July 28th 2015

Monday

7/27

Tuesday

7/28

Martial Arts 6-8:00pm Free

Community Groups:

The Schifo Home 6-8:00pm

Wednesday 7/29

Ladies Bible Study 8:30-10:00am

True Woman 101: Divine Design
an 8 week study on Biblical Womanhood!

Thursday

7/30

Worship Practice 7:30pm

Saturday

8/1

Act Like Men 7:00am

Donuts, Coffee and Conversations!
Elders Meeting 8:30am
Church Work Morning 9-11:00am
We are going to be doing some weeding and
prep work on the church grounds. Can you
come help for a few hours?

Sunday

8/2

Christian Education 9:30-10:30am

Childrens Sunday School
9:30-10:30am

Childrens Church 10:45am

Worship Gathering 10:45am
Guests: AWANA Missionaries
Don and Nancy Estep

All-Church Lunch 12:00-1:00pm

AWANA Training 1:00-2:30pm

Its time
to get
invested
I am not talking to those who
have been serving and giving
of their time, but those who
have not yet found a place to
plug-in. This is your chance Your time!
In this weeks newsletter we
are changing it up and simply
offering you 3 opportunities to
get connected and start
serving in the church. A
consumer arrives, is served
and leaves - but a family
joyfully serves one another,
and we are a family!
Please prayerfully consider
how you might serve in your
family.

This year we are driving a stake in the ground by saying that kids matter at CEFCM. We are doing this
in two significant ways in the coming weeks and months.
First, we are committed to continuing AWANA even after the recent departure of longtime partner
Grace Church (for the second see Opportunity #2). We are joyous in that they will be offering a
midweek program, but after much prayer we dont feel released from this calling. God is calling us to
continue.
Therefore we are ALL IN for AWANA in 2015/16 - Are you?

Please PRAY About Doing 3 Things Sunday:

#1 Attend the 10:45am service to hear Dons passion and the power of AWANA in the lives of kids.
#2 Stay afterwards and share in an All-Church luncheon for our missionaries. You are invited
regardless - Because you are family - Also as always, invite a friend if you like!
#3 PRAY about staying after and joining AWANA training. This will equip you to help with
AWANA regardless of the commitment. We need people to do all kinds of jobs from
helping at the AWANA store 4 times a year, to being a weekly listener, or a weekly set-up and teardown person. There is always a way you can make a HUGE impact in the lives of kids for the sake
of Christ!

YOU ARE INVITED TO

10:45am
Service with Don and Nancy Estep
12:00 - 1:00pm All-Church Luncheon
1:00 - 2:30pm AWANA Training
There will be childcare available at the training
for parents with children. Please contact Jan in
the office if you need childcare so we can ensure we have
the right number of volunteers Sunday.

Specific Prayer Points:

NURSERY PROJECT

Gods Remodel

As I was sitting in my office on Wednesday, April 15th,

praying for the nursery project I was struck by a particular
vision and scripture. As I closed my eyes I saw young
children being prayed over and the bible being read to
them. I heard the gospel being shared, and at that moment I
heard Acts 11:26, For a whole year they met with the
church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the
disciples were first called Christians.
My prayer out of that moment is that by seeking the Lord we
would establish a Little Antioch, a safe and inviting place
where children can hear the gospel, and grow as disciples
who know and trust Jesus. I see Little Antioch as a special
place that when they look back they will know that it was
there that they first heard the gospel, and because of that
they are now called Christians.
Excited? I certainly am, but as with anything I have to make
sure my excitement doesnt exceed my obedience because
none of this is possible without prayer.
Sure, we may be able to make some pretty good plans, but
the problem in doing that is that it will always lack Gods
power. Jesus said apart from God we can do nothing (John
15:5). Gods word tells us that man makes his plans, but that
it is the Lord who orders his steps (Proverbs 16:9).
Therefore, we must pray first. Pray often and pray even
when we feel secure in what we believe we know. Prayer
pulls us, the people of God, towards God. It causes us to lay
before Him everything that was His to begin with; every
plan, every purpose, and in doing so - every praise. Prayer
delights Him and unites us.
Please consider joining me in prayer for what will do for His
glory and the joy of the Gospel in this project!
Will you covet to pray for this project and how God will
use it to have us be a great encouragement to kids AND
parents!

