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As we become more aware of God ’ s presence , God seems to show up more and more . As we become more aware of God ’ s presence , our prayer life deepens and we engage in constant communication and communion with God .
During the mission trip to Niagara Falls with our youth group , I became acutely aware that God is working in the hearts and minds of our young people . I was encouraged when one of them brought up our theme of Encounter Encourage Engage . Our team was asked each night during worship , “ Where did you see God at work today ?” It was inspiring to hear how our youth were actively seeking encounters with God and actively looking for opportunities to encourage others as they engaged in service to the community of Niagara Falls . We picked up trash and pulled weeds in a historic cemetery , served meals in a lowincome housing development , worked in a soup kitchen , stocked shelves in a food bank , cleaned floors and hung artwork / memorabilia in a community art center , mowed lawns and trimmed shrubs for individual homeowners , moved boxes and scraped / repaired windows at a historic catholic school / church operating a thrift store , and loved on kids at the Salvation Army ’ s summer camp . We also attended a community dinner with Bible study at the Salvation Army . All of this was done in the name of Jesus as an expression of our faith . Seeds of faith were planted in the hearts of our youth and adult volunteers and seeds of hope were planted in the community . Please join us in praying that those seeds will take root , grow , and produce a harvest of righteousness .
Where have you Encountered God during the past few weeks ? Who have you Encouraged in the past few weeks ? How have you Engaged in service to our community as an expression of your faith during the past few weeks ? If you have yet to ask and answer those questions , I hope you will take some time to reflect on Encounter Encourage Engage .
So , what do we do with all of this ? Are there specific groups of people in our community that desperately need encouragement ? How can we connect with them and encourage them ? Are there specific needs in our community that are going unmet or ministries in our community that we can partner with as we seek to engage in service ? Our faith is intended to be an active faith and by engaging in service as an expression of our faith we are witnesses for the Gospel of Jesus Christ .
God is at work among us at Trinity Church and I am excited about the future . The invitation extended by Jesus to his earliest disciples continues to be offered to us , “ Follow me .” Will we extend that invitation to others ? We may not always know where we are going , but we know whom we are following . God is faithful . Therefore , we expect great things and we are certain we will enjoy the ride !
Blessings !
Pastor Chris chris . neikirk @ trinityna . org
gluten-free wafers are available on Communion Sundays . The Gluten-free wafers are marked as such and are in zip locked baggies and they are on a table at the front left of the Sanctuary . They are free of gluten , wheat , dairy , yeast , eggs , soy , nuts , and corn . Communion is served on the first Sunday of the month at the 9am service , and every Sunday at the 11:11am service .
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