Calvary Chapel Newsletter November-December 2013.pdf

8/14/2019 Calvary Chapel Newsletter November-December 2013.pdf

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Have I not commanded you? Be strong and

of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be

dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you

wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

The Lord never intended for His follow-

ers to dread the future. Although we mayfeel afraid at times, we should never letfear control us. Dr. Charles Stanley. Im

sure each and every one of us has faced asituation that caused us to be afraid.

One of my favorite passages on trustingGod is Joshua 1:9. Fear is the opposite oftrust. When you fear you are telling God I

dont trust you. The promise that God gave

Joshua when they were afraid to cross theJordan River is still true for us today. Thereis no need to fear when we lean on thepowerful presence of the Lord.

I remember a time when Tom and Iwere newly married. We had moved fromOrange County to Riverside and were at-tending the little Calvary Chapel in MorenoValley. We had just bought our first homeand had a new baby. Tom decided thiswould be a good time for me to quit myjob (After all, he had a good union jobnow). I would be a stay home wife and

mother. I, being the submissive wife I was,quit my job of 18 years to stay home. I wasvery- very- afraid to give up my security. Itwasnt even a couple weeks later that Tom

broke his leg in a motorcycle accident. NowI was in a panic, what were we going todo? A couple of weeks later he was laid offcompletely. Tom and I had no Job, no in-come a new mortgage and a new baby.

I remember driving to O.C one day andthe Lord spoke to me in His still small voice,Do you trust the union or do you trust me?

Of course, I wanted to cry out, I trust you

Lord. I learned a good lesson on trust that

day. My fear was contingent on where Iplace my trust. Deuteronomy 31:6 says, Be

strong and of good courage, do not fearnor be afraid of them; for the Lord yourGod, He is the One who goes with you. Hewill not leave you nor forsake you. Union

jobs will come and go but the Lord is withyou always!!!

I dont know if you are in a frightening

situation now or not, (If not hang on be-cause you soon will be) but I do know as

you meditate on the Lord, seek his face anddwell on His promises your situation willbecome a lot smaller and easier to bear.Every challenge is surmountable in the

presence of our Holy, all-powerful andawesome God. Take your eyes off the

circumstances and place them on Jesus. Hehas it all under control and is right therewith you in the fire.

Love, Sandie

Calvary Chapel Reno-Sparks November-December 2013

Portraits From Sandie 1

Praise & Worship 2

Fruit of Her Hands 3

Titus 2 4

Womens Ministry

Events & Recipe

5

Devotional 6

Expressions of Love 7

Calvary Chapel Info

Calendar

8

Inside this issue:

OUR DESIRES FOR THE

WOMENS MINISTRIES ARE:

To encourage deeper relationships

and spiritual growth for the women

in the body of Christ.

To provide a place where women

will be encouraged and uplifted to

seek Gods best for their lives.

To give opportunity to study the

Word of God together that women

might grow in the grace and

knowledge of our Lord Jesus.

To equip women to be lights in their

homes, neighborhoods and work-

places reflecting the love of Jesus

Christ to all.

Calvary Chapel Reno-SparksFragrant Life Womens Ministry Newsletter

Have I not commanded you? Be

strong and of good courage; do

not be afraid, nor be dismayed,

for the Lord your God is with you

wherever you go. Joshua 1:9


2/8

Page 2 Fragrant L i fe Womens

Praise Worship

O Holy Night

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;

It is the night of the dear Saviors birth!

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!

O night divine, O night when Christ was born!

O night, O holy night, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,

With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.

So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,

Here came the wise men from Orient land.

The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,

In all our trials born to be our Friend!

He knows our needto our weakness is no stranger.

Behold your King; before Him lowly bend!

Behold your King; before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is love and His Gospel is peace.Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother

And in His Name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

Let all within us praise His holy Name!

Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!

His powr and glory evermore proclaim!

His powr and glory evermore proclaim!

WOMEN OF COURAGE

Psalm 8To the Chief

Musician. On the instrument of

Gath. A Psalm of David.

O LORD, our Lord, How ex-

cellent is Your name in all the

earth, Who have set Your

glory above the heavens!

