Inside Out movie at the Theater
Disney – Pixar has released a popular movie titled “Inside Out.”

Young or old, growing up can be a rough road. We discuss Discernment & Wisdom in a prior discussion presentation workshop blog post.
Pastor Michael invites youth and adults to accompany him to movie theaters in the community for movie viewing, light meals, fellowship and lively discussion.
In the storyline of this movie, “Inside Out;” Riley, the main character is an adolescent female who is uprooted from her Midwestern Minnesota life experience when her father starts a new job in San Francisco. Of course Riley is influenced by the emotions of Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness. These emotions are personified in animated characters and live in “Headquarters,” the Control Center inside Riley’s mind where they help advise her through the journey of everyday life. As Riley struggles to adjust to day to day existence in urban San Francisco, turmoil ensues in Headquarters. As Joy, Riley’s most dominant emotion, tries to keep things positive, the remaining emotions conflict on planning the best method to navigate new experiences in life including the move to a new city, house and school. Naturally there are many challenges introduced in Riley’s day to day life. It is interesting to watch how these challenges are met in Riley’s perception.

Lively Fellowship and Discussion followed the movie viewing while participants enjoyed a light meal.

 

Abide in Jesus Celebration  for the Community

Everyone is Welcome!

Abide in Jesus. John 6:56.
Blessed Assurance
Fanny Crosby

Blessed assurance; Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.

This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long;

this is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.

Prayer: Living Lord, you are the giver of wisdom and true discernment, guiding those who seek your ways to choose the good. Mercifully grant that your people, feasting on the true bread of heaven, may have eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Trust in the Lord. Give our most pressing concerns to Jesus. Be open to what the Lord is doing in our lives.

Be Thou My Vision
Ancient Irish ca 700

Translator Mary Byrne Versifier Eleanor Hull

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; naught be all else to me, save that thou art –

thou my best thought, by day or by night; waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Prayer: Bread of heaven, you feed us in the depths of grief, sin, and hostility. Nourish us with your word through the long hours of tears, and in the dawning awareness of our need for forgiveness, so that we may be redeemed by your steadfast love. Amen.

The LORD is gracious and merciful. Ps. 111:3.
Holy and Awesome is His Name. Ps. 111 Song.

Prayer: Redeeming Sustainer, visit your people and pour out your strength and courage upon us, that we may hurry to make you welcome not only in our concern for others, but by serving them generously and faithfully in your name. Amen.

In Christ Alone
Keith Getty & Stuart Townend

In Christ alone my hope is found; He is my light, my strength, my song;

This cornerstone, this solid ground, Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace, When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

My comforter, my all in all; Here in the love of Christ I stand.

Prayer: Bread of life, you taught us to put away bitterness and anger, and with tenderhearted kindness to share the fruit of our labor with the needy. Strengthen us by your grace, that in communion with you, we may forgive one another and live in love as Christ loved us. Amen.

We are all 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!

Discernment is the path to or arrival at a waypoint or destination on a spiritual journey where a person acknowledges an answer to a personal question, often a significant decision in life.

God our Father,
You have a plan for each one of us,
You hold out to us a future full of hope.
Give us the wisdom of your Spirit
so that we can see the shape
of your plan in the gifts
you have given us,
and in the circumstances
of our daily lives.
Give us the freedom of your Spirit,
to seek you with all our hearts,
and to choose Your Will above all else.
We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.
– CUA Prayer for Service and Justice.

The Summons – John Bell & Graham Maule

Performed by Robert Cochis

Lord, your summons echoes true
When you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you
And never be the same.
In your company I’ll go
Where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I’ll move and live and grow
In you and you in me.

Sometimes, the Serenity Prayer helps us accept that which we experience and learn that we can not change.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

– Although we may often stop here, there is more …

Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
forever in the next. Amen.
– attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr.

 

This evening the clouds dissipate and the stars shine brightly. It is a wonderful evening to reflect on the bounty the Lord has blessed us with.
He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them. Great is our Lord and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite. Ps.147:4-5. 

Columba constellation is located in the southern sky. Its name means “dove” in Latin. Columba’s original name was Columba Noachi, meaning “Noah’s dove,” after the dove that informs Noah that the Biblical Great Flood is receding. The constellation was introduced by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius in the late 16th century and it later appears in Johann Bayer’s star atlas Uranometria in 1603. Columba contains the famous runaway star Mu Columbae.

“Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever. Amen. Dan. 12:3.

Eternal Life Celebration  for the Community

Everyone is Welcome!

Very truly I tell you whoever believes has eternal life. John 6:47.

Be Thou My Vision

Ancient Irish ca 700

Translator Mary Byrne Versifier Eleanor Hull

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; naught be all else to me, save that thou art – thou my best thought, by day or by night; waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Prayer:

Bread of heaven, you feed us in the depths of grief, sin, and hostility. Nourish us with your word through the long hours of tears, and in the dawning awareness of our need for forgiveness, so that we may be redeemed by your steadfast love.  Amen.

