Ephesians 1:13-15 The Holy Spirit and Paul’s Prayer 

Read. Ephesians 1:13-14.  The Holy Spirit is God in every way and, therefore, an equal member of the Trinity. That means that everything we can say about the Father or the Son we can say about Him. He is all knowing, all powerful, everywhere present, totally holy and totally loving and totally merciful etc. Because of that the Holy Spirit should always be addressed as a person, not a force. That does not mean He is a person in the same way we are, but He has the characteristics of personhood. Although a Spirit, He is described in Scripture as being able to think, love, be grieved etc. all of which are associated with personhood or personality. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is He, not it. 

The Holy Spirit was responsible for just about every aspect of our redemption except the sacrificial death of Jesus on the Cross. The Holy Spirit was the one who challenged each of us to become a Christian. He convicted us of our sin and prodded us to make a commitment to Jesus.  When we began to move that way, He gave us the faith to trust in Jesus and when we finally said yes to God, the Holy Spirit cleansed us from our sin and immediately took up residence in us. Since we made that decision for Jesus, He has been totally responsible for our Christian growth as we have allowed Him to work in us. The Holy Spirit is our true conscience and the one who gives us the desire and the strength to overcome temptation. 

Re-read Ephesians 1:13-14.  

Two critical truths are seen in those verses. First, the Holy Spirit dwells within every believer to bear witness with our spirit that we belong to God. If you are a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit within. You will never have more of the Holy Spirit than you have the moment you believe. You cannot have half of the Holy Spirit any more than you can be half saved.

The imagery of being sealed with the Holy Spirit is foreign to us but was not to the first century Christians. The imagery was taken from the practice of individuals who wanted to send a message. They would fold the message up and then close it with wax. To ensure that it was not tampered with and that the recipient knew it was legitimate, the sender then used his distinctive signet ring to seal it with an impression that said to all, “This comes from me.” Paul used that picture to tell us that when we make a commitment to Jesus, God sends His Spirit to dwell within us as a way of declaring to Satan that we belong to God. 

A second aspect of the ministry of the Holy Spirit is that the presence of the Holy Spirit declares that the believer truly belongs to God and that every promise God has made will be ours. Paul called Him a deposit guaranteeing that the rest will come. The actual term is the one from which we get the word surety or the escrow we place down when buying a house. Christians are given the presence of God Himself in the person of the Holy Spirit as an assurance that God intends to complete the deal and usher us into heaven. He is our down payment to assure us that God will not abandon us. 

ReadI Peter 1:3-4.  Peter went on in that chapter to discuss the inheritance we have and said, as recorded in verse 6, “In all this you greatly rejoice.” Are you a happy Christian? We have been promised rich spiritual blessings. Jesus redeemed us from slavery so we can enjoy those blessings. Then God sent the Holy Spirit as proof that we are His. Knowing that, we can have faith and be filled with Joy. 

Moving on to verse 15, Paul finished his introduction, which was one long verse, and wrote another long sentence that is the rest of chapter 1. In that sentence Paul described what he thanked God for and asked God for when he prayed for them. He began by saying that his prayer was based what he had heard about them. That reminds us that our praying should be intelligent praying based on the life and needs of those we are bringing before the throne.

Biblical prayers help us see the kind of things we should be praying for ourselves and for others. In this case Paul’s prayer begins with thanksgiving and that encourages us to ask if others can be thankful for the same things in us.

Read Ephesians 1:15. What a combination of attributes to be known by, faith in the Lord Jesus and love for God’s people. Jesus was asked about the most important commandments. Read His reply, according to Matthew 22:37-39, 

Every Christian should be known both by what he believes and how he lovingly relates to others, especially those who are part of the family of God. The Christian life has two dimensions, faith in God and love for the brethren. The two should never be separated.

In Ephesians 1:1 Paul addressed the Christians as “saints,” a term applied only to those who had made Jesus their Savior. Here he wrote that he had heard of their faith in the Lord Jesus.

When we read that the Savior of the world is identified as the “Lord Jesus” we are reading more than a name, it is a description of Him. Both words have meaning in identifying the nature of our Savior.

The only “name” of our Savior is Jesus, or perhaps more elaborately, Jesus bar (son of) Joseph. That is the name God wanted Him to have. In Matthew 1:21 we read that the angel of God spoke to Joseph after he learned that Mary was going to have a child. Read what the angel said to Joseph in that verse. They were to call Him Jesus or in the Hebrew Joshua, which literally translated as Savior.

What is important to note here is that Paul did not simply say they had faith in the Jesus who is a Savior, but they had faith in the Jesus who was also Lord. He is the Lord Jesus. 

Of the 100 plus times “Lord” and “Jesus” are combined in the New Testament, only 2 occur in the Gospels. It was not until after Jesus’ resurrection that the title “Lord” took on real meaning. There are couple of reasons. The title “Lord,” was viewed by the Jews as a divine title. When, for an example, the pending birth of Jesus was announced to Mary and Joseph it was an angel of the Lord who spoke to them, that is an angel of God. While at His birth the angel said the baby would be called “Immanuel” which means “God with us,” it really was not until His resurrection that the disciples began to realize that He was divine.  It was not until after His resurrection that the disciples understood what John meant when he wrote “the Word who became flesh.”  It would, therefore, have been more natural to call Him “Lord” following that discovery. He is Lord because He is God.

But calling Him Lord was far more of a title that reflected the relationship we should have with Him. A slave always addressed his master as “lord” and the early Christians recognized that Jesus was to be the Lord of their lives. This is nowhere more evident than the way in which Paul introduces himself in Romans 1:1 where he wrote, “Paul, a servant or slave of Christ Jesus.”

In the New Testament the option was never to make Jesus Lord, He IS Lord. The challenge was to bow before His Lordship. Too often in the church today people want Jesus as a fire insurance policy that one takes out by faith to ensure that he doesn’t burn in hell, with any other relationship purely optional. That is not biblical in any sense of the word. The New Testament declares that if one wants Him as Savior one must also have Him as Lord. We cannot legitimately worship Him as Jesus the Savior and ignore Him as Jesus the Lord. 

Read Romans 13:14. The descriptive title “Christ” was used primarily when there were Jewish Christians present because that was the description of the promised Messiah. At the heart of Paul’s challenge here was to put on the Lord Jesus. The Savior of the world is Lord. He is Lord because He is God and because He desires to rule our lives so that He can give us real freedom. 

