A few weeks ago, I shared I was receiving a free book. Free may have been an overstatement as I had to read the book in two weeks and then give a review on Amazon and post about it on social media. But, it was mostly free. If you are at all concerned with the tenor of conversations in our nation, I highly urge you to read Christians in the Age of Outrage by Ed Stetzer.

Late in the book (pages 189-191), Ed shares some research on Christians prayer habits. Following are some key statistics of what Christian prayer for:

• 42% pray for their sins
• 41% pray for people who mistreat them
• 37% pray for their enemies
• 21% pray to win the lottery
• 20% of people pray for people in other faiths or no faiths
• 13% prayed for their favorite sports team to win a game
• 5% prayed for someone to get fired

Read those over again. While the numbers weren’t shared, the vast majority of people primarily prayed for their family and friends. But notice how many people prayed to win the lottery and for their sports team to win. And then notice the one in between. 20% of people pray for people of others faith or no faiths. 20% of people pray for people who are far from God to come to know God. Just a few less than those who pray to win the lottery and only 50% more than the number of people who pray for a sporting competition.

I wonder what God could do with a people who prayed for others to come to faith? I wonder how my life would change if I prayed consistently for people I know to come to faith? How might our church change and our communities, if Christians were more concerned with winning hearts to God than winning the lottery?

Will join me in praying for people to come to faith? Let me challenge you to not juts pray generically, but make a list. Who do you know who doesn’t know God? Who has left the faith? Can we pray for them together?

If you have someone for whom you would like me to pray, shoot me an e-mail with their name and I will add them to my list.

Connect to God
After God rescues the Israelites from their captivity in Egypt, he brings them to Mt. Sinai where he gives them the law, which includes the 10 Commandments. These commandments are not guidelines for all humanity, but a call from God to live as a counter-cultural community. They produce a people who in our daily lives live as a sign, a signal, and a witness that God has not left the world to its own devices. Instead, God has come to rescue, save, and restore all that has been broken and marred by sin. This eighth week of our series, we consider the command to not steal in light of the parallel call to seek the common good of all.

If you would like a copy of the worship service, you can receive a complete copy by contacting Tom Verbrugge or you can find the weekly messages on our website.

Grow in Community
Thank you to everyone who came out on Monday to support our Middle School students at their Culver’s Fundraiser.

At our High School fundraiser earlier this fall we raised: $931.93

On Monday, for our Middle Schoolers, we raised: $1434.80.

We were only $120 in total sales away from the 15% kickback.

Zion continues to come through for our students and support them in their service. Thanks you to all who came out Monday!

Serve the World
On Tuesday next week, our nation will once again go to the polls to elect local, state, and national leaders. While not specifically related to any evangelistic or church ministry, voting is important as Christians. Not so we can claim political power, but in order to influence our country to choose the “good life” as defined by God and not the competing idols of our world. You can read a slightly longer argument on why we should vote here. The short answer is that we should vote because our government asks us to do so and God has placed our government in authority over us. So, as a believer, pray for our leaders every day and go vote on Tuesday.

Administrative Details
Our next Leaders Meeting will be tonight from 5-7 pm. We look forward to a great evening of fellowship, worship, and some training. Each of our ministry teams will have some specific training and discussion centered on their work together and then as a whole we will think together about Living with Limits as followers of Jesus. We will talk about setting boundaries, sharing the load, and the gift of limits as we served a limitless God. Its going to be a great night. Including children, we have 100 people planning on attending Sunday. Come and join us! You can still sign-up through the Connection Cards on Sunday or by sending an e-mailhere.

We continue to thank God for his provision of all of our needs and for the generous support of our congregation with their time, talent, and treasures.
Fiscal Year to date budget: $239,254.40
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $238,920.85

On Monday, Eugene Peterson went home to be with his God. Eugene is known by many people as the author of The Message, a brilliant paraphrase of the Bible in contemporary language. For myself and many pastors, he is known as the pastor to pastors. Through his many books and teachings, he called us back to the basic tasks of prayer, scripture, and spiritual direction. He was an engaging and transparent writer. He was friends with people like Bono and known throughout the world. I never met him face-to-face, but I miss him nonetheless.

Currently, three of his books are back on my desk: Working the Angles, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, and The Pastor. I have read each of these books multiple times and every time they feed my soul. I especially appreciate his memoir of life as a pastor and his very funny stories of planting a church. If you can learn more about Eugene here.

Connect to God

After God rescues the Israelites from their captivity in Egypt, he brings them to Mt. Sinai where he gives them the law, which includes the 10 Commandments. These commandments are not guidelines for all humanity, but a call from God to live as a counter-cultural community. They produce a people who in our daily lives live as a sign, a signal, and a witness that God has not left the world to its own devices. Instead, God has come to rescue, save, and restore all that has been broken and marred by sin. This seventh week of our series, we consider the command to not commit adultery and the call to be a people of chastity and fidelity in a culture of immorality and commitments of convenience.

