July 5, 2009, 10:00 AM
WE ENTER INTO GOD’S PRESENCE
Preparation for Worship
*Call to Worship
In Christ, the God of heaven has made a home on earth.Christ dwells among us and is one with us.Highest of all creation, he lives among the least.He journeys with the rejected and welcomes the weary.Come now, all who thirst,and drink the water of life.Come now, all who hunger, and be filled with good things.Come now, all who seek,and be warmed by the fire of God’s love*Opening Praise – 486 “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”
*God Greets Us
*We Greet Each Other
Call to Confession – Psalm 103:1-4
Silent Prayer of Confession
Songs of Assurance
632 “To God Be the Glory”
627 “Bless His Holy Name”
473 “To God Be the Glory”
A Celebration of God’s Grace – Ephesians 2:1-10
*Song of Response – 462 “Amazing Grace – How Sweet the Sound”
WE HEAR GOD’S WORD
Children’s Time
Prayer of Preparation
Scripture Reading – Acts 15:1-11, 22-31
Message – “Learning from Early Churches: Jerusalem”
Prayer
WE RESPOND WITH THANKSGIVING
*Song of Response – 223:1,3,5 “For the Glories of God’s Grace”
The Offering - General Fund
Offertory Prayer
Sharing Joys and Concerns
Intercessory Prayer
WE ARE DISMISSED TO LOVE AND SERVEOpportunities for Ministry and Fellowship
*God Blesses Us
*Closing Song – 501:1,2 “Oh, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing”
Postlude
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Plan your schedules so you can be in church on Sunday, August 2, when we will be hosting the Van Dam family, our missionaries in Haiti. There will be a dinner at church that day so we can get better acquainted and give them our blessing before they return to Haiti. Two weeks later Sunday, August 16 we will welcome the Lapian family, as they share their ministry with the Indonesian community in New Hampshire. This is also the date for our annual church picnic following the morning service. More details will follow.
Wednesday, 6:00 AM Men’s Breakfast and Bible study at the Spot
Be sure to keep the youth group work camp team in your prayers this week. Aaron Fadden, Mark Gryskevicz, Joel Gryskevicz and Paul Peterson left early this morning for Canonsburg, PA where they will spend the week helping community families with minor home repair, all done in the name of Jesus by youth and adult leaders from Christian church youth groups. They will be returning on Saturday. If you have a note to send to the group, you can give it to Erin Peterson this morning.
Greg Huck continues to recover from surgery. Pray that there will be no complications and that he will be given patience during the healing process.
David De Young had surgery Tuesday to repair a fractured knee cap. He will need several weeks in a cast to aid his recovery. He too needs your prayers, not only for healing but for patience.
Take note of the neat shirt and ceramic bell/mobile hanging in the entry. We at Valley Church were the recipients of one of “Ben’s Bells” this week. You can read the story that was in the local newspaper for more information about this special gift.
We received this note from the Life Choices Center in Binghamton:
“Way to go, Valley Christian Reformed Church! We’ve returned all 20 baby bottles for a grand total of $288.40 that will help Life Choices Center keep their doors open to women and men needing help with an unplanned pregnancy. Thank you!”
At the urging of several people the worship ministry team has purchased two hand-held microphones. People who wish to share a prayer request or make an announcement during the service will use them so they can be heard more clearly by others in the congregation. When the opportunity for sharing is given, there will be deacons or ushers in the back ready to hand you a microphone before you speak. We will try this for a while and see if this helps alleviate the situation of people not hearing what prayer requests or announcements are being shared.
Have you noticed the cross migrating to several positions on the church grounds? After several placements, you will be able to see pictures of each spot and then you will be able to give feedback to the facilities team and council as to which placement best accents our vision of “Shining Christ’s Light in Our Valley”.
Are you able to help out with children’s church during the summer? You can sign up for just one or two Sundays – you don’t need to commit to doing a whole month. There are videos to show and snacks to serve. Thank you to all who have already signed up, allowing those who have served in this capacity for the last year to have a summer break. Contact Ron or Janet Crawford if you can help.
NEXT SUNDAY, July 12, 2009
SUNDAY SCHOOL: There are no Sunday School classes until September.
MORNING WORSHIP: 10:00 AM Pastor Gelder continues a summer series of messages “Learning from the First Churches” based on stories in Acts 10-28. We will visit the church in Philippi, described for us in Acts 16.
