Matthew 19: 25-26 - Towamencin Mennonite Church

Towamencin Mennonite Church
*****
“Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are called to
extend God’s healing, hope and forgiveness to all.”
Sunday, August 7, 2016
Outdoor Baptism Service
Gathering: The Church as Community
Opening Songs
Gloria Bergey & Worship Team
To God Be the Glory
To God be the glory – great things He hath done!
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin
And opened the lifegate that all may go in.
Chorus:
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord
Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord
Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father thru Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory – great things He hath done!
O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood
To every believer the promise of God
The vilest offender who truly believes
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.
Chorus
Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done
And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son
But purer and higher and greater will be
Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus see.
Chorus
Your Great Name
Lost are saved find their way
At the sound of Your great Name
All condemned feel no shame
At the sound of Your great Name
Every fear has no place
At the sound of Your great Name
The enemy he has to leave
At the sound of Your great Name
Chorus:
Jesus worthy is the Lamb
That was slain for us the Son of God and man
You are high and lifted up
And all the world will praise
Your great Name
All the weak find their strength
At the sound of Your great Name
Hungry souls receive grace
At the sound of Your great Name
The fatherless find their rest
At the sound of Your great Name
The sick are healed the dead are raised
At the sound of Your great Name
Chorus
Bridge:
Redeemer my healer Lord Almighty
Defender my Savior You are my King
Bridge
Chorus (2X)
Because He Lives
God sent His Son, they called Him Jesus
He came to love, heal and forgive
He lived and died to buy my pardon
An empty grave is there to prove My Savior lives.
Chorus:
Because He lives I can face tomorrow
Because He lives all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living just because He lives.
Praising: The Church Worshipping God
Call to Worship & Opening Prayer
Greeting One Another
Sharing God Sightings & Praying
Children’s Time
Pastor Mike
Giving Back to God
How Great Thou Art
O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Chorus:
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze.
Chorus
And when I think that God, His Son not sparing
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin.
Chorus
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art!
Chorus
Worship In Song
How Deep the Father’s Love for Us
How deep the Father’s love for us
How vast beyond all measure
that He should give His only Son
to make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss.
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory.
Behold the Man upon the cross
My sin upon His shoulders.
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished;
His dying breath has brought me life.
I know that it is finished.
I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no pow’r, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection.
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer.
But this I know with all my heart:
His wounds have paid my ransom.
Victory In Jesus
I heard an old, old story, how a Savior came from glory,
How He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me,
I heard about His groaning, of His precious blood’s atoning,
Then I repented of my sins and won the victory.
Chorus:
O victory in Jesus, my Savior, forever!
He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood,
He loved me ere I knew Him, and all my love is due Him
He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood.
I heard about His healing, of His cleansing power revealing,
How He made the lame to walk again
And caused the blind to see;
And then I cried, “Dear Jesus, come
and heal my broken spirit,”
And somehow Jesus came and brought to me the victory.
Chorus
I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory,
And I heard about the streets of gold
beyond the crystal sea
About the angels singing and the old redemption story,
And some sweet day I’ll sing up there the song of victory.
Chorus
Teaching: The Church Studying God’s Word
Scripture Reading: John 3: 1-21
Sermon: “Being Born Again”
Pastor Bill
Taking a Stand: The Church Responding to Jesus
Preparation for Baptism
I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb
I have heard how Christians long ago
Were brought before a tyrant’s throne
They were told that he would spare their lives
If they would renounce the name of Christ
But one by one they chose to die
The Son of God they would not deny
Like a great angelic choir sings
I can almost hear their voices ring
Chorus:
I pledge allegiance to the Lamb
With all my strength with all I am
I will seek to honor His commands
I pledge allegiance to the Lamb.
Now the years have come
And the years have gone
And the cause of Jesus still goes on
Now our time has come to count the cost
To reject this world to embrace the cross
And one by one let us live our lives
For the One who died to give us life
Till the trumpet sounds on the final day
Let us proudly stand and boldly say.
Bridge:
To the Lamb of God who bore my pain
Who took my place who wore my shame
I will seek to honor His commands
I pledge allegiance to the Lamb.
Chorus
.
Entering Into the Water of Baptism
Ray Landis
Amanda Landis
Tianna Knechel
Greg Weimer
Songs of Celebration
Whom Shall I Fear
You hear me when I call. You are my morning song.
Though darkness fills the night, it cannot hide the light.
Whom shall I fear?
You crush the enemy underneath my feet.
You are my sword and shield, though troubles linger still
Whom shall I fear?
Chorus:
I know Who goes before me, I know Who stands behind
The God of angel armies is always by my side!
The One Who reigns forever, He is a friend of mine.
The God of angel armies is always by my side!
My strength is in Your name, for You alone can save.
You can deliver me. Yours is the victory.
Whom shall I fear?
Whom shall I fear?
I know Who goes before me, I know Who stands behind
The God of angel armies is always by my side!
