March 2011

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers for this ministry!
Thank you for your faithful support!
As of today, we are working on the final step necessary to obtain our well permit. Please continue to pray for the permit process. Thank you also for your continued support towards our building program.
Thank you so much for praying for our church events. Although some of our folks could not attend the Annual Wild Game Dinner because of sickness, we had 8 guests, a great service, and a delectable spread! Moose Stew, Teriyaki Duck, Moose Chili, Wild Turkey Pot Pie, Venison Stroganoff, Pheasant Soup, and Moose American Chop Suey were the main dishes. There was more food than we could eat, as usual.
It even snowed, but it was light enough that church didn’t have to be canceled. That was a blessing, since we prepared most of the food on Saturday! Thanks again for your prayers!
On page 2, the top five pictures are from the Northeast Association of FWB Mid-Winter Refresher in North Turner, Maine. Thirteen folks from our church enjoyed fellowship with other FWB churches in New England. We had a great time!

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February 2011

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers for this ministry!
Thank you for your faithful support!
Please continue to pray that our well permit will be granted.
Please also pray for our upcoming church events:
Men’s Prayer Breakfast February 12 Ladies’ Bible Study Luncheon February 20
Youth Pizza Making Party February 20

Walking Worthy: Thoughts from Colossians 1:9-11
Here we see the Apostle Paul continue his edification of the church at Colosse by expressing his prayers for them. In doing so, he gives us a great commentary on what it means to walk worthy of the Lord. I believe this is the main theme of this passage. Paul prays for them to have all of the other things mentioned here so they can walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him. If you have experienced the grace and peace that comes from having Jesus Christ as Savior, knowing that your sins are forgiven and that you have a great hope laid up in heaven, there should be a desire in your heart to “walk worthy of the Lord.” Let’s look at this passage and see how we can walk worthy.

Colossians 1:9 “For this cause we also, since the day we heard [it], do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;”

We will walk worthy of the Lord when we ask for His discernment. Remember, Paul is setting the stage for correction. He is trying to create a desire in their hearts to ask God for spiritual discernment. We cannot do the will of God without this wisdom and understanding. And, according to James 1:5-6, we get wisdom from God by asking for it. One commentator gives a great definition of the combination of the words knowledge, wisdom, and understanding when he says, “This is a cear vision of what needs to be done in each instance.” Only when all three of these things are given to us by God can we do His will. This will give us the discernment we need to stay balanced and focused on the Lord and His will for our lives. There are a lot of ways to stray out of the will of God. However, God is more than willing to provide us with the knowledge, wisdom, and understanding we need to stay in His will.
Colossians 1:10 “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;”

We will walk worthy of the Lord when we act on the spiritual insight we get from Him. I want you to notice the words being fruitful and increasing. These words imply growth. So walking worthy of the Lord is a growing process. As a plant draws nutrients from the soil, it uses them to grow. Once a plant stops converting nutrients for growth, it begins to die, and it lacks the ability to gain more nutrients. So, if we are going to grow in our walk, we must act on the knowledge and wisdom we have already been given by God. In many instances, we know what we should do. We just don’t act on that knowledge. Now, when we do act on the wisdom we already have from God, we grow and gain the capacity to gain more knowledge of God and to bear even more fruitful works. Let’s act on the wisdom God has given us.

Colossians 1:11 “Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffurringg with joyfulness;”

We will walk worthy of the Lord when we have power to joyfully endure that which tries our patience. You may be saying, “I want to walk worthy of the Lord, but when I try and fail, I get discouraged and want to give up.” Well, you can’t walk worthy of the Lord by your own power. God knows this and wants you to rely on His glorious power for the endurance it takes to walk worthy with joy. Now understand, when we ask God for His discernment and act on it, God is going to use His great power to strengthen us so we can endure the circumstances in our life with joy!! Let’s rely on God’s power to live for Him. Even when we fail, He will give us the power to get up and try again because He is patient with us! Endurance is not giving up because we have the strength to keep going no matter what comes our way. We will stumble as we walk. The key is to keep going. We can do this with God’s power. When we are relying on His power, there will be joy in our hearts.

Let’s rely on the Lord for discernment. Let’s act on the discernment we get from God. And let’s rely on His power to endure even when we stumble, gaining joy through His power. When we do, we will walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him.

January 2011

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and giving! God had answered your prayers! We are thrilled to be able to tell you that our land has been paid in full!
We know that many individuals have given sacrificially to see this land paid for. Words cannot express the gratitude
our church people have for you all.
We are so grateful to God for you!

The Northern Virginia Conference has always considered us as their own, even after we came to Rhode Island. I am proud to have been ordained in that conference and to have served there for seven years. I would like to thank those churches and pastors for having a vision for what God is doing here in Rhode Island.
What this means . . .
G o d  A L W A Y S  p a y s  f o r  w h a t  H e  o r d e r s !

This means that as soon as our permits are in hand, we can begin construction! As the building phase begins, we appreciate your prayers and support more than ever. Those of you who have volunteered to donate your skills and equipment to help in construction, please give us a call so we can let you know the projected time frame for your particular gift of service. Those of you who so faithfully gave to our land fund can continue to donate to the building fund by simply changing the designation from “Bill Reynolds Land Fund” to “Bill Reynolds Building Fund.”

Again, thank you so much for your prayers. Please continue to pray as God is working in people’s lives. We are seeing so many prayers answered, and we are thankful to God for all His blessings. With the New Year come new challenges, new obstacles, and new blessings. Please especially pray that our permits for the building are granted. Thank you!