Issue Origens

Proverbs 4:23 (KJV) "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."

Fresh Manna

Psalm 119: 165 (KJV) "Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them."

This Week At Zoe

Wednesday Night - 2/24/09 - 7:30 P.M. Pastor Steve continues the series, "God's Boot Camp."

Ladies' Brunch - Saturday, 2/28/09 - 10:00 A.M. - Bring your Bible and a breakfast dish. Meeting in the Children's Church (4 doors down from the main sanctuary).

Intro to Podcasting - Sunday, 3/1/09 - about 12:30 P.M. after church. Do you want to get podcasts from Zoe and other ministries, but have no clue how to decipher the mystery of podcasting? Pastor Steve will give the basics so you can take advantage of excellent teachings on the Internet.

Announcement: Woohoo! The new church website is up and running. When you click on the above link, you'll be directed to the new site. Included on the website is a link for this blog, as well as all the old favorites like the sermon player, events, etc.

Remember, you're always welcome at Zoe Christian Fellowship. :)

quotable Quotes

"Seek God first, and the things you want will seek you." Anonymous

Habits of Faithful People

When we think of spiritually-uplifting habits, Bible reading and prayer come to mind. However, we're looking at a different kind of habit today. It's the amount of value we place on an activity that will establish a pattern of behavior. Let's explore this a bit.

If someone hands us a $1.00 bill, we wouldn't get all that excited. However, if a person hands us a $100.00 bill, that will make us sit up and take notice. We treat different situations with varied levels of interest.

Dynamic - pertaining to or characterized by energy or effective action; vigorously active or forceful. In this case, we are fully invested. We put lots of time and energy into this situation or project.

Apathetic - having little or no interest or concern. There's not a whole lot going on here.

Erratic - having no certain or definite course; wandering: not fixed. Here we're bouncing from one thing to another, never really making any headway.

Check out the full message at our website. It's available via the sermon player or podcasting. What kind of habits did Jesus establish in his earthly life? See how we can change our spiritual threshold by altering our habits.

Turbulence - Ethel Waters

When a pilot encounters turbulence, he does his best to take the plane above it. This way, passengers enjoy a smooth ride, and the plane is protected.

As we trust the Lord and stand on His Word, He takes us above the turbulence of life situations. Everything below us may be in turmoil, but we can ride with peace in our hearts.

Quotable Quotes

"When you BEHAVE according to the Word of God, you are demonstrating that you know who you are and to whom you belong." - Ethel Waters

This Week At Zoe

Midweek Service - Tonight, 2/18/09, 7:30 P.M. We will show a video teaching of Pastor Bob Yandian called, "Avoiding Unbelief."

The Men's Breakfast is Saturday, 2/21/09, at 8:00 A.M. Bring a breakfast item with you. The breakfast will be held in the Children's Church area, four doors down from the main sanctuary at 1111 Easton Rd., Warrington, PA.

The Worship Team practice is Thursday, 2/19/09, at 7:00 P.M.

For all those participating in the Sign Language special, we will be practicing after church on 2/22/09 at 12:30 P.M.

Quotable Quotes

"God is more anxious to bestow his blessings on us than we are to receive them." - Augustine

You Need To Act Like You Know

In Pastor's absence, Ethel shared her heart with us. Here's a short synopsis to whet your appetite for the actual "meal" found at Zoe-Ministries' website.

When I was growing up, my mother had a favorite saying, "you better act like you know." You might have heard something like, "we're going somewhere, so you better be on your best behavior." The idea was you applied what you'd been taught at home or you'd pay the consequences.

Today, people are running around like their hair is on fire. They're worried about everything from the economy to war. Meanwhile, God is saying, "you better act like you know." The word, "behave," means, "to bear, to comport or conduct ourselves in a particular way." God is saying, "behave yourselves according to the Word."

I've put together an acronym to help you understand what it means to behave.

B Believe that He is God and able to do all things. Psalm 46:10, Isaiah 43:3,11

E Expect that God is going to do what He said He would do. Phil. 1:19,20

H Hold onto what you know to be true. Joshua 22:5, Hebrews 3:6, 14

A Adjust your thinking. Luke 5:1-7. Simon Peter adjusted his thinking.

V View things from God's perspective. Numbers 13:1-3 & 18-33, Numbers 14:1-9

E Echo what God says about you. I Corinthians 3:16, I Peter 2:9

This Week At Zoe

Pastor Steve, Miss Connie, and their son are leaving for Winter Bible Seminor on Saturday. Ethel will be sharing in the Sunday morning service. They will return in time for Sunday morning, 2/22/09.

Check out Zoe Ministries blog and leave a comment.

Quotable Quotes

"People are most willing to empower a leader who is most willing to give it up!" - Jason Lewis

SALT Meeting

Sorry, this report on the SALT meeting is a little late. On Sunday, February 1st, most of the congregation remained after church for a potluck supper and an update on the doings at Zoe Ministries.

After dessert (delicious chocolate cake, pudding, cheesecake, etc.), we settled down and reviewed some plans for the near future. Pastor updated everyone on the new blog and website. Since you're reading this, you know we're up and running.

Miss Connie gave a report on youth activities. Once again, they will be taking part in the Famine and raising money for a worthy cause. An auction is in the works. People will have the opportunity to bid on a young person for various chores such as yard work, cleaning out the garage or basement, etc.

A call for volunteers was made. If you desire to participate in some area of the ministry, there's plenty of room for you.

Good food, good fellowship, and purpose for the future. I'd say that's a pretty fine combination.

