Little Wonders by Susan Shull

The most wonderful thing about a child is….don’t get me started! Children are miracles in skin. I knew this for sure the minute we had our own three sons. As soon as I laid my eyes on each of them, I was head over heels, filled to the brim, and overflowing with love. I also became like a tiger-willing to do whatever it took to keep them safe.

Now with my grandchildren, I see even more what absolutely precious beings they are. I know how quickly they will grow up and how important, essential, vital, and necessary it is that they be taught the word of God. They are so trusting and eager to learn and so innocent.
Our children live in a world getting more evil and scarier by the moment, and its leader Satan wants them. He is relentless, will do whatever it takes to get them, and has many helpers. Christian parents cannot leave their children’s souls to chance. Their most important responsibility in being good parents is to teach their kids about the love of their Heavenly Father.

We would never purposefully put our dear, sweet children in a cage of wild animals to be devoured, but that is exactly what is done when people who know better, because they were taught the truth, don’t bring their precious babies to church to learn about the eternal protection offered through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Of course, this important task can’t just be left to the church. Parents must also teach the Bible at home through their own study, their own words, and their own actions. What could possibly be more important?

Unfortunately, we can’t make our children accept Christ’s love and free gift of salvation, but how can they possibly accept it if they are never taught? Please don’t leave your child’s soul to chance.

A Servant's Heart by Vaneta Andrews

I have been a part of several different clubs, organizations, and groups in my life. They all have one thing in common – a lack of workers! Even in the church it is sometimes hard to find workers. This however should not surprise me for God says “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few” (Matthew 9:37) but God also says “And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in ALL His ways, to love Him, to SERVE the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Deut. 10:12 – emphasis mine)

So how do we serve the Lord our God? By serving others. There are a number of ways here at SACC … teach, prepare communion, help with food distribution/angel food, Wednesday Night Connect, nursery workers, praise team and the list goes on and on especially now that we have two services. If you want to serve just ask! There is always something that needs to be done for God’s Kingdom – both inside and outside the church walls.

Lord, Matthew 9:38 says to “ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into the harvest field” so I come to you now asking that you give me (and SACC) a servant’s heart for there are greater things still to be done here!

Shining Through by Joyce Scahfer

The other day I was watching TV and saw a singer being interviewed. He was wearing a T-shirt that read “Spiritual Gangster”. Wow! What a powerful message that sent to me. We put out messages to the rest of the world in everything we do-in the way we dress, the way we act, the way we walk and especially in what we say.

It is truly amazing the power of our actions. If it is a gloomy day try wearing bright colors and be amazed at how your mood and those around you improves. If someone is getting on your nerves try to give them a compliment. There is always something nice you can say to another of God's children. This will make them and you feel better. When you are sick or frightened by an unknown factor walk with confidence because you know God walks beside you or better yet ask him to walk in front of you.

Most of all we need to be very careful what we say. It really bothers me the filthy language that comes out of other people's mouths, but I am guilty of gossiping and complaining which are not too inspiring either. It helps me to think of my body as God's temple and remember Philippians 4:8.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.”

FAMILY DEVOTIONS by Dena Wilkinson

My folks were adults when they accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. It was the early ‘70’s and we lived in Brownstown, IL right next to the Christian church. They were baptized in the middle of the night by G. Robert Luse, the minister at the time. Although none of us kids witnessed this rebirth, we still got to experience godly parents at an early age. Mom and Dad were the kind of converts you read about in the New Testament – when they made the decision to follow Christ, there was no turning back. However, they didn’t miraculously become perfect people, but they didn’t stay as baby Christians, either. They were at church services every time the doors were opened and they got into the Word and studied it, praying and teaching us kids. As time went on, they eventually began family devotions and prayer time with us. We all were responsible for choosing a book from the Bible to study. Whosever turn it was would read a chapter out loud and then open it up for discussion. Dad had a few commentaries by then, so the individual responsible for that particular night was expected to do some study on their own before devotions that night.

