Mid-Week Messenger

Oct 3, 2024

Greetings Everyone

Week At A Glance

Sunday, October 6th

9:00 a.m. Adult Bible Study with Lynn Cale

10:00 a.m. Sunday Worship Service with Pastor Benn Melli

Monday, October 7th 

5:30 p.m. Bell Choir

Tuesday, October 8th   

7:00 a.m. Men’s Bible Study and breakfast

Wednesday, October 9th

10:00 a.m. Ladies AM Bible Study (LAMBS)

7:00 p.m. Choir Practice

Thursday, October 10th

10:00 a.m. Bible Babes Bible Study

 

 Please note:

We are so excited that Ben Melli has accepted our offer to be our long-term pulpit supply pastor.  In addition to Sunday, Ben will be in the church all week providing all the pastoral services that we expect from a permanent pastor. Ben is a warm, personable, and approachable pastor who looks forward to meeting every member of congregation as quickly as possible.  Don’t be shy about introducing yourself to him and his family.  And as always, feel free to call me, Chris Washer or Terry Nelson, your Personnel Committee.

EVENTS CALENDAR

My name is Rev. Ben Melli, I will be serving as the pulpit supply pastor for the foreseeable future at 1st Press. Whitefish. I could not be more excited to see the gospel grow this community as we see God’s grace form in the lives of all different generations.

I want to take this opportunity to share a little about the sermon series we are going to start this Sunday. For the next four weeks we will be looking at the book of Ruth. Many scholars believe Ruth could be considered the perfect ancient Hebrew narrative with it’s beautiful character development and redemptive themes. While the story does contain beautiful prose and a hopeful arc, the main message of the book must be understood in the revelation of Jesus Christ. One scholar put it like this,

“The book of Ruth shows us that our actions have consequences. However, our lives are not simply the consequence of the various decisions we have made and events have occurred, as if the universe were a giant supercomputer into which we feed all the variables and come out with a predicable answer. There is a mysterious x-factor that is evident in the book of Ruth – a variable that has the power to change everything. It is the grace of God, which directs the outcomes of those decision and events according to his sovereignty and good purpose for his people…Ultimately, for Christians, the grace of God is always the defining element of our lives.” – Ian Duguid (Reformed Expository Commentary, p. 130)

You see, the story of Ruth is only a smaller part of the larger story of redemption. It tells of an important point in time on the larger timeline of God’s redeeming story which is fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ. All the Old Testament is painting a dynamic picture which is fully brought to light in the New Testament. I want to encourage you to see your life as a story being crafted by the sovereignty of God, held together by His grace and love for you. There were a great many twists and turns in the life of Ruth and Naomi, we will see that this Sunday, and it was probably hard for this young woman and older widow to understand how they fit into the larger story God was weaving. Yet, here we are many years later, reading their story, resting in God’s provision for them. The same God who cared for them in all their circumstances, cares for you.

 

 

 

 

If you have any questions, concerns, or inquires for me; please feel free to contact me or drop by the office. I would love to hear your story over a cup of coffee. You can also contact any one the elders on session if you have any further questions.

 

Rev. Ben Melli

FPC UPDATES!
Basement Room for Youth & AA:
Here’s a little update on the co-sharing of the basement space with AA and our Youth Ministry.  The history of co-sharing began over 20 years ago when the basement was completely dedicated to Youth Ministry.  AA was in need of a new location and our congregation welcomed them with open arms to use the basement when the Youth Ministry wasn’t using it.  A match made in heaven!
Now, we are planning to share again!  This time, AA is doing a little clean up from having almost 15 years in the basement alone. We’ll begin to have a more youthful look in the main room while maintaining a sharing of space.
We thank everyone for the prayers for all ministries of this church!
Flowers:
We are so grateful for Jean Peterson and Willo Harris for taking care of our flower arrangements over the past few years.  They have faithfully provided the beauty of arrangements throughout the entire building!
Willo and Jean will provide the beautiful arrangements through December and then officially retire!
We will be selling the arrangements of flowers that will no longer be used  beginning this Sunday, October 6th.  All proceeds for the flower sale will go to the Youth Ministry fund.
With the flower storage room being cleaned out, we will begin providing space to the Young Life staff for an office.  God’s Hand in Ministry.
Thank you again Jean & Willo.  Your commitment to our church is greatly appreciated!

DIRECTORY UPDATE 2024

If you are not in our church directory and would like to be, or need to update your info, please email the church office. And don’t forget to let us know if you would like to be added to the Mid-Week Newsletter list.

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Whitefish, MT 59937