What Does It Mean?

Some folks have asked us what does the word, "Zoe," mean?

Zoe is the Greek word in the New Testament for "abundant life." We encourage you to visit us as we celebrate the life we have in Christ Jesus. We are located at 1111 Easton Rd., in Warrington, PA. Sunday mornings, we gather together at 10:00 A.M.

Quotable Quotes

From last Sunday's bulletin:

"Some people fail to recognize opportunity because it so often comes to them in overalls and looks like work." - Anonymous

This Week at Zoe

Wednesday night, at 7:30 P.M., the new series, "God's Boot Camp," continues. We're so accustomed to operating from our senses that it's sometimes hard to switch gears. Learn how to train and develop that part of you, which hears from God. You can catch up on the sessions you missed via our website sermon player.

Need fellowship and some nuggets from the Word? Ladies are invited to our monthly breakfast on Saturday, January 31st, at 10:00 A.M. Bring a breakfast dish and your Bibles. The breakfast is held in the Children's Church area (4 doors down from the main sanctuary. If you have a question, call the church office at (215) 343-7686.

Our next Covered Dish Dinner and church meeting is next Sunday (February 1st). Bring a main dish, side dish, and/or dessert (depending on the size of your family) and plan to stay for the meal right after the morning service.

For those involved with the Sign Language Special, our next practice will be on Sunday, February 8th, after church. Please go over the music and words to the song.

Have a blessed week!

Faithful & True - Living Sacrifices

Rather than report the gist of Pastor Stephen Hecht's Sunday message, I'd like to share a few nuggets I received. In Romans 12:1-6, Paul taught some vital aspects of the Christian life.

1. V. 1 - "...present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

Thoughts: Paul is speaking to believers about what they do with their bodies.
God wants all of us - our spirits, our souls, and our bodies. A popular
viewpoint today is that we should be able to do with our bodies as we
please. Here, we're told the exact opposite. We're to present our bodies to
God. The Greek word means, "to place beside or to place at one's disposal." In
other words, we are to give our bodies to Him so He can use them for His
Kingdom.

This presentation is not something extraordinary. Paul declares this is our
reasonable service. This is a basic of the Christian life.

2. V. 2 - "And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable,
and perfect, will of God.

We're not to follow the world's way of doing things. We're to renew our
minds with the Word of God so our character is transformed into His image.

To listen to Pastor Hecht's message, check out Zoe Christian Fellowship's website.

Faithful & True - Accessing The Fruit

Galatians 5:1 (KJV) says, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."

Pastor Stephen Hecht noted the phrase, "stand fast," comes from the Greek word, "steko," which means to stand firm, to persist, persevere. If we're told to, "stand fast," it's obvious people and situations will try to move us away from persevering. Paul warns the Galatians against getting entangled or caught up in past sins, which would bring them into bondage.

Verse 13 exhorts the Galatians not to use their liberty to satisfy their fleshly desires, but rather by love to serve one another. We're to habitually order our manner of life so that it becomes a normal state to walk according to God's ways.

In verses 19-21, Paul contrasts this walk of love with a list of pursuits attributed to the flesh. All of these are contrary to walking in love. Verses 22-24 give the results of walking in the love of God.

How do we achieve this walk of love with the evidence of love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance flowing through our lives? One major step is to not allow people, places, or things to hinder us in our love walk. We start by ordering our behavior by the Word of God. After awhile, it will seem unnatural to live any other way. If you're right-handed, it feels strange when you attempt using your left hand. Get comfortable walking in the sphere of God.

To get this full message, check out Zoe's Ministries' website. The series will continue next Sunday, at 10:00 A.M. You're always welcome at Zoe Christian Fellowship, 1111 Easton Rd., Warrington, PA.

Schedule of Events for the Week of 1/11/09

On Wednesday, January 14, 2009, the new series, "God's Boot Camp," continues. We'll be studying how to train and develop our spirit man. Previous installments are available on Zoe Christian Fellowship's website.

The Women of the Word Bible Study will restart on Thursday, January 15, 2009, from 9:30 A.M. - 12:30 P.M. We'll be viewing the series, "Power of Praise." Please call the church office at (215) 343-7686 for further information.

Saturday, January 15, 2009, come out and enjoy the Men's Breakfast in the Children's Church area (4 doors down from the main sanctuary). Bring a breakfast item with you and your Bible!

Quote for the week: "To walk in the Light is to do what you know is right."
Keith Moore

Put That Brain To Work

A recent television program documented the inner workings of the human brain. One area of particular interest involved how we commit things to memory. A casual treatment of a subject does not get information tucked away onto our hard drive. To achieve such a feat, close attention to the facts or concepts we desire to remember is necessary. Only then will that marvelous computer known as our brain recognize its importance and go into "Save" mode.

In Romans 12:2, Paul talks about renewing our minds. Learning something takes effort on our part. If we are not serious about abosrbing the Word of God, our brain won't bother retaining it. So, how do we get the brain and mind in sync with our desire to make the Word part of our being?

1. Read the Word and listen to preaching and teaching via whatever media we respond to best. MP# players, the Internet, devotionals, books, television, and radio are all viable options. Combining our senses of hearing and sight enhance our ability to recall what we've learned.

2. Meditate on the Word. If something in the text or teaching seems to jump out, stick with it. Looking up cross references, examining it from all angles,
reading it in context, and even journaling our thoughts are helpful to
retention.

3. Apply the Word to life situations. Transferring head knowledge to life experience builds up our memory. Years ago, the phrase, "on the job training," was more common than today. People learned a position by hands-on experience. Learning is only effective if knowledge is put to practical use.

Let's get those neurons firing in our brains. We'll not only benefit our cognitive abilities, but also transform our thought processes to match God's original blueprint.

Copyright 2009 S. J. Reinhardt

Faithful & True

Pastor Stephen Hecht's series on Faithfulness continued this morning with a look at, "Desiring To Be Faithful." Matthew 6:19-34, the explanation of the Parable of the Sower, was the main text.

Several interesting points I jotted down included:

1. The only way you can make sure Scripture is firmly rooted is to continually
meditate on it. Guard and maintain the Word you're putting in your heart.

2. You produce treasures in heaven by doing things FOR God TO people. If you
merely do things for people, you're laying up treasures on earth, which will
become corrupted.

3. The Fruit of the Spirit is produced by staying connected to the vine (Jesus).
The stronger your bond is with Him, the more fruit will come forth.

This is a small sample of the principles taught in this series. Check out the website for the entire message, which is available on a sermon player or downloadable to your MP3.

You're always welcome at Zoe Christian Fellowship, located at 1111 Easton Rd., Warrington, PA. Our Sunday morning service starts at 10:00 A.M.