Sunday, August 8, 2021
I Corinthians | The Primary Characteristic of a Disciple
Even in the early church there were all kinds of issues, problems, distractions and sinful behaviors. Paul wrote 1 Corinthians to bring spiritual renewal to a church that was in desperate need of it. Week in and week out we will find this book to be incredibly relevant for our day and time. We will learn what it means to be a healthy, gospel-centered, unified Church that makes a difference in the six counties all around us. Hope you and your family will join us!
Nursery care for children 0-2 is available all morning. Children’s Church is offered during the 11:00 service for kids age 3-5.
Sunday School classes are taking a break and will start back up after Labor Day. In the meantime, we will have cookies and coffee available between the worship services. We invite you to stick around after the 9:00 service or come early for the 11:00 service to spend some time catching up with friends or getting to know someone new.
3 Ways to go Deeper in Relationships on Sunday Mornings at New Life
Talk to and connect with people who are alone. You may be the person that helps them feel loved and cared for.
Talk to and connect with people who you don’t know. God continues to bring new people to our church. Let’s make sure they know we are excited they have joined us.
Invite people over to your house or to a restaurant for lunch. Yes, it will feel spontaneous and out of your comfort zone but the hospitality you show will make a huge impression to others.
We encourage you to fill out the online Friendship Register when you worship with us online or in person. You can share prayer requests, ask questions about our ministries, or just let us know that you’d like someone to contact you.
Deeper in Relationships
From June 2021 to August 2022 we will go deeper in relationships with people outside and inside the church body to intentionally share the grace and love of Jesus Christ with them and to grow together as his disciples.
The Gospels are full of stories of Jesus intentionally engaging those inside and outside the family of God. We want to know and obey the words of Jesus and we also want to emulate his lifestyle. We will be a people who are willing to get out of our comfort zone and make building relationships a higher priority in our everyday lives. We know that in our post-Christian culture it is a poor strategy to sit back and wait for people to attend our worship services. We challenge every person at New Life to meet, talk to, get to know, and go deeper with at least 1 person within our church family and 1 person outside our church family each month!
In the coming months you can anticipate sermons about reaching out to others with the love of Christ, evangelism training taking place in Life Groups, continued times of prayer, and an overall focus on building relationships with people in the six counties all around us.
Our Annual New Life Congregational Meeting will be held Sunday, August 29 at 10:00am. We’ll hear from staff and ministry leaders. Members and non-members are welcome to attend. Members will be voting to approve next year’s budget and new elders. Annual reports with the recommended budget and recommended new elders are available in the church foyer. Please pick one up!
EFCA Crisis Response Team
Steve Austvold is leading a team from the Dakotas and Minnesota to serve the people of Lake Charles, LA who are still recovering from being hit by two hurricanes in the fall of 2020. The button below will lead you to more details about the trip along with contact information for Steve so you can ask questions or sign up to go!
We are having a good, old-fashioned summer picnic/potluck for all Life Group Members, their families, and anyone interested in learning more about Life Groups!
Food: Main Dish provided by the church, asking each family to bring a dish to pass, (salad or dessert).
Fun: Yard Games, Volleyball, Mini-golf, train rides for the young kids, water balloon toss!
Connections: Getting to know each other's families better, Get to know others from different Life Groups, challenge them to a game of Corn Hole!
Chance for those not yet in a Life Group to come and share the afternoon with us and meet Life Group Leaders, ask questions and sign up to be in a Life Group!
This will be a great time of family fun and fellowship and since you've gotta eat lunch anyway, please join us! There will be something for everyone in your family to enjoy!
If you are planning to come, let us know so we can make sure to have enough of the main dish prepared…
Youth Summer Events
Check the event calendar for topics and locations. Hope you can join in!
PASTOR BILLY’S BOOK RECOMMENDATION FOR SUMMER
Surviving Religion 101: Letters to a Christian Student on Keeping the Faith in College
We want to let you know about an exciting opportunity coming up here at New Life Church!
On August 29 & 30 we are going to do something called "The Mark Drama." The Mark Drama is an "easy-invite, non-cringe evangelistic event for non-Christians and an inspiring way for Christians to experience the power of Mark's gospel freshly."
For this to happen, we need 15 people who want to share the Gospel through acting out the book of Mark. We won’t be using any costumes or props and no previous acting experience is necessary. You would need to be available for the two evening performances (Aug 29 & 30) and only about 12 hours of rehearsal time. Are you interested in learning more? Do you think this might be something that God wants you to do to reach out to others?
If you would like to get involved please call John Florey at 605-868-3127 or email him at john.florey@intervarsity.org. Thank you!
