The Church of God at Connoquenessing

Today we worshiped at The Church of God at Connoquenessing, 1247 Evans City Road, Connoquenessing, PA 16027, 724.789.0084, www.cogatconnoq.org, K.A. Karns, Pastor.

Scripture – KJV

Jude 1-3 –

Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:

Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.

Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”

Romans 10:13-17 –

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

1 John 5:3-4 –

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

John 17:14-16 –

I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Ephesians 3:17-21 –

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Bob’s thoughts:

We were redirected past a church we chose, one we couldn’t find, and one that had already started, and when we pulled in this service was about to start. As we approached the door we saw three small buses leaving with children, but it turned out there were lots of children inside. We learned later the church has a program to bring inner city children here who might not otherwise know a church.

We were welcomed by a number of people, including the man at the door who pointed out the restrooms and sanctuary.

The unusual shape of the church and resulting multi-angled ceiling may have been the cause of an echo that made the speaker hard to understand, although the pastor came through clearly. The choir was strong and easy to understand, and for a relatively small choir, they sounded excellent. I enjoyed the trio of women who came forward to sing; they were great together.

The pastor did a sports analogy titled “Contending for the Faith.” He refreshingly stated that he believed all of the Bible. Too often we hear excuses or parts that are de-emphasized, although this made me question even more why I couldn’t find a cross.

I questioned if I heard one remark correctly, that you wouldn’t want one sin to keep you out of Heaven.” Only Christ went there sinless.

Jan’s thoughts:

We were early so we had time to drive around Evans City for a bit. The second time we drove past this church, we pulled in enough to read the sign and found the service was due to start in five minutes, so we went in.

The building appears to be fairly new, decoration was tasteful and simple, and many greetings offered on an ongoing basis, including by a sweet young girl who surprised me by initiating a conversation. The gentleman who held the door introduced himself and pointed out the restrooms before we even asked.

The music was provided by two organs and 15 choir members, and the amazing harmony absolutely filled the sanctuary. This was some of the most enthusiastic singing I’ve ever heard by both choir and congregation.

With no bulletin, I was grateful the pastor announced the title of his sermon: Contending for the Faith, in which he emphatically reminded his listeners of both the importance and the value of fighting to maintain he gift of true faith in Jesus Christ.

Our prayer for this church:

Lord, we ask You to help this church contend against the complacency of the world and remain steady in their faith. Amen.