This Sunday we also welcome Mike and Sharilyn VanWyhe and David Jenkins as the newest members of our community.

If you would like a copy of the worship service, you can receive a complete copy by contacting Tom Verbrugge or you can find the weekly messages on our website.

Grow in Community

Please be in prayer for our High School students as they are on a retreat this weekend. Also pray for Pastor Jeremy as he will be delivering all of the teaching and for his family as they miss his presence two weekends in a row.

Also, don’t forget to join us on Monday night from 5-8 pm at Culver’s in Jenison to support our Middle School Youth Group. 10% of all proceeds go to our student ministries. Zion has supported our youth generously in the past and we thank you for your continued support.

Serve the World

City Chapel continues weekly worship and after an initial launch of over 160 people in attendance, they have seen the weekly attendance drop as expected. But, they also continue to see roughly 10 first time visitors every week. Continue to pray for Pastors Ron and Anna and this new church as they begin their first steps of life together. Specifically, you can pray for their new small group ministry called City Groups that will begin next month. They already are seeing both core team members and new attenders seek to become small group leaders. God is very good!

Administrative Details

Our next Leaders Meeting will be on November 4 from 5-7 pm. We look forward to a great evening of fellowship, worship, and some training. Each of our ministry teams will have some specific training and discussion centered on their work together and then as a whole we will think together about Living with Limits as followers of Jesus. We will talk about setting boundaries, sharing the load, and the gift of limits as we served a limitless God. Its going to be a great night. Come and join us! You can sign-up through the Connection Cards on Sunday or by sending an e-mail to Pastor Greg.

We continue to thank God for his provision of all of our needs and for the generous support of our congregation with their time, talent, and treasures.

Fiscal Year to date budget:  $230,149.40

Fiscal Year to date contributions: $228,379.20

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ~ Romans 8:28

Earlier this fall, the new show Manifest came out. It tells the story of passengers on a plane who leave for a short flight that mysteriously disappears. Five years later, the plane reappears with all the passengers. But, none of them have aged at all. they all believe they have only been gone a few hours, but 5 years have passed. It feels like it could become a show like lost tied up in all sorts of mysterious plot twists as we try to figure out what actually happened.

The old show Lost had a series of numbers key to its mystery and so does Manifest. In Manifest the key numbers are 828. They leave on flight 828. Children are rescued from a house with the address 828. And, there is a pillow with Romans 8:28 embroidered on it on the flight. In the first few episodes, a strange voice tells these former passengers to do some strange things that lead to saving other people. They are being led to bring about the common good.

I was talking to a good friend recently who has been through a rough couple of years, but has recently begun to see what God was doing in the midst of the pain. Sometimes we are lucky to quickly see how God is using all things for the good of those who love him.

But often we don’t. We battle cancer. We go through a painful divorce. A child struggles with depression or anxiety. We lose a job. And, it may be years before we ever see what God was doing in the midst of our struggle.

And sometimes these difficulties never makes sense to us. But, even then, we can hold onto the promise of Romans that in all things, the delightful and the difficult, God is working for the good of those who love him. May we all rest in this hope no matter the struggles we face.

Connect to God
After God rescues the Israelites from their captivity in Egypt, he brings them to Mt. Sinai where he gives them the law, which includes the 10 Commandments. These commandments are not guidelines for all humanity, but a call from God to live as a counter-cultural community. They produce a people who in our daily lives live as a sign, a signal, and a witness that God has not left the world to its own devices. Instead, God has come to rescue, save, and restore all that has been broken and marred by sin. This sixth week of our series, we consider the call of God to be not only a people who don’t murder, but who honor life.

If you would like a copy of the worship service, you can receive a complete copy by contacting Tom Verbrugge or you can find the weekly messages on our website.

Grow in Community
This week Sunday is “Say It Day” for our Sunday school students. The kids are saying Psalm 47:7-8. Those who know the verse can also get a prize. So, ask your child their memory verse and encourage them to plant God’s word deep in their heart.

Serve the World
Eddy Aleman (General Secretary of the Reformed Church in America) sends out a bi-monthly e-mail with a short meditation on scripture and several prayer requests for our denomination. This week, he asks for prayer for a renewed focus on mission and ministry in the RCA, wisdom for the 20/20 team that is working to envision a way forward as our denomination wrestles with different understandings of how to respond to our LGBTQ brothers ands sisters, and for our churches across the US and Canada as they strive to do life together. You can read his e-mail here or sign up for future e-mails here.

Currently, Zion supports two different church planting efforts in Nepal. We support Jibit Asha International through our budget and have given to Good News Nepal through love offerings. Both organizations are focused on raising up pastors and planting churches in one of the most unreached people groups in the world. You can learn about both these organizations and their missions in Nepal here and here.

Administrative Details
Our next Leaders Meeting will be on November 4 from 5-7 pm. We look forward to a great evening of fellowship, worship, and some training. Each of our ministry teams will have some specific training and discussion centered on their work together and then as a whole we will think together about Living with Limits as followers of Jesus. We will talk about setting boundaries, sharing the load, and the gift of limits as we served a limitless God. Its going to be a great night. Come and join us! You can sign-up through the Connection Cards on Sunday or by sending an e-mail here.

