God’s Good Purposes

                              

GATHERING                                                             Jeremy Kropf   

Like the Murmur of the Dove's Song                              Blue #29

 

Call to Worship                                                  Deborah Wetherill

 

Opening Prayer

 

Music for Meditation                               Karin Redekopp Edwards 

Lonely Woods (Handel)

PRAISING

       Praise to God, Immortal Praise                                       Blue #91

We Would Extol Thee                                                      Blue #74

 

CONFESSION                                                                  

       Prayer of Confession                                                      Blue #690

       Words of Assurance                                                        

      

Hearing God’s Word                                     

       Children’s Story                                                 Deborah Wetherill

The Quarreling Book  

 

Scripture Reading                                                     Carlen Sellers

 

Leader:   Listen for the Word of the Lord.

People:  Our ears are open.

 

Genesis 45: 1-15 (p. 37); Romans 12: 14-21 (p. 923)

 

Leader:   This is the Word of the Lord.

People:  Thanks be to God!

                                                  

       Sermon                                                                     John Stoltzfus

“All in the Family”

 

RESPONDING TO GOD’S WORD 

       Make Me a Channel of Your Peace                             Green #56

 

Offering (Please pass the Friendship Register in your row)  

Offertory:                                        Karin Redekopp Edwards 

Sing, Joyous Bird (Phillips)

                      

Congregational Sharing and Prayer                                     

Leader:  Lord, in your mercy/goodness,         

People:  hear our prayer.

        

SENDING

       Thuma Mina                                                                 Blue #434 

Words of Blessing

 

Please join us downstairs in the Fellowship Hall immediately

after the service for coffee and refreshments.

 

Prayers of the People                                       

·         For Carol Bohnert and her family as she undergoes a procedure to increase circulation in her brain

·         For Todd as he returns to the church office this week from sabbatical

·         For Warren Komis and Jennifer Walker as they prepare to be married next Sunday

·         For Naomi Pridjian and Bettina Ortiz as they attempt to make housing transitions

·         For those caring for aging loved ones

·         For Andrew, Daria, Julia and Christopher White as they settle into life and a new home in Virginia

 

Today at Our Church                                         

Worship	9:30–10:45 AM
Nursery (for 1-2 year olds): Karen Householter & Paul Reimer
Coffee & Fellowship	10:45–11:00 AM
Children’s and Youth Education	10:45–11:45 AM
Nursery: Melodie Graber & Jason Rhodes
Primary 1 (through Kindergarten, meets in basement library): Emily Householter & Family, Kate Vendrely
Primary 2 (1st-5th Grade, meets in conference room): Amy Mellinger, MYF
Adult Education	11:00–11:45 AM
Peacekeeping Class	Sanctuary
The Faith Journey	Fireplace Room
Patchwork Place	Fellowship Hall
Capital Campaign Committee Meeting	12:00 PM

This Week’s Activities                                      

Tues	Men’s and Women’s Lunches at Maxfields	12:00 PM
	West Suburban Faith-based Peace Coalition Monthly Meeting	7:00 PM

Coming Events                                                    

Aug 24	Todd Preaching
	Nursery:	Patti MacGregor & Evan Richards  Bob Boltz & Jimmy Orjala
	SummerFest at the Richers
Aug 25-27	Jewel Shop & Share Days
Sept 13-14	Church Retreat at Camp Menno Haven

Announcements                                                

·         Welcome back Todd, Dennette and Jasmine! (They officially return from Todd’s three-month sabbatical on Tuesday.) Pease give them a warm welcome back and make note of their new email address: frieswine@gmail.com.

·         A big thank you to all who helped at our International Gift Sale this weekend! For those of you who didn’t have a chance to stop by, items remaining from the event are on sale downstairs in the Fellowship Hall. Remember, all proceeds from this sale go to Global Family Program, Mennonite Central Committee’s program to help children get education around the world.

·         Summer is drawing to a close, but there’s no need to panic. SummerFest next Sunday (August 24) will definitely help ease the pain. It’s LMC’s annual end-of-the-summer celebration, featuring great food, swimming, volleyball, music and singing, horseshoes, croquet, a bonfire and more. It kicks off at 4 PM at the Richer home in St. Charles (a flyer with directions is in your mailbox). Bring a lawn chair and a side dish or a dessert and the Richers will take care of the rest. Hope to see you there!  

·         Calling all musicians! We're gathering musicians (ok, nudging and cajoling too), to help present an hour of music at SummerFest next Sunday, August 24. We’re looking for individuals or groups to share their music in 10 minute performance slots. We’re also hoping to gather musicians for a sing-along, play-along song circle. Please contact Dave Martin if you’d like to participate.

·         This is the last Sunday to contribute to the Welcome box for the Andrew & Daria White family. We are collecting gently used toys to help Julia (6) and Christopher (4) adjust to their new home in Virginia following a move from Bulgaria. Cash or gift cards would be welcome as well. Andrew will be teaching English at Eastern Mennonite University this fall, while Daria enrolls the children in school, establishes a new household and looks for a new church home. Please remember the family in your prayers. The Welcome box is located under the church mailboxes.      

·         All are invited to a special West Suburban Faith-based Peace Coalition presentation this Tuesday at 7:00 PM at LMC. Iraq War veterans and staff from the American Friends Service Committee will address military recruitment in local schools and explore how youth, parents, schools and churches can respond. See the flyer on the bulletin board or contact Dave Martin for more information.

·         The church retreat at Camp Menno Haven is only a month away! The retreat will be held on September 13 and 14. (There’s been some confusion on the correct dates, so I pulled out the contract to double-check.) Hope to see you all there!

Last Sunday                                                           

·         Attendance last Sunday:	98
·         Offering:	$3,236
·         Weekly Giving Needed to Meet our 2008 Mission Goals	$9,016