News & Views Sept 15

SEPTEMBER MEMORY VERSE
"Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long."
Psalm 25:5


SEPTEMBER 19th WORSHIP
Adult Class on Andy Stanley's "What Makes You Happy?" - 8:30 A.M. - Room 110
Adult "Voyagers" Class (Philippians) - 8:45 A.M. - Room 113
Adult "Welcome" Class (Colossians) - 8:45 A.M. - Rooms 114-115
Connecting Point - 9:30 A.M. - Dining Room
Worship  - 10:00 A.M. -  Family Center Gym and Online
Pastor Mark preaching on "An Acts Attitude: Breaking Barriers, Part 1"
Read ahead - Acts 9:32-43
NLC Kids  - 10:00 A.M. - Rooms 101,103

Following the service in the gym - 11:30 A.M.
Fall Member Meeting
We will be voting on the approval of our 2021-22 fiscal year budget plan.
Click below to review proposed budget.

Tuesday, 21st
6-7 a.m.   Men's Bible Study group - Louie Giglio's "Acts of the Apostles" - Dining Room
9 a.m.  LIFT Women's Bible Study - Angie Smith's "Seamless" - Rooms 114-115  
Wednesday, 22nd
6:30 p.m. NLC Prayer Gathering - all are welcome - Dining Room
6:30 p.m. GriefShare -all are welcome - Youth Room in Gym
6:30 p.m. Worship in the Park (presented by Dinuba Christian Minister's Association) - Bandshell at Rose Ann Vuich Park
7:00 p.m. Faith & Finances - Rooms 114-115
Thursday, 23rd 
Dinuba's Raisin Harvest Festival begins through Sunday
Friday, 24th
Pastor Mark at Tabor College Presidential Inauguration, Hillsboro, Kansas
Immanuel Schools Homecoming - Immanuel Sports Complex, 42675 Rd 44, Reedley
Saturday, 25th
5-8 p.m. Immanuel Schools Fall Rally Day, Dinner and Carnival - Immanuel Sports Complex
Sunday, 26th
Josh "Chinoh" Aquino preaching - An Acts Attitude: Breaking Barriers, Part 2 - Acts 10:1-11:18
11:00 a.m.-12 noon -  Grab & Go Meal following the service

In 2003 I had the opportunity for a sabbatical of sorts. It wasn't planned so much as it was taken in response to a period of exhaustion I was going through--spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. The church was in conflict. I didn't have a lot to give in those days and I was encouraged both by my doctor and my mentor to rest.
A month into my sabbatical I took three days at a counseling center in Kansas City that specialized in working with pastors. It was attached to a Baptist seminary and served the seminary students with career counseling and other concerns. Over the first two days a counselor met with me and also guided me through 11 different inventories and tests. It was exhausting, but also intriguing. What would these inventories and tests say about me and my calling or fitness for ministry? What had the counselor, a former minister, learned about me that would be helpful? Would this be an ending to ministry? Where else might it lead?
Driving to the center on the final morning I asked God for His own word of affirmation in my life, about which direction to go. I had been in prayer for weeks already about this, but it seemed I had come to a significant place with the information garnered by the counselor. "Lord, what am I to you? What do you want to do in me and through me? Is it time to move on or return to the church? I don't know if I can do it anymore. Help me hear your voice and be willing to trust what you say."
I was wiping tears as I prayed and drove, so I turned on the radio to distract me while I moved through the thick traffic on I-70. A song came on that I hadn't recalled hearing. Before it was done, I had pulled over on the shoulder in tears to soak in the words as if by answer from God:

Come stop your crying
It will be alright
Just take my hand
Hold it tight
I will protect you
From all around you
I will be here
Don't you cry

For one so small
You seem so strong
My arms will hold you
Keep you safe and warm
This bond between us
Can't be broken
I will be here don't you cry

'Cause you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on
Now and forever more
You'll be in my heart
No matter what they say
You'll be here in my heart
Always

It was as if the Lord himself was singing to me, assuring me of his presence, his understanding, and his care. I wiped my tears, thanked him with all my heart, and drove on to the counseling center convinced I would return to the church as pastor. The counselor confirmed that later that morning and offered to continue supporting me as I returned.
At home I tried to find that song. The only one that kept coming up was from the Disney movie, Tarzan. I ignored it and kept looking until I realized, it was indeed from that movie's soundtrack. God had used the voice of a gorilla mother singing to the foundling, Tarzan, to convey his own love for me! I still enjoy hearing Phil Collins sing it. It takes me back to a moment of anchoring.

It was during that sabbatical I learned to anchor myself more strongly to Jesus, like holding onto the roots of kelp on the seafloor rather than being tossed about at the top of the plants where they're swayed side to side by the waves.
The waves are pretty violent these days, and those are just the political waves. It seems God's people have loosened our grip on him as we try to engage these waves. We've only become battered along with everyone else.
Consider with me these verses that helped anchor me and my calling on Jesus...and still do: Ephesians 4:11-15 "So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ."
Anchor yourself in Christ. And pray my grip on him remains steadfast as well.

Received Last Week (9/12): ……..…........…………  $3,912
Received this year to date (new fiscal year): ..$10,223

Spread the Gospel, not the virus.
There are still no health mandates in effect for NLC related to COVID-19. However, as cases are rising in Fresno and Tulare counties and exposure is possible in public setting like worship, it may be prudent to wear a mask when indoors at NLC, to wash hands frequently, and to consult your physician about receiving a vaccination if you haven't already received one.

NLC protocol is to contact people who may have been exposed at a church event if we become aware that someone with symptoms was in attendance or showed symptoms within 48 hours of attending and later tested positive for COVID-19.
If you are sick, please avoid church gatherings for the health and safety of others.
If you test positive for COVID-19, please avoid church gatherings for 10 days from the onset of symptoms or until you have a negative COVID-19 test. Let us know so we can pray for you.
Thank you.