SUNDAY, JULY 12
NO 8:30 AM SERVICE
SUNDAY SCHOOL AS USUAL AT 9:45 AM

Michigan Singers
In Concert at 11:00 AM
They are young people (average age is 16) from all over Michigan who like to sing or play instruments and have a desire to grow and witness for God. Since 1980, they have performed at Mt. Rushmore, Grand Canyon, as
well as many churches and parks across the United States under the direction of Pastor Richard Forsman. They will thrill you
with excitement and energy.

For more information go to: www.michigansingers.org
A Love Offering will be taken - Child care available

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Click here for more information about:
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL August 16-20
NEIGHBORHOOD BLOCK PARTY Sunday, August 23
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FROM THE PROCLAIMER
-------------------------------------------------------------------JULY/AUGUST 2009
Article by Pastor John

Phillip Brooks writes, “Bad will be the day for every man when he becomes absolutely contented with the life that he is living, with the thoughts that he is thinking, with the deeds that he is doing, when there is not forever beating at the doors of his soul some great desire to do something larger, which he knows that he was meant and made to do because he is still, in spite of all, the child of God.”

I am convinced that God is not finished with any of us until He takes us home. God desires that all of us continue on the journey toward the image of Christ in our lives. We must not be content in who we are until we reach that “Christ-like” love, “Christ-like” power and “Christ-like” actions in all that we do. That will mean some changes in our lives. What are those changes that are needed for you to become more Christ-like? Let God bring about those changes.

As a church, the same is true. We have seen some great ministry take place, but we should not be content. There are more people that we can reach, more people we can encourage, more people that we can help along the journey and more ministry that can be done. Our leadership is putting together some changes in our structure in order to help the ministry of the church to be more effective. Our old structure might have been effective for a time, but now it is time for some changes. Our worship has changed, our ministries have changed and our staff has changed, all in the hopes of becoming more effective in building the kingdom. For example, as we look to the fall, we must change our children’s ministry to make it more effective. That will mean that many people in our church will need to get involved in this ministry.

As we talk about change, we can be afraid of it. It is hard for us to see things as God sees them and understand why we need to change. But as we obediently follow Him, as He patiently molds and shapes us, we will be changed into His image, individually and as a church. The change we are talking about here is really a change back to what we were created to be. If we fail to change, then we will be settling for less than our potential.

This can be illustrated by an old story about a Native American who found an eagle’s egg which he placed in a prairie chicken’s nest. Thinking he was a chicken, the eagle did what the chickens did. He scratched in the dirt for seeds and insects. He clucked and he cackled. He flew in a brief thrashing of wings and a flurry of feathers, but he never got more than a few feet off the ground because he thought he was a prairie chicken and wasn’t suppose to fly. One day, he looked up into the sky and high above him he saw a magnificent bird hanging with graceful majesty on the powerful currents of air. “What a beautiful bird!” the eagle clucked to his prairie chicken neighbors. “What is it?” “That’s an eagle – the chief of all birds”, cackled one of the chickens. “But don’t give it another thought. You could never be like him.” And so the eagle, thinking he was just a prairie chicken and not able to soar into the heights, lived a life groveling and picking at the ground, never experiencing the exhilaration of flight and the majesty which was his birthright.

It is time we become the eagles that we were created to be. That will mean some change, but we can do it – by the power of God in us!
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From Ryan Rhodes, Summer Intern at Pennway

Dear Pennway Church of God,

Hello! My name is Ryan Rhodes. I recently married one of your own, Tara Wiedrick. Before marrying Tara, I was the youth pastor in Muskegon, Michigan at Church of God United. As Tara and I began to discuss our wedding and future plans, and through a series of events only God could orchestrate, God revealed to us that we were to stay in Lansing. A part of His plan was my transfer with Menards from Muskegon to the Lansing West store. I work there part-time, allowing me the flexibility that I need to work with the youth at Pennway. I was offered a summer internship here at the church and I love it. I have had experience and interactions with
students of various socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnicities and ages. My passion is for the spiritual cultivation and development of today’s youth, equipping them with the tools they need to grow deeper with Christ when all else is stripped away. I want them to have a deep and lasting relationship with Christ, one built upon spiritual discipline. Thank you for allowing me this opportunity and I look forward to getting to know each and every one of you.