Day One:
Pray that God would provide wisdom
and strengthen the leaders on the
facilities committee. Pray for one mind
and one accord. (Philippians 2:2)
Day Two:
Pray for our congregation. Change can
be difficult even if it is needed, and
because of that there may be resistance.
Pray that we will have a receptive spirit.
Day Three:
Pray for the architectural work being
done to ensure the spaces we remodel
are compliant to every code and law,
and is safe for all who use them.
Day Four:
Pray we can be firm in our business
dealings, and that we will not let
possible volatile situations explode.
Day Five:
Pray for the planning prior to the
construction. Pray for the selection of
materials, paint, tools, and and the
people who will use those materials.
Pray that each dollar that we lay before
this project will be stretched to
purchase more than we can imagine.
Day Six:
Pray that God would call and use
skilled workers to transform the existing
nursery space into a place that is
inviting and encouraging. Pray for safety
of the workers.
Day Seven:
Pray for the salvation of the workers.
Some of the construction workers might
not be Christians; we dont know. When
is the last time we had a group of
possibly unsaved, unchurched people
come to our church every day for a few
weeks?
Day Eight
Pray for the finished construction. Pray
that this space would be a place where
both children and adults would be
forever changed and remade. Pray that
this would be like a little Antioch,
where they hear the Gospel and
through that grow to know and trust
Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

NURSERY
PROJECT

Nursery
Outdoor
Play Yard

Worship Center

Cry
Room
Check-In Nursery
Foyer

Please pray for the architects, village officials, and the construction company that have been and will be
working on the nursery project. Pray for favor, provision, creativity, clarity and also that as we progress
that they will be protected.

Senior
Saints
We are looking for 2-3 people who are willing to take the
Sunday sermons and copy them to CDs to distribute to the
Glenwood and BridleBrook retirement communities. These
folks would also be responsible for creating, copying,
putting together CD covers, and dropping the CDs off at
the Glenwood and Bridle Brook.
Are you someone who wants to be a part of helping our
senior saints be encouraged with weekly Bible teaching?
Are you a creative person who would love to create CD
labels and cases? This is a practical and powerful way to
serve our community.
Call Jan today at: 217-586-5165 to volunteer!
In addition did you know that we host a worship service
every 8 weeks at the Glenwood? We are in need of
someone to provide music and others willing to pray and
share a devotional thought. This is a great ministry without
a lay leader....Is that person you?

As many may know by now our President

(along with 5 other countries) without
consulting our Congress, has signed a Deal
with Iran which includes some language and
promises that are very dangerous to the well
being of our Country and to the stability of
Israel and the Middle-East. We have an
opportunity to lift our voices in a powerful way
by and lend our support to our leaders and
thereby be instrumental in a better deal.
Please attend a short meeting after church Services in the upper classroom, August 2nd,
at 12:00pm for further information.
Also, Peggy Shapiro, Director of the Chicago District of Stand With Us has agreed to visit
with us on September 6th, at 6:00 at which time she will discuss this very important and
urgent situation and show us how to practically engage in a letter writing campaign to
voice our concerns and encourage our leaders.
Ahead of all of this we need to be praying for the ways that God can use us to be a voice
of intervention in this time. A bad deal certainly can be a pathway to proclaiming even
better news - the gospel.

Weekly Devotional
Read Hebrews 11:36-38 These verses offer to us clarity that dispels all
the bad evangelism which tends to say: Come to Jesus and the streets
will be lined with gold and your problems will fade away. The great
cloud of witnesses, those who came before us, stood faithfully as a
testimony that life with Christ is not easier, but better. How? Because in
Christ, your life leads to life rather than death. In fact as an active
participant in this new life, powered by the Holy Spirit, you become a
testimony that leads others to greater life in Christ by sharing the
Gospel. How can you stand by faith in greater ways for Jesus Christ?

Weekly Bible Reading

July
July
July
July

26th
27th
28th
29th

James 5
1 Peter 1
1 Peter 2
1 Peter 3

July
July
Aug

30th
31st
1st

1 Peter 4
1 Peter 5
2 Peter 1