Nothing's Too Hard For God

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Special weekend planned

Good morning! What a great weekend we have planned at First Assembly in the next couple of days! First of all, Lee and Dotty Williams will be with us tomorrow night at 7:00 and Sunday morning at 10:30 for "Through the Tears", a special program in our "Nothing's Too Hard for God" series, that may be the best program yet in the series.  Lee lost his wife and two daughters in a fiery bus crash back in '88. None of us can imagine the incredible pain and sorrow and sense of loss that he went through during that time.  I have heard him tell his story, and can assure you that it is even more compelling and heart-wrenching than what you might imagine. The point, however, of the whole weekend, is not to just offer a "tear-jerker" for those who attend, but to offer hope in the middle of grief.  Lee knows what it's like to experience God's grace in the middle of tragedy, and all who come will be exposed to the offering of this grace. Please know that the meeting tomorrow night will be here at the church, and not at the Huck Boyd Center.  Plan to be here, and bring your friends, neighbors, whomever.  This will not be a service to miss!  Especially, if you know someone going through grief and loss, bring them! At 6:00 Sunday evening, Kent Hulbert will be with us a missions service. Kent, who is an old friend of mine, is a missionary with Youth Alive campus ministries. He was the original state Youth Alive coordinator in the nation (for Wisconsin/Northern Michigan), and paved the way for guys like our own Travis Dumond.  He is now in the national Youth Alive office, and you will be blessed by Kent and his ministry.  I encourage you to come out and get acquainted with him! It's a full weekend, but one that you will not soon forget!  We'll see you then!  Pastor Dave Pugh <>< Acts 4:13

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Great Weekend with Jason Bowman

We had a great weekend with Jason Bowman March 14 and 15. On Saturday, Jason met with the men of First Assembly at our monthly HonorBound meeting, at Michael Jennings' home. He spoke regarding the Kingdom of God -- what it looks like, and how to build it. Then, that evening we sponsored a Community Potato Bar at the Huck Boyd Center, where Jason shared his story of deliverance from a life of addiction to drugs. On Sunday morning at church, he gave "Part 2" of his story -- what God has been doing in his life since he came to Christ 12 years ago, specifically the founding of the New Life Community Church in St. Louis.

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Potato Bar/Jason Bowman

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"No Addiction is Too Strong"

There are many types of addictions -- substance, pornography, sex, gambling, overeating, even power, to name a few.  Often addiction begins with experimentation; justifying the habit only reveals the addiction.  Why is addiction wrong? Because of its life-controlling and destructive nature. I.  God's desire for us To not be addicted to or mastered by anything (1 Corinthians 6:12), but to be mastered by Him only (Luke 10:27) II.  How to overcome your addictions Deliverance; Dependence (on Jesus -- John 15); Devotion (hate the habit, love God); Discipline (takes time to replace bad habits with good ones) III.  Your responsibility in the process -- Phillippians 2:12 Acknowledge the problem; Affirm your need of Christ; Affirm your need of others to help you; Account for your actions to someone; Abandon your sins; Amend your ways; Anchor your life in Christ IV.  God's part in the process -- Phillippians 2:13 ("It is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose").  Also, 1 John 1:9 -- "If you will confess your sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive your sins, and purify you from all unrighteousness." Do you believe that God wants your free?  He will do His part; will you do yours?

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No addiction is too strong

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"Absolutely Nothing!"

Jeremiah 32:17 We launched our "Nothing's Too Hard for God" theme last year, and many discovered that 2008 was a pretty rough rear in several respects.  But, I want to reiterate, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that is too hard for God! I.  Consider His performance This verse reminds us of creation -- if God created the universe, He can certainly handle your problems! All of biblical history is a resume of God's ability to do anything.  Modern history tells us that God is still not done doing the impossible.  For example, check out the 8 real life stories on nothingstoohardforgod.org.  Remembering how God has worked in your personal history is confirmation of what He can and will do today and in the future. II.  Consider His promises The Bible is full of promises that He has already fulfilled.  D.L. Moody said, "Take the promises of God. Let a man feed for a month on the promises of God, and he will not talk about how poor he is. You hear people say, 'Oh, my leanness! how lean I am!' It is not their leanness, it is their laziness. If you would only read from Genesis to Revelation and see all the promises made by God to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to the Jews and to the Gentiles, and to all His people everywhere -- if you would spend a month feeding on the precious promises of God -- you wouldn't be going about complaining how poor you are. You would lift up your head and proclaim the riches of His Grace, because you couldn't help doing it!"  III.  Consider His position, according to our text A.  "Sovereign" -- a word reserved for God; He is completly in charge B.  "Lord" -- denoting His authority over everthing C.  "Great power" -- meaning exceeding strength D.  "Outstretched arm" -- there is nothing beyond His reach We need to be reminded of the truth that "Nothing is Too Hard for God".  What is "impossible" in your life?  Let's trust God today!

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Absolutely nothing!

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Christmas program

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"No Form of Loneliness is Too Overwhelming"

Sunday, October 26 Loneliness is more than wanting companionship; it is the feeling of being disconnected, cut-off, aliented from people, bringing with it the feeling of emptiness and isolation. Often, loneliness comes from feeling different or rejected.  Someone can be surrounded by people, and still be lonely.  Surveys suggest that from 20-30% of Americans are lonely.  If we locally are a microcosm of America, that means from 1200-1800 people in Phillips County are lonely; from 300-400 people in Phillipsburg are lonely; and from 20-30 people gathered in this room are lonely. There are three types of loneliness:  situational (lonely because of something that has happened, such as a move, the loss of a loved one, etc.); developmental (often adolescents are still trying to balance their need between the need to be alone and the need for companionship); and internal (brought on by feelings of self-esteem & vulnerability) I.  God understands your loneliness A.  Jesus himself was despised and rejected -- Isaiah 53:3 B.  Jesus was separated from His Father -- Matthew 27:46 C.  Jesus sympathizes with your problems -- Hebrews 2:17 II.  God will be your companion A.  He wants to be your Friend -- John 15:14,15.  YOU are why He came in the first place!  And when He left, He sent His Holy Spirit to come and be with us. B.  He is committed to this relationship -- Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 28:20; 2 Corinthians 4:8,9 C.  There is nowhere you can go that He can't find you -- Psalm 139 D.  When you're at your lowest, put your hope in God -- Psalm 42:5-11 III.  God chooses to use His people, the body of Christ, to help fill this void A.  We've looked this month at the Great Commission, what about the Great Commandment? -- John 15:17; 13:34 B.  Let's look at your place in the body -- every part has a different function, and is very important C.  The importance of fellowship can't be overstated D.  The focus of the church -- working together to accomplish His purposes IV.  Your prayer request:  that God will bring the people into your life that He wants you to be close to

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Brad and Denise Wicks