Give Thanks

As we spend time with family and friends, let's remember to thank God for His many blessings.

Happy Thanksgiving from Zoe Christian Fellowship!

Quotable Quote

"Thankfulness flows out of a heart that is rooted in Christ. If Christ is the Lord of our lives, we will live in Him, be built up in Him, and be strengthened in Him. Ultimately, we will find ourselves overflowing with thankfulness to Him for all that He has done on our behalf." - Karl Graustein

This Week at Zoe

On Wednesday, 11/24/10, Pastor Steve will finish teaching the Book of Esther.

If you want to listen to previous segments, they're available on our website or you can see Ray about a CD.

The Ladies' Brunch will be held on Saturday, 11/27/10, at 10:00 A.M. Please see Candy, and let her know what food item you'll be bringing.

Our theme for the brunch will be "spa treatment." Come prepared to be pampered!

Sunday Morning Series - Bearing Fruit for God - Yielding to Fruitfulness

We've talked about John 15:2 over the past several weeks. Jesus is the vine; the Father is the vinedresser; we are the branches. The fruit God wants to see in our lives is love. Joy, peace, patience, gentleness, etc. are all characteristics of love.

Our thought processes can determine our future. God prunes us either to remove something undesirable or to add a talent or move us in a new direction. He did this with Peter to change his mindset about ministering to the Gentiles.

2 Timothy 2:19-26 gives us some direction on what we must do to be fruitful branches:

1. Flee (V. 22) - People flee from spiders, snakes, and mice. When you're afraid of them, you don't hang around. You get out of there - fast! We're told to flee youthful lusts.

2. Pursue (V. 22) - We're to run after righteousness, faith, love, and peace.

3. Avoid (V. 23) - When the Caller I.D. tells us there's someone on the phone we don't want to engage in conversation, we don't answer. We're to sidestep, ignore foolish, ignorant disputes. They lead only to strife.

4. Teach (Vs. 24) - We must not quarrel but be gentle. Some people put exceptions to this command. I call it the, "NCPV," or "New Common Practice Version." I should be gentle unless my spouse, my kids, my boss, my friends aggravate me.

5. Correct (V. 25) - With humility, gentleness, firmness. Humility is not thinking you're worthless. Rather, it's not looking down on others.

Application: James 3:7-17 - What we practice, we become. If you practice being patient, humble, gentle, you'll become those things.

This is a short summary. If you want to hear the entire message, visit our website, and click on the Sermon Player. You can also download it to your MP3 player or podcast it for FREE.

If you're visiting in the area or looking for a church home, our Sunday Service starts at 10:00 A.M. We're located at 1111 Easton Rd. (Rte. 611), Warrington, PA. Directions are available on the website or call the church office at (215) 343-7686. We'd love to meet you!

Quotable Quotes

"Prayer is not speaking to God. It's a conversation." - Pastor Stephen Hecht

Mark Your Calendars

The Ladies' Brunch will be held on Saturday, 11/27/10, at 10:00 A.M. in the Children's Church auditorium. It is a spa day theme.

Please let Candy know what food item you plan to bring. For more details, see Connie or Phyllis.

Quotable Quotes

"When we bless God for mercies, we usually prolong them. When we bless God for miseries, we usually end them. Praise is the honey of life, which a devout heart extracts from every bloom of providence and grace." - C. H. Spurgeon

This Week at Zoe

On Wednesday, 11/17/10, at 7:30 P.M., Pastor Steve will continue teaching on the Book of Esther.

The Men's Breakfast will be held on Saturday, 11/20/10, at 8:00 A.M. in the Children's Church auditorium. Please bring a breakfast item and your Bibles.

Sunday Morning Series - Bearing Fruit for God - Tracking Our Progress

Text: Matthew 19:16-22, 2 Timothy 2:15-26, John 4:1-42

When I send a package via UPS or FedEx, I get a tracking number. I can go online and find out exactly where my order is at any given time.

How do we know we're making progress in bearing fruit for God? The Scripture gives us three stages of the believer's development.