What a standard Ephesians 1:15 sets for us. We are challenged to be like the Christians in Ephesus and be known for our faith and love. We are challenged to follow Jesus not only as a Savior but as the Lord of our lives. Will you accept that challenge? 

MANBECK’S ZION EVANGELICAL

CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

Worshiping the Lord in Spirit and Truth

October 18, 2020

A Year in Ephesians

Norman Dixon, Pastor

610-589-2034

Email: Dixonnorm@comcast.net

Web Site:  www.manbecks.org

Organ Prelude to prepare your heart for worship

Welcome and opportunities to Worship and Serve

Greet one another in the Name of Jesus          

Call to Worship – Psalm 111:1-3          

* Opening Chorus #125                           How Excellent Is Thy Name

* Invocation

* Opening Hymn #87                                                 Fairest Lord Jesus

First Scripture:  Ephesians 1:4-11

Praise Hymn #456                                                         Find Us Faithful

*Prayer Hymn #692                                   God Will Take Care of You 

**Pastoral Prayer

Offering of Tithes and Gifts to the Lord 

offering plates in the back of the Sanctuary  

Special Music – Congregational Favorite 

Scripture:  1 Peter 1:13-16

Sermon:  “In love, adopted.”

* Hymn of response #574                                       A Child of the King

*Benediction

* Recessional Response #235        Take the Name of Jesus (1^st verse)  

Leave to Serve

  *Please Stand                                                **Please kneel (if able)

“Doubts and fears crumble under the weight 

of God’s promises”

ANNOUNCEMENTS

  TUESDAY:

• Official Board Meeting                                                        7:00 P.M.

WEDNESDAY:

• Bible Study/Abraham (Genesis 15:2 – 16:16)                  7:00 P.M.

NEXT SUNDAY:

• Special Offering (EC Missions General Fund)
• Fellowship Brunch

LOOKING AHEAD:  

• October 31 – Newsletter                                                    7:00 P.M.  
• November 1 – Daylight Saving Time Ends
• November 3 – Election Day
• November 8 – Building Fund offering                 

Statistics:  October 11, 2020

                                  Attendance:  Worship Service – 37

                                                                  Bible Study – 10                                                

                                                                       Offering – $931.00

                                            Building Fund Offering – $215.00                             

• Don’t forget to turn in hymn request slips.
• Birthday card shower for Grace Kimmel. October 28 
• Operation Christmas Child/Jen Flynn will drop our boxes off at the drop off site in Orwigsburg.  There are also Shoeboxes left over from last year.  They will be made available for those who would like to use them.

Thanks to everyone who helped with the Autumn Stroll.

PRAYER CONCERNS

• Family and friends of Carol Mills who recently went to be with her Lord
• Fritz Lehr (moved to rehab)
• Ron Bachert (by-pass surgery)
• Jim Price (had an accident with uninsured/unlicensed person)
• Cosmo Hardenstine (over his birth weight/2 lb. 14 oz.)
• Jon R. (Luke at E-Town and Granddaughter at Bloomsburg)
• Judy (horse trailer disconnected with the horse in it/Judy and horse are okay)
• Hannah Bossler (Type 1 diabetes/kidneys becoming compromised)
• Betty (husbands health and salvation)
• Pray for our service men and women
• Those battling cancer:

Grace, 5 year old with leukemia

Pastor Lloyd Yeager (prostate cancer)               Bob Kramer

Mike Sis Sagusky Jake Wolfe           Rick Fidler

Cindy Segal (liver cancer) Carol Shira (last stages of cancer)

Bill (Deb another spot on her lung) Tim McMillen

• Military:  Keith Gillespie       Lois’s grandson, Kolby – Air Force

Ashley Somers, Navy     Caleb Reiter

• Nursing home/Assisted living residents

               Grace Kimmel   Nancy Wildsmith          

  Edgar Bennett  

PRAISE: 

• Pastor Norm (beauty of creation with all the fall colors)
• Deb (Her sister, Sue Ann was tested for Covid/came back negative)
• Larue (Going through her mother-in-law’s stuff and found many little things that were funny and touching)

• Week Day Church School
• Joe Toy (Street ministry in Philadelphia)
• Jamie and Anita Farr (Wycliffe in Florida)
• Robert and Bettina Schaeffer (L.I.F.E. Ministries in New York City)
• Wagner’s & Stoltzfus’s (Rift Valley Academy in Africa)

Ephesians 1:4-11

Ephesians 1:3 begins with “Praise be to God.” Following that introduction are 3 stanzas, each of which ends with “to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves” or some similar phrase. (see 6, 12, 14) Verses 4-6 describe what God did for us in the past. Verses 7-12 present what God does for us today and verses 13 and 14 look ahead to the future when God wraps up history and brings all His people home to be with Him.

Read Ephesians 1:4-6. Paul takes us back to “before the creation of the world” to introduce us to the blessing we have because we have been adopted by God and are allowed to call ourselves children of God. Because we are God’s adopted children, Jesus can tell us to approach God in prayer and call Him, “My Father who is in heaven.”

With the phrase “before the creation of the world,” Paul described an event that happened before there was time. Paul noted that when God determined to create mankind with a freewill, He knew that freedom could be used to disobey Him. He determined immediately that should that happen He would redeem us from the consequences of that disobedience. 

Paul noted all that happened because, “In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship.” If you are a believer, you have been adopted by God. You can legitimately call yourself a son or daughter of God. Because we have been adopted, we can enjoy all the rights of being His family.

Paul went on to note in verse 4 that we have been adopted so we might be “holy and blameless.” To understand what Paul was saying we should understand that for Paul those words had a dual use.

In the Bible, the words “holy and blameless” are used to describe what a Christian is both “positionally” and “progressively”. By virtue of our faith in Jesus we are positionally holy and blameless while by virtue of our humanity we are to grow so “progressively” we become more holy and more blameless in practice.

The word “holy” is another translation for “saint”, which Paul used to describe the Ephesians in verse 1. It carried the idea of being different or set apart and carried the idea of being set apart unto God. As Christians we are positionally different when God looks upon us because He sees not our sinfulness but the holiness of Jesus. We are literally robed in Jesus’ holiness so in that sense we are already holy, that is our position in Jesus.

The other aspect of holiness is the progressive nature of it. Read Leviticus 19:2 and I Peter 1:13-16. Paul was telling the Christians in Ephesus that they were to be different as they cultivate those characteristics that clearly identify them as being like God. Read Galatians 5:22-23. The characteristics God wants to instill in us, as we progress in holiness, are His characteristics. The more of those characteristics that are evident in our lives, the more our lives will be different from the world. 

