January 2016
THE APPLE
PRESS
Youth Group meets Wednesdays in the Youth Room in the WC at 6:00 PM. Contact Pastor Dan at 970-242-7380 or [email protected]. If you could assist on Wednesday evenings, please contact Pastor Dan or Dave Sloan, Presiding Deacon, 970-858-3572. There is a sign up sheet in the WC foyer to bring snacks on Wednesdays. The Friday morning Ladies' Prayer Group is praying God's Word and praying for our families. We meet from 6:30 to 7:30 on Friday mornings in the Worship Center foyer. Questions—call Karen Vejraska at 970-242-8904 or email [email protected]. Appleton’s Got Talent fundraiser is coming up January 30, 2016, at 7:00 PM in the Activities Center. Contact Aleta Beaslin, 970-245-5009, with the talent you wish to share. There will be a dessert intermission. A sign up sheet to bring desserts will be available in the Worship Center foyer desk. Proceeds from the free-will offering will go toward one of the missions we support.
Happy New Year 2016
God’s Resolutions for Your Life
Ending the year and beginning a new one often brings us to a
time of reflection of our life and of God’s will and our will. Often we
try to reason God’s will for our lives, to understand His purpose in us
and then act on it. The problem is that we often put our reason before
God’s.
Oswald Chambers, in his work, My Utmost for His Highest,
wrote, “The hindrance is that I will not trust God, but only my mental
understanding. As far as feelings go, I must stake all blindly: I must will
to believe, and this can never be done without a violent effort on my
part to dissociate myself from my old ways of looking at things, and by
putting myself right over on to Him.” I have heard many times that
“God wants me to be happy” as the reason someone puts their will
before God’s will and Word. All of it is selfish and just a matter of self
-will. God’s word says if you love Him, you will obey Him (John
14:15).
Paul wrote for us to “not conform any longer to the pattern of
this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you
will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing
and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2) So many things in our lives can hinder
us, and they get in the way of finding, and ultimately following God’s
will in our lives.
New Year’s resolutions for weight loss (getting healthier),
financial responsibility, repairing relationships, and even Bible reading
can help us remove those things in our lives that get in the way of His
will for us (Hebrews 12:1-2). The issue for us is making sure we have
His will in the center of those decisions. Let me encourage you to lay
2016 before our Lord and give it to Him. Trust our Father in Heaven
with your life and let Him transform you to the likeness of His Son, our
Savior. It really can be done…
If you have tried year after year and not succeeded in some
resolution or another, let me give you one last word of encouragement
from God’s Word. “His divine power has given us everything we need
for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by
his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very
great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate
in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by
evil desires.” (2 Peter 1:3-4).
I can’t wait to see what he has in store for Appleton Christian
this year. I love you all. Pastor Dan
Please have bulletin items to the office by 11:00 AM on Wednesdays . You can either call (242-7380) or email ([email protected]).
At A Glance
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Appleton’s
Budget Total 2015 Budget:
$210,007 ($4,039/week)
As of 12/2715:
Giving to date: $232,572
Needed to date: $210,007
We are ahead: $22,565
Aleta Beaslin would like to thank everyone who helped with our Hope of the Grand Valley Christmas family. We received a thank you card from the family: Thank You so much! This has been a true Blessing for our family. To have a stress-free Christmas that was made possible with this program. We appreciate all the help. Thanks again, Merry Christmas, God Bless. The Wieberg Family.
Camp Christian Seeking New Camp Manager(s)
A ministry opportunity is available with Camp Christian in New Castle. We are seeking a couple to serve as Camp
Managers. Responsibilities include: 1. Manage Camp property and facilities. 2. Serve as liaison with the appropriate departments of
the State of Colorado that govern resident children and youth camps.
3. Promote the Camp and its ministry to both churches and the community.
4. Help expand the vision and outreach of the Camp. God has blessed us with this wonderful facility—if you are interested in continuing and furthering its ministry, or for more information, please contact our Camp Christian representative, Noreen Fry, 640-6278, or interim camp president, Merle Miller, 242-5057.
Annual Meeting
Sunday, January 31
Meet in the Worship Center
4:00 PM
(no fellowship meal)
Did you know you can read the newsletter three ways: 1. Online at http://appletonchristian.org and click on
Newsletter. 2. Emailed to your personal email account. Subscribe by
emailing [email protected] or check the box on your Communication Card.
3. Hard copy that you pick up the last Sunday of the month. Contact the office to have The Apple Press available for pick up the last Sunday of the month. (The January 2016 edition will be available the first Sunday of January.)
Got Photo? If you’d like your photo updated or if you’d like to be included in the directory, please contact Kathy in the office. She’ll be taking photos between services the next couple of Sundays. First Service, please stay late and Second Service, please come early so we can get the directory updated. Or if you have a non-copyrighted photo for her to scan, please give it to her or send a digital copy to [email protected].
Appleton Christian
Church saves Box Tops
to send to the Christian
Children's Ranch in
Eagle, ID. There are two
collection boxes, one in
each building. Please be
sure the Box Tops are
not expired before
dropping them off. (We
not longer collect
Campbell’s Soup
Labels.)
