2016-05 Postman

May 2016
A Monthly Newsletter of The Fellowship
Our Purpose:
Building up one another in love for the work of Christ in the world
Jesus answered, “Surely you have read in the Scriptures: When God
made the world, ‘he made them male and female.’ And God said, ‘So a man
will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will
become one body.’ So there are not two, but one. God has joined the two together, so no one
should separate them.”
~Matthew 19:4-6
Marriage is one of God’s wonderful gifts to humankind! As the oldest institution of our race, it
is the foundation of all other social structures. When we miss the mark on marriage, the other
aspects of a stable society start dissolving.
What is marriage? In God’s plan, the definition is clear: One man and one woman joined
together as one by a lifelong covenant and by sexual union.
In this plan, we celebrate the security that comes with a lifelong covenant. We celebrate the
pleasure and delight that comes with sexual union. We celebrate the complementarity that
comes with bringing together male and female. And we celebrate the loyalty in devotion to one
partner only. These are four crucial elements in God’s plan.
All four elements work together for the blessed oneness of marriage. This creates the
environment where humans can grow and flourish, and where mutual love and respect can grow
deeper with each passing year. Leave out one of these, and marriage is crippled from being all
God has intended. Worse yet, concentrate on only one to the exclusion of the other three, and
you have an experience that is no longer nourishing, but actually toxic.
Celebrate? Did I say celebrate? Yes, it’s unfortunate that Christians at times seem so
preoccupied with warning against the destructive distortions of sex and marriage. So much
energy is expended in the warnings that we can forget to celebrate the glory of this splendid
gift. Not that we ever have perfect marriages. Even the strongest marriages still have rough
edges to work on. Yet even a struggling marriage can be grateful to God for this great gift.
Nevertheless, when we want to lift high the marriage banner, a necessary part of that celebration
is to warn against counterfeits. The book of Hebrews puts both into balance:
Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will
judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. ~Hebrews 13:4
With the current media spotlight on LGBT issues, it is easy to forget that the “straight”
distortions of marriage have had an effect that is just as corrosive to healthy marriage, if not
more so. Casual divorce, premarital sex, abuse, spousal withholding of intimacy, adulterous
affairs, pornography, the commercialization of sex, values-free sex (mis-) education,
denigration of women or of men – and so many similar trends that are both widespread and
tolerated with a foolish “open-mindedness.” These must be called out if we are to honor
marriage.
Yet calling out is not enough – not even half the story. We must show the positive alternative.
We must celebrate marriage as God intends. That includes speaking the positive truth about
marriage, but much more: We must live it. When we do, the Bible says we are imaging the love
of Christ and the church.
Hollywood sows confusion by demonstrating distortions of God’s plan that are unrealistic, but
glitzy. Let Christians sow glory by demonstrating healthy marriages that are realistic and gritty.
~Bernie Powell
Our next Operation Kindness will be on Saturday, May 21st. We will be going out to local
parks to hand out bottled water, trail mix bars, dog treats, and bubbles to kids. We will also
have sunscreen (spray) and bug repellant on hand that we can offer folks to use. Each team will
also have a few gospel tracts on hand to give out to anyone who seems to be genuinely
interested in knowing more about God and the gospel. This OK event will go from 9:15 AM to
12:30 PM. We will be in the parks from 10 – 12 and then meet back at The Fellowship by
12:15. Hope you will be able to join us!
We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19
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Rule#4
Fix our Eyes on Jesus
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before
him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Heb 12:2
The word in the original language for “fix our eyes” in this passage means, to
intentionally look away from one thing so as to be able to focus on another.
We physical therapists evaluate people’s movement patterns, to help workers perform
tasks more efficiently, or athletes to compete more effectively. This involves initially looking at
the whole person and their movement patterns. But, after watching a number of repetitions, we
often find one part of the body that seems to be moving incorrectly. We then have to look away
from everything else and fix our eyes on this one body part, looking intently to identify whether
the problem is caused by muscle tightness, muscle weakness, improper training, or something
else. We cannot diagnose correctly without fixing our eyes on the cause in order to formulate a
solution. The need to deliberately look away from distractions, and to intentionally focus on
what is priority, is common to many aspects of our daily lives. It is also true of our spiritual
lives. One excellent example is found in Matthew chapter 14. To understand the significance of
this example, we first must make sure we understand the full context of this event.
