This Week’s Prayer Guide IN LOVING MEMORY Wednesday – For the Lord to guide us through the OF IRENE NYMEYER discussions regarding our denominational affiliation. Thursday – For God’s ongoing activity in each our July 29, 1927 - August 13, 2021 hearts, conforming us to the image of . Irene (whose first name was Clara) was raised Friday – For all of us to do our part in preventing the by adoptive parents, and graduated from further spread of the virus. Goshen High School in 1945. She married Saturday – For our Heavenly Father to prepare our Frederick Nymeyer on June 22, 1947, in Goshen. He died April hearts to hear His Word preached tomorrow. 24, 1984. She is survived by three children - Elizabeth, Joyce, Sunday – For the Holy Spirit to speak to us through and Fred, five grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. the Word of God as Pastor Joel preaches. Monday – For those in our congregation dealing with uncertainties regarding their health. Next informational meeting this Sunday Tuesday – For ongoing unity in our church as we We will meet during the Sunday school hour this Sunday, August collectively seek God’s diretion for our fellowship. 29, in the West Wing to get an update from Scott Miller on our ongoing discussions concerning our denominational affiliation.

Women's Ministry Adventure

Last Saturday, thirteen ladies spent the day together visiting five quilt gardens around Elkhart and enjoying some fun shopping and a delicious lunch together. It was a hot but lovely day to reconnect with our sisters in Christ. This was our Women's Ministry first fellowship event since March 2020 due to the pandemic. Women's Ministry meets the 1st

Wed of each month for a Service Day and again once per month for a Fellowship Event. Our next fellowship event will be the Quilt Retreat Day on September 25.

Choosing Faith Over Fear We live in a world where there is a constant news cycle of unsettling events: COVID cases are spiking, political divides are widening, anger about masks and vaccinations are increasing, natural disasters are intensifying, not to mention the personal issues occurring in your own family! It’s easy to be overwhelmed. Yet the says, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.” Fear is a tool of ; quiet confidence is a result of faith. Will I trust and believe God will take care of all of this… or am I going to give in to fear and the tactics of the devil? It’s a choice.

……………………………… Photos that will make you smile

I love my dog. Whenever he see me cry, he collects up dirty socks and brings them to me. They’re his favorite things in the world.

Because they make him happy he thinks they

will make me happy too. He’s a good boy.

Every Easter in our neighborhood an elderly man would paint little “bunny” prints along the sidewalk and up to the door of every home where a child lived showing that the Easter bunny had come to their house. He did this for over 40 years. Last summer that old man passed away. Surprisingly, this past Easter the bunny tracks were there again! Turns out his 18 year old grandson (who plays middle linebacker on the football team) got up at three in the morning and spent four hours by himself painting the prints just to make sure that the neighborhood kids wouldn’t be disappointed. Now that I am a father of my own I don’t believe in the Easter bunny. But I do believe in love and thinking of other people. That’s what this teenager showed. Isn’t that part of what Jesus tried to teach us?

An Army vet’s wheelchair broke while shopping at Lowes. th Scott Neeson, former head of 20 Century Fox International, left He was totally embarrassed and began to weep (see Hollywood to save children rotting in Cambodia’s garbage dumps. background of upper photo). Several employees dropped He sold his mansion, Porsche, and yacht to set off for Cambodia to everything they were doing and fixed the man’s provide food, shelter, and education to destitute children. He wheelchair right there on the spot for free. They said it now cares for more than 1,000 Cambodian kids and their families. was the least they could do for his service to his country. How God Leads His Servants by Pastor Joel DeSelm

Acts 8:1-5 1 On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and . 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison. 4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there.

The travels of Philip the evangelist in hold many biblical treasures and practical applications. Some of the greatest lessons are how the Holy Spirit moves and works in the lives of people, directing them into God’s perfect will.