What is the Instant Church Directory Member App and who can access it? This is a free app that allows our members to sync our church's directory to your iPhone, iPad, iPad Mini, Android device or Kindle Fire. Members will be able to view the church and staff information, as well as search and view
family members. Members will also be able to call, email, or text if a phone number or email address is available on the church, staff or family details. Any changes that are generated on Instant Church Directory Online will automatically download to each member's devices, ensuring you always have the latest information. Who can access the app? Anyone who has an email address listed in the directory (under their family details) will be able to request access to download and sync the directory on your device. Each member will receive a password per device, which cannot be shared with other members. Any member that is set to “Inactive” will not be able to procure a password. If a member has the directory on their device, and is later set to Inactive, they will no longer be able to sync and access the directory until they are set back to Active. Furthermore, all of the data is protected by SSL so only you and your members will have access to your church data. If you don’t have a smart phone or iPad, etc., you can receive a pdf document and password for your computer. Contact Kathy in the office to get on the email list. For those who do not have email, there will be a few printed copies available in the foyer. Updates will be listed in the bulletin for you to make in the paper copies.
You can now access the directory on your computer.
Go to: https://members.instantchurchdirectory.com/ to create an account using the email
address you have listed in the directory. You will receive a confirmation email and once you
click on the link, your email address will be validated. You will then need to log in, just as an
email account, every time to access the directory. You will be able to view the information,
but the phone numbers and email are not hyper-linked as with the smart device app.
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God Moments by Nancy Hagerman
My first baby cried whenever I was not holding him so I took him everywhere I went. I cooked dinner with him on my hip, ate with him in my lap and spent every Sunday morning in the nursery. I wanted him to know he was loved. When he was about 2 month’s old my dear husband decided I needed a break. He arranged a sitter and invited me out to eat. We dressed up and I eagerly handed him to the sitter when she arrived. But (you guessed it) he began to scream and held his arms out for me. I decided to take him with us. He cried while we ordered and continued to cry when the salads came. The waitresses took turns holding him so we could eat, but he refused to be comforted. I spent the rest of the evening sitting in the ladies room with him while Steve ate alone. He tried to relieve me but I was no longer hungry. We asked for a doggie bag and as we got ready to leave one of the older waitresses gave me a huge gift. “Honey, if you never leave that baby, he will never learn you will always come back.” The next day I left my crying baby alone in his crib while I cooked dinner and he survived. By the third or fourth time he’d stopped crying. Soon I was able to leave him with a sitter. His faith in me was stretched. He believed I would be back. What a treasure that woman’s advice was. I use it even now to remind myself of the way God relates to us at times. I am reading a wonderful book called, “Seeing in the Dark” by Nancy Ortberg. It is a book about finding those “Treasures in the Darkness” from Isaiah 45:3. There are times in our lives that we cannot see God’s hand. He does not appear to answer our prayers and we cannot hear Him or feel His presence. When we begin to ask ourselves, “Is He still there? Is He even real? Does He care?” Those are the times he is stretching us. The times that in faith we answer ourselves with an emphatic, “YES!” The times that we can thank Him for caring enough to grow us up. The time we declare to Satan that we trust our Father and we are done listening to his lies! God will never fail or forsake us. He is always there even in the dark. A chrysalis does not understand what God is doing during those long dark months but he emerges a butterfly. In the same way as we sit quietly in faith and allow Him to use that darkness, He creates beautiful things in us. Looking back helps me make that sacrifice of faith. When I remember the things He has already done, it becomes easier to look forward in faith and believe in what He is doing. I want to try an experiment in the coming year. I’ll be sharing some “God Moments” here in the coming months. I have plenty of my own but I really want to include yours. Will you write up some of those moments when you just knew God was there? You can email me at [email protected]. Let’s remember and encourage those of us who may feel they’ve been left alone in the dark. Let’s see if we can grow in Faith and Trust in the coming year. After all Jesus is always there.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it” John 1:5 NLT
An Encouraging Word from Scott Thompson Recently while we were in Mexico attending a wedding, we took an excursion riding four-wheelers in the Baja Desert. We were riding along the Pacific Coast, when our guide stopped the group for a break. We took our helmets off and watched the waves crash up on the shore with great force. It was interesting to watch each wave move the small ridge of sand at the edge of the foam either up the shore or out to sea. It seemed each strong wave made a different design of the ridge. I then noticed a small outcropping of brown rock standing stalwart on the edge of the sea, immoveable and strong, it stood defying the powerful waves. Watching the waves and the contrast between the rock and sand, I couldn’t help but think of the words of Jesus. Matthew 7:24-27 says, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” The teachings of Jesus paint a picture of how we ought to live and what we need to make as our priorities in life. If you are using anything else for the foundation you live your life by, you are headed for a mighty crash! For example; if things (toys), your appearance, your wealth, social standing, or anything other than the teachings of Jesus, are what you lean on day to day, you’re in trouble. James 1: 6b says, “Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea tossed by the wind.” Friends, we need to do something else James say, “draw near to God, study his word and apply it to our lives.” Then and only then will we cease to be like that little ridge of sand I saw, that was moved by each wave on the beach. The other night, we were watching a television special about a young Christian man, made prominent by a reality series, who had become involved in pornography and adultery. I couldn’t help but think to myself he thought no one would ever find out. Someone did and his house came crashing down! It’s important that we realize “God knows the secret things of our hearts….he knows what we do in secret!” It is absolutely important that we follow the teachings of Jesus. I encourage you study God’s word, find out what Jesus is saying to you, and hold his teachings near and dear to your heart. No one wants their house to fall down. Jesus is always waiting to hear from each of us…and will help us live in his teachings.