Paul’s second challenge was to live as those who are without blemish. The concept of being without blemish comes from the Old Testament sacrificial system. God told the Israelites the animals they offered as sacrifices were to be “without defect.” Read Leviticus 1:3; Leviticus 3:1 and Malachi 1:6-14. The idea behind that was that God deserves the best. He is perfect and if we are going to present an offering to Him it should be perfect, not a leftover or that which no one else wanted. 

There are two dimensions to being “without blemish.” The first dimension is self-examination. Read II Corinthians 13:5. Self-examination is important and a challenge to periodically take a look at our life to see it we detect areas that need change or improvement. 

The second dimension is that every offering presented to God in the temple was also examined by the priests to be sure it was acceptable. As Christians we should be living in such a way that the world has no reason to legitimately question the genuineness of our faith. That is not perfection but consistency and growth. 

Having detailed for us God’s determination to adopt us and what we should look like as His Children, Paul went on to explain what Jesus did about our sin problem, so adoption and transformation were possible. Read Ephesians 1:7-11. 

At the end of verse 7 we read that redemption is rooted in the grace of God. Grace, of course, means undeserved goodness and that goodness flows from God’s great love for us. God’s grace is one of the themes of Ephesians. God’s grace was tremendously important to Paul and should be to us because, as Paul will point out in verse 8 of the next chapter, “it is bygrace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

Paul wrote that because of God’s grace we “have redemption.” Redemption was primarily used in the Old Testament to describe the rescued or redemption of God’s people from Egypt. For the Israelites, Egypt represented slavery and God using Moses to lead them out of Egypt was viewed as redeeming them out of that slavery. The idea of being redeemed from slavery carries over into the New Testament where redemption depicts being rescued from slavery to sin. Read Matthew 20:28. The idea of being a “ransom” was that of paying the price to buy our freedom from a slave owner. 

There was a price to pay for our redemption and Paul shared what that price was. He wrote in verse 7 that the price was paid “through his blood.” Read Leviticus 17:11 and Hebrews 9:22. Shedding of blood is a picture of death. Since there was no way we could pay that price ourselves and live, Jesus took our place. Paul explained it in Ephesians 5:2. Read that verse. Read I Peter 1:18-19. On the Cross Jesus paid the debt for our sins, making redemption or salvation possible for all who will believe and invite Him to be their Savior.

Paul added in verse 7 that redemption includes “the forgiveness of sins.” The sins that Paul says we have been forgiven of includes the sins that separate us from a holy God. The forgiveness of them became possible when Jesus paid their penalty. “Forgiveness of sins” includes the sins we commit as Christians. Read I John 1:9. All our sins were covered by Jesus. Redemption bought us back from the penalty of past sins, provided for our present sins and will ultimately redeems us from very presence of sin as we spend eternity in heaven. 

Paul described God’s gracious redemption and all it provides for us as being “in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.” God’s grace not only meets our needs, it lavishly meets them. Like every attribute of God from His love to His mercy to His power etc., it all abounds beyond imagination. God’s grace is boundless, being far beyond any sin we commit. Paul wrote in Romans 5:20, “where sin increased, grace increased all the more,” Obviously that is not justification for sinning, assuming that no matter what we do God will forgive it, but it is a reminder that all of our sins have been cared for. They have been removed as far as the east is from the west. We have been set free from penalty of past and present sin.

God lavished grace upon us and provided forgiveness of sins. Read Ephesians 1:9-10. 

God has “made known to us the mystery of his will.” In the Bible the word “mystery” carried the idea making known what was once hidden or unknown but has now been revealed by God. The root word translated “mystery” is connected to the word “apocalyptic” as in the Greek title of the Apocalypse or the Book of Revelation. 

Paul told the Ephesian Christians that because they have been redeemed they can know what Jesus intends to “put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment” or literally what Jesus intends to do when He wraps history up. Having even a limited picture of heaven is an encouragement to grow spiritually and live with the assurance that everything will work out for God’s glory and our good.

Praise God He provided redemption, so we no longer need to be slaves to sin. Praise God for His lavish grace and forgiveness. Praise Him that we can know where we will spend eternity. We don’t have to say, “I hope” but we can say “I know” where I will be because I have been redeemed for the penalty of sin and therefore declared holy and without blemish by God Himself.  

MANBECK’S ZION EVANGELICAL

CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

Worshiping the Lord in Spirit and Truth

October 11, 2020

A Year in Ephesians

Norman Dixon, Pastor

610-589-2034

Email: Dixonnorm@comcast.net

Web Site:  www.manbecks.org

Organ Prelude to prepare your heart for worship

Welcome and opportunities to Worship and Serve

Greet one another in the Name of Jesus          

Call to Worship – Psalm 117          

* Opening Chorus #54                                                           My Tribute

* Invocation 

* Opening Hymn 104                                             O Worship the King

First Scripture:  Ephesians 1:1-10

Praise Hymn #456                                                         Find Us Faithful

*Prayer Hymn #561                                              I Would Be like Jesus 

**Pastoral Prayer

Offering of Tithes and Gifts to the Lord 

offering plates in the back of the Sanctuary  

Special Music – Congregational Favorite 

Scripture:  Ephesians 1:11-14

Sermon:  “Praise the Lord”

* Hymn of response #12                                 Praise Him! Praise Him!

*Benediction

* Recessional Response #235        Take the Name of Jesus (1^st verse)  

Leave to Serve

  *Please Stand                                                **Please kneel (if able)

“When the outlook seems difficult

try the up-look.”

ANNOUNCEMENTS

  TODAY:

• Building Fund Offering
• Autumn Stroll meeting                                                    10:00 A.M.

WEDNESDAY:

• Bible Study/Abraham (Genesis 14:18 – 15:21)                7:00 P.M.

FRIDAY:

      Autumn Stroll Prep

SATURDAY:

•     Autumn Stroll

LOOKING AHEAD:  

• October 20 – Official Board Meeting                                7:00 P.M.
• October 25 – Special Offering (EC Missions General Fund)

                          – Fellowship Brunch

• October 31 – Newsletter                                                    7:00 P.M.                   