O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. Ps. 34:3.

Let us Exalt His Name Together Forever – Psalm 34.

Prayer:

Redeeming Sustainer, visit your people and pour out your strength and courage upon us, that we may hurry to make you welcome not only in our concern for others, but by serving them generously and faithfully in your name.  Amen.

In Christ Alone

Keith Getty & Stuart Townend

In Christ alone my hope is found; He is my light, my strength, my song; This cornerstone, this solid ground, Firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of love, what depths of peace, When fears are stilled, when strivings cease! My comforter, my all in all – Here in the love of Christ I stand.

Prayer:

Bread of life, you taught us to put away bitterness and anger, and with tenderhearted kindness to share the fruit of our labor with the needy. Strengthen us by your grace, that in communion with you, we may forgive one another and live in love as Christ loved us.  Amen.

You Satisfy the Hungry Heart

– performed by Richard Proulx and the Cathedral Singers

You satisfy the hungry heart with gift of finest wheat; Come give to us, O saving Lord, the bread of life to eat. As when the shepherd calls his sheep, they know and heed his voice; So when you call your fam’ly, Lord, we follow and rejoice.

Prayer:

In your compassionate love, O Lord, you nourish us with the words of life and bread of blessing. Grant that Jesus may calm our fears and move our hearts to praise your goodness by sharing our bread with others.  Amen.

We are all 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!

Best Friends Forever BFF! – What an exclamation to the world!
Friendship is one of life’s greatest gifts. True friends seek a special kind of good for their friends: the highest good, which is that they might know God and love Him with all of their heart, soul, and mind. German pastor and martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “The aim of friendship is exclusively determined by what God’s will is for the other person.”

Jonathan, David’s friend, is a sterling example of true friendship. David was in exile, hiding in the Desert of Ziph, when he learned that “Saul had come out to seek his life.” 1 Sam. 23:15. Jonathan went to Horesh to find David. The significance of this scene lies in Jonathan’s intent: He helped David find strength in God or, as Scripture puts it, he “strengthened his hand [grip] in God.” 1 Sam. 23:16.

That is the essence of Christian friendship. Beyond common interests, beyond affection, beyond wit and laughter is the ultimate aim of sowing in others the words of eternal life, leaving them with reminders of God’s wisdom, refreshing their spirit with words of His love, and strengthening their grip on God. – David Roper. Daily Bread.

Pray for your friends and ask God to give you a word “in season” to help them find renewed strength in our God and His Word.

Best Friendship Song Ever – Bruno Mars

If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea, I’ll sail the world to find you.  If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can’t see, I’ll be the light to guide you.  Find out what we’re made of when we are called to help our friends in need.

Prayer:  Dear Lord, thank You for loving us.  May Your love compel us to show love to others.  Please give us sensitivity to Your Spirit that we might know how to encourage others in their walk with You.

A true friend is a gift from the Lord and one who points us back to Him.

No More Hunger Celebration
for the Community
Everyone is Welcome!

Whoever comes to me will never be hungry. John 6:35.

Prayer:
God of hope,
when your hungry people longed for the slave food of Egypt,
you opened the doors of heaven and rained down manna.
Feed us with the bread of life at your table,
that we may taste the freedom of eternal life
and lead lives worthy of our calling,
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

You Satisfy the Hungry Heart
– performed by Richard Proulx and the Cathedral Singers

You satisfy the hungry heart with gift of finest wheat; Come give to us, O saving Lord, the bread of life to eat. As when the shepherd calls his sheep, they know and heed his voice; So when you call your fam’ly, Lord, we follow and rejoice.

We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. Eph. 4:14.

More Love – Erica Campbell

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Ps. 51:10.

Create in Me a Clean Heart O God
Maranatha Singers.

Prayer:
In your compassionate love, O Lord,
you nourish us with the words of life and bread of blessing.
Grant that Jesus may calm our fears
and move our hearts to praise your goodness
by sharing our bread with others. Amen.
Let Us Break Bread Together
John Rosamond Johnson
African American Spiritual

Let us break bread together on our knees. Let us break bread together on our knees.

When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun, O Lord, have mercy on me.

Prayer:
Sustainer of the hungry,
like a mother you long to feed your children
until each is satisfied.
Turn our eyes to you alone,
that, aware of our own deepest longings,
we will reach out with Christ
to feed others with the miracle of your love. Amen.
We are all 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!

 

Thank You for Your Suggestions and Participation!

Friday Evenings in the Park

Family Activities, Food, Fun!

– List is Growing! – Mix in Your Suggestions!

most Friday evenings – about 6:00 pm until done.

