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I am Andy's mom. Thank yu for all you are doing for him. I am heartbroken that I have not been able to reach inside to the man I know he is. He needs to let go and let God. We all know that. He is a wonderful loving and caring man. He just really needs to belive in himself. Thank you.

Pam 4/27/10 2:19 PM

 

Click here and listen to the world and wonderful brother DR.Charles Stanley on "God Acts On our Behalf "and you can even ask yourself "What is God's role in our waiting?","What does it mean to wait on God?";The Psalms speak of waiting on God?";What are our choices?" and most of all," The Requirements?" well,this is my Introduction,In order to grow as believers,you and I must learn to wait on the Lord,When we surrender to His timing,He does mighty things in and for us,according to His will and His timing.In other words,we must allow His timing--not our own agenda--to guide our lives.That way,we can experience His very best. Read Scripture;(Isaiah 64;1-4 and than part 2 of scripture;(Phil. 4:6-7) and there are the another= (PS.25:3);(PS.37;7)and ((PS.37;34) and come to 1269 Elm Street Cafe on Wednesday evening from 6:30pm and ask all the questions to Jerry, Joe and Craig and they truly are wonderfully people and I'm just a Sheppard, begin to come with what the lord has asked me to do and that's to preach his holly word and hope to see all of you on Thursdays Mornings from 11:00am to 1:00pm for food for friends and may the lords grace come a pond you.
Stephen C 4/25/10 2:20 PM

 

I would like to give my "props" to the God Squad. I have been a fortunate recipient of many of the God Squad activities in the past. I have had meatball subs, Thanksgiving turkey, random act of pizza and Shaw's gift certificates. I can tell you that my neighbors all came to me after the meatballs to ask who to thank for the wonderful meal, gifts and kindness. I told them that the group was a compilation of many churches and people who believe in spreading the word without getting ANY of the credit. When the turkeys were given out, one of the older gentleman that I work with asked me who he should send a thank you note to; I told him to address it to "heaven". When the random acts of pizza were given, I used a Shaw's certificate for my groceries and bought 5 more for people that I wish were still going/or not recently in attendance at church. I had SO much fun delivering God's gift to them and they were all SO appreciative. It let them know that someone was paying attention to them and hoping to see they again. I have started doing my own acts of random kindness (A.R.K.) and have to admit that I receive more pleasure than the recipient. You have started a movement and I, for one, applaud you and your efforts.

Sue Thomson 2/22/10 4:37 PM

 

The Subject Of Loneline:
I want you to turn with me to the Psalms again, to Psalm 69 this time, and we also want to read from Psalm 73 - just one verse from both those Psalms. I want to speak to you this morning on the subject of loneliness. Psalm 69, and then Psalm 73, under the heading of loneliness.

Verse 20, one verse, the Psalmist says: "Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none". Then Psalm 73 and verse 25: "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee".

There was once an advertisement in a Kansas newspaper that read like this: 'I will listen to you talk for 30 minutes without comment for five dollars'. It sounds like a hoax, doesn't it? But it wasn't long before that individual who had placed the advertisement in the newspaper was bombarded by about 10 to 20 calls a day. The pain of loneliness for some is so sharp that they were willing to try anything for half an hour of companionship. The scourge of loneliness is something that hits all of us at some time in our life. It can last from any time span of a moment to a lifetime, and loneliness - to define it, if it is possible to do such - is the painful awareness that we lack meaningful contact with others. It involves within it a feeling of inner emptiness which can be accompanied by sadness, discouragement, a sense of isolation, restlessness and anxiety - and even an intense desire within to be wanted and needed by someone.

The fact of the matter is, if you have experienced loneliness in our congregation today, you will know that lonely people often feel left out. They feel unwanted or rejected, even when they are surrounded by others - whether it be friends, family, or a congregation of a church. With loneliness, not only can there come this feeling of being left out, but a sense of worthlessness - in other words, people reason within themselves: 'Well, since nobody wants to be with me, I guess I'm not worth being with'. It is important that we realise that loneliness is one of the greatest problems that 21st century society faces.

