NLC NEWS June 9 2022

SUNDAY, JUNE 12
8:30 a.m. GROWTH CLASSES: 

• NEW video class on “The Real Heaven” - Room 111 - Ron/Judy Brown, Chris Reimche teaching
• Foundations with Leroy Bumbaca - Room 113

9:30 a.m. CONNECTING POINT (Dining Room) and Connecting Point for Kids (Rm 101)
10 a.m.  WORSHIP; NLC Kids & The Crew (Jr/Sr High)

• Pastor Mark preaching: “I Am” Series: “The Way, the Truth, and the Life”
• Tom Regier reporting on his trip to Uganda

11:30 a.m. - Spring Member Meeting - Dining Hall
5:30 p.m. - LIFELINE Young Adult Growth Group
6:30 p.m. - COMMUNITY CLASSES

• GRIEFSHARE - NLC Community Room
• FAITH & FINANCES - NLC Room 114-115

MONDAY, JUNE 13
Final payments for Hartland Junior Camp due today
TUESDAY, JUNE 14
6:00 a.m. Men's Bible study - Dining Room
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15
6:00 p.m. - Worship Team rehearsal - Gym
6:30 p.m. - Prayer Gathering - Room 113
THURSDAY, JUNE 16
5:30 p.m. CELEBRATE RECOVERY - Dining Room, Gym, classrooms
FRIDAY, JUNE 17
9:00 a.m. Luella Unruh graveside at Reedley Cemetery; 10 a.m. Memorial service at Dopkins
1:00 p.m. Annie Enns graveside memorial service at Reedley Cemetery; 2 pm reception at NLC
SUNDAY, JUNE 19 -- FATHER'S DAY
Remember to return your baby bottle for the Dawning's Pregnancy Resource Center fundraiser.

NLC's Celebrate Recovery Ministry has its GRAND OPENING on Thursday, June 30th.
Come be part of the celebration. Enjoy the meal with new friends. Worship.
Learn about this amazing ministry. It may bless you and someone you know.

NLC Vacation Bible School is coming July 25-29.

Giving starts with gratitude, recognizing that everything we have is from God and for his glory.
When we give we're seeking his kingdom and righteousness first, and trusting him to provide the things we need. In the Old Testament people gave 10% of their wealth up front.
In the New Testament, Jesus challenged some to give everything they had!
What might God want to do through you for his glory?

Received Last Week (6/05) ……... $5,232
Benevolence Offering:………..……....$300
Received this year to date: .….$298,732
Budget to Date: …………...…......$340,775
Budget Goal: …………..…............$443,008
Needed Weekly: ……….….........…$12,023

Please bring your baby bottle filled with coins, cash, or a check by Sunday, June 19th.
We will be sending them to support Dawnings Pregnancy Resource Center in Dinuba.

This summer the Trustees have approved a sabbatical for me as Lead Pastor/Elder. The  policy is meant to support the church's commitment to the life and health of the pastor as well as to strengthen the pastor for ongoing ministry after he returns. I am grateful.

The purpose of my sabbatical is to prepare me for increased Gospel witness and impact as a minister of the Gospel in leading New Life Community to completion of its vision plan in 2024.
I will be seeking spiritual refreshment, evangelistic engagement, biblical insight, and global perspective during the months of July and August. First, Laurie and I will be in Turkey, touring the sites of the seven churches addressed in Revelation 2-3. We'll also spend a day on the Greek island of Patmos, where the apostle John wrote Revelation. Then we'll travel to the mission field in Tanzania, Africa, where my cousin has been planting churches in Muslim villages for decades.  
The rest of the time will be spent with church planters and pastors, reading, studying and journaling, and in prayer and worship. I intend to return to New Life Community in September to guide the church to the completion of its vision plan in 2024, and to increase the spread of the Gospel in Dinuba and the surrounding area. I have also been asked to consider ways leaders can work in a more united way at NLC. The last two years have been challenging for all of us, especially leaders. We all need the Lord's guidance, grace, and strength. And rest.

Every one of us is called to regular Sabbath rest. “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy," God said in Exodus 20 (the 4th of the Ten Commandments.)  "You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy." God made us and knows us. He knows we need to rest. God didn't rest on the 7th day because he was tired, but because he was God and because he completed the work he had set for himself to do.

We have to rest after periods of work because we're not God--we're not almighty. When we stop our work to worship God, we are acknowledging that we aren't God and that he is! We praise him for his wonderful works and we go to him for the strength and wisdom we need to continue doing the work he calls us to do. Doing that work without resting or worshiping is like telling God we don't need him, his guidance, or his power. One of the things I look forward to most is taking the time to reflect on the goodness of God over these last 4 years at NLC, and especially the last 2 years. Our church has been transformed and our community has seen it. This is for God's glory. Resting is a demonstration that we have not done this for ourselves, but with God for his glory. We have submitted ourselves to him in the work, and so we submit ourselves to him in our rest.

I pray that my time apart will provide you as a member of New Life Community a chance to consider your own cycles of work and worship, of activity and rest. I love how a sister at NLC says she has committed herself to saying, "Yes," to every request that comes her way. That's inspiring, and can also be tiring! My hope is that you also say, "Yes," to rest. I know she does. How about you? Rest is not the avoidance of work, but the acknowledgment that all of our work is done in the strength of God and for his glory. God calls us to work, and God calls us to rest. Both are for his glory.

Next week I will provide more information about those preaching and leading during my absence.