“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” -Ephesians 4:1-6 First, you can tell a church where the Spirit of God is in control by its unity – by its unity. The Spirit is the spirit of unity, Ephesians 4. And where there is a loving unity, where there is a unity without crushing individuality, the Spirit of God is in control. He seeks unity. Secondly, you can tell an assembly where the Spirit of God is in control by its fellowship. Its fellowship will be both deep, that is honest and intimate and real, and wide that is inclusive of anybody who cares and who comes and who is a part. Thirdly, you can always tell an assembly where the Spirit of God controls by its worship. It will be one that worships God really, genuinely, honestly; and its worship will be shared by all. In other words, they
will come to honor God; they will come to honor Christ; they will speak in honor of the Holy Spirit. They will praise God; they will sing praise; they will live praise; they will talk praise. Fourthly, you can tell a church that is controlled by the Holy Spirit by its evangelism. The Holy Spirit has come to point us to Christ. The Holy Spirit is the one who declares Christ, and in a church where the Spirit of God controls, Christ will be being declared. And evangelism will be spontaneous. It will be top priority. It will be natural outflow in the lives of the people who make up that assembly. Fifthly, you can tell a church where the Spirit of God is in control by its love. It will be an assembly of people who care about each other, an assembly of people controlled by the attitude of selflessness, where real love works, where sacrifice is a given. Sixthly, you can tell a church where the Spirit of God controls by its obedience. It will be a church that will be walking in the path that the Word of God prescribes. It will be a church where spontaneous obedience is the pattern of life, where all that ever needs to be said is this is what the Bible says, and response is immediate
the next business meeting. Carol Brown and Sue Lynn Johnson requested to landscape and maintain a small area in the church lot. Special Events: The 150th Anniversary Team will be producing video interviews of church members. Chris Deshazo is printing the outside banners. Volunteers are needed to work on the Anniversary float for the Apple Festival parade. College Discipleship: Group will be starting a video series on Mark. Strategic Planning & Action: The team met on June 4. They will be researching church growth, leadership structure, possible constitutional changes, and development of a 5-year plan. Nominating Team: We still need 2 more people to serve on the Leadership Council. Deacon Care Team still needs 3 more members. Tech Report: The Bose speaker power stand is not working. Dave Brooks will find out if it can be repaired or will have to be replaced. Pastor’s Report: The next Baptism class is in the works. Family Pastor’s Report: See Youth and Children’s reports above. The next Leadership Council meeting will be July 16 at 6:00 p.m. Trimester Business Meeting June 23 after
worship service.
Seventh, and tied right with that one, in a church where the Spirit of God controls, there will be people who are submitted to the Lordship of Christ. There will be people submitted to the Lordship of Christ. He will rule and they will lovingly, joyously, willingly submit to that rule. Eighth, you can always tell a church filled with the Spirit because there will be ministry – ministry. There will be saints interchanging spiritual gifts. There will be not just a professional pulpit, not just hired practitioners, and pastors and teachers and ministers, but there will be the mass of the community of believers ministering their spiritual gifts. The above article is taken from a sermon by John McCarther, pastor of the Grace Church in Panorama City, California. It says so well how a church ought to be. My desire is that as a community of believers we can be filled with the Spirit of God to be a model to the community in which we live. My hope is we will strive to become this edifying church. I hope you are having a wonderful summer with your families.
God bless In Christ’s steps, Shaker