The “Philip” in this chapter is not who you may think he is. Many believers assume it is , one of the original twelve that Jesus chose. However, a careful study of scripture indicates it is a different Philip. In :1-4 it is clear that the Philip appointed as a was not Philip the apostle because the whole purpose of appointing was to free up the apostles for prayer and preaching (Acts 6:4). Another hint that this Philip was not the apostle is found in Acts 8:1 where it states that a severe persecution scattered the church throughout Judea and Samaria “except the apostles.” Obviously, then, the Apostle Philip remained in Jerusalem while Philip the Evangelist (also referred to as “Philip the Deacon”) headed to Samaria.

There are several reasons why Philip would have journeyed to Samaria after the persecution. First, he was most likely a Hellenistic Jew (Jews who combined Judaism with Greek culture) because Philip is a . Because of the intense hatred between Jews and , orthodox Jews would have been reluctant to minister in Samaria, knowing they would have received a chilly reception. Furthermore, Jesus had previously told His disciples NOT to enter any towns of Samaria, but, rather, to go to the sheep of Israel (Matthew 10:4,5). However, all of that changed after . Thus, Philip went to Samaria in obedience to :8 – “But you will receive power when the Holy Philip goes from Jerusalem to Sebaste (1) and then back to Jerusalem (2) in order to pick up the desert road (3) where he encounters the Ethiopian Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in eunuch. He is then teleported to Azotus (4) where he continues up the Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of coast to Caesarea Philippi (5). the earth." The “city in Samaria” referenced in Acts 1:5 was Sabaste, a Hellenistic city built on the ruins of the ancient city of Samaria (which had been destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 B.C). The city of Sabaste was populated by many Greeks and Hellenistic Jews which provided an ideal place for Philip to not only minister but also remain obscure during the intense persecution occurring in Jerusalem. Philip’s decision, then, to head to Sabaste would have been made because of circumstances and utilizing sound wisdom principles. As believers, many decisions we make are based on given circumstances and exercising Godly wisdom from the Lord.

Philip preached to vast crowds in Sabaste (Acts 8:5, 6), producing not only fruitful converts but fruitful joy (Acts 8:8). In fact, to do the follow-up and discipling of these new converts the church in Jerusalem sent Peter and John, pillars of the church, to assist (Acts 8:14-25). This indicates how the early church finally recognized the importance of having an evangelistic outreach to the hated Samaritans. However, right in the midst of this successful revival, God does something surprising: He uses an (literally a “messenger” in the original Greek) to inform Philip to “Go south to the road – the desert road – that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza” (Acts 8:26). No further instructions were given at that time. Philip, demonstrating great sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, obeyed and went.

This is an intriguing development. Had I been Philip I would have balked: “What? But, Lord, isn’t it more advantageous for me to continue to minister to hundreds in a setting that is bearing great fruit? Why leave such a successful ministry at such a critical time? What possible reason and advantage could there be for me to be on a desert road leading to Ruins from the ancient city of Sebaste. It was here that Philip preached the first Gaza? And what in the world am I supposed to do on to Samaritans and was then told by an angel to head to the desert road this desolate road?” (You see, I often know best…) leading from Jerusalem to Gaza.

Interestingly, Philip never questions this clear instruction. The Bible simply states, “So he started out” (Acts 8:27). At that time Philip didn’t realize that a caravan heading from Jerusalem back to Africa was on that same road, led by an who was desperately seeking the Lord. In God’s kingdom He views the soul of a single person as just as high of value as a public ministry to thousands. However, notice in this episode how Philip made his decision to alter his course. Rather then utilizing wisdom principles and circumstances (which made perfect sense), Philip listened to the nudging of the Holy Spirit and left the revival, heading to the barren desert road (which made absolutely no sense).

Once Philip chose to obey and continued to the Gaza road, the Holy Spirit gave him further instruction as seen in Acts 8:29 – “The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that and stay near it.’” Notice how God honored Philip’s obedience to His voice and provided further light and instruction in terms of Philip’s next step. There’s a lesson there for us, isn’t there?

