 With each day bringing change and uncertainty… Jesus is our staying presence in the midst of the winds of change.
Matthew 8:23, “And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” We can certainly relate to the disciples, after seeing Jesus healing diseases gets into the boat and while the disciples are talking and just hanging out storm comes upon them and it is life threatening. Panic breaks out realizing that this could be it! In the meantime, Jesus is sleeping peacefully! Well you now the story, the disciples ask Jesus to do something, Question, what does Jesus ask them before He calms the Storm? “Why are you afraid? They struggled to believe Jesus would see them through the storm. The Take Away at this point is in form of a question, when we find ourselves in lives winds of difficult change like the coronavirus threat, how do we respond with faith? Three encouraging truths from Jesus to us…
We had a great gathering of God’s children on Sunday, March 14, 2020, as we continued building community as a church family like we have always done. Our desire is to keep building community, growing in our Christian walk, and holding to the truth of our Sovereign Lord who REIGNS!
As you all know, we are living in a time like we have never seen before. In light of that, we are doing our best to make Godly decisions and to comply with the government and medical recommendations about how to best minimize the exposure of people to the COVID-19 virus. At the same time, our goal, our privilege, and our calling is to show and tell the world that those who are followers of Jesus Christ have nothing to fear because He is perfectly in charge and in control. We have a wonderful opportunity in these trying times to boldly proclaim the gospel and to help others get relief from the fear of this virus. The church leadership conferred on March 16, 2020, about how to best move forward in these unique times. The first thing we request is that all of you are on the church phone tree so you can get phone messages, prayer requests, updates, and the like. If you are not on the phone tree, then please call or text Sheri DeVore 253-732-4925 or send an email to newlifeofgraham.com to provide your phone number so we can make sure you get on the phone tree. Second, please also update the church with your email address so we can contact you in that fashion. Third, please regularly check our church website at nlfofgraham.com for updates. Yesterday, the State of Washington required that gatherings of 10 or more people be suspended, including church activities. And the federal government has recommended that we limit non-essential gatherings as best we can for the next few weeks. Accordingly, we will be instituting the below actions: Sunday Services – For at least the next two weeks at New Life Fellowship Church of Graham, we will not have any physical gatherings for worship. Instead, Sunday morning Bible services will be available online through our website beginning each Saturday evening. Please check the website and click the link to engage in our service each week at a time that is convenient. AWANA, youth services, and Community Groups – All AWANA activities are suspended for as long as the local public schools are closed. Youth services are suspended for at least two weeks. We will not be meeting at church for corporate prayer on Wednesday evenings or Sunday mornings for at least two weeks as well, and we will not have other activities within the church building for those same two weeks. Please contact your Community Group leaders and Bible Study leaders for ongoing updates about those ministries. Giving – We encourage you to continue your normal offering via online giving through nlfofgraham.com, mailing your payment to the church address at P.O. Box 609 Graham,Wa.98338, or dropping your offering off at church on Wednesdays between 9 a.m. and noon, or on Sunday mornings between 9:30 a.m. and noon. We will have at least one person opening the church on Sunday mornings to attend to any needs that might be presented. Our Mission: Our mission is the same as it was before this virus became known; namely, to grow in our relationship with Jesus and to make Him known to a lost world. We will continue to live this mission out in this time of confusion and fear. And as a church body, we will continue to engage in the church activities modeled for us in Acts 2, albeit in a somewhat modified format for the time being in light of the virus issues currently present. If you or someone you know needs help in these coming weeks, please text or call Sheri 253-732-4925 or Pastor Bob call or text 253-255-3804. Feel free to call anyone in leadership so we can address those concerns appropriately and under God’s direction. Further information please regularly check our church website at nlfofgraham.com for updates. |
