Good evening, dear friends, and welcome back to the Living Water weekly newsletter.
There are some new updates concerning the transition to on-location worship this week. We tentatively anticipate that southern Michigan will enter Phase 5 of the pandemic around mid-July. This means that we may be able to worship together in person as early as July 19.
We will be needing a lot of help from everyone for this to happen. If you are willing to serve in the following areas, please let leadership know:
- Setup Team
- Sanitizing / Clean-up Team
The committee preparing for in-person worship will be meeting weekly on Thursday nights at 8:00 pm via Zoom (Meeting ID: 974 5358 9924), after prayer meetings.
Sermon Sneak Peek
What are the “Gifts of the Holy Spirit” for, and how are we supposed to use them?
This week’s sermon comes from 1 Corinthians 12:1-14, the famous passage listing some of the great gifts the Spirit gives to believers. Before we come together to worship on Sunday, think about the gifts that you have been given in your life. Are there some principles that you follow (or feel you should follow) when you are utilizing those gifts?
Excerpt from this week’s passage:
To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
1 Corinthians 12:8-11
Fun Fact
Speaking in tongues, or glossolalia, produces a wildly different brain state than do other forms of worship. When someone is speaking in tongues, there is a significant decrease in the functions of their frontal lobe, the part of our brains that is in charge of our conscious thoughts and behaviors like memory, language, and emotional expression. At the same time, the parietal lobe, the part of our brains that processes sensory information and pieces them together to create our overall experience, shows increased activity.
Unlike meditative practices, which heighten focus and control, speaking in tongues is an act of relinquishing control and opening ourselves up to an intense experience of the presence of God.
Sources:
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2006/11/tongues-mind
Diaconal Ministry
If anyone in the church is falling behind on their bills because of the current economic disruption, we are ready to help. Students and recent alumni, that includes you! If your income has diminished and you are having trouble with rent, for instance, please let us know.
To request help, please take a photo of your overdue bill, so that the image shows the amount overdue, how many days late the bill is, the contact information for whoever should be paid, and the account number. Then email that image, along with your request, to diaconalministry@livingwatercrc.ppchurch.wpenginepowered.com.
The Diaconal Ministry Team will then evaluate the requests we receive, and as appropriate may contact service providers or pay some overdue bills directly on behalf of Living Water people. That is one way that we hope to support one another with justice and mercy.
– Jason Stansbury, on behalf of the Living Water CRC Diaconal Ministry Team
Events
- Thursday, June 25 7:00pm: Prayer Meeting
- Thursday 8:00pm: In-Person Worship Committee Meeting (Meeting ID: 974 5358 9924)
- Friday, June 26 4:00pm: LWYG Bible Study pw: lwyg
- Sunday, June 28 10:00am: Sunday Worship
- Wednesday, July 1 2:00pm: Women’s Bible Study
- Wednesday 6:30pm: Overflow Gathering (Contact Anne Geiges for details)
All meetings will be held on Zoom. Click on the links to join!
Summer College Ministry
Pastor David will be holding a College Ministry get together on his driveway tomorrow (Friday, June 26) at 5:30pm. If you can’t make it physically, feel free to join through Zoom (Meeting ID: 965 8335 5933) starting at 6:30pm. RSVP and get more details by contacting Pastor David!
Overflow Event
On July 11 at 10am Professor Stephen Staggs will be giving us a lecture via Zoom titled “Members Only: White Supremacy and the Founding of Erasmus Hall Academy.” This talk explores the ways in which ideologies of race shaped ideas of membership in Dutch Reformed institutions during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. More details will be forthcoming in the weeks leading up to the lecture.
Service Opportunities
Living Water continues to seek people to serve in leadership. The following are in need of volunteers:
- Welcoming Ministry
- Outreach Ministry
- College Small Group Leaders for the Fall
Please contact a leader if you feel called to step up!
Online Office Hours with Pastor David
Whether you are a student, regular attendee, visitor, or interested in joining the Living Water family, Pastor David would love to get to know you! If you would like to meet up with him, you can contact him at pastordavid@livingwatercrc.ppchurch.wpenginepowered.com to set up a virtual meeting.
Some Things to Pray About This Week
- For justice and healing for those hurt by discriminatory practices of law enforcement in the US
- For the softening of hearts and opening of ears of authority figures
- For wisdom in resuming in-person worship
- For new graduates navigating this difficult time
- For those struggling with finances
- For the summer activities of the College Ministry
- For the flourishing of the new Diaconal Ministry
- For the world to seek God’s face and ask for forgiveness and healing
We encourage each of you to come to Living Water’s weekly Zoom prayer meeting on Thursday nights at 7pm!
See you all Sunday.
Bless you (and bless you again if you sneezed),
LWCRC