Statistics:  October 4, 2020

                                  Attendance:  Worship Service – 37

                                                                  Bible Study – 10                                                

                                                                       Offering – $1,741.00

1. Don’t forget to turn in hymn request slips.

Operation Christmas Child

Due to any number of issues resulting from COVID-19 we will not be doing a Pack a Shoebox campaign this year. If you would still like to participate there are options available for you.

 Pack a Traditional Shoebox-shop for the items you wish to put into a shoebox, pack them in a box and drop the box, along with shipping costs, off at The Lighthouse Church during National Collection Week • November 16-23. Drop off times will be posted on the Lighthouse Church website at: www.thelighthousechurch.com

1. Build a Shoebox Online- Go to the Samaritans Purse website (www.samaritanspurse.org) Select: What We Do, along the top menu bar of the website and choose: Operation Christmas Child. Select: Build a Shoebox Online, and follow the onscreen instructions

PRAYER CONCERNS

• Family and friend of Tim Ditzler who passed away from pancreatic cancer)
• Fritz Lehr (moved to rehab)
• Cosmo Hardenstine (over his birth weight/2 lb. 14 oz.)
• Jon R. (Luke at E-Town and Granddaughter at Bloomsburg)
• Carol Mills (in hospice)
• Hannah Bossler (Type 1 diabetes/kidneys becoming compromised)
• Betty (husbands health and salvation)
• Pray for our service men and women
• Those battling cancer:

Grace, 5 year old with leukemia

Pastor Lloyd Yeager (prostate cancer)               Bob Kramer

Mike Sis Sagusky Jake Wolfe           Rick Fidler

Cindy Segal (liver cancer) Carol Shira (last stages of cancer)

Bill (Deb another spot on her lung) Tim McMillen

• Military:  Keith Gillespie       Lois’s grandson, Kolby – Air Force

Ashley Somers, Navy     Caleb Reiter

• Nursing home/Assisted living residents

               Grace Kimmel   Nancy Wildsmith          

  Edgar Bennett  

PRAISE: 

• Carol (Treatment of Jenny went well, no sign of cancer)
• Ardella (that Fern is still capable of going out and about)
• Carol (Talked to Carolyn Zimmerman, at home and doing good)

• Week Day Church School
• Joe Toy (Street ministry in Philadelphia)
• Jamie and Anita Farr (Wycliffe in Florida)
• Robert and Bettina Schaeffer (L.I.F.E. Ministries in New York City)
• Wagner’s & Stoltzfus’s (Rift Valley Academy in Africa)

Ephesians 1:1-3

Ephesians is only 6 chapters long with just over 150 verses that can be read in about 20 minutes but contains so much that D. Martin Lloyd-Jones, an English Bible teacher, preached 232 sermons from it. Many see Ephesians as the most contemporary of all of Paul’s letters. It addresses issues that are currently being asked by and of the church. It really is a letter for today. 

The appeal of Ephesians is found in the way in which it presents basic Christian beliefs in an understandable way, focusing on the central truths of our faith, while presenting them in a way that enables us to understand the implications of those truths on everyday living. 

Ephesians is a letter of encouragement. A key word is “riches”. Read Ephesians 1:7; 3:8; 1:18 and 3:16. Ephesians shows us the many blessings that can and should be ours in Jesus.

Ephesus was a sinful city but there were Christians who formed a church and they believed it was their responsibility to live out their faith day by day in that sinful place. It was not easy. They had questions about their faith and how they could remain faithful, so Paul wrote them a loving letter that reminded them of the truths that were essential and expectations God has for His church.

The structure of the book is typical of Paul’s writings.  Paul presented doctrinal truth in chapters 1-3 and in chapters 4-6 he presented the way that doctrine is supposed to impact how we live. 

Read Ephesians 1:1. Paul’s introduction of himself as an “apostle” or literally a “spokesman for Jesus” reminds us that the message of Ephesians is from God’s servant and falls under the heading of an “inspired Word of God.” We are to read and obey the lessons in it.

Ephesians 1:1 goes on to read, “To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:” To the Christians in the 1^st century, every believer was considered a “holy person” or “saint.” A saint is literally anyone who by faith has invited Jesus to be his Savior and therefore has become a genuine Christian. Everyday Christians are “saints” in the sense that they have been made holy because of the provision of Jesus. We are made holy in God’s eyes even as we continue to live in a sinful world and even though we fail in our daily walk. 

The believers are further called “the faithful in Christ Jesus.” The word “faithful” can be translated two different, but equally true ways. The word can refer to someone who is a believer, that is one who has faith, or it can refer to someone who has proven himself to be faithful to his commitments to Jesus. Maybe the best way to see this is to see it as saying, “To those who have placed their faith in Jesus and are seeking to live faithfully to that commitment.”

Read verse 2. Paul followed the practice of letter writing in his day by beginning with a blessing. Paul, however, changed the normal greeting to reflect the essence of his theology. The Greek greeting was “rejoice!”, while the Jewish greeting was “peace” or the “shalom.” Paul combined the two but replaced “rejoice” with the similar sounding but far richer word for him, “grace.” For Paul, the whole Christian life was centered on God’s grace. One was saved by grace and one lived each day through the grace of God.  

The emphasis in Ephesians is on the “peace” Christians can have in a world that knows little real peace. It was not easy being a Christian in Ephesus, just as it is not easy being one in our culture today. Christians were persecuted, which made an already difficult life even more challenging. But Paul’s prayer was that as they lived each day, they would know a peace that can only come from above.

In the Greek, verses 3-14 are one long sentence containing a variety of praise items and detailing how the triune God has blessed us through the ministries of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all of whom are mentioned in these opening verses. The thrust of this long sentence is that God deserves praise. 

Ephesians 1:3, begins with “Praise be to God.” In that long sentence Paul called upon God’s people to praise God for who He is and for the many spiritual blessings He has showered upon us.

In verses 4-6 Paul described how God the Father determined to redeem lost humanity. Verses 7-10 detail how our redemption was made possible because Jesus shed His blood. Then in verses 11-14 we have the ministry of the Holy Spirit in sealing believers to identify them as belonging to God and ensuring the promised inheritance that awaits every believer. 

In verse 3 Paul declared that God “has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Note three important facts in this phrase:

1. God has blessed us in the heavenly realms.
2. With every spiritual blessing,
3. And it is all in Christ.

First Paul noted we have been blessed in the heavenly realms. The phrase “in the heavenly realms” is used by Paul 5 times in this letter (1:3; 20; 2:6; 3:10 and 6:12). Paul used it as a general term for the whole spiritual realm over which Jesus reigns supreme (1:20). In 2:6 Paul wrote that Christians sit with Jesus in the heavenlies. Paul used it in 3:10 to identify it as the place from which God makes known His will for His church. At the end of this letter, Paul wrote that it is in that heavenly realm where spiritual warfare is taking place against satanic forces who have invaded that realm (6:12). 

