04/19/2020 Newsletter

mosaicnazarene
Apr 19, 2020
4 min read

A Word From Pastor John~

It's safe to say many of us are now feeling the full effects of a quarantined life. It's not what we are used to, and it's not how life is supposed to be. But we are now faced with the reality of trying to figure out life and faith within this new paradigm.

What does it look like to connect with God and cultivate our faith outside of the four walls of the church building? How do we function as a church family over the phone and online? These are questions we are trying to answer as we were thrust so quickly into this new lifestyle.

We know for sure that this season is not an easy season. Our faith is being put to the test and we desperately miss our friends and church family. But we are reminded that God often does his best work through seasons of difficulty and uncertainty.

As we journey through the book of Nahum, we find a glimpse of God's people who have been taken over by the Assyrian empire. And while life looks grim and depressing, God is still good and God is still in control. In fact, God worked through these unpleasant circumstances in a very significant way.

May the unchanging God continue to grant you grace and peace.

Pray For One Another

To request prayer, email mosaicnazarene@gmail.com or call/text (520) 709-0815

Our pastors and their families

The world as we all continue to navigate this Covid-19 pandemic.

Shelley Butler

Marlene Ballard

Dave Lukas

Valerie Thibodeaux's daughter's dear friend whose Father died of Covid 19

Brenda Clark's brother, Ron

Yolanda Porter

April Shilliam

Leonard and Barb Keeler

Hope Baca

Val Jordheim's daughter, Erika

The many unspoken requests

Bible Reading Plan: Week 17

This year, we are reading through the Bible chronologically using The Bible Recap Plan in YouVersion.

Take a bookmark from the front lobby if you'd like to keep track that way and go through at your own pace. Bookmark FOUR is available at your request. Call (520) 709-0815

Use bible.com OR the YouVersion ap p

Day 113: 1 Chronicles 1-2

Day 114: Psalm 43-45, 49, 84-85, 87

Day 115: 1 Chronicles 3-5

Day 116: Psalm 73, 77-78

Day 117: 1 Chronicles 6

Day 118: Psalm 81, 88, 92-93

Day 119: 1 Chronicles 7-10

Before you read God’s Word today, seek His help with these 5 prayers:

1. God, give me wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. 2. God, let any knowledge I gain serve to help me love You and others more, and not puff me up. 3. God, help me see something new about You I've never seen before. 4. God, correct any lies I believe about You or anything I misunderstand. 5. God, direct my steps according to Your Word.

Humor... kinda

Opportunities to Give and Serve

If you're able:

Volunteer at our "Bread Bank Plus" Resource center.

Call or email the church office.

Donations are welcome!

Help get Bibles to the Navajo speaking

people in prison here in Arizona: Serve God by serving your church:

Holiness Today

Submission

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” —Ephesians 5:21

The word “submission” may sound unacceptable in our day. The hour in which we live is replete with people fighting for authority and power. The pursuit of position over relationship is fertile breeding ground for offense, outrage, critique, and protest often espoused through social media or in front of a camera. Neither are such negative responses absent from the space around the water cooler in the office, the break room, or the classroom.

Perhaps one reason authority gets rejected is that we seek it in ourselves. In many settings, everyone wants authority over someone or something else, but not everyone wants responsibility. Too many Christians who claim Jesus to be the Lord of their lives do not really practice submission. Lately, I have discovered that the greatest leaders are those who first learn to submit to other authorities in their lives.

If we refuse to submit to the people God has placed in authority over us, then how can we say that we submit to God?

Many scriptures clearly give us instructions to submit to authority (Romans 13:1-7, Titus 3:1, Hebrews 13:7, 1 Peter 2: 13-14). Submission is not about weakness; rather, it is about coming underneath to support. Submission should never be forced; it is given to the one in authority. When God calls us to submit to Him, we do so of our own volition.

As Christians, we claim Jesus is Lord, acknowledging God’s authority over us. As His followers, we accept that God knows best how we are to live our lives. We submit to His lordship by living our lives with Jesus as the cornerstone and His call to holiness as the preeminent characteristic of all that we do. None of these things can truly take place outside of our submission to the Holy Spirit.

Indeed, even ongoing spiritual victory requires continual submission. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Jesus modeled this submission to the Father throughout His life, even to the cross. Paul recounts that Jesus, “though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped” (Philippians 2:6). Submission to government leaders, teachers, parents, church leaders, and supervisors is not about weakness, but rather about the power to bring glory to God wherever each person is placed. There is power in submission!

When I rightly yield to those around me, I might just be in the best position to glorify God. Not only that, full submission is a prerequisite for entire sanctification.

Jared Henry is lead pastor at Mackey Church of the Nazarene in Mackey, Indiana, USA.

Written for Coffee Break.

Congregation Corner

I love that God promises to make us whole one day! In His perfect kingdom, all the sorrows, trials, and pains of this world will be completely overshadowed by His GOODNESS!