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SERMON - JANUARY 4, 2009 - Pastor John Davey
DIRECTIONS FOR A NEW YEAR
Ephesians 6:10-20 (page 1228)

Write down your memories of 2008--good, hard, etc.

Children’s Sermon: What did you get for Christmas?  Any gifts left unopened?  Why not?  God has a gift for each of us – a new year! This year – you will change a lot – taller, smarter, more mature, etc. – make this year the best ever – that is what we will talk about this morning.

Sermon: Now, I want you to throw your 2008 memories in the trash because 2008 is gone.  Whatever good has happened and whatever bad has happened is gone.  Let it go.  Give it up.  Get a new sheet of paper – 2009. God has given us a new year.  The question for us is, “What will we do with this new year?”  I believe that Paul has some good instructions for us to consider as we begin this new year.  I want this to be the best year of your life.  I believe that it can be.  I believe that this can be the best year of ministry at Pennway – not because I am here, but because God wants to work in and through us, and if we will let him, do great things.  Look with me at the end of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.  Let’s look at what Paul is saying.

First of all he is telling the church to get ready for some struggles.  First lesson: know that we will face some major struggles this year.  We in Michigan are very aware of the economic issues facing us.  This year will probably get worse before it gets better.  Some here will face some health issues, others some relationship issues.  As we look at this coming year, we are aware that we will face some real struggles.  But, in these struggles we need to understand that our struggle is not against flesh and blood.  Our struggle is not a struggle to get this person in leadership in our government or a struggle to get rid of this person.  “If only ____ was in office or wasn’t in office…”  That is not the issue.  That is not our struggle.  Paul is writing in a totally messed up government.  The Roman rulers were doing crazy things and coming against the Christians in messed up ways.  But, the battle Paul is talking about was not against those rulers.  Paul mentions 3 things that our battle is against: rulers and authorities of this dark world, powers of this dark world, and the spiritual forces of this dark world.  This is not about the people, but about a spiritual battle that we will all face this year.   For example – some of these Christians were being martyred for their faith.  The battle was not to stop the killing or against those that were doing the killing.  The battle was against the discouragement that these events might bring to the Christians or the anger and bitterness that might result from that treatment.  It was against the lack of maturity that would keep the Christians from being faithful to the end.  Paul is writing from prison and is not talking about these people trying to get him out of prison, but about enduring that might come.  Do you see this?  So our battle is not against the government, nor the economy, nor the morally depraved, nor those that kill.  Our battle is against the discouragement that comes, against the anger and bitterness that comes, and against the immaturity that makes us weak in our faith.  This is a spiritual battle.  Let me give you an example.  Now if I come to you and shoot you with this silly string, your spiritual battle is not with me.  It is against the influences in your life that the enemy uses: anger, revenge, competition, control, fear, anxiety, discouragement, bitterness, resentment, etc. - those are the tools that the enemy uses to attack us.  Does that make sense?  So, when we face things like losing our job or losing our pension or divorce and broken families or even things like disease or sickness, our battle is not against people.  Our spiritual battle is against the influences the enemy uses in those things to defeat us and destroy our faith and our witness.  This is such an important distinction to understand as face this new year.  We can be easily defeated if we don’t realize who the enemy is.  We have been fighting the wrong battles.  We think we can’t survive if we lose our job, or our spouse, or our health, or whatever.  Christians, with God on our side, we can survive no matter what might come.  Do you understand the enemy?