The term heavenly realm reminds us that while we live in a physical world, there is a real spirit world also. It is from that heavenly realm that God blesses us, and Satan attacks us. That is why Paul concluded this letter by describing the armor of God.  

Paul also made note that the blessings he was specifically speaking about were spiritual blessings. When we think of God’s blessing on us, we tend to think of the many material blessings we have, from family to housing to daily bread etc. All of those are important to us here and now but none of them has eternal consequences. Paul’s praise was all about the spiritual or that which impacts eternity and reminds us that we should praise God continually for His Grace, for the peace He gives us, for strength at comes each day, for the joy He brings to us and the assurances we have for eternity. 

Finally, Paul wrote that everything we have is “in Christ.” That little phrase “in Christ” was tremendously important to Paul because it summed up the source of every blessing. In Christ denotes the truth that every Christian has been united with Jesus in both His death and His resurrection. 

A key theme in Ephesians is the praise that belongs to God. God wants us to praise Him and He is worthy of our praise. Read Psalm 96:4. 

Praise acknowledges where our blessings come from. James wrote that every good and perfect gift comes from above.

Praise also reminded us that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing and every good gift because God loves us. Life is far more exciting when we remember that we are truly loved by God.

And praise acknowledges our dependency on Him. In the process of recognizing our dependence on Him we will also recognize that He is able to meet our every need. God is all sufficient provider and we can always count on Him to be faithful to His promises.

Paul’s detail of how God has blessed us can be seen in verbs that he used in that long sentence. We read in verse 3 that God has “blessed us.” In verse 4 He “chose us” while in verse 5 He “predestined us for adoption to sonship.” In verse 7 God has provided redemption through the provision of Jesus and then Paul added we have forgiveness of sins. In verse 10 we read that God intends “to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.” 

Paul had a lot to write to the Christians in Ephesus, but he began by reminding them that they have multiple reasons to praise God. That is a challenge each of us should seriously think about this week.  

MANBECK’S ZION EVANGELICAL

CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

Worshiping the Lord in Spirit and Truth

October 6, 2020

Norman Dixon, Pastor

610-589-2034

Email: Dixonnorm@comcast.net

Web Site:  www.manbecks.org

Organ Prelude to prepare your heart for worship

Welcome and opportunities to Worship and Serve

Greet one another in the Name of Jesus          

Call to Worship – Psalm 95:1-3          

* Opening Chorus #83            There’s Something About That Name

* Invocation 

* Opening Hymn #348              My Savior’s Love (stanzas’ 1, 4, & 5)

First Scripture:  John 3:1-6; 14-18

Praise Hymn #459                                                   We Remember You

*Prayer Hymn #157                  The Love of God (marked stanzas’)

**Pastoral Prayer

Offering of Tithes and Gifts to the Lord

via offering plates in the back of the Sanctuary​

Special Music – Congregational Favorite

Communion Meditation:  God SO loved!

Scripture:  I Corinthians 11:23-26

The communion elements will be distributed in a sealed package to everyone in their seat.  We will partake of the elements at the direction of the pastor.

* Hymn of response #324     When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

*Benediction

* Recessional Response #426   Bless Be the Tie that Binds (1^st verse)  

Leave to Serve

 *Please Stand                                                **Please kneel (if able)

People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.  

The Cross is a declaration of how much God cares.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 TODAY: World Wide Communion Sunday/individual at pews Autumn Stroll meeting                                                    10:00 A.M.

WEDNESDAY: Bible Study/Abraham (Genesis 13-14)                            7:00 P.M.

NEXT SUNDAY: Building Fund Offering Autumn Stroll meeting                                                  10:00 A.M.

LOOKING AHEAD:   October 17 – Autumn Stroll October 20 – Official Board Meeting                                7:00 P.M. October 25 – Special Offering (EC Missions General Fund)

                         – Fellowship Brunch

Statistics:  September 27, 2020

                                 Attendance:  Worship Service – 39

                                                                Bible Study – 10                                              

                                                                      Offering – $1,230.00

                              Missionary Christmas Offering – $252.001. 
We will be returning to the book of Ephesians on Oct. 11^th.2. Don’t forget to turn in hymn request slips.

Operation Christmas Child

Due to any number of issues resulting from COVID-19 we will not be doing a Pack a Shoebox campaign this year. If you would still like to participate there are options available for you.

 Pack a Traditional Shoebox-shop for the items you wish to put into a shoebox, pack them in a box and drop the box, along with shipping costs, off at The Lighthouse Church during National Collection Week • November 16-23. Drop off times will be posted on the Lighthouse Church website at: www.thelighthousechurch.com1. Build a Shoebox Online- Go to the Samaritans Purse website (www.samaritanspurse.org) Select: What We Do, along the top menu bar of the website and choose: Operation Christmas Child. Select: Build a Shoebox Online, and follow the onscreen instructions

PRAYER CONCERNS❖ Fritz Lehr (fell and broke his nose)
❖ Cosmo Hardenstine (over his birth weight)❖ Jon R. (Luke at E-Town and Granddaughter at Bloomsburg)

❖ Wayne (Dan’s uncle passed away this week)

❖ Pastor Jim (Kathy traveling to TN to help daughter as she transitions back to work)

❖ Hannah Bossler (Type 1 diabetes/kidneys becoming compromised)

❖ Betty (husbands health and salvation)

❖ Carol (Treatment of Jenny)

❖ Pray for our service men and women

❖ Those battling cancer:

​Grace, 5 year old with leukemia

​Pastor Lloyd Yeager (prostate cancer)  ​

​Tim Ditzler – stage 4 pancreatic cancer​             Bob Kramer

​Mike ​Sis Sagusky​ Jake Wolfe           Rick Fidler​

​Cindy Segal (liver cancer)​Carol Shira (last stages of cancer)

​Bill (Deb another spot on her lung)​Tim McMillen❖ Military:  Keith Gillespie      Lois’s grandson, Kolby – Air Force

