Shippensburg First Church Of God Blog Site: SFCOG Updates for 7/16 and July Council Highlights

Greetings Church Family!

We continue this weekend looking at some very personal messages found in the New Testament. “Personal” usual implies something positive, but sometimes if someone gets “too personal” it can become uncomfortable… such as when we receive criticism and take it personally.

Have you ever gotten a “Strongly Worded Letter” or a nasty email from someone? How did that make you feel? Depending on the context, it may have been disturbing or unsettling. Fortunately, I can’t say I’ve gotten very many “nasty” letters in my lifetime, but one time I was looking at an item for sale on an online yard sale listing, and I asked if they’d take less that what they had posted it for… in short, No, they were insulted that I would even ask that and they let me know how they felt!

Throughout my years of life and ministry, I’ve certainly received some messages that challenged me but were very helpful. Some words and conversations have caused me to reevaluate how I do things or caused me to be more mindful of how I lead, or treat people, or view others. God’s Word has also convicted me and changed the way I see the world around me.

How do we respond to criticism? Especially when it comes from God’s Word? When we worship together on Sunday, we will consider how we respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and God’s Word, but also an important issue that Paul critiques in the letter of Galatians. Galatians is a “Strongly Worded Letter” that gets to the heart of how we are to live for God—not just going through the motions, but walking by the Spirit, so that we can bear fruit as we Follow Jesus. My hope is that it will remind us to be less critically harsh with others, and more open to allowing God’s Word to critique our own lives.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

--Galatians 5:22-23

A few updates and announcements to share with you--

The Youth Mission Team is having a good and productive week in Kentucky. Continue to keep them in prayer as they serve!

The Council of the Shippensburg First Church of God met on Tuesday this week. Several matters were discussed, including some requests to use our facilities and parking lot space, and updates about the nominating process in preparation for the annual election at our Fall Congregational meeting.

There are two outreach opportunities planned for the weekend of July 22 & 23. These are chances to invite your family or friends who may not be a regular part of our weekly worship. On July 22 you can spend a day at Knoebles Amusement Park with our church family, and on July 23you could hike at Ricketts Glen State Park. More information is available in the Gathering Place.

We will be hosting a Seminar for all Youth, Parents, and volunteers who serve youth & children about the Biblical View of Identity. This will be Sunday, August 13 beginning at 2:00 PM in the sanctuary. There will be a similar session for youth during their Sunday School time that morning. The presenter for this event is Jomar Tussing, a teacher at Global Vision Christian School in Broadfording, MD. More information will be in church mailboxes and distributed at our Youth Sunday School class beginning this weekend.

On August 27^th, we will include Child Dedication as part of our morning worship. If you would like to have any children from your family presented before the church as a part of this special prayer time, please contact me for more information.

My prayer is that you are as encouraged as I am by the ways that God is moving through our Church Family! I see much spiritual fruit that is being produced in your lives, and I pray that God’s Spirit will continue to guide you as you live a life of Faith, following Jesus and walking in the Spirit!

Pastor Rodney Bistline

Shippensburg First Church of God

seniorpastorbistline@shipfcog.org