bible class letter from our shepherds, please contact brothers Kwaku or Riley

Sign-up sheets are on the bulletin board for hall monitors, Sunday morning greeters, meal contact persons and Bible class substitutes and assistants on Sundays and Wednesdays.

Bible class teachers and assistants are needed, see Arnoldo Velásquez or one of the elders if you desire to serve in this capacity

Pray for our shepherds and the flock (our congregation): that we may all submit to the Lord's will and His design for His Church that He purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28, 31; 1 Thessalonians 5:11-24; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; 5:1-21; Titus 1:6-15; 1 Peter 5:1-11).

Pray for the congregation in Ecuador, for the security of that country and for all people who are suffering through no fault of their own.

MEMORY VERSES

Exodus 20:4 - “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. NASB95

Luke 4:8 - Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’” NASB9

ACROSTICS

BIBLE Believers' Instructions Before Leaving Earth (2 Tim 3:16-17).

GOSPEL - For God so loved the world that He gave His Only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not Perish buthave Everlasting Life (John 3:16).

GOSPEL - God's Only Son Provides Everlasting Life.

Traces of God

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

EVERYWHERE IN GOD’S CREATION THERE ARE TRACES OF GOD HIMSELF. The American Heritage Dictionary gives this as the most basic meaning of the word “trace”: “A visible mark or sign of the former presence or passage of a person, thing, or event.” Surely, we are surrounded by traces of God. God has not left Himself without marks or signs that He has been here. So telling are the tokens of His creativity, we can hardly come into contact with anything God has done without being reminded of the power of His existence and the richness of His love.

God’s existence. The all-important fact that “God is real” is announced to us by the marvels He has left behind. If we fail to see this truth, it is not because it has not been made plain to us: “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.”

God’s benevolence and beauty. As important as it is for us to recognize the traces of God’s existence, it is even more important for us to see what the creation says about His nature. Just as surely as any work of art ever revealed the heart of the artist, God’s creative work tells us that He is a God of love. A world like the one we live in could not have been made by a God who did not take delight in beauty and joy and even good humor. The Alps and the Grand Canyon surely make some kind of comment on God’s nature. But so do the dandelion and the duckbilled platypus!

Our purpose as vessels to receive God’s joy. Surrounded by so many traces of God, how can we take in the wonders of the world and miss what these wonders say about us? The very fact that we have the ability to meditate rationally on these things and appreciate their significance ought to persuade us that we were made for something more than mere existence. We were made to be receptacles: vessels into which our Father wishes to pour His delight.

“As the hand is made for holding and the eye for seeing, You have fashioned me for joy. Share with me the vision that shall find it everywhere: in the wild violet’s beauty, in the lark’s melody, in the face of a steadfast man, in a child’s smile, in a mother’s love, in the purity of Jesus” (A Gaelic Prayer).