Please continue to reach out to your family and friends inviting them to join you in church on Sunday mornings. You can even share with them the link to the YouTube broadcast and the church bulletin. In days past people would visit a church in person to see the church in action.  Today over 80% of the people who visit a church have visited the website and most of them have listened to the service.  Continue to invite people and even take them out to lunch after the service to bring the message of Christ to our community. 

         Many of you have asked about our Thursday morning Bible study, and I think it’s time to start that up again.  We will plan on beginning again on Thursday July 3, at 10:30AM. I have study guides for our second study of the Book of Acts. The study includes chapters 7-15 and the first chapter we will study is chapter 8. The author asks us to read chapter 7 which includes the ministry of Stephen, and the rise of an Apostle named Saul soon to be Paul. I am looking forward to this second part of our study of Acts. This is a summary of what we will be studying:

 

        In Acts chapters 7–15 the outward expansion of the church beyond Jerusalem begins, partly in response to repression in Jerusalem. Even in the face of persecution and violence, the Spirit cannot be stopped, and the apostles preach “boldly,” a favorite word in Acts. We see the apostle Peter challenge the magician, Simon, and the new Deacon Philip, and engages an Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. In Acts 9, God transforms an enemy, Saul, into a friend and gives this onetime enemy a key role. In Acts 10, Peter is stunned to find himself led by the Spirit across the great cultural divide of that time and into the home of a Gentile, Cornelius. The outward movement to the Gentile, non- Jewish world begins here. But this is not welcomed by all. Conflict ensues and a Council is called in Jerusalem. (Listen Up Bible Study Acts part 2)

            A great Christian scholar of the bible died on June 5, 2025. He called us to follow in the lineage of the prophets, who called for humanity to face its hardest realities, much like this profound, warm, and timeless man, Walter Brueggemann. Brueggemann was raised in a German Evangelical congregation in Missouri, now known as the United Church of Christ.  He was 92 when he died, his influence on me regarding the Hebrew Bible and how to read it are huge. I know that many people other than seminary students will not recognize the name, but he helped shape contemporary biblical scholarship; thank you Walter Brueggemann. 

            I am looking forward to the Golf outing on July 20, 2025. I have not golfed as much in the past couple of years, and it is always great to get out on the course and hit the golf ball; where it chooses to go is always a surprise. After the outing Shannon and I are looking forward to having the golfers and those who would like to come and enjoy some company, to a picnic in the back yard of the parsonage, please join either or both events, and enjoy! 

Peace and Love

Allen R. Kahler, Pastor