When a baby is born, they are need focused. They cry to let Mom and Dad know when they're hungry, need to be changed, unhappy, sick, or frightened.

The spiritual baby is also concerned mainly about their needs. Their prayer life revolves around what they need to stop, what they need to start, and what they need to receive. In this stage, they speak to God. They're religious in the sense of following rules.

In Stage 2 of spiritual development, they start thinking about what God wants of them. 2 Timothy talks about adoption. How can they be both born into God's family and adopted? In the original language adoption refers to the placement of sons. The present day term most are familiar with is the Bar Mitzvah. Before that time, the son is the heir, but he's under tutors and teachers. He's not mature enough to take his place in managing his inheritance.

During Stage 2, believers discover who they are in Christ, what they have in Christ, their calling, and their place in God's family. They've gone beyond requests. As a baby grows, he starts thinking about how he can please Mom and Dad. The believer now thinks in terms of pleasing God. Prayer is no longer speaking to God. It becomes a conversation.

Stage 3 brings a focus on the needs of others. People in the first stage of growth think of everything in terms of the natural. Remember how the disciples interpreted Jesus' statement about the leaven of the Pharisees? They thought He was upset because they forgot to bring bread. How silly after He'd just fed thousands.

In this stage, spiritual truth explodes inside us, and we have enough to give others. We don't get uncomfortable when someone asks us a question about the Bible. These folks look for the anointing in worship, in teaching, etc.

To sum up the three stages: Beware, Become, and Behold.

For the full message, check out the Sermon Player on our website. You can listen online or download it to your MP3 or podcast it for FREE.

If you're visiting in the area or looking for a church home, our Sunday Service starts at 10:00 A.M. We're located at 1111 Easton Rd. (Rte. 611), Warrington, PA. Directions are available on the website or you can call the church office at (215) 343-7686.

Thank You!

Thanks to all who helped put Hallelujah Night together. It was a great night of fun and fellowship. There were lots of different foods to sample, while others enjoyed laset tag, dodgeball, or other activities.

Mark Your Calendars

On Saturday, 11/20/10, at 8:00 A.M., the men will gather in the Children's Church auditorium for breakfast and Bible Study. Please keep this date open.

Quotable Quotes

"The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection. And we must not select a few favorite passages to the exclusion of others. Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian." - A. W. Tozer

This Week at Zoe

On Wednesday, 11/10/10, at 6:30 P.M., we'll have leadership prayer. At 7:30 P.M., we invite the congregation to join us for All Church Prayer.

Sunday Morning Series - Bearing Fruit For God - Excellence

Text: Daniel 5:11-14; Daniel 6:1-4 & Others.

Because Daniel was excellent, he was promoted. Someone once said, "We are what we repeatedly do. It is not an act. It is a habit." Excellence is something we cultivate.

In order to achieve excellence, we must examine our choices and select the best. What we choose to pick up will shape our degree of excellence.

Cookies made with real butter, chocolate chips, and vanilla taste better than those made with inferior ingredients. They might be passable, but they're not the same as the real thing. We might have a choice between something good and something excellent. What we choose will determine the quality of the product.

In Luke 24:13-45, Jesus asked the two men on the road to Emmaus what they're talking about. Lack of belief results in slowness of heart. Our view of what goes on around us changes. If you want to be excellent, make sure you avoid talking fear, doubt, and sickness.

The friends you surround yourself with will impact on your excellence. In I Corinthians 15:33, we're told evil company corrupts good habits. Romans 15:24 talks about how Paul enjoyed the company of believers. I Corinth. 5:9-13 warns us not to keep company with immoral people in the church.

Excellence is worth pursuing! Are you choosing what's excellent?

You can hear this message in its entirety on our website Sermon Player. It's also available as a FREE MP3 download or podcast.

If you're visiting in the area or looking for a church home, you're welcome to attend our Sunday morning service, at 10 A.M. We're located at 1111 Easton Rd. (Rte. 611), Warrington, PA. Directions are available on the website or contact the church office at (215) 343-7686.