We continue to thank God for his provision of all of our needs and for the generous support of our congregation with their time, talent, and treasures.
Fiscal Year to date budget:  $217,504.00
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $219,548.287

I’m getting a free book! A few weeks ago, Ed Stetzer released his newest book, Christians in an Age of Outrage. I have been a fan of Ed’s since he came to speak at an event for our Classis about 8 years ago and we met in the bathroom. And then realized I was running tech support for his room that day. I never told him I was on the team that invited him to speak that weekend and enjoyed getting to be a somewhat anonymous volunteer. I was truly impressed by his gracious and kind spirit to his occasionally frazzled tech support volunteer. 🙂

Since then, I have read several more of his books, taken an on-line coaching class from Ed and still participate in a private Facebook discussion group moderated by Ed. He is a prolific writer, teacher, and tweeter. He is also the Billy Graham Chair of Church, Mission, and Evangelism at Wheaton College and just started a weekly radio show on Moody on Saturday mornings. He is broadly engaged in popular issues, deeply rooted in scripture, and sprinkles it all with a little ADD inspired bunny trails.

I am excited about my free book because it is free, but even more so because I sense in myself and I experience with many others a growing low level of anger, maybe just about simmering rage. We are ready to blow up about the latest political controversy, social media post, sports scandal. You name it and someone is probably angry about it.

But scripture speaks often of anger, and rarely is it good. For example:

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. ~ James 1:19-20

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land. ~ Psalm 37:8-9

An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins. ~ Proverbs 29:22

I wonder, what witness might we have as believers if we remained calm, present, and able to listen respectfully even to those with whom we disagree in a culture that can barely hold a civil conversation anymore. Conversely, I wonder how we damage the name of God when we become entrapped by the anger and rage of our age.

As a follower of the Prince of Peace, I am trying to be a person of true peace. Not ignoring injustice and abuse, but also not perpetuating violence and the abuse of violence by my own language and behavior. Will you join me?

Connect to God
After God rescues the Israelites from their captivity in Egypt, he brings them to Mt. Sinai where he gives them the law, which includes the 10 Commandments. These commandments are not guidelines for all humanity, but a call from God to live as a counter-cultural community. They produce a people who in our daily live as a sign, a signal, and a witness that God has not left the world to its own devices. Instead, God has come to rescue, save, and restore all that has been broken and marred by sin. This fifth week of our series, we consider the only command that also includes a promise “that we may live long in the land.”

Grow in Community
Larry Westra is home recovering from back surgery. We thank God for his recovery so far and pray for continued strength, perseverance, and healing.

Also, please join me in praying for all those affected by memory loss in our congregation. We have several families caring for parents who grow more easily confused and then also some of our own members in their own struggles with Alzheimers and dementia. May God give them all peace and confidence in the face of an often frightening future.

Serve the World
Currently, Zion supports two different church planting efforts in Nepal. We support Jibit Asha International through our budget and have given to Good News Nepal through love offerings. Both organizations are focused on raising up pastors and planting churches in one of the most unreached people groups in the world. You can learn about both these organizations and their missions in Nepalhereandhere.

Following is an update from Ron Radcliffe on the first official week of worship at City Chapel:

Just wanted to let you all know how the launch went:

It went SUPER well!  We had (at 10:15) 120 people there, and by about 10:30 about 20 or so more people had showed up.  We had about 150.  I emailed CityFlats as to how many seats they had available downstairs for us, because we used all of them, and some people were sitting on the couches in the back, too, so we can get a more exact number.  Here are some other highlights:

• It was super high energy,
•  we had about 40 college students.  20-25 from GVSU, and the rest from Kuyper, Calvin, and Kendall.  
• Our mailer that we sent brought in a handful of people.  Many who never went to church or haven’t been in years (one, an older gentleman, 75+ years old, said he hasn’t been in many years and loved it.  Bought a City Chapel shirt, gave money, and said we’re gonna see so much of him we’re gonna get annoyed of him! Yes!) and even some recent college grads who got it in the mail and said, “oh, this is walking distance from our apartment, we’ll go.”

We’re excited for what comes next!  Thanks for all of your prayers and support!

If you are praying for City Chapel, they ask specifically for prayers that their launch team does not get burned out and that they can expand their volunteer base, the launch of City Groups (their small group ministry), and that those far from God might encounter God in a new way at City Chapel, be changed by God’s grace and plugged into a local church, whether City Chapel or another church.

Administrative Details
Our next Leaders Meeting will be on November 4 from 5-7 pm. We look forward to a great evening of fellowship, worship, and some training. Details for the night are still being worked out and will be shared as they are finalized.

We continue to thank God for his provision of all of our needs and for the generous support of our congregation with their time, talent, and treasures.
Fiscal Year to date budget:  $206,628.80
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $200,327.87