What now? Part 4
What now? Part 4 We’re united

What Now? We’re united

‭‭John‬ ‭17:20-23‬‬
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:1-3‬‬
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Be completely humble
Be completely gentle
Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Be patient, bearing with on another in love.
“Patience is the calm acceptance that things can happen in a different order than the one you have in your mind.” David G. Allen
“Bearing with one another means fully accepting them in their uniqueness, including their weakness, and faults, and allowing them worth and space” Andrew T. Lincoln.

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:3‬‬
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

So what now? We’re united

‭‭James‬ ‭3:16‬‬
For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

“There is enough of the flesh in every one of us to wreck any local church and any other work of God” -William MacDonald

BEST WEEK EVER June 27–July 4, 2021Our mission statement states this, Transformed by God to bring hope to others through Christ! Best Week Ever is a great opportunity for our church to engage our community in tangible and relational ways. This is an opportunity to be love in action. Whether you are taking a week’s vacation, or you just have an hour or two to spare, there is a place for you to make a difference. This is your church. In your community. This is your event! It won’t be the same without you. So, let’s get you registered. There will be opportunities to worship, work and play! After this pandemic year, lets come together and bless our community with the BEST WEEK EVER! We invite you to be a part of some of the fun events happening alongside the service projects during the week:
Worship, Prayer, and Sundaes– Sunday, June 27 @ 6:30pm. Best Week Ever is kicking off with an outdoor worship and prayer event! All three campuses worshiping together for the first time! We will end the evening with fellowship and brownie sundaes! Bring a chair or a blanket. If there is inclement weather, the event will be held in the auditorium.
.5K for Stone Haven- Tuesday, June 29th, 6:30pm. Join us as we host our first ever .5k! If you can walk 1,640 feet, this event is for you! We hope that you will join us that evening as we compete in fun competitions, enjoy good food, and end the evening with a movie! We are hosting this event to bring awareness to a new nonprofit in our area called Stone Haven. This evening will be fun for all ages! So bring yourself, bring a friend, and we will see you for a night of FUN!
First Responders Dinner– Thursday, July 1, 11:00am-2:00pm. This is for the first responder community in its entirety. The menu will be: BBQ chicken, green beans, potato salad, tossed salad, homemade pie and ice cream. There will be a drawing for some pretty cool door prizes. If you don’t have time to sit down and eat, you can get your meal to go. We look forward to seeing you and thanking you for your service!

Essential Attributes of a Volunteer

Pastor Adrian Mills shares about what being a volunteer in the Kingdom looks likehttps://youtu.be/EB-y8nG_9hU

Heart of Best Week Ever

Hear Pastor Margaret’s heart behind why we do Best Week Everhttps://youtu.be/EUO8y_8UWEM

Here are some of the organizations COTN volunteers will be serving this week:
Nonprofits: Habitat for Humanity, Hope Distributed, New Creation, Open Doors, Skyline Literacy, Stone Haven, EAUS Food Pantry and Thrift Store Schools: Stone Spring Elementary, Elkton Area Schools Others: First responders, individuals’ needs, veterans

Remembering the words of Jesus in Mark 12:30-31, let’s lean in and have the Best Week Ever!!
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”

What now? Part 3
What now? Part 3 We get to work

What Now? We get to work

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:10‬‬
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

For we are God’s handiwork…
You are God’s workmanship, His idea!

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:4-6‬‬
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:7‬‬
in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:8-9‬‬
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

For we are God’s handiwork…
Speaking of what it means to be God’s handiwork author Rick Renner says:
“it emphatically means that on the day you got saved, God put forth His most powerful and creative effort to make you new. Once God was finished making you new, you became a masterpiece, skillfully and artfully created in Christ Jesus. There’s nothing cheap about you at all! God’s creative, artistic, intelligent genius went into your making.”

We are created in Christ Jesus…
Chapter 2 begins with the walking dead and concludes that we have been created in Christ! What a glorious transformation!

To do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do…

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:16‬‬
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

‭‭John‬ ‭15:5‬‬
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

What now? We get to work!

Student Sunday

When obedience gets tricky.

The biggest mistake you can make is believing that your obedience is insignificant.

Matthew 14:22-32NIV

22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.  23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,  24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.  25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.  26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.  27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”  28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”  29 “Come,” he said.Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”  31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”  32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 

1. Obedience is messy

Peter didn’t have an obedience problem; he had a distraction problem. 

2. We can sink or cry out

3. Jesus will respond

Matthew 14:31NIV

31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

What Now? Part: 2 The Heart of it All

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:1-3‬‬

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.

‭‭John‬ ‭5:24‬‬

“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

“The walking dead”

…You were dead in your transgressions and sins

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:4-9‬‬

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

What now? Live Jesus Focused!

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:19-22‬‬

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.