Covenant Update
Dear Covenant Family:
We had a great service today, with 30 folks in attendance. Attached is today’s bulletin, please note the excellent Words of Wisdom that Tina has included for us. Please remember that in addition to our monthly ministry of Hurricane Relief this month, we are also collecting paper goods and cleaning products for Pine Grove and toiletries for Newberry High School students.
We had numerous prayer requests today. Continued prayer was asked for Tina Floyd who moved to a Shands therapy center on Friday to complete her recovery from broken hip surgery, but went back to Shands ER yesterday due to low red blood cell count and she is still awaiting a bed in that hospital. We also ask for continued prayers for a friend of Victoria MacArthur who is trying to get surgery scheduled to repair facial deformities from a dog bite. In addition Carol King asked for prayers as she will have a brain biopsy tomorrow for possible cancer, and Patsy Baker and Maurita McKee were out today due to not feeling well. Please keep all these people and their families in your prayers this week.
Pastor Don’s sermon was on people getting frustrated with God, and his scripture was Psalm 22:1-24. I suggest you read this scripture for a more complete understanding of its message. Verse 1 begins My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? David continues:
Psalm 22:2-5 – My God, I cry out by day, but You do not answer; and by night, but I have no rest. 3 Yet You are holy, You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. 4 In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You rescued them. 5 To You they cried out and they fled to safety; in You they trusted and were not disappointed.
David is questioning God here for not responding to him, although God is the Holy One of Israel who has demonstrated His gracious attention time and time again to His people. David’s message then concludes with:
Psalm 22:24 – For He has not despised nor scorned the suffering of the afflicted; nor has He hidden His face from him; but when he cried to Him for help, He heard.
Pastor Don concluded that every person has a time of need and that God offers us all help. We then have a choice to make – we can either turn to God and trust Him, or we can turn away. Don told the story of how Mary and Martha were upset when Lazarus died and Jesus waited four days to respond to them. You should read this beautiful story in John 11:1-44 to understand how Jesus responded in His own time and all was well. Pastor Don concluded by reminding us that even when we do not or cannot understand God’s way or plan, we should know that the Lord is there for us and with us always.
I wish you all a very blessed week.
