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 Leadership
by Nehemiah
The Book of Nehemiah
is a great story of a man who was moved by God to do a
nearly impossible task. But as is always the case when
God leads us to do something, He gives us everything we need
to do what He has asked.
That doesn't mean it
is easy! Nehemiah never received a traditional "call"
like Abraham did. Nehemiah merely saw the need, had
compassion for the people of Jerusalem, was grieved in His
spirit over the sad state of affairs in the city of God, and
with God's help, undertook the rebuilding of the destroyed
walls of Jerusalem.
It wasn't easy for
Nehemiah. He lived hundreds of miles away, so when he
showed up in Jerusalem, he was considered an outsider. He
had no formal training in construction. He was much
more of a servant than a leader. There were serious
doubts even among his own people that the job could be done,
and there was incredible opposition from others when he made
progress.
But his faith in God
and his willingness to work hard himself led him to complete
the task God had given him. And along the way, he
became a serious example of quality leadership.
There's much we can
learn from Him, and we continue our ABC's of the Bible with
this important lesson from Nehemiah this Sunday. The
things God calls us to do aren't easy, but they are doable
when we learn lessons from the Bible—and Nehemiah provides
a great example for us!
So I invite you to
join us Sunday at 8:30 or 11:00!
Pastor Jack
PS. I was wrong! I jokingly introduced Nehemiah
("knee-high Miah") as the shortest man in the Bible.
He's not. Do you know who is? Find out on
Sunday!
 It
has been brought to our attention that someone is using a
false email address and Pastor Jack's name to send emails
requesting help. (Some of the emails requested a $500
gift card.) THEY ARE NOT FROM PASTOR JACK!
Please note that all email coming
from Pastor Jack goes out on our abcaz.net account. If
you get something from a gmail account (or anything else),
please do not respond and definitely do not send any
personal information, cash, checks, or gift cards.
These emails did not come from us or from
Pastor Jack.
All email coming from Pastor Jack will be
sent from jack@abcaz.net.
Benevolence Fund Dinner &
Auction
This Sunday, February 23, at 5:00 pm
We invite you to a dinner (main
course of smoked pork or Chili Verde) at 5:00 pm this Sunday
in the gym. We request a donation of $5 or more for
dinner. After dinner, we will auction off a variety of
desserts and other items. All of the proceeds go to
our Benevolence Fund.
We know that benevolence is an old-fashioned word.
It simply means kindness. It is a fund that we use to help members of our
church family with emergency needs. It could be rent.
Or utilities. Or a medical bill. We want our
church family to know that when they have a need that we
will respond with kindness.
And, honestly, we do it as well as
any church we know. We average about $1500 per month
in help to those in our extended church family, so we count
on this night raising a significant amount of money.
So come out. Enjoy a meal.
Make a donation. Bring a dessert or something else to
auction off. And buy something to take home or share!
It's a great way to show your kindness!
2-3
Is All It Takes
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that the most effective times in my
life is when I was part of a small prayer group. Some
were at church. Others were in homes, a park, or on a
bench. Some were an hour long; some only prayed for
15-30 minutes. Some were part of a Bible Study; others were
just paryer meetings.
I encourage you to think about starting one! All it
takes is a leader and two or more people with a common
spiritual interest who commit to pray for a need, a church,
or a nation.
It could be any of the following:
2-3 moms praying for the salvation of their children.
2-3 Sunday School teachers praying for their classes.
2-3 grandparents praying for their grandchildren.
2-3 choir members praying for their worship leader and
choir.
2-3 deacons praying for their pastor and church.
If you want, we can publicize it for you and put it on the
church calendar so that others might join you, but even that
isn't necessary. Meet. Share requests. And pray.
Nothing will bless God more than believers turning to Him in
prayer together!
P.S. Want to join an existing prayer meeting?
One meets every Tuesday at 6:00 am at the Chick-Fil-A on
McDowell. One meets on Wednesday night at 6:30 in
Building D. And one meets on the 3rd Thursday of each
month in Room 1.
 Children’s Choir
We are excited about another season
of children’s choir. It meets on Sundays during the
11:00 am service for 1st - 6th graders! The choir will
work on songs to sing during worship and also get some
advance look and practice of Vacation Bible School songs.
Families can still participate in
worship together by coming at 8:30 am!
For more
information you can contact
amy@abcaz.net.
 Kids
Camp
Mark your
calendars for KIDS CAMP! We are headed to UCYC (United
Christian Youth Camp) March 12-15, for Bible study and
worship along with some fun, relaxation, recreation,
hiking, fresh air, good food, and friendship building!
Camp is for kids in grades 1-6 grade. The cost for camp
is $170. Scholarships are available so let me know
right away if you need one. We would love to see every
kid go, that wants to go! We have just about 3 weeks
before we leave so get signed up now. There is paperwork
that needs to be completed so email
amy@abcaz.net as soon as
possible.
We still need
one or two Moms to sign up as chaperones, let me know if
you want to go!
 Bible Reading Plan!
Through The Bible in 2020!
In 2020, we invite you to read through the Bible with us
using the YouVersion Bible App. I will personally be
using their "One Year Bible" plan. It's a little different
than the plan I've typically used. Each day's reading
has both Old and New Testament readings. It will take
us through the Bible in a year. The app (YouVersion)
is available in both Apple and Android plans.
Want to join me in 2020? You can friend me in the app
(using my personal email address, marslender@yahoo.com) and
we can communicate in the App. It's an extra level of
accountability!
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