Praise Reports From Phyllis and Brandon

Phyllis: Her boss gave her a 1999 Hyundai Accent FREE OF CHARGE! She's rejoicing at God's provision. Phyllis says she thought of Psalms 35:27 that says, "Let the Lord be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant." She thought to herself, "That sounds like favor!"

Brandon: Wooster in Kenya is a spring semester program that includes an on-campus, academic component (0.75 credit) and an off-campus experience in Kenya (0.25 credit) over spring break. The overall goal of the Wooster in Kenya Program is to introduce students to the history, culture, and political economyof Kenya, with a special focus on environment, culture and development in Western Kenya.

The class meetings prior to the trip will prepare students for the in-country experience, and the post-trip meetings will allow for reflection and integration of the experience into the students' academic course of study. During the spring break trip, course participants will do short home-stays in two villages to learn about family and community life in rural Kenya today. Students will aslo work on environmental and agricultural projects facilitated by the Maragoli Comunity Development Foundation in order to learn firsthand about the opportunities and challenges in community-based development programs that are locally conceived and implemented.

Each student will be expected to conduct a research project, using both library sources and ethnographic material, and give a post-trip presentation. There were 60 kids who applied, 28 that got interviews, and 12 that got selected.

Not only did Brandon get selected, but he also received a $4,231 scholarship to pay for the trip!

Brandon has also applied to Teach for America in the Inner City, preferably Philadelphia. It's a two-year teaching commitment, which includes salary and health benefits, and a potential repayment of up to $10,700 toward student loans, as well as student loan interest, and eligibility for loan forbearance (repayment requirement postponed) during the two years. The decision comes on 11/6/10. He requested that we pray he gets accepted.

Quotable Quotes

"Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn." -
Charles Wesley

This Week at Zoe

On Wednesday, 11/3/10, at 7:30 P.M., Pastor Steve will continue his series on the Book of Esther. Come out and bring a friend!

Sunday Morning Series - Bearing Fruit for God - Moving Forward

Text: Acts 10 & 11

Cornelius is a Gentile. We're told he feared God, gave alms generously, and prayed to God always. He has a vision of an angel about 3 P.M. in the afternoon. The angel gives him specific instructions for an unspecified reward. He obeys and sends his servants to find Peter in Joppa.

Meanwhile, God is preparing Peter for their arrival. He goes up to the rooftop to pray, but gets very hungry. While food is being prepared, he falls into a trance and sees a vision of animals that are considered unclean for Jews to eat. God tells him to kill and eat, but he declines saying he's never eaten anything unclean. God gives this command three times.

The men from the house of Cornelius arrive, and Peter and some others go with them. So, Cornelius summons Peter in obedience to the angel's instructions even though he doesn't know the purpose, and Peter goes expecting Cornelius to have questions.

He tells Cornelius it's unlawful for a Jew to "keep company or go to one from another nation," but he had come as God instructed him. Cornelius relates his vision, and Peter shares the Gospel. The Holy Spirit falls on Cornelius and his household, and they speak with tongues. Peter and those with him are amazed, and agree they cannot withhold water baptism since God already baptized them in the Holy Spirit. Peter understands that salvation is not only for the Jews, but also for the Gentiles.

While the initial pruning process is often to remove something negative, God also prunes to prepare for future assignments. Peter had teachings that hindered ministry to the Gentiles. God corrected him and demonstrated his favor on those Peter previously avoided.

Pruning may come in the form of instruction to take up a certain subject or hobby, so we can better relate to unbelievers. Perhaps the Lord impresses on us to learn a foreign language, so we can minister more effectively in the future. Pruning initially involves removal of things that hinder us. As we grow, it can also include things that hinder God to work in us.

To hear the entire message, go to our website and click on the Sermon Player. You can also download it to your MP3 player or podcast it for FREE.

If you're visiting in the area or looking for a church home, our Sunday Service begins at 10:00 A.M. We're located at 1111 Easton Rd. (Rte. 611), Warrington, PA. The church phone number is (215) 343-7686.