Quotable Quotes

"You are the product of what you believe not what other people say about you." Pastor Stephen Hecht, Sunday Morning, 2/8/09

Faithful & True - Thresholds

When I think of a threshold, I think of an entrance from one place to another. It can also represent a limitation. Each of us has a different limit or threshold for the amount of pain we can endure before needing some relief.

Today, Pastor Steve spoke on the points or thresholds were obedience stops and disobedience begins. He enumerated three areas that cause us problems:

1) Time - There are limits to the amount of time people will devote to doing what God
has called them to do.

2) Resources - We decide we will obey God by tithing. However, when our resources
get to the point where those checks are substantial, we sometimes back-off.

3) Effort - We sometimes get tired or just plain don't want to do anymore.

We're faithful until something happens. Perhaps we become disappointed in people. It is the place where we drop the ball.

Check out the Zoe Ministries website sermon player to hear the message in its entirety. Find out some principles of going beyond your threshold.

Women's Ministries Update

Last Saturday, the women of Zoe Ministries enjoyed their monthly breakfast meeting. A scrumptious breakfast was followed by fellowship, a ministry update, and a short Biblical lesson.

Here's what's happening:

1. Letters to soldiers are going out on a regular basis. Since there was no response, we're looking into other groups sending mail to those stationed overseas.

2. A couple of lap robes (crocheted afghans) for the elderly or those in nursing homes were completed. More are being made.

3. Helen Trowbridge and Zona Hayes are scheduled to minister to the ladies here at Zoe this year. We're looking forward to a time of refreshing.

4. Do you have a favorite recipe? We're putting together a Zoe Recipe Book. With all the delicious specialties we have at our potluck dinners and breakfasts, we'd like to share our recipes. If you have a picture or family story, please include it with your submission.

5. Miss Connie is looking for articles, testimonials of answered prayer, quotes, sayings, poems, etc. for inclusion in a Zoe Ministries magazine. This will be used as part of our outreach to the area.

6. The name of the Women's Ministries' group has been changed to, "Women of Worth." This was chosen to emphasize how precious women are in God's eyes and affirm what the Word says about women.

Remember, the ladies meet for breakfast at Zoe the last Saturday of every month. Come out and enjoy food, fellowship, and nourishment from the Word of God.

Quotable Quotes

"When faithfulness is most difficult, it is most rewarding." Croft M. Pentz, The Complete Book of Zingers

Quotable Quotes

"Rising above mediocrity never just happens; it is always a result of faith combined with works." John L. Mason

Football 101 - Part II

In the last post, we examined three ways football players get the ball and three ways opportunities come for Christian service. Today, we'll look at some of the excuses made for not "catching the ball."

1. You've Reached Your Limit

In football, the player is not able to hang onto the ball. Solution: Put on some weight. Get bigger so the opposition can't overpower you.

You're juggling too much, and something is going to suffer. Solution: Grow. Mature believers can hold more balls.

2. Beyond Your Ability

The football player is not reaching his full potential. Solution: Practice, practice, practice. A third-string quarterback only gets to play if the first two quarterbacks are knocked out of the game. Yet, he has to be ready to fill in at a moment's notice, fully prepared to handle the assignment.

You don't have the skill necessary to perform the task. Solution: Increase your ability; develop it. Increase that ability now. Prepare for the big game.

Don't become distracted and leave what you're supposed to be doing. People hand over jobs to others who are prepared.

3. I Don't Want To Do It

Get real. If a coach sends a player onto the field, he's expected to follow orders.

Christians come down with the "Jonah Syndrome." Imagine if the white cells in your body decided they didn't want to destroy an invading disease. You'd be in big trouble. When you refuse an assignment from the Lord, the Body of Christ suffers.

4. I'm Not Going

A football player looks at the other teams defensive line, and shudders. I'm not going out there and getting crushed. Grow up. If you want to be on this team, follow direction.

Ananias argued with God. He didn't want to go minister to Saul of Tarsus. "But God, this guy's been throwing believers into prison. We've all heard about him." In the end, he did what God told him to do.

For the full message, check out the sermon player at Zoe's website.

Football 101 - Part I

Hmm...I thought this post was about the Sunday message. Yup, just hang in there with me for a look at what football can show us about the Christian life. As everyone at Zoe knows, our Pastor is a HUGE sports fan. When he announced the title of his sermon, we couldn't wait to hear how he was going to tie in the two subjects.

In football, there are three ways to get the ball. Here they are:

1. Kick the ball.

The game starts out with someone kicking the ball. Each person on the team has a specific skill set. Some are talented in the area of kicking. Others excel at running the ball.

God gives each of us talents, interests, skills, and abilities. They just drop in our hands. This is our starting point.

2. Pass the ball.

In football, another way to get the ball is from a pass. The quarterback throws overhand to a specific receiver. The other way to get the ball is a hand-off where the ball is passed underhand. The defense does not know the intended receiver, so they try to cover every possible option.

In the Christian life, passes or hand-offs are what others deliver to you. You're expected to catch the ball and run with it.

If a football player doesn't catch the ball, the coach will bench him. In the Christian life, dropping the ball could disqualify you from service. I Corinth. 9:27

3. Pick up a fumble.

The third way someone can get the ball is through a fumble. The intended receiver drops the ball, and everyone scrambles to take possession of it. When someone on the opposing team grabs the ball, it's a big deal. He will bring it over to the coach, who will put a piece of tape with his name on the ball. At the end of the game, that ball becomes his. Recovering a fumble is an unexpected opportunity.

Believers often have an opportunity cross their path. Someone moves, and there's an opening on the Usher staff. Will you ask to replace them? Help is needed in the Sunday School. Will you volunteer? Or will you allow the chance to pass you by?

In the next post, we'll continue with Football 101.