But the story isn’t finished. After leading this Ethiopian eunuch to the Lord (who was likely the first Gentile to come to Christ in history), God led Philip in yet another way. This time, Philip was physically teleported to the city of Azotus (probably ), some thirty miles away. Though we raise our eyebrows at this time/space travel, such miraculous teleportation is seen in various episodes throughout the scriptures (cf. Genesis 5:24; 2 Kings 2:11; John 6:21; 20:26). Eventually Philip continued up the coast and settled in where the Apostle Paul visited him twenty years later (:7-16).

What can we gather from this string of events? To be sure, God has promised to lead us… but He chooses to lead us in different, unique ways. Sometimes the Lord wants us to make decisions based on wisdom principles, using reasonable judgment (Philip heading to Sebaste). Other times He directs us through the Godly counsel of others, spiritual “messengers” the Lord sends into our lives directing us in the way the Holy Spirit Lord wants us to go (the angel instructing Philip to head to the desert road). Other times God directs us in supernatural ways that make no earthly sense and leaves us scratching our heads in wonderment (Philip being teleported to Azotus).

The secret is that there is no magic formula. Discovering God’s will requires being sensitive to the Holy Spirit as He speaks to us through God’s Word, God’s messengers, and God’s “nudgings.” Once we discern what it seems the Lord want us to do, we need to act in faith, trusting Him to provide us with more light and more guidance. This is not easy. And the painful reality is that following the Lord’s leading is often wrought with moments of doubt, uncertainty, and confusion (cf. Genesis 12:1-4).

Perhaps you are in the throes of making a decision and just not sure if it’s the right one. Here’s a word of encouragement: relax. Nobody does it perfectly. God has this under His control and will sovereignly make things clear and accomplish His purposes in spite of your “humanness.” The best you can to is to continue to pray, listen to His voice, and slowly move ahead, trusting that He will either put up roadblocks or continue to give you a greenlight. Philip understood these things. May we better understand them as well. © Map copyright 2005-2015 by David P. Barrett Used by permission. © Copyright Joel DeSelm 2021 © Photo by Todd Bolen. Used by permission, BiblePlaces.com Sunday School Lesson #34 (based on Pastor Joel’s Sunday sermon from August 22)

Daniel 10 1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel. Its message was true and it concerned a great war. The understanding of the message came to him in a vision.2 In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. 3 I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks. 4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, that is, the Tigris, 5 I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with gold of Uphaz. 6 His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the noise of a multitude. (cf. Rev. 1:13ff) 9 Then I heard the sound of his words; and when I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in a deep sleep with my face to the ground.11 And he [, an accompanying angel] said to me, "O Daniel, man greatly beloved, give heed to the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you." While he was speaking this word to me, I stood up trembling. 12 Then he said to me, "Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your mind to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. 13 The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; but , one of the chief princes, came to help me, so I left him there with the prince of the kingdom of Persia 14 and came to make you understand what is to befall your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come." 15 When he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and was dumb. 16 And behold, one in the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke. I said to him who stood before me, "O my lord, by reason of the vision pains have come upon me, and I retain no strength. 17 How can my lord’s servant talk with my lord? For now no strength remains in me, and no breath is left in me." 18 Again one having the appearance of a man touched me and strengthened me. 19 And he said, "O man greatly beloved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage." And when he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, "Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me." 20 Then he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia; and when I am through with him, lo, the prince of Greece will come. 21 But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth: there is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince.

Question #1: In this midst of Daniel’s grief and concern, he fasted and prayed to the Lord for twenty-one days. He then had a fresh vision of the Lord Jesus Christ (vs. 5, 6). Why would this be important?

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Question #2: Daniel began praying on Day 1 and continued to persevere in prayer for 21 days (three weeks). When Daniel’s prayers were heard, Gabriel was immediately dispatched to help Daniel. However, the angel was resisted. Why?

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Question #3: Often, rather than praying, we rely on other methods and solutions to solve our problems. What are some of those default mechanisms that we habitually turn to?

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Question #4: According to vs. 18 and 19, what were some other ways that God chose to answer Daniel’s prayers?

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Question #5: What were some of the “take aways” that you learned from this chapter?

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