Shippensburg First Church Of God Blog Site: Church Picnic! Playing outside with the Prophets -- SFCOG Updates for 9/7

The Church Picnic is Coming!

This weekend we get to “go outside and play” as we celebrate together in the beauty of the great outdoors!

Speaking of playing outside, I can remember as a kid, one of my favorite things to do was build forts outside. Have you ever done that? Have you ever spent an afternoon finding a perfect tree and stacking sticks and logs against it? Then you cover it with leaves, and maybe find a nice bit of moss for a “door mat” and interesting rocks to decorate it. My children also enjoy playing outside in their tree house, and making other cozy hideouts in the backyard.

This seems fitting, as we have been talking about “Building the House of God.” It is also fitting that we take a little time together out in the wilderness to worship God in the Temple of His Creation, as we began this series with the reminder that “the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet (Isaiah) says: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things?’”

—Acts 7:48-50

In addition to the majesty of Creation in the wilderness, the pages of Scripture reveal that we who identify ourselves as the people of God are also being built up together as God’s Temple! Ephesians 4 reminds us that Christ Himself is uniquely gifting us and putting us together, piece by piece to build up His House, His Church, His Temple—

“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.”

—Ephesians 4:11-13

As we look to Scripture this weekend, we will continue exploring these 5 roles that Paul lists in Ephesians 4:11—Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Shepherds, & Teachers—to see how Christ has uniquely gifted each one of us to serve in various ways.

We will ask, what is a Prophet?

Can you see yourself as a prophet?

It is also fitting that we will find ourselves outdoors as we consider the Prophets, because one of the New Testament Examples we will look to is John the Baptist, who we may recall is “The voice of one calling in the wilderness.”

Luke 3:2-6 tells us about John:

“The word of God came to John, son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

‘A voice of one calling in the wilderness, “Prepare the way for the Lord,

‘make straight paths for him.

‘Every valley shall be filled in,

‘every mountain and hill made low.

‘The crooked roads shall become straight,

‘the rough ways smooth.

‘And all people will see God’s salvation’”

Luke explains that John the Baptist came as a prophet to fulfill the words of a previous prophet, Isaiah, in preparation for the Lord’s Coming which would happen in a whole new way.

Prophets do many different things, but many of the functions of a prophet are mentioned in Luke 3:4-6.

A Prophet is--

o A voice calling in the wilderness—one who speaks, often outside the mainstream, lending their voice to God & others.

o One who prepares the way for the Lord to come –announces God’s actions among us.

o One who makes the way accessible for others—removes barriers.

o One who brings down the high, and lifts up the low—rebukes the proud and encourages the humble.

o One who straightens what is crooked and smooths out what is rough—simplifies the complications of legalism, injustice, etc.

o One who reveals to others the Salvation of God—identifies the works of God (points out the Messiah)

God Himself does all of these things through His Prophets in the Old Testament, and God worked to do this in a special way through John the Baptist, to prepare the way for Jesus.

Ultimately, Jesus himself, during His incarnate earthly ministry, became the most complete model of a Prophet, and set an example for his disciples to follow:

o Jesus often spent time in the wilderness in prayer.

o Jesus announced the arrival of the Kingdom of Heaven—His message: “Repent, the kingdom of heaven is near”

o Jesus removed barriers by healing the sick, casing out demons, overturning the tables of moneychangers, etc.

o Jesus challenged and rebuked the proud leaders who were in places of authority (“woe to you, teachers of law” etc.)

o Jesus encouraged and lifted up the humble, the children, the women, the sick, the outcasts, etc.

o Jesus smoothed out the complexities that had been added to the law, simplifying it to say Love God & Love others, etc.

o Jesus Himself revealed the way to God’s Salvation, because He IS the WAY of salvation.

We can all follow the example of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, and join in proclaiming His Way to others!

This can take so many different forms, and can include lots of soul-searching creativity, as demonstrated by many biblical examples:

• Sometimes it means getting away from the hustle & bustle of life, as John the Baptist and many other OT prophets did, pondering God in the wilderness, and then sharing your thoughts with others.

• Sometimes it means marching the whole way across a city proclaiming a message from God, even if you don’t want to, as Jonah did (and then maybe “building a fort” outside the city to see what God will do next).

• Sometimes it means writing letters to people in positions of authority and engaging in political activism, like Amos.

• Sometimes this means marching right into the center of town and making a scene, Like Jeremiah,

• Sometimes it means lamenting the brokenness of the world in song, as Jeremiah also did.

• Always it involves creativity—prophets are storytellers, poets, songwriters, artists, etc.

