News & Views June 17

JUNE MEMORY VERSE
"For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him [Jesus],
and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."
Colossians 1:19-20

JUNE 20th WORSHIP, GRADUATE RECOGNITION, PRAYER FOR TABOR'S NEW PRESIDENT
Connecting Point - 9:30 A.M. - Dining Hall
Worship  - 10:00 A.M. -  Family Center Gym and Online
Pastor Mark preaching  -  A Lifelong Teachable Spirit (Mark 4:21-25)
NLC Kids - 10:00 A.M. - Rooms 101,103

BRING YOUR BABY BOTTLES TO CHURCH
Dawnings Pregnancy Resource Center fundraiser is due this Sunday. Please bring your baby bottle with cash, check, or change to church on Sunday.


NLC High School grads include:
Marisa Burkhard (Kingsburg HS)
Joaquin Davila and Gabi Mendez (Dinuba HS)
Emma Kubar (Fowler HS)

David and Karen Janzen will be at NLC this Sunday. We'll have the opportunity to hear from them as they prepare to leave for Hillsboro, Kansas, in July.
Former Tabor President Vernon Janzen will be participating in praying for them.

Registration forms and details are available on the Women's Ministry cart.  
Your $50 deposit is due by June 27, payable to NLC.

As the Church was forming after Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, the disciples were really at a loss as to what their role was. Some of them were talented fishermen, one was probably a decent administrator from his years collecting taxes, and others no doubt had other talents. Simon the Zealot may have been trained in combat. So how were they to use these talents and training in the Church?
Jesus told them to gather and wait. He had something special to give them for the assignment. And so they did. Forty days they gathered, men and women alike Acts 1:12-14 says, and they prayed. Peter took care of the business of replacing the disciple who had betrayed Jesus, as he pointed out from the Scriptures it needed to be done. But other than that, they waited as Jesus had instructed them to. I can imagine there were some who got impatient.
On Day 40 they gathered as they had always done when Jesus' gift arrived. It was the Holy Spirit. This representation of God, just like Jesus, was present for a reason. The Holy Spirit was the gift necessary to launch the Church and empower God's people to be the Church in Jesus' name. The Holy Spirit's power to do this was astounding, just like Jesus' power had been. And like Jesus, the Holy Spirit directed the disciples to God's Word, reminding them of all Jesus had taught them.
The Holy Spirit also gave the disciples spiritual gifts. These were not things they had picked up along the way, studied in school, or had a knack for. These were spiritual gifts distributed by the Holy Spirit as God determined for the purpose of building up the Church. Men who had spent a lifetime learning the sea in order to be better fishermen were now gifted in evangelism--telling the Good News of Jesus. Administrators like Matthew were now gifted in discerning God's Word and teaching it to others. These are not things the men or women aspired to or had an interest in, like learning to play an instrument or putting together a spreadsheet. These were God-given gifts for His purposes.
Jesus' followers have left instructions and encouragement for you and me about our spiritual gifts. Paul wrote a lot about them to the church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 12-14), to the church in Rome (Romans 8 and 12), and to the church in Ephesus (Ephesians 4). The Church then, as now, could not be built up or function without spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit.
New Life Community has, over the years, helped people know and use their spiritual gifts. It's especially important for that now as we are restarting our church after the pandemic. While we appreciate and encourage people to use their talents, skills, and interests in church ministry, the more important--even essential--thing is for you to know and use your spiritual gift. It is the thing through which the Holy Spirit's power will accomplish more than we can by our efforts.
The Elders and staff know we can't build NLC by our own efforts and talents. So we are preparing to launch a new opportunity for everyone at NLC to know and use your spiritual gifts through the church. We hope to have this ready by September. In the meantime, pray. We don't have to wait for 40 days for the Holy Spirit to come to NLC. The Holy Spirit is already here! Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you or remind you of the gifts you have been given, and ask for the power and desire to put them to use.

Received Last Week (6/13):.......$5,101
Received this year to date:...$367,954
Budget to Date: ………..…...... $411,254
Budget Goal: ………....…….......$521,591
Needed Weekly: ….....…..………$13,967