Shippensburg First Church Of God Blog Site: Origin Stories

Sunday is Coming!

If someone turned your life into a comic-book, what would be your “Origin Story”? A super hero’s origin story might tell how they came to be who they are, or what motivates them to use their powers for good.

· Superman was a refugee from another planet that had been destroyed.

· Batman saw the death of his parents and became a crime-fighting vigilante.

· Wonder Woman’s origins involve Greek Mythology, and she has often been presented as the opposite of a “damsel in distress.”

· Ironman was the son of a highly motived and politically connected inventor and arms dealer.

· Captain Marvel has a variety of different origin stories, but they all involve her coming into contact with alien technology (maybe?)

· Spiderman’s mistake caused the death of his uncle, who instructed him: “with great power, comes great responsibility.”

So what is your “Origin Story?” In the church community, we might say, what is your testimony?

--How did you come to faith? What events led you to where you are today?

For many people, it’s not only events or circumstances that brought us to faith, but specific people who guided us along the way.

--Who brought you to Jesus? Who has been helpful in shaping your faith?

My Guess is that unless you have some hidden super powers, most of us feel like we have fairly “ordinary” stories at first glance, but I’m sure there were some other Ordinary People or Ordinary Circumstances that caused some “extraordinary” things to happen at some point in your life.

**We’d love for some of you to have the opportunity to share some of your testimonies and ways that you’ve seen God work in your past as part of our Church Picnic on September 8th. Be thinking about it now, and if you’d like to share, please let Pastor Gary or me know!

I’ve shared bits of my own testimony before (and I’ll do so again this weekend), but there were many regular people and many seemingly small events that helped to bring me along the way in my journey of faith.

I’ve found that this is consistent with the way God interacts with the people and events of history as seen in the Bible:

*God redeems and transforms ordinary People to do Extraordinary Things.

*God also shapes and directs ordinary people through the influence of other ordinary people.

This weekend we will begin a new series studying the life of Moses, and we will look at his ‘origin story’ in Exodus 1 & 2.

We will see that Moses was an “ordinary” person from the Old Testament who did some “extraordinary” things.

Hebrews 11 includes Moses as a member of the “Faith Hall of Fame” and says that he was no ‘ordinary’ person—but Exodus shows us that this was not always the case. We will spend the next month walking through some key events of his life to see what we can learn about how God transformed Moses from ordinary to extraordinary, and how God still guides individuals who are humbly willing to follow His Lead.

Moses looms large over the Scriptures, and as a result, he is also one of the most influential people to have ever lived.

-3 major world religions hold him up as a figure to be admired and studied.

-5 books of Torah are credited to his authorship (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy… and Psalm 90 too!)

But Moses himself is actually presented at the beginning of his life as a fairly ‘ordinary’ human like you and me, with ordinary circumstances and challenges and even character flaws. He existed in the context of his own history and his own distinct personality, but God specifically called him and equipped him to do amazing and world-changing things.

The book of Exodus reveals is that Moses himself is not the true Hero in the events it chronicles--God is the True Hero!

In Exodus, God is the one protecting His people, saving His people, redeeming His people, and raising up a leader (Moses) who will deliver God’s people—It is God who works the Miracles and God who Delivers.

As is always the case throughout the whole Bible, God uses the things and people whom the world might call weak and lowly to bring down those who claim to be powerful.

In the New Testament, Paul says in I Corinthians 1:27-29—

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.”

That will be a theme for us in this series, because Moses himself is an example of how this has been the case throughout History, as seen in Scripture.

God is the Hero, but he has many “sidekicks.”

The “Origin Story” of Moses illustrates this theme of how God does not work through the power and strength of the world, but through weaknesses and even tragic circumstances. While Moses may seem like the “main character” of Exodus (besides God), his backstory showcases the godliness of the people around him, who all happen to be women– So Before we talk about this Man, Moses, we will look at some women who came before him and made his life possible.

There are several women mentioned in these first 2 chapters of Exodus, and each have a few things to teach us about having faith in God, even in times of trouble.

What lessons have you learned from the Godly people around you? What lessons are you passing on to other people around you?

I look forward to studying this influential figure from world history who is a pillar of faith in Scripture!

I also look forward to hearing some of your stories of how other “ordinary” people have done “extraordinary” things in your lives, to the Glory of God our Father!