Now let me make a distinction here, because there is a difference between loneliness and solitude. Solitude is a voluntary withdrawal from people; loneliness is forced upon you, against your will you are made alone. Solitude can be a refreshing experience, it can be rejuvenating and even enjoyable - but loneliness is something that is painful, draining, and unpleasant. Solitude can be started and stopped at your own will, when you decide; but loneliness sweeps over us and hangs on in spite of the best efforts to cast it off. Vance Havner, that great South American preacher, put it like this: 'One of the worst things about loneliness is that you can't run away from it' - you can't run away from it.

When we look in the Bible we find, as John Milton the great poet said, that loneliness is the first thing which God's eye named not good - do you remember that? Right back at the very beginning in creation, before even the fall of humankind, in Genesis 2:18 God said: 'It is not good that the man should be alone, I will make an helpmeet for him'. Our Creator, right at the beginning, knew that human beings need other human beings to live. Although, as we scan through the covers of our Bible from Genesis to Revelation loneliness per se is rarely discussed in the Bible, it is witnessed frequently in the lives of many giants of the faith, many of the great characters of our Bible stories. You see it in the life of Jacob, the life of Moses, that great patriarch Job, Nehemiah, the prophet Elijah, the prophet Jeremiah, David the Psalmist that we\'ve read from already today on another occasion in Psalm 25:16 says: 'I am desolate and afflicted; I have been left and deserted' - an!
d of course, need we say that the Lord Jesus Christ in the four Gospels, as we see Him there, is the man of sorrows acquainted with grief, and we hid as it were are faces from Him, we esteemed Him stricken of God and afflicted. He was rejected of His own people, and we see Him near the end of His life's ministry in the garden of Gethsemane, even His disciples around Him had fallen asleep, and later they desert Him, and then He is nailed to the cross at Calvary and there is that great cry of dereliction and forsakenness of God: 'My God, my God, why...'.We read also of John the Baptist who was executed after his imprisonment. The last book of the Bible is written by John the apostle, who was exiled to an island in Patmos, we don't know what human interaction he enjoyed at all - but we know that he probably died there. Then we have Paul the apostle spending his last days in prison, and writing the words that we find in 2 Timothy, if you turn with me to it, 2 Timothy chapte!
r 4 - and writing to his son in the faith, the great Paul at t!
he end of his life and ministry, in prison facing execution, says these words - verse 9: 'Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry. And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus'.

He's telling us that everyone, apart from Luke here, had forsaken him. None stood with him. Now we see, even at a casual glance of all those characters that we have mentioned, that this problem of loneliness is no respecter of persons. It hits us all at sometime or another, but especially in the life of great men and women of God we find that their souls are gripped often with the scourge of loneliness. A. W. Tozer said: 'Most of the worlds great souls have been lonely\'. It\'s not only great people in the eyes of God, but great people in the eyes of this world are not immune to it. Albert Einstein, who was not a Christian, said: \'It is strange to be known so universally, and yet to be so lonely'. A giant of science, a giant of the modern age, yet affected by this scourge. Whether you're a giant in the world\'s sight, or a giant in God\'s sight - like William Carey, the father of modern missions in India, who said these words in his diary: 'O that I had an earthly frie!
nd on whom I could unbosom my soul'. No matter who you are, saint or sinner, giant or dwarf spiritually, you will be affected by loneliness.
Now we could spend time this morning discussing the causes of loneliness, which are many and varied. We could discuss the effects of loneliness on our lives and modern society, which are diverse. The reason why you are lonely today could be because of bereavement. So many in our fellowship have been affected in recent days with this. After the death of her husband Queen Victoria said these words: 'There was no one left to call me Victoria'. That intimate one was gone, the Queen of England and the Empire could say there was no one left intimate enough with me to call me Victoria.