One night it was my turn. By now I was in high school and had struggled with anemia for the better part of my life. As a result, I was tired the majority of the time and by 9:00 p.m., I was ready for bed. On this particular night, after reading the chapter and discussing it, I closed in prayer. I bowed my head and closed my eyes to begin my prayer. As I prayed aloud, my words started coming out slower and slower until they eventually stopped. In my subconscious mind, I knew I had stopped speaking out loud but was in that state of sleep where I could not do anything about it. Until suddenly, it hit my conscious mind that I was not talking out loud anymore! Thankfully, I recovered and continued on with my prayer, all the while feeling foolish. After the “Amen,” I raised my head to see my mom looking at me with her head cocked a bit and a twinkle in her eye. She gently asked, “Dena, did you fall asleep while you were praying?” Sheepishly, I admitted that I had. We all had a good laugh about it and I believe that is one prayer time I will never forget! I honestly don’t think God was insulted because He knew that years down the road, I would fall asleep many times in the middle of conversations not only with family members but with guests in our house!

Family devotions were a great time for bonding in our house and for learning how to read and spell. But even more importantly, we learned to love the Word and its Author. What better way to learn so much with one’s family and from just one Book!!

PEACEFUL SCENES by Donna (Ensign) Woods

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
Matthew 11:28

Stroling on a desserted beach
Where worldly trials cannot reach
Warm, wet sand between my toes
Saltwater...to tickle my nose
An ocean breeze to soothe and caress,
The hand of God to love and bless.

Alone with God on mountain trail
Refreshing peace does not fail.
The babbling of a cool, clear stream
A soothing lullaby....so it would seem.
Nature's symphony performing for me
...No grander stage could ever be.

A visit to the garden of a brand new day
Allowing God to lead the way
A winding path a wonderous place
Where dew drops kiss nature's face.
A praying mantis on flowering vine
Reminds me to pray ...all the time.

On my patio, with coffee in hand
Listening to what God has planned.
Leaves twirl and dance to gentle breeze,
As the breath of God moves through the trees
His caressing whisper soothes my soul
When daily trials take their tole.

Wading bare foot in lazy streams
Lost in my own peaceful dreams
Leaving the world far, far away
Feeling God's presence, as I pray.
Peaceful scenes in this Earthly place
To refresh and renew as we run life's race.

Psalm 8

Worship Spotlight 10-19-09

David, who danced in the street in worship, is called “a man after God’s own heart.” This is the same David who was a shepherd boy that killed Goliath; he was a conqueror in battle and became King; he was also an adulterer and a murderer.

Psalms could be called the song book of the Bible. Although David didn’t write all of the psalms, many of them were written out of the events of David’s life. They run the gamut of praise, worship, adoration, frustration, fear, need, repentance, victory and hope. Reading and meditating on the Psalms is another way to prepare your heart and mind for worship – both personal worship and our corporate worship. Many of today’s songs are inspired by the Psalms.
Read and ponder on some of these and see if they inspire you to worship our God and King! Chapters 8, 24, 47, 63, 67, 84, 96, 100, 116, 139, 148 & 150.

FYI: http://www.allworship.com/ is a commercial free website that plays Christian music. You can listen to the Basic Stream at no charge which offers a choice between Contemporary and Praise and Worship songs. Many people have enjoyed listening to http://www.wbgl.org/ . Thanks for the positive feedback!

