Welcome! Heavenly Service and Picnic in the Park

Spirit of Peace Church Community Event

Service, Fellowship, and Potluck Picnic Lunch

Everyone is Welcome!

When: Saturday, September 27, 2014 from 5 pm to 7 pm

Schedule: 5:00 Service 5:40 or so Fellowship 6:00 Potluck Picnic Dinner

The Saintly Riddle: “By what authority are you doing these things?”
“Truly I tell you … about heavenly rewards.” Matt. 21.
Tis True? “Religion is designed to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable.” Luke 13., CNN.
We are stewards spreading the Word of Jesus’ blessings for His people.

Picnic Fellowship Activities for the Entire Family!

Of course lively discussion and activities will be available!
Perhaps you may prefer to sit and visit!
Contact Us with Special Requests!

Where: Valley City Park Pavilion
400 West Vass Street Valley, NE 68064

Latitude, Longitude: 41.311598, -96.35116

Price: Free will offering (sweet!) Thank you!

Questions: Please contact Michael or Cathy Hanus

Spirit.Peace@icloud.com

https://blog.peacelcmc.org

402-541-7019 – Pastor

LORD070910 (567-307-0910) – Church

Twitter: @SpiritOfPeaceCh

Please See the Church Blog for Information Updates –

https://blog.peacelcmc.org

Thank you!

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Welcome! Generosity Service and Picnic in the Park

Spirit of Peace Church Community Event

Service, Fellowship, and Potluck Picnic Lunch

Everyone is Welcome!

When: Sunday, September 21, 2014 from 11 am to 1 pm

Schedule: 11:00 Service 11:40 or so Fellowship 12:00 Potluck Picnic Lunch

“Are you envious because I am generous?”
“The last will be first, and the first will be last.” Matt. 20.
We are stewards spreading the Word of Jesus’ blessings for His people.

Picnic Fellowship Activities for the Entire Family!

Of course lively discussion and activities will be available!
Perhaps you may prefer to sit and visit!
Contact Us with Special Requests!

Where: Valley City Park Pavilion
400 West Vass Street Valley, NE 68064

Latitude, Longitude: 41.311598, -96.35116

Price: Free will offering (sweet!) Thank you!

Questions: Please contact Michael or Cathy Hanus

Spirit.Peace@icloud.com

https://blog.peacelcmc.org

402-541-7019 – Pastor

LORD070910 (567-307-0910) – Church

Twitter: @SpiritOfPeaceCh

Please See the Church Blog for Information Updates –

https://blog.peacelcmc.org

Thank you!

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Welcome! Feast of the Holy Cross (Observed) Service and Picnic in the Park

Spirit of Peace Church Community Event

Service, Fellowship, and Potluck Picnic Lunch

Everyone is Welcome!

When: Sunday, September 14, 2014 from 11 am to 1 pm

Schedule: 11:00 Service 11:40 or so Fellowship 12:00 Potluck Picnic Lunch

Whomever Believes in Him May have Eternal Life. John 3.
Forgive from Your Heart. Matt. 18.

Picnic Fellowship Activities for the Entire Family!

Of course lively discussion and activities will be available!
Perhaps you may prefer to sit and visit!
Contact Us with Special Requests!

Where: Valley City Park Pavilion
400 West Vass Street Valley, NE 68064

Latitude, Longitude: 41.311598, -96.35116

Price: Free will offering (sweet!) Thank you!

Questions: Please contact Michael or Cathy Hanus

Spirit.Peace@icloud.com

https://blog.peacelcmc.org

402-541-7019 – Pastor

LORD070910 (567-307-0910) – Church

Twitter: @SpiritOfPeaceCh

Please See the Church Blog for Information Updates –

https://blog.peacelcmc.org

Thank you!

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Accountability as a Life Skill

Teacher, It appears clear to us that turning away from potential sinful temptation and practicing accountability to ourselves, our community of believers and our Triune God goes hand in hand. Is there a procedure that we may follow to stay on the path of righteousness?

This is a well phrased issue that addresses the ever present temptation we experience in our daily lives as sinners!
We define righteousness as allowing the Holy Spirit to inspire us, coming to scriptural knowledge, accepting scripture as the true Word of God, believing in Jesus as Savior and receiving the gift of salvation that He freely gives us. Rom. 14, Matt. 16.
Accountability to one another is an aspiration we strive for in daily practice of our faith, belief in Scripture as the true Word of The Lord, and is a tenet of the LCMC. Accountability requires commitment and community interaction, bilaterally, one to all and all to one. Accountability is an essential redeeming life skill.