So often we pinpoint those who are bereaved, those who are widows and widowers, as those who are lonely - and we forget that there are folk who are single, never been married, who are equally as lonely. While some may have enjoyed many years of companionship with a husband or a wife, these people have never enjoyed those pleasures at all. We ignore those who are divorced, those who have been deserted, those who are separated. We ignore children, perhaps, who have been orphaned. We ignore people in our fellowship, our friends who are in the latter end of their lives, we could say they have entered into old age - and they feel lonely.

Loneliness is not the same as being alone. You could be surrounded with all the friends, all the family, all the acquaintances in the world and still be the loneliest soul in existence!I read this week about a man at the age of 71, who had retired in the state of Detroit in the States, and he spends most of his everyday playing solitaire - which is a card came that you play with yourself. In ten years playing this came he has recorded completion of 132,400 games, he has recorded the results of each one, and he can show any visitor six ledger books full with all the figures. You may be unemployed - yes, unemployed - you're at home, and you're lonely. Your wife, or your husband, or your children, or your parents perhaps are at work, but you're not at work. You might even be a missionary - a missionary away from home, like Carey that we've mentioned, but I could mention a dozen more who in their life's experience, many many great men and women of God, have told of how they!
have lost the vision, that they've lost the dream because of homesickness and loneliness.
But let us not make the mistake of not just focusing in on people who have lost partners, let us remember all those other people, but also realise that loneliness is not the same as being alone. Please grasp this: loneliness is not the same as being alone. You could be surrounded with all the friends, all the family, all the acquaintances in the world and still be the loneliest soul in existence! Isadora Duncan, whom some of you may know, was a great ballet dancer. She danced before the royalty of Europe, and was considered one of the greatest ballet dancers of all time. She said these words: 'I have never been alone, but that my heart did not ache, my eyes fill with tears, and my hands tremble for a peace and a joy that I never found' - and she went on to say that in the midst of millions of admirers she was actually a very lonely woman. Surrounded by millions who adored her, yet a lonely soul!Now time would not permit us today to look at the factors and the effects of loneliness, and although it's so important, I believe, to understand the reason for your loneliness, and know that you're lonely, and know that's the problem that you\'re suffering if you don't already know it - the fact is, if you're here this morning and you are lonely, you probably know you're lonely, and you don't need to be told why you're lonely or the effects of how you're lonely because you know all too well. What you need is for your lonely heart to be ministered to by the Spirit of God, regardless of the causes and effects. well.my life has been so very,very lonely as a humaning,I felt like my life had been truely ended,with no family at all and so began what I call my walk with the only true person, I can say was my everything and that was my lord....well,some day if you ever get to come by at 1269 elm st cafe and you really true are lonely and hunger, come by and ask for me (STEPHEN C) and I'll sit down with you and will have some coffee ,tea, crumet and I'll tell you the story of your life and mine and so this is the true and the nothing but the truth,and my walk at times just need a friend to lean on and talk ,because you know and I know,I really can't do this without all of you,honestly...sincerly yours truely stephen c.(merry christmas and happy new year and remeber me when you sit down at you table and his and before you pass out that first piece of food,think of me,and my holy word of testomony and truth. Stephen C

Stephen C 12/18/09 4:06 AM

 

The Birth of Jesus:
While Mary was still engaged to Joseph, she miraculously became pregnant through the Holy Spirit, as foretold to her by the angel. When Mary told Joseph she was pregnant, he had every right to feel disgraced. He knew the child was not his own, and Mary's apparent unfaithfulness carried a grave social stigma. Joseph not only had the right to divorce Mary, under Jewish law she could be put to death by stoning.
Although Joseph's initial reaction was to break the engagement, the appropriate thing for a righteous man to do, he treated Mary with extreme kindness. He did not want to cause her further shame, so he decided to act quietly. But God sent an angel to Joseph in a dream to verify Mary's story and reassure him that his marriage to her was God\'s will. The angel explained that the child within Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit, that his name would be Jesus and that he was the Messiah, God with us.