Ashley Somers, Navy​     Caleb Reiter❖ Nursing home/Assisted living residents

              Grace Kimmel   ​​Nancy Wildsmith          ​

​  Edgar Bennett ​​ Caroline Zimmerman 

PRAISE: ❖ Mark (only broke 2 bones/not more serious)❖ Arti (while in college/opened every class with “This Is My Father’s World”, God is in charge.❖ Glen (strength for a friend God put in his life)❖ Deb R. (Rain)

❖ Week Day Church School❖ Joe Toy (Street ministry in Philadelphia)❖ Jamie and Anita Farr (Wycliffe in Florida)❖ Robert and Bettina Schaeffer (L.I.F.E. Ministries in New York City)❖ Wagner’s & Stoltzfus’s (Rift Valley Academy in Africa)

MANBECK’S ZION EVANGELICAL

CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

                                    

Worshiping the Lord in Spirit and Truth

                                    

September 27, 2020

Norman Dixon, Pastor

610-589-2034

Email: Dixonnorm@comcast.net

Web Site:  www.manbecks.org

Organ Prelude to prepare your heart for worship

Welcome and opportunities to Worship and Serve

Greet one another in the Name of Jesus          

 

Call to Worship – Psalm 103:1-5          

* Opening Chorus #34                                                            He Is Lord

* Invocation 

* Opening Hymn #143                                This Is My Father’s World

First Scripture:  Judges 4:14-17

Praise Hymn #681                                                                 In His Time  

*Prayer Hymn #635                                                         In The Garden 

**Pastoral Prayer

Offering of Tithes and Gifts to the Lord 

via offering plates in the back of the Sanctuary  

Special Music – Congregational Favorite 

Scripture:  Judges 4:1-8

Sermon:  “Deborah”

* Hymn of response #575               Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

*Benediction

* Recessional Response #235        Take the Name of Jesus (1^st verse)  

                                    

Leave to Serve

  *Please Stand                                                **Please kneel (if able)

“He who covets is always poor.”

ANNOUNCEMENTS

  TODAY:

• Special Offering/Christmas gift/Missionaries

WEDNESDAY:

• Bible Study/continuing with Abraham                           7:00 P.M.

NEXT SUNDAY:

• World Wide Communion Sunday/individual at pews
• Autumn Stroll meeting                                                    10:00 A.M.

LOOKING AHEAD:  

• October 11 – Building Fund Offering

                          – Autumn Stroll meeting                             10:00 A.M.

• October 17 – Autumn Stroll
• October 20 – Official Board Meeting                                7:00 P.M.
• October 25 – Special Offering

                          – Fellowship Brunch

Statistics:  September 20, 2020

                                  Attendance:  Worship Service – 21

                                                                  Bible Study – 8                                                

                                                                       Offering – $3,616.00

Next Sunday is World Wide Communion and we will be doing it in a safe way by using individual packets distributed to the pew.

We will be returning to the book of Galatians on October 11^th.

Don’t forget to pick-up your Newsletters.

You will find a slip in your bulletin requesting your favorite hymns or choruses.  Pastor Norm will start incorporating them into the service.  

PRAYER CONCERNS

• Baby boy Hardenstine, Nichol and Rory/continued growth)
• Lois (Grace, 5 year old with leukemia)
• Jon R. (Tim McMiller, cancer)
• Jon R. (Luke at E-Town and Granddaughter at Bloomsburg)
• Pastor Jim (Kathy traveling to TN to help daughter as she transitions back to work)
• Hannah Bossler (Type 1 diabetes/kidneys becoming compromised)
• Betty (husbands health and salvation)
• Carol (Treatment of Jenny)
• Pray for our service men and women
• Those battling cancer:

Pastor Lloyd Yeager (prostate cancer)  

Tim Ditzler – stage 4 pancreatic cancer            Bob Kramer

Mike       Sis Sagusky     Jake Wolfe           Rick Fidler

Cindy Segal (liver cancer)Carol Shira (last stages of cancer)

Bill (Deb had 2^nd round of radiation)

 

• Military:  Keith Gillespie       Lois’s grandson, Kolby – Air Force

Ashley Somers, Navy     Caleb Reiter

• Nursing home/Assisted living residents

               Grace Kimmel   Nancy Wildsmith          

  Edgar Bennett      Caroline Zimmerman 

PRAISE: 

• Week Day Church School
• Joe Toy (Street ministry in Philadelphia)
• Jamie and Anita Farr (Wycliffe in Florida)
• Robert and Bettina Schaeffer (L.I.F.E. Ministries in New York City)
• Wagner’s & Stoltzfus’s (Rift Valley Academy in Africa)

Deborah Judges 4 and 5

Few Bible characters had as varied a ministry as did Deborah whose name translated means “Honey-Bee,”  

The period of the judges was very simple. The people of Israel were called to be a holy nation and to worship only Jehovah. That was not always the case. When everything was going well the people forgot about God. They began to stray from Him and quickly got further and further away. In time God was completely ignored and in place of worshipping Him they set up idols. God loved them too much to allow that to continue so He used a foreign power to bring them back to Himself. (All were foreign except in the case of Deborah where the enemy was actually a coalition of Canaanite leaders.) The scenario was always the same. Israel would get desperate and plead with God to forgive them. They would promise to be true to Him if He would rescue them. God would send a judge to set them free. All would go well for a short time and then the cycle would start all over again. It seems so easy to ignore God when all is going well but as soon as there is a tragedy everyone calls on the nation to pray.

Deborah is the 4^th person to hold the position of a judge who saved Israel from a foe. The enemy in the time of Deborah was a coalition of Canaanite kings under the leadership of Jabin whose head of the army was one called Sisera. God gives us in His Word two accounts of the activities of Deborah, one in Judges 4 and a second in Judges 5. The dual account follows an often-used literary form in Hebrew whereby one account is given in narrative form, which is chapter 4 and a second account in poetic form which is chapter 5. The two are basically the same although there are some details in each that are unique to that form. For example, in the narrative or story form we read in 4:3 that Sisera had 900 iron chariots and cruelly oppressed the nation for 20 years. In 5:6, 7 we read that the oppression had totally disrupted normal life in Israel. The people were afraid to travel anywhere for fear of being robbed. Village life had all but ceased since the people were afraid to gather for any length of time, especially at the wells where the social interaction normally took place. It was a terrible time brought on by their sinfulness.

Someone having 900 chariots was extremely powerful. Israel had none so it is no wonder that the people were helpless to defend themselves and forced to pay tribute to Jabin the Canaanite ruler. 

