Greetings friends

We would love for you to join us for Cafe Liberty tomorrow during the half-hour prior to Worship @ 10:15 AM. I learn something new every week about the journey and the gifts of those who worship here. We’re grateful for each of you who make that extra effort to help us start a new week with encouragement among friends here at church.

I so enjoyed our men’s Bible study group, reconvening for an evening this past week. We have been enriched together by the insights that brothers in Christ bring to one another. Brothers, please place August 15th on your calendar for another Tuesday evening meal and Q&A Bible study evening, beginning at 6:30 PM. I’ve already gotten some good questions for our next session and welcome others who have a topic or an issue in mind that you would like to know more about.

Three other events in August are a vital part of our shared mission:

1. Communion: sharing in the Lord’s Table together in worship on Sunday, August 13th. Partaking of Communion brings us the fresh awareness in our lives of a quality of fellowship that can only be found in a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. In Communion, we receive and respond to the covenant love and eternal truth of our risen and exalted Savior.
2. Water baptism service in our Sunday, August 20th service brings us all a wonderful opportunity to rejoice with those who have newly committed their lives to the Lord Jesus or had not previously followed the Lord in believers’ baptism. For guests or those coming to be with a baptism recipient, we’re blessed to stand alongside anyone whose faith in Christ is now being expressed publicly.
3. The Annual Church Cookout is on Sunday August 27th! We love these times together. Help our Coordinators for meal plans on 8/27 by signing up on the Cookout Sign-up sheet on the Connections Table. Great food, fellowship, outdoor activities and a splashy good time on a water slide is always fun and renewing.

While praying for our country and the challenges we see closer to home, here in Carroll County, I was reminded of a uniquely beautiful expression in Psalms that reflects the power of prayer. In the midst of Psalm 68, where God’s plan for the deliverance of desperate people is dramatized in many ways, the 28th verse is one of bold expectancy.

The psalmist prays: “Summon your power, God. Show us Your strength, O God, as you have done before.” (Psalm 68:28 NIV).

Chaos and controversy seem to be two characteristics of the culture we’re all seeing on display every day in our country.

In the dramatic language of Psalm 68, the Lord gives us a classic example of the reason congregational worship is so vital for spiritual health. The sense of action in the Psalm all revolves around God’s dynamic plan for His people. In small and large events, all chronicles in the psalm, the emphasis is on the living God in whose power worshipers can trust. The distresses and disappointments of life are a reality. But the psalm alerts us, individually and together, to a kind of prayer that is bold, expectant and faithful.

It’s a simple prayer and it is closely related to a prayer we’ll see tomorrow in the Book of Acts. It’s clear the earliest followers of Jesus found deep comfort in the Psalms. They are a treasury of timeless truth brimming over with practical advice on how to pray!

What a gift for our day. Even a single phrase such as Psalm 68:28 can be a prayer-starter for a quality quiet time alone with God.

For those who meet with us from home or on the road, at work or in a coffee shoppe, on a walk or on the go, here are the links for livestream and audio podcast options:

View the service live online

• Directly from our Live page
• Facebook Live: https://tinyurl.com/355fdkmm

“Tell everyone about God’s power.
His majesty shines down on Israel.
His strength is mighty in the heavens.”
(Psalm 68:34 NLT)