Out of the mouth of babes

and nursing infants You have

ordained strength, Because of

Your enemies, That You may

silence the enemy and the

avenger.

When I consider Your heav-

ens, the work of Your fingers,

The moon and the stars, which

You have ordained,

What is man that You are

mindful of him, And the son of

man that You visit him?

For You have made him a

little lower than the angels,

And You have crowned him

with glory and honor.

You have made him to have

dominion over the works of

Your hands; You have put all

things under his feet,

All sheep and oxen--Even thebeasts of the field,

The birds of the air, And the

fish of the sea That pass

through the paths of the seas.

O LORD, our Lord, How ex-

cellent is Your name in all the

earth!

How Can I Develop Courage?

1. CChoose to spend time in Gods Word.

2. OObserve the courage in others.

3. UUtilize your time in prayer.

4. RRecall Gods promises to be with you

always.

5. AAsk yourself if you are obeying Gods

word.

6. GGet your eyes off yourself and place

them on Jesus.

7. EExpectantly wait on

the Lord in His time.


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Page 3Fragrant L i fe Womens Minis try WOMEN OF COURAGE

Fruit of Her Hands MinistryGods Christmas Gift To

YouA Simply True Story

by Kelly Gardner

For God so loved the world, that He

gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in

Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. John

3:16

I have spent the last several weeks thinking, planning

and preparing for our November Fruit of Her HandsFellowship of, Simple Gifts For Christmas. While cut-

ting many-many squares of fabric I found myself simp-

ly thinking about The Greatest Gift Ever!

Do you know what The Greatest Gift Ever is? The

Bible tells us in John 3:16 that God loved us so much

that He gave us His Only Son, Jesus Christ as a gift to

us. Thats pretty wonderful to think the creator of the

universe gave us what was most precious to Him.

Could you do that? Could you give away what is mostimportant to you in the whole wide world to just any-

body? I thought about that question as I continued cut-

ting my many-many squares of fabric.

I thought about how I have watched ordinary people

receive gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings,

Christmas, and Just Because. I thought about how

sometimes the gifts that are given are not accepted or

received by the person who the gift was intended for.

So how can we accept The Greatest Gift Ever that

God has freely given to us? John 3:16 goes on to tell

us that we must believe in Gods only begotten Son,

Jesus Christ.

You see, there is nothing we can do on our own other

than to accept Gods gift. The Bible tells us in Romans

10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus

and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from

the dead, you will be saved. - NKJV

So whats the big deal? Why is Gods Christmas Gift

To You the Greatest Gift Ever? When we through faith

confess we are a sinner, and say with our mouth that

we want Jesus Christ to come and live in us, we will not

perish, but have everlasting life. This means when we

die in this life we will go on to a life eternal in heaven,

with Jesus Christ Our Lord.

So why not make today the day you accept Gods

Christmas Gift To You and make this your Greatest

Gift Ever to have received!

Womens Ministry Book Selection for

November/December

Touched By Greatness, Women In

The Life Of MosesBy Dorothy Kelley Patterson

The woman who bore him, the young

girl who shadowed him, and the foreigner who raised

him are just three of the key influencers on his life.

Their actions meant that a Hebrew child was reared

as a prince of Egypt and became one of the greatest

leaders of all time. Each woman who influenced the

life of Moses was guided by God to bring his plans to

pass. As you read about their lives you will discover

the unique role women have to be mightily used by

God too.

This book is very easy to read as Dorothy Kelley Pat-

terson shares a description of each woman by using

historical information, biblical information and appli-

cation. Each chapter ends with further study sugges-

tions and prayer.

Joyful Books


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Courage To Trust Jesus

By Beverly Chong

Hmmm, Courage.After hearing my dearest sister tell

me recently, You have been very courageous, I had

to think about that for a while and try to digest the

deeper meaning in her comment.

