NLC News June 2 2022

June 2nd, 2022
by Mark Isaac

SUNDAY, JUNE 5
8:30 a.m. GROWTH CLASSES:

NEW video class on “The Real Heaven” - Room 111 - Ron/Judy Brown, Chris Reimche teaching
Foundations with Leroy Bumbaca - ROOM CHANGE: Room 113

9:30 a.m. CONNECTING POINT (Dining Room) and Connecting Point for Kids (Rm 101)
10 a.m. WORSHIP and COMMUNION SERVICE; NLC Kids & The Crew (Jr/Sr High)

Multiply missionaries Pablo & Maricela Chavez will be speaking. They are headed to Peru!
Graduate Recognition during the service.

11:15 a.m. - Leader’s lunch with Chavez family
5:30 p.m. - LIFELINE Young Adult Growth Group
6:30 p.m. - COMMUNITY CLASSES

GRIEFSHARE - NLC Community Room
FAITH & FINANCES (not meeting this week)

MONDAY, JUNE 6
6:30 p.m. Isaac Growth Group
TUESDAY, JUNE 7
6:00 a.m. Men's Bible study - Dining Room
6:30 p.m. Warkentin/Olea Growth Group
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8
6:00 p.m. - Worship Team rehearsal - Gym
6:30 p.m. - Prayer Gathering - Room 113 The Chavez Family
THURSDAY, JUNE 9
5:30 p.m. CELEBRATE RECOVERY - Dining Room, Gym, classrooms
5:30 p.m. Pastor Mark speaks at Gleanings for the Hungry
SUNDAY, JUNE 12 - NLC Member Meeting after church
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FRIDAY, JUNE 17 - MEMORIAL SERVICES
Luella Unruh

9 a.m. Graveside service, Reedley Cemetery
10 a.m. Memorial service at Dopkins Chapel, Reedley

Annie Enns

1 p.m. Graveside memorial service, Reedley Cemetery
2 p.m. Reception at New Life Community Dining Room

Link to Church calendar

Multiply missionaries: Pablo & Maricela Chavez and family
Speaking this Sunday, June 5th

Congratulations, 2022 Graduates!

GRADUATE DEGREES
Kevin Keo - Masters in Business Administration, Fresno Pacific University
Yesenia Mendez (daughter of Mati Ochoa) - Master of Arts, University of Southern California

BACHELOR'S DEGREES
Bryanna Turner (daughter of Monica Garcia) - Bachelor of Science, Criminology, Fresno State
Diego Morales - Bachelor of Science, Industrial Design and Technology, Fresno State

ASSOCIATE'S DEGREE
Yasmine Olea - Associate of Arts, Liberal Studies, College of the Sequoias

HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMAS
Isaiah Jump - Dinuba High School
Jonas Stucky - Dinuba High School
Jacob Cabrera - Immanuel High School

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMOTIONS
Saphira Baker - Immanuel Schools (8th grade)
Elizabeth Stucky -Washington Intermediate School (8th grade)
Lafayette Brooks, Jr. - Monarch River Academy (8th grade)
Olusoji Brooks - Monarch River Academy (6th grade)

Welcome Joanna Brooks!
New NLC Nursery & Childcare Coordinator

The Family of Joanna & Lafayette Brooks Sr.
Left to right: Olusoji, Lafayette Sr., Riley, Lafayette Jr., Adonis, Mila, and Joanna

Joanna started May 5th, providing and coordinating nursery care on Sunday mornings for infants and toddlers. She also provides and coordinates childcare on Thursday evenings for the Celebrate Recovery ministry. She has taken college courses in Child Development, and has been attending New Life Community since bringing her children to VBS last July. Welcome!

Come to the NLC Member Meeting
June 12th after church

The semi-annual Members' Meeting will be held on Sunday, June 12, at 11:15 a.m. immediately following the worship service. All members age 16 or older may vote.
The agenda and list of nominees is posted in the Family Center and in the church office for your prayerful consideration prior to the meeting.