Now, we need to know that this is a battle that we can win.  The struggles will come this year, but we have the power to not let them defeat us.  Paul reminds us that God is the ultimate authority.  The enemy thought that he had won when Jesus was killed, but God was still in control.  God’s power is greater that any other power.  He can handle our government.  He can protect us against terrorism.  He can carry us through rough economic times.  He is more powerful than any of these things.  And His Spirit can give us the strength to stand no matter what comes.  Paul is writing to people who were going to be killed for their faith.  He is telling them that even death does not defeat us.  God wins there as well, for us who are believers.  Beulah Hein is a great example.  Her death was a great victory.  We can win this battle.  Nothing this year can defeat us unless we let it.  This is a battle that we can win.

And this is a battle that we must win.  Paul makes this final appeal to this church that he loves, where he spent more time than any other church.  We must win this battle!  God desires for us see over 100 people come to a new relationship with Him this year.  If we let the events like the economy, sickness, even death defeat us, then we will not have the influence that we need to impact people’s lives.  We must win these battles not just for our own souls, but for the souls of those around us.  And church, understand that these battles will be in our very midst as well.  The enemy will try to divide us over issues that don’t matter; he will try to discourage us and take away our hope; he will try to get us to stop giving or serving or caring for those around us.  As a church, we must face these battles and win.  The great news is that we can win!  Let's do it!

That brings me to the second point here and that is- we need to get ourselves ready to win.  Paul goes on and talks to us about the armor that we need to have on us so that we can win these battles.  There are two kinds of armor that we need to have in place: those things that we need to let God put on us, and those things that we need to actively take up.  Paul uses two different words as he talks about these two kinds of armor.  First is the armor that we need to let God put on us. Paul uses a more passive verb here that indicates we need to have these things in place – “have the belt of truth buckled, the breastplate of righteousness in place, and our feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace.” We need to let God fill our lives with His truth.  We need to listen like never before to God’s word and let that truth guide all that we do.  The belt was used to pull up the tunic so that the soldier could run.  It was used to hold all the other tools.  God’s truth needs to be this for us.  God has given this truth to us.  Stand firm in that truth.  God also is the only one that can make us righteous.  We cannot, in our own power, be righteous (doing right things).  We are flawed, sinful.  But, God makes us clean.  This is a breastplate that protects our heart.  When we are living the pure life, one that is in obedience to all that God directs us to do, then our heart is protected from the enemy’s attacks.  When we begin to fudge on this, is when we give the enemy a foothold in our lives.  And we need to have God’s good news be a part of how we live.  God has done a great thing in our lives.  God has put His good news in us.  We just need to carry this with us and be ready to share it whenever possible.  If we can learn to just include what God is doing in our lives in our conversations, then people will begin to see that God is real, not something you do.  Let God put these things on you daily.

Then there is that armor that we need to actively take up.  Paul says, “take up.” That means some effort on our part.  So, we need to take up the shield of faith.  Faith is a choice we make.  When I lose my job, when I get sick, when I face financial struggles, etc. – I have a choice to make – to believe that God will help me through or, to only see the resources of this world.  To choose to take up faith is trusting that what God says is true and that He will come through.  We need to also take up the helmet of salvation.  God has died on the cross for us.  But that does us no good unless we get up and receive it. (John 1:12)  You must admit you have sinned, not followed God’s ways, ask forgiveness, and ask God into your life.  That is how we take up this salvation.  It is a choice we must make or the enemy will win.  Our head will not be protected.  And we need to take up God’s word, the sword.  This is our only offensive weapon in this battle.  It is what we see Jesus using when the enemy came against him.  But, we must make the effort to take it up.  We must commit to read this book more this year than years past.  We need to take up this sword.  If we don’t, we will be weak in the battle.  You see, these are things that we need to daily take up in order to be ready for the battles that will come.  When someone comes to me defeated, I will ask them about their quiet time, their obedience, their salvation.  If they are going into battle without these, they will be defeated.  Get yourself ready.