As of three years ago, my whole life was being turned

upside down and inside out, because I took a standand walked away from tolerating a life that had last-

ed for way too many years, and then being aware

that my decision was guiding me toward a process of

morphing into All things new, not only left me breath-

less, but it was like a hurricane of events that seemed

to take place with me just holding on to the Lord for

dear life, with both hands, while wearing blinders on

my eyes. To my emotional discomfort, I not only dis-

covered that the ride had only just begun, but the re-

alization that God is in no hurry whatsoever! I guesswhen He told Joshua to be strong and courageous, not

once, but three times, Joshua 1:6,7 and 9, maybe that

is exactly what He was also telling me. Well, with

that scripture pulsating in my head along with the com-

ment from my sister, I thought about the courage that

was found in people like Abraham, having the willing-

ness to obey God and trusting that God would pro-

vide a sacrifice other than Abrahams own beloved son,

Daniel facing hungry ravenous mouths of lions, David

standing before Goliath, holding on to his dinky littlesling shot (I loved playing with the sling shot when I

was a kid, but never imagined it could do such harm),

the three little Hebrew children standing in the middle

of that hot burning furnace (makes me think of the

horrendous times I worked on the Burn Unit at the hos-

pital, and the incredibly devastating pain endured by

so many patients and then to think these young He-

brew children were not burned or even singed). I think

of the courage it has taken to serve in the military dur-

ing war or to have the strength to stand up and fightagainst injustice, or the courage to hold the hand of a

loved one or stranger, facing an unbelievable diagno-

sis, or to silently stand by them as they slip away from

this life. Then, the courage to turn your cheek and

forgive when it wasnt your fault in the first place or

the courage that will stand bold and strong before

sacrifice has been asked of you, as what recently took

place in our own home, Nevada. You see, courage is

possible because of faith. Faith that gives you

strength to stand up in the face of fear, a wrong, an

enemy, or impossibility, to advocate for one that is

unable to do so for themselves, or just to hold the terri-

fied, helpless hand of another. There are countless

situations taking place daily that exemplify courage;

courage that causes many of us to ask why and how

was that possible?

Well, my friend, I have come to an inspiring digest of

the words my sister spoke that day. You see, courage

is a quality that we all are capable of displayingwhen called upon, and it happens way down deep

inside our hearts. Courage is the willingness to trust

Jesus at His promise of never turning loose of our

hands. Courage is faith in His words I will strengthen

you no matter how many pieces of our lives have

been broken into. You see, He holds all those pieces

and when we are able

to surrender our all to

Him, of which takes

Courage, He will lovinglyallow us to witness what

that courageous willing-

ness will manifest before

us. God bless you all

and be strong and cou-

rageous just where you

are.

Titus 2


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Can I Be a Womanof Courage?

by Karen Kasser

In 2012, I had the opportunityto travel to Russia with DebbiBryson for a women's confer-

ence for the Calvary Chapel churches all over thathuge country. Some women had traveled over 17hours by train to attend. They saved pennies all yearto be able to make this long journey, to fellowshipwith other sisters in the Lord. One woman seekingprayer after a workshop shared about her husband.He shunned her on a daily basis and mocked her faith.Her children were grown and gone and her life con-sisted of faithfully serving a man who demanded toeat alone, cared nothing for her wants or desires, anddrank regularly, treating her even worse when he wasdrunk. If you asked her, she would not say she is a

woman of courage. She just kept praying and trustingGod.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good

courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for theLORD your God iswith you wherever you go. TheHebrew word "courage" found in Joshua 1:9 is amats.It is not the most common Hebrew word used for cour-age: hazaqwhich literally means "to show oneselfstrong." amats means to be quick or alert, firm, strong,brave, bold and determined. God is commanding

Joshua to be strong, yes, AND to be quick, alert, firm,bold and determined. God also uses this particularword in Ruth 1:18, "When she [Naomi] saw that she[Ruth] was determined [from amats] to go with her, shestopped speaking to her." Ruth was determined toboldly leave her homeland, without a husband, andfollow Naomi and her God, despite the awful circum-stances God had allowed.

This Russian woman had the kind of courage God iscommanding: she was alert, aware of the spiritual

battle raging in her house. She was quick to pray andask other sisters to intercede for her. She was firm inher resolve to follow God despite awful circumstances.Like Ruth, she was determined, each day, every month,year after year, to follow God and trust in Hisstrength to be the woman He called her to be. She isthe picture of a WOMAN of COURAGE in God's eyes.