Looking for a new CD for your teenager or college student? Try some of these names: Barlow Girl, Francesca Battistelli, Mercy Me, or Jeremy Camp. Listen to this one!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNEhKLrsUfo

Worship Spotlight 10 5 09

I praise God that His people use the Internet for His glory! A couple great websites that you should visit are http://www.tangle.com/ and http://www.youtube.com/ . These have many worship songs to moving PowerPoint’s presentations, live performances by various Christian artists, and even some sermons. Just go to these websites and search within their site for a certain artist or song. For instance, the video we showed a while back on Laminin is available for viewing on both youtube and tangle. Just put the word “Laminin” in the search box. Or perhaps you want to see the video of the little girl reciting the 23rd Psalm. Type in “Psalm 23 girl”. You can also search for videos of the Gaither vocal band, Big Daddy Weave, David Crowder, HIllsongs, even Elvis singing Amazing Grace! Or you can search by specific song titles. There are some clever spoofs on the Mac/PC commercials that cover different aspects of Christianity as well as some videos by Christian comedians like Mark Lowry, Chonda Pierce or Anita Renfroe to name a few.

As with all things, remember the warning we are given in 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 “21Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22 Avoid every kind of evil.” Test anything you see or hear against scripture so that you aren’t tripped up by false teachers! ”Garbage in, Garbage out” they say. So, if we spend time filling our hearts and minds with worship music, uplifting and educational books and videos, along with reading Holy Scripture…. We can expect that to have the opposite effect; perhaps…. “Goodness in, goodness out.” See you Sunday!

A Soft Place to Fall by Vaneta Andrews

(Inspired by Rachel Pitcher and Dr. Phil)

We all NEED a “soft place to fall”. Some of us have favorite pillows, teddy bears, best friends, parents, or spouses that we go to when we just need a soft place to fall. Pillows wear out; teddy bears get old or we get too old for them (what a shame); best friends, parents and spouses aren’t always “soft”. However we all can experience the most reliable and faithful “soft place to fall” … God. He is ALWAYS there with unconditional love, acceptance and support. No matter what the outside world does to me, tells me or how it affects me – I can ALWAYS rest in the assurance that God is my soft place to fall and so can you!

Psalms 91:1 “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

Where Does Your Trust Lie? by Tana LeMay

What or who do you place your trust in? Many of us place our trust in family, careers, health, money, etc. Can we always count on them? Will they always be available to us?

The definition of trust is “a person on whom or thing on which one relies”. Still unsure of where your trust lies? One way to answer this question is to look at your lifestyle, at what drives you each and every day. What’s the foundation of your daily life?

I hope the answer is your relationship with Jesus. The bible tells us He will never leave us or forsake us. Jesus loves me and He loves you. He wants His best for you. Does that mean life will always be easy and carefree? We’ll all experience times of difficulty in our lives. We’ll have our struggles and days when it seems nothing is going our way. Even in the midst of darkness and pain, we can trust that Jesus is there, right beside us.

Some struggles are brought into our lives for a purpose. They are an opportunity to grow stronger in our faith; to further develop our character. These refining moments are best defined in 1 Peter 1:7, 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. If you have placed your trust in Jesus, 1 Peter 1:5 tells us that through faith you are shielded by God’s power.

If you are having trouble trusting God this week, spend some time in prayer and in His word. Memorize these scriptures below and carry them with you. When your trust falters, meditate on them and ask God to strengthen your faith.

Psalm 125:1 1 Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.

Psalm 9:10 10 Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Our Worst Enemy by Joyce Schafer

This fall I have watched a Cardinal battle his worst enemy. As I sat on my front porch, I watched this bird fly from a bush, take aim at his enemy in the window, attack, get knocked down, pick himself up and repeat this plan of action over and over again. This went on hour after hour and night after night.

My first reaction was "Boy, what a stupid bird!" Then I started thinking about all the times that I have been my own worst enemy. There have been plenty of times in my life when I have continued on a self-destructive path of eating too much junk food, not exercising, worrying about problems that were out of my control and working when I should have been resting.

As much as I would have liked to explain to this beautiful bird that the enemy in the window was himself, it was not possible. We are lucky. We have a wonderful Savior who can save us from our self-destructive paths. Sometimes it takes us a long time to learn and sometimes we learn the hard way. Usually after repeatedly doing things our way and failing, we finally ask God for help. Wouldn't it be so much easier if we would just ask God first?