Earlier, in Matthew chapter 9, we come to a transition, in Jesus’ ministry to the masses,
and his training of the Twelve. He is entering the later phases of his ministry, and as he sees the
crowds, he tells his disciples: ““The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord
of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Mt9:38-39
He not only instructs his disciples to pray, he also “gave them authority to drive out evil
spirits and to heal every disease and sickness” instructing them to perform miracles and “go out
to proclaim the good news” to the people of Israel. Shortly after the Twelve return from their
first independent ministry trip, they are faced with the
dilemma of a crowd of more than five thousand who
have come to hear Jesus’ teaching. The disciples
encourage Jesus to “send the people away, so they
can buy themselves some food.” (Keep in mind Jesus
has given his disciples his authority to perform
miracles). Jesus tells them the people do not need to
be sent away. He says: “you give them something to
eat.” Unfortunately, the disciples don’t understand
that Jesus is encouraging them to fix their eyes on
him, to rely on his authority, in order to accomplish
the miraculous.
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Jesus then sends the Twelve out to cross the sea in a small boat. That evening, in the
middle of a terrible storm, the Twelve encounter Jesus walking on the water. It appears that at
this point Peter understands Jesus wants his followers to stay fixed on him, and rely on him for
the power to accomplish that which is miraculous. Peter says to Jesus: “Lord if it’s you, tell me
to come to you on the water.” Peter then “got down out of the boat, walked on the water and
came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out,
“Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,”
he said, “Why did you doubt?” Mt 14:29-31
Peter took a true step of faith, in obedience to his Master, trusting him to provide in a
difficult situation. As long as he kept his eyes fixed, intentionally looking away from one thing,
the storm, to keep his attention focused on another, on Jesus, he was able to accomplish what
we believe to be humanly impossible. But, as soon as he took his eyes off Jesus and fixed his
eyes on the storm, he began to sink.
The same is true of us. We all face storms in our lives. As we run the race of living for
Jesus, there is much working against us, and many distractions. If we focus on our difficulties
and how seemingly insurmountable they are, we will be begin to sink.
It is only through a determined and consistent fixing of our eyes on our Savior, that we
will keep a true godly perspective on life, and stay in intimate relationship with Jesus, so that he
can work miraculously through our lives. May we all grow in keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus,
the author and perfecter of our faith.
Steve Cox
Director of Adult Ministries
781-888-1964
[email protected]
A time for infant dedication will take place on Mother’s Day during
the 9:00 service. Those interested in having their child dedicated
should plan to attend a dedication class for parents on Sunday, May 1
at 4 pm in the Music Room if you have not previously attended a class.
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Narnia is a dangerous place. More than 200 have been killed in attacks since last fall. Domestic
violence is the norm. A civil war is under way. In the midst of all of this chaos, God is at work.
The Bible Correspondence Course is busy responding to requests for information about Jesus.
Their workers have been active in baptizing new Narnian Christians. The tidal wave of refugees
has brought in many Christians who are now witnessing to the Narnians. Here are a few stories
about God's work.
In "Teattle", in the northeast corner of Narnia, Logan and April have had some wonderful
moments. A text came in showing Narnian friends holding a Life Application Bible. Their
children love to read it and ask their parents questions. The parents read it out loud. This
English-speaking, Narnian family could become pillars of the local Narnian fellowship.
April had a flat tire in a busy area of the city, but Logan was not there.
Two Narnian men stopped and gave her directions to a tire shop, just
up the street. They walked behind the car to make sure it got there safe
and sound. The tire repairman brought out chairs for April and her
daughter. Then they were served tea. At the end of the process, it only
cost $7.