Research discovers these effective accountability methods and practices:
We find the presentation of accountability to one another and The Lord in Scripture, Paul. Galatians 1, 2.
First, Paul rebukes the Galatians for their desertion of the Gospel; next, he blames the confusion on those who perverted the Gospel; and then he pronounces a solemn condemnation of all who tamper with the truth of the Gospel.
Finally Free, Dr. Heath Lambert, Professor of Biblical Counseling, SBTS. 2013.
http://www.challies.com/articles/how-to-make-accountability-work
1. Effective accountability does not rely exclusively on accountability alone. Accountability is one tool in the tool bag to assure productive Christian Faith based behavior.
2. Effective accountability is involved early rather than late. It is a best practice to call out to others for help before you sin.
3. Effective accountability involves someone with maturity. Connect with someone that has an established record of victory over sin.
4) Effective accountability involves someone with authority. Heb. 13. Responsibility is key.
5) Effective accountability should avoid explicit details. Eph. 5. This practice allows your accountability person to help you best.
6) Effective accountability places the responsibility for confession on the person with the problem. This realization practice requires a voluntary “Full and Free Confession” without pushing.
7) Effective accountability must actually hold people accountable. Let us engage in Open Dialogue.

We should actively practice and experience satisfactory multi-directional accountability by following these steps. We can meet and discuss expectation and practice further as we engage prayer and fellowship.

Prayer:

Almighty God, you sent your Holy Spirit to be the life and light of your church. Open our hearts to the riches of your grace, that we may be ready to receive you wherever you may appear, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

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Welcome! Service and Picnic in the Park

Spirit of Peace Church Community Event

Service, Fellowship, and Potluck Picnic Lunch

Everyone is Welcome!

When: Sunday, September 7, 2014 from 11 am to 1 pm

Schedule: 11:00 Service 11:40 or so Fellowship 12:00 Potluck Picnic Lunch

Don’t Get Even – Build Bridges!
Where two or more are gathered in my name, I am there among them. Matt. 18.

Picnic Fellowship Activities for the Entire Family!

Of course rocket science and astrophysics will be available!
Perhaps you may prefer to sit and visit!
Contact Us with Special Requests!

Where: Valley City Park Pavilion
400 West Vass Street Valley, NE 68064

Latitude, Longitude: 41.311598, -96.35116

Price: Free will offering (sweet!) Thank you!

Questions: Please contact Michael or Cathy Hanus

Spirit.Peace@icloud.com

https://blog.peacelcmc.org

402-541-7019 – Pastor

LORD070910 (567-307-0910) – Church

Twitter: @SpiritOfPeaceCh

Please See the Church Blog for Information Updates –

https://blog.peacelcmc.org

Thank you!

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Sin, Grief, Confession, Forgiveness, Grace and Peace

Teacher, How do we navigate through the complex emotion and procedure dealing with the combination sin and grief?

Grief may visit us during life events in classic fashion, such as death of a loved one or some significant loss, but we may also experience grief when someone has sinned against us in a fashion that results in actual or perceived loss or emotional harm, whether this result is intended or not.
We may encounter this even when we are the type of person that may shrug off those more trivial “sins of little consequence” that we experience from time to time.
In Scripture, Matthew 18 gives us a framework to follow in social interaction with the sinner. We must first pray for guidance, then approach this person, in the spirit of brotherly love, and clearly state our concerns about this person’s harmful behavior toward us or others. Hopefully this will result in dialogue and a heartfelt confession from the person responsible for the harm. (Rite of Confession. Small Catechism. Martin Luther.) Of course Forgiveness (Reconciliation, Absolution) should follow as this person has made a formal decision to seek forgiveness and come back into grace. Should this person choose to ignore or respond inappropriately to the invitation to dialogue, Scripture states that we should bring others with us to visit with the person to discuss the harmful interaction. This allows the person another opportunity to come into dialogue, confession and a state of grace and peaceful resolution with the individual and community.
Should this person ignore this opportunity to engage resolution with the community, then he or she should be “treated as a Gentile or tax collector.” This is serious stuff! Furthermore, we are told that what is “bound on earth will be bound in heaven.” Jesus goes on to explain, “If two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” Matt. 18.
As a community of believers, we can come to understand the process of sin, confession, forgiveness, grace, the grief process and support our fellow believer transition from denial to acceptance and / or from sin to forgiveness and grace!
We pray for all to “come to the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, that will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4.

Five Stages of Grief
On Death and Dying The Kübler-Ross model, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. 1969.
http://www.ekrfoundation.org/five-stages-of-grief/
Denial and Isolation – A normal reaction to acknowledging grief.
Anger – Recognition that denial no longer works.
Bargaining – Hope for “undoing” or avoidance of grief.
Depression – We become “tuned into reality.” The ability to deal with harsh reality is muted.
Acceptance – “Coming to terms” with the focus of the grief. This is not necessarily approval nor gratitude, but merely assent to the reality one faces.

Prayer:

“Feelings come and feelings go,
And feelings are deceiving;
My warrant is the Word of God,
Naught else is worth believing.
Though all my heart should feel condemned
For want of some sweet token,
There is One greater than my heart
Whose Word cannot be broken.
I’ll trust in God’s unchanging Word
Till soul and body sever,
For, though all things shall pass away,
HIS WORD SHALL STAND FOREVER!” Amen. Martin Luther.

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