12-27-09

December 27, 2009

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News & Announcements

A Message from the Pastor

Download the Transformation UMC Newsletter – May 2012
Download the Transformation UMC Newsletter – April 2012
Download the Transformation UMC Newsletter – March 2012
Download the Transformation UMC Newsletter – January 2012
Download the Transformation UMC Newsletter – December 2011
Download the Transformation UMC Newsletter – November 2011

Praise God

Dear Beloved Members and Friends,

I thank God everyday that He has allowed me to be the Pastor of Transformation UMC, a very loving and caring church.  Have you ever taken the time to list all of the things in your life for which you can praise God?  Yes, we praise God for life, health, strength, and the very breath in our bodies.  We praise Him for our eternal life, which Jesus paid such a high price to purchase for us.  We praise God even in our troubles and infirmities, praising Him when people let us down, and when we feel disappointed by circumstances and events.  James 1:2 (KJV) says, “My brethen, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.”  Count your blessings, yes, even count temptations a joy, for your heavenly Father knows how to deliver His godly ones out of distresses of all kinds-if you ask Him.  Ask and don’t give up.  Ask God to purify your thoughts and to give you a clean heart.  Ask with the expectation that He will come through.  So ask God to help you live and breathe hope, ask God to help you trust Him to work inwardly in you to create “the hope of glory”.  Ask God to work outwardly to change your circumstances and to grant you His favor and riches.  So pursue and persist in asking, and God’s deliverance, favor and blessings in due season will strengthen your faith and cause His glory to be magnified in your life.

Drop by for real fun on Saturdays from 10:00 to 2:00 for music, coffee, snacks, fellowship, internet availability, fun, conversation, and to get to know each other better.  The Internet Cafe’ is open!!

 

The  first Sunday of Advent is 27 November 2011.  Volunteers are needed to read the Advent lesson.  Please see Pastor Kohlenberg to volunteer.

If you would like to become a Tutor and Mentor to help children in our community, please see Mr. Franz Solleder, Mrs. Annette Williams or Ms. Christin Armstrong.

 

For the leadership of Transformation, we are seeking many of the same characteristics that were evident in those leading the first century church.  We want to be a spirit-filled church that truly adheres to the Methodist mission of “open minds, open hearts and open doors”.  We want to be a church with an inexhaustible thirst for knowledge.  We want to be a church that has wisdom to apply that great knowledge to everyday life.  We want to be a church that memorizes God’s promises in His Word and counts it a day wasted when we do not discover a new revelation.  We pray that everyone experiences God’s agape love in our fellowship.  The early church was a praying church.  The early Christians knew that they could not live victorious lives by their own strength and human resources.  They always went to God before going out to face the challenges of daily living.  A friend, Ross Cahee,  PhD., often said to me “Before you meet the man (boss, co-workers, etc.) on Monday; make sure you meet the Man on Sunday.”  He was able to face the problems of life armed with the confidence that God was with him.

Transformation is a reverent church.  We seek to feel and sense that “God is an awesome God” in our everyday lives.  We live in awe and we expect great things from God.  We believe that God, through us, can and will make extraordinary things happen.  In the small groups we are praying to develop, we will be seeking to create an intense feeling of responsibility and accountability towards each other; expecting the presence of God to reveal Himself when we come together.  Finally, when you add in the first two fruits of the Spirit, love and joy, we shall create a vibrant and vital church that others cannot but help fall in love with.  Pastor Armstrong, September 15, 2011

 

 

Brother George Cofer is the wonderful leader of this year’s Annual Stewardship Drive.   He or one of the team members will be speaking with you soon.

If you were nominated to serve on an Administrative Team, don’t worry!  Advanced Training is on the way.  Everyone nominated to serve on the Lay Leadership Team, SPPR, Finance, Trustees or Adminsatrative Council will receive training on Sunday the 4th of December from 2:30pm to 5:00pm at Thomson First.  Please mark your calendar.