Each one of us can be that WOMAN of COURAGE inour life. Maybe it is allowing the Holy Spirit to workon our husbands and not blame, punish or revile thembecause of their behavior. Maybe it is forgiving 7times 70 times that person who continues to disrespector take advantage of you. Courage means to bealert! Be aware! 1 Peter 5:8 warns, "Be sober, be vig-ilant; because your adversary the devil walks aboutlike a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." Welive in a battle for souls, for marriages, for truth. Cour-age means being determined to follow God no matterwhat. Courage means to be bold in our faith and trustin God's power to do His will. God told Joshua whatHe had planned and commanded him to be quick,

alert, bold and determined. God assured him Hewould be with him wherever he went as Joshua fol-lowed God's commands.

The Lord answered that Russian woman's prayers in amighty way. The last night of the conference shecalled her husband. She nearly fainted when her hus-band responded with LOVE, crying, telling her thatGod had spoken to him while she was gone and hewas so sorry for the way he had treated her. He saidhe did not deserve such a faithful, loving wife and he

was so excited for her to come home.Yes, we can all be a WOMAN of COURAGE. All ittakes is to remain closely connected to God throughthe study of His Word, prayer, fellowship and service.Then be ready to watch Him work and to rejoice in Hisgreat plan for your life!

Devotional


7/8

IT TAKES COURAGE

By Mary Jane Robinette

I have thought about the many women in the bible who portray

courage. We are very familiar with both Ruth and Esther. Each

one of these women had great courage and found their strength

in God. In meditating on these two women I began to contemplate

who in my lifetime do I admire so much as a woman of great

courage. My thoughts kept coming back to the same person, but it

wasnt a woman. It was my son.

Five years ago his wife walked out of his life and left him to be afather and a mother figure to two small children, a six year old

son and a 13 year old daughter. Their mother abandoned them.

He had no support from her to help him financially, and no job.

After 25 years of service the company he worked for closed

down. Unemployment checks helped some. Over time he was able

to seek welfare and as many aides as he could get. Through these

difficult days his health deteriorated and he found himself unable

to return to work. He suffered rejection from the Social Security

Disability Administration and was denied a pension. As any moth-

er does she comes along side her child to comfort them during

difficult times. It was during that time that the Lord gave me the

words to encourage him to put his hope in God and to acceptJesus Christ into his heart. I remember vividly the day that I once

again said to him, you need to accept Jesus into your life and

he answered me, mom, I did that yesterday. My son began to

pray. He found hope through prayer. He was awarded a second

meeting with Social Security and this time the judgment was in his

favor. We prayed on our way to the meeting and we praised

God after the meeting. To God be the glory and honor.

Over these last five years Ive listened to my son cry in despera-

tion. Ive listened to him cry with a proud love in his heart when he

read to me the words that his daughter wrote to him in a MothersDay card. His daily schedule includes doing all the things for his

children that having a mother in the house would do for them. He

cooks hot meals, packs lunches, cleans the house and does the

laundry. He mends their clothes. He goes to school meetings, helps

out in the classrooms. He tends to their health and dental visits.

The struggle to raise a teenage daughter was at times a test of

endurance. With courage he emulated a mothers understanding

heart, and with a fathers discipline he made rules for her to

obey. He has done an awesome task of parenting in getting her

through that difficult period of her life. As I write this my grandson

is turning 11 years old in a few days and enjoys sharing his hob-

bies with his dad. My granddaughter is now 18. She is a senior inhigh school with a 3.9 grade average. Over the summer she stud-

ied and tested and is now a licensed CNA with a focus on a medi-

cal career. I am so proud of my son. It swells my heart to watch as

he walks with courage every day, and so blessed to see the love

that permeates from his heart in both duties of being a father and

a mother figure to his children.

