From A Few Fish...

Welcome back family!

Well what a weekend it was, 4th of July weekend...independence!  Let's take a moment to give thanks to the Lord our God, that true independence comes from Him.  True freedom comes thru the knowledge of Jesus Christ, knowing Him as our Lord and Savior!  He freed us from slavery to sin, the deadliest of things...  He rescued us from the wrath of God, the right and just punishment due to all of us sinners for offending the infinitely Holy God.  All of this He did because He is love, He is our Creator...and even while we were still sinners, He died for us.  Then just as was prophesied, just as was promised, God showed everyone that the finished works of Christ were indeed done on the Cross, when He raised Him from the dead!  Brothers and sisters, this is the independence we need to be reminded of, be thankful for and it's because of this that we will continue to have men and women lay down their lives for their country, their families, their neighbors, their Lord (Jesus) and including in some cases their enemies.  Many men and women in the line of service have laid down their lives to protect the very God given freedoms we have in this country, even while those who enjoy those freedoms use them to hate those who ensure they have them.  So let's always remember the Lord our God, always...

This weekend at church was wonderful!  We got to hear and share testimonies of what Jesus is doing in the lives of His people, worship the Lord together, listen deeply within the heart, the very word of God that gives us hope and life, and share together in a community meal with everyone who comes to our services.  Being able to sit together to share in a meal while listening to the Word is...well beyond fantastic!  This week's sermon, we are thankful to have our Pastor Scott return and continue in the Gospel of John.  The reading for this week was in John 6:1-15, which so happens to be where we witness the feeding of the 5000 men (counting women and children...maybe 2-3 times that amount), so sharing a meal in a community while listening to the Word...we get that from the Master Himself.  Pastor Scott reminds us that as the disciples were wondering back and forth where they could possibly get what they needed to feed that many people, or why they all weren't sent away to go find food...we see the Lord tell His disciples to feed them!  Fortunately there was a boy who brought with him 5 small barely loaves and 2 small fish!  This may not seem like much, but remember that the Lord will use what we see as insignificant or foolish to confound the wise!  The God of ALL CREATION...certainly isn't going to have any problem with feeding whomever He pleases, with just a few items amen?  Barely loaves were by no means considered a top shelf of breads, yet even then...this matters not, for even from water (John 2) we see the Lord create the greatest tasting wine!  All in all dear friends, as Pastor Scott reminds us, God can and does use us as He chooses and no small amount of talent, strength, money nor skill will make you less useful to the Kingdom of God!  This should give us a great deal of hope!  He still feeds everyone on earth, every single day...many who don't bother to give thanks to the very Lord and God who created them...and He certainly feeds our very spirit, as He is the bread of life!

There is much more to say on the sermon but that takes away the joy of watching for yourselves!  So it is with great hope and joy that we can share this with you, that you might share it with others.  Without a doubt, we owe Jesus everything...let's serve Him, in the way He has given us to do, amen?

Don't forget to visit us right here on the website, we have many services available.  We will also be posting information come soon about the upcoming TUMI (The Urban Ministry Institute) for those interested, so keep an eye out for that.  We hope to see you next Saturday at 7pm for fellowship, worship and a meal! 

And as you lay down tonight, awake in the same manner of giving God thanks for who He is,

FRF Team