The One who reigns forever, He is a friend of mine.
The God of angel armies is always by my side!
And nothing formed against me shall stand!
You hold the whole world in Your hands.
I’m holding on to Your promises.
You are faithful, You are faithful.
Repeat Chorus 2X
Trust and Obey
When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still
And with all who will trust and obey.
Chorus:
Trust and Obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies
But His smile quickly drives it away
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear
Can remain when we trust and obey.
Chorus
Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share
But our toil He doth richly repay
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross
But is blest if we trust and obey.
Chorus
Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go
Never fear, only trust and obey.
Chorus
Sending: The Church Goes Out Into the World
Benediction
Invitation to Share a Meal Together
-Continue to pray for those in need of God’s touch of physical
healing. Pray specifically for Esther Delp, Michele Delp, Ev
Detweiler, Bill Freed, Ronnie Knechel, Stacey Knechel, Ann
Landes, Hannah Metzler, Roy Groff, Sallie Sperry, and Peter
Zucca.
-Be in prayer for all of our students as they return to school and
studies over the next several weeks. Pray also for our many
teachers who give time and energy in helping students learn.
Pray that along with the knowledge that is being taught that there
would also be learning about faith and life through the modeling of
it in the teachers’ actions.
-We praise God for all those who have served in the church in
various positions this past year. Our thanks is to you personally
as well as to God. Pray for those who will begin serving in new
positions this year. Pray for God’s Spirit to provide all the gifts
needed for each person to do their work well.
-Continue to pray for William Sankan in his work on the dictionary
for his Massai people. Pray that as he completes this task, many
people will then learn to read and comprehend God’s Word in
Kenya.
-Please keep Sam Pfister in your prayers as he has been deployed
to Montana to help fight forest fires there. Pray for safety for his
crew and for good judgment as they seek to save lives and all of
God’s creation there.
Jubilee Verse for the Week
Matthew 19: 25-26
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished
and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible,
but with God all things are possible.”
Our Church Schedule
TODAY______________________________________________
Greeters:
Claudio & Mandy Sanchez, Bob & Eric Keeler
Sound Person:
Marlin Bergey
THIS WEEK__________________________________________
Tuesday, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Sewing Circle, lunch @ 11:30 a.m.
Wednesday, 7 p.m. AWAKE prayer meeting
NEXT SUNDAY_______________________________________
Greeters:
Curt & Gladys Nice
Nursery:
Natasha Bergey, Leisha Bergey
SS Nursery:
Jolene Weaver, Kiersta Leatherman
Sound Person:
Titus Knechel
Projection:
Eli Vasey
Sermon:
“Death and Resurrection”
Matthew 27:32- 28:10 Pastor Bill
LOOKING AHEAD____________________________________
Every Wednesday, AWAKE Prayer Gathering, 7 p.m.
August 19 (Fri) Hymn Sing @ SMH, 10:30 a.m.
Sept 10 (Sat) Fall Yard Sale, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
October 28-30 (Fri-Sun) Marriage Enrichment Weekend
Nov 11-13 (Fri-Sun) Women’s Retreat
Last Week’s Numbers
Offering
Attendance
Budget
Designated Gifts
Total
$ 5,674.00
$ 396.00
$ 6,070.00
Worship 185
SS
122
Announcements
School Kits are MCC’s most requested item. Let’s see how
many kits we can donate to help children around the world. Here
are the items you need for one school kit:
4 spiral or perforated notebooks of 70 sheets
8 unsharpened pencils
1 ruler (flat, flexible plastic; indicating both 12 in and 30 cm)
12 colored pencils (in packaging)
1 large pencil eraser
See the flyer in your church mailbox for more specific directions.
If you would like to receive a weekly large-print bulletin, please
let Rose or Pastor Mike know.
Finland Mennonite Church is hosting an “Extreme Makeover
Family Parenting” seminar by Pastor Mark Holmen from Focus
on the Family on Saturday, August 27, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The
event is free but you do need to register by calling the church at
215-679-8980.
If you are new to Towamencin Mennonite Church and would
like to have a mailbox or be a part of our prayer phone chain,
please contact Pastor Mike or the church office.
Thank you for praying and participating in the gifts
discernment process to fill the positions needed for 2016-17.
Ninety-seven ballots were returned. The following persons were
affirmed for these positions:
Doris Moyer
Gloria Bergey
Kathy Knechel &
Jolene Weaver
Justin Wilson
Andria Knechel
Jessica Leatherman
Marissa Wilson
Carolyn Herrlinger
Bob Keeler
Amber Knechel
Conference Rep
Fellowship Director (1-year)
Kitchen Committee
Member at Large
Mennonite Women
Minister of Music
Nursery Coordinator
SS Supt, Jr. Dept.
