Issue No.

35, July 2012

Praise and Glory to God:

God continues to provide faithfully for Renewal in every way, encouraging us weekly as He continues to build our church body in number and spiritual growth. God consistently provides opportunities for us to love and serve our city well and our people have been faithful to eagerly engage. Praise God for the new additions to Renewal as several of our couples have welcomed new children to the family in the past month.

God has been gracious in continuing to build our church. Weve introduced ten new Renewal partners since our last newsletter, and we have another class scheduled for July. To Him be the glory!

Renewal Church Prayer Needs:

Continue to pray for our elders, that God would guard and protect them as they shepherd well. Pray for our elders as they seek to know and discern Gods will for our church, particularly as they consider a more permanent meeting location. Pray that God would continue to grow our people and families daily, and that our Small Groups and Clusters would serve well in this process. Pray for missions partnerships and opportunities, both locally and abroad, as we seek to multiply disciples. Pray for our students serving around the U.S. and world this summer. Pray that God would raise up more missionaries among us.

protects our holiness as brothers and sisters fight sin together. Believing in God's great, unbreakable love for His people allows us to rest 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of in hope, knowing that we fight sin with eager God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and patience as we wait in hope for God to restore all acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the things to Himself. We pray for our body, and for renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what you, that we would all learn to live in hope "that is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. the creation itself will be set free from its (Romans 12:1-2) bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God." (Romans 8:21) Our Killing Sin sermon series ended in June with an exposition of Romans 8, which most scholars describe as the pinnacle of Scripture. In this chapter, we clearly see the beauty of grace as Paul describes our adoption into God's family and His great, unbreakable love for us. Matt applied this Scripture to Renewal by encouraging us to love our Christian family, the church.

Renewed Love for God

scoffing, and pursue wisdom and righteousness by fearing the Lord. The second theme we examined is "Wisdom," defined as the God-given ability to see, desire to choose, and power to determine the best and highest good in every situation, and the best means for attaining it. Proverbs calls us to seek God to find wisdom, as opposed to seeking man's wisdom and finding folly. 1 Corinthians 1:24 takes this a step further saying "Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God." As we seek the fulfillment of wisdom, only in Christ will we find true wisdom. We encourage you to listen to the current sermon series, "Walking Wisely," and our other sermons online at www.renewalchurch.cc/sermons or subscribe to our Podcast on iTunes.

Knowing God has adopted us means that believers are now brothers and sisters, family who will be together forever worshiping our great Father, God. Being one with the Father and the family fuels our fight against sin, fosters love for His family, and

We then began a new series entitled, "Walking Wisely," which will thematically take us through the book of Proverbs. Toby led out in this series by teaching on the first theme seen in Proverbs: The Fear of the Lord. We see throughout Proverbs that those who fear the Lord believe that God's ways are best, and they choose to act in a way that serves and pleases Him. We live in a culture that thinks God's ways are obsolete and man's ways are to be feared. Accordingly, this is a timely message to all believers as we set ourselves against the way of folly, evil, and

Be sure to check out our new Summer Stories blog series. Renewal partners are sharing their stories of Gods grace in their lives and how He is using Renewal Church in their daily sanctification. You can read all of them at www.renewalchurch.cc/blogs.

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Renewed in Relationships

Everyday they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts. (Acts 2:46)

On June 10th we presented six new Renewal partners. Each of these individuals attended the membership class, signed a partner covenant, and met with one of the elders beforehand. Praise God for growing this local body. The next week, on Father's Day, we had occasion to thank Him again for growing our congregation. Six families dedicated children to the Lord. Baby dedication is not baptism and does not guarantee a child's salvation. It is simply an opportunity for these families to stand before the congregation and commit to raising their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord.

We are blessed to have two of our college students, Ashley Galloway and Christina Curry, serving as Renewal summer interns and helping coordinate our student events for the summer. We encourage you to stop by the Staff page on our website to meet them, as well as the other four interns serving at Renewal this summer.

Renewed in Community
Last month we kicked off our first of three summer fellowships around Renewal. After putting the tables and chairs back in their places in the Student Center at Greenville Tech, packing up all the sound equipment, and loading all of our weekly necessities on the trailer, our congregation gathered under some shade trees for a nice picnic lunch.

Renewal Men and Women

Our Mens and Womens ministries are working through book studies on Tuesdays throughout the summer. The men meet in the mornings and are reading through C.J. Mahaneys Humility, while the ladies, studying through the book of Ruth, meet on Tuesday evenings. In addition, both ministries have a variety of upcoming events scheduled for the remainder of the summer and fall months, and wed love for you to join us for any or all of them as your schedule permits. All of the details are posted on our website.

We enjoyed a meal together, laughed as we told stories, and began to talk some smack about what was to come: a wiffle ball tournament. The inner competitor came out as we split into four different teams for a mini tournament. Everyone had a blast, and we give God the thanks for the relationships Hes building in our church.

This month we also were able to get many of our small group leaders together for an appreciation dinner at the Carsons house. We are thankful to God for their commitment to providing practical care and shepherding for our members. They are on the frontline of ministry! In addition to our Small Groups, we just kicked off Renewal Clusters. Clusters are groups of three people of the same gender, who meet together weekly for one year, for the purpose of growing in maturity and Christlikeness. Clusters provide the most effective means of engaging the heart of another individual for the sake of genuine gospel transformation.

How You Can Give to Support What God's Doing at Renewal

Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. (Acts 2:45)

Thank you again for your commitment to give to Renewal Church! Your faithfulness has been a blessing to our church and our efforts in the city. See the following information on how to give: By check Place a check in the pre-labeled envelope along with a stamp, and mail to Renewal Church 4 Davis Keats Drive, Greenville, SC 29607 Online Go to www.renewalchurch.cc and click on Online Giving at the bottom of the home page. Click Register to give a one time gift. Automatic Draft Go to www.renewalchurch.cc and click on Online Giving at the bottom of the home page. Click Register to complete your automatic draft. A few reminders: All gifts are tax deductible Please make us aware of any address changes or changes to your giving so we can make the necessary adjustments. Send an email to church@renewalchurch.cc to update your information!

Renewal Youth and Students

Our Renewal youth and students are off to a fast start this summer. Weve been blessed to have a couple of outings already, including a pool party and a trip to Yogurt Mountain, and we enjoy the opportunities to get together in fellowship and study of the Word.

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