Ellport Community Church

Today we worshiped at Ellport Community Church, 1141 Church Street, Ellwood City, PA 16117, 724.944.7130, lead by Tom and Barb Milnes.

 

Scripture – 2 Peter 1:1-13 NLT –

This letter is from Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ.

I am writing to you who share the same precious faith we have. This faith was given to you because of the justice and fairness of Jesus Christ, our God and Savior.

May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.

And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.

So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Therefore, I will always remind you about these things—even though you already know them and are standing firm in the truth you have been taught. And it is only right that I should keep on reminding you as long as I live.

 

Bob’s thoughts:

I had saved some items to donate to the Yellow Ribbon Girls who have been sending care packages to our troops for a long time. I read where they are hoping to turn this ministry over to some young blood. This church has a box to accept these donations, so it was a win for them and us.

We were warmly welcomed and a number of women introduced themselves. After climbing the stairs to the sanctuary, I didn’t have enough left in me to stand and sing. Even with the lights out up front I couldn’t read the words to sing anyhow. I’m not sure if anybody besides the praise team was singing.

They could use some signage downstairs for visitors.

There was a great pattern on the curtains where the sun shown through.

We were blessed to have a moment to lay hands on the pastor to pray for Christ’s healing.

 

Jan’s thoughts:

This church has a drop box for the Yellow Ribbon Girls, who collect supplies to send to troops who are deployed, so today we opted to drop off some things and worship here.

The area is beautifully rural, so we enjoyed a lovely drive.

We encountered friendly greetings at every turn, including some who stopped by our pew to introduce themselves.

The music was beautiful and the back wall behind the platform was simple and stunning. It’s amazing what can be done with some twinkle lights.

The pastor asked those present who had served in the military to raise their hands to be recognized and everyone present was invited to receive an American flag as a gift following worship.

The message was untitled as far as I could tell, but I found it encouraging. It was a reminder that each believer is given a measure of faith and we all suffer setbacks. The pastor had broken his shoulder not long ago and his arm was in a sling, so his very presence was a visual reminder that things can happen to anyone at any time.

However, he urged everyone not to quit and instead use the struggles in life to hold on tighter to God’s promises.

He said when we ask God for something, He answers in one of four ways. I was intrigued, as I’ve only ever heard about three: yes, no, and wait. The pastor added one more though: none of your business. I was surprised at first, but after thinking about it, it made perfect sense. Some things happen to us for which we can find no reason, and we may never know the reason, but those are the times it’s God’s business, not ours.

Further reminders included that we can trust Him to do justice and trust Him in our ‘whys’. Accept and lean on God’s mercy. Avoid rewinding a situation in your mind over and over and just forgive and let it go. Then you are free.

I admit I’m still working on this, but I’m not giving up. I’m grateful God led us here today…I needed these reminders.

 

Our prayer for this church:

Heavenly Father, we pray You continue to bless Your church and Pastor Tom. Help them to grow in You. Amen.