When Joseph woke from his dream, he willingly obeyed God and took Mary home to be his wife, in spite of the public humiliation he would face. Perhaps this noble quality is one of the reasons God chose him to be the Messiah's earthly father.

Joseph too must have wondered in awe as he remembered the words found in Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." (NIV)

At that time, Caesar Augustus decreed that a census be taken, and every person in the entire Roman world had to go to his own town to register. Joseph, being of the line of David, was required to go to Bethlehem to register with Mary. While in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to Jesus. Probably due to the census, the inn was too crowded, and Mary gave birth in a crude stable. She wrapped the baby in cloths and placed him in a manger.

The Shepherd's Worship the Savior:
Out in the fields, an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds who were tending their flocks of sheep by night. The angel announced that the Savior had been born in the town of David. Suddenly a great host of heavenly beings appeared with the angels and began singing praises to God. As the angelic beings departed, the shepherds decided to travel to Bethlehem and see the Christ-child.
There they found Mary, Joseph and the baby, in the stable. After their visit, they began to spread the word about this amazing child and everything the angel had said about him. They went on their way still praising and glorifying God. But Mary kept quiet, treasuring their words and pondering them in her heart. It must have been beyond her ability to grasp, that sleeping in her arms—the tender child she had just borne—was the Savior of the world.

The Magi Bring Gifts:
After Jesus' birth, Herod was king of Judea. At this time wise men (Magi) from the east saw a star, they came in search, knowing the star signified the birth of the king of the Jews. The wise men came to the Jewish rulers in Jerusalem and asked where the Christ was to be born. The rulers explained, "In Bethlehem in Judea," referring to Micah 5:2. Herod secretly met with the Magi and asked them to report back after they had found the child. Herod told the Magi that he too wanted to go and worship the babe. But secretly Herod was plotting to kill the child.
So the wise men continued to follow the star in search of the new born king and found Jesus with his mother in Bethlehem. (Most likely Jesus was already two years of age by this time.) They bowed and worshipped him, offering treasures of gold, incense and myrrh. When they left, they did not return to Herod. They had been warned in a dream of his plot to destroy the child.
lots of love and bless all of you my brothers and sisters, Stephen C.

Stephen C 12/07/09 1:38 AM

 

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Lots of love to all and hope you really enjoy this love Jenny B.

When Elizabeth was six months pregnant with John, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to Nazareth, a city in Galilee.

Gabriel visited a virgin who was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph. The virgin’s name was Mary.

Gabriel came to Mary and said:

You are highly favored, the Lord is with you.

But Mary was greatly troubled by this greeting, and wondered what it meant. The angel told her not to fear and repeated that she had found favor with God.

Then Gabriel told Mary that she would conceive a son and that she was to call his name Jesus.

Gabriel continued:

He shall be great, and shall be called the son of the most high.

And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Mary asked the angel:

How shall this be, seeing I have never had a physical relationship with a man?

The angel answered and said to her:

The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most high will overshadow you, and the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the son of God.

And take notice: Elizabeth your cousin, has also conceived a son in her old age and is now six months pregnant.

No word from God shall be proclaimed without power.

Then Mary said:

Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; let it happen to me according to your word.

The angel left.
Well, 1269 ELM Street Cafe, has been alot of enjoyable time and lord has blessed me, so hope to here from all and see you at the thanksgiving dinner, And enjoy my writting thank you.

 

A week later, Mary went hurriedly to the hill country, into a city in Judea. She went into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby inside her leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

She lifted up her voice with a loud cry and said:

Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why am I so honored that the mother of my Lord should visit me?
Mary then began to magnify the Lord and to rejoice in God her savior.

Mary stayed with her cousin Elizabeth for three months. love allways Jenny B.

Jenny B 11/22/09 8:57 PM

 

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Excavation site of Herod's desert fortress near Bethlehem