As for Deborah herself, she is described in 4:4 as a prophetess, a wife, and the leader of Israel who held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel. First, she is called a prophetess. A prophet was primarily one who declared God’s message to the people. A priest represented the people to God and a prophet represented God to the people. Being a prophet did not necessarily mean one foretold the future although some did. Too many today assume that prophecy and prophet are synonymous. Foretelling the future was not a required part of a prophet’s ministry and was in fact a distant second to the ministry of declaring God’s message to the people.

Secondly, Deborah is described as a judge. The function of a judge in those days was to sit in court and make decisions on issues in which the parties who came to her could not agree. They were largely domestic or business-related issues along with those related to property and things like that, although most anything could come up. A good judge had a combination of knowledge of God’s law on any issues that fell under that such as the inheritance laws and just plain common sense for matters that someone need help understanding. Much of what a judge did would fall today under the category of counseling or what would go to a small claims court. It undoubtedly was in this capacity that Deborah became so concerned about the oppression of the people, although as a godly woman called of God to declare His truth she certainly would have known not only of the oppression but the sin that had caused it. 

Finally, Deborah was a housewife. This is an important issue since it is mentioned not only in Judges 4:4 but in 5:7 as a mother in Israel. This designation is intended to show that she is a wife and mother and therefore part of the community. It is important to note that in general she was an ordinary person through whom God worked. This whole story is about ordinary people, even one who was afraid to trust God, and how God used them to bring down one who thought he was mighty and untouchable. Read I Corinthians 1:27.

The story moves quickly. Deborah received a message from God that He had heard the pleas of His people and He would give them victory over the oppressive coalition. Deborah went to Barak and told him to get together an army of 10,000 and go to Mt. Tabor. While he did that God would see to it that Sisera would lead his army and chariots into the valley below that mount.  God would give them victory. Judges 4:10 tells us which tribes the soldiers came from while Judges 5 lists not only where the soldiers came from but in verses 15 and following it lists the tribes that refused to send men for the army. An important lesson, Christianity is not a spectator sport in which some are charged to serve while others are permitted to sit it out. God knows not only who serves Him but who merely goes through the motions.

Barak’s answer in 4:8 is interesting. He said, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.” In Israelite history the presence of the prophet seemed to ensure victory whereas his absence had meant defeat. (See Numbers 10:35 and Numbers 14:44). Barak lacked faith to trust God alone. Deborah agreed but said that, as a result of that, God would give the honor of killing Sisera to a woman. Bottom line, God’s will will be done because He has decreed it but the blessings will only go to those willing to be used. Verse 10 tells us that Barak gathered the 10,000 and went to Mt. Tabor.

Verse 12 picks up the story. Sisera heard of the calling of troops and headed to Mt. Tabor to defeat this uprising. This should have been an easy task given his military strength, but he did not count on God. Sisera led his army into the valley as God said he would. Flowing east to west through that valley was a river that ultimately emptied into the Mediterranean Sea. During the rainy season, this river flooded much of the valley but during the dry season was simply a small stream that enabled lots of farming along its banks. It was obviously the dry season for there was no way Sisera would take those chariots into that valley in the rains. Verses 15 and 16 of chapter 4 only tell us that the army of Barak routed the army of Sisera but in chapter 5:4 we discover that God opened the heavens and the clouds poured down water. With the rains came the mud and the powerful chariots that the army of Sisera depended upon were useless. (There is a lesson here we should think about. How many things like Sisera’s chariots do we hear people tell us we can depend upon to protect us, care for us and guarantee us success when in fact before God they are helpless. Without Him nothing can provide for us or protect us.)

Verse 17 tells us that Sisera escaped and fled to a Bedouin tent of one Jael. She invited him in and pretended to be friendly. She provided him with a place to sleep but also a drink. Sisera was exhausted so he asked Jael to stand guard over the tent and lie if anyone came. Bedouin culture was very protective of anyone in one’s tent and as long as one remained in the tent of a Bedouin, he was usually safe. Jael went against culture to do what for some reason she believed was right. It is a constant challenge to us as Christians to make sure the Bible evaluates culture rather than the other way around. 

Sisera fell asleep. Read Judges 4:21. Verse 22 tells us that when Barak arrived at her tent, she invited him in and showed him the dead Sisera. He lost the honor of killing this enemy of Israel because he would not trust God to use him. Read Judges 5:24.

 

Read Judges 5:29-30 for a look at the home life of Sisera’s mother.  

There was peace in the land according to Judges 5:31 for 40 years. 

Chapter 5 repeats in poetical form the events of chapter 4. It is important not merely because it fills in details of the whole story but because this poem is filled with imagery of praise to God for the victory that He had given. Every aspect of the victory was God’s. That should always be our attitude when God uses us in any way. 

The story of Deborah reminds us that God will always provide for His work when He calls us to it. The story also reminds us that God most often used ordinary folk like us to reach the world for Jesus, to confront evil, and to display His love to a hurting world in practical ways. Deborah was not unusual. Her God was and that is what always makes the difference.

MANBECK’S ZION EVANGELICAL

CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

                                    

Worshiping the Lord in Spirit and Truth

                                    

September 20, 2020

Norman Dixon, Pastor

610-589-2034

Email: Dixonnorm@comcast.net

Web Site:  www.manbecks.org

Organ Prelude to prepare your heart for worship

Welcome and opportunities to Worship and Serve

Greet one another in the Name of Jesus          

 

Call to Worship – Ernie          

* Opening Chorus #26 Blue Chorus – It’s Time to Praise the Lord

* Invocation 

* Opening Hymn #372                                                  Our God Reigns

Devotion/Cathy

Favorite Hymn #589                                                    Here I Am, Lord

Favorite Hymn

Favorite Hymn

** Prayer/Lois

Offering of Tithes and Gifts to the Lord 

via offering plates in the back of the Sanctuary  

Special Music – Eve Kurtz

Devotion /Lois 

Favorite Hymn #139                                     Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Favorite Hymn

Favorite Hymn

Devotion/Ernie 

Favorite Hymn

Favorite Hymn

* Hymn of response #431                                         Shine, Jesus, Shine

*Benediction

* Recessional Response #235        Take the Name of Jesus (1^st verse)  

                                    

Leave to Serve

  *Please Stand                                                **Please kneel (if able)

ANNOUNCEMENTS

  TODAY:

• Favorite Hymn Sunday

WEDNESDAY:

• Bible Study resumes                                                            7:00 P.M.

FRIDAY:

• Newsletter                                                                            7:00 P.M.