I have to honor the men in our own congregation here at Calvary

Chapel who are single dads. And I praise the women in our con-

gregation who are single moms. It takes courage to be a single

parent. I was one of those women myself when my husband leftme alone to raise our fifteen year old teenage daughter. It took

courage for me each day to wake up and just get into the shower

and go to work. It took courage for me to raise my daughter

alone. Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of

good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD

your God is with you wherever you go. When we are put into

these positions in our lives we feel hopeless, afraid, and aban-

doned. There are times God calls us to do tasks that we think we

can never accomplish alone. However we know that God never

gives us anything in life that he doesnt first equip us to do. God

will never leave us nor forsake us.

I pray that all single parents never doubt their abilities when

faced with both parenting rolls to their children. The darkest hours

are the times that God is working His hardest to give all of us the

courage and strength to meet each day as it comes. God is in

control, and everything is by His plan. We read

in Romans8:28 And we know that all things work together for

good for those who love God, to those who are the called ac-

cording to His purpose.

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Expressions of Love

Calvary ChapelCalvary ChapelCalvary Chapel

RenoRenoReno---SparksSparksSparks

Christmas Eve ServiceChristmas Eve ServiceChristmas Eve Service

5:30pm5:30pm5:30pm

New Years Eve ServiceNew Years Eve ServiceNew Years Eve Service

7:00pm7:00pm7:00pm


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Calvary Chapel Reno-Sparks

November-December 2013

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED AT CALVARY CHAPEL?

First: Present yourself to God (Romans 12:1) for confirmation that He has planted you in this fellowship. If so, then

discover your gifts and Gods calling your life. Second: Study to show yourself approved unto God (2 Timothy 2:15). As you grow in your relationship with God,

let Him prepare you for effective service.

Third: Be doers of the Word (James 1:22). Commit yourself to the work of Jesus Christ in this fellowship. Get in-

volved as a yielded vessel to Gods guiding anywhere He directs.

Helps Ministry: Food Pantry, Meal Ministry

Caf 2:42

Womens Greeters

Womens Monday Bible Study: 10am & 6:30pm

Womens Conferences, Koinonias & Retreats

Womens Wed Evening & Thursday Morning PRAYER

Childrens Ministry, Nursery, Childcare

Fruit of Her Hands

Widows Meeting (Encourage &Prayer) 2nd Sunday of the

Month in Caf 2:42 8:15 am

Moms In Prayer Mondays 12pm. This ministry is for moms who

want to get together and pray for their children. We meet on a

weekly basis in the 3rd/4th grade classroom. Child care will

be shared as needed. Call DiAnn at 972-4264.

Fragrant Life Newsletter (Recipes & Devotionals) Contact: Kelly

Gardner at 843-0650

Joyful Books Wednesdays 9:30am

Contact the Church Office and Fill Out a Ministry Questionnaire

(775) 856-1110

Calvary Chapel Reno-Sparks

220 Edison Way, Reno, NV 89502

(775)856-1110 FAX (775) 856-2031

www.calvarychapelreno.org

Senior Pastor Tom Luitwieler

Admin. Pastor Rob Wolfe

Youth Pastor Juan Rodriguez

Worship Pastor Scott Cresta

Mission Pastor Leonard Sanchez

Secretary Kim Bowser

PRAYER CHAIN

ANN-(775)673-1238

EILEEN (775)972-1790

CHURCH OFFICE: (775) 856-1110

4,11,18,25 Womens Bible Study

6,13,20 Joyful Books 9:30am

3rd Missions Prayer 12:30pm

10th Widows Meeting 8:15am

6,13,20,27 Evening Prayer 6pm

7,14,21 Morning Prayer 10am

4,11,18,25Moms In Prayer 12pm

9th Fruit of Her Hands 10-2

28th Happy Thanksgiving

2,9,16 Womens Bible Study

4,11,18 Joyful Books 9:30am

1st Missions Prayer 12:30 pm

8th Widows Meeting 8:15am

4,11,18 Evening Prayer 6pm

5,12,19 Morning Prayer 10am

14th Womens Koinonia 10am

24th

31st

Christmas Eve Service 5:30

New Years Eve Service 7pm

November 2013

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December 2013Su Mo Tu We Th Fri Sat

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Calvary Chapel Newsletter November-December 2013.pdf

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