Little Flatrock Christian Church

“It is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.”  Ephesians 2:8-9

Vincent Ardolino watched the Twin Towers explode from his little tugboat in New York Harbor on 9/11.  Minutes later, as the towers fell, people swarmed the pier, desperate to vacate the island.  Roads, subways, trains, bridges — everything was shut down.  The only escape from Manhattan Island?  The water.  Many of them leaped in, fearing for their lives.

Vincent urgently turned the prow of his boat toward the island as his wife exclaimed, “What if there’s another attack?!” His response was, “If I only rescue one person, that’s one less person who will suffer and die.”

Joined by every boat on the water, Vincent became involved with the greatest sea evacuation since World War II, when 339,000 soldiers were rescued over the span of nine days in Dunkirk.  On 9/11 500,000 civilians were rescued in less than nine hours through the grace gift of these captains.  Each person, jumping into a boat accepted the gracious gift of a rescue, putting their faith in the boat and in its captain.

Jesus offers you the only boat leaving the island of death.  You need only jump in with faith and trust him, the Captain.

— from the the 31-Day Believe Devotional by Randy & Rozanne Frazee

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains — where does my help come from?  My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”   — Psalm 121:1-2

Are you in a valley right now, staring at a mountain you didn’t expect?  Maybe that mountain seems so overwhelming you can’t imagine being on top, let alone getting on the other side.  Is God really with you?  Does He care about your struggle?

Imagine taking a deep breath and stepping back so that you can see not just the mountain you are facing but the entire range of mountains.  The psalmist prompts you then to look even higher than the massif to the One who created them.  Your help will be found there.

This psalmist later reminds you in verse 5, “The LORD watches over you.”  He is the “shade at your right hand.”  He’s as close as your shadow.  Like your shadow, He will be with you every step of the way.  He doesn’t want you to take even one step alone.

Can’t even muster the strength to look up? Your loving Heavenly Father is close enough to place His strong hands under your chin and help you lift your eyes to Him.

— from the Believe 31 Day Devotional by Randy and Rozanne Frazee

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.  2 Corinthians 13:14

When you face a mirror, your reflection appears.  It’s a lonely exercise that can send you straight to the gym to shed extra pounds or to your makeup bag to cover blemishes.  Your flaws glare at you.  Stepping in front of the mirror of life, you may have a similar experience.  You notice your weaknesses and think, I can’t.

You were created in God’s image to live in community — you were never meant to do life alone.  God is a community of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  They move and breath together.  You cannot know the love of the Father without experiencing the grace of Jesus and the fellowship of his Spirit.  Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).  As it is with the nature of God, so it is with the nature of humanity.

When you live in community, your strengths come together with others’ and your weaknesses are shored up.  And that united group of people reflects God’s perfect image.

Step in front of life’s mirror alone, and a human reflection appears.  Step in front of the mirror surrounded by your community, and God appears.

— from the 31 Day Believe Devotional by Randy & Rozanne Frazee

 

“If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

“‘If you can’?” said Jesus.  “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”   (Mark 9:22-24)

Jesus declares with authority, “Everything is possible for one who believes.”  Truly believing the key ideas of the God found in the Bible is a powerful proposition, isn’t it? Throughout the teaching of Jesus, and the whole Bible for that matter, we are encouraged to believe not just in our heads but also in our hearts.  We are invited to believe these powerful truths not only as the right answers but also as a way of life….

Like the man in Mark 9, tell God where you are in the form of a prayer request:  “I do believe some things, Lord, but would you help me overcome what I am struggling to believe?”  If you do, he will.

Then watch out, because everything is possible for the one who believes.

— from the 31-Day Believe Devotional by Randy and Rozanne Frazee

 

At LFCC, we invite you to join us on our journey to truly BELIEVE.  We begin this Sunday, September 10.  If you’ve picked up your free copy of the book, Believe, please read chapter one, and join us during the Sunday School and worship hour to discover what it means to believe God.

 

This year has been wracked with violence, racism and political rancor. We long to fix these problems, but how? We may feel as frustrated as the church board member who spouted, “We’ve already tried prayer. It didn’t work!” Those words might resonate today, yet things aren’t always what they seem. We can’t see God behind the scenes crafting a new reality, but Scripture promises it. And though our prayers won’t undo earthly death, they surround the grieving with strength and love. We can’t “solve” sin, but our prayers can bring communities together and spur us to look out for one another. The Jewish Talmud states, “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly now. Love mercy now. Walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.” May we be undaunted in doing what we can. It might not seem like much, but things aren’t always what they seem.

Grounded in Scripture, Believe is a spiritual growth experience that helps Christians of all ages think, act, and be more like Jesus.

We will study

10 Key Beliefs

10 Key Practices

10 Key Virtues

of a follower of Christ

All ages will be going through this study in Sunday School as well as during the worship service.  We welcome you to join us on this journey!  We start Sunday, September 10.  Be sure to pick up your free copy of the book.

A new school year promises new adventures, challenges and friends — as well as new classes, homework and lessons. But the most important (and simplest) lesson we can learn is summed up by 19th-century hymn writer Jane Eliza Leeson:

Savior, teach me day by day
love’s sweet lesson to obey,
sweeter lesson cannot be,
loving him who first loved me.

“We love because He first loved us.”  1 John 4:19

At LFCC, we are praying for our students (and ourselves) throughout this coming school year to learn this lesson above all else.

Friends and Family are invited

THIS Tuesday, July 25

7-9 pm

Rushville Pool

Feel free to bring an easy snack and/or drink to share.

Get ready for “Serving God by Serving Others” at VBS!

Sunday, July 9 – Thursday, July 13

6:00 – 8:30 p.m.

Program Sunday, July 16 at 10:15 a.m. with pitch-in lunch following.

Pre-school through 6th graders welcome!

Nightly offerings of canned/boxed items or monetary donations will go to the local food pantry.

*We also ask all participants to bring a white t-shirt by Tuesday to paint.

 

 

 

 

 

Unlike an earthly prince, God didn’t take a high-and-mighty title, notes 17th-century British preacher Thomas Watson. Instead, God calls himself Father to encourage us to pray to him.

But God isn’t just any father. Watson offers these reasons why God is “the best Father”:

• He is the most ancient (Daniel 7:9).
• He is perfect (Matthew 5:48).
• He is the wisest (Romans 16:27).
• He is the most loving (Zephaniah 3:17; 1 John 4:16).
• He has unsearchable riches (Ephesians 3:8).
• He can reform his children (Acts 9:11).
• He never dies (1 Timothy 6:16; Revelation 1:8).

God is more than a good, good father.  He truly the best.  We’re counting on it.