View From the Hill: Here on the hill Spring rains have brought beauty. Days are warm. We are heading into a busy, hot summer.
We've mentioned in the past that the town at the bottom of our long hill is growing -- exploding with new homes, new families. Dell has been praying for the area for months and started a Bible study.
Dell pastors Early Church there. It's a small congregation that meets at the community center on Sunday mornings.
You might think that's the reason it's called Early Church, right? But no...it is called Early Church because it is patterned after the Early Church of the Bible. We expect God to do great things in that little congregation.
Jesus' first sermon began with the words, "Today!" He had successfully finished his wilderness temptation and had gone to Nazareth, his home town. While there, he went to the Synagogue to teach. A scroll was handed to him and he began to read a passage that we now know of as Isaiah 61:1-2a.
He read, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives, restore sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Then he said, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
You know the story--at first the people listened eagerly, but when Jesus talked about God moving in the lives of people they thought beneath them, they got mad, so mad that they tried to kill Jesus. They weren't successful, however.
You see, He wanted them to reach out to help the poor, oppressed, and non-believers. They wanted to crush Roman domination and become a mighty kingdom again.
Today, at Early Church, we are offering the same to the people of that little town. We're asking them, "Are you willing to reach out to the down-trodden, the unlovely, the undeserving?" Our heart longs for them to respond with a mighty, "Yes!"
The Faith Women group that Dell teachers just completed a new study on a woman's potential to impact her world. This fall, they will take up a new study called GOD'S DETERMINED WOMEN.
Remember at the Oregon Christian Writer's conference last summer where Dell led a workshop--Pumps in the Pulpit? She plans to attend the conference again this summer. God's lessons are so hands-on.
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Booklets
We only 3 or 4 PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING booklets left. If you would like one, please send an email with name and address to Admin@SmithKlein.Net Booklets are FREE. Can't beat the price and PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING is filled with spirit-lifters that will lead you to praise the Lord.
It's an exciting time to be alive. Did I mention, God is good! (All the Time.)
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Contact Information:
Today's Blessing Ministry and Early Church
Gil and Dell Klein
P O Box 845
Congress AZ 85332
E-mail: Admin@SmithKlein.Net