Shippensburg First Church Of God Blog Site: Fearless

Sunday is Coming!

My youngest daughter is following in the footsteps of her oldest sister and learning how to be a goalie in field hockey. When they put on their full protective gear and step into that goal cage, they look fearless!

What are you afraid of?

Fear is a major driving force of our world – not just fear spiders or snakes, fear of heights, fear of the dark, but also more abstract fears, such as the fear of an unknown future, fear of war, fear of economic hardships, fear of sickness, fear of strangers, fear of what other people might think, …what if, what if, what if?

As followers of Jesus, the Bible tells us we do not need to be afraid of anything in this world, because we know we have hope in a glorious future that has been revealed through Jesus! And also, God’s Spirit equips us with “Spiritual Armor” to face anything that comes our way—this is all Good News worth sharing!

This Sunday, we will explore Paul’s concluding thoughts about the “Mystery of the Gospel” in Ephesians, where he encourages believers, “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” -- Ephesians 6:10

We might ask: What was Paul’s Biggest Fear? Was Paul afraid of anything?

Paul was writing Ephesians as a prisoner; the book of Acts tells us that He had faced beatings & shipwrecks & snakes. He had gone without food, suffered from illness, faced sleepless nights, and was labeled a “disturber of the peace” by both the Jews and the Romans—he had many enemies. But what was his biggest concern?

Near the end of this letter, Paul presents a prayer request to his friends in Ephesus—

“Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” (Ephesians 6:19-20)

Given all the things that Paul endured, & all the things he could have been afraid of, his prayer request was that he may “fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.” Paul had a proper perspective on the Things of Heaven, so the Things of the World didn’t frighten him—his main goal was to boldly declare the Revealed Mystery of Christ. He was actively striving to see Heaven break through into this world (not merely waiting in idle fear to escape this world for the heavenly afterlife).

We are also called by our Lord and Savior Jesus to proclaim the world-changing “Good News” through “evil days,” and we can do so fearlessly! To help us with this, Paul tells us to “put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:13)

This Sunday we will consider how God equips us to live fearlessly and to “be strong in the Mighty Power of the Lord” as we boldly proclaim the Good News of Jesus with our words and our actions and our attitudes.

This Sunday

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.

446 We've a Story to Tell to the Nations

450 Lift High the Cross

439 Song of the Nations

425 Bind Us Together

9:45 Sunday School for all ages.

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

Holy Holy Holy

How He Loves

Open The Eyes Of My Heart

All Who Are Thirsty

While we love and encourage good conversation and fellowship in the Gathering Place, please remember to quietly respect the worship services as you are entering or exiting near the beginning or ending of the services. Thank You!

Reminder—Our Community Night events have concluded for this year (including AWANA and Wednesday Night adult studies), but Youth Group will continue for one more month, and the SHAPE Seminar will be offered in the Annex.

CONGRATULATIONS to all of the College Students graduating this spring!

Secret Sisters

The Secret Sister Social is this Sunday (May 17) at 2:00 in Crossroads Station. All women are welcome to be a part of this special event celebrating a decades-long ministry! If you participated last year, bring a final gift for your “sister” and prepare to discover who had your name last year. If you did not participate last year, you will have the opportunity to choose to select a secret sister for the upcoming year. Light refreshments and special games and activities are planned.

Secret Sisters pray for one another and give notes of encouragement and can give gifts or other fun surprises throughout the year. It is a great way to get to know someone new or secretly encourage a lifelong friend. Even if you can’t come to the event on May 17 but would like to be involved in the name exchange, you can choose to do so. For more information, talk to Deb Booz, or contact the church office.

SHAPE Seminar

The SHAPE Seminar is underway! This four-week study will help you explore how your Spiritual gifts, Heartfelt passions, Abilities, Personality, and Experiences make you uniquely designed and equipped by God to serve in His Kingdom. It began last week and is continuing every Wednesday in May at 6:30 in the Annex. Even if you haven’t signed up in advance, or may have missed a week or two, all are welcome to attend!

Teacher Training

We will be providing some Teacher Training this Saturday, May 16th at 10:00 am in Crossroads Station. This will include Mandated Reporter Training, Safe Boundary Training, and some guidelines for how to handle various challenging behaviors.

If you are considering helping with Vacation Bible School this summer, this training will help to refresh your knowledge of some vital information pertaining to serving with children, and it would be a great opportunity to ensure that your clearance requirements are up to date as well.

*Be sure to put VBS on your calendars: June 21-25!*

Foundations Class

A special elective Sunday School class, Foundations, is continuing for a limited number of weeks. It is held in room 205, behind the balcony. Anyone is welcome to participate. The topics for the class will be the foundations of the Christian faith - The Bible, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and more. Please join us to gain a better understanding of what Christians believe and why we believe it. Sam Byers is teaching, and Bev Shumway and Matthew Hower are supporting Sam.

Church Center

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 months as we implement new aspects of this resource, such as a directory feature and upcoming changes to our Children’s Ministry check-in system. You can begin learning more and start exploring it by visiting this page on our website to create your own log-in:

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 celebrate our Risen Savior together in the Sanctuary or Online this Sunday!

Pastor Rodney Bistline

Shippensburg First Church of God

seniorpastorbistline@shipfcog.org