Sunday is Coming!
Welcome to “Sweater weather!”
Sweaters can be comfy and cozy, or itchy and scratchy. They can make you feel snuggly warm, or overheated and uncomfortable.
Fall is like that in many ways—it’s a mixture of emotions like delight & despair.
-The delight of fall color & migratory birds.
-Football games & hunting season.
-Crisp temperatures & get-togethers with family.
-Bountiful harvests & crystal-clear skies.
-Pumpkin-spice everything!
But also,
-The despair of shorter days,
-Less sunlight,
-More brown than green,
-And eventually ice & snow & loneliness…
…and all of this, while living in the tension of looking forward with hope and longing to the promise of Spring that seems so far away, wondering if things will get worse before they get better.
The natural world follows predictable seasons, and our bodies are attuned to them as well. So, in November we will embrace the “bittersweet cozy season” of fall in all of its mixture of delight & despair as we turn to a poetic book in the Bible that speaks to these tensions we face.
Jeremiah, the Old Testament prophet, employed a lot of natural imagery to wrestle with the grief and mixture of emotions he felt (along with God) as the world around him was falling apart and changing in very unsettling ways. As autumn goes along, we will prayerfully study the Lord’s Word that was revealed to Jeremiah as we consider how we can “Delight” in the things of the Lord, even as seasons change and darkness & despair try to creep in.
A few chapters in Jeremiah will be our main scripture focus, where lots of Fall themes—such as animal migration, harvest, and even scarecrows—serve as illustrations in these chapters. Consider how the Word of the Lord in Jeremiah 8:7-9 contrasts the Godly Wisdom of our Creator found in the natural world with the false wisdom of humanity:
7 Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the Lord. 8 “‘How can you say, “We are wise, for we have the law of the Lord,” when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely? 9 The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have?
As a birdwatcher, I appreciate that imagery of the migratory birds. Jeremiah says the animals know how to respond to change, but do we?
This is the first of many questions we wrestle with in the weeks ahead: “What Kind of wisdom do we have?” Godly wisdom or worldly?
*We will actually include some additional time for prayerful reflection during this series, and questions will be included alongside of the bulletins for your devotional response—be sure to pick them up on your way in!
The Bible reminds us that we can’t fix the problems of the world through merely human wisdom—and actually, human ‘wisdom’ is often to blame for the problems facing our world… (and let’s remember that our own personal wisdom is limited, too).
This is not to undermine the need to take action at times, but before we become too impulsive, Jeremiah points us to something better—He directs us to look to the Lord Himself, and the Divine Characteristics that God models for us.
We will highlight 3 different things over the next few weeks, based on a key passage in Jeremiah 9.
Wisdom & Kindness will serve as our focus area the first week, but this is one-of-3 2-part contrasts joined together in Jeremiah 9:23-24, which will serve as our central passage for this series --
23 This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, 24 but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.
Notice how the wisdom, strength, & riches of the world can be put into contrast with the kindness, justice, & righteousness of God.
In this series, I hope we will see that if we put our trust in our own human knowledge, power, or wealth, it will lead to despair. However, if we strive for the Kindness, Justice, & Righteousness in which God delights, it leads us to have better understanding of God Himself, the source of these things, where our own delight may be found.
-Kindness must inform our Wisdom
-Justice must guide our Strength
-Righteousness must direct how we use Wealth
Put on your coziest fall sweater, and join us this Sunday as we “Delight in Kindness when Wisdom Fails!”
This Sunday -- Don’t forget to “Fall Back”
8:25 Traditional Worship
We will share our welcome and announcements at 8:25, followed by a musical prelude for a time of quiet reflection.
Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee #90
O How I Love Jesus #92
Great is Thy Faithfulness #139
Have Thine Own Way, Lord #591
9:45 Sunday School for all ages. – “Get Connected” will be offered in the Prayer Room
–Check out our Care Groups & Sunday School Classes on our website, or visit the welcome desk to learn more.
11:00 Contemporary Worship
Contemporary Spotify Playlist
Better Is One Day
Ever Be
Build My Life
How Great Is Our God
Get Connected
This weekend is the first Sunday of the month, which means we will be offering our “Get Connected” class in the prayer room at 9:45. This is a way for you to learn a bit more about our church and the Care Groups & Sunday School Classes that we offer. Whether you are new to our fellowship or have been attending here for a while, this could be a good way to explore new opportunities to grow in your faith and in relationships with others.
Fall Congregation Meeting
Our Fall Congregation meeting is set for This Sunday, November 1, and it will include elections for new officers for the 2027 year, a presentation of the 2027 budget, and several other ministry updates. The agenda has been distributed to church mailboxes and posted around the building. All are welcome & encouraged to attend!
4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
--Romans 12:4-6
Fall Fest
The Community Fall Fest is Returning on November 7th!
Like last year, we are partnering together with several other churches in our Shippensburg Community to host a fun filled evening of fall activities at the Shippensburg Fair Grounds. Featuring live music, games, free food, activities for kids, food trucks, and a cozy bonfire, this event is designed to bring us together for a memorable evening with our friends and neighbors. We will also have a Soup & Chili Cook-Off which will benefit a local ministry called “Passing the Love”!
There are a lot of ways that you can be part of this special event! Visit the link to learn about how to get involved:
CommUNITY Fall Fest Volunteer Sign Up
***More Volunteers are Welcome!
And click here to sign up for the soup & chili cook-off:
shipfcog.net/site/shipfcog/bonfire/
***More Entries are Welcome! Come one and all to participate in the cook-off!
Prayer Ministry
We want to remind you that anyone can submit prayer requests to be shared with the congregation. This is a wonderful opportunity to partner together to care for one another! You can contact our Visitation Director, Jessie Duggan, to have these requests shared: visitationdirector@shipfcog.org.