Bible Study takes place every Wednesday night at 7pm.  Come prepared to experience a relaxed,  warm and inviting setting that offers the opportunity to study the Word on a deeper level.  Please join us and don’t miss out on the movement of the Holy Ghost.

If you are seeking information on Baptism or would like to be Baptized, please see Pastor Armstrong or Worship Team Leader Thomas Kohlenberg as soon as possible.  Baptisms are scheduled for each 4th Sunday as needed.

You are invited to be here on Wednesday mornings for prayer at 6:30am.

Special thanks to our Hospitality Team for the wonderful breakfast served every Sunday morning following the 8:00AM service.

Everyone is invited to share in breakfast following the 8:00 o’clock service every Sunday.

Please remember to keep our sick and shut-in daily in your prayers.  A visit, a call or a card would bless and cheer their hearts. 

 It’s time to get spiritually and physically fit!  You are invited to come and be apart of the Exercise Class led by Ms. Gwen Hunt on Mondays at 6:00 pm.

God is With Us in Our Worst Moments

Have you experienced difficulities that made you want to cry?  The Lord promises to be available to you andwith you as you pass through the deep waters and fiery trials of life.  Even when trials and hardships threaten to engulf you, God will not allow them to drown you if you trust Him to protect you.  The Lord is always available to strengthen and uphold you.  When fiery persecutions threathened Shadrach, Meshcach and Abednego, God prevented the flames from burning them, the Lord’s presence and power protected them in the fiery furnace (Daniel. .3:25-27).  God did not prevent them from being cast into the fiery furnace, and you too may have to go through the trial, but no matter how deep the water, or difficult the hardship, fiery the oppression andpersecution, the Lord promises to be with those who love Him.

God’ Word says, “Lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:20). God has promised to never leave us nor forsake us.  “And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of” ( Genesis. 28:15)

 

Morning Prayer is every Wednesday at the church from 6:30am-7:30am.

Sunday School is a time for the whole family!  Please place Sundays at 9:45am on your weekly schedule.  And please, come a little earlier and join us for a great breakfas

Have you ever wondered about the New Jerusalem in heaven? Revelation tells us it will be as a bride adorned for her husband! Revelation 21:2-7 records,

“And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, all arrayed like a bride beautified and adorned for her husband; Then I heard a mighty voice from the throne and I perceived its distinct words, saying, See! The abode of God is with men, and He will live (encamp, tent) among them; and they shall be His people, and God shall personally be with them and be their God. God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away. And He Who is seated on the throne said, See! I make all things new. Also He said, Record this, for these sayings are faithful (accurate, incorruptible, and trustworthy) and true (genuine). And He [further] said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I [Myself] will give water without price from the fountain (springs) of the water of Life. He who is victorious shall inherit all these things, and I will be God to him and he shall be My son.” Amplified Bible (AB)

The Bible says the New Jerusalem will be a city filled with the glory of God Himself. Revelation 22:5 says,

“There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” New International Version (NIV).

God is light, and the rays of light emanating from Him will be brighter than the sun, brighter than we can imagine!

God’s light is so powerful, no human flesh can survive it. But God will give us new spiritual bodies that will be enable us to dwell in the light. We will occupy homes not made by human hands, and we will see Jesus face to face. We will live in the very presence of God and His brilliant glory forever. And His glorious Light will reflect off one building onto the next, forming a cascade of beautify beyond belief. All buildings will be made of precious and semi-precious stones. Can you imagine jasper buildings made with such high quality they are as clear as crystal?

Imagine the reflection of light beyond any degree of brilliance we know. The foundations of the walls of the city are constructed with several precious and semi-precious stones, including: emeralds, sapphires, rubies and pure gold as clear as glass. They will all reflect dazzling colors as God’s light is captured and released by each gem. The city will be 1,500 miles long and 1,500 miles wide… and the walls will be 1,500 miles high. That is over 2,250,000 square miles.

But most precious of all, only true believers, the saints of God will reside there. There will be perfect peace and fulfillment.

Join us as we seek to become real, genuine and authentic Christians.