Sunday School Secretary
VBS Committee
The following persons were voted in for these positions:
John Vasey
Tanya Frankenfield
Brian Keeler
Claudio & Mandy Sanchez
Paris & Mel Hagen
Loren Parmer
Gina Canaviri &
Janelle Knechel
Christian School Committee
Children’s Activities
Finance Committee
JR MYF Leaders
MYF Leaders
Witness Director
Library Committee
Elder and Deaconess Update:
Each of the persons who received enough nominations and were
affirmed by the Leadership Team as candidates, prayerfully
discerned their sense of call. Aaron Leatherman is ready to
submit his name for Elder if affirmed by the congregation. Ruth
Ann Fly is willing to submit her name for Deaconess if affirmed by
the congregation. Please prayerfully consider how God is leading
in these decisions. This affirmation vote will be taken on Sunday,
August 21. Absentee ballots will be available next Sunday.
Faith Journeys
Ray Landis
When I was growing up my family attended a Lutheran Church.
They believed in baptizing as a baby so my parents had me
baptized shortly after I was born. I attended the Lutheran Church
through High School and accepted Jesus as my Savior in middle
school while attending confirmation classes.
After High School I drifted away from the church, only attending
occasionally. After meeting my wife, Linda, we went to a few
different churches, but were never very active at any.
In 1997, I had a near fatal car accident. This accident had me
reevaluate my life and I rededicated my life to Christ. We started
attending Branch Creek Community Church and were active
members for many years. When LCBC took over the church we
started looking for a new church home. Our search finally led us
to Towamencin Mennonite Church. We have been attending for
just over a year and have felt very at home here. This experience
has led me to a closer walk with Jesus and to want to be baptized
as a believer.
Amanda Landis
When I was five years old I witnessed my grandfather fall and
crack his head open. I was coming home from school and my
grandmother and I had stopped to get the mail. From the bottom of
the driveway I saw him go to close his car door, but instead he just
fell backwards. I told my grandmother and she calmly told me to
run and get the phone. When I raced into the house and threw
down my backpack, I was met with my little sister and younger
cousin. When they asked me why I was running in the house I
didn’t know what to tell them. I ran past to get the phone and on
my way back out they asked me why I had the phone and who I
was calling. I said, “Nana needed the phone and asked me to get it
for her.” I told them not to follow me outside because I didn’t want
them to see what I had already seen, but being curious little kids
they followed me anyway. When I reached my grandmother she
had walked up the driveway to where my grandfather had fallen.
My grandmother is blind so she asked me to dial 911. After I did I
handed her the phone and went to calm down my little sister and
cousin. That experience led me to believe that God was real. I
really felt His presence helping me help my grandparents. If I
hadn’t looked up the driveway the minute I did and raced inside to
the phone, my grandfather might not have lived and had the extra
two years that he did. I was there at that exact moment because that
is where God wanted me to be because he has a plan for my life. I
was there to witness it so he could live, so everyone could say
goodbye, and to calm down my sister and cousin, so they weren’t
the ones to find him like that. It wasn’t a coincidence I was there
when I was, it was God’s doing, all part of my plan for me and my
life.
My being baptized is an outward showing of my faith. A faith that
is my own and not just what my parents have taught me to believe.
That is why I am being baptized. I already know what I believe but
this is to show that it is my faith and not just my parents.
Favorite Song: Whom Shall I Fear?
Tianna Knechel
I have asked Jesus to come into my heart. I want to be baptized
because I want to show and tell others that I love Jesus.
Favorite Song: Trust and Obey
Greg Weimer
At age 7, while attending a summer church camp, I made a
profession that Jesus was my Savior and Lord and I was baptized.
At the time, I did not understand the depth of what it meant to be a
Christian. Throughout my life, other things often took priority over
Jesus – yet, in my heart, Jesus was always there calling me back to
him. Almost 15 years ago, part of this calling back involved
coming to this church. Here I experienced people who challenged
my life and my faith. In the past year, I have had a stirring in my
heart, calling me to make some greater commitments to the Lord in
many areas of my life. One of these callings was a desire to be
baptized as an adult. And that is why I am here today.
I come to this baptism not as a perfect man for sure. In fact, it
seems I need to experience God’s grace every day for my failures.
But I do come to baptism as a man with Jesus in my heart – and as
a man who desires to strive to trust Jesus more fully every day of
my life.
My favorite scripture text is from John 3:16, 17. “For God so
loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever
believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did
not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save
the world through Him.” This verse describes what I believe and
what I desire to profess as I testify to it publically through my
baptism.
Mentor: William Sankan
Towamencin Mennonite Church
Mike Clemmer, Pastor
Bill Martin, Associate Pastor
Curt Nice, Elder
Ron Delp, Elder
Gerald Leatherman, Elder Chair
Paris Hagen, Elder
Phyllis Leatherman, Deaconess
Betty Detweiler, Deaconess
Phone: 215-368-2450
1980 Sumneytown Pike, PO Box 225
Kulpsville, PA 19443
E-mail: office@towamencinmennonite.org
Website: www.towamencinmennonite.org
Summer Church Office Hours:
Monday-Friday, 8:30 - 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.