Mike and Joann's team are following up on excellent leads on Narnians who would like to know
more about the Bible. Mike's English as a Second Language students courageously stood up for
him when a local professor challenged such activities.
A retired Narnian history teacher with poor eyesight was recently baptized in the lake near his
village.
Yes, there are many reasons to be concerned about the violence in Narnia. Several countries
have urged their citizens to avoid Narnia. The US military has pulled American families out of
their military bases in Narnia. The State Department warns Americans to avoid tourist areas in
Narnia. Local police have gone to every known fellowship and warned them about possible
attacks. The Narnian government has provided details about how Narnian fellowships should
protect themselves. Many Narnians are very tense. Their capital city has been assaulted twice.
Tourists have been attacked in Narnia's most famous city.
Such dire circumstances might be just what is needed to draw Narnians to Jesus. Narnians are
looking for Hope. Narnians are looking for Peace. Narnians are looking for Truth. You and I
know who is this Hope, Peace, and Truth. We know His name. May many Narnians call on the
name of Jesus.
~David Doré
*Narnia! Our partner workers in a Middle Eastern country have requested that we use code words in order to protect workers and
national believers from harsh persecution in this Muslim dominated society.
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He Said……She Said”---- the Marriage Forum
Recently I (Doug) was meditating on Romans 15:13 in the Amplified. It says,
“May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing –
through the experience of your faith – that by the power of the Holy Spirit you
may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope.”
I was ministered to with the fact that it is the power of God that allows us to “bubble over and
abound” in hope. Hope is the expectation that what we desire will happen. One of the greatest
passages in the Old Testament on hope is Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans that I have for
you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a
hope.” (NASB).
In the Good News Bible, it I rendered as follows: “ I alone know the plans I have for you, plans
to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for.”
What an encouragement that God is going to give us the future we hope for. Warren Wiersbe,
in his excellent book The Bumps Are What You Climb On, writes an excellent chapter on fear
(a huge motivating factor in our lives). He shares how in order to achieve victory over fear, we
need to do the following:
1. Seek God daily in His Word. This means claiming some of the beautiful promises such as
Psalms 119:50, 116 - “My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my
life.” (NIV) “Sustain me, my God, according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my
hopes be dashed.” (NIV)
2. Pray.
3. Surrender.
Sometimes in marriage it seems like the hope of a better marriage; more emotional, physical
and spiritual fulfillment is impossible. However, another one of my favorite verses is
Luke 1:37, “Nothing is impossible with God.”
As I counsel other couples who “struggle” (i.e. everyone), I keep coming back to the principle
of community. As we meet with other couples and share the hopes and dreams for our
marriage, we receive affirmation and encouragement. In II Corinthians 1:9-11, Paul makes it
crystal clear that it is through the “prayers of others” that provides the deliverance that we so
desperately desire as we deal with “impossible” situations of life (and marriage).
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Whatever struggle you have in life and in your marriage, there is hope through the power of the
Holy Spirit. Claim Matthew 6:34 in the Message, “Give your entire attention to what God is
doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God
will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes”.
Hoping, trusting, praying, a day at a time... staying in community.
Sincerely,
Doug and Patty
[email protected]
[email protected]
It was my great blessing to attend a conference at Park Street Church. The main speaker was
Libby Little. She and her husband raised their family in Afghanistan from just before the Soviet
invasion to the 2010 martyrdom of her husband. They went to Afghanistan to share Christ's love
with the unengaged. Dr. Thomas Little spent much of his time helping Afghans with serious
vision issues. His clinic is still operational. It was truly astounding to hear how an old Afghan
protected this small family from a blood thirsty riot. He placed himself on the threshold of their
home to wave rioters past. In the same way, Libby and her children did the same on "vacations"
to the most dangerous regions of Afghanistan accompanying Dr. Little on eye clinic outreach
trips to remote villages. There are two YouTube videos you might want to check out. “Barack
Obama Presents 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Dr. Thomas Little”. Follow up
that video with “Libby Little talks about receiving the Medal of Freedom”.
