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Valley Bible EFC
220 Turkey Hill Road
Haddam, CT 06438
(860) 345-8932
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Notes from Pastor John
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 Willow Creek Church used to describe their mission as "turning atheists into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ." That is vivid way to describe that the Christian life is a life of transformation. No one can be a believer in Jesus Christ and not have his life changed. If we do not experience change it is because we have not understood how seriously flawed our life is apart from Jesus and how radically the life of Jesus differs from the life we are used to.
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Psalm 119:18 gives us a good prayer to pray before reading or hearing
God's Word. "Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of your
law."
One of the greatest gifts God has given us is his Word. Sometimes I
think we approach it like, "how many minutes do I have to read so God
won't be angry with me?" Or "What is the minimum I can read and get away
with?"
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Here are some suggested readings for the summer:
Anything by Tim Keller – "The Reason for God" answers seven most common questions that nonbelievers would ask. "How could a good God allow suffering?" "How can a loving God send people to hell?" Also covered are chapters on Science, one true religion, and "You can't take the Bible Literally." The next seven chapters give the strongest reasons for believing in God and his Son Jesus. This book is written for everyone who has doubts or knows someone who does.
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Followers of Jesus Christ do not so much "go to church" or "do church" as we are the church. Do you realize that wherever disciples of Jesus are, the Church of Jesus Christ is there? The church is not a what but a who. It is not a building or a geographical location but it is the people of God.
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If someone came to you as the Philippian Jailer came to the Apostle Paul in Acts 16 and said, "What must I do to be saved?" do you know what you would say? The Apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter 3:15-16 "but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect." Are you prepared?
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I was encouraged in my devotion time as I read the story of Gideon from Judges 6-8. It was a really down time for the nation of Israel due to their disobedience. They had not obeyed the Lord to drive out the inhabitants of the Promised Land when they conquered it. Those they left came back to antagonize them as well as fight them and defeat God‘s people because they had not obeyed God. In his grace God provided a number of judges who would lead Israel to a temporary victory.
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We have entered the season of Lent, 40 days prior to the annual
remembrance of the crucifixion and resurrection of our Savior Jesus.
Traditionally this is a season for self examination. People usually
think of it as a time to give up something but the purpose is to abstain
or fast from a food or activity that we like is so that it will cause
us to examine our own lives. It is not primarily about giving up
chocolate or meat but practicing to find our deeper satisfaction in our
relationship with Christ than in food or physical pleasure. John Piper
observes that we most glorify God when we are most satisfied in him.
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On June 8, 1975 I began in pastoral ministry as Director of Youth and Music at Jefferson Park Evangelical Free Church in Chicago, Illinois. (See Seth, I began as a director too!) That was quite a week. Two days before, I finished my final signed copy of my thesis. Two days after our first son, Matthew was born. And on June 13th I graduated from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. As you can see, this June I will have been in pastoral ministry for 35 years.
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I am in the discipline habit of reading through my Bible each year. I
try to vary something about the reading to keep growing and to keep it
interesting. In 2009 I tried two different approaches both of which
proved very enriching.
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Waiting is not one of my favorite things to do. I don‘t know of anyone who likes to be in the "waiting room" of life or behind a driver who is below the speed limit. We have microwaves, instant food and fast food so we don‘t have to wait. Most of us don‘t even know where we are going but we don‘t want to have to wait to get there.
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Linda and I had a great anniversary celebration this past month with over 25 other couples from Valley who joined us for "An Evening to Strengthen Our Marriage." It was a great evening of cake (too much), God’s Word (never enough), and good fellowship in relationship building as we seek to support each other in our marriages.
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This month my wife Linda and I will celebrate our 38th wedding
anniversary. I realize that is not a record (My parents just celebrated
their 63rd anniversary) but it is a record for us. We know that it is
by the grace of God and we give credit and glory to him.
This year we will celebrate by offering "An Evening to Strengthen
Marriage" on that Friday evening, October 16. We invite all married
couples to join us. We would like to offer this kind of evening four
times during the next year, once a quarter.
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