Please note that we do strive to have the personal consent from individuals & families whose needs are being shared. We will also do our best to send these requests in a timely manner, while also avoiding multiple emails being sent in one day. In general, Prayer request received by 4 pm will be announced the same day. Prayer request received after 4 pm will be shared the next day by 4 pm.
Additionally, there is a box located on the welcome desk where you can submit prayer requests which will be prayed for privately by our prayer team, which generally meets on Wednesdays at 11:00 in the prayer room.
Young Adult Care Packages
Let’s work together to Send some Love!
We have many young people who are away from home for college, or serving in the military or in ministry. We want to show them a little love from all of us back home! We will be collecting the items listed below. If you are able to purchase any of these items, you can place them in the Big Red Box in the entryway at the handicapped entrance (Near CRS). See Jennifer Bistline if you’d like to learn more or to help to pack & ship them in November.
Young Adult Care Package Needs:
--Snacks: Granola Bars, Small chip bags, Gum, Candy
--School Supplies: Sticky Notes, Pens, Highlighters, Index Cards
--Hygiene Products: small hand sanitizer, small tissue packs, chap stick, toothbrushes & toothpaste
Operation Christmas Child 2026
Operation Christmas Child Shoebox collection is underway! We already have over 300 boxes to begin with, but we hope to double that number to 600 by the time collection week rolls around in November. Will you join us in packing a shoebox this year?
Take a look at this video to learn more: operation-christmas-child-2026-promo
Grief Share Surviving the Holidays
Losing a loved one is always difficult, and the grief we experience goes with us year-round. But holidays have a way of bringing that loss to the forefront of our minds. We don’t have to face this alone. “Surviving the Holidays” is a special ministry of Grief Share, a Christ-centered counseling ministry. This is a one-time event featuring video teaching, discussion, and prayer to help you navigate the bittersweet parts of the holidays.
We will be offering this program at two different dates & times to accommodate various schedules:
- Friday, November 13 at 6:30 pm in Room 108
- Saturday, November 14 at 10:30 am in the Annex
Learn more or pre-register by visiting the website: Find a Group - GriefShare
Online Apparel Shop
Need a unique gift idea? Consider SFCOG logo wear!
We have partnered with Creative Engravings here in Shippensburg to set up an online apparel shop—you can custom order various shirts with our church logo embroidered on them. Select from 4 different styles (polo, t-shirt, long-sleeve t-shirt & sweatshirt) and several different colors. Items can be purchased online and picked up right here in Shippensburg at the Creative Engravings shop, or you may also reach out to us if you would like us to pick it up and deliver it to your church mailbox for you (select “Store Pick Up” and let us know when you receive notice that it is ready).
Visit the store:
Creative Engraving Plus, LLC| Ship First Church of God | CreativeEng&Apparel
New Facebook Page
We have launched an updated version of our SFCOG Facebook page which will allow us to better utilize this tool for communicating with our friends and neighbors (the old page will eventually be deactivated). Feel free to follow us there: SFCOG Facebook
And don’t forget, we are also on Instagram and YouTube as well: SFCOG Instagram SFCOG YouTube
Church Center Update
We have been gradually rolling out a new database tool called “Church Center.” It will be utilized for scheduling, record-keeping, giving, and many other ministry functions. You will be hearing more about it in the coming weeks as we implement new aspects of this resource, such as:
- a directory feature,
- an online giving option,
- and upcoming changes to our Children’s Ministry check-in system.
- You may have already received an email with an invitation to join the Church Center Directory or to update your information. This is a great tool to enable ongoing connections, communication, and support for one another if you would like to “opt in” to this feature. It is up to each person & family to choose what information they wish to share with others within our church database. This information is secure and only accessible by others who are part of the directory.
(please note that our current “Instant Church Directory” app will be phased out on November 1 as we make the change to the new system)
- You may have also received some “Donation Receipt” emails or may receive them in the coming days as we begin entering weekly tithes & offerings into the database. You can access your records online and adjust your preferences regarding these emails.
You can learn more and start exploring Church Center by visiting this page on our website to create your own log-in or update your information.
Shippensburg First Church of God | Church Center
Communications Updates
Bulletins and newsletters are available for you as you enter for worship—you can find them right outside the main doorways into the sanctuary on a table or stand for easy access. Some are usually available at our welcome desk also, but we encourage you to keep access to our welcome desk (and our handicapped accessible seating) open and available for those who may need it.
*Be sure to check out our Activities Calendar and the Events page on our website to learn about more upcoming opportunities!
*If you or your small groups, committees, etc., are planning special events involving the facilities, please be sure to communicate with the church office so we can best accommodate your needs and coordinate planning details between various ministries—Thank You!
The latest monthly edition of our “FYI” Newsletter is available in the Gathering Place or as you enter into the Sanctuary. The FYI contains information about upcoming events, care group opportunities, giving and attendance information, and more.
If you have events or information you would like to communicate, communication request forms are available from the church office, in the Gathering Place, or online.
Let us continue to worship our Good Creator together in the Sanctuary or Online this Sunday!
Pastor Rodney Bistline
Shippensburg First Church of God
seniorpastorbistline@shipfcog.org
Helpful Links:
Website (shipfcog.org)
SFCOG Facebook – NEW Page!
SFCOG Instagram
SFCOG YouTube
Online Messages (shipfcog.org)
Online Giving (shipfcog.org)
Our Activities Calendar & Events
Care Groups & Sunday School Classes
Shippensburg First Church of God | Church Center
Weekly Bulletin (updated over the weekend)
shipfcog.net/site/shipfcog/shipnews/index.html
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