Then the last point here is that we then need to do battle.  We cannot just be passive in this struggle.  We must take some action. The first action that we must take is to pray.  Paul says (read vrs. 18-20).  Prayer is not just an exercise we do to look more spiritual.  We need to not just start our meetings with prayer, but we need to do battle in prayer.  This is an action that we must learn to take.  This is where the battle is won.  Take the action this year.  Paul says that we need to pray in the spirit on all occasions.   Now this is not meaning praying in some unknown language as some might believe.  If you have that, fine, but this is talking about much more than that.  This is talking about getting past all the niceties of prayers to heart to heart communication with God.  It is not about what we say, but about whom we are talking to.  This is to pray even when we don’t know how to pray because it is not about the words.  It is about heart to heart with God.  Listen to the Roman letter (read Rom. 8:26).  This will mean taking the time to get past all the clutter of our head, to real communication.  This takes practice and effort.  But real prayer is where we will win the battles this year.  This is what releases God’s power to work in mighty ways.  Pray in the Spirit on all occasions.  And then pray for the saints.  We need to do battle for each other.  I love the words that Paul uses to describe Epaphras (read Col. 4:12).  I want you to know that I will pray for you that way this year.  I will take some of you to prayer each day.  I hope that all of us will take seriously this need to wrestle for each others.  When we hear of someone that is in the battle (lost job, sickness, marriage issues, etc.) may we wrestle for them.  We need to do battle.  And then we need to pray for the gospel to go forward.  I have included in your bulletin a book mark that I want you to take out.  This is called the 360 revolution.  On the back I want you to write the names of at least 3 people that you know that do not have a relationship with God.  These are people that you will have regular contact with this year or that you will commit to have regular contact with this year.  I believe that all of us can lead someone to a personal relationship with God this year, but it must start with us doing battle for them in prayer.  This 360 refers to praying for 3 people, 6 times a day and missing 0 opportunities to talk with them and love them.  If we will do that we will see one or more of them come to know Jesus this year.  I believe that with my whole heart.  We need to do battle in prayer.  May we commit to this.  If we do, God will win some great battles this year in peoples’ lives.

A second action is to be alert.  The root of this word means to wake up, to wake from the dead.  It refers to our need to stand guard and watch out for the attacks of the enemy.  This year the enemy will attack us.  He will come against us.  And if we are not alert, he will win some battles before we know it.  We need to be alert.  That means that this year we need to gather around us Christian brothers and sisters who can hold us accountable.  If you don’t have that set up yet, then I urge you to do that.  Get a prayer partner.  Join a discipleship group or other small group that will hold you accountable.  This is how we can stay alert.  And then we need to take the action of being an ambassador.  Paul here is an ambassador in chains.  What Paul is saying is that we need to see that wherever we are, we are there as God’s representative.  You are not in your job, in your neighborhood, in that waiting room or that store or wherever you might be by accident. God is guiding your steps so that you can represent him in that situation.  Look for those people around you that you can love.  See that each situation is an opportunity to show God’s love.  Take the action to be an ambassador.  One day as a woman was crossing a street at London station, an old man stopped her.  He said to her, “Excuse me, ma’am, but I want to thank you.”  She looked up and exclaimed, “Thank me?”  He replied, “Yes’m, I used to be a ticket collector, and whenever you went by you always gave me a cheerful smile and a good morning.  I knew that smile must come from inside somewhere. Then one morning I saw a little Bible in your hand.  So, I bought one, too, and I found Jesus.  I really enjoyed the Christmas season because I could look anyone in the eye and say, “Merry Christmas,” and start a conversation.  Now I don’t have a good phrase.  But, one church taught the people to become blessing people.  As they went out and met various people – at the check out, etc. – they would just say to them, “Is there some way in which I can pray God’s blessing on you?”  May we find ways to do the same!  Be God’s ambassador!

Well, 2009 will have some real battles for us, but the good news today is that we can win these battles.  Understand who the enemy is and that we can and must win these battles.  Get yourself ready for battle each day by getting your armor on.  And then do battle – pray, be alert, and be an ambassador.  I can’t pray that you  will not have battles this year.  But I can pray that you win.  Some need to get ready today.  Your armor has slipped.  Some need to do some battle today and really pray as we begin this year.  Do what needs to be done.  The altars are open.  Go for it!