Valley City Park Large Pavilion, 400 West Vass Street

– sponsored by Spirit of Peace

Pastors Michael & Cathy Hanus – Visit with Pastor!

Spirit.Peace@outlook.com blog.peacelcmc.org

Connect with Your Spirit! Check the blog! Contact Pastor!

Our Spiritual Awakening Step 12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. AA.org.

How It Works
Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics. It works when other activities fail. This is our twelfth suggestion: Carry this message to other alcoholics! You can help when no one else can. You can secure their confidence when others fail. Remember they are very ill.

Life will take on new meaning. To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up about you, to have a host of friends – this is an experience you must not miss. We know you will not want to miss it. Frequent contact with newcomers and with each other is the bright spot of our lives. – A.A. Big Book p. 89.

“Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:1-2.

Cornerstone – Hillsong (2012).

My Hope and Nothing Less is Built on Jesus’ Blood and Righteousness.

I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly trust in Jesus name.

The joy of living is the theme of A.A.’s Twelfth Step, and action is its key word. Here we turn outward toward our fellow alcoholics who are still in distress. Here we experience the kind of giving that asks no rewards. Here we begin to practice all Twelve Steps of the program in our daily lives so that we and those about us may find emotional sobriety. When the Twelfth Step is seen in all its full implication, it is really talking about the kind of love that has no price tag on it. – Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 106.

Step 12 gives me the satisfaction of helping others. I am uniquely suited to help others that have suffered the same addiction as I have suffered with. Although I did not plan on being in the role of the recovering addict, I find myself in that role because of the choices that I have made. It now becomes my duty as well as my joy and privilege to find others suffering in a similar way and to help them in the best way that I know how. It completes the cycle of life and I get to play a wonderful part in it. – From 12Step.org

Helping others is a significant part of the program, and there are many ways the program gets passed on. When you live the program and share it with others, you are carrying the message, especially when you sponsor new members. In practicing the Twelfth Step you will find that:
By witnessing to others, your appreciation of the program and the program’s impact on your life deepens.
By hearing the stories of new members, you are reminded of where you were when you started.

By modeling to others, you become aware that you need to practice what you preach.

By giving to others, you develop bonds with new people who really need you

By helping others, you give what you have received.

By supporting new beginnings, you revitalize your own efforts.

– A Gentle Path Through the Twelve Steps, by Patrick Carnes, p. 197.

An A.A. Reflection In Preparing “For Those Who Still Suffer …”  

Let us resist the proud assumption that since God has enabled us to do well in one area we are destined to be a channel of saving grace for everybody. – A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 232. 

A.A. groups exist to help alcoholics achieve sobriety. Large or small, firmly established or brand new, speaker, discussion or study, each group has but one reason for being: to carry the message to the still suffering alcoholic. The group exists so that the alcoholic can find a new way of life, a life abundant in happiness, joy, and freedom. To recover, most alcoholics need the support of a group of other alcoholics who share their experiences, strength and hope. Thus my sobriety, and our program’s survival, depends upon my determination to put first things first. – A.A. Book Daily Reflections. 

I Win Either Way (Song of Comfort for Those Who Suffer). 

 Libby Allen. 

Search me, O Lord … and see if there is any wicked way in me. – Ps. 139:23-4. 
Clearly the psalmist desires spiritual cleansing. Pleading for the Lord to search for hidden sin, he prays, “Search me, O Lord … and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Ps. 139:23-24. Pausing to give the Lord the opportunity for a full and unconditional inspection, he then surrenders to the righteous ways of the Lord that would keep him spiritually healthy. 
Even if you are feeling good about yourself, it is time for your checkup! Only the Lord knows the true condition of our heart, and only He can forgive, heal, and lead us to a cleansed life and productive future. – Joe Stowell. Daily Bread. 

Prayer: Lord, You know me better than I know myself. Search the deepest parts of my heart for anything that is displeasing to You. Cleanse me of my wandering ways and lead me in Your good and righteous way. The Lord’s work is not over when we receive salvation, it has just begun. Amen. 

INSIGHT: In discussing the greatness of The Lord, we say the Lord is all knowing (omniscient), everywhere present (omnipresent), and all powerful (omnipotent). In Psalm 139 David gives us descriptions of all three. God’s perfect knowledge and understanding are pictured in verses 1-6, His continual presence is praised in verses 7-12, and His mighty power is in view in verses 13-18. We serve the Lord who is both great and good, a Lord who is big enough for all we will ever face. 

How Great is Our God. – Chris Tomlin. 

Chris Tomlin – How Great Is Our God (World Edition) from chris-tomlin on GodTube.

The Godhead Three in One, Father Spirit Son. 
The Lion and the Lamb, The Lion and the Lamb. 
Name above all names, Worthy of our praise. 
My heart will sing, How great is our God.