|
|
“How
can a young man keep his way pure? By
living according to your word. I seek
you with all my heart; do not let me
stray from your commands. I have
hidden your word in my heart that I
might not sin against you.”
Psalm
119:9-11 |
I
can remember each morning my mom and dad would read my
brother and me a devotion before we went to
school and each evening at dinner before bed
time. Sure
I was spoiled, a different breakfast every
morning, a unique snack from smoothies to
ants on a log when I got home from school,
and a home cooked meal every night.
I was a very lucky boy!
However, what I remember most vividly
about my family growing up was my parent’s
emphasis on making faith a part of our
family.
While today there seems to be an emphasis on having an
individual faith, rarely do we make our
faith about our family.
I want to encourage us to bring about
the idea of family devotions, a phrase that
simply means praying together as a family.
I want to share with you 10 reasons
why we need to keep faith in the family. In a time where families are being ripped apart by so many
forces, Scripture gives us the best way to
battle this world.
“How can a young
man keep his way pure? By living according
to your word. I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands. I
have hidden your word in my heart that I
might not sin against you.”- Psalm
119:9-11
Top Ten reasons to bring back family devotions:
10.
Family devotions show respect for the
author of the bible
9.
Devotions provide daily orders
8.
Devotions prepare us to share our
faith
7.
Devotions provide daily comfort and
encouragement
6.
Daily devotions provide a rooted
faith against family storms
5.
Devotions provide insight into daily
life
4.
Daily devotions bring your family
together (not in front of the TV)
3.
Daily devotions bring about spiritual
growth
2.
Devotions quench spiritual thirst
And….
1.
Devotions provide communication with
God your father
AND THEY WILL STAY WITH YOUR KIDS WAY LATER IN
LIFE!
Grace and Peace- Pastor Josh
Thank you to all of you, so willing to serve each
day for Christ through Harbor Church.
Pastor Josh
pastorjosh@harborcc.net
-----------------------------------------------------------
Harbor
Kids Preschool:
“May
the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the
love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit be with you all.”
2
Corinthians 13:14
|
Harbor Kids are celebrating "God is Love" this month. It feels good to
know how much our Father loves us!
We will show off our newly painted preschool room with an open house on
Tuesday, February 23rd from 4-7 pm. There will be games and prizes.
Take a tour with a preschooler and win a McDonald's Happy Meal certificate
and coupon for a free visit! Refer a friend and receive a free meal for
yourself.
Preschool playmates wanted! We have immediate openings for enrollment in
our great, God-centered preschool. Register for all-day, year round fun
and learning. Please contact us at harborkids@gmail.com to set up a
visit.
|
Check
out our newsletter
for further details on Harbor Kids.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Why
Should I attend a Harbor Small Group?
Small groups at Harbor Church exist to help you grow up to
full maturity in your relationship with God
and others. You may be doing great in your
Christian walk right now, but by being in
relationship with fellow believers, you will
experience even more of the abundant life
Jesus has to offer.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
says, Two are better than one, because
they have a good return for their work: if
one falls down, his friend can help him up.
If you are ready to connect with other
people, belong to something life-changing,
and grow in Christ through relationships
with other believers, then maybe it's time
to get involved in a small group!
For more information please contact Doug
Witherington: smallgroups@harborcc.net
-----------------------------------------------------------
Have
You Found True Joy?
|
Delight
yourself in the Lord and He will
give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm
37:4 |
Blaise Pascal, a 17th Century philosopher,
made this claim:
"All
men seek happiness. This is without
exception. Whatever different means they
employ, they all tend to this end. The cause
of some going to war, and of others avoiding
it, is the same desire in both, attended
with different views. The will never takes
the least step but to this object. This is
the motive of every action of every man,
even of those who hang themselves."
Despite what many in the church may be lead to believe, it is
not a sin for Christians to seek their
happiness. In fact people were created, by God, to find true happiness.
This way of thinking runs in opposition to
what many Christians consider righteous and
upright behavior; but the truth is,
Christians should never feel ashamed for
seeking joy.
In fact, as Palm 37:4 tells us, we
are commanded to “delight ourselves in the
Lord.”
This is not an appeal or even a
request…it is a command.
And to not pursue our joy would be a
sin.
But there is an important caveat we all must keep in
mind:
Sin is not the pursuit of joy and happiness.
Sin is the rejecting God's offer of
perfect, complete and absolute joy.
In other words, when God offers us
joy -- like a wonderful filet mignon dinner
-- and we push it away in exchange for a
plate of rancid beef, we are telling the
creator of all things [including joy]
that his perfect joy is not sufficient to
satisfy us, or worse yet it is not what we
desire.
This is sin.