Bring Your Baby Bottle Back to Church
June 19th

Take Time to Pray

Pray for God's comfort and peace for the families of Luella Unruh, Annie Enns, and Jean Wohlgemuth.
Pray for the Chavez family as they present their calling to Peru this Sunday in church, as well as their preparations to leave soon and for their ongoing support.
Remember the families of children and others killed by gunfire last week in Uvalde, Texas and this week in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Give thanks for the opening of our church’s nursery recently, and for Joanna Brooks, our new Nursery & Childcare Coordinator! Joanna is also providing childcare for our new Celebrate Recovery ministry on Thursday nights.
Continue praying for people dealing with cancer and other long-term illnesses: Glen & Peggy Zimmerman, JR Southard, Brian Smith, Galen Wiest, Kelly’s sister in law Dana, and Ron’s sister in law Bonnie.
Continue to pray for those receiving nursing or memory care: Olga Brandt, Chris Holmen, Vicky Barkman, Marilyn Chappell, Bob Martin, Rosella Isaak, and Alice White.
Others need healing as well: Ruth Serrato, Johnny Esposito, Grieg Hoque, Pat Herring, Paul Romero, and Mary Fenske. Several others have been dealing with the flu and/or allergies.
Tom Regier returned safely from Uganda. He will be sharing soon about the work he was able to accomplish by God’s grace.
Pray for Erick Parra at Teen Challenge as he continues growing in Christ.
Pray for our Member Meeting on June 12th after church, and for those agreeing to serve.
Pray for peace in Ukraine, and in other places of conflict around the world. Pray for refugees who are separated from their homes and family members.
Pray for Johann & Hedi Matthies, Multiply workers in Germany. Pray for Johann’s role as the director of European mission development, for the mobilization of churches to respond to the Ukrainian refugee crisis, and for teams involved in evacuation and relief work along Ukraine’s borders.

Thank you for giving!

Received Last Week (5/29) …..…. $7,181
Received this year to date: .… $293,500
Budget to Date: …………...….... $332,256
Budget Goal: …………..….......... $443,008
Needed Weekly: ……….…........…$11,501

Reading your Bible is the #1 way to grow your faith as a follower of Jesus. There are good reasons for that, which I'll share below. The important thing is that you actually read your Bible. I preach from it on Sundays, our Growth Groups and Classes and NLC Kids and Crew all use the Bible as does LIFT for Women, our Men's Bible study, and all of our Community Classes and Celebrate Recovery. We also have a monthly memory verse from the Bible, which we say together each week. But all of these things aren't nearly as powerful in your life as you taking time to read your Bible on your own.

First, the Bible is God's words to you. He inspired people to write and record his work in this world so you can learn to know him better. He wants you to know about Himself. The Bible reveals God to you in ways no other book or movie can possibly do.

Second, the Bible is God's living Word, with power to transform you. I capitalized "Word" to show that it is alive and personal. Jesus is introduced to us in John chapter 1 as the Word, God's Word made flesh. In John 14 Jesus says that his Holy Spirit will remind us of everything he said, and that the Holy Spirit activates the Word of God within us like a sword (Ephesians 6:17). When you read your Bible, ask God to speak through it directly to you.

Third, the Bible is Truth. Everything you read in the Bible and the message it reveals are true. That matters so much in a world like ours where everybody claims to have their own truth, and we wonder whether anything anyone says is really, completely, actually true. Reading the Bible is like standing on a rock, solid and firm, not shifting with the polls or adjusting to new trends. It just tells the truth because it is Truth. Everything you read reflects God himself.

And the Bible is food for your soul. You gotta eat, right? Our bodies need food, but so do our souls. The Bible is compared to milk, honey, bread, and meat, among other foods. it's a delight like honey from a honeycomb, but it's also essential like milk and meat. Jesus said you can't live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Have you been starving for the Truth or for some encouragement, lately? Pick up the Bible and get some!

Our Growth Group talked about the first times in our lives when we really started reading the Bible for ourselves. Some described how spiritual hunger and thirst had driven them to the Bible, while others took to reading the Bible as a challenge at first, a commitment they made. I was 19 years old when I found I couldn't get enough of the Bible. God had awakened within me a new relationship with him. I made time as often as I could, for hours at a time, to be with him, reading and writing and praying. That's how I got to know God and still the way I learn to know him better.

Let me challenge you to read the Gospel of Mark this summer. It's a fairly short book, action packed, and all about Jesus. This coming August, Dr. Tim Geddert from the seminary at Fresno Pacific University, will be preaching three messages from the Gospel of Mark. You won't want to miss them, or any of the great speakers we'll have over the summer. By the time we get to August you'll be ready to dive deeper if you've already read Mark.

There are certainly other ways to grow your faith as a follower of Jesus than reading your Bible. But it's the best way. Start there and stick with it. The Bible will give you the solid foundation to grow in all the other ways, too.