“Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” (Philippians 4:8b)
Last week we were reminded of our responsibility to live out our identity as God’s children by committing ourselves to speaking Truth. One way that we fail to do this is by being selective about what we pay attention to.
It’s easy to default to the assumption that the world is a “dumpster fire.” But along with all the evil and suffering there exists an abundance of goodness that gets pushed to the side in favor of those juicy headlines of atrocities and catastrophes. We like to stew in despair or self-righteous anger, ignoring opportunities to rejoice and be grateful about the beautiful things in life. The Apostle Paul tells us that the key to peace and contentment is to keep our focus on God, who is the source of all good things.
Sermon Sneak Peek
This Sunday we are wrapping up the Ten Commandments series with a close look at the very last commandment, “Do not covet.” What does it mean to covet? Why do we covet and why is it bad? And what does coveting have to do with our relationship with God? Hint: read Philippians 4:10-13.
Stay tuned…
Happy News of the Week
The United States hit an important milestone earlier this month: more energy was generated from renewable sources than from coal for 40 days in a row (a record for the U.S.). Contributing factors include “increased renewable energy capacity across the country, low gas prices, warm weather, and lower energy demand due to COVID-19 lockdowns.” Although the global pandemic has been devastating in many ways, perhaps the changes we have made in the way we use our resources during this time will open our eyes to what we can do to live more responsibly even when our daily activities are not quite so restricted.
In spite of the hopelessness that we can feel in the face of many of the issues that we care about, we can trust God’s plan of healing and redemption. As we head into summer, let us continue to be “Christ’s agents of renewal” and take care of God’s Creation with hope and prayer.
Read more at https://kindling.xyz/good-news/renewables-generate-more-than-coal-in-the-u-s-for-a-record-40-straight-days/
Living Water Challenge
During our online services we have been doing a virtual “Fellowship of Believers,” in which a few of us share what is going on in our lives in video form. Now we would like to take it a step further and turn this into a challenge. God has blessed us with a wonderful church family, and we want to encourage and share our gratitude with each other.
What we would like you to do is actively challenge one another to send in photos or a video to share a part of your daily life, a personal testimony, a favorite passage of Scripture, a musical performance, or whatever else you can think of. Once you are nominated, leadership will reach out to you to help you continue the challenge. All church members including children are eligible for nomination!
Overflow Patchwork Dinner
Join us on Saturday, May 30 @ 5 pm for the Overflow Patchwork Dinner: The Fruits of the Spirit!
Our guest speaker Pastor David will be talking with us about the fruits of the Spirit. We will each prepare one item for our dinner, which will be distributed. One body, many dinner items! (via Zoom with real dinner)
Events
- Sunday, May 17 10:00am: Sunday Worship
- Wednesday, May 20 2:00pm: Women’s Bible Study
- Wednesday 6:30pm: Overflow Gathering (Contact Anne Geiges for details at geigesaj@gmail.com)
- Thursday, May 21 7:00pm: Prayer Meeting
- Friday, May 22 4:00pm: LWYG Bible Study Password: lwyg
All meetings will be held on Zoom. Click on the links to join!
College Ministry
With finals looming ahead (for Calvin students at least), the College Ministry is doing its best to help out students with things like food and cleaning supplies. Don’t hesitate to reach out to a small group leader or to Han Lee (hanjlee@gmail.com) if you need something!
Service Opportunities
Living Water is seeking people to serve in leadership. The following are in need of volunteers:
- Welcoming Ministry
- Outreach Ministry
- Diaconal (Mercy) 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
If you would like to meet with Pastor David, you can contact him at pastordavid@livingwatercrc.ppchurch.wpenginepowered.com to set up a virtual meeting. Pastor David would love to get to know everyone who comes to Living Water!
Some Things to Pray About This Week
- For healing and solidarity in this global pandemic
- Against the ugliness of racial prejudice and discrimination in the US
- Strength for students facing finals and the end of the semester
- For students who may not be able to go home for the summer
- For LWCRC to minister to the needs of the community
Many Christians around the world are fasting and praying for the Lord to heal their land. We encourage each of you to come to Living Water’s weekly Zoom prayer meeting on Thursday nights at 7pm to join our brothers and sisters!
See you all Sunday.
Grace, mercy, and peace,
LWCRC