God is our treasure. God is the source, provider and sustainer of
the joy we were created to enjoy.
This joy can only be found in Him.
There are no substitutes to the joy
we find in God and a pursuit of any other
joy is not only accepting less than we were
created for but it is also a sin.
So here’s the challenge:
If God is our treasure and the joy we
were created to obtain; why is so much of
our life wasted, seeking treasure that will
never satisfy our souls?
Take just a moment to pause on the
weight and reality of that question.
Is God the treasure you are seeking?
If not, shouldn’t He be?
If so, then let us as a church
worship Him with our voices Sunday mornings
and with our lives for eternity!
Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all
[other] things will be added unto you.
Matthew 6:33
For
His Glory,
Jason
For
information on joining our worship Team: jasona@harborcc.net
-----------------------------------------------------------
The Harbor Youth Group is proud to announce the new “Cove Café”. Every Wednesday, Youth 6th – 12th Grades are invited to come hang out at the Café from 6:30 – 8:00.
6:30 – 7:00 Light Refreshments
7:00 – 7:30 Hang Out, Music, Games
7:30 The Word
7:50 Prayer Requests, Prayer
8:00 Closing
All are invited to stay at the Café from 8:00 – 8:30 but we ask that ALL students have been picked up no later than 8:30
If you are interested in sharing your 20 minute testimony, please contact Pastor Josh, or Gene and Diane Leroux. We are also looking for persons willing to help provide and serve light Café style snacks from 6:30 – 7:00 (set up is at 6:15).
Website:
www.harborcc.net/the_current.html
Gene or
Diane Leroux @ current@harborcc.net
-----------------------------------------------------------
|
Habitat/Harbor
Day Thursday 1/28/10
It was Christ who gave gifts to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the Body of Christ may be built up in until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God. Ephesians 4: 11-13
It was awesome to see God's word come into action with 13 workers and 1 person supplying the pizza, one person delivering the pizza, one person supplying the water and pop and one person supplying the desert.
You can lay this out however you want. Also if you can put this on the Harbor website that would be cool.
If you have a need, know someone that has a need, or if you would like to sign up on the volunteer list, or if you would like to donate, call Harbor Church at 952-447-6191 or email David Taylor at:
outreach@harborcc.net.
|
For
questions regarding Harbor Outreach please contact:
Email:
outreach@harborcc.net
-----------------------------------------------------------
Gale
Mord - Tanzania Trip:
(Read
the Original Article: HERE)
| In
2006 my son-in-law Lance and I joined
Naomi and Gary Blumanthal on a mission
trip to Tanzania. African S.M.I.L.E.
was building staff housing for Iambi
Hospital, and they knew Lance’s
skills as a carpenter would be a
valuable asset. I used my background
as an art teacher to teach a water
color class and soon realized that I
would return to teach pottery. My specialty
is three dimensional art, and the
abundant red clay in the region called
out for pottery. |
|
|
After
shipping a pottery wheel ahead, I did
indeed return with the Blumanthals in
2008 for a two month stay. While there
I instructed volunteers at the
CHAREDELECO Center in the art of
pottery making. The Center was set up
to teach lepers and their families
skills so that they might earn income
for themselves. Although pottery is
considered “women’s work,” a
male volunteer named Martin quickly
learned how to use the potter’s
wheel. Encouraged by his innate
talent, I became determined to raise
funds to send him to pottery school.
Subsequently,
Martin left for Arusha to continue
his pottery education at a nonprofit
organization that also teaches about
the manufacture of water purifiers
made from the indigenous clay. My
long term vision involves having the
CHAREDELECO Center become the hub
for producing and distributing water
purifiers in the Singida region.
For
right now, the Lord gave me the idea
of making and selling fish forged from
tin cans (see picture) in order to
support the work at CHAREDELECO
Center. Each fish comes with a note
that reminds the buyers to pray for
the people that will receive the
benefits of the fish funds. I
encourage others to use their creative
gifts to assist these families in
becoming self-sufficient. A wise man
once said, “An artist isn’t a
special kind of person, rather every
person is a special kind of artist.”
Please join me in supporting this
worthy ministry. |
-----------------------------------------------------------
Hospitality:
Thank you so much to everyone who has signed up to serve the hospitality
on Sunday mornings. We appreciate your willingness to help with this
ministry. It is so nice every Sunday to come in and share a cup of coffee
and a few words with our friends.
Thanks,
Karen
If you're
interested in helping with this ministry,
please contact Karen at hospitality@harborcc.net
-----------------------------------------------------------
*
Have something to add to the
newsletter? Email
us your request.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Have
you been blessed by Harbor Church? Send us an email!
Pastor Josh@Harborcc.net
|