Libby Little is someone you will want to meet. Her life has been filled with stories of trusting
God in extremely difficult circumstances. You too can overcome in hard places in your own
life.
~David Doré
The Annual Meeting to come to consensus on the 2016-2017 Ministry Budget will take place
on Sunday, May 15 following the 2nd service. The Finance Team and elders will be available to
answer any questions you may have on the budget at a discussion time on Sunday, May 1
following the 2nd service.
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Easton, MA - GRAMMY® and 21-time award winning Southern Gospel star Jason Crabb is set
to appear at South Easton’s The Fellowship Church (604 Foundry Street) on June 1 for an
energy filled night of worship and song. Well known as one of the most compelling voices in
any genre of music, Jason has moved easily among musical styles including gospel, country,
pop and southern gospel, and is one of Christian music's most respected artists. He and his band
will lead those in attendance in a powerful and energy filled night of worship.
Long-time friend and mentor Bill Gaither sums it up: “Jason Crabb is the real deal. I love his
voice, I love his heart, and I love the unique way he connects people to the hope every human
being needs to hear.” Hope that Jason has found, lost, rediscovered, relied upon and shared…
Hope that diminishes the most illuminating celestial event. Hope that redefines precedence.
Hope that can only be described as phenomenal.
2009 saw his self-titled solo album race to the top of the charts, while Jason’s rise and notoriety
as a soloist earned him nomination after nomination. In 2012, Jason walked away with not only
Male Artist of the Year at the GMA Dove Awards; he took home Artist of the Year as well,
marking 20 Dove Awards throughout his career, not to mention the GRAMMY Award he took
home in 2010. And he did it all not with fanfare, but with humility.
Tickets can be purchased at www.FuseConcerts.org or by contacting Jeff Silva at the
Fellowship. Upgraded tickets ($40) include early entry as well as a special Q&A with Jason.
General Admission tickets ($27) are also available.
Contact Dave DiFalco with your requests:
774-259-6637 or [email protected]
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Please join us for a Potluck Luncheon
on Sunday, May 22nd in the FAC
following the 2nd service.
Nadine Schofield and Nanci Munro
will share about their recent Medical Mission trip to Haiti
with Love in Motion Ministry.
We are looking for finger sandwiches to share for this day.
Sundays thru June 26
12:30-2 PM, Music Room
Grief Share is a support group for people dealing with the loss of a family member or
someone close – a place where you can be around people who understand how you feel and the
pain of loss. Contact Michele O’Brien at 339-987-0574, [email protected], or Mark
DeCoste, 781-858-7793 for more information.
Coffee server(s) needed asap!
A number of openings currently exist for servers and helpers.
Contact the office, 508-238-1226,
[email protected]
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Activities for May
May 3 May 4 May 5-7
May 28-
Jr High Pizza
Sr High Pizza
WAIT Training
Yard Sale for Youth Missions
(more info below)
The Senior High, Camden Team, will be accepting donations for their annual yard sale on May
1. Please drop off your sellable items at Ernie & Merryle Anderson’s house at: 489 Copeland
Street, Brockton, phone: 508-583-1407. Please do not price items, we will do that for you. If
you have any large items (sofas, chairs, etc) to be picked up, please call Chris Anderson at 508922-8287. Proceeds go to support youth missions. We will, once again be going to Camden, NJ
for one week in July to serve with Urban Promise, an inner city ministry to youth and children.
Come join us on May 28, encourage the Camden Team, maybe buy something. We offer coffee
and muffins in the morning and hotdogs/rolls, chips and punch at
lunchtime for a small donation. We are looking forward to
serving. If anyone has any pop-up awnings that can be borrowed
for Friday/Saturday, 5/27-28, please contact Chris or Merryle.
Please no tube TV’s or computer monitors!
Thank you!
Deadline for June 2016 Postman: May 15
Contact the church office,
info [at] thefellowshiponline.org, 508-238-1226
For updates to The Fellowship website:
Contact Jeff Silva, jeff.silva.d [at] gmail.com
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