This Sunday

Prepare your hearts for worship as we come together to Celebrate our Savior!

8:30 Traditional Worship

225 – Come Christians Join to Sing

516 - Redeemed

309 – I will Sing of My Redeemer

21 – O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing

There are still a few more weeks of our summer special music features, including the following:

8/25 – Quartet featuring The Ritchies and the Russells

9/1 – Duet featuring Jean Ritchie and Kathy Russell

Our Adult Choir will resume singing weekly anthems on September 15^th.

11:00 Contemporary Worship

Blessed be your name

Great things

Living Hope

House of the Lord

Contemporary Spotify Playlist

*Our New Young Adult Bible Study will begin this Sunday at 9:45 in the Annex!

Community Night Resumes on Wednesday, September 4^th!

There will be something for everyone, including-

· Children

· Youth

· Young Adults

· and several small group electives to choose from

Visit our Community Night webpage to learn more:

Shippensburg First Church of God | WEDNESDAY COMMUNITY NIGHT (shipfcog.org)

Children’s Ministry AWANA Meeting

Next Wednesday, August 28, there will be an information and planning meeting for all those who will be serving with our AWANA ministry, and those who would like to learn more. This will take place at 6:30 in the lower level.

Our Children’s Ministry is growing, and more families and children mean the need for Children’s Ministry workers is also growing!

Would you prayerfully consider joining this vital team?
Also feel free to pass along suggestions or recommendations for others who could be a great fit!

Opportunities are available on Sunday mornings, and when Community Night resumes on September 4^th we will need a few key leaders, teachers, and helpers for our Wednesday Night AWANA ministry this year also! (All of our Children’s Ministry helpers must meet the requirements of our clearance process). To learn more, contact me, or our Children’s Ministry Directors, Becky Cramer and Jeanette Roberts.

Church Picnic

Sunday, September 8^th is our Annual Church Picnic at Memorial Park!

We will have a special combined worship service at 10 at the park, followed by a picnic lunch. Sign-up sheets are available in the classrooms, the gathering place, and the Children’s Check-in area. Please RSVP and indicate what covered-dishes you plan to bring to help us with planning purposes.

*We encourage anyone who received Sunday School pins for attendance in the past to wear them to the church picnic.

We will provide an opportunity for people to share testimonies and ways they saw God work in the past in and through our church ministry and people. We look forward to hearing these God stories!

Bible Quizzing

We are starting a Bible Quiz Team for Middle School and High School students!

Quizzing is a wonderful way for teenagers to learn God’s Word, develop confidence and leadership skills, meet students from other churches, and engage in friendly competition. In the past, SFCOG has participated in this inter-church ministry through our CGGC denomination, and many previous quizzers have gone on to serve as community and ministry leaders in a variety of ways.

Practices will begin Sunday, September 8 at 8:30 am in the youth room. Quizzing competitions happen once a month through the winter months, typically on Sunday afternoons at other local CGGC churches. To learn more, check out this video: Bible Quizzing | Churches of God GC (cggc.org)

To register for Bible quizzing or to ask questions, reply to this email or contact John and Nancy Morton.

Upcoming Milestone Events

We have several “milestone” opportunities planned for those looking to take a step of faith in specific ways. Mark your calendars and prayerfully consider if you or someone in your family might be ready for such a next step. Feel free to contact me to learn more!

Get Connected Class –September 1, October 6 (every first Sunday)
New Members Class – September 15
Baptism – September 29
Child Dedication – October 20

There are Signup sheets located in the Gathering Place if you are interested in being included for any of these events.

Corn Festival Car Show

The Shippensburg Corn Festival is happening on Saturday, August 31, and we have the privilege of sharing our parking lot to be used for the community Car Show/Cruz-In.

*Please note that our parking lot will not be available for parking on Saturday and beginning Friday Evening.

Communications Updates

The September edition of our “FYI” Newsletter will be available this weekend in the Gathering Place, the center section of the Sanctuary, or in your Church Mailbox.

If you have information you would like to communicate, communication request forms are available from the church office, in the Gathering Place, or online.

Looking forward to worshipping with you this Sunday!

Pastor Rodney Bistline

Shippensburg First Church of God

seniorpastorbistline@shipfcog.org