“Mercy, mere mercy, is that which we must flee to for refuge, and rely upon as our only plea. He does not say, Remember our merit, but, Lord, remember thy own mercy.” –Matthew Henry, commenting on Habakkuk 3:2

You’re invited to contribute to the digital scrapbook that will share our church family’s love and appreciation for the Matthews family. Share your sentiments in an audio recording by calling (352) 641-0058. Drop a line before noon on Tuesday.

May the Mind

Words: Kate Wilkinson, alt. Brittany French. Music: A. Cyril Barham-Gould, alt. Brittany French, Tamara Johnston, Chris Hiatt

May the mind of Christ, my Savior, live in me from day to day

By His love and power controlling, all I do and say

May the Word of God dwell richly, in my heart from hour to hour

So that all may see I triumph, only through His power

Refrain

Nothing in life is more precious to me

Than to finish the course that I have received

I’ll testify to the gospel of grace

I’ll live my life to run God’s race

May I run the race before me, Strong and brave to face the foe,

Looking only unto Jesus as I onward go.
May the love of Jesus fill me, as the waters fill the sea
Him exalting, self abasing, this is victory

Refrain

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;

Read the rest of this great hymn HERE

Our Olympic games are now over!

We had a wonderful week learning and playing together in London! Thank you to all our wonderful teachers and volunteers who made the week great! And a special thanks to the Youth participating in Local Missions Week! Couldn’t have done it without you guys!

Here are some details from the children’s week at VBS. Pleae check our blog for more details and pictures and videos from the week.

VBS 2012 – Carry the Torch
Acts 20:24
“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me —the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”

Monday
Acts 9:1-22
God puts Paul on the road to following Jesus.
Service Project: Bundles for the Homeless: The children made bundles to be handed out to people experiencing homelessness. These included small snacks and toiletries, a washcloth, and socks all wrapped up in a T-shirt…all ready to be delivered. Each family took a bundle to be distributed where they saw a need.
*A VERY special thanks goes to The Adair Group who donated 60 T-shirts to our project. What a great organization!

Tuesday
Acts 16:16-39
Paul invites the jailer and his family to join him on the road to following Jesus.
Service Project: Goody bags for families at Ronald McDonald House: The children packed bags of items to help families and parents pass the time spent at the hospital with their children.

Wednesday
Acts 19:23-20:1
The road to following Jesus is not always easy.
Service Project: Flower Arrangements for Emeritas Nursing Home: The children created 80 flower arrangements to be distributed by our youth group to the residents.

Thursday
Acts 23:12-35
God provides helpers to keep us safe as we follow Jesus.
Service Project: Cookies to Share: This was a more personal project for our children. They decorated small boxes and filled them with cookies. Then they were tasked with giving these cookies to another person. As you can imagine, this required quite a bit of sacrifice for the children.

Friday
Acts 27
By trusting God’s promises as Paul did, we can share God’s goodness with others.
Service Project: Canned Goods and Encouragement Cards: On our final day the children packed up canned goods and other items for Bread of the Mighty Food Bank. And then they made cards of encouragement to be sent to the missionaries our church supports.