NEXT SUNDAY:

• Special Offering/Christmas gift/Missionaries

LOOKING AHEAD:  

• October 4 – Autumn Stroll meeting                               10:00 A.M.
• October 11 – Building Fund Offering

Statistics:  September 13, 2020

                                  Attendance:  Worship Service – 37

                                                                        Offering – $1,630.00

                                                             Building Fund – $356.00

                                                                      Pig Roast – $1,678.00

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Favorite hymns can come from hymnal or blue chorus book.

Large print Daily Bread for October-December are available.

Bible Study will resume on September 23 and we will begin by looking at Abraham.

Pastor Norm and Arti will be away this week. For pastoral services please call Cathy.

PRAYER CONCERNS

• Marion (Faith’s mother has some health issues)
• Betty (Nichol and Rory’s baby and Chris & Rich traveling to FL)
• Pastor Jim (Kathy helping daughter as she transitions back to work)
• Hannah Bossler (Type 1 diabetes/kidneys becoming compromised)
• Betty (husbands health and salvation)
• Carol (Treatment of Jenny)
• Pray for our service men and women
• Those battling cancer:

Pastor Lloyd Yeager (prostate cancer)  

Tim Ditzler – stage 4 pancreatic cancer            Bob Kramer

Mike     Sis Sagusky      Jake Wolfe           Rick Fidler

Cindy Segal (liver cancer)Carol Shira (last stages of cancer)

Bill (Deb had 2^nd round of radiation)

 

• Military:  Keith Gillespie       Lois’s grandson, Kolby – Air Force

Ashley Somers, Navy     Caleb Reiter

• Nursing home/Assisted living residents

               Grace Kimmel   Nancy Wildsmith          

  Edgar Bennett Caroline Zimmerman 

PRAISE: 

• Carol (amazing day at pig roast and working together and her daughter and son-in-law are in today)
• Ardella (Donna encouraging to have pig roast no matter what and Cathy for not giving meals away free)
• Deb R. (wonderful vacation with family and Evan got the check for the go ahead for back surgery)
• Lois (Granddaughter received her masters degree)

• Week Day Church School
• Joe Toy (Street ministry in Philadelphia)
• Jamie and Anita Farr (Wycliffe in Florida)
• Robert and Bettina Schaeffer (L.I.F.E. Ministries in New York City)
• Wagner’s & Stoltzfus’s (Rift Valley Academy in Africa)

 

MANBECK’S ZION EVANGELICAL

CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

                                    

Worshiping the Lord in Spirit and Truth

                                    

September 13, 2020

Norman Dixon, Pastor

610-589-2034

Email: Dixonnorm@comcast.net

Web Site:  www.manbecks.org

Organ Prelude to prepare your heart for worship

Welcome and opportunities to Worship and Serve

Greet one another in the Name of Jesus          

 

Call to Worship – Psalm 66:1-3          

* Opening Chorus #107                    Lord, I Lift Your Name on High

* Invocation 

* Opening Hymn #139                                  Great is Thy Faithfulness

First Scripture:  Acts 13:1-4 and Acts 36-40

Praise Hymn #681                                                                 In His Time  

*Prayer Hymn #626                                                     Lily of the Valley 

**Pastoral Prayer

Offering of Tithes and Gifts to the Lord 

via offering plates in the back of the Sanctuary  

Special Music – Congregational Favorite

Scripture:  I Peter 5:12-13

Sermon:  “John Mark”

* Hymn of response #597                   Take My Life (marked stanzas)

*Benediction

* Recessional Response #235        Take the Name of Jesus (1^st verse)  

                                    

Leave to Serve

  *Please Stand                                                **Please kneel (if able)

“God never said He would not give us more than we can handle.  

He said He would help us handle whatever we are given.”

ANNOUNCEMENTS

  

TODAY:

• Building Fund Offering

NEXT SUNDAY:

• Favorite Hymn Sunday

LOOKING AHEAD:  

• September 23 – Bible Study resumes                                7:00 P.M.
• September 25 – Newsletter                                                 7:00 P.M.
• September 27 – Special Offering/Christmas gift/Missionaries
• October 4 – Autumn Stroll meeting                               10:00 A.M.
• October 11 – Building Fund Offering
• October 17 – Autumn Stroll

Statistics:  September 6, 2020

                                  Attendance:  Worship Service – 35

                                                                        Offering – $1,065.00

A big thanks to all who helped with the Pig Roast.

Large print Daily Bread for October-December are available.

Next Sunday is Favorite Hymn Sunday.  This will be a time of a lay led worship with devotions, hymn stories, and congregational favorites. If your favorite hymn is not in the hymnal let Cathy know and we’ll try to find it.  

Bible Study will resume on September 23 and we will begin by looking at Abraham.

Pastor Norm and Arti will be away this week. 

For pastoral services please call Cathy.

PRAYER CONCERNS

• Betty (Nichol and Rory/serious pregnancy issues)
• Jen Flynn (suicide prevention week/especially for teens)
• Pastor Jim (Kathy traveling to TN to help daughter as she transitions back to work)
• Debbie (Caitlynn moving home)
• Hannah Bossler (Type 1 diabetes/kidneys becoming compromised)
• Betty (husbands health and salvation)
• Carol (Treatment of Jenny)
• Pray for our service men and women
• Those battling cancer:

Pastor Lloyd Yeager (prostate cancer)  

Tim Ditzler – stage 4 pancreatic cancer            Bob Kramer

Mike           Sis Sagusky      Jake Wolfe           Rick Fidler

Cindy Segal (liver cancer)Carol Shira (last stages of cancer)

Bill (Deb had 2^nd round of radiation)

 

• Military:  Keith Gillespie       Lois’s grandson, Kolby – Air Force

Ashley Somers, Navy     Caleb Reiter

• Nursing home/Assisted living residents

               Grace Kimmel   Nancy Wildsmith          

  Edgar Bennett      Caroline Zimmerman 

PRAISE: 

• Betty (Mae is finally home and reunited with her loved ones)
• Harold (50 years of wedded bliss)
• Jen (Lily turned 12 and surviving the crazy school schedules)
• Donna (for the free breakfast and lunch for all school kids)

• Week Day Church School
• Joe Toy (Street ministry in Philadelphia)
• Jamie and Anita Farr (Wycliffe in Florida)
• Robert and Bettina Schaeffer (L.I.F.E. Ministries in New York City)
• Wagner’s & Stoltzfus’s (Rift Valley Academy in Africa)