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Mission of the Month
The Pregnancy Center
Diane Baldwin, Director of Operations
930 Main Street, Grand Junction, CO 81501 970-241-7474
704 Elm Avenue, Grand Junction, CO 81501 (satellite office)
Phone: 970-242-HOPE (4673) Email: [email protected]
www.pregnancy-center.org Birthday: September 18
Anniversary: June 6
Ministry: The purpose of The Pregnancy Center of Grand Junction is to provide education, love and support to women in our community as they make important pregnancy decisions. We offer counsel on the emotional, spiritual and physical aspects of pregnancy and information concerning available options. An unplanned or crisis pregnancy does not necessitate making uninformed or impulsive decisions. Prayer Requests: Compassion, wisdom and protection for counselors and receptionists.
Lift up all unborn babies, their moms and dads. Pray for conviction in the hearts of all Americans that ALL life is precious. Strength, integrity, and fear of God in our leaders. More volunteers for reception and counseling. Our clients to feel loved and choose life and love for their babies.
“O Lord, you have searched me and you
know me. You know when I sit and when I rise, you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord. You hem me in – behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such
knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your
Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; If I
make my bed in the depths you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on
the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me
fast…” (Psalm 139)
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January 2016
Glenn Williamson
Open spot
Open spot
Open spot (Contact the office to volunteer for this rotation.
February
Joe Zeni
Dave McIlnay
Jack Costello
Open spot
January 2016
3 Scott Thompson
10 John Wilson
17 Dave Sloan
24 Michael Costello
February
7 Nancy Hagerman
14 Tim Hollett
21 Malinda Lyons
28 Merle Miller
January 2016
3 Glenn & Bev Williamson
10 Charlotte Zangerle
17 Steve & Peggy Moseley
24 Dave & Jane Sloan
February
7 Mark & Jennifer Murrell
14 Steve & Pam Bourdette
21 Glenn & Bev Williamson
28 Steve & Peggy Moseley
January 2016
3 Steve & Ellie Morris
10 Scott & Connie Thompson
17 Randy & Crystal Brew
24 Doug & Jan Steiner
February
7 James & Angie Templeton
14 Randy & Beth Pifer
21 Gary & Donna Ward
28 Steve & Ellie Morris
First Service Communion
Second Service Greeters Second Service Communion Leaders
3 — Gary & Sonja Kent
Frank & Shirley Klapal
10 — Jim Lawson
Mary Laurienti
17 — Rick & Eryn Lefler
Guy & Joyce Lowe
24 — Joe & Malinda Lyons
Dick & Linda Mann
31 — Bill & Jan Martin
Ed & Mary McClure
First Service Greeters January Prayer Families
For Prayer Chain requests, please include on your communication/prayer card on Sunday; email
[email protected]; or call Pam Bourdette @639-9421, or
Paul Vejraska @242-8904.
For shut-in communion, please call 242-7380 before
Sunday morning.
January 3 Dan Baker January 10 Randy Pifer
January 17 Scott Thompson January 24 Kevin Vig
January 31 Doug Steiner
Clip and post in your home as a reminder when you serve.
Contact Us:
Pastor Dan Baker [email protected]
Elders:
Dan Baker 970-822-2717
[email protected] Tim Hollett 970-376-5521
[email protected] Merle Miller 242-5057
[email protected] Scott Thompson 644-1242, Chair
Diaconate: Aleta Beaslin 245-5009 [email protected]
Malinda Lyons 245-5632 [email protected]
Ellie Morris 210-0677
[email protected] Steve Morris 210-5405
[email protected] Jennifer Murrell, Board Rep.
434-6613 [email protected] Mark Murrell 434-6613 [email protected]
Dave Sloan, Presiding Deacon 778-9033
[email protected] Craig Spoering 623-2311 [email protected]
Charlotte Zangerle 245-6907 [email protected]
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The Bible affirms the power and importance of prayer and we, as a church, are committed to pray for
each other. Let us know your request and we will lift you up in prayer.
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Appleton Christian Church
The Apple Press
2510 I-70 Frontage Rd
Grand Junction, CO 81505
January 2016
Guided by Scripture
Worshiping God
Caring for People
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You can also access the directory on your computer. Go to: https://members.instantchurchdirectory.com/ to create an account using the email address you have listed in the directory. You will receive a confirmation email and once you click on the link, your email address will be validated. You will then need to log in, just as an email account, every time to access the directory. You will be able to view the infor-mation, but the phone numbers and email are not hyper-linked as with the smart device app.
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