How about you?

How has Christ uniquely gifted you to prophetically proclaim the word of the Lord in your own way? Join us this Sunday at the Picnic in the Park—out in the “wilderness”—as we ponder this together!

This Sunday

10:00 -- Combined Worship Service

How Great Thou Art

Wonderful Grace of Jesus

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

I’ll Fly Away

11:30 (approximately) – Picnic

Church Picnic – This Sunday!

This weekend we will have our annual Church Picnic. This takes place at Memorial Park and features a combined service at 10:00 am followed by a meal together. The church will provide chicken & ham, drinks, and paper products, and we invite each household to bring side items to share. You may want to bring lawn chairs.

Song sheets will be available in the Pavilion to help you sing along as we worship together. We will also have offering baskets in the pavilion so you can worship through giving as you feel led. Sunday School envelopes can be placed with the regular offering. The September FYI Newsletter will be on hand if you’d like to pick up a copy to see what other activities are coming up next.

The Christian Education Committee will be passing out invitation cards to the Ministry Fair. Please use them to reflect on and pray about the gifts God has given you to share with the church.

Four New Members will be installed as part of this worship service as well. We hope to see you all there!

Get Connected

Normally we offer the Get Connected class on the First Sunday of every month, but due to the Church Picnic, we will hold it on September 14^th instead. This is a great way to learn about our Sunday School Classes and other Care Group opportunities to help you find fellowship opportunities and grow in your faith alongside of others! You can also check out our Sunday School classes and other Care Group ministries on our website, or visit the welcome desk to learn more.

Community Night

Our Wednesday Night ministries got off to a great start last night, thanks to all who came out to serve and participate!

There’s something for everyone at Community Night, including Awana for Children, Youth Group for Teens, Young Adult Bible Study, and 3 other Adult Bible studies to choose from covering a variety of topics, beginning with those listed here:

Young Adults – Genesis
Kinetics – Acts
Ladies in Step – 10 Important Women of the Bible
Fresh Start – “Everything You Need” by Dr. David Jeremiah

Learn more on our website: Shippensburg First Church of God | Wednesday Community Night

Upcoming Retreats

There are several local retreats and special events being offered for Men & Women of all ages—

Women’s Retreat at Camp YoliJwa – September 5-7 (early bird pricing ends tomorrow) Ladies ERC Fall Retreat 2025
Men’s Retreat at Mt. Pleasant Church of God (Dillsburg, PA) – September 6 Register by emailing HOLDERBRANDON16@yahoo.com
“Spark” Youth Revival at Newburg First Church of God – September 6 Register here: SPARK 2025
Men’s Alliance All Tribe gathering at Shippensburg American Legion – September 13
Women’s Alliance All Tribe gathering at Grand Point Church – September 13
Uprise Festival – September 12-14 Ticket Information — Uprise Festival
Several fall retreat options at Camp Joy El

Learn More: Shippensburg First Church of God | Retreats

Ministry Fair

There’s a place for everyone as we build God’s Kingdom!

On September 28^th we will take time to showcase the various ministries of SFCOG as we celebrate what God is doing in and through them, and open doors of opportunity for others to join in the movement of God! On this special Sunday, we will have a combined service at 10 AM, followed by a Ministry Fair from 11:30 to 12:15 in Crossroads Station. Over 60 ministries will be showcased, and lunch will be provided at 12:30 PM.

God has given you a gift! Who will you share it with?

You will receive a prayer sheet in your church mailbox, or you can pick one up from the Gathering Place. Each week for the next 5 weeks, the Christian Education Committee is asking the congregation to join them in prayer for the Ministry Fair. This week, we invite you to pray for our church leaders and ministry staff.

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

--I Peter 4:10

Ministry Fair Prayer Focus for next week & next:

August 31 - Spend this week praying for our Sunday School Teachers and Care Group Leaders and those that serve weekly as ushers, greeters, host or hostess, in the nursery, at the welcome desk, and many others.

September 7 - Spend this week praying for all those serving in our church, and those who will be hosting a table at our Ministry Fair.

Communications Updates

*Be sure to check out our Activities Calendar and the Events page on our website to learn about more upcoming opportunities!

The September edition of our “FYI” Newsletter is available in the Gathering Place or the center section of the Sanctuary. The FYI contains information about upcoming events, care group opportunities, giving and attendance information, and more.

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 in the Sanctuary or Online this Sunday!

Pastor Rodney Bistline

Shippensburg